Chapter 163 - One Hundred Sixty-One -

Chapter 163: Chapter One Hundred Sixty-One - "Come Back with Me

Lv Shu’s gaze slowly lifted from the group of poorly equipped Revolutionary Army members around him, noticing the spammed channel conversations.

He had been paying attention to the leaderboards. On the leaderboard, the gap between first and second was as stark as a cliff, and the Contribution Values of those below, even if doubled, wouldn’t come close.

At the moment, Lv Shu’s Contribution Value ranked him eighth on the leaderboard, not very high, because he had been aimlessly leading this bunch of ragtag Revolutionary Army troops around like a headless fly.

No order, no discipline... like a bandit chieftain leading his followers on a spree of burning, killing, and looting, attacking those small cities of the Regular Army. When he saw the residents slain by the so-called freedom-fighting Revolutionary Army and fall under the blade, he didn’t think much of it; his mind was only on the Contribution Value ticking up.

From the first day, he had been tracking the channel conversations, because he knew wherever Su Ming’an went, he was key, and news of him would spread quickly.

He also had tried to approach the reported locations, but the chaos of his team made it difficult to even break away.

Fortunately, now he could manage to lead this team freely. And by a stroke of luck, his current position was very close to the coordinates of Grier Forest.

"Shall we go?" Lin Yin came over, carrying a knife. Her face was smeared with blood, yet she seemed indifferent, not even bothering to wipe it away. Renowned for her healing, this combat medic was also strong in close combat, fitting the unwritten rule that all healers must be capable in melee.

"I know you really want to go, so go ahead." Lin Yin smiled and said, "Looking at the channel chat, it’s almost turned into a full-on ambush... Although I can see that Su Ming’an clearly has the upper hand, those idiots seem eager to give themselves away... But I can tell you’re really worried about it."

Lv Shu paid attention to the channel conversations.

Since someone had begun screaming, "I’ve seen the Number One Player in person!" in the night, a bunch of people had echoed in agreement, frantically updating their locations within Grier Forest. Soon, like a deluge, they had washed over the entire channel.

Most were there for the spectacle, to see their idol. Some were from the Revolutionary Army looking to harvest high Contribution Values. The most eye-catching were the provocative messages claiming they were at certain coordinates in Grier Forest, daring the Number One Player to come and die—after which, Lv Shu never saw those IDs appear in the channel again.

He saw Su Ming’an’s Contribution Value surge again, likely reaping the values from those people.

"I’m going," Lv Shu said.

"Go, go." Lin Yin replied, "This city’s almost taken anyway. You take the third squad with you, quickly join your bright path."

Lv Shu looked towards the city.

The Revolutionary Army was brandishing their weapons, weaving through the streets, bodies strewn everywhere. Many wore armor, but the majority were in civilian clothes.

Revolutionaries were excitedly dragging bags of Gold Coins in and out of houses, children’s cries filled the air, followed then by only the sound of sparks flying.

The scent of charred flesh lingered on; he stood by a garden where flowers burned fiercely in the flames, an irritating sight.

He disliked such surroundings that stirred up unpleasant memories.

"You’re coming with me," Lv Shu said.

"Why?" Lin Yin scratched her head, "I’d better stick with the Revolutionary Army. I don’t buy all that nonsense in the channel’s messages about fairness. With Su Ming’an’s high profile, his missions must be extremely difficult. Plus, if Su Ming’an were to take you in and shove me aside, then where would I stand?"

"He’s not like that." Lv Shu grabbed her hand. "Come with me, you’re part of a team now, you’ve got responsibilities."

"Alright then..." Lin Yin shrugged her shoulders, "I just knew you were craving my healing. In these times, it’s not easy being a lonely healer, always living on edge..."

As she spoke, she casually sliced through the neck of a soldier from the Regular Army who had suddenly attacked from the side, ignoring the three-feet-high spurt of blood as she took a small squad and followed suit.

"Boom—"

A sound of Spatial Vibration erupted instantly, and before the Defensive Barrier of the small squad could even activate, they all fell to the ground, dead as dodos.

"Should be the last batch." Shadow jumped down from the tree branch, feeling the corpses on the ground.

Su Ming’an sat on the tree, looking at his equipment panel.

In this round of fishing, he had acquired quite a few pieces of new equipment, but most of them were just white and green equipment that could only be sold for Points, with only one piece that happened to be useful for him.

[Mist Chain (Blue Level): The candle has burned out, and the guide of the night has long perished.

