Chapter 240: First, Grab a Weapon and Slash Some People! (1/3)

This game featured no peaceful mode, for a player with masterful control could easily dissolve a spell or halt an attack the very instant it threatened a teammate.

Those lacking such control, naturally, could only pray for the best.

Though a mage's mana differed slightly from a cultivator's spiritual energy, this business of a fireball spell...

Come to think of it, when Huang Shan first dipped his toes into the mystical arts, the very first spell he learned had also been a fireball, albeit the cultivator's variant.

"Ah, what fond memories..." Lost in such thoughts, Huang Shan casually hurled another fireball!

Boom! Boom!

Two explosive roars erupted right behind the warrior ahead, and in this game constructed entirely upon reality, one could actually see the warrior stagger, a patch of flame springing to life on the back of his vest!

...

The Jiuhua City Branch.

Guo Xiong could not fathom what made this game so amusing, but since the coin had already been spent, he naturally threw himself into a frenzy of leveling up, for he was hardly the sort of fellow to let money go to waste.

"I hope there's something novel waiting down the line," he mused to himself, and spotting a multi-hook cat nearby, he lunged forward to strike!

Yet before his blow could land, a sudden sharp pain flared in his back!

Two fireballs exploded squarely against his spine!

Whirling around, he beheld a middle-aged man clad in coarse cloth garments, wielding a wooden stick just like his own, with a sphere of flame coalescing in his palm as a third fireball came hurtling toward him!

"Fck!" Stung by the pain, Guo Xiong barked an immediate curse, sidestepping to evade the fiery assault before instantly charging forward!

"Hah!" Huang Shan's competitive streak flared; a low-tier warrior actually dared to resist a cultivator?!

Granted, he was still a bit too weak as a cultivator right now, but the opponent was merely a petty warrior, so he felt not a shred of fear, flinging fireballs even as he kept on the move.

...

The Half-City Branch.

The spectators watching from behind, after a period of careful observation, had also discerned the peculiar nature of this so-called game, though at this moment they found themselves somewhat bewildered.

"Is this another person playing?" Ruan Ning asked in confusion, peering intently around the shop without spotting a single extra soul, "Where did this guy spring from?"

Fang Qi stared at the screen, watching as the little greenhorn clad in absolute garbage and wielding a wooden sword already engaged in player-versus-player combat, his forehead instantly creasing with dark lines.

"That is a player from another branch," Fang Qi explained.

"There is another branch?" The grey-robed old Daoist expressed his astonishment, "It seems the proprietor's enterprise is by no means small!"

While the crowd behind debated the origins of the other players.

Guo Xiong had already been saddled with the disadvantage of a late start, and now a rake cat trailed closely behind him in hot pursuit, leaving him unable to flee and unable to fight, until very soon...

On the screen, a dull thud echoed, and the venison he had previously hunted, along with the wooden sword in his grasp, erupted across the ground in a scattered shower of loot!

"Hahaha! You dare contend with your granddaddy?!" Having dealt with the rake cat first, Huang Shan planted a foot upon Guo Xiong's corpse, unleashing a torrent of mockery, "A worthless little warrior like you dares snatch a rake cat from your granddaddy? You must be tired of living!"

With that, he frantically gathered the spoils from the ground, and though he had no inkling of what this chicken and venison were good for, a merchant's instinct told him: this stuff ought to fetch some coin at least, right?!

...

The Jiuhua City Branch.

"Shit!" Guo Xiong slammed the table, bursting into a venomous tirade!

He had been minding his own business hunting monsters to level up, so it was bad enough to be struck by a mysterious fireball out of nowhere, but to be slain and then mocked with a foot planted on his corpse?!

How could anyone tolerate this?!

Sitting nearby, Xi Qi caught the sound of Guo Xiong's furious shouting: "Old Guo, what's gotten into you?"

"I got looted!" Guo Xiong roared in anger.

"If you got looted, just hurry back and retrieve your gear!" After all, in Diablo, dropping your items meant you could simply trek back to reclaim them.

"No! I was looted by another player!" Guo Xiong raged, "That brat took my things and stood over my corpse to mock me!"

"No way in hell! I have to fight my way back!" What absolute bullshit!

"This..." Xi Qi and the others exchanged bewildered glances; weren't you playing by yourself? How could you be killed by a player?

