Chapter 13: The Thirteenth Cup

Chapter 13: The Thirteenth Cup

The short young man was rather ordinary in appearance, with nothing particularly distinctive about him except his slightly below-average height. Yi Luo glanced at him and noticed that he wasn't exceptionally short; he just had a habit of hunching and looking down, making him appear shorter than he actually was.

Now, even this sole characteristic was gone.

Yi Luo frightened him, causing the young man to fall to the ground, pale-faced, drawing attention from many people. Given Yi Luo's high profile in the safe zone, several onlookers whispered, suspecting the young man might be a thief.

The young man shrank back, twisting his hands together, stammering, "Not... not a thief, not..."

Yi Luo raised an eyebrow and waved at the crowd. "Nothing to see here, folks. Move along."

He squatted down in front of the young man. "Need something? Come on, speak up."

The young man buried his head deeper. "Have... have... no, nothing!"

Yi Luo: "..."

Was it yes or no? How could someone be so frustrating?

Yi Luo furrowed his brow and sighed deeply.

He Wuning, after finishing his sweep for healing items, turned around to see Yi Luo squatting amidst a crowd, with someone lying on the ground in front of him.

He Wuning's first thought—hit-and-run?

He walked over to Yi Luo, observing the young man on the ground who seemed to have suffered a significant mental blow despite having all his limbs intact. He carefully phrased his question, "Can't afford to pay?"

Yi Luo took a moment to understand what he meant and then laughed, "What nonsense! I didn't touch him. He fell by himself."

"Then why are you still here?" He Wuning glanced at the fallen young man, "Never seen someone fall before?"

Yi Luo: "..."

He Wuning had already started walking away through the crowd. Yi Luo glanced at the young man again, confirming that he was still mumbling incoherently, before saying, "If you need anything, go to the administrative hall." Then he hurried after He Wuning, explaining, "I'm not some gossipy person. It's because he kept staring at me."

"Staring at you?" He Wuning gave him a once-over, causing Yi Luo to stand straighter. He Wuning asked, "Why was he staring at you?"

"I was about to ask him when you came over." Yi Luo looked back, but the unremarkable young man had disappeared into the crowd.

He Wuning frowned. "Want to find him?"

"No need," Yi Luo said, turning his gaze away. "No ill intent, just strange."

"He might want to give you a banner of gratitude," He Wuning dismissed it offhandedly, checking the time. "You can send a message back. In three hours, I'll set up a stall at the entrance of the safe zone."

"You think they'd buy milk tea to help me level up my skills since I'm a key protection target?"

"Of course. The combat team needs it, but they were busy adjusting the squad assignments today." Yi Luo walked alongside him toward the milk tea cart. "But why three hours from now?"

"Because the wild boss respawns every twelve hours. The one I killed last night should be revived by now. I plan to take care of it again before setting up the stall." He Wuning glanced at him. "I might need more than three hours alone, but you're fast, right?"

Yi Luo: "..."

This joke wouldn't die.

He Wuning looked away. "Q, stats update."

"Coming!" Q eagerly flew off Yi Luo's shoulder. "I've been monitoring the forums!"

"There have been significantly fewer sightings of wild bosses today, especially those under level ten. Looks like your cleanup yesterday was effective!"

"However, the update mentioned an increase in respawn frequency. There were still sightings of level ten and below wild bosses near the safe zone this morning!" Q diligently reported. "I've marked them and will compile data to determine the daily respawn count!"

Yi Luo couldn't help but look at Q more closely. "It's actually useful?"

Q puffed out its chest. "I am the best stat tracker in the universe!"

"Thick-skinned," Yi Luo commented objectively.

He Wuning opened the map markers and casually replied, "Like father, like son."

Yi Luo: "...Who are you insulting? Like you."

Q crossed its arms indignantly. "You two are mean!"

He Wuning's mud-covered milk tea cart was still parked at the edge of the safe zone. Yi Luo rolled up his sleeves and skillfully opened the hood.

He Wuning had left it with two durability points, earning him a thumbs-up from Yi Luo.

Following Q's route, He Wuning looked up just as Yi Luo finished. Leaning against the hood, Yi Luo's lean waist and long legs made the scene somewhat pleasing to the eye.

He Wuning averted his gaze before their eyes met. "Did you upgrade your skill?"

"Yes," Yi Luo responded, sighing. "I increased your durability limit by five points. Congratulations, your cart is now more durable."

"Just wait a bit longer; two more levels and I can unlock vehicle cleaning and beautification. Maybe I can give this oddly styled cart a makeover."

He Wuning: "..."

Typical useless feature of this ridiculous game.

Thinking of his pre-modified skill tree, He Wuning felt a rare twinge of sympathy—he would only be slightly nicer to Yi Luo during such moments.

He tapped the back of the seat and suddenly asked, "Can I only modify my own skill tree? Not others'?"

Q winked at him. "With 100% admin fragments, you could do anything, even become the master of the game, or even the king of the world!"

"Who wants such a childish title?" He Wuning sounded uninterested. "Is 8% not enough?"

"Not enough." Q-jam answered honestly.

He Wuning leaned back in his chair as Yi Luo got into the car, taking the initiative to sit in the driver's seat and assume the role of the driver.

He Wuning shared the map with him and stared out the window, lost in thought.

