Chapter 28: Triple Kill

First, he went to the exchange to convert his remaining gold coins back into blue coins. Since gold was still depreciating, there was no need to keep so much; a few dozen would suffice. When he exchanged gold in the Eastern Capital before, the rate was about six to one. Now it had dropped to just over four to one. After trading in more than twenty thousand gold coins, the blue coins he received amounted to less than a hundred thousand—a round trip loss of twenty or thirty thousand.

Once done, Zhang Shan teleported to the general store to buy enough bullets and pet food for several days, and picked up a few large healing potions. The large potion restored 500 health at once, more than sufficient for players at this stage, though it was pricey—fifty silver coins each with a long cooldown. Half a minute between uses meant he could only drink one per fight.

Afterwards, he went to the tailor and expanded his backpack to ninety-five slots. He intended to fight a protracted battle; outside the city, the Stormcloud and Heaven-Earth guilds were still clashing, ambushing each other.

Should he end up killing players with red names, Zhang Shan planned to stay outside and farm monsters. His weapon and Midas’ Hand were bound items, so even if he died, they wouldn’t drop. Now, he feared no one; anyone causing trouble would be dealt with summarily.

After storing all unnecessary materials from his backpack in the warehouse, only essential supplies and the weapon he’d just switched out—the exquisite bird musket—remained.

This level ten weapon had impressive stats; as a purple item, it was considered top-tier at this stage. If auctioned, it would fetch at least ten thousand gold coins.

After some thought, Zhang Shan abandoned the auction idea. The guild probably still had many members without purple weapons. He decided to check if anyone wanted it.

Team Channel

“Where are you fighting?”

“Bowang Wilderness. Hurry up, Artifact Master!”

“I’ll be there soon.”

“Anyone want a level ten purple musket? If not, I’ll just toss it on the auction.”

“Damn, showing off your wealth. Those with artifacts really are something. Don’t sell it; bring it to me. I’ll pay ten thousand gold coins. My weapon’s still blue!” Stormcloud Cannon complained indignantly.

“No problem, I’m on my way.”

“Brother Sixbarrel, be careful. Heaven-Earth Guild’s trash has hired a bunch of cannon fodder to hassle us. Probably plenty guarding outside the city gates. Don’t get killed right out the door.”

“No worries. Anyone asking for trouble gets sent back to town.”

“Damn, having an artifact really makes you arrogant.”

Teleporting to the city gate, Zhang Shan ran toward Bowang Wilderness.

He’d barely taken a few steps out the gate when he noticed several tails following him.

Though he saw quite a few trailing behind, Zhang Shan paid them no mind; he aimed to meet up with his guildmates as soon as possible. Those guarding the gate were mostly cannon fodder, decked out in trash gear, likely lacking even basic skills—not worth mentioning.

Zhang Shan’s shoes were purple, level five equipment, but they added five to movement speed. Anyone with lesser gear couldn’t hope to catch him, especially since agility types were naturally faster.

He quickly shook off the pursuers, and after running a bit further, saw three people blocking the main road ahead. Their character names made it clear there was no peaceful resolution.

He could have taken a detour, but Zhang Shan wasn’t inclined to do so. Might as well let his artifact stretch its legs.

Three opponents: Heaven-Earth Dragonblade, Heaven-Earth Cloudarrow, Heaven-Earth Cigarette. A berserker, an archer, and a fire mage—a decent PK combo.

Chased from behind, blocked ahead. Without hesitation, Zhang Shan charged straight forward as the three from Heaven-Earth Guild closed in.

As they entered attack range, Heaven-Earth Dragonblade launched a charge skill at Zhang Shan. This skill couldn’t be dodged; charge was uninterruptible, and unless one had a displacement skill to open distance, the target simply had to take the hit.

Luckily, the charge only slowed him, not stunned.

Zhang Shan ignored the berserker. A warrior couldn’t kill him in one blow. Better to deal with the two ranged attackers first.

He bypassed Heaven-Earth Dragonblade and targeted the mage and archer behind him.

Bang! With a single shot, Heaven-Earth Cigarette, the fire mage, dropped. At that moment, Dragonblade’s axe took three hundred health off Zhang Shan.

Without a glance, Zhang Shan continued attacking the archer. Two quick shots and Cloudarrow fell. By then, the berserker hadn’t even landed his second blow—Zhang Shan’s attack speed was too swift.

He drank a large healing potion, then fired at Dragonblade with a holy strike—ten times damage, instantly killing him.

All three Heaven-Earth Guild members fell, dropping a few junk items. Wait—Dragonblade actually dropped a green cape. What luck! A level ten green cape added 1,200 health, just what Zhang Shan needed.

“Damn, artifacts really are something,” Dragonblade muttered before vanishing in a flash of white light to revive back in town. The other two didn’t linger either, dissolving into white light.

Three felled in an instant, while the pursuers hadn’t caught up yet. Zhang Shan picked up the loot and left with style.

Having an artifact was pure joy—ten steps, one kill, not a trace left behind.

The only trouble was he’d turned red, with twenty points of sin. The berserker didn’t count, since that was retaliation; the other two had been Zhang Shan’s initiative. His first red name in the New World was thus earned.

But this was gaming—red names were normal. Even if you kept to yourself, others would still cause trouble.

Fortunately, after leaving the novice village, clearing red status wasn’t hard: ten points of sin dropped per hour online, and monster hunting cleared it faster.

The only inconvenience was that red-named players couldn’t return to town. If they did, they’d be locked in a small black room, with sin dropping at the same rate—ten per hour—but that was a miserable experience.

Additionally, red-named deaths greatly increased drop rates; items from the backpack were guaranteed to fall, and equipment had a chance to drop too, depending on luck.

But what did it matter? Artifacts and spiritual gear were bound and wouldn’t drop. The rest was expendable; Zhang Shan now had plenty of confidence.

With a conspicuous red name, Zhang Shan sped across the wilderness, occasionally encountering other players. Thankfully, no one tried to block him.

He put on the green cape, boosting his health to 1,550. A small tank, now.

“Where are you in Bowang Wilderness? I’m almost there.”

“Run for another half hour after entering the map. We’re deep inside, farming monsters. All level fifteen, no magic resistance—everyone can farm here.”

…

“That far, huh.”

No mount was a pain; still had to run for half an hour. How much player time did this game waste just running across maps?

“Are there Heaven-Earth Guild members in Bowang Wilderness? I ran into a few outside the city and went red.”

“Not sure about outside, but none inside the map now. Be careful; if you see anyone, just run. They usually can’t catch you anyway.”

“Got it.”

After entering the demon map, Zhang Shan checked his teammates’ locations—they really were far off. He started running.

As he ran, Zhang Shan stayed alert, despite his current strength. One couldn’t be too arrogant; if stunned, even he could be hacked to death.

Ordinary stuns weren’t too worrying—unless someone got close, he could avoid them. The main concern was the archer’s Meteor Arrow, a skill that could be cast from far away. If he failed to dodge, he’d be stunned for five seconds and would certainly be down.

Along the way, he saw players in small groups farming monsters. Zhang Shan avoided them when possible; if not, he’d dash past while they were engaged.

After nearly half an hour of running, no further incidents occurred, and he gradually drew closer to the other guild members.

Though Zhang Shan’s red name was conspicuous, no one bothered to attack him.

Everyone needed to level up. Aside from Heaven-Earth Guild, the game was still harmonious; people focused on leveling and avoided trouble.