Chapter 17 Ah! Goodness!

Han Jia Gongzi getting up and saying "goodbye" were undoubtedly signals. As soon as he finished speaking, Zhan Wushang practically flew off his seat, charging out without regard for friend or foe. With his might, this charge would break through to the doorway, carving a path of blood.

His valiant actions would undoubtedly attract the majority of the opponents' attention. In gaming terms, the enemies' aggro was focused entirely on Zhan Wushang for the moment. Han Jia Gongzi raised his hand, casting a healing spell and followed closely behind. Jian Gui and You Ge flanked left and right, while Yu Tian Shen Ming covered the rear, firing an arrow backward at Ye Xiaowu.

But Ye Xiaowu, though only a low-level priest, reacted quickly. Coupled with his unmatched familiarity with the game, he seemed to have anticipated the arrow. The moment Yu Tian Shen Ming released the bowstring, he saw the guy diving under the table.

This greatly surprised Yu Tian Shen Ming. Could this arrogant, God-like guy really be this pathetic in a real fight?

"Trash!" Yu Tian Shen Ming spat disdainfully before following the other four out of the tavern. The entire process took less than five seconds, proceeding far more smoothly than they had imagined.

"My charge was too valiant," Zhan Wushang thought. "We were able to break out thanks to my efforts."

"The teamwork was amazing, not a single mistake," You Ge also praised. As someone whose individual strength was not outstanding, yet was in a group of outstanding individuals, he liked to emphasize the team's accomplishments.

"No ambush outside," Jian Gui sighed in relief. How could he not be upset about losing a level? But there were priorities. This wasn't the time to dwell on it. They were escaping the encirclement to avoid losing another level. They succeeded this time, but he'd already dropped one, a real mix of elation and sorrow.

Of course, exiting the tavern didn't mean it was over. The group continued to run, deliberately choosing complex and winding alleys. This was naturally to accommodate some of the slower comrades. Without this game of hide-and-seek, it would be difficult to guarantee their escape.

"Trash, trash, trash!! Hahahaha!" Yu Tian Shen Ming, bringing up the rear, cursed and laughed like a madman. By now, they were conservatively five hundred meters away from the tavern and had changed alleys three times, yet he was still in this state.

"What's wrong?" Everyone finally couldn't help but ask.

"That trash, I scared him under the table with one arrow," Yu Tian Shen Ming said smugly.

"Is that so?" Han Jia Gongzi suddenly stopped.

"Hurry up!" You Ge tugged at him while nervously looking around. Not particularly fast himself, coupled with his cautious nature, You Ge wouldn't feel at ease until they were five thousand meters away.

"Don't panic," Han Jia Gongzi waved his hand. "Is anyone chasing us?"

"Didn't see anyone!" Everyone shook their heads. They were too busy running, immediately turning into alleys upon exiting the tavern. Those who occasionally looked back didn't see anyone, and felt they had escaped quite successfully.

"Something's fishy," Han Jia Gongzi said, waving his hand. "Yu Tian, go back and take a look."

So Yu Tian Shen Ming turned around and looked, then turned back. "No one!"

"Damn!" Everyone gave him the middle finger.

"You want me to go die!" Yu Tian Shen Ming wailed. Although they usually called themselves experts, fighting a group was something only experts like Gu Fei could do. They were both experts, but Gu Fei was an alien-level, of the Saiyan variety. Yu Tian Shen Ming considered himself an Earthling and didn't want to be compared to a Saiyan.

"This breakout was a little too smooth, wasn't it?" Han Jia Gongzi said.

"All thanks to my charge! Wonderful!" Zhan Wushang gave himself a thumbs up.

"The cooperation was excellent," You Ge also praised.

"No ambush outside the door," Jian Gui said.

"The boss was intimidated by me," Yu Tian Shen Ming said.

The four finally spoke their unspoken thoughts. Han Jia Gongzi gave them all the middle finger in disdain.

"You think they were letting us go?" You Ge said.

"Think about that guy's boastful, God-like appearance. He doesn't seem like the type to crawl under a table," Han Jia Gongzi said.

"Then what can we do? My unparalleled arrow..." Yu Tian Shen Ming started bragging again, but what he said made sense. At that distance, without Gu Fei's Saiyan-like skills, he could only use the terrain advantage of the tavern and crawl under the table. Ye Xiaowu's actions, though lacking in style, were reasonable and effective.

"Just find a heavily armored warrior to hold a shield in front of you, and then shoot!" Han Jia Gongzi said.

"My sudden arrow..."

"Sudden my ass. Even a level 36 priest has the skill to dodge under a table. What's so sudden about it?" Han Jia Gongzi interrupted directly.

"That guy anticipated Yu Tian Shen Ming's arrow but didn't do anything to defend against it, ultimately making such an embarrassing dodge. Is that what you mean?" You Ge summarized.

Han Jia Gongzi nodded.

"What does that mean?"

"It means those guys who pretended to be his subordinates were just putting on an act," Han Jia Gongzi said.

