Volume 1, Chapter 56: Men Get Lost! Women Stay!

Standing on the edge of the desert, the oasis—which should have felt refreshing—appeared rather unremarkable.

Far more breathtaking was the golden palace piercing straight into the clouds, surrounded by countless other oases.

Even Li Chuan, a former college student with no background in architecture whatsoever, was somewhat awestruck by the sheer difficulty of constructing such a palace.

[Palace of the Giants: A palace that has stood for countless ages, filled with chaotic, bizarre, and extremely dangerous energy within.]

[When the bell tolls, the entire desert shall plunge into peril! (If the bell rings more than twelve times, do not linger! Flee at once!)]

The bell?

It felt like yet another immensely dangerous mechanic!

Li Chuan had no idea which side of the palace he was currently on, but from his vantage point, he could clearly see a massive, hundred-meter-tall gate, looking very much like the front facade of the palace.

"Brother Chuan, aren't you a bit too slow? I've missed you so much."

A petite figure gracefully materialized beside Li Chuan.

Li Chuan silently rolled his eyes.

"Then how come I never saw you come looking for me?"

"Have you picked a good spot for Little Green yet? Hurry up, my time is running out."

The young girl smiled brightly and charmingly.

"Of course I've picked one, right over there. It has mountains, water, and the scenery is simply wonderful."

The way she phrased that made it sound like she was planning to bury him there.

Li Chuan looked in the direction pointed by Lin Yaoyao. There was a green lake, and along its grassy shores, numerous spiritual plants of varying sizes were being cultivated.

Not just around the lake, but player density was quite high throughout the entire oasis. For now, however, everyone remained relatively restrained, and no major conflicts had broken out yet.

"Mhm, it's a good spot. Little Green is bound to like it!"

With that, Li Chuan hurried toward the lakeside.

Seeing Li Chuan running over—seemingly intent on planting his spiritual plant right beside them—the few players by the lake, who sported the "Cold-Blooded" title above their heads, instantly united in shared hostility.

"Hey! Stop right there! There are already enough spiritual plants here, find somewhere else!"

"That's right! Take one more step and we'll attack! The drop rate for red-name players is quite high, you know."

...

Not a single one of the four or five players was level 20, and their spiritual plants were at best green-tier, yet they relied on their numbers to shout aggressively by the lakeside.

Li Chuan ignored them, solely focused on finding a good spot for Little Green. As for anyone objecting...

Heh, then he would simply have to eliminate the objectors.

His gaze swept across the grass.

[Energy-disordered turf.]

Huh?

Li Chuan instantly halted his steps.

This appraisal result seemed somewhat abnormal.

The five players had already drawn their weapons. Seeing Li Chuan suddenly stop, they couldn't help but look smug.

They assumed Li Chuan was scared.

Li Chuan silently looked toward the lake water.

[Sewage teeming with various potent bloodlines; consumption may induce physical mutation.]

There was actually something wrong with the lake water!

What a malicious place! If a spiritual plant absorbed this kind of moisture, something bad would surely happen, right?

Li Chuan turned around and walked away.

"Eh? Brother Chuan, why are you suddenly leaving?"

Li Chuan looked back and said in a low voice.

"There's something wrong with that lake water."

Lin Yaoyao froze, then asked in puzzlement.

"The lake water is wrong? Then how did you know?"

"Hey, wait for me!"

...

On the left side of the lake, in the central region neither too close nor too far from the palace.

A patch of grass less than ten square meters in area, devoid of a water source.

Right beside this tiny patch of turf stood a seven- or eight-meter-tall boulder, which could block out some of the glare when the sunlight grew too intense—a feature Li Chuan found quite desirable.

The only minor flaw was that eight players had already occupied this small patch of grass with their spiritual plants.

Right here it is!

Li Chuan silently made up his mind to plant his spiritual plant on this patch of turf, but there was one thing he needed to handle first.

He looked back at Lin Shang, the Supreme Fungus following behind them.

"Supreme, are you certain you want to stay with us?"

The Supreme Fungus frowned, seemingly failing to grasp Li Chuan's meaning for a moment.

Li Chuan had no choice but to continue.

"Well, what I mean is, I think you're actually much better suited to joining the *It's Lonely at the Top* guild."

Lin Yaoyao blinked her big, cute eyes and said in surprise.

"Huh? Big guy is very reliable, don't chase him away."

