Chapter 45 A Series of Misfortunes

Wu Ye walked shoulder to shoulder with his former director colleague, their relationship neither particularly good nor particularly bad. In the past, they would never have walked together in such silence. Yingqi Studio was a large and successful enterprise, managed by nineteen directors, and any two of them could talk endlessly about business. But now, both were tacitly silent, especially about the current wave of resignations; they didn't mention a single word. Wu Ye couldn't help but think of the director he'd encountered during the previous inventory check, who had expressed astonishment that Wu Ye was still stubbornly clinging to Yingqi and had vehemently tried to convince him of his error, which had left Wu Ye extremely depressed. Was his choice wrong? He simply had no choice at all...

"Almost there, just ahead," Wu Ye's former colleague said, pointing forward.

Wu Ye nodded and forced a smile, "Much stuff?"

"Quite a bit," the other replied.

"Let's get it done quickly then!" Wu Ye said.

"Mm!" The other nodded, quickened his pace, and walked ahead. Reaching the entrance, he opened the door and said, "Once the inventory is confirmed, I'll transfer the permissions to you." He stepped aside, saying, "Come in!" But when he turned back, Wu Ye was nowhere to be seen.

The colleague looked around, bewildered. Where was Wu Ye's figure? He hurriedly sent a message: "Where are you?"

"I was killed..." Wu Ye replied, utterly dejected. He was truly having a run of terrible luck; he hadn't provoked anyone, yet he'd been killed while simply walking down the street. Wu Ye didn't even know who had killed him. He'd only felt a pain in his waist. The attacker's power was undoubtedly high, taking him out in two hits.

"What the hell..." Wu Ye cursed the player who killed him from the resurrection point, then resentfully sent a message to his inventory colleague: "Wait a sec, I'll be right there."

He flipped through his scrolls, teleported, and started walking back toward the street, his mind still occupied with the event...

Yun Zhongmu's three brothers were stunned. As soon as Yun Zhongmu had revealed himself, they had prepared to rush forward and help, but the opponent had turned into white light as soon as Yun Zhongmu appeared. The kill was utterly decisive. Even more laughable was that his companion was completely oblivious; even after his friend was dead, he was still looking around for him. These guys were truly flowers grown in a greenhouse, with absolutely no PK (player versus player) awareness.

As the three of them looked down on the colleague, Yun Zhongmu turned back, shook his head, and said, "Boring. So weak. There's no sense of accomplishment in killing such an opponent."

"What's next?" the three asked.

"He should return. Let's wait a little longer." Yun Zhongmu waited for his Stealth cooldown, then activated it again. The four continued to lie in wait on the street while also alerting the others, informing them that they had succeeded and that everyone should be vigilant; the target might switch to their location.

As it turned out, Wu Ye's combat awareness was indeed lacking. Being killed once, he still thought it was a misunderstanding. He knew he was weak and fragile, and that encountering a PK could be dangerous, with stray spells or arrows easily taking him out. But the street had seemed so peaceful! He asked his colleague, who had no idea how he had died and therefore couldn't say what had happened on the street. The colleague only said that everything seemed normal when he discovered Wu Ye's absence.

Wu Ye still felt uneasy, but because he didn't care much about levels, he didn't think too much about it. Of the nineteen Yingqi Studio directors, four were deeply interested in the game and used the studio's equipment for their own purposes, achieving high levels. Three had no interest in the game at all and hadn't even reached level ten. The vast majority were ambiguous, using the game as a form of entertainment when they had nothing else to do. Although they played casually, they had still leveled up on their own, so losing levels would be painful. But Wu Ye was preoccupied, and he no longer cared about such things.

Yun Zhongmu and the others didn't have to wait long. Wu Ye teleported directly to Balzer City using a scroll, then made his way to the street. As a bowman, he wasn't slow. He reappeared at the street entrance in just over ten minutes. He was in a hurry, so he wasn't strolling along this time; he was running. The game was different from real-world streets. In the game, players all had incredible stamina. Unless they needed to match the speed of their team, they would run about eighty percent of the time, especially veteran players. Aside from shopping areas, the streets and avenues were full of running players.

