Xinran's shoulders trembled slightly as she leaned against my chest. Tears flowed down her cheeks as she whispered, "I don't know what the other world looks like. I … I only know this world, so … I'd rather not know the existence of the other world."
I squeezed her hand tightly. "But Xinran, I'm in the other world too …"
Xinran stared at me and said stubbornly, "Big brother, I can see you and touch your hand in this world, but … if I wake up in another world and you're not here, what will I do? What will I do in a world like this?
I'm afraid that this is just a dream, and I'll be alone once I wake up. That's why I'd rather never wake up … "
"Xinran, I …"
I hugged Xinran tightly and kissed her cheek. "Alright, we'll take it slow. I'll let you feel my existence in that world, okay?
Big bro still has a lot of things to show you and experience … "
"Mn!"
Xinran nodded strongly and hugged my neck tightly. "It doesn't matter which world I live in. As long as big bro is here, I won't be lonely …"
Me: "..."
… …
After I put Xinran to sleep, I immediately sent a message in the guild channel in red: "High Fighting Spirits, Chaos Moon, Chengfeng, Beiming, Eve, all of you, gather at the territory hall of Dark Moon City. I'll be waiting for you!"
The guild channel immediately descended into chaos.
High Fighting Spirits: "Wahahaha, the vice leader has finally returned from the Purgatory Realm!"
Gui Guzi: "Boss Broken Halberd, did you get a lot of loot?
Did you rescue Xinran? "
Chaos Moon: "It's been 8 days. I missed you so much …"
He Yi: "..."
Li Chengfeng: "Let's not waste any more time and gather at the territory hall!"
… …
I summoned the city interface. As the city lord of Dark Moon City, I chose the teleportation option and entered Dark Moon City. I gripped the Xuan-Yuan Sword and walked into the territory hall. I walked up to the city lord's throne and sat down on the steps.
It didn't take long for everyone to arrive, and they all looked happy.
Li Chengfeng walked at the front and said with a smile, "I've already given my equipment to guild leader Eve. Here, my Green Peak Halberd …"
I took out my Green Peak Halberd and threw it at him, "Take it!"
Then, he rummaged through his bag and found the Purple Cloud Armor. He passed it to Beiming Xue and said with a smile, "This Purple Cloud Armor isn't bad. It's a Ghost grade, and its special effect is to double your Defense. Beiming's Defense won't be any weaker than a first-rate cavalry player!"
"Wow …" Beiming Xue's beautiful eyes narrowed as she held the Purple Cloud Armor. "Big Brother, I love you ~ ~"
"Also …"
I took out another pet egg and said, "This is a Fire Phoenix pet egg, a Low Divine Armament mount pet. Hurry up and sign the contract. With a flying mount pet, Beiming will be able to attack from the sky whenever she wants. A flying archer is a terrifying existence, hehe …"
Beiming Xue grabbed the pet egg and jumped into my arms. She puckered her lips and kissed me on the cheek. Then, she quickly retreated a dozen or so meters and summoned the Fire Phoenix.
No one was surprised, and I was very calm. I reached into my bag again and took out a battle armor and a battle axe. I held them in front of High Fighting Spirits and said, "Here, High Fighting Spirits. This is the Flame God Armor, a Low Divine Armament. This is the Brilliant Sun, a Middle Divine Armament. Both are very suitable for you."
High Fighting Spirits shuddered. "How … how can I accept such valuable items?"
I smiled. "Who said I'm giving them to you? I'm selling them to support my family, so you can take out as much as you want …"
High Fighting Spirits was a courageous man. He swiftly took out a heavy gold pouch from his pocket and threw it at me with a loud bang. "Mn, I went online and exchanged the money in my bank account. There's a total of 4.98 million gold in my bank account, or about 5 million RMB. That's all I have. I know that a Medium Divine Weapon is worth at least 20 million, but that's all I have. Please bear with me for a while, brother …"
I grabbed the pouch and took out 2 million gold. Then, I tossed it back to him and said, "I'll take half and keep the rest. You're not young anymore. You need money to marry a wife, buy a car, or buy a house.
If you sell your old weapon, you should be able to make 3 million or so. A better house in Suzhou is worth at least 2 million, so let's buy one first … Otherwise, it'll be hard for a girl to fall for you with your looks. It'll be different if you have a house and a car … "
High Fighting Spirits gave me a simple and honest smile. "Okay, thank you, Lu Chen!"
"Why are you being so polite?
Let's earn more guild points in the future. We brothers are doing great in the game not just to become the overlord, but also to get rich! "
"Mn!"
I reached into my bosom and pulled out a flaming longsword. I chuckled and said, "This is a sword-type weapon, the Blade of the Emperor Sea, a Middle-tier God Armament. Its attack power is incredible. If you've been paying attention to the equipment rankings, you should have seen it already. Here, Chaos Moon, I'll give this to you. You just happen to have no good weapons …"
Chaos Moon shuddered. "You're giving me the Blade of Emperor Sea?
