Chapter 421 - 393: Playing Happily with a Tycoon
——System Prompt: You have accepted the indefinite C-grade Chamber of Commerce commission quest "Purchase Delicious Sea Urchin Ingredients" from the owner of Elorin Sunrise Hotel.
"Have you all accepted the quest?" Invincible Soldier asked.
Everyone said in unison, "We have!"
Invincible Soldier turned his head and chuckled, "Brother Hao, please come aboard!"
With so many A-grade quests available, choosing just a C-grade one, and a collection mission at that, the least rewarding type—the contrast somehow made Ono-kun feel a bit wryly amused. Is it that Da Fei is too strong, or are they too weak?
Ono then feigned confusion, "The experience for a C-grade Chamber of Commerce commission can’t be that high, right?"
One Sword Eastward immediately said, "You’ll know once you’re there, Brother Hao. It’ll blow your mind!"
Invincible Soldier nodded repeatedly, "Exactly, exactly, you can find sea urchins in many places, but the quality can vary greatly. The spot we’re heading to is top-notch!"
Ono chuckled, "Alright, let’s broaden my horizons!" In truth, for Ono, leveling up was just a pretext.
Invincible Soldier said with a smile, "All aboard!"
The group, full of energy, made their way straight to the dock, laughing and joking along the way, when a gang of people blocked their path. Needless to say, it was Blood Sea Studio again. With a tycoon among them and the addition of so many new brothers from the computer science department, Da Bing’s confidence was more formidable than ever.
"Yo, Brother Tian, are you here to see us off to sea?" Before Da Bing could speak, One Sword Eastward stepped out and jeered.
Damn it, he stole my line again! Da Bing felt quite helpless regarding One Sword Eastward. To call him arrogant, yet he was surprisingly polite to both himself and Da Wei.
"Where’s that dog barking from?" Sea and Sky snubbed One Sword Eastward and went straight up to Brother Hao, "Bro, it’s a pity to throw your talent away in obscurity! Our Blood Sea Guild is about to be established, and we warmly welcome you!"
Da Bing and the others were shocked, to have someone poach right in front of them! Invincible Soldier immediately retorted angrily, "Who’s your brother!"
A player from Sea and Sky’s group shot back, "Would you rather be brothers with this poor loser? You think you have the right to speak when a tycoon is talking?"
"Damn!" Da Bing was instantly shut down, and their faces changed color.
"Tycoon, my ass!" Sea and Sky retorted with a kick, "I’m not crude!"
"Of course, of course, Brother Tian is truly a high-class, quality bigshot!"
One Sword Eastward mocked, "Without a Divine Artifact, what kind of bigshot are you?"
The other side jeered in response, "The leaders of China’s three large guilds don’t have Divine Artifacts either, what do you know!"
Just then, Brother Hao shook his head and gestured, "Brother Fei is really awesome. I joined his Guild because I truly admire him—my wealthy friends, aren’t you busy? Could you please step aside?"
One Sword Eastward immediately shouted, "Good dogs don’t block the way!"
Sea and Sky said indifferently, "Once we’re out of this port, we’re enemies on sight."
One Sword Eastward laughed heartily, "Enemies that keep chasing after my ass every day! Oh, I’m so scared!"
"Watch your back!" Sea and Sky huffed coldly and led their group away.
One Sword Eastward laughed boisterously, "Every day it’s ’watch your back’, how about showing me a Divine Artifact first?"
Invincible Soldier hurriedly said, "Brother Hao, don’t worry about it! These guys come and greet us every day, you’ll get used to it."
Ono gently smiled, "It’s fine, I’m actually curious to see what kind of people dare to become Brother Fei’s enemies."
One Sword Eastward guffawed, "They wish they could be Brother Fei’s enemies? They’re not even qualified to be doormats!"
Invincible Soldier cleared his throat, "At most, they’re only fit to be enemies with the likes of us. Brother Fei is busy and doesn’t even give them the time of day."
Ono remarked poignantly, "That’s why I admire Brother Fei, his realm is truly on another level!"
The group agreed, "Exactly, exactly, Brother Fei’s realm is on another level!"
