Chapter 1 Beginning

Just as Angwing Angel and the others entered the World Barrier, Nie Yan followed closely behind, having Darkwing Dragon land at the entrance.

Nie Yan dismounted Darkwing Dragon, recalled it, glanced at the World Barrier map provided by Guo Huai, and strode inside.

System: You have discovered the World Barrier. This place is filled with danger. Do not venture alone without a strong team.

Nie Yan glanced at the system prompt, ignored it, and continued on. Spires rose high, like a forest that blotted out the sky.

Having watched many videos, he knew this terrain like the back of his hand. Weaving through them, he followed a street paved with white stone. Gradually, a bustling district appeared in the distance. The buildings there were pitch black, with stalls lining both sides of the street. Garbage was strewn everywhere, and people in black cloaks could be seen hawking their wares, creating a chaotic scene.

This area, within a radius of several thousand yards, was the City of Sin in the World Barrier.

The surrounding alleys were intricate and complex, and the layout of the buildings was a mess. Except for the central street, which was slightly wider, the rest were very narrow.

"I have excellent Poisoned Skulls here, with a curse bonus, six hundred gold coins."

"Level 160 Corpse Dismembering Axe, with magic breaking properties, only three hundred gold coins."

Seeing Nie Yan pass by, the NPCs selling items on both sides came up to peddle their wares, even tugging at Nie Yan, which annoyed him.

An NPC wearing a black cloak, his face completely hidden beneath it, grabbed Nie Yan's cloak and said, "Stranger, Dark Amulet, only six hundred gold coins."

"Sorry, I don't need it!" Nie Yan said, annoyed. He was extremely disgusted by these NPCs.

Nie Yan had hidden his information, so these NPCs couldn't see his title. If Nie Yan had joined a team, they would have been more polite to him. Since Nie Yan was alone, these snobbish NPCs assumed he was easy to bully.

These bastards. Nie Yan frowned. He hated these NPCs pulling at him. He couldn't push them away. It seemed he had to kill the chicken to scare the monkey. A sharp glint flashed in Nie Yan's eyes, and the Bloodstained Dagger slid from his sleeve into his hand.

This was the City of Sin, unlike other places. It wasn't illegal to kill here, even if you killed one or two NPCs.

"Stop, you greedy and despicable Dilson! He's my teammate, what do you think you're doing?" a delicate voice called out.

Hearing this rebuke, Dilson, the NPC who was tugging at Nie Yan's cloak, fearfully withdrew his hand.

Just as Dilson retracted his hand, Nie Yan silently put the Bloodstained Dagger away.

"Respected Miss Mingyue Wushuang, I apologize. I didn't know he was your friend," Dilson said, terrified. "Please forgive my offense."

"Scram," the crisp voice said in a low voice.

Dilson ran away in a panic.

Nie Yan looked towards the source of the voice and saw a fair-skinned, slender elven female mage with bright eyes and white teeth standing about five or six yards away from him. She wore a silver-white mage robe, and wisps of Xuanbing Qi (Mystic Ice Energy) danced around her, setting off her beauty even more.

Since elves were generally handsome and beautiful, Nie Yan wasn't surprised to see this Mingyue Wushuang. She was just a normal elven female mage.

Mingyue Wushuang? Nie Yan suddenly remembered the name. This elven female mage was quite famous in the Satreen Empire, consistently ranking among the top three mages.

"Thank you," Nie Yan said.

"You're welcome. It's best not to come to the City of Sin alone without a team. Be careful of getting into trouble. Hurry and leave," Mingyue Wushuang said with a friendly smile, exuding an indescribable charm.

"I have a task to do here, so I can't go back for the time being," Nie Yan explained, preparing to leave. In fact, he didn't need help, but Mingyue Wushuang's appearance had indeed helped him resolve a problem.

"Is that so? Doing a task here alone, be careful of being targeted by NPCs. They are different from the NPCs in other places. They will use all kinds of despicable means to steal or even rob you of your money and items," Mingyue Wushuang said. "If you don't mind, you can follow our team. That way, you won't be targeted by NPCs."

Nie Yan was stunned. He looked at Mingyue Wushuang. From her eyes, he could see that she was sincere. To meet a stranger on the street and invite them to follow her team because she was worried about them getting into trouble, this Mingyue Wushuang was too much of a good person.

"I don't even know your name after talking for so long." Mingyue Wushuang's bright eyes looked at Nie Yan, blinking with curiosity.

"Mo Yan," Nie Yan fabricated a name.

