Chapter 1 The Beginning

With his account balance greatly increased, Xu Jingming was in a good mood. He smiled and said, "Old Zhang, both of your transactions involved people directly offering sacrifices. It seems there are quite a few Cosmic Professional Players who directly purchase ‘10,000 gold’ for sacrifices."

"There are quite a few," the old man admitted. "The sacrifices in the Blood Rain World are an opportunity! A chance to rise to the heavens in one step! So, many talented Cosmic Professional Players are willing to directly sacrifice 10,000 gold to try their luck. But the amount of ‘gold and silver’ in the Blood Rain World is limited. Only in the imperial capital will you find gold and silver relatively abundant… In ordinary cities, it’s too difficult to gather 10,000 gold."

Xu Jingming understood.

"Cosmic Professional Player customers who want to buy 10,000 gold are all queuing up," the old man said. "What limits their ‘sacrifices’ is the scarcity of gold and silver in the Blood Rain World."

Xu Jingming nodded slightly. "Perhaps this is a restriction deliberately set by the Blood Rain World."

"It is."

The old man nodded. "The Blood Rain World officials are, after all, officials! If they want gold and silver to flood the market, the amount of gold and silver will immediately increase. If they want to tighten the supply of ‘gold and silver,’ the difficulty for players to obtain them will immediately rise. Let me remind you again… it's best not to carry more than 10,000 gold on your person in the Blood Rain World."

"Understood," Xu Jingming certainly understood.

"Also, it's best not to have your total accumulated gold and silver exceed 100,000 gold," the old man said. "Once you exceed 100,000 gold! The world will strongly target you, making it difficult to move an inch within the Blood Rain World."

"Accumulated no more than 100,000 gold?" Xu Jingming understood.

This was information that Pang Ze didn't even know.

The old man chatted with Xu Jingming for a while before leaving.

…

Virtual World Network, Xu Jingming's personal space.

Inside a private living room of the spaceship, Xu Jingming sat on the sofa, drinking wine and watching the cosmic starry sky scene outside the spaceship's glass.

"My account balance is already 900 million. Gathering 10,000 gold isn't difficult anymore. I can easily complete a few assassination missions to gather it," Xu Jingming tapped open his personal combat power panel, observing his own realm. "But my Rainbow Penetrating Lance Technique is only at sixth-order 98%."

After igniting his Light of the Heart, Xu Jingming diligently practiced his spear techniques every day. His spear techniques were slowly improving, but clearly still far from the seventh order.

"Sacrificing 10,000 gold to obtain an opportunity is something that each player in the Blood Rain World only gets once in their lifetime! I can't waste this precious opportunity. I must reach the seventh order before going to the mysterious place," Xu Jingming thought to himself.

Every step he took had to be cautious.

He was Blue Star's number one genius! He was also the one who had progressed furthest on Blue Star's evolutionary path.

If he carelessly wasted this opportunity, it would not only affect his own future, but most importantly… it would affect the future of the entire Blue Star civilization.

Therefore, he had to be extremely cautious!

Xu Jingming gently tapped open his personal friends list and invited three friends.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Three figures quickly arrived. It was Liu Hai, Tu Ling, and Zhang Qing.

"Masters, please sit," Xu Jingming said, standing up.

Zhang Qing curiously sat down on the sofa to the side, picked up the wine glass in front of her, and said with a smile, "How would our current Blue Star number one expert think of contacting me, a newly ascended Cosmic Professional Player?"

Liu Hai and Tu Ling also sat down, looking at Xu Jingming.

"I'm conducting a plan in the Blood Rain World," Xu Jingming said with a smile. "My master and Tu Ling are also helping me. I would also like to ask Sister Zhang for help. Don't worry, it won't take more than ten days! The hiring fee is 1 million cosmic coins. Entering the Blood Rain World for the first time requires 100,000 cosmic coins, and turning on ‘smart auto-farming’ also requires 100,000 cosmic coins. So, what Sister Zhang actually receives is 800,000 cosmic coins."

"Master, Tu Ling, the next ten days will also require the two of you to work hard. The fee is also 1 million cosmic coins each," Xu Jingming said.

"Xu-ge, aren't you just hiring us?" Tu Ling said.

"The next ten days will be very tiring," Xu Jingming said. "It's not quite the same as the previous hiring, so naturally, the price must be increased. Don't worry… I've earned quite a bit from this plan. Consider it a red envelope for you, Master."

"Mr. Pang gave me a red envelope, and Jingming, you're also giving red envelopes. Okay, I know you've earned a lot, so I'll accept it," Liu Hai said without declining.

"I know that you and Mr. Pang are both especially rich. I'm a newcomer, so I won't be polite. I'll just consider it eating off the rich," Tu Ling said happily.

Seeing this, Zhang Qing didn't refuse either.

Xu Jingming said, "Let me tell you about the task for the next ten days."