At this moment, Ono was secretly thrilled! He had only heard about One Sword Eastward in the forums—a slightly above average player in terms of skill, but a giant when it came to trash-talking! Seeing is believing; with such an odd character around, how could Da Fei not make enemies everywhere? This is a talent who must be given key responsibilities!
So, Brother Hao made a point of patting One Sword Eastward’s shoulder and praised, "Hurry up, let’s set sail!"
With that pat, One Sword Eastward felt like his bones were several pounds lighter, almost ready to bend over and pick up soap from excitement! He trembled with emotion, "Alright! Let’s set out!"
That pat, in Da Bing’s eyes, felt like the sky was falling! Holy shit! With the tycoon in such a good mood, who knows how much money he would reward in his card? Does it mean our performance just now didn’t have the same charisma as One Sword Eastward? Fine! Next time we must exude even more domineering energy!
Now, Brother Hao and his entourage of a dozen players boarded the Octopus docked at the harbor. Da Bing began assigning roles to the new brothers from the computer science department—mainly positioning on the four Crossbow Cannons in the Gun Cabin and the Observatory. Although Da Liu and the others were also joining the ship for the first time, Da Bing had already tipped them off in private; under no circumstances should they act surprised or amazed, and they needed to remain as focused as professional bodyguards from the movies, or else there would be no rewarding tip from the tycoon.
Once everything was ready, the Octopus raised its sails and lightly sailed away from Elorin Port.
Perhaps influenced by the tense, battle-ready atmosphere among the crew, Ono initially looked around to see if the Blood Sea Guild would give chase, or set up an ambush at sea. But after a while, with the ship so far out that the land was no longer in sight, not a trace of pursuit materialized.
Ono couldn’t help but sigh inwardly; perhaps the Blood Sea Guild’s threats were just hot air. It seems necessary to find a way to cultivate more formidable enemies. However, making enemies is a craft, it must be done subtly and imperceptibly. In any case, patience is key—he must first earn everyone’s absolute trust.
At this time, the players on board remained on high alert, vigilantly scanning the empty sea. Ono wanted to talk to them, to foster camaraderie, but given the militaristic posture, he thought better of it and decided to head to the Cockpit to chat with the upper levels instead.
And in that moment of entering the door, Ono saw a completely different One Sword Eastward! His gaze was resolute and focused! Was this the same flippant, odd One Sword Eastward from before?
Just when Brother Hao was lost in thought, Invincible Soldier greeted him with a cheery smile: "Brother Hao, the sea might be a bit monotonous, but we’re not far from our destination, the Blue Coral Islands. We’ll be there in another twenty minutes."
Ono chuckled: "It’s not boring at all, this feeling of a solitary boat against the vast sea and sky is quite calming to the spirit!"
Da Bing praised: "Brother Hao really has a high level of awareness. Oh, by the way, Brother Hao, you’re level 15 now, have you not chosen a class yet? Do you want to become a Knight or a Priest? Some Chamber of Commerce missions give extra attribute rewards based on the hero’s class."
Ono shook his head with a smile: "Haven’t decided yet. Oh right, Brother Fei hasn’t chosen a class yet either, has he? What class is he, and what skills has he learned?"
Da Bing was taken aback for a moment, then sighed: "No idea."
Ono was astonished: "Even you don’t know?"
Da Bing said with a wry smile: "We’ve never fought alongside Brother Fei before. There’s no helping it; Brother Fei is just too high-end. We can’t keep up with the pace of his excellence!"
Ono nodded in agreement: "I see! I wonder when we’ll be able to catch up with Brother Fei’s pace?"
Da Bing laughed: "One of these days when Brother Fei is free, Brother Hao can invite him to help with a high-end instance. With the influence Brother Hao has, Brother Fei will definitely agree. We’ve always wanted to fight alongside Da Fei too!"
Ono chuckled and shook his head: "No, no, we can’t bother Brother Fei."
Just then, One Sword Eastward suddenly shouted: "Whirlpool! Hard to starboard!!!"
