52 Chapter 52 - Celebration (1/2)

No Smile felt utterly dejected now that he had dropped to level 20. He stood listlessly inside the Thieves' Union, not making any movement. All the players nearby were gesticulating at him.

”You see that guy? He's originally the eleventh-ranked Thief on the leaderboard, but now he's only a level 20 player. Tsk tsk!”

”G*dd*mn it! What is he standing there in a daze for? Get out of the safe zone already; I still want to see the Masked Slayer in action!”

”Ha ha ha ha ha! I've seen him twice!”

”I've chased after him for five streets!”

”Why is he still not leaving the Thieves' Union? I can't wait any longer!”

All the players were anxious, hoping that No Smile would just leave the safe zone and dive head-first into the arms of death like he had done ten times before. Had it not been for the no-physical-contact rule in the safe zones, the situation ”tossing someone out of the safe zone to be killed” that Gu Fei had previously described would have already happened to No Smile.

The players nearby waited for the Masked Slayer, but instead saw Oathless Sword and Gale Force arrive. Just like No Smile, the two were core members of Traversing Four Seas. But those players in the know were well aware that Traversing Four Seas was actually mobilized by Oathless Sword, Gale Force, and another player called Youthful Reflection. No Smile was actually a late addition to the core.

Oathless Sword and Gale Force did not say a word upon seeing the large crowd of nosey onlookers, and they just walked up straight to No Smile within the safe zone.

”No Smile,” Oathless Sword addressed him firmly.

No Smile lifted his head with a blank look on his face.

”I've spoken with the people from Amethyst Rebirth,” Oathless Sword began to say.

No Smile listened wordlessly.

”They have agreed to return you the dagger, Zephyr's Whisper, but under the condition that you leave Traversing Four Seas,” Oathless Sword stared at No Smile intensely, ”What do you think?”

No Smile's lifeless eyes seemed to spark with life once more, ”That's easy. I'll leave the guild. Just add me back in once I have the dagger.”

Oathless Sword's eyes quickly flashed with disbelief. No Smile was truly a rotten man. To come up with such a cunning scheme in a moment's notice without batting an eye, his crooked nature was made crystal clear!

Oathless Sword suddenly realized that kicking this sort of person from the guild would actually be beneficial in the long run. It would be hard to accomplish anything if one of the core members had such a terrible personality. With such a thought it mind, Oathless Sword took out Zephyr's Whisper and tossed it to No Smile.

”It's settled, then!” Oathless Sword said with finality and turned to leave with Gale Force.

”What do you mean?” No Smile was stunned.

No Smile got his answer almost instantly.

[System notification: Due to repeated breach of guild rules, Player No Smile has been expelled from Traversing Four Seas. We hope the rest of the guild members would heed this as a warning.]

”Oathless, what's the meaning of this?!” No Smile yelled in anger. Whenever people got angry, they would often throw or damage things to vent their frustration. No Smile raised his hand to do just that. But when he remembered that he was holding Zephyr's Whisper, he immediately lowered his hand and put the weapon into his dimensional pocket instead.

”F*CK!” No Smile roared.

”D*mn. So close…” the crowd around him muttered in regret. Everyone had been looking forward to No Smile mistakenly tossing the dagger while he was in an emotional state!

Gu Fei was actually among the crowd, raring for a fight with No Smile who had been staying in the safe zone for quite some time. Since No Smile got his precious dagger back, he would be elated enough to take it out for a spin, right?

In the end, No Smile kept the dagger and logged off.

”Awww…” the onlookers once more exhaled with scorn. They all decided to take their leave now that the exciting event was as good as over. Gu Fei was staring dejectedly at the leaving mass of people when he suddenly received a message from July, ”What are you doing right now? Return to the guild!”

Since Gu Fei had nothing else to do now that No Smile had gone offline, he decided to just head over to Amethyst Rebirth's headquarters. When Gu Fei turned up outside the guild house, he saw that many of the ladies were already gathered inside. Realizing that he was the last to arrive, he quickly stepped inside, just in time to hear July happily announced, ”No Smile has been kicked out from Traversing Four Seas.”

Gu Fei positioned himself by a corner and faintly smiled, watching all the ladies cheered. His heart was filled with a sense of accomplishment.

”Sis Luo Luo, it's all thanks to you for finding that mercenary group! They are so strong! Just who are they?” many of the ladies asked curiously.

Luo Luo answered regretfully, ”I've only met the group's leader, so I don't know who the rest of them are. Even when they were staging a sneak attack, their faces remained covered. It's most likely done to fully conceal their identities.”

July nodded, ”I originally wanted to thank them all in person as well, especially that Mage of theirs. But I think it would be best if we don't make things difficult for them right now.”

The ladies were extremely disappointed, especially Lie Lie whose face was filled with regret, ”I really want to know who that Mage is!”

Gu Fei listened to them silently, maintaining a smile on his face.

Although the ladies did not know what Gu Fei had done for them behind their backs, they were at least aware of what he had done in public a while ago. July clapped her hands to get the attention of everyone in the room as she spoke, ”Besides Luo Luo who found the mercenary group, we should thank Miles regarding this matter as well. It's due to him stealing No Smile's top-grade dagger that we managed to get out of that sticky situation, as well as gave us a powerful leverage to negotiate terms with Traversing Four Seas.”

The ladies' response was not so keen this time. The lukewarm reaction was not due to them holding Gu Fei in low regard, but rather because most of them had treated him coldly before. Even though he had just done them a huge favor, it would have been far too unnatural for them to suddenly approach him with great ardor. The ladies were quite a prideful bunch after all, so they were somewhat reluctant to do a one-eighty on their attitude toward Gu Fei. Thus, they were somewhat confused as to how they should thank him now.

Some items were considered 'top grade', so some people could naturally be considered as 'top grade' as well.

Lie Lie, who had always been biased toward Gu Fei, graciously changed her attitude toward him. She approached him and courteously said, ”I couldn't tell before, but you ain't half bad!”

Gu Fei's face was still plastered with the same smile, as he placidly accepted her compliment by saying, ”Thanks.”

Seeing Gu Fei's almost emotionless response, Lie Lie stalked away sheepishly.

July felt the awkward atmosphere as well, so she quickly announced, ”Alright. Now that this problem is resolved, let's be at ease and continue enjoying the game!”

Everyone applauded, and huddled together once more to gab about that legendary Masked Slayer.

”Thank you!” July walked toward Gu Fei at this moment and earnestly thanked him.