The Supreme Fungus remained silent, its gaze merely a bit complex.

Li Chuan looked at Lin Yaoyao.

"I certainly know that, but to Supreme, the two of us are the unreliable ones."

"Both of us follow high-attack, high-agility builds. If we run into danger we can't beat, we can at least run away. What about him?"

"Supreme, although you truly are a rare companion whose back can be safely entrusted, I genuinely believe that Living Bodhisattva's group is a better fit for you."

Lin Yaoyao seemed to understand.

"That... is also true. As annoying as that Living Bodhisattva is, she's the only one who takes human lives seriously and won't readily abandon a shield warrior."

The Supreme Fungus's expression relaxed, and it nodded gently. It was impossible to tell whether it was pleased or displeased.

"Very well, then I shall go to her side. However, if you, Captain, ever establish your own faction, I will return."

Li Chuan smiled.

"If I ever harbor thoughts of building a large team, you will be the first person I look for."

*It's Lonely at the Top* led more than half of the players in the same zone and occupied a sizeable oasis, making them very conspicuous. The Supreme Fungus knew where to go.

"Brother Chuan, it's just the two of us depending on each other again. Eh? You aren't worried that having another man in the team means someone will compete with you for me, are you?"

Li Chuan curled his lips.

"Two men in a single team both liking an ironing board? That probability seems rather low."

...

"Hey, this place has been claimed by the Nine Tigers Gang! Piss off, the two of you!"

The moment Li Chuan and his companion approached the patch of grass beside the boulder, a burly brute stepped forward and cursed loudly.

Li Chuan glanced at the levels of those eight players.

All of them were above level 17, with two already at level 20, putting their strength in the upper echelon among players.

What was even more unexpected was that all eight players bore the "Cold-Blooded" title above their heads, and the two level-20 ones even had it in green text.

Someone beside the burly brute leered at Lin Yaoyao.

"Heh~ Boss, the man won't do, but the woman is fair game."

"That's right, Boss. Second Sister and Sixth Sister have high standards, and since their previous toys all died off, it's about time we tasted something fresh."

The burly brute proved quite receptive to advice.

"Mhm, then the man gets lost, and the woman stays!"

Drawing inspiration from who-knows-where, Lin Yaoyao suddenly put on a terrified expression and tightly hugged Li Chuan's arm.

"We're doomed, darling. They've taken a fancy to me, what should I do?"

Li Chuan silently rolled his eyes.

What an absolute drama queen.

Amidst a chorus of covetous gazes, Li Chuan instantly assumed a mournful expression.

"Sigh, what can we do? Dying is easy in this place, while staying alive is a luxury. Being favored by so many big bosses is your blessing, much better than suffering along with me."

Li Chuan spoke with utter bitterness, his face radiating despair toward life.

A male player on the other side burst into a grinning laugh.

"What a total loser, can't even protect his own woman."

Someone else countered.

"Personally, I think this kid knows how things work."

"Yeah, Boss. Our Nine Tigers Gang just lost Number Nine. Even though this kid looks harmless, judging by his title, he's someone who has killed before. Why don't we keep him around to run errands for us?"

A woman wearing form-fitting leather armor crossed her arms.

"The woman is yours, but this pretty boy looks soft and tender, so leave him to me and Sixth Sister."

"Sounds good, I think that's great. I love playing with his woman right in front of him, hahahahaha."

The receptive Boss glared and nodded.

"Haha, Third Brother, you're making even me tempted. Fine! Seeing as this kid is so sensible, we'll leave a little space for your spiritual plant."

Li Chuan, who had originally intended to resolve the problem through physical means, had instead secured entry to the turf via an acting performance.

Seeing Li Chuan genuinely dare to lead Lin Yaoyao forward, that bunch of bastards immediately began catcalling and whistling at her flirtsome ways.

Lin Yaoyao's big eyes grew misty, looking utterly terrified as she clung to Li Chuan's arm and refused to let go.

"Oh ho, she's shy, this little chick is shy."

"Shy about what? I've seen plenty of women like this; deep down inside, who knows how eager she really is. Come here, little missy, let big brother stroke your cheek."

"Hahahaha, hahahahaha..."

Relying on their numerical advantage, the few scoundrels uninhibitedly mocked Lin Yaoyao.

Lin Yaoyao didn't get angry at all; maintaining that fearful expression, she simply followed Li Chuan right into the wolf's den.