Chapter 58: What Action? Play the Game First!

Nalan Jie had been slapped squarely on the back of his head in plain sight of everyone, and he felt a sudden, mortifying urge to simply crawl away and die: "...Who on earth did I cross to deserve this?"

"Is it truly impossible to fight Andariel at level two?" Nalan Jie cried out within his mind. "No, I am going back to grind my levels this instant. How can I let anyone else beat me to it?!"

Three hours later...

The cultivator clad in the black cloak grew increasingly perplexed: "Why has it been this long without a single sound from him?"

By this time, Nalan Jie had already reached the Dark Wood. Upon the center of his screen, a massive pack of hulking beasts could be seen pursuing him in a frenzied, headlong chase!

These beasts were monstrously large, yet they moved as swiftly as the wind—particularly the greyish-white creature leading the pack, which was far fleeter than the rest!

Disaster struck; his stamina failed him! Nalan Jie felt a sharp pang of dread as he noticed his stamina bar had run entirely dry. A heavy, suffocating wave of exhaustion washed over him, rendering him unable to run another step!

An Assassin was fragile with a slender life pool, relying solely on close-quarters combat. Facing monsters of such terrifying speed and devastating attack power was nothing short of a living nightmare!

In an instant, Nalan Jie was completely surrounded by the swarming beasts!

Immediately following that, the screen faded to black!

A piercing shriek echoed!

"You Have Died!" Unsurprisingly, a stark phrase of blood-red text manifested across the display!

"To think I would perish just like this?!"

Nalan Jie stared blankly at the screen, a profound sense of grievance and unwillingness swirling in his chest.

"How am I supposed to fight this now?"

"Is this monster even meant for human hands?" Thoughts like these flashed relentlessly through his mind.

Just then, he felt the communication jade talisman resting at his waist vibrate ever so slightly.

"Oh?" Retrieving the jade talisman from his belt, Nalan Jie struck his own thigh in realization. "I nearly forgot all about this matter!"

Nalan Jie immediately dispatched a message through the device: "Bring your men over right this instant!"

Upon receiving the transmission, the black-cloaked cultivator’s expression darkened, and he instantly barked out: "The word has arrived! We move immediately!"

A few minutes later, Fang Qi witnessed a cultivator dressed in a dark cloak, radiating an intensely somber aura, fiercely storming into the shop alongside two companions.

Locating Nalan Jie, the cloaked cultivator lowered his voice and demanded grimly: "Is it time to strike? Whom do we kill?"

"Is someone looking to cause trouble?" Fang Qi rose from his seat.

"Kill whom?" Nalan Jie blinked, momentarily dazed. "Come and help me kill Treehead Woodfist!"

"Boss, activate three more copies of Diablo!"

"Huh?" The three men stared with wide, unblinking eyes, completely stupefied as they looked at Nalan Jie. "Uh...?"

"What in the world kind of conversation is this?" Behind Nalan Jie, every spectator wore an expression as though they had just laid eyes upon a ghost!

Realizing that they had not come to stir up trouble, Fang Qi’s cheek twitched. He cursed silently to himself: "Has he been driven mad from being tormented by monsters? Is there truly any need to look so fiercely malevolent just to slay a beast?"

...

Outside the establishment, An Huwei arrived at the head of a small squad of elite soldiers. Accompanying him were a short, stout cultivator clad in a moon-white robe and a middle-aged cultivator draped in long black robes.

"Old An," spoke Bu Lei, the man in the black robes. "Is that Diablo game you mentioned truly that entertaining? To think that even Na... even that particular gentleman is playing it?"

"But of course!" An Huwei threw his head back and laughed heartily. "This old man played for six full hours yesterday and has already reached level four! I even managed to obtain two pieces of rare yellow equipment!"

An Cheng, following closely behind them, looked entirely speechless.

Ouyang Cheng lowered his voice and muttered: "Uncle An, we already possess several unique unique-quality items..."

"Silence!" The short, stout cultivator instantly glared back at him. "Listen to your Uncle An! What could a foolish brat like you possibly know?"

Ouyang Cheng fell silent.

Catching sight of the small shop ahead, An Huwei chuckled softly: "Gentlemen, we have arrived!"

An Huwei patted his chest confidently and declared: "My elite guards are all capable hands at level four, each possessing at least one piece of yellow equipment. I shall carry you both shortly!"

The two companions felt a touch self-conscious and murmured: "How could we dare to trouble Brother An so!"

"It is only right, only right!"

"..."