No … no, are you kidding me? This sword is much better than the Fire Suppressing Sword. Why don't you give it to Eve? "
I smiled and stood up. I wrapped an arm around He Yi's waist and pulled her into my arms. "Eve is my family. If I get a better weapon in the future, I'll definitely give it to her first. Also, this is a sword, and Eve's control is obvious. It's already good enough that she can use swords. Chaos Moon, you're better than her, so you can have the Blade of Emperor Sea. I mean, I'm not giving it to you, I'm selling it. Just give me some money to support my family!"
Chaos Moon giggled and threw 5 million gold at me. "You don't have to give me half. I have Plunder and Greedy Wolf Howl, so I don't have to worry about money. I've already saved over 10 million gold …"
I accepted the money without hesitation. Everyone felt better this way.
After that, I took out some Immortal-grade equipment from my bag. Li Chengfeng bought a 7% lifesteal ring at a low price, He Yi got a 110% Defense ring, and Gui Guzi, Eighteen Steeds of You and Yun got their own items too. Once everyone was done picking out their loot, they could set up stalls in Sky City to sell their equipment. As for Lin Yixin, she was still secretly celebrating the fact that she had obtained the Windcutter Sword, one of the Twelve Divine Armaments.
… …
After we were done distributing the equipment, I gave everyone 10 Stalker Cards and sat down in the castle hall. It had been a long time since we last chatted.
"How are the servers doing?" I asked while gripping the Xuanyuan Sword.
Li Chengfeng replied, "The Northern Alliance, Cyan Earth City, and Swallow Ear County are close to each other. If I'm not mistaken, they're already planning a war, and I'm guessing that they're targeting Sky City as well. The only difference is whether or not they'll attack our fourth main city, Hot Sand City first!"
I replied, "Hot Sand City is like a poisonous thorn in the heart of the Northern Alliance. Knowing Vienna's Sorrow, there's no way he won't pull it out. Our only problem now is whether or not we defend it …"
Gui Guzi said, "Why don't we take the initiative and attack Cyan Earth City instead? That way, Hindustani won't be so arrogant anymore …"
He Yi grabbed my hand and said with a smile, "There's a new siege mode in the new patch. This is something we must consider!"
"Oh!" I replied, "What kind of new siege method?"
He Yi explained, "Right now, the rules of the Nation War have changed to three. Once a target city is conquered, there are three choices. The first is to occupy it, just like how we occupied Hot Sand City. The second is to abandon it, just like how we abandoned Purple Grape City. The third is to conquer it. If you kill the ruler of the target city, you can choose to conquer it. For three months, the city will still belong to the server, but it will have to pay us 25% of the city's income as tribute. That's the difference!"
I sucked in a deep breath. "Fuck, 25% tribute … hahaha, Eternal Moon Corporation is really going big this time!"
I clenched my fists and declared, "In that case, our goal is to conquer. Either we don't fight, or we conquer Cyan Earth City, Hero City, and Seven Star City at the same time!"
Chaos Moon smacked her forehead. "You're already bragging to this extent the moment you left Purgatory? I can't stand you anymore. Where did your confidence come from …"
Li Chengfeng laughed and raised his Green Peak Halberd. "I believe in Lu Chen!"
Gui Guzi, High Fighting Spirits, Eighteen Steeds of You and Yun and everyone else chimed in, "Yeah, we believe in you as well!"
I rose to my feet. "My confidence comes from all of you. With everyone here, nothing is impossible. Work hard to level up and become a god as soon as possible. The future battlefield is a war between gods!"
Everyone nodded in agreement.
He Yi whispered into my ear, "It's 11 am already. Xu Ning, Tang Feng, Zhang Chun, Scholar Ling Xue, and the others are all waiting for your news …"
"Mn. Let's log off then!"
"Got it!"
… …
After repairing my equipment, I flew to the Violet Empire. When I opened Xinran's room, I saw that she was still asleep. She must be exhausted after going through so much in Purgatory.
I sat down on the edge of the bed and logged out of the game.
I took off my helmet and sucked in a deep breath. The weight on my heart had finally been lifted. I had found Xinran, and everything was fine.
The moment I walked out of the room, Xu Ning, Tang Feng, Scholar, and everyone else rose to their feet. "She's out!"
"How is the miss?" Xu Ning asked in concern.
I let out a sigh. "I told Xinran about the real world, but she can't believe it just yet. She's afraid that it's just a dream, and she'll be alone when she wakes up. That's why I need to let her feel my presence in the real world."
Xu Ning frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Let her out so that she can get some air?" I said.
"Mn!"
Xu Ning nodded strongly. "Alright, Professor Wang also agrees. Let's let the miss out of the nutrient solution. She needs to accept her new life. Also, an hour ago, the miss's brain waves reached a new peak. It's probably because of this, isn't it?"
"Mn. Let's get ready!"
"Alright, she'll be ready by afternoon!"
"Mn. I'm going to eat something first."
"Have Shusheng and Ling Xue accompany you. The food is ready!"
"Thank you!"