Volume 1, Chapter 61: The Moon

The purpose of the two of them heading out went without saying.

Snatch the monsters! Seize the bloodline factors!

Killing bloodline-disordered giants would yield blue bloodline factors, while killing bouncing giants would yield purple bloodline factors.

For a higher completion rate, Li Chuan and his companion focused as much as possible on the purple bouncing giants.

……

Lakeside Oasis.

Dozens of players were jointly resisting four blue deformed giants, hurling all sorts of crowd-control skills at the giants as if they cost nothing.

However, most of the damage dealt was under one hundred, with very few exceeding a hundred.

After all, most current players were equipped with green gear, and very few possessed blue equipment and weapons. Naturally, their damage and levels fell short compared to the first-tier players like Li Chuan.

"Everyone, keep it up! That one on the left is about to die!"

"That's right! But don't just focus on that one; save some crowd-control skills for the other giants too!"

Just as the health bar of that crawling giant was about to empty, a black arrow pierced the giant's neck, dealing a fatal strike of four nines!

Immediately after, a figure appeared beneath the collapsing monster, picked up the dropped loot, and vanished once again.

The players, who received nothing, cursed angrily.

"Damn it, who has hands that fast?"

"Dammit, we fought for so long and didn't even get a shred of experience!"

"Stop yelling and start fighting the other giants! Our plant spirits are barely holding on."

……

[Ding! Killed Lv.23 Bloodline-Disordered Giant (Boss) x1, Experience +230]

[Obtained Bloodline Factor: 0.03 (Blue)]

In the shadow of a boulder not far away, Li Chuan looked at Lin Yaoyao with a smile.

"I saw a blue glow. What dropped? Hurry up and take it out."

Lin Yaoyao pouted her lips.

"It's just a ring, and I didn't say I was going to hog it."

"Here, take it."

[Space-Rift Ring: Blue]

[Wear Level: Level 25]

[Mana +20, Armor Penetration +10]

[Increases attack power by 10% when shooting targets of a higher level than yourself.]

[Flavor Text: I hate anything that flies above my head!]

Every player could wear three rings, and Li Chuan currently only wore a single Level 5 Critical Strike Ring, leaving two slots empty.

"The special effect only works for archers, so it's mine."

Li Chuan smiled as he slipped the silver ring onto his finger.

Lin Yaoyao curled her lip.

"I didn't say I was going to fight you for it."

"Ah, that bouncing giant is about to die. Go get it!"

Li Chuan instantly locked onto the target and raised his repeating crossbow.

He stole the kills while Yaoyao looted the items—it was simply the perfect cooperation!

……

Because no more giants rushed out from the palace, the giants near the oasis were finally exhausted by the players.

Victory belonged to the players once again, but not a single cheer could be heard.

The losses were heavy—far too heavy.

The dense thicket of plant spirits originally planted in this oasis was now more than half sparse.

Except for the four oases that successfully defended to the end, no intact plant spirits could be seen in any of the remaining small oases.

Many players ran sorrowfully to their damaged plant spirits, attempting to awaken them.

However, this was futile. The evolution cores of these plant spirits had all burst out, and most of them had already entered the backpacks of Li Chuan and Lin Yaoyao; how could there still be any vitality left?

If these players wanted to survive, their only option was to attach themselves to a player willing to take them in, relying on that person's plant spirit to get through the man-eating night of the Aman Forest.

Although they lost their sovereignty, at least they could survive. Who knew which player had come up with this clever trick? It actually suited the current situation quite well.

Li Chuan cast his gaze toward the Illumination Society's side.

Sure enough, just as he expected.

That side had the most players seeking asylum, and most of them were accepted.

Only a handful of individuals with exceptionally notorious reputations and excessive murders were jointly boycotted by many players and driven out of the oasis.

At least over a hundred players had gathered in that oasis by now. The larger and more bloated the crowd, the sooner that "living Buddha" would inevitably suffer a backlash.

However, not all players wanted to join the Illumination Society. Although it was safe, that saintly guild leader had too many rules.

Some went to seek shelter at the pictographic oasis, others sought asylum in the lakeside area, and even a few had rallied a small group of players who had lost their plant spirits, forcing other players to let them stay within the range of their plant spirits.

As the fourth safe zone, the small oasis where Li Chuan resided naturally attracted the gaze of quite a few players.

Li Chuan's strength was plain for all to see, and Lin Yaoyao's as well; that nearly ten-meter-tall tree was terrifyingly powerful.

To defect under the banner of the strong, surviving until the end under their leadership and protection—

This was what many players hoped for.

