Chapter 42: Wasp (1/2)
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That night at Suzhou was particularly hazy. Pink lights peeked out of the foot baths in the streets, revealing the legs inside, nearby hawkers doing business as usual. The stalls they set up were called ”hawker stalls”. You could find anything there, from an intestine to a literal piece of s.h.i.+t, just like in the movie ”The G.o.d of Cookery”.
Right now, three youngsters were sitting around a table in front of the hawker stall and chatting with one another loudly. You guessed right, they were none other than Du Thirteen, Gui Guzi and me. Our table was filled with a couple of dishes and a ton of beer bottles. It was one of the highest forms of enjoyment to eat with your friends during such a bustling summer night.
”The way boss killed Shadow Maple today was truly awesome!” Gui Guzi gulped down a bottle of beer before wiping his mouth. He smiled. ”Over 1400 damage in one hit! I bet that kid is feeling doozy right now…”
Du Thirteen asked, ”Lu Chen, what is that skill? Why is it so powerful?”
I put down my chopsticks and smiled. ”It's called Pardon. The first hit is always a miss, as you may have guessed from its name. The second hit however, is boosted and ignores a large portion of the target's defense.”
”Haha, no wonder… come, let's drink one for Pardon!” Gui Guzi laughed and raised his cup.
We raised our own cups and drank.
I wiped the beer off my mouth and smiled. ”b.l.o.o.d.y Mercenaries are off to a good start! It was our first day in business, and we've already earned 16 gold, the equivalent of at least 1000 RMB. Our current income is almost at the same level as the gold collars', haha!”
Gui Guzi asked with a smile. ”Boss, Brother B and I worked like farm animals, and all we got is 5 gold. How on earth did you earn 16 gold by yourself?”
I smiled. ”What do you do when a silly brunette shows up on your footsteps?”
Du Thirteen's eyes lit up. ”You're talking about Wind Fantasy, Beauty Lin Yixin, right?”
”Yep.”
”Haha, well done, well done…” Du Thirteen laughed loudly before turning serious all of a sudden. ”Lu Chen, do you know that Lin Yixin has a new nickname at Floating Ice City?”
”What is it?” I asked confusedly.
”Fruit Knife G.o.ddess…” Du Thirteen laughed.
”What the h.e.l.l is that…”
”I don't know.” Du Thirteen paused for a moment before continuing. ”But get this: there are a ton of Lin Yixin's screenshots on the forums, and most of the PvP ones show her taking opponent's life with a dagger. I don't know what skill that is, but she's shatteringly beautiful and she fools around with a dagger. That's why she's called the 'Fruit Knife G.o.ddess'.”
Du Thirteen smiled with a dreamy look on his face. ”Anyone who manages to win Lin Yixin's love will have a perfect life. At the very least, I wouldn't give her away even if someone offered to make me an emperor…”
I couldn't help but snort at him. ”Give it up, brother. Lin Yixin is far more complicated than you imagine.”
”What do you mean?” Du Thirteen looked a bit confused.
I put down my chopsticks again before explaining, ”One, after Lin Yixin and I fought each other and dropped a ton of levels, she realized that she didn't want an enemy like me and asked to meet me offline. Why do you think she thinks she can resolve our dispute peacefully if we met offline? It's because she's incredibly confident in her own beauty.”
I took a pause before continuing. ”Two, Lin Yixin supposedly hired me to guard her while she gathered Dreaming Gra.s.s at Greenstone Mountain Valley. However, when we got there the Mad Dragon guild 'just happened' to be fighting a boss at that location. Lin Yixin clearly used me to get what she wants. She's very smart, and she's definitely not just the pretty face you imagine her to be.”
”f.u.c.k…”
Du Thirteen also put down his chopsticks and smiled. ”I guess our campus belle is truly extraordinary!”
I nodded. ”That she is.”
Suddenly, Du Thirteen shot me a lecherous look and said, ”Why don't you chase her, Lu Chen?”
”What?” I was stunned. ”f.u.c.k, quit joking, will you? She's way out of my league, and… ahem. I'm sure we share the same thoughts about myself…”
”Heh, you have to chase her, Lu Chen!” Du Thirteen clenched his fists together and pitched dramatically. ”Lin Yixin is one of the prettiest, if not the prettiest girl in Floating Ice City. If you control her, you control all the beauties in Floating Ice City. If you control the beauties in Floating Ice City, you control all the women in Floating Ice City. If you control the women in Floating Ice City, you control all the men in Floating Ice City. If you control the men, you control the entire internet. If you control the internet, you…”
”Gulp!”
Du Thirteen's rambling came to a sudden stop. It looked like he realized that his rant would go off the rails into a dangerous territory if he didn't stop.
He then looked at me and smiled again. ”Anyway, just say it man. Do you like Lin Yixin or not?”
If only I could hit his mute point. Who wouldn't like a pure and beautiful girl like her? I couldn't help but smile when I recalled how cute she looked when I swindled 15 gold off her hands.
”See that? You see that lecherous smile?” Du Thirteen immediately pointed at me as if he caught me red-handed. ”You smile like that, and you say you're not interested in Lin Yixin?”
My honor and dignity were at stake, so I immediately refuted his accusation. ”How dare you call my warm, spring-like smile lecherous! If you keep talking nonsense… I'll have you foot tonight's bill!”
Du Thirteen immediately stopped talking. I was the one who was keeping him and Gui Guzi fed.
The dinner lasted until it was past 10 pm. Full and satisfied, we took a small break after we returned to our house before getting back into the game in high spirits.
Swoos.h.!.+
When I entered Heavenblessed, I appeared inside an inn at Floating Ice City.
Today's goal is very important. I need to catch a pet!
Heavenblessed ruled that only Level 30 players and above could own pets, and pets were very important in an MMO.
Any common monsters could be captured as a pet, but each had different growth potential.
Tamer was a cla.s.s that was specialized in capturing pets. They could use Sealing Cards to capture and tame them. Of course, other cla.s.ses could use Sealing Cards to capture pets as well, but their success rate was only 20% that of Tamers. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Tamer existed only because of pets. In a sense, it shouldn't even be counted among the ten main combat cla.s.ses.