Chapter 137: Heaven's Gate Pass

With the equipment distributed, it was time to consider heading to Heaven's Gate.

Things were heating up over there. Players from the seven kingdoms were locked in a chaotic, all-out brawl, though Zhang Shan had no intention of joining the slaughter. Killing people was a waste of time; while you might occasionally get some loot, the drop rate wasn't very high unless you were in a "Red Name" status.

He had no interest in player-versus-player combat, but the monsters at Heaven's Gate offered significantly higher experience points than those in standard maps. Furthermore, the map featured bosses that were ripe for the taking. It would be a disservice to his newly acquired set of level 30 red equipment if he didn't go and stir up some action. As for the risk of being killed by others? That wasn't even a concern. As long as he was careful, who could possibly take him down? With an attack power of over nine thousand, nobody could even get close to him. If he didn't go around bullying others, they should count themselves lucky.

"Anyone want to go to Heaven's Gate and hunt some players?" Fengyun Yidao asked in the party chat.

"Let's not, honestly. It’s a complete mess over there. People are fighting like rabid dogs; going there is just asking to lose levels," someone replied.

"Damn, what are you afraid of? If you die, just lie on the ground and wait for a revive. The monster experience at Heaven's Gate is huge."

"The experience doesn't matter if you can't grind in peace. What's the point?"

"Man, you guys are boring. Such a lively scene and you won't go? Boss, want to head over there and cause some trouble?"

"Not right now. It's too chaotic. Let's wait a few days for things to settle down. If you want to go, just form a group and go have fun."

"Alright. Brother Six-Tube, are you guys going?"

"We are. We'll head over to take a look, grind some mobs, and maybe hit a boss or two."

Zhang Shan was completely indifferent to the turmoil at Heaven's Gate. He was only there for the mobs and the bosses; the chaos had nothing to do with him.

"Brother Six-Tube is a legend, still thinking about bosses and mobs. Brother Yidao, you're going too, right?"

"Of course. I'm tagging along with Six-Tube. If he leaves, I can't handle the mobs alone."

"Perfect. The three of us is enough. We’ve got a healer and a DPS. We'll just kill any foreign players who look at us the wrong way. Hehe."

Once the boss was dealt with and the others scattered to grind elsewhere, Zhang Shan, Boss Wu, and Fengyun Yidao channeled their recalls to the city. To reach the Heaven's Gate map, one had to use the teleportation array within the city. Theoretically, all maps were connected—you could walk to any corner of the game world on your own two legs—but the distance was despairingly vast. Not to mention, the journey would take you through high-level monster zones, and some paths even crossed through max-level areas. As of now, no player was capable of making that trek on foot.

Back in Yangdang City, Zhang Shan asked Boss Wu, "You still have skill points saved up, right?"

"Yeah, three left. I've been picking up a few while grinding bosses with you guys. I've been holding onto them, not sure what to spend them on."

"Learn a resurrection skill. A healer without a revive just feels like something's missing."

"Got it. You guys wait a bit; I’m heading to the auction house to buy a 'Resurrection' skill book."

They had split a massive profit after selling a skill book they found recently, so buying one wasn't a problem for Boss Wu. Even though "Resurrection" was highly practical and one of the more expensive books, he could easily afford it.

"The three of us will form a party and meet at the teleportation hall. I need to repair my gear," Fengyun Yidao said before teleporting away.

Melee players’ gear durability depleted quickly; they basically had to repair daily. Zhang Shan, however, didn't need to worry about repairs. Since mobs could barely touch him, his durability dropped very slowly. He checked his inventory—his supplies were fine, he had plenty of pet food, and his ammunition count was staggering. He had crafted a massive surplus of standard bullets while leveling his Engineering skill, enough to last him two or three months. After storing his excess items, Zhang Shan teleported to the teleportation hall.

Not long after, Fengyun Yidao and Boss Wu arrived.

"Let's go. Time to hunt some players at Heaven's Gate."

"Brother Yidao, we're primarily here to grind mobs. Let's not go looking for trouble."

"Forget that. Even if you don't provoke them, they'll come for you. If we want to grind, we'll have to clear the area first."

"Fine, let's teleport first and see how it goes."

The trio used the teleportation array to arrive at the Heaven's Gate map. Heaven's Gate was a massive fortress. According to the game's lore, it was the front line where the Human race defended against the Demon invasion. The fortress was built between two mountain peaks with only one entrance and one exit. The "Heaven's Gate" map was actually the area outside the fortress gates—the Demon-held territory.

As they stepped out of the teleportation hall, they saw players from various nations everywhere, all sporting purple character names. Of course, there were plenty of Chu kingdom players as well. The regional chat channel was scrolling rapidly; chatting in the regional channel was free, after all.

"Players of the Great Qin, gather up! Let's slaughter these foreign dogs!"

"Tiandi Tulongdao, you think having numbers makes you special? Trying to camp the gates? How does it feel lying on the ground now?"

"Damn Chu dogs! All Qi kingdom players, get over here! We're corpse-camping them for an hour until they lose levels!"

"What a bunch of trash. Camping the gates in a public map? Do you think you're Aotian?"

"Any brothers from Chu here? Help! Save me!"

*Damn it,* Zhang Shan thought. *What is going on? We just got here—are we going to be targeted immediately?* The people from Tiandi Tulongdao were truly experts at drawing aggro. Now, all Chu players were being dragged into the crossfire.

"What do we do? Can we even leave the city? I don't want to step out and immediately get chased by hundreds of people." Even though Fengyun Yidao was a PK maniac, seeing the regional chat full of people targeting Chu players made him nervous. No matter how good your skills were, you couldn't beat a mob. There were only three of them; they couldn't possibly fight hundreds of players at once.

"Don't worry. Even if they're targeting Chu players, it doesn't matter. Players from different nations could never truly unite."

"That's true. Those other six nations aren't even verbal allies; it's a miracle if they aren't stabbing each other in the back. How could they possibly cooperate to target Chu?"

"Exactly. The game design pits the seven kingdoms against each other; anyone can attack anyone. You can't trust anyone who isn't from your own nation."

"Screw it. We're going out. I'll take the lead. You guys just watch my flanks—if you see anyone from another nation, take them out. Let's just fight our way out first."

Zhang Shan summoned his Panda Cub and led Fengyun Yidao and Boss Wu straight toward the city gates. Teleportation was disabled within Heaven's Gate, so they had to run. Fortunately, the teleportation hall wasn't too far from the gates; it would only take about ten minutes to reach them.