Wu Ye ran all the way, but Yun Zhongmu was also an expert, calculating Wu Ye's route and quietly standing to the side, waiting for Wu Ye to run past him.

Wu Ye didn't disappoint him. He ran in a straight line, and the moment he passed Yun Zhongmu, Yun Zhongmu stabbed out with his dagger.

This showed just how poor Wu Ye's PK awareness was. Even after being stabbed, he still ran forward like an idiot! But it was this idiotic, unreactive running that allowed Wu Ye to avoid Yun Zhongmu's second stab. After running a few steps, Wu Ye turned back, and Yun Zhongmu, having revealed himself, dashed in front of him. The two were face to face. Yun Zhongmu was wearing assassin gear, covering his face, but Wu Ye didn't recognize him. He simply shouted, "Who are you?"

Yun Zhongmu had already stabbed him in the heart. He despised those who liked to give long-winded speeches before delivering a fatal blow. Of course, in the real world, people died after a fatal blow, so they had no chance to speak anymore, which was understandable. But in a game, Yun Zhongmu thought it was idiotic to put on such a show. Determined not to be an idiot, Yun Zhongmu didn't say a word to Wu Ye and killed him...

Being killed again while facing the killer, it was hard to argue that it was a misunderstanding. Wu Ye realized that this was clearly an assassination attempt. And who would want to kill him right now? The answer was obvious: Qianli Yizui and his crew. Wu Ye was frustrated, regretting that while he could stir up a small storm in the game's economic sphere, he was nothing but cannon fodder in the realm of combat and PK.

Wu Ye had entered the game on the first day of Parallel World's open beta, working diligently but leveling up at a snail's pace. After the efficiency leveling method negotiation was cut down by Qianli Yizui, and the Yingqi Studio in Moonlit Night City was slaughtered by the Ten Guild Alliance, his level was still only 35. Being killed twice by Yun Zhongmu had dropped him to level 33. His strength was so low that Yun Zhongmu's group of four could only be described as not wanting to waste teleport scroll slots. With Wu Ye's strength, anyone from the Ten Guild Alliance could take him down.

Although furious, Wu Ye still prioritized work and first sent a message to his colleague: "I can't come over for a while. Someone's trying to kill me."

"What happened?"

"Sigh, it's a long story," Wu Ye said.

"Is it someone you offended in Cloud Reaches City?" Wu Ye's situation had been discussed at the meeting. Although the directors had been distracted, they were at least aware of it.

"Probably!"

"What do we do now?" his colleague asked.

"Could you make a scroll in the warehouse, then come out and mail it to me?" Wu Ye said.

"Okay!" The colleague nodded, created a scroll with the coordinates, and was about to go out to the mailbox when he saw Yun Zhongmu and three other burly men blocking the door, their faces grim. "Where do you think you're going?"

This sight would frighten many players, but this studio employee, who didn't care much about levels, wasn't particularly concerned about the potential danger. He smiled and said, "What do you want?"

"Are you from Yingqi?" Yun Zhongmu asked.

The colleague hesitated. Should he say he was, or wasn't?

Yun Zhongmu saw his hesitation and guessed that this guy was one of the employees involved in the resignation storm. He patted him on the shoulder and said, "We're targeting Yingqi. It has nothing to do with you anymore. Don't get involved."

The colleague smiled, "I'm just doing my job."

"Your job can wait. It's not like Wu Ye will disappear," Yun Zhongmu said.

The colleague shook his head.

Yun Zhongmu knew that the other party was so fearless because he didn't care about levels. After assessing him, he found that the man was level 36, which was trash to Yun Zhongmu. So he immediately adjusted his strategy and asked, "Which studio are you with now?" Yun Zhongmu had listened carefully to Han Jia Gongzi's words. Han Jia Gongzi had said that they were poaching, which meant that the Yingqi employees had simply switched to another studio.

