Cheng En felt a chill down his spine as he caught the silver. He gave a quick bow to Fu Changxun, then bolted off like his feet were on fire.
Fu Changxun sighed helplessly. “Why’d you scare an NPC?”
Dong Zi replied stiffly, “I didn’t.”
“Alright, alright, you didn’t.” Fu Changxun chuckled. “So, how much did you make?”
Dong Zi handed him the entire coin pouch. Fu Changxun weighed it in his hand and exclaimed, “Whoa, this has to be at least ten taels! Ah Zi, you’re incredible!”
His tone was completely different from the polite flattery he’d used on Cheng En earlier—but unfortunately, Dong Zi hadn’t heard the comparison.
He only blushed, ears turning red—not that it was obvious in the dim lighting of the gambling hall.
“I just bet on high or low, used my ability. I don’t think anyone noticed,” he explained.
“Perfect. Let’s get out of here, then. Word is, if you win too much, the house won’t let you leave so easily. This is their turf, after all.” Fu Changxun stood up. “Ah Zi—hope you don’t mind me calling you that?”
“N-no, I don’t mind.”
His ears turned even redder.
They’d made quite a haul, and sure enough, as they stepped outside, they were stopped by the casino’s hired thugs.
But a few guards who barely reached 1.8 meters tall trying to intimidate 1.9-meter Dong Zi… well, the sight was almost comical.
The lead enforcer had to crane his neck just to look him in the eye.
“You two—don’t you know the rules around here?”
Fu Changxun obediently slipped behind Dong Zi, only his eyes peeking out from behind the taller man’s shoulder.
Dong Zi, expressionless and towering, looked down at them. With 90 points in Strength, he pressed a hand down on the shoulder of the guy in front.
“Don’t know them. Does it matter?”
The thug stammered, “W-well, you can’t just leave like this!”
Dong Zi responded by punching the mast beam near the door—splitting it clean in half. Murderous intent rolled off him in waves.
“……”
Yep. They’d kicked a steel wall.
Realizing they’d messed with someone they absolutely shouldn’t, the thugs backed off.
The casino boss’s pay wasn’t worth dying over—but tossing out a parting threat was still fair game.
Just as they were about to do so, a deep voice rumbled behind them.
“And what exactly were you planning to do to my little brother? Care to explain it to me first?”
They turned and saw a man—no, a hulking brute—glowering down at them with righteous fury.
Between towering Dong Zi in front and the fierce, broad-shouldered Xu Zhengyi at their back, the thugs looked like baby chicks caught between two roosters. —Ancient malnutrition was no joke; these supposedly “intimidating” thugs weren’t even as big as the average modern man.
They didn’t hesitate a second longer and scattered like startled rats.
Only after scaring them off did Xu Zhengyi breathe a sigh of relief. He picked up little Xiaoxiao again and asked, “You guys alright? They didn’t rough you up, did they?”
Both shook their heads.
“Good. We found a decent inn while you were gone. Do we have money now?”
“Yeah.” Dong Zi handed over a few silver pieces. Xu Zhengyi took them and went to book rooms.
A little while later, Fu Changxun and Dong Zi were led to their room by the innkeeper.
Now that both reliable teammates were back and safe, Xu Zhengyi’s tension finally began to ease. He sat down wearily and asked, “So… how do we clear this instance?”
Fu Changxun simply said, “Do you remember the instance’s objective?”
“‘The General’s Blade.’ Sounds pretty straightforward.” Xu Zhengyi hugged his daughter. “Let’s just find the General and see if his blade’s missing.”
Fu Changxun shook his head. “Earlier, when we looked at Dong Zi’s item, it said ‘A single glance, her heart stolen by a wandering rogue.’ And while we were at the gambling hall, we asked around—found out the current General is a trusted confidant of the Emperor, and he’s… well, a total brute.”
Xu Zhengyi looked slightly confused.
Fu Changxun continued, “Not to insult brutes, but neither ‘first sight’ nor ‘wondering hero’ fits the guy in the slightest.”
Dong Zi nodded. “Right. That’s why I suspect the ‘General’ mentioned in the mission isn’t the current one.”
Xu Zhengyi hadn’t spoken yet, but Xiaoxiao couldn’t hold back: “Daddy, you’re so slow. It means we need to find the previous General. He’s probably already dead!”
Getting called slow by his daughter didn’t faze Xu Zhengyi in the slightest. Instead, he beamed with pride.
“Xiaoxiao, you’re so smart.”
“…Hmph.”
Having floated the theory of “this General isn’t that General,” Fu Changxun switched topics. “Xu-ge, actually… everyone’s point totals are different.”
Xu Zhengyi blinked. “Huh?”
He had just gotten a handle on the General mystery, and now there was something else to figure out?
Fu Changxun cleared his throat, a little sheepish.
“We kept it from you before—sorry. But in the last instance, Dong Zi and I each earned 50 points.”
Xu Zhengyi was briefly stunned, then waved it off with a smile.
“It’s fine. Better to be cautious.”
“I’m glad you don’t mind,” Fu Changxun said. “So, I’m guessing point earnings are tied to our contributions during the instance—things like actions, discoveries, and how much information we uncover.”
He paused, then added, “Xu-ge, Xiaoxiao—any info we gather from now on, let’s share it first among the four of us.”
Xu Zhengyi and Xiaoxiao nodded in unison. “Got it.”
“From what Cheng En told us, this dynasty is called Hengchao, founded less than ten years ago. There was a female general who helped the Emperor seize power, but she’s been missing for eight years.”
Fu Changxun explained, “The General’s Platform might have been built for her. Unfortunately, we don’t have enough details—like what kind of relationship she had with the Emperor.”
The flyer hinted at emotional entanglement, but that was just a guess.
“That’s why we need to cooperate with the other players.”
The four of them continued discussing strategy, with Xu Zhengyi nodding along seriously from time to time.
Then they left the inn and headed out to find the speed-ability player.
“They’re here—the three players came to find us!” the swift step player announced, still out of breath. “Looks like they managed to get money after all. Should we… still work with them?”
The only female among the veteran players stood up. “Of course. First, we need to figure out how they got it. If they used points to exchange for it, steer clear.”
Only truly naïve players would waste their points like that. And they didn’t want that kind of dead weight.
“Got it, Zhao-jie.”
The speed player turned and headed out again. “Zhao-jie” exchanged a glance with another player and stepped into the ruined temple.
Zhao-jie turned to the group of new players and said, “The remaining players are coming too. Whatever you do, don’t act hostile. We’re all human—we’re all Huaxia people.”
The newbies chimed in immediately: “Of course! Gotta look out for each other. We’re safer together.”
Anyone still entering the game at this point had likely watched a few livestreams. They understood just how dangerous the game really was.
Zhao-jie smiled but said nothing more.