The first to walk over was Cheng Nannan, the woman who had thought Li Chuan and his companion were certain to die and had abandoned her own plant spirit.

"O-Old, Boss, I'm sorry, I was wrong. I was short-sighted, and I'll never dare to run away again."

This woman was pretty, and she deliberately lowered her collar, her intention exceedingly obvious.

Lin Yaoyao frowned. She felt that the woman in front of her was striking this pose to deliberately seduce Li Chuan, but she had no evidence.

"Now you know you were wrong? Why were you running faster than anyone else earlier?"

"Slap yourself a hundred times, and then go cook!"

Lin Yaoyao puffed out her cheeks, looking pretty and cute.

Yet the words she uttered were exceptionally ruthless.

Cheng Nannan looked aggrievedly at Li Chuan.

Li Chuan gave her a cold glance.

"Do as she says!"

The woman bit her lip, not daring to refuse, and raised her hand to slap her own face.

Slap, slap, slap.

The sound of the slaps was exceptionally crisp.

Li Chuan felt not a shred of pity. If it weren't for the fact that finding a Level 3 chef wasn't easy, he certainly would not have allowed this woman back here.

Several players who had intended to defect to Li Chuan were dissuaded by this scene.

"Damn, these two are strong, but they're psycho."

"Yeah, what decent person likes watching someone else slap themselves in the mouth?"

"Let's go, let's go. Defecting to people like this means you'll die a miserable death."

……

Many players turned and left before even getting close.

Li Chuan nodded silently.

That's right!

He was struggling to protect himself like a clay bodhisattva crossing a river; how could he have the spare energy to help others?

It was good that they left, sparing him from wasting his breath.

Yet there were still players who refused to believe this and insisted on cozying up to Li Chuan.

"Great master, I am a Level 3 blacksmith. Do I qualify to join you?"

Li Chuan raised his head.

"What can a Level 3 blacksmith do?"

That player's expression was quite proud.

"I can craft green equipment below Level 20!"

"Scram!"

"I am an archer, Level 19, with three pieces of blue equipment!"

"Heh, scram as well!"

"That fat cow in the back, Yang Liu, is it? You'd better scram quickly, or I'm afraid I won't be able to help beating you up!"

The surroundings of the Miracle Tree quickly quieted down. Aside from Cheng Nannan the chef, not a single other player managed to join.

……

The afterglow of the setting sun completely vanished, and a moon emitting a pale white glow slowly rose.

Li Chuan silently looked at the moon hanging in the sky.

This moon had far too little presence; its appearance time each day couldn't even match that of the sunset.

Before long, a white fog rose, completely covering every area except the plant spirits.

The temperature grew colder and colder. Boulders, yellow sand, plant spirits, and everything else were covered in a layer of white frost.

"Ooh, it's so freezing. I feel like this place is colder than all the previous zones combined."

Lin Yaoyao, wearing leather armor, hugged her shoulders.

Li Chuan nodded thoughtfully.

"The desert naturally has a huge temperature difference between day and night, and there's no dry firewood here that can be burned. Looks like tonight is going to be rough."

Lin Yaoyao looked at Li Chuan.

"Then hurry up and take out the tent! If we freeze all night, how are we supposed to complete the quest tomorrow?"

Li Chuan stopped admiring the moon and took out the Giant's Marching Tent, covering a space under the canopy of the small green tree.

The temperature inside the tent was moderate, no longer so cold.

Lin Yaoyao took a sleeping bag out of her backpack and cozily crawled into it.

"Goodnight, Brother Chuan."

A sleeping bag?!

Li Chuan felt a trace of envy, wondering where this girl had managed to get one.

However, he had plenty of animal skins, and sleeping on them would be quite warm as well.

Li Chuan spread out the animal skins opposite Lin Yaoyao and was just about to sleep when a faint voice came from outside the tent.

"Brother Chuan, I-I'm very cold too. Can I come into the tent to rest for a bit?"

After a brief hesitation, Li Chuan agreed.

After all, he couldn't just let the newly recruited chef freeze to death outside.

"Come in, find a place to sleep yourself, but don't forget breakfast tomorrow morning."

"I-I know, Boss."

……

Into the night, unaware of how much time had passed, Li Chuan vaguely felt a smooth, tender little hand petting him.

A jolt of shock went through his heart, and he instantly opened his eyes wide!

"What are you doing?"

Li Chuan was astonished to discover that the person kneeling in front of him, slipping her little hand inside his clothes, was none other than Cheng Nannan.