Chapter 21
Chapter 21
Outside Qingshui Town.
Corpses lay strewn across the grass beneath the afterglow of sunset.
Looking at the heartless Qianying, Zhou Ming embraced his imminent death. “Come on, Yingying. My life is yours!”
Yingying?
You really have the nerve!
Qianying ground her pearly teeth, nearly laughing from anger.
Of course she knew Zhouyou Shijie had said it deliberately. He was afraid she would grow softhearted and hesitate, costing them the chance to wring a benefit out of the god-tier expert.
“I’m really going to kill you, then?” Qianying asked for confirmation.
“Do it!”
How could Zhou Ming possibly care about dying?
Only yesterday, he had died dozens of times to rescue Qianying from Taoyuan Village.
Slash!
Without wasting another word, Qianying swung her sword. Raging sword energy howled forth and engulfed the young man so eager to die.
Crash!
The next moment, a pile of items burst out beside Zhou Ming, including several pieces of the Gold equipment he had been wearing.
“Hand it over!”
After picking up the dropped items, Qianying immediately demanded the bounty reward from Mo Yun.
…
The air abruptly fell silent.
The corner of Mo Yun’s eye twitched. His face nearly turned purple with fury.
How could he ever have imagined that Zhouyou Shijie would claim the bounty from him through “suicide”?
It was difficult to believe anyone in this world could possess so little shame.
“You win!”
Constrained by the rules, Mo Yun gritted his teeth, took out an item, and handed it to Qianying.
“Ding!”
[System: Congratulations! [Divine Ember Queen ยท Qianying] has killed Zhouyou Shijie and received the bounty reward: one Rare A-Rank item!]
“???”
The distant players nearly dropped their jaws, unable to believe the scene before them.
He had collected the bounty on his own head?
That was fucking allowed?
“I think I finally understand how the boss developed so fast!” Tingfeng Xiyu wiped a hand down his face and clicked his tongue in wonder.
He strongly suspected that the impossibly beautiful, top-tier NPC beside Zhou Ming had also been obtained by exploiting some similarly ridiculous bug.
“Thank you, generous benefactor!”
Now a spirit, Zhou Ming beamed from ear to ear.
A Rare A-Rank item!
It was practically another first Bronze boss kill falling into his lap for free.
“Just wait. Sooner or later, you’ll get what’s coming to you!” Mo Yun shot him a venomous glare before leaving in frustration.
Zhou Ming watched him go without losing his smile, then turned toward a certain rogue nearby. “Buddy, help me collect the equipment.”
“…Oh, right!”
Tingfeng Xiyu snapped back to his senses and hurried forward. Beneath the envious gazes of the crowd, he selected the more valuable pieces from the equipment carpeting the ground.
Other players tried to move in for a share, only to discover that they did not possess the loot rights.
This was a special restriction governing PvP!
All equipment dropped by players remained locked until its ownership timer expired. Tingfeng Xiyu was an exception because he and Zhou Ming had entered Party Mode before the battle began.
Ten minutes later, Zhou Ming revived at full status inside Qingshui Town.
“Here.”
Qianying held nothing back. She returned all the equipment Zhou Ming had dropped, along with the bounty reward.
“The system won’t stop you this time?” Zhou Ming asked in surprise.
He still remembered the game’s rule that natives could not give players benefits unconditionally.
“These things belonged to you in the first place, so it will not interfere,” Qianying explained. “The world rules of Destiny Continent are not as rigid as you imagine.”
“Is that so…”
Zhou Ming remained both startled and doubtful.
The people in this game already felt no different from those in reality. Even its rules possessed such intelligence. It was genuinely incredible.
Forget it!
What was the point of thinking so much?
Suppressing the distracting thoughts, Zhou Ming hurried outside Qingshui Town. Together with Tingfeng Xiyu, he gathered more than thirty pieces of equipment valuable enough to sell.
Perhaps it was thanks to his two points of Luck, but the drop rate had been downright glorious.
“Choose two pieces of the dropped equipment that you can use. I’m selling everything else.” Zhou Ming naturally had no interest in such low-level gear.
The only slots he still needed to fill were his necklace, cloak, and ring. Those three item types had extremely low drop rates. If even he could not obtain them, other players had no chance.
“What?”
Tingfeng Xiyu jumped in surprise. “How could I take that much?”
“Just take them!” Zhou Ming said with a smile. “Our meeting was fate. I might need your help again someday.”
“Well…”
After a moment’s hesitation, Tingfeng Xiyu nodded. “All right, then I won’t stand on ceremony. If you ever run into trouble, just come find me. If I can help and say so much as one word of refusal, then my name isn’t Tingfeng Xiyu.”
“Since you put it that way, this elder brother of yours really does have a little trouble on his hands,” Zhou Ming said, cutting straight to the point.
Tingfeng Xiyu fell silent.
Strange!
Weren’t they exchanging polite formalities just now?
How had the empty courtesy suddenly become real?
“I need you to help me find a Silver boss around Level 60!” Zhou Ming said seriously.
The Trial of the Seven Sins, Sin of Pride!
That was his most urgent priority!
Right now, entrusting the search to a rogue with Stealth was far more sensible than trying to find the boss himself.
“Level 60?!”
Tingfeng Xiyu wondered if he had misheard.
“This is extremely important to me,” Zhou Ming said. “Can you do it?”
“It won’t be easy, but I can definitely manage,” Tingfeng Xiyu replied with a nod.
At his level, Inspect could not reveal whether a boss was around Level 60. The maps sold at general stores, however, were divided by recommended level.
If he searched for bosses in an area intended for Levels 50 to 70, their levels should fall somewhere in that range.
The only troublesome part was how many times he might die along the way.
“Sorry to put you through this!”
Zhou Ming made him a firm promise. “I know you’ll run into danger during the search. Once I overcome this trial, I’ll personally help you level.”
“Deal. With that promise, I’ll find this boss no matter what it takes!” Tingfeng Xiyu’s fighting spirit soared.
Level 20 on the second day after launch!
That speed already surpassed anything ordinary players could comprehend.
He could scarcely imagine how efficient leveling would become if an expert like Zhou Ming carried him.
“I’ll get started, then. The moment I find a target, you’ll be the first to know!”
“Good!”
…
After watching Tingfeng Xiyu leave, Zhou Ming opened his inventory. A heap of ordinary and Bronze equipment filled his sight.
Their ranks might be low, but on the second day after launch, they were still worth a considerable sum.
“That’s right!”
Suddenly remembering something, Zhou Ming turned to Qianying. “Can I use your power to enhance all this equipment?”
“Raising an item’s rank is not truly so simple,” Qianying explained. “The better the equipment itself, the longer the enhancement requires. I could complete the previous advancements instantly for two reasons. First, their original ranks were low. Second, my long imprisonment in Taoyuan Village allowed me to accumulate abundant power.”
“I see.”
Zhou Ming nodded. “Then forget it.”
“However…”
Qianying’s tone suddenly shifted, though her voice remained calm. “Your life in the other world does not seem particularly easy.”
Whoosh!
Radiance flowing with mysterious energy poured from her snow-white palm. In complete silence, every piece of equipment in Zhou Ming’s inventory rose by one rank.
“I know this world is not your entire life.”
Qianying’s figure gradually faded as she returned to the God-Demon Orb.
“I hope you can live a little better in the other world.”
…
Zhou Ming said nothing. An indescribable emotion stirred in the depths of his heart.
…