As he spoke, a map of the Yang manor and the surrounding streets and alleys appeared.

"This is the scene around the Yang manor in the imperial capital of the Blood Rain World," Xu Jingming said. "From today onwards, we need to monitor the large teams coming out of the Yang manor. The Yang family's teams only have two key exits, one here, and one here."

Xu Jingming pointed to two street intersections.

"My master and I will monitor during the day, each monitoring an intersection," Xu Jingming said. "Tu Ling and Sister Zhang will be responsible for monitoring at night. Night is actually easier because the city gates are closed at night! There are fewer people on the streets at night, making it unsuitable for the Yang family's teams to hide. So, it's unlikely that they'll leave the Yang manor at night. But we still have to be cautious and ensure that someone is watching both day and night."

"These are the personnel that need to be watched," Xu Jingming took out some video images of people.

The information in these video images was purchased from the Virtual World Network, and some was obtained from interrogating Yang Liao.

"My goal this time is the team led by Yang Liao," Xu Jingming said. "The confirmed list of 80 people under his command is all here!"

…

Yes.

The reason for letting Yang Liao live was that Xu Jingming believed that ‘Yang Liao’ was an easy target and had also selected Yang Liao's team as his target.

"The Yang family doesn't trust these guards and has even temporarily restrained them within the Yang manor, fearing that these guards will leak secrets. Once they act… the guards should be divided into teams of dozens of people, even if they are separated. Too small teams are easily out of control," Xu Jingming was in a rented two-story residence. The window of this residence happened to be able to see the intersection.

Xu Jingming silently kept watch.

There was no need to pay attention to three or five pedestrians. Only slightly larger teams needed to be observed.

Xu Jingming had locked onto the list of 80 people! He had video images of each person.

Monitoring was very boring! Those hired players were receiving fixed remuneration. Xu Jingming couldn't guarantee whether they would be wholeheartedly devoted to it. That was why he asked three fellow villagers, Liu Hai, Tu Ling, and Zhang Qing, for help.

As for not using ‘smart auto-farming,’ it was because the ‘images’ recorded in the Virtual World Network were unknown to the AI. ‘AI’ could accept commands and know everything that happened in the Blood Rain World. But some experiences in the Virtual World Network were unknown to the AI. ‘It’ could not recognize those 80 people.

Night fell.

"Xu-ge," Tu Ling arrived, carrying some food and other items. "I'm here to take over."

"Thanks for your hard work," Xu Jingming also packed up some of the food he had eaten during the day, carried the basket, and walked out.

…

Xu Jingming and Tu Ling fixed one monitoring location, while Liu Hai and Zhang Qing fixed another monitoring location.

When the Yang manor's team went out, they had to pass through one of the intersections.

"The Yang manor has been sending out teams occasionally recently," Liu Hai said, eating a pancake and patiently watching. "But I haven't found any of the 80 people that need to be monitored."

Just then—

A team of eighty or ninety people passed by the intersection.

"Hmm?"

Liu Hai suddenly perked up. Having reached the cellular level of control, his eyesight was extremely sharp. He immediately noticed that more than thirty people in this team were people from the images Xu Jingming had given him.

He might miss one or two people, but with more than thirty people, Liu Hai noticed them with a single glance.

"They're out," Liu Hai said, somewhat excited.

Liu Hai immediately disconnected his consciousness from the Blood Rain World and instantly sent a message to Xu Jingming: "Jingming, I've found a team, estimated to be 89 people. Among them, 35 people are on your list."

"Master, carefully follow them. Don't let them discover you," Xu Jingming also sent a message online.

"Don't worry."

Liu Hai was quite confident. He immediately left his residence and carefully followed them.

******

Imperial capital, on an official road in the southern city gate, Xu Jingming, Tu Ling, and Zhang Qing all rushed here.

"The Yang family's team is going to the Eastern Territory! To go to the Eastern Territory, they must move south, and they will most likely pass through this official road," Xu Jingming said. "However, it's too close to the city gate here, not suitable for action. Once we take action, it will attract the imperial capital's city defense army."

"Tu Ling, Sister Zhang, you two wait here and be responsible for cooperating with my master," Xu Jingming said.

"Don't worry."

"We will definitely keep a close eye on them."

Zhang Qing and Tu Ling were very confident.

Xu Jingming nodded slightly and then traveled alone along the official road towards the south. He needed to gather with his team! Before monitoring the Yang manor, he had already transferred the hired Cosmic Professional Players out of the imperial capital and arranged them in a place more than a hundred miles south of the imperial capital's city, allowing the players to collectively log off! Waiting for his call at any time!

…

A caravan of nearly three hundred people left the southern city gate of the imperial capital. The caravan had carriages, trucks, and a large number of mounted caravan guards. However, most of these horses were short, obviously ordinary horses.

Although their stamina was good, their speed was average.

"We're out of the imperial capital."

Inside a carriage, Yang Liao sat inside with his wife and concubine accompanying him.

