Volume 1, Chapter 46: It is a Crazy Baby!

...

"However! If I find out again that anyone is not trying hard enough, hiding things, or even stealing what belongs to everyone, don't blame me for being merciless!"

Everyone instantly fell silent, with only nods of agreement left.

At that moment, Li Chuan felt like looking in a mirror. Was the title "Cold-Blooded" above his head really that intimidating? It actually carried such immense prestige.

In fact, Li Chuan's gains this time went far beyond the seven shields. The gold coins alone amounted to just over a thousand. After deducting the five hundred and fifty or so he had spent, he still had around five hundred left.

Yet, Li Chuan had no intention of distributing them. Not the slightest bit.

These are the fruits of my own labor, and I deserve them!

In the middle of the trial ground, the exhausted players of the Bright Assembly waited for Gao Han's distribution.

Divided among everyone, over a thousand gold coins came out to more than thirty per person.

Guild Master Gao Chu Bu Sheng Han's reputation for fairness was widely recognized, and thirty-plus coins each was not a small amount, so they weren't particularly envious of Li Chuan's side getting seven blue shields.

Gao Han quickly finished distributing the harvest.

"This is what everyone just fought tooth and nail for. Averaged out, it comes to thirty-seven gold coins per person."

"I won't take everyone's gold coins and act on my own authority, but I do agree with Captain Li's approach over there. Maximizing our strength right now is indeed a very wise move."

"Therefore, I suggest that you first borrow gold coins from your companions to boost the strength of some people, and return them after the next harvest..."

To be fair, most of the people willing to work under Gao Han were kind-hearted and obedient, so the guild master's suggestion was executed quite well.

By now, the largest squad—namely the one led by Donghe Liushui—had conversely become the weakest team in terms of strength.

Gao Han had no choice but to walk over to Donghe Liushui and Zhao Gao.

"You two, although I'm in no position to point fingers, I still want to ask: have the problems within your team been resolved?"

Donghe Liushui's squad had gained nothing from this battle, not even reaching level fifteen, so naturally, his mood was far from good.

"M-my team is too bloated! The two of us can't handle it for now. Captain Li's side has fewer people, so I want to offload a few!"

He was calculating rapidly in his mind.

He wanted to throw all the black sheep over to Li Chuan's side. That way, not only would his own side be trouble-free, but he would also have fewer people to split the harvest with—truly the best of both worlds.

And those black sheep didn't object either, each expressing their willingness to join Li Chuan's team.

Five minutes later, Li Chuan stood next to Gao Han with a puzzled expression.

Inhaling the fragrance of the beauty beside him, he asked, "So you're just assigning these five to my team? Is that what this means?"

Donghe Liushui nodded. "Yes, your headcount is too small, and I'm worried."

Li Chuan cut him off directly.

"Stop putting on a righteous front. Do you think you're the only smart one here? I can take them in, but I hope that once I lead them away, your team can stand on its own two feet and stop causing trouble for everyone at critical moments!"

Donghe Liushui's expression shifted instantly, turning quite ugly.

"You! Hmph! You're just relying on the prestige gained from killing to intimidate others, what's there to be smug about!"

Li Chuan sneered without answering him, and instead led those five players directly back to his team.

"Everyone, these are players the other squad didn't want and stuffed into our group. Is anyone willing to explain our rules to them?"

Having said that, Li Chuan left the five individuals behind and walked back to Lin Yaoyao's side.

He opened the quest panel.

[Competitive Quest One: Survivor of the Arena!]
[Stage, lights, cheers, and roaring blood! Lucky players who have survived until now, please persevere through slaughter after slaughter until the very end!]
[Remaining Arenas in the Fortress Battleground: 18/20]
[Quest Rewards: Silver Coins * 500, Experience Points * 2000, Intermediate HP Recovery Potion * 5, Intermediate MP Recovery Potion * 5, Evolution Core (Blue) * 1, Silver Treasure Chest * 1.]
[Quest Penalty: None]
[Quest Time Limit: None]

Closing the quest panel, Li Chuan wore a pleased expression.

"The number of arenas went from twenty to eighteen! This shows that the strength in the other areas isn't as formidable as imagined. Only the second wave and two arenas have already fallen. If we can keep progressing at this frequency, we'll finish the quest in no time."

The young girl blinked her eyes.

"Wow, Brother Chuan, you're so confident. What if we happen to be the ones that fall?"

Li Chuan gave the girl a light nudge.

"Stop jinxing it, we're definitely going to be the ones who survive!"

"By the way, a lizard dropped a blue piece of equipment earlier, right? I saw you pick it up. What equipment is it? Let me see."

The girl feigned ignorance.

"Blue? No way? You must have seen wrong."

Li Chuan looked the girl up and down, finally spotting her altered, faintly blue-glowing little boots.

"Caught red-handed and still trying to hide things! You're not getting a share of this harvest!"

The girl grabbed Li Chuan's arm, rubbing against him with her still-undeveloped chest.

"Don't be like that, brother. I was wrong, give me a little bit of the share. Brother is the best, let your sister give you a kiss."

Li Chuan hurriedly raised a hand in refusal.

"Go on, go on. I already said I don't like flat ones, are you deliberately trying to seduce me?"
"I'm hungry, let's eat, time to eat!"

Not far away, Gao Han silently withdrew her gaze from the two of them.

Looking closely, her eyes held a hint of complexity.

...

Ten minutes later.

Screech—

The creaking sound of moving walls rang out once more.

Li Chuan, who was dryly swallowing a piece of bread, abruptly raised his head and looked in the direction of the sound.

"Damn it!"

Li Chuan cursed inwardly!

It wasn't anything else, but this time the wall had split into three separate openings.

Crap! There was zero room for error this time.

Without needing to discuss who went first, the three captains tacitly led their respective players to guard the fronts of the openings.

Behind Li Chuan, he chanted silently.

"Elemental Giant!"

On the metal floor, a meter-tall iron lump resembling a gas cylinder appeared.

Summoning the iron lump now meant Li Chuan could summon a second one before the monsters appeared, significantly reducing the pressure on the front-line warriors.

His original teammates had seen this skill of Li Chuan's and showed no reaction, but the five newcomers clearly had never witnessed it and stared in astonishment.

Especially the skinny young man.

"Didn't I say the captain on this side is fierce? Coming over here really was the best choice, young master just needs to coast here until the quest ends."

He muttered softly while clutching the white crossbow in his hand.

Pitter-patter, pitter-patter,
Pitter-patter...

The strange footsteps grew closer and closer, and some players fixed their eyes on Li Chuan.

Li Chuan did not disappoint them either.

Fire Element Enchantment! Locked Shot!

Whoosh!

The glowing arrow illuminated the path ahead along the tunnel.

When they clearly saw the appearance of those monsters, a player screamed out.

"Holy shit! There are ghosts! Those are ghosts!"
"No, not ghosts, they're zombies, there are zombies!"
"No! Not ghosts, and not zombies, they're—they're—they're Crazy Babies!"