What baffled them even more was that if this allowed multiplayer connection, could it be that people connected specifically to murder you?

Curious, they simply stood by to watch the spectacle unfold.

Guo Xiong intended to leave the city to find trouble with that man, but realizing his weapon was gone, he promptly sold the chicken and venison from his inventory, purchased a wooden sword along with two potions, and charged out.

...

The Half-City Branch.

"Daoist Huang, that worthless scoundrel is back again!"

"Hmm? Didn't he just die?!" Huang Shan looked utterly astonished, but remembering this took place within a magical artifact called a computer, he quickly rationalized it, his expression hardening with malice, "If you dare return, then I shall simply slaughter you once more!"

This time, Guo Xiong was visibly far more composed, and with no monsters hounding his steps from behind, his movements were incredibly steady, swaying his body to dodge the incoming fireball before closing the distance!

Huang Shan paid it little mind, conjuring another fireball and calculating the point of impact!

Whoosh!

Boom!

A flash of fire erupted against Guo Xiong's shoulder, causing his frame to falter momentarily; Huang Shan continued to run, continuing to unleash fireballs. In the original version of the game, casting required a pause, but things were different here. For a cultivator of Huang Shan's caliber, executing a minor fireball was child's play, so the delay between his spells was minuscule, and since Guo Xiong had to constantly dodge the attacks, the distance between them failed to close!

By the time Guo Xiong finally burst into melee range, he had drained a whole potion, yet his health bar was still pushed to the brink!

Thud!

Loot exploded once more!

Left with a little under half his health, Huang Shan's face was painted with utter disdain: "Trash! You actually harbored thoughts of killing your granddaddy?"

The Jiuhua City Branch.

The spectating crowd behind, including Xi Qi, stood dumbfounded—could such a thing truly be done?!

"Shit!" Guo Xiong's fury peaked instantly.

"Do you need a hand, Old Guo?"

"Come! All of you come! Kill this bastard!" At this moment, Guo Xiong resembled a powder keg that had just been ignited.

"Let's go! We are going to activate the game!" Without delay, Xi Qi led his younger sister, Xi Xiaoyun, to activate the game.

An hour later...

"Shit!" Cut until he was left with a mere sliver of health and covered in wounds, Huang Shan clutched a small wooden sword as he fled frantically, three warriors in hot pursuit behind him, "Enshrined Elders! Hurry, come lend a hand!"

He shrieked wildly even as he ran.

The two elders had already been eager to try after hearing that it could cultivate one's power, and now, hearing Huang Shan's desperate plea, their hands happened to itch for action: "We're coming, we're coming! Boss, activate it for us as well!"

"Ah—!" Before they could even enter the game, Huang Shan's character on the screen erupted into a scattered pile of loot!

"Trash! Do you still dare murder people at random?!" Gasping for breath, Guo Xiong planted his foot firmly upon Huang Shan's corpse.

"Damn it all!" Huang Shan erupted in an instant, "I was cornered and killed by those three dogs!!"

He ripped off his virtual headset on the spot, very nearly smashing it onto the table!

Standing up, he looked around in all directions: "Who just killed me?! Do you dare to step forward?!"

With a glance, he saw that besides the few people crowding around him, the shop was entirely empty!

"Clearly you were the one who killed them first, yet you're displeased about being killed in return," Ruan Ning muttered from the side. "I heard from the shopkeeper that this is a new branch. Everyone else is at the other shop, which is far away."

Huang Shan's face grew dark. "...My two venerated protectors! This is the first time I, Huang Shan, have ever suffered such a singular and humiliating disgrace! They actually dared to trample over my corpse and mock me! Today, you must help me exact my revenge!"

The other two chuckled. They were hardly peaceable souls to begin with, and now that they saw there was someone to kill, how could they sit still? With cold, mocking smiles, they said, "Rest assured! When Brother Huang is in distress, how could we fail to assist?!"

Entering the game, a level-one mage and a taoist, with meager health and no mana, clad in coarse cloth tunics, their faces masks of sheer malice as they peered left and right: "Let us go, Brother Huang! Where are we going to hack someone to pieces?"

Huang Shan nearly choked on his own breath, clutching his forehead. "You two... level up first! Level up first!"

.