Yang Liao was both nervous and excited.

"According to Father's arrangement, the destination of my team is ‘Qu Lan City’ in the Eastern Territory. In the future, my branch… will be the Qu Lan Yang family," Yang Liao was quite looking forward to his future life. "I am also the head of the Qu Lan Yang family. Everything is up to me!"

"I heard it's very chaotic outside, with rampant bandits," Yang Liao's wife said with some worry. She was also from a large family and now had to follow her husband to the Eastern Territory.

"Don't worry, we are perfectly disguised as an ordinary caravan on the surface. Even the carriages and horses were purchased from caravans," Yang Liao said. "Bandits also have their code of conduct. As long as we pay some protection fees, we can still safely reach the Eastern Territory! Even if we really fall out… heh heh, we are ten times stronger than ordinary caravans."

These guards were all accomplished experts.

The team was moving forward.

Whoosh.

On the vast land, Liu Hai followed remotely behind.

The short horses were not fast. The speed of accomplished experts was amazing, able to easily keep up! However, accomplished experts consumed a lot of energy when using their movement techniques. Fortunately, it was only enough to follow for an hour or two. If he had to follow for a day or two, Liu Hai would be exhausted.

"Before leaving the city, this team turned left and right in the imperial capital, and even changed their attire, disguising themselves as a caravan. Fortunately, I remember each of those 80 people very clearly," Liu Hai followed carefully. Tu Ling and Zhang Qing were also following at a greater distance.

******

More than a hundred miles outside the southern city gate of the imperial capital, in a mountain forest.

Xu Jingming had also gathered all the Cosmic Professional Player.

"Everyone."

Xu Jingming looked at the three eighth-order experts, sixty first-rate experts, and one hundred second-rate experts, and smiled, "This hiring plan will end today. After completing today's task, the task will officially end."

These Cosmic Professional Players all showed joy.

The task was quite easy. It was said to be hired for a month, but it wasn't actually a month.

Moreover, the key actions were raiding the Yicui Building, attacking Cheng Yanran, and now dealing with the Yang family's team! There weren't many requirements for the players.

"In about five minutes, the target team will pass through the official road ahead of us," Xu Jingming said. "Let me briefly explain the action plan."

All the players listened.

The last action of the mission still had to be done beautifully.

"Okay, that's it," Xu Jingming said after explaining the plan. "Disperse first and lie in ambush."

Whoosh whoosh whoosh, the team immediately took action, quietly ambushing in the mountain forest next to the official road.

Xu Jingming was with the three eighth-order experts, also patiently waiting for the arrival of the Yang family's team.

"I see them."

Xu Jingming remotely saw the team. The Yang family's team was all riding horses. Even with short horses, it only took a minute to go from far away to nearby.

"Action."

Xu Jingming transmitted the message to the hired players through the Virtual World Network.

Silently!

All the players received the order and acted simultaneously, swoosh swoosh swoosh! Each turned into afterimages and rushed out.

…

The Yang family's team, a mighty group of nearly three hundred people, was moving forward.

Suddenly—

A group of people rushed down from the mountain forest next to them. They blocked the front of the team, the back of the team, and the side of the mountain forest.

"Bandits!"

The Yang family's team was also shocked.

"May I ask which heroes you are?" An old man from the Yang family said loudly, "Our caravan is doing some hard business. We are willing to offer some money to you heroes, please let us leave."

"What's going on?" Inside the carriage, Yang Liao's wife and concubine were shocked.

"It's okay, it's normal to encounter bandits outside the city," Yang Liao said. "Those bandits will also weigh the situation and won't easily fight."

But at this moment, three terrifying mental powers spread out.

"Neigh, neigh, neigh~~~"

Many horses were terrified and retreated. The Yang family's team members immediately dismounted and tried to hold onto the reins. If they didn't hold onto the reins, these horses would probably be frightened and run away.

"Not good." The Yang family members also felt uneasy.

Four figures walked out of the mountain forest.

Walking in the front was Xu Jingming, wearing a human skin mask, holding a long spear, with three eighth-order experts beside him.

Although the mental power of the three eighth-order experts Xu Jingming hired was strong, it could only cause the horses to be terrified when simultaneously enveloping a team of nearly three hundred people. The impact on accomplished experts was much weaker!

If they were only targeting a few people, the mental power threat would be much greater!

The so-called mental shock was also a kind of ‘mental confrontation.’ The weak needed to resist the strong! If a large number of weak people resisted together… the effect would be much better.

"Young Master Yang, long time no see, how have you been?" Xu Jingming's voice resounded around.

Young Master Yang?

The Yang family's team couldn't help but panic. These bandits knew they were the Yang family's team and even knew that the leader was Yang Liao?

"This voice sounds familiar?"

Yang Liao carefully lifted the curtain of the carriage and saw the four familiar people walking over.

"It's you?" Yang Liao was shocked.