While celebrating the fact that Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls had recruited Chaos Moon into their guild, I began to plan my next move. Mn, I was getting closer and closer to my dream. It was very likely that I would be able to gather 10000 Dragonlight Cavalrymen before the WEL internationals. 5000 Dragonlight Archers might be a bit of a stretch, but it wasn't impossible. The Russian server, Frost Sword City, had three times the resources of the China server, so it wasn't impossible for the other servers to mine as well. As long as I found the right middleman, I could plunder as much as I wanted.
But the problem was — we were out of money...
I thought about it for a moment, and decided against it. I couldn't push myself too hard, or I'd be the one hurting myself!
… …
Beep!
I received a message from Rose, the leader of our Lenovo gaming club: "Lu Chen, are you in Dark Moon City?"
"Yeah. What's up, Rose?"
"Give me permission to enter the city lord's hall. I need to talk to you."
"Mn, okay."
A while later, a pretty archer entered the city lord's hall. It was none other than Rose. Her level wasn't very high, and although Remnant and the others had leveled her up a lot, she was still only Level 172. She was still a ways away from becoming a first-rate player.
"What's up, Rose?" I walked up to her.
Rose smiled. "It's nothing, really. I just wanted to tell you that our visas to participate in the WEL internationals have been approved, and we'll be flying to Los Angeles in five days!"
"Okay!" I smiled. "Country bumpkins are going to see the world. I'm so happy …"
"Fuck you, not again!"
Rose let out a chuckle before continuing, "Also, the organizers of the tournament have decided to add a friendly match between the WEL matches, and invite all the top players from all over the world to participate in the 5v5 tournament. In other words, it's a 5v5 tournament between countries, and five of China's top players have been chosen to participate in the tournament. Although there's no champion's prize, everyone who participates in the tournament will receive 1 million RMB as a prize. As for the rest of you, don't worry."
"Eternal Moon Corporation really doesn't lack money at all!"
I exclaimed in admiration. Then, I stretched out a hand and said, "Don't tell me, Rose. Let me guess who they are!"
"Hmm, go ahead and guess!" Rose said with a smile.
I pondered for a moment before replying, "In my mind, the strongest player out of all the eliminated players is — Li Chengfeng. He absolutely must have one. Besides that, the number one assassin, Farewell Song, should also be one of them. After that, the two super DPS mages, Luo River God of the Capital and Blazing Hot Lips, Stranger of Three Lifetimes, should also have one of them. Two mages, one thief, and one warrior. It's a perfect combination.
"Gosh …"
Rose's mouth fell open as she exclaimed, "Aren't you a little too strong? You guessed it right! The four people you mentioned are all among them, and the last one is Warsky!"
"Oh, so it's him …" I said with a relieved smile. "Well, it's no wonder. Warsky is a Divine General, and he has Great Earth Energy. Li Chengfeng and Farewell Song are the two Divine Generals with Great Earth Transformation at the front, and Luo River God of the Capital and Stranger of Three Lifetimes are the ones who can ambush them from afar. Fuck, even if we, the champion of Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls, were in a five-man team, we would still lose to them!"
Rose covered her mouth and giggled. "Yeah, everyone said it yourself. There are so many strong players in the China server. The elites of the losers' bracket are enough to scare a person to death!"
After that, Rose added, "Oh right, there's going to be a celebration party for Lenovo's e-sports club at Panlong Hotel tonight at 7 pm sharp. It's to celebrate your victory in the WEL China. Also, I have a favor to ask of you, and I hope you'll agree to it …"
I couldn't help but smile at her bashful expression. "What is it?"
"How about you invite two guests to the party?"
"Which two?
I don't think I'm that important … "
"Heehee, I'm sure you'll be fine if you go.
One of them is Beautiful Little Pepper, Lin Yixin, and the other is the guild leader of Blazing Hot Lips, Stranger of Three Lifetimes.
Right now, Stranger of Three Lifetimes is competing in a money-making tournament in Wuxi … "
Me: "Alright, I'll contact them."
"Mn. We've invited the host and cameraman of a gaming TV channel to do a special on our e-sports club. If we can invite two CGL Hall of Famers to the party, it'll be a great honor."
"Got it. I'll contact them right away!"
"Alright, keep up the good work. I'm counting on you. If you do a good job, I'll get a raise too …"
Me: "Fuck …"
… …
Rose left Dark Moon City and went to grind with Heart Like Water, Dark Fragrance and the others. I brought up my friend list and contacted Lin Yixin — "Beauty!"
"Little Cheat … what's up?"
"Do you have a dinner party tonight? Come eat with me!"
"Okay, okay! Where are we eating?
I want to eat good food! "Lin Yixin's voice was filled with excitement. What a beautiful and cute glutton …
I replied, "We're eating at Panlong Hotel at 7 pm sharp. It's the Lenovo club's celebration party."
"OMG, why would I get involved in Lenovo's business?"
"You're a special guest, right? They're going to light me up if you don't go!"
"Is that so?
Let's order then … "
"Fuck …"
"Alright, I'll go. I'll drive there myself tonight."
"Okay!"
After I comforted my girl, I sent Stranger of Three Lifetimes a message: "San 'er!"
