Chapter 57
Chapter 57
[Congratulations! Adventurer Zhouyou Shijie has placed first on the points leaderboard and received the following rewards: Level +3, Free Attribute Points +30, Fame +500, and Rare S-Rank item Judgment Scroll!]
[Congratulations! Adventurer Gaibang Laoda has placed second on the points leaderboard and received the following rewards: Level +2, Free Attribute Points +20, Fame +300, and A-Rank skill Army Sweep!]
[Congratulations! Adventurer Tingfeng Xiyu has placed third on the points leaderboard…]
…
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Once the siege rewards had been calculated, three successive bursts of golden light descended upon Zhou Ming. He reached Level 48, a height other players could only dream of, leaving him two levels short of his class advancement.
The rewards were generous!
What would happen if the Judgment Scroll received the enhancement of Xuanniao’s Super Lucky Star?
He would obtain the first SS-Rank item in the entire game!
Zhou Ming wasn’t in a hurry to inspect the reward, though. He remained seated and focused on recovering his stamina.
Destiny didn’t have anything called a mana bar, but that didn’t mean using skills had no cost.
In the end, this was a fully immersive simulation game. Stamina was its invisible mana bar. Once that stamina was exhausted, the body stopped obeying. Even with HP remaining, a player could do nothing but wait for death.
Meanwhile, the dead players revived. NPCs returned through the reopened teleportation array, and the various buildings recovered rapidly with the aid of the world’s rules.
[The safe zone has been restored!]
The chaotic battle was over and every enemy had retreated. The revived players could no longer attack Zhou Ming. Any attempt would be punished by the city guards.
“He got lucky!”
“I can’t believe even that failed to kill him!”
“We might not need to rush, but if we give him any more room to grow, I’m afraid we’ll be asking for trouble…”
…
The dust had settled. There was nothing they could do!
The gods could only leave in dejection, marking their plan as a complete failure.
“Are you all right?”
A few minutes later, the silver-haired young woman in white approached. Concern filled her clear eyes as she extended a delicate hand toward Zhou Ming.
Having caught his breath, Zhou Ming took Qianying’s pale hand and used it to pull himself to his feet. “I’m fine!”
Soft and smooth!
That was his first impression.
Qianying asked, “Have you figured out how to clear the Trial of the Seven Sins?”
Not every problem had been solved yet!
Sin of Envy required Zhouyou Shijie to obtain one million gold coins through his personal strength. He might have the million coins now, but the system refused to acknowledge them.
“Let me try again…”
With serious business at hand, Zhou Ming didn’t dare let his guard down. He opened his inventory and discovered that the gold coins were no longer bound.
It seemed that after their confrontation, Lei Qianjue knew perfectly well who the thief was but still had no way to pursue the matter.
Zhou Ming opened the Top-Up interface and decisively withdrew the money.
[Your account has received a withdrawal of 945 million yuan!]
One million gold coins had originally been worth more than a billion yuan. Dumping such an enormous amount onto the market, however, greatly devalued the exchange rate.
Nine hundred and forty-five million!
Zhou Ming’s entire hand trembled as he stared at the absurd number.
Before the other players noticed anything, he used all the money to top up again.
[You have received 1.0641 million gold coins!]
“This has to complete the quest, right?” Zhou Ming couldn’t help feeling nervous.
His plan was actually quite simple.
During the siege, he had used Qianying’s marked teleportation to raid the undefended towns and scoop up a million gold coins. Then he used the Top-Up and Withdrawal systems to disrupt the game’s judgment.
After all, withdrawing those million gold coins had effectively released them into the market. When he topped up again, the amount hadn’t changed much, but technically speaking, these were no longer the same gold coins.
[Congratulations! You have completed Trial of the Seven Sins: Sin of Envy and comprehended the Flame Demon Lord’s exclusive skill Flame Soul Art!]
[Congratulations! You have completed Trial of the Seven Sins: Sin of Envy and unlocked the Flame Demon Lord’s exclusive ability Heaven’s Envy!]
…
It worked!
He had finally cleared the second trial!
Relief washed over Zhou Ming. “Mission accomplished!”
Turning gold coins that couldn’t complete the quest into gold coins that could had been a high-risk, high-reward process. He was willing to call it gold laundering.
“Congratulations!”
Qianying couldn’t help feeling happy for him too.
“I’m going to log off and get something to eat.”
“All right!”
An intense wave of hunger hit him, and Zhou Ming decisively exited the game.
Too many players had refused to participate, dragging the siege out for far too long!
He and Qianying had fought from ten in the morning until sunset. They were utterly exhausted in both body and mind.
…
After taking off his gaming helmet, Zhou Ming left his rented apartment.
The city at night blazed with brilliant lights.
Crowds still flowed through the lively streets.
“Whew…”
He drew a deep breath of the cold air, and his mind cleared.
He had been playing the game day and night recently. Returning to reality now gave him the strange sensation of stepping into another lifetime.
Zhou Ming zipped up his jacket and followed the crowd. He ordered a mountain of barbecue and treated himself without restraint.
As he sat at the stall, many of the young people nearby were discussing Destiny, the game that had swept the globe.
“Zhouyou Shijie defending a whole city by himself was completely insane!”
“Too bad he doesn’t stream. They say he’s a lone wolf. Otherwise, I’d definitely watch just to figure out how he leveled so fast.”
“I wonder when the national wars will open. Once they do, I’m leading all thousand-plus members of my guild to attack the Sakura Region’s cities!”
…
Games were often the favorite topic whenever young people gathered for a meal.
For all sorts of reasons, the ID Zhouyou Shijie had now become famous beyond belief.
Zhou Ming found it rather amusing to listen to their conversation.
“Hey, man!”
Just then, a man in gray entered the barbecue stall and pulled out the chair across from Zhou Ming. “Mind if I sit here?”
“Not at all. Go ahead!”
Zhou Ming answered with a smile, but an odd feeling stirred in his heart. “You look kind of familiar. Have we met before?”
He wasn’t trying to force a conversation.
The man before him had an ordinary face and bronze skin, yet Zhou Ming genuinely felt as though he had seen him somewhere. He simply couldn’t remember where.
“Really?”
The man’s eyes flickered. He shook his head. “You’ve probably mistaken me for someone else.”
“Maybe…”
Zhou Ming didn’t give it much thought.
Just then, several skewers from his order arrived.
“Smells pretty good!”
The man swallowed hard, reached into Zhou Ming’s plate, picked up a skewer, and began eating with obvious enjoyment. “You treat this time. I’ll treat next time.”
Zhou Ming looked at him thoughtfully as the sense of wrongness grew even stronger. “So we really have met before?”
Who asked a stranger to pay the first time they met?
The man grinned. “Figure it out yourself!”
Zhou Ming: “…”
The two went on to eat their fill.
Zhou Ming still had no idea who the man was, but he didn’t mind buying the meal. Besides, there was something unusual about the stranger. A distinctive air followed his every movement. He didn’t seem like an ordinary freeloader.
Perhaps one day, he really would return the favor.
“Then I’ll see you next time!”
Full and satisfied, the man rose, said goodbye, and left in high spirits.
Who was he?
Still unable to solve the mystery, Zhou Ming returned to his rented apartment and entered the game again.
He had no plans to level tonight, but he absolutely had to inventory all the treasures in his bag first!
…