Jiang Xiaoyue sat before the counter, staring in utter bewilderment as player after player filed continuously into the internet cafe. There was no need to speak of the veterans—take Song Qingfeng and his companions, for instance; they had arrived early as always, conscientiously paying for six hours of time along with a bottle of Sprite. As for the new faces...

Jiang Xiaoyue blinked her large eyes: "Is that not the City Governor?"

Not only had he rushed over at the crack of dawn today, but he had actually brought two additional people along with him!

"Boss! Activate two more copies of Diablo!" An Huwei shouted. "And... a bottle of Sprite for each of us!"

"Sprite?" Ouyang Zhen and Bu Lei gazed upon the cool, refreshing glass bottles handed to them by the little girl, turning a strange look toward An Huwei. "Brother An, the beverages in this shop are actually this exorbitant?"

An Huwei let out a boisterous laugh: "The drinks in this establishment are highly sophisticated. Taste it, and I guarantee it will be several times more exquisite than the fine brews of the Breeze and Bright Moon Pavilion!"

"Can it truly be that grand?" The two men each took a sip, and a sudden, electrifying rush of crisp refreshment surged directly from their throats to the very tips of their limbs!

Both men shuddered simultaneously in delight!

"This beverage..." They exchanged a look, the shock written plainly in each other's eyes.

"Just what does it taste like...?" Jiang Xiaoyue watched them with immense curiosity, smacking her small lips. "Why does everyone make that exact same face? Could it truly be that delicious?"

"Hahaha! Did I not tell you so!" An Huwei clapped the two men firmly on their shoulders. "Take a draught before battle, and it will fill you with boundless vigor!"

"Marvelous stuff!" Ouyang Zhen rejoiced. "Is there any more? I wish to purchase a few crates to take back with me!"

"I shall buy a few crates as well!" Bu Lei cried out. "Boss, how much Sprite do you have left? Give me a few crates!"

"..." Finding it unexpected that these men were already scheming to acquire crates of Sprite after a mere single sip, Jiang Xiaoyue adopted Fang Qi’s customary tone and said with a hint of disdain, "Limit of one bottle per person each day!"

"What kind of rule is that?"

"How can there be such a wretched rule?!" The two men immediately grew defiant. "Call your boss out here, I shall speak with him personally!"

"..." Jiang Xiaoyue looked entirely helpless. What sort of people were these? For a beverage so expensive, which could not even enhance one's cultivation realm, they actually became displeased when denied the chance to buy more?

An Huwei had long anticipated that they would react in this manner. He smiled and said: "Calm yourselves, gentlemen. This shop simply operates by these rules; even that great lord abides by them. Let us play the game! Play the game!"

"Uh... is that so?" A wave of dejection washed over the two men. Since even that esteemed figure had not consumed more than his share, they truly had no justification to demand further purchases...

Jiang Xiaoyue, meanwhile, fixed her increasingly suspicious gaze upon the Sprite in their hands: "Could that black-hearted boss have slipped some manner of poison into the drinks as well?!"

"By the way, where have those wretched boys gone...?" Ouyang Zhen murmured, taking another profoundly intoxicated sip of Sprite while opening the game under An Huwei's guidance. He cast his eyes to the left and right. "Where did they vanish to?"

Directly across from them, in front of a row of computers, Elder Fu delivered a firm slap to the backs of the young men's heads: "You boys have only just arrived? We have already fought our way down to the third level of the Jail!"

An Cheng looked thoroughly miserable. Who would ever believe that he had been held back by his own father to discuss a mere game for half the morning?

"We are here, we are here! Cast a Town Portal for us!"

"Heavens, you lot went ahead without waiting for me again!" Li Haoran rushed through the door in a desperate hurry.

"Let us move, move, move! To face Andariel! Once we clear the first act, we have conquered this part!"

"You young rascals had best hurry up!!" Nalan Hongwu cast a sharp glare at the group. "This old man has been waiting for half an eternity!"

"Uh..." Ouyang Zhen and Bu Lei exchanged a startled glance. "Those wretched boys have actually mingled themselves into the company of that great lord?!"

An Huwei rubbed his nose in embarrassment: "It would seem those boys are currently preparing to march against Andariel alongside that gentleman..."

As soon as An Huwei uttered those words, the men grew even more self-conscious—how mortifying it was for a group of fathers to realize they were being thoroughly outclassed by their own sons.

"Let us make haste," An Huwei urged, a hint of sheepishness coloring his tone. "When the time comes, we can always press those boys for some spare gear. Word has it that the path ahead only grows more perilous; if we hurry, we might just catch up to them yet."