âKeng!â
Behind, a burst of cold passed through, and along with it, came a scorching pain that was caused by a sharp sword that tore through my defenses. I abruptly came to a stop and turned around, parrying the attack using my Cold Iron Sword. I activated [Wind Slash] with my Emperor Qinâs Sword and struck down on the Swordsman. The Swordsman immediately fell onto the ground.
âSha sha shaâ¦â¦â
I quickly retreated, dodging an Archerâs attack. At the same time, I cast [Heal] onto Flaming Tiger God.
After an intense bloodbath, the snow was littered with countless corpses. Most of [Mass Burial]âs 200 members had dropped like flies. I mustâve killed at least 100+ people already. My Emperor Qinâs Swordâs [Kill for Blood] stack had already reached 50, thus raising its attack power by 50%. The remaining members of [Mass Burial] were terrified. At the same time, after fiercely battling with both swords, I realized that the twin sword style in game was different from reality. The process of attacking and blocking were not as easily done in reality. They had to be integrated slowly.
âKeng!â
I returned my Cold Iron Sword back to its sheath and held the Emperor Qinâs Sword. Eh. The [Twin Sword Style] should only be used on special occasions; I canât let them understand my tactics, or else Iâm going to regret it later on. Besides, Jian Feng Han, Soaring Dragon, Wang Ze Cheng, and many others will want to research this skill. Once my tactics are revealed, its advantage will be significantly lowered.
[Mass Burial] only had around half of its original players left. Not Ordinary stood there trembling with rage filled eyes, âGod dammit. Is Xiao Yao Zi Zai even human? How can one person wipe out so many peopleâ¦â¦â
One of the elders whispered, âGuild Master, our crowd control players are not here, we simply cannot do anything against Xiao Yao Zi Zai. On top of that, Wang Jian is also bringing over 100 elites from [Zhan Longâs First Division] into Icy Forest Graveyard. Should we retreat? Or should we continue to fight to the death with these [Zhan Long] members here?â
Not Ordinary glared with cold eyes, âUgh. Thereâs no need to stay here and waste time. Retreat. We have much more important things to do. Go contact Wang Ze Cheng. Weâll go take out the two Emperor Tier BOSSes in Firestone Canyon. Weâll provide the front line close combat players!â
The Elder felt a chill, âBossâ¦? Weâre providing the front line players again? Every time we fight an Emperor Tier BOSS, around a hundred of our brothers lose a level. But what does [Hero Moundâs First Division] give us? 100G per person. What kind of f*cking reward is that? Do they think weâre beggars?
Not Ordinary sneered, âDonât be unsatisfied. Just follow my orders and pick out the frontline players quickly. Also, donât tell anyone else about this. We still need Wang Ze Chengâs power for a lot of things. Hehe. Donât you like that Cang Tong Lin Wan Er girl? If you do good then maybeâ¦â¦â
The elder became excited, âMaybe⦠maybe I can get close to her?â
Not Ordinary laughed, âClose my ass. If you even think about trying to go for Lin Wan Er, Wang Ze Cheng will definitely shred you into pieces. At that time, not even I can protect you. Iâm only warning you this one time.â
âYes, Iâ¦â¦ I understand my mistake Boss. Are we retreating?â
âYes, retreat!â
And thus, leaving over 100 corpses behind, the [Mass Burial] members retreated. A few white light appeared behind me and the 17 dead [Zhan Longâs First Division] members revived. Wong Jiang returned to full health, lifted his battle axe and walked towards me laughing, âGuild Master, thank god you came. If not, they would be camping our corpses 24/7!â
I slid my Emperor Qinâs Sword into its sheath, turned around and smiled, âThat shouldnât be possible. We [Zhan Long] wonât let our brothersâ corpses be camped 24/7. If such unsightly things happened, weâll fight back with the full might of our forces. Oh yeah, how come you guys started fighting with [Mass Burial] members?â
âItâs like thisâ¦â¦â
Wong Jiang turned around, pointed at Rainy and said, âRainyâs brother works in Hangzhou and became a bodyguard in a bar on Blue Water Street. Not even three months later, Rainyâs brother suddenly disappeared and hasnât contacted anyone at all. However, Rainy remembered that it was someone from [Mass Burial] who introduced her brother to work as a bodyguard in that bar. So, after doing some investigation, we followed the player and entered Icy Forest Graveyard. But not long after we were suddenly attacked and suffered a lot of casualties.â
I was startled a bit. I looked at Rainy, walked towards her and said, âRainy, your brotherâ¦â¦he works at Blue Water Street?
âYea!â
Rainyâs face became filled with worry, âMy brother hasnât contacted us for a month. After he⦠after he helped me buy this game, he suddenly disappeared. Iâm really worried about him. I went to Hangzhou to find him in that bar and all three times and they all said theyâve never seen someone named Qin Meng. Iâ¦â¦ Iâm really worried about himâ¦â
Saying that, a large tear rolled down her face. With a whimpering voice she said, âThat Youyi. I know him. Heâs the friend that my brother was talking about, but he wonât admit it. He said that heâs never met anyone named Qin Meng. What should I do?â¦â¦ Iâm really worried about my brotherâ¦â¦ Iâm afraid that heâs alreadyâ¦â¦ alreadyâ¦â¦â
I gritted my teeth. I have a bad feeling about this and said, âRainy, youâre called Qin Yu?â
âMhm!â
I took a deep breath and tried to comfort her, âRainy, donât worry about it. Iâll find someone to investigate about your brother. Donât worry. I have some connections with the law enforcement in Hangzhou, so nothing will happen to your brother. Donât worry too much. You⦠Where are you living right now?