Before reaching the awakening level, he had only found two fragments, and last night he hadn't found any at all. It seemed the drop rate for "Administrator Privilege Fragments" was indeed low.

But it made sense; if everyone had such a powerful item, monsters wouldn't stand a chance.

He Wuning closed his eyes. He barely slept last night but managed a brief nap at the hospital. Now, basking in the warm sun, he felt drowsy.

Yi Luo wanted to talk to him but saw his posture and decided against it.

However, He Wuning seemed naturally sensitive to others' gazes. Without opening his eyes, he sensed Yi Luo watching him: "I'm not asleep. If you have something to say, just say it."

Yi Luo looked away: "Are the abnormal monsters you're looking for related to the item you want to tell me about?"

"Mm," He Wuning replied, "just trying my luck."

When Yi Luo became serious, his face could be quite intimidating, making him seem very reliable: "I'll pass the message to the command center and ask them to help look for it too."

He Wuning was silent for a moment before speaking: "That item isn't exclusive to me. If anyone in your group can read the item's name, they should be able to use it."

"Anyone with a physical fitness rating of S or above, who has awakened and has an intelligent system, has a chance."

Q-jam panicked: "Bro, why are you telling them everything!"

He Wuning lazily closed his eyes: "I don't want to be a savior. If you find someone more reliable, you can just let me go."

"You're already thinking about splitting up on our first day together. How heartless." Yi Luo shook his head, "What's this red dot?"

"A new monster." He Wuning sat up slightly, "I came up with a new strategy. Let's try it."

Yi Luo perked up his ears, interested: "Huh?"

...

They headed south, where the grass on the vast plains gradually thinned out, transforming into rocky yellow earth. A herd of wild bulls wandered aimlessly. Suddenly, a pink milk tea van bumped over the uneven ground, jolting along.

The herd of wild bulls turned their heads in unison but didn't move— the van was still out of range.

He Wuning rolled down the window, squinting slightly: "See that biggest one in the middle? Can you hit it?"

Yi Luo took a distant look and nodded at He Wuning: "Hold the steering wheel for a bit."

He Wuning reluctantly extended a hand to help.

Yi Luo set up his gun by the window, loaded the sniper rifle, and the pink milk tea van waved a small flag with a "tsk" sound, provocatively driving along the edge of the bulls' attack range. A gunshot rang out, and a cluster of blood blossomed on the minotaur's body. It let out a deafening roar and charged forward, pushing aside the surrounding bulls.

Yi Luo chuckled, reloaded, and sharply turned the steering wheel, heading towards the woods where He Wuning had previously killed a minotaur.

The boss monster moved much faster than ordinary ones, quickly leaving the herd behind and following the milk tea van into the fateful woods.

If its predecessor knew, it would surely put up a sign at the entrance saying "Minotaur, Run!"

The minotaur recklessly followed the milk tea van into the woods, crashing through several trees, its crimson eyes searching for its primary target. Suddenly, a shower of leaves fell from above. The minotaur flailed, and He Wuning leaped from a tree trunk, slashing its neck, tearing open a large chunk of flesh.

"Roar—"

The monster viciously turned and threw him off. He Wuning rolled away, creating distance. The minotaur raised its giant axe and swung down, followed by another gunshot.

The sniper rifle had a slow attack speed, requiring reloading after each shot, but its long range and high damage made it effective. The minotaur, unable to think, redirected its hatred back to Yi Luo. It turned and charged at him.

Yi Luo didn't get out of the van; he stepped on the gas, dodging the charge and adjusting position while reloading.

Q-jam's scream echoed from inside the van: "The co-pilot mode is really just for assistance. Asking me to hold the steering wheel is torturing the system! Ahh, it's coming!"

He Wuning seized the opportunity to slash a large piece of flesh from its heel.

Yi Luo whistled: "Prime beef tendon."

He Wuning mercilessly inflicted various wounds on the minotaur, still searching for its weak points.

Together, they calculated their attacks, using the shifting hatred to toy with the minotaur, wearing it down. Soon, its health bar was nearly empty.

This boss monster attacked fiercely but wasn't very smart. Its health and defense were relatively low, making it ideal for a kiting strategy.

He Wuning initially tried this on a whim, but now found it surprisingly effective.

He Wuning delivered the final blow, and the minotaur let out a despairing roar, then heavily knelt, delivering a final attack. He Wuning crouched low: "Here it comes."

The final death-induced control!

Sure enough, He Wuning briefly lost control of his body as the minotaur hurled its axe at him.

He Wuning watched expressionlessly as the massive axe approached, the wind slicing through the air, almost as if it would tear his skin—

"Bang!"

A loud metallic collision sounded as the pink milk tea van swerved in, turning sharply and stopping steadily in front of He Wuning.

The formidable axe struck the van but left no marks, defying physics. Q-jam reported coldly: "Milk tea van durability -1, current durability 104/105."

In a cloud of dust, the monster fell, defeated.

Author's note:

Minotaur: Damn, they showed off again!

Thank you to the little angels who cast overlord votes or provided nutrient solution for me from 02:03:22 on August 6, 2021, to 02:13:55 on August 7, 2021.

Thank you to the little angels who provided nutrient solution: Wu (10 bottles); tianertf (1 bottle);

I am extremely grateful for everyone's support and will continue to work hard!