Da Bing reflexively jolted in alarm and without hesitation yanked the wheel—creak, the ship shook violently!
"Whirlpool?" Ono steadied himself and looked forward, utterly shocked! A massive whirlpool had suddenly appeared before them, spinning faster and growing larger, threatening to engulf the Octopus!
One Sword Eastward bellowed again: "Emergency Acceleration!"
—Boom! With a thunderous jolt, the Octopus’s bow surged upward and its speed soared, cutting through the waves like a speedboat!
Ono was stunned again. What is this?
With the correct angle and necessary speed, amidst the creaking filling the entire ship, the Octopus narrowly skirted the edge of the colossal whirlpool!
Only when they were clear did One Sword Eastward finally let out a long sigh of relief: "We’ve managed to get through today!"
Da Bing couldn’t help but wipe the cold sweat from his brow: "It’s this thrilling every time!"
Having regained his composure, Ono babbled: "Nani, what, how is this ship so fast?"
This time, Da Bing wouldn’t let Swordman take the lead in responding. He immediately said: "This is a special boat given by Brother Fei; it has an accelerating skill! We’ve been leveling up the boat regularly, and its speed has been increasing!"
A special boat! Leveling up the boat? Ono’s eyes widened in surprise: "What about the whirlpool?"
Da Bing grimaced: "That, we’re not sure about. It might have something to do with the mission Brother Fei has accepted. Generally, it’s very difficult for ordinary boats to get through, and we dare not take the cargo ship out to sea. Only Brother Fei’s special boat has a chance."
One Sword Eastward laughed: "Even with a chance, we can’t be careless, or else there’ll be no explaining to Brother Fei if we wreck the boat!"
"Exactly!"
"Truly Brother Fei is so insightful!" Ono smiled foolishly, his mind as turbulent as a stormy sea! Mr. Igarashi, oh Mr. Igarashi, even the plaything Brother Fei gifts to his junior surpasses what you have. At this rate, you’ll only be fit to clash with his subordinates.
The sudden appearance of the whirlpool shook everyone, but it also relaxed their nerves. Amidst conversation and laughter, sail shadows loomed ahead, the Blue Coral Islands were in sight.
And just then,
—[Regional Channel][Royal Dominator]: To the players who have just arrived, hello. The Royal Guild is undertaking a major mission. Please do not approach our security perimeter. Thank you for your cooperation, much appreciated!
Da Bing was startled: "Reserved area!!!" Although the channel message was polite, anyone could tell what it meant.
And Ono’s eyebrows twitched!
The Royal Guild? Wasn’t that the heavyweight guild just behind the top three guilds in the China Region? Although this guild might not have as many professional gamers as the top three, it undoubtedly had the most tycoon players. They might not care about money and don’t act solely on profit like the top three guilds often do, but act on whim, and these kinds of players are usually the most terrifying! Perhaps they had what it takes to be Da Fei’s enemies!
Having made his decision, Ono’s subtle smile surfaced: "If that’s the case, then we shall wait."
Da Bing hurriedly said: "Brother Hao! These are top-quality sea urchins discovered during the public test, they only respawn once a week. I didn’t expect someone would already be able to take on this mission here!"
One Sword Eastward said gravely: "They’re not taking on a mission; they must be farming the Sea Urchin King BOSS!"
The crowd exclaimed: "Farming a BOSS?!"
Ono frowned: "If it were just a mission, we should obviously make way for them, we could even lend a hand. But reserving a BOSS is just tasteless and low-class!"
Once Brother Hao spoke, did the rest really need telling what to do?
One Sword Eastward immediately said: "Brother Hao is right, reserving a BOSS is tasteless. Since the Royal Guild targeted Brother Fei during the national qualifiers in China and there’s some history between them, we’ll teach them a lesson on behalf of Brother Fei."
At this point, the usually silent Da Wei spoke up: "What if they really are on a mission?"
One Sword Eastward laughed heartily: "Of course, we’ll help them out!"
Everyone laughed: "Let’s go, let’s lend a hand!"
(I’m feeling a lot better) (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please come and vote for it on Qidian. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read on m.qidian.com.)