The colleague was still hesitating to answer Yun Zhongmu's question, but Yun Zhongmu didn't need to hear his answer. He continued, "I don't think you want to bring trouble to your new boss, do you?"

The man was startled. He hadn't expected the other party to use such threats. All eighteen directors had switched to Yunteng, but Yunteng Studio couldn't compare to Yingqi in scale. It was still unknown how they would be integrated, or whether they could retain positions of power and influence like director. Not only would they have to compete with Yunteng's existing employees, but the eighteen of them were also starting on a new starting line. The path ahead required them to carefully navigate. But if he brought trouble to the studio before even starting, his starting line would be pushed back.

Yun Zhongmu, clearly afraid that the other party would suspect his threats were empty, gave a clear indication of his identity: "We're from the Ten Guild Alliance. I think you know our power."

The Ten Guild Alliance had made a mess of Yingqi's business in Moonlit Night City. The studio wasn't afraid of fighting and killing, but it was very afraid of this kind of resistance. The colleague immediately decided that he absolutely couldn't offend this troublemaker for his new employer. "In that case, can I just log off?"

"Sure, we'll escort you," Yun Zhongmu said.

The colleague smiled and expressed his gratitude. Yun Zhongmu left two brothers and escorted the colleague to the resurrection point to log off. After the coercion, he also needed to offer some incentives. Yun Zhongmu was now full of tricks. He asked, "Which studio are you with, buddy? Since you're giving us face today, I'll tell my brothers to support your business in the future."

The colleague was naturally delighted to hear this. Establishing a stable business relationship with a large guild like the Ten Guild Alliance was something that studios greatly desired. He hurriedly replied, "Thank you very much. I'm Sheng Ru Xia from Yunteng Studio. My specific role hasn't been decided yet, but once I officially join, I'll definitely give you brothers preferential treatment."

"That's great!" Yun Zhongmu laughed.

"Looking at your aura, you must be Yun Zhongmu, the leader of the Ten Guild Alliance?" Sheng Ru Xia wasn't a director from Moonlit Night City, so he only cared about the power dynamics in his own main city. He had heard of the Ten Guild Alliance, but he didn't know who the leader was. He had only found out Yun Zhongmu's name just now, so he immediately used it to flatter Yun Zhongmu.

Yun Zhongmu smiled, "That's me."

The two flattered each other, becoming as close as family. A moment later, they arrived at the resurrection point. Sheng Ru Xia sent a message to Wu Ye, saying that he had an urgent matter to deal with offline and that they would schedule the inventory check for later. He didn't give Wu Ye a chance to reply and immediately logged off, waving goodbye to Yun Zhongmu as he left.

Wu Ye received Sheng Ru Xia's message and then saw Sheng Ru Xia log off. He didn't know what had happened. But in any case, the inventory check couldn't be done here. Wu Ye had no choice but to contact another director who was online. This director was one of the four who loved the game. His new employer hadn't assigned him any work yet, and his turn for the old employer's inventory check hadn't come yet, so he was free.

This colleague's identity was a studio director, but he was also an elite member of a guild in his own main city. He was currently leveling up with his team, flirting with the female priest in the group. Receiving Wu Ye's message asking him to go to the studio was a disappointment. He replied unhappily, "Isn't it my turn tomorrow?" Their inventory checks were all scheduled.

Wu Ye was helpless, "Sheng Ru Xia suddenly has something to do, and we can't just sit idle. Please come over!"

The colleague had no choice but to agree, "Then you come over!"

He then announced to his team, "Everyone, keep leveling. I have something to do. I need to go back and hand over a few million gold coins worth of supplies."

"Bullshit!" The members of his team were his gaming buddies and didn't know about his fancy identity as a studio director. A few million gold coins worth of goods would certainly be considered a super whale. Everyone laughed. The colleague didn't explain, just smiled and left. He enjoyed this feeling and often dreamed of the day he could take out a large amount of supplies from his studio and show them what was what. But this would remain a dream. He thought it was better to keep public and private matters separate.

