Chapter 39: Accidentally Drank It All

An extraordinarily large number of newcomers had flocked to the internet cafe today to watch the Resident Evil movie; indeed, Resident Evil was no longer a foreign concept to the well-informed residents of Jiuhua City—in fact, they had heard the name so often that their ears were practically calloused!

"Have you seen Resident Evil yet? It's the most advanced, most popular spiritual artifact movie out right now!"

"What? You haven't seen it? You are so behind the times!"

Without anyone realizing it, such a trend had quietly taken root within Jiuhua City.

This day held monumental significance for the veteran players of the entire internet cafe.

For there were several individuals who might actually beat the game today!

Onlookers gathered in crowds behind Xu Zixin and Liang Shi, and even a circle of people had formed behind Wang Tai.

Almost the entire first batch of veteran players was on the verge of completing the game today!

Waves of exuberant cheers erupted continuously throughout the establishment, and with the recent expansion of the premises, today's internet cafe was undeniably far more boisterous than ever before.

Li Haoran hailed from the artifact-crafting lineage of the Blue Flame Sect, a background that was initially far from illustrious; however, ever since he demonstrated his extraordinary talent and was taken in as a disciple by Junyangzi, the highest-ranking grandmaster smith of the Wuwei Daoist Alliance, his status had naturally skyrocketed!

Even without the backing of a prestigious clan, a cultivator from the artifact sect like him was guaranteed exceptional treatment anywhere within the Dajin Kingdom!

Currently, Li Haoran was revered as a senior artifact master at the Blue Flame Pavilion, the most prestigious spiritual artifact shop in Jiuhua City!

"To think Master Mu would actually ask me to visit a small shop in the slums..." Given Li Haoran's status, he rarely had any occasion to venture into such remote, impoverished districts; in fact, aside from newcomers like Song Qingfeng who were unfamiliar with the local layout, anyone with a modicum of standing seldom set foot in this area.

"Yet, any little shop capable of tossing out both Xiao Yulv and Xu Fuwei cannot possibly be simple..." Stroking his chin, he walked along the path.

Looking up, he gasped, "Hiss... this shop isn't small at all..."

Through the glass doors, he could clearly see that the establishment was already quite crowded; even the commoner warriors possessed impressive cultivation bases, while the rest were at least nobles, and to his immense surprise, young masters like Ouyang Cheng, An Cheng, and Bu Che—who usually strutted unchecked through Jiuhua City—were all present!

"This is truly unprecedented!" Li Haoran clicked his tongue in mild astonishment.

He had barely stepped through the entrance and had not even reached the trio when a chorus of frantic shouting assailed his ears!

"Brother! Cover me! If you don't take the aggro, I'm going to die!"

"Use Inferno, brother! I can't tank this with just Fire Bolts!"

"How can you play when your Charged Bolts keep missing! Get closer and shoot! I told you to stand closer!"

"What do you expect me to do when these Charged Bolts just squiggle all over the place? Quick! Blood Raven is almost dead!"

Li Haoran observed that on the screens before them, each of the three players was being pursued by a massive horde of zombies, leaping frantically as a demon clad in red leather armor rained arrows upon them.

Immediately afterward, the demon's body abruptly burst apart!

"It dropped!"

A golden light flashed across the screens.

"Rare equipment!" The eyes of all three men gleamed with a covetous green light simultaneously!

"A Light Crossbow?!"

The air fell deathly silent in an instant.

Anxiouly, profoundly quiet.

The three of them exchanged glances; there were two Sorcerers and one Druid.

After a long while, someone finally broke the silence.

"This thing... does anyone want it?"

"...I'm heading back to turn in the quest first!" The portly Ouyang Cheng instantly cast a Town Portal and slipped away.

"...My durability seems low..." An Cheng coughed awkwardly, "I'll head back to repair it first. Old Bu, you gather the loot... identify it, maybe it'll fetch a good price!"

Bu Che: "..."

Profoundly bewildered, Li Haoran patted the backs of their chairs and inquired, "What on earth are you all doing?"

"Brother Li!?" Hearing the voice, they turned around to find that it was indeed Li Haoran.

Their eyes instantly lit up, "Brother Li! What brings you here!"

Li Haoran stroked his chin, "I... heard this place was quite intriguing, so I came to take a look."

"It's far more than just intriguing!" Unable to contain his excitement, An Cheng pulled Li Haoran down into a seat and said, "Come, come! Let's go farm some gear together!"

"Farm... farm what gear?" Utterly mystified, Li Haoran replied with a touch of displeasure, "Could there possibly be any equipment that surpasses what we offer at the Blue Flame Pavilion?"

As an exceptional artifact refiner whose master was the most renowned grandmaster in the entire Wuwei Daoist Alliance, being urged to use someone else's spiritual artifacts left a distinctly sour taste in his mouth.

"Mere spiritual artifacts..." Before he could finish his sentence, he stared blankly as An Cheng and the others swiftly helped him log into the game and select a class.

"This is a spiritual artifact!?"

Immediately following that, An Cheng and the others tossed him a few pieces of magic equipment.

"How exactly were these items forged...?" He stared blankly at the equipment in his hands.

Short Staff

Two-Handed Damage: 1-5

Durability: 20 of 20

+2 to Ice Bolt (Sorceress Only)

+2 to Charged Bolt (Sorceress Only)

+50% Damage to Undead

The exact moment his fingers closed around the short staff, despite not knowing either of these spells himself, he could distinctly feel that he could cast them effortlessly whenever he wished!

Then there was a pair of leather gloves of self-repair; this thing could actually restore itself?!

One must realize that such attributes were exclusively found on exceedingly powerful spiritual artifacts, yet these guys had casually tossed them to him as if they were nothing?!

Just how on earth were these items crafted?

Li Haoran turned the gear over and over in his hands, faintly sensing that within these pieces lay an extraordinary artifact-crafting technique that had never before appeared in the world!

Naturally, since it was an item system recreated by the System using advanced runic technology, it would be a miracle if he could actually make heads or tails of it.

In his mind, only four words swirled continuously: though incomprehensible, it felt profound!

It was not just Li Haoran who harbored this sense of profound bewilderment; Song Qingfeng and most of the players who had recently started Diablo shared the exact same sentiment.

Equipment could actually drop from slaying monsters?

One could learn martial techniques simply by clicking on a skill tree?

Items could be imbued with all sorts of powerful attributes?

The omnipresent novelty and surprise caused almost everyone's eyes to gleam with fierce excitement as they played!

In a corner of the internet cafe, Lanyan sat in utter bliss holding a bottle of Sprite, taking a sip as her face overflowed with pure happiness, "This is absolutely delicious! Miss Nalan, how can something so wonderful exist in this world!"

"Mhm." Nalan Mingxue took a large gulp without a single trace of emotion on her face, "Over the past few days, I have mobilized every ounce of influence at my disposal, yet I still have not uncovered the identity of the cultivator behind this shop."

"Until we investigate this thoroughly, I believe we should try our best to avoid consuming substances of unknown origin, lest they pose a threat to us."

"But it really is so delicious..." Lanyan narrowed her eyes contentedly, happily sipping through the straw.

"In any case, caution is paramount." Suddenly, the sound of air being sucked through a straw echoed, and only then did Nalan Mingxue look down at the Sprite bottle in her hand, freezing slightly, "Oh... it is empty..."

The silence stretched, long and unbroken.