Chapter 176 - A Unique and Outstanding Player
Virtual World: Close Combat Mage
Vast Lushness did not express her puzzlement. The online gaming community was full of outstandingly unique individuals, after all. Compared to Ray who had used real-world currency to open a bar in Parallel World, Gu Feiâs action was still considered as normal.
After feeling surprised at this chance meeting, Gu Fei quickly recovered his business-like attitude and warmly greeted the customer before him, âTake a look and see if you have anything you want!â
Vast Lushness squatted down and carefully inspected each of the items on display.
Gu Fei felt bored as she inspected his wares, so he used his Appraisal skill on Vast Lushness. She was currently at level 31 with common-grade equipment and empty accessory slots. Even an average level 31 player would not be in such a state. Since he knew Vast Lushness had once been a level 30 illustrious figure, Gu Fei found this strange, âWhy are your equipment slots empty?â
Vast Lushness, who continued to inspect the items in his stall, lifted her head and looked at him, âI lost it all when I got slain.â
âHow many times have you gotten slain?â Gu Fei curiously asked. A player would drop a whole level every time he or she died in this game. Killing people until they lost all their equipment was not easy, as they could no longer be bullied into a PvP once they reached level 10.
âIâve been getting hunted for over a month, so Iâve already lost count,â Vast Lushness was truly a tenacious person; she did not count death by the number of times she died but by the number of times she had been hunted to death.
âShouldnât you be at level 10?â Gu Fei asked, perplexed.
Vast Lushness glanced at Gu Fei in surprise, âLevels can be grinded again!â
âSo you grinded your way up, only to be killed by them again?â Gu Fei pressed on.
âShould I be afraid of them, instead?â Vast Lushness answered him with a question.
For a Priest to stubbornly struggle under such a situation, Gu Fei could tell how strong-willed she was! Sighing in admiration, he asked her another question, âAre they not chasing you now?â
âNot after that time outside Yunduan City. Maybe theyâve gotten lazy, or they are busy with the gameâs PvP event,â Vast Lushness replied.
âOh...â Gu Fei merely nodded his head.
Vast Lushness continued to rummage through the equipment as she said, âIâve yet to properly thank you for last time.â
âYouâve already thanked me,â Gu Fei reminded her. Vast Lushness had humbly said, âThank you... Thank you...â over and over again last time when Gu Fei told her where Silver Moon was, which was a far cry from her tyrannical personality in Yueye City.
âI mean that time by the prison entrance. Iâm grateful that you told me what you had heard,â Vast Lushness clarified.
âItâs nothing,â Gu Fei said, asking, âDid you manage to meet him?â
âNo.â
âNo?â Gu Fei was mildly surprised. He did not remember hearing any other ways in and out of the prison besides the main entrance.
âI left not too long later after you did,â Vast Lushness explained.
âOh?â
âThe truth is I had a hunch on exactly why he had been avoiding me... and yet I still tried chasing after him just so I could hear it from himself... But then I thought, why should I continue fooling myself if even an outsider like you could tell the truth?â Vast Lushness said numbly.
Gu Fei did not comment. Out of courtesy to a fellow human being, he told Vast Lushness what he had found out inside the prison. As for what she would do next, Gu Fei knew that he had no say in it.
While Vast Lushness had clearly put all her heart into her and Silver Moonâs relationship despite it being just a game, Silver Moon had always carried the mentality that everything here was but a game!
âThatâs why I ought to thank you properly,â Vast Lushness said. Evidently, her gratefulness to Gu Fei toward this matter was even more sincere than when he had saved her from being killed before. With her not fearing death or getting hunted by men, Vast Lushness had only felt superficial gratitude toward Gu Fei for saving her life before, so her thanking him for that was actually just a polite gesture and nothing more. As for the matter with Silver Moon, Vast Lushness had truly felt genuine thankfulness for his kind gesture toward her.
Gu Fei of course did not feel that his action was very amazing to be worthy of someoneâs deep gratitude, so he simply said, âDonât worry about that.â
âLetâs add each other as friends!â Vast Lushness suggested.
Gu Fei was not bothered by her request in the least. Nodding his head in agreement, he opened up his friends list and allowed her to add him. The system then notified him: [Player Vast Lushness has added you as a friend.]
âOnce I make it rich, Iâll treat you to a round of drinks. From your IGN, Iâm sure you love to drink,â Vast Lushness said to Gu Fei while smiling wryly.
Even Gu Fei was getting tired of telling others about the origin of his IGN, so he merely said, âNo need for that.â
âYou said you had seen me in Yueye City; when was that?â Vast Lushness asked.
âI used to be Fugitive 27149,â Gu Fei honestly replied.
Clank! The emblem that Vast Lushness had just picked up loudly clattered to the ground. She raised her head and fixed Gu Fei a fierce stare. She had been conversing with him all this while with her eyes on the items he had on display.
Before either of them could say another word, a stifled laughter was heard from the player beside them.