"What do you mean?" Yu Tian Shen Ming didn't understand.

"Brother, I'll buy you a drink. Take this red envelope and do me a favor. When you hear me speak later, stand up and look at that table of people," Han Jia Gongzi said, patting Yu Tian Shen Ming.

The other four exchanged glances. Buying a drink and giving a red envelope were just concepts Han Jia Gongzi used as examples. Everyone understood that the priest had just hired some extras to make them think they were surrounded, when in reality they were just background props who would do nothing but stand up and stare.

"No wonder the breakout was so smooth..." Jian Gui recalled that during their escape, they hadn't seen any of the players who stood up try to stop them.

"If it was a carefully planned ambush, even if we could escape, we wouldn't have gotten away without a scratch," Zhan Wushang said. After all, he was an expert and had some awareness.

"And it seems like there really aren't any pursuers..." You Ge said. Everyone had been standing here chatting for a while now, and there wasn't even a ghost behind them. It was too easy to shake them off.

"Good kid, even I was tricked," Han Jia Gongzi sneered.

"Why would he do that?" The others wondered.

"If you weren't in that kind of situation, would you have sat there and listened to him talk?" Han Jia Gongzi said.

Everyone realized. Indeed, if they weren't in that situation, who would have patiently dealt with such a hateful person one by one? Seeing that he had just killed Jian Gui, they would have just gone up and beat him to a pulp and talked later.

Ye Xiaowu gave the same answer to Duan Shui Jian in the tavern.

"Alright, let's leave quickly! Those guys are all experienced veterans and will probably realize there's a problem soon," Ye Xiaowu said to Duan Shui Jian.

"Okay," Duan Shui Jian nodded in agreement. Shortly after the members of the Gongzi Elite Team left the tavern, the two of them also hurriedly departed.

"These people all have such an attitude. This Qian Li Yi Zui is quite skilled at making friends," Ye Xiaowu sighed.

"His character is good. Although he's enthusiastic about PK, he mostly does it through wanted missions," Duan Shui Jian said.

"I know," Ye Xiaowu nodded. "But what's unreasonable is still unreasonable. Since I can't eliminate him directly, I'll have to become his opponent to restrict him."

"His friends, although not at the same level as him, will be difficult to confront head-on," Duan Shui Jian said.

"Yes, so we also need some helpers. How are the people you're contacting?" Ye Xiaowu said.

"Contacting them isn't difficult, but these people don't have a good reputation..." Duan Shui Jian said.

"I know. We're just borrowing their strength to restrict Qian Li Yi Zui. As for how they conduct themselves, we have no right to interfere, so let's just turn a blind eye for now!" Ye Xiaowu said.

"But to borrow their strength, they might also obtain some unbalanced benefits in the process. I think it's far better to let the people from earlier get them," Duan Shui Jian said.

"Hehe, don't worry! I have my own measure of this," Ye Xiaowu smiled.

"Then what did you tell those people earlier about the grotto on Cold Lake Emerald Isle?" Duan Shui Jian asked.

"That? Just like you heard, it's a boss's lair. However, Cold Lake is located in the very center of Thousand-Year Forest, which is a high-level leveling area. The high-level monsters around Cold Lake are so dense that it's impossible to pass through by manpower. To set foot on Emerald Isle, necessary scenario quests must be completed. Only after the world storyline progresses will the monster distribution change, and players will have a chance to set foot on Emerald Isle," Ye Xiaowu said.

"In other words, even if the players know the coordinates of this place in advance, they can't get there no matter what?" Duan Shui Jian said.

"That's right. The progression of the world storyline should be gradual. Qian Li Yi Zui started pushing the world storyline forward at level 30, affecting everything. This led to changes in some of the quest content in Moonlit Night City, with the difficulty suddenly increasing. Many are even currently impossible for players to complete. The guild quest chain in Cloudrise City also encountered unexpected difficulty in the Moonlit Night City segment. If Qian Li Yi Zui hadn't unexpectedly participated, it might have been stuck there." Ye Xiaowu said.

"So... isn't the game's setting imperfect?" Duan Shui Jian said.

Ye Xiaowu nodded. "That's right. They didn't expect such a strong player beforehand. Even if there was such a strong player, they didn't expect such a coincidence that allowed him to touch breakthrough-level quest chains that change the game world's storyline and structure so far in advance. What's more, they didn't expect him to complete them with a completion rate as high as 90%... His imbalance isn't just in strength. Unfortunately, luck is also on his side."

"I... understand a little," Duan Shui Jian nodded.

"I used to think that as the players' levels and strength increased, he might naturally be restricted. But what I didn't expect was that the higher the level, the more dominant he seems to be... Therefore, we must take action," Ye Xiaowu said.

Duan Shui Jian continued to nod.

"We don't have the ability to directly confront their team right now. Let's find a chance to divide and conquer them first!" Ye Xiaowu said.

"Okay, that thing has already been given to Ping Guo Cu," Duan Shui Jian replied.