"Is that the Mo Yan who doesn't talk much?" Mingyue Wushuang asked. Although the distance between them was only two or three yards, an excellent distance for a thief to strike, Mingyue Wushuang didn't seem to have any wariness towards Nie Yan. He wondered if it was because she was absolutely confident or just because she was a bimbo.

Looking at the message bar, over sixty members of the Ni Ren Tribe (Crazy Niu Tribe) were nearby. They had concealed their identities, wearing cloaks to hide in the crowd. They had discovered a large number of people from Angel Corps. With such animosity between the two groups, a chaotic battle was inevitable if they encountered each other.

Nie Yan looked into the distance and saw a group of Angel Corps members gathered at the entrance of a building, seemingly doing something while remaining fully vigilant.

Mingyue Wushuang was watching Nie Yan. She had noticed him as soon as he entered the City of Sin. Her first reaction was that this cloaked guy was not simple. So, when Nie Yan was being harassed by some NPCs, she took the initiative to help him out, wanting to make friends with him. In the Satreen Empire, she could be considered widely connected, and befriending an expert was definitely a good investment. Although that was her thought, she was still open-minded and didn't have any ulterior motives towards Nie Yan.

Mingyue Wushuang invited Nie Yan to join her team, but Nie Yan declined.

Soon, Nie Yan met Mingyue Wushuang's teammates, a total of sixteen people. Their equipment was quite good, and they had a variety of classes. Their average level reached one hundred and forty, making them a very strong team. It wasn't easy for non-guild players to gather such a group of people and form a team.

"Hello, you're the friend named Mo Yan that the beautiful Mingyue mentioned? I'm Taro." A burly, nearly six-foot-three giant of a man grinned heartily and extended his hand, his tone very sincere.

"Hey, hello, I'm Sonata."

"Hello!"

The crowd greeted enthusiastically, teasing and joking with each other.

Nie Yan was stunned. He sensed an unprecedented purity from these people. They didn't seem to have much cunning, and they weren't as wary of strangers as ordinary players were. It was surprising to find such an unusual group in Faith.

Nie Yan remembered that when he first entered the game, he was also clueless, friendly, and trusting. It wasn't until he was scammed countless times that he realized that the game was a world of intrigue and deception. To survive in this world, he had to learn to be smarter.

Nie Yan fell silent. Perhaps this group of people truly treated Faith as a game, while he treated it as a mission.

"Hello," Nie Yan nodded, feeling a long-lost sense of kinship from these people.

"Brother, what task are you doing in the World Barrier alone? If you need help, we might be able to assist you," Taro said. "I was also alone at first, without a single friend. Later, I joined this team and made so many friends."

"Aren't you afraid of being scammed by me?"

"We don't think you're that kind of person. Besides, it's just a game. It's not a big deal if we get scammed. We're more interested in making like-minded friends," Taro said with a smile.

"I've decided to do that task on my own. It was nice meeting you all. I have to go now," Nie Yan said, turning to leave. He still decided not to be with these people, to avoid getting them into trouble.

Seeing Nie Yan turn and leave, Mingyue Wushuang and Taro looked bewildered.

"Maybe he doesn't need our help. Never mind," Taro said to Mingyue Wushuang. Since Nie Yan insisted on leaving, they wouldn't force him.

"Yeah," Mingyue Wushuang nodded.

After saying goodbye to Mingyue Wushuang and the others, Nie Yan walked towards the area where the Angel Corps players were gathered.

"Report your positions!" Nie Yan said in the regional group chat.

"Coordinates 238.281.28."

"Coordinates 232.282.81."

Nie Yan's eyes swept across the crowd, locking onto the people wearing gray cloaks. They were all members of the Ni Ren Tribe! Brilliant Knives and the others were in the World Barrier dungeon, so those left here were second-tier players, arranged by Brilliant Knives and the others to gather information. Their combat power wasn't strong.

"How many people from Angel Corps are there?" Nie Yan asked in the group chat.

"Reporting, Boss Nie Yan, there are over a thousand, some of them are in the dungeon, and there are sixty or so here, all top elites from Angel Corps," a thief player replied.

Nie Yan looked towards the area where the Angel Corps players were gathered. They were clustered around the entrance of a building in front of them, chatting in twos and threes, seemingly relaxed and leisurely. However, their sharp eyes occasionally scanned the crowd, proving that they weren't completely unguarded.

Wondering what they were doing there, Nie Yan was about to sneak over to take a look when a player wearing blue armor and holding a longbow walked out of the building. The Angel Corps players moved aside, looking respectful.

Seeing that person, Nie Yan's pupils suddenly contracted. It was him again!

This person was none other than the leader of Angel Corps, Angwing Angel!

The corners of Nie Yan's mouth turned up in a cold smile. This world was truly small.