âSorry! I didnât mean to eavesdrop on you two,â the person hurriedly apologized, adding mischievously, âPretty lady from Yueye City, you should know that Yunduan Cityâs Mages like to fashion themselves as Fugitive 27149 whenever they are chasing skirts....â
Gu Fei felt amused by this as he had never heard of it before, âAnd? Whatâs the result of their attempts?â
The person sighed deeply, âNone has actually succeeded in scoring with ladies. In fact, they all got killed just for claiming that they were that guy!â
âWhyâs that?â Gu Fei asked.
âFugitive 27149 is an expert! All the pretty ladies want to see what heâs made up of. You have to get close to a lady to flirt, right? If someone wants to test your skill as a Mage at close range, itâs almost the same as you signing up for your own death!â The person explained while laughing.
âHa ha ha ha! How pitiful of them!â Gu Fei laughed as well.
Vast Lushness did not join this exchange. She could tell that Gu Fei was not trying to flirt with her using that silly method and was telling the truth. This meant that he truly was once Fugitive 27149.
âSo how is it? Do you still wanna treat me to a drink?â Gu Fei addressed Vast Lushness once he had his laugh.
âIâve already said it, so it counts,â Vast Lushness replied evenly.
Gu Fei merely smiled.
âBut! I originally wanted to treat you to some high quality liquor till you have your fill; now, Iâll only buy you one glass of the most common alcoholic drink available. Weâll then consider the matter between us as settled; what do you think?â Vast Lushness asked.
âForget about the drink; just buy one of my items now!â Gu Fei bargained.
âAre you really in need of money?â Vast Lushness asked, surprised. The cheapest glass of liquor was only at 10 copper coins. She had initially thought that Gu Fei had set up this stall as a hobby, yet he was actually attempting to earn some money from it.
Gu Fei glumly nodded his head.
âWhy arenât you farming for high-grade equipment, then? Wonât it take much longer for you to sell all these junks?â Vast Lushness asked.
âIâm in a hurry and I thought that selling equipment here would be quick!â As Gu Fei said that, he suddenly jumped up and shouted, âOh, crap!â
âWhatâs the matter?â Vast Lushness asked. Gu Feiâs shout made the surrounding players jump in fright as well.
âHelp me look after this stall; Iâll be right back,â Gu Fei quickly hopped out from behind the stall as Vast Lushness received a system message: [Thousand Miles Drunk has set you as the stall owner.]
While any players could set up a stall whenever they pleased in all the Peddlersâ Streets, the merchants were still under the systemâs protection. If not, all the Peddlersâ Streets could easily turn into Robbersâ Streets.
âWhere are you off to?â Vast Lushness was at a loss.
âThe P.E. session is about to start; Iâll be back soon!â Gu Fei said as he sprinted off.
âWhat?â Vast Lushness became even more clueless.
Gu Fei hurriedly ran to a safe zone and went offline. He then rushed out of his house and arrived at the schoolâs field.
Music played on speaker as the students made their way toward the field. Gu Fei sighed in relief; at least, he was not late for work.
That was right. Although physical education teachers did not have classes in the morning, supervising the studentsâ morning and assembly exercises was still part of their job. Gu Fei rushed between the two worlds precisely because of the assembly exercise....
He entered the game once more after he was done with his duty at school. When he got to Peddlersâ Street 2, he spotted someone arguing with Vast Lushness by his stall.
âWhy are you selling all these for 1 gold coin? Thatâs quite the loss. Babe, you could sell this ring here for 2 or 3 gold coins! This dagger has decent traits to it, so 5 gold coins should be the right price for it. As for these...â The person pointed to a few other items and said, âTheyâre not even worth 1 gold coin each! Sigh... Must be tough for you to sell things here... Actually, I happen to need a Priest for my level grinding. Babe, howâs your skill? Why donât you join me on my level grinding? We can sell some high-grade equipment together after we farm them. Iâm now at level 40. With you aiding me as a Priest, we shanât have problems fighting monsters five levels higher. Since the monsters are ten levels higher than yours, youâll get lots of experience as well as high-grade equipment. What a great deal, it is! So are you in?â
The person chattered incessantly, looking as if he was trying to abduct a naive and unworldly teenage girl. Vast Lushness was only at level 31 with trashy equipment. Given how she was also currently selling a pile of trashy items at a low price, she completely fit the above descriptions.
Unfortunately, the man was dead wrong. After saying so many flowery words, Vast Lushness simply rolled her eyes, âYour tricks wonât work on me.â
The man felt stunned as he realized that his intentions had been seen through. Unexpectedly, he sulkily said, âLooks like babe isnât a newbie, after all!â
As Vast Lushness flashed him a cold smile, the man continued, âThen, you should know better that thereâs no future selling these items, right? Come and grind with me! Seeing how low your level is, you must be lacking the help of an expert during level grinding, right?â He suddenly felt a presence behind him as he was trying to convince Vast Lushness. Turning his head backward, he saw Gu Fei standing behind him, âItâs you!â
Before Gu Fei could reply, the man was already patting him on the shoulder and saying, âBro, I saw her first so I got the dibs on her. Donât mess things up for me! Besides, you already have the entire Amethyst Rebirth to yourself; is there a need to busy yourself with more? Anyway, itâs first come, first served basis here!â
Deplorable! He is too d*mn deplorable! Gu Fei cried inside him.