The colleague returned to the city quickly, urging Wu Ye along the way. He was eager to go back and level up with the priest!

Wu Ye had already prepared a scroll for that main city and teleported over, then followed the coordinates to find the location.

Chuck Main City was in the same series as Sheng Ru Xia's Balzer Main City. The names didn't have any obvious meaning like "Shady Woods" or "Lakeside." Arriving in Chuck Main City were Yu Tian Shenming and Zhan Wu Shang. Zhan Wu Shang wanted to act alone, but Yu Tian Shenming's inability to find his way was too embarrassing. Rather than lose face with outsiders, it was better to be mocked by his own people. You Ge had gone to another city to gather intelligence, Han Jia Gongzi was acting like a boss and sitting still, Qianli Yizui was dealing with the powerful Eagle Squad, Jian Gui was in jail, Jian Nan You and the others were a group of their own, and Piaoliu was a pervert... Thus, Yu Tian Shenming finally chose to go with Zhan Wu Shang.

The two bickered all the way to Yingqi's warehouse outside Chuck Main City, which was also a large mansion. They waited, constantly ridiculing each other, until they received Yun Zhongmu's final message, stating that he had sabotaged the inventory check and that Wu Ye should change locations.

"Keep your eyes peeled," Zhan Wu Shang said to Yu Tian Shenming.

"Alright, alright. You can die now." After guiding the way, Zhan Wu Shang was immediately worthless in Yu Tian Shenming's eyes. He wished he could flush him away like toilet paper.

"Damn it, we agreed on one each!" Zhan Wu Shang said.

"But I went first," Yu Tian Shenming said.

"I know, would I really try to cheat?" Zhan Wu Shang said. The two played rock-paper-scissors to determine who had the right to kill first, and Zhan Wu Shang lost.

"Did you think you could cheat?" Yu Tian Shenming sneered. His vision was good, his speed was fast, and his range was long. Zhan Wu Shang really had no chance to cheat.

Unexpectedly, Zhan Wu Shang launched a sneak attack, knocked Yu Tian Shenming over, and stepped on him. "How about now?"

"I'll fuck your ancestors!" Yu Tian Shenming was always caught off guard by Zhan Wu Shang's sneak attacks. Both were experts, and sometimes Yu Tian Shenming was alert enough to dodge, but sometimes he would be caught. Right now, he was reveling in the pleasure of ridiculing Zhan Wu Shang and was careless.

Their fooling around naturally attracted onlookers. Zhan Wu Shang was the victor and didn't care. Yu Tian Shenming was enraged and prepared to fight desperately. His hands were still free. He drew his bow and was about to fire a powerful shot at Zhan Wu Shang, when Zhan Wu Shang quickly let go and said seriously, "Stop messing around. Let's get down to business."

"Go screw yourself!" Yu Tian Shenming still shot an arrow at Zhan Wu Shang, knowing that it wouldn't kill him.

"Keep a close watch," Zhan Wu Shang said like a big brother not minding a little insubordination from a younger brother.

Yu Tian Shenming ignored him. He looked around and suddenly said, "Speaking of which, I don't actually know that guy called Wu Ye."

"Really? I don't know him either," Zhan Wu Shang said.

"What the fuck!" Yu Tian Shenming's eyes widened. "You don't even know the guy, and you were shouting about taking care of it yourself?"

"I forgot. Damn it, you don't know him either? Why did you come with me?"

"I thought you knew him!" Yu Tian Shenming cursed.

"I don't know anyone," Zhan Wu Shang cursed back.

"Hey, could that be the egg?" The two were squatting against the wall across from the Yingqi Studio, when they saw an archer arrive in front of the Yingqi warehouse, look around, and start typing a message.

The two exchanged glances. Yu Tian Shenming nocked an arrow, drew the string, and pulled it taut. "Wu Ye!"

The man looked up. Yu Tian Shenming released the string, headshot...

"It's my turn next time," Zhan Wu Shang said.

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