"What's up, Lu Chen?"
"You're in Wuxi, right?
Come to Suzhou, I'll treat you to dinner … "
"Sure, sure. What do you want to eat?"
"Good food. We're eating at Panlong Hotel at 7 pm sharp. It's the Lenovo club's celebration party."
Stranger of Three Lifetimes was very smart. "You're inviting me to the Lenovo club's celebration party?"
"Yeah, fuck …"
"Heehee, fine. It'll be a waste if I don't eat. I'll go."
"Mn, 7 pm sharp. You have to be there, or I'll be in serious trouble."
"Mn, okay!"
… …
During the day, I basically ran around collecting Resource Bags. In between, I helped Du Thirteen kill a Level 185 boss at Breeze Canyon, avenged Yu Tong in Silver Moon Forest, killed a party of Candle Dragon players, killed a Level 190 boss at Sky Forest, and helped Heaven's Rain obtain a Level 175 Immortal-grade shield. After that, I played the role of a hired thug and killer, and every day I spent was filled to the brim. Killing bosses earned me a lot of experience, and it wasn't any slower than grinding on my own. Even so, I only gained 40% of my experience. After Level 187, the amount of experience needed to level up was frighteningly high.
When it was past 5 pm, Li Chengfeng suddenly sent me a message: "Lu Chen, did you hear the news? The ninth territory of Sky City has spawned, and it's in the forest to the south of Silver Fir City!"
"Oh, it's already the ninth territory, but the system hasn't notified me yet. How would I know …"
Li Chengfeng said, "Right now, a couple of guilds are fighting each other, and one of them has temporarily occupied the territory. Can you guess who it is?"
"Who?" My heart skipped a beat. "Fuck, it can't be Soul Battle Robes, can it?
Or is it … Pop Culture?
Is Candle Dragon really going to put pressure on us? "
Li Chengfeng laughed. "You're overthinking it. It's neither Soul Battle Robes nor Pop Culture, it's Sword Lord of Jianghu. I didn't expect Sword Lord of Jianghu to mobilize almost a million players and gain an absolute advantage. If I'm not mistaken, this territory will be taken by Sword Lord of Jianghu soon. It's pretty close to Silver Fir City, but Beauty Lin doesn't seem to want to touch it."
I replied, "It can't be helped. Ancient Sword Lord of Jianghu, Snowy Cathaya, and The Monarch Descends have each taken a city. If we try to take another city, people will point fingers at us and say that we're being overbearing, and that's not a good thing. In a game, reputation is more important than anything else, and it's where the unity of a guild lies."
Li Chengfeng agreed, "Yeah, I agree. However, Sword Lord of Jianghu has been very hostile toward us since the WEL competition, so we need to be careful. Moreover, Sword Lord of Jianghu is directly under the China VR department, and they have the support of the officials. It seems like they're planning to do something big in Sky City. What should we do if we clash with them?"
I pondered for a moment before replying resolutely, "Then we'll destroy them. Anyone who stands in my way will die!"
Li Chengfeng laughed. "Haha, I like that line so much. Don't worry, I'll keep a close eye on Sword Lord of Jianghu and do my best to prevent them from doing anything stupid."
"Mn. Thank you for your hard work, Chengfeng!"
"There's no need to be so courteous, we're brothers. Everyone else, just watch as normal:!"
… …
When it was past 6 pm, I logged out of the game and set off with the four girls in my workshop. We squeezed into an X12 because we were worried that someone would have to bring us back if we drank too much.
When we arrived at Panlong Hotel, Rose was already waiting for us at the entrance. Lin Yixin's new car was being driven into the parking lot by a waiter, and Lin Yixin was standing right next to it. We stopped the car and greeted Lin Yixin. A few minutes later, Stranger of Three Lifetimes also drove into the parking lot.
The banquet hall was on the third floor, and when we went upstairs, we discovered that there were already more than twenty people in the room. Most of them were young players that Lenovo had just recruited. After all, the five of us only participated in major competitions like the WEL, and we didn't want to waste our time on small competitions. However, the club needed someone to participate in them, so it wasn't surprising that we were able to recruit twenty or so people. This reminded me of Apple's club. They had over forty members other than Lin Yixin, Purple Marquis, and a couple of other people. They were so rich that the staff almost went crazy when we registered for the competition!
When we entered the hall, a man in a suit and leather shoes walked up to us and extended his hand. "Hello, Lu Chen. I am the CEO of Apple Gaming Club, Dong Xiang!"
I shook his hand. "Hello, Director Dong!"
Dong Xiang immediately turned around and pointed at a middle-aged man who looked to be in his forties. He smiled and said, "We have an important guest today, so allow me to introduce you. This is the vice minister of China's VR department, Mr. Tang Long. He is in charge of the games under Eternal Moon Corporation, and he is also the chairman of the China server association."
Tang Long walked up to me with a smile and said, "I know you, Lu Chen. You have a bright future ahead of you, young man!"
I could only smile at his unfathomable shrewdness. "Hello, Vice Minister Tang!"
I looked at He Yi and Lin Yixin, and the two girls were staring at me as well. In fact, we all knew that none of these potbellied, fat-faced people were good people at all.