âI go to school in Suzhouâ¦â¦â
âOkay. Donât come to Hangzhou to find your brother. Iâll help you find him. Okay?â
Rainy lifted her head and looked at me with a face full of tears, âGuild Master. Youâre for real? Youâllâ¦â¦Youâll help me find my brother?â
I nodded, âYeah. Nonetheless, Iâll give you an explanation. Donât worry, Iâll definitely find your brother. Donât worry too much about it okay? Iâll add you as a friend and give you my cellphone number. If you have any clues to his whereabouts, call me. Donât go looking for him by yourself.â
âOkay.â After Rainy got my phone number, she looked at me again. âGuild Master, Iâ¦â¦ Iâm still worried. My brother⦠could he already beâ¦â¦ could he already beâ¦â¦â
I forced a smile and patted her shoulder and said, âDonât think too much about it. This isnât as problematic as you think. Feel better okay?â
âOkayâ¦â
On the side, Wong Jiang also added me as a friend and sent a message, âGuild Master, Rainyâs brother⦠could something have happened to him? I have a feeling that youâre hiding something from us. Iâm really worried about Rainy. Iâm afraid that she canât take anything shocking like this. When she was in school in Suzhou, her father passed already, leaving her with only her mother. They relied on her brother to take care of the family. God forbids if something happened to her brother, I donât know how Rainy will deal with thisâ¦â¦â
I turned and looked at Wong Jiang and replied, âDonât worry too much. Thereâs things that you guys shouldnât know about, but please trust me. Iâll do my best to help Rainy find her brother.â
Wong Jiang clenched his fist, âGuild Masterâ¦â¦ Thank youâ¦â¦ Even though I donât know what you do, I still think that youâre a trustworthy person. You have to help Rainy. Sheâ¦â¦ Sheâs already suffered enoughâ¦â¦â
I nodded and replied, âMhm. You guys are members of [Zhan Long], which means that youâre our brothers and sisters. I canât just sit there and cross my arms when you guys need help. Donât worry. Iâll be able to find Qin Mengâs whereabouts within half a month.â
âMhm. Thatâs great. Letâs keep in touch!â
âOkayâ¦â¦â
â¦â¦
Not long after, Wang Jian and his hundred man squad appeared from the snowstorm, only to find that the battle had already ended. He lifted his sword and disappointingly said, âWhat the⦠It finished so quicklyâ¦â¦â
Wong Jiang smiled, âGuild Master, you came too late; Guild Master Xiao Yao already helped us finish the battle.â
Wang Jian smiled, âI knew it. With brother Xiao Yao here, there was no way you would lose. Actually, my bringing the whole squad here was a bit too much already. Okay. Why donât you guys join us. Weâll venture deep into the Icy Forest Graveyard today.â
âOkay. Yay!â
â¦â¦
I didnât say anything as I watched them go. I returned to the city and turned all the Spirit Recovering Grass into Spirit Recovering Pills. After all that, I was still missing 47% experience until I reach Lv 10 alchemy. I couldnât do anything but slowly wait.
At around 7, I got offline to get dinner with Wan Er and Dong Cheng.
âHowâs [Zhan Long] doing today?â Wan Er cheerfully asked me.
I wiped my mouth, âEh, Itâs good. We PKâd and leveled a bitâ¦â¦â
Dong Cheng laughed. âBrother Xiao Yao, I heard that you single-handedly challenged 200 members of [Mass Burial] in Icy Forest Graveyard and forced them to retreat. The strange thing is, everyone in the three big cities is talking about youâ¦â¦â
I was speechless.
Wan Er smiled, âHey Hey, How does it feel after using [Twin Sword Style]?â
I sighed, âThe control for blocking got much better, and my attack output also increased by around 50%. The only flaw is that the attacks are too fast, so the accuracy decreases. There is still a lot of room for improvementâ¦â¦â
âOh. Good luck then!â Wan Er looked at me and said, âBut, you have to practice discreetly. Donât let anyone look at your battle records, especially ones where youâre using [Twin Sword Style]. You have no idea how many people are shadow-fighting you in order to gain experience.
âYeah Yeah. I got itâ¦â
âWhat are you doing after we eat?â
âUhhâ¦â¦â I thought about it and said, âWan Er, you can go back online or rest with Dong Cheng. I need to go over to the police department. Thereâs something that I need to take care ofâ¦â
âYouâre leaving me and Dong Cheng behind againâ¦â¦â Wan Er pouted her lips, looking like a little girl throwing a fit.
I almost couldnât help but say, âAlright, What do you want me to do with you?â But I was able to hold myself back and said, âOkay, okay, be good Wan Er. This is really important business for me.â
âCan you tell us?â
âYeah. It has to do with one of [Zhan Long] members. Her brother went missing on Blue Water street. I need to investigate his whereabouts.â
âOkayâ¦â Wan Er gently said, âThen Iâll go back to leveling and wait for you to come backâ¦â¦â
âOkay!â
â¦â¦
After taking the two girls back to the dorms, I took out my cellphone and called Shen Bing.
âHey, Li Xiao Yao? What is it? Did you miss me already?â Shen Bingâs voice was so charming that it could melt anyoneâs heart.
I laughed, âSister Shen Bing. Help me with something!â
âHeh. I knew it. Whatâs up?â
âHelp me investigate the internet activity of someone named Qin Meng. Heâs gone missing. I suspect that the Blood Scythe has something to do with it. Help me check it out, okay? As a matter of fact, Iâm coming over right now, and we can investigate it together.â
âMhmm, alright, come directly to my office in the Technology Section.ân/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
âYes!â