Spirit +5

Effects of Spirit-type Skills increased by 5%

Durability: 8/10

Equipment Requirement: None.

Special Skill (Area Expansion): Your enhancement-type skills can be attached to weapons, tripling the Mana consumption.]

The bonus was small, but in Su Ming’an’s eyes, this Blue Level bracelet was far more important than many Red Level equipment.

He looked at this special skill, then tried out Annihilation.

Annihilation turned into a streak of black light and instantly attached to the Sword of Yarman. Then, he watched his Mana Points drop at a visible rate.

He quickly leaned to one side and slashed at a nearby tree trunk.

If it had been like before, the blade would have met resistance when colliding with the branches.

But under the stroke covered by Annihilation, it sliced through as if cutting jelly, without feeling any resistance, as if the blade was cutting through water.

On the trunk, a deep sword mark was left, and the part that was slashed seemed to disappear as there was no trace left.

...It was a success.

Su Ming’an had always been worried about the limited attack range of Annihilation, having to touch the opponent’s temple to attack, and it only seemed somewhat useful in combination with Spatial Displacement.

But now, with just this one attachment skill, its value increased several times over.

However, there was a downside: the Mana consumption was too fast. With this simple slash, his Mana Points in the Bright State were nearly depleted.

Su Ming’an decisively replaced the clover bracelet, which only had a half-level Luck bonus. This bracelet, which had accompanied Su Ming’an for five Worlds, had also honorably retired.

He still remembered that he had acquired the bracelet when he first entered the First World, and at that time, he hadn’t realized what the future would be like... If at that time he hadn’t walked into that underground room, if he hadn’t misidentified the little girl, or if he hadn’t had the impulse to ask the rabbit boss...

Forget it.

Su Ming’an set aside his thoughts, no longer contemplating these meaningless matters, and glanced at his Combat Power, which had now reached 1370.

He had been in this forest from nightfall until morning.

The specific strategy for "fishing" was to let his Shadow go out with his face on show while he himself waited behind to ambush anyone who came near. It didn’t matter whether they came to provoke or to see their idol; he asked no questions and killed them all.

—It wasn’t to say that those coming to see their idol were any good, if such star-chasing behaviors went unchecked, it would only bring trouble in future instances.

Take the Su-style for instance.

That girl who had blown up the whole world’s forum, he still remembered her.

Su Ming’an looked at the corpses below; his Shadow tirelessly hid them in the bushes before preparing to continue "fishing."

These players who came to offer themselves probably did not realize the absolute disparity in Combat Power and still thought multiple players teaming up could triumph, with attackers, healers, and shields in their ranks, treating him nearly like a boss. But a simple Spatial Vibration was enough to penetrate their defenses.

Their bodies were like paper mache; the Shadow itself could handle them, hardly necessitating Su Ming’an’s intervention.

This round of "fishing" was very successful, all who dared to challenge him believed they were strong, and they had a lot of good stuff on them.

However, this "fishing" activity should also be the last one—after this session, everyone would realize that his Combat Power was no longer comparable to before. With his overwhelming dominance in the Fourth World, his Combat Power had soared too rapidly, and he was no longer the figure who had been said in the forums to be "not quite up to par with the top of the leaderboard."

Unless they targeted his Occupation very specifically or used some odd Skills, he could virtually win every time.

However, after a night passed, he felt his body growing increasingly colder... not the kind of cold from a chilly wind, but a cold emanating from within, as if his body was slowly turning to ice, gradually becoming coldness itself.

In the preceding days, he had felt himself cooling off, but Hui Shuhang had been by his side, always able to timely transfer warm energy to him, but now she was gone...

"What’s wrong with you?" Shadow noticed his discomfort.

"Cold."

"Then wear more," Shadow said.

Su Ming’an looked at him, then rummaged through his backpack.

During the preparation period in the Main God Space, he would also prepare some things that might be needed. Like a flashlight, a magnifying glass, a cotton-padded jacket, a lighter, etc.

Putting on the bulky cotton-padded jacket, turning himself into a ball, Su Ming’an still felt cold with no substantial relief.

He looked up to see his Shadow laughing wildly.

"I’m dying of laughter, haha, really, it’s rare to see you like this, so foolish..."

The Shadow was happily laughing, and Su Ming’an noticed that the live audience was laughing heartily too. They thought that this cotton-padded Number One Player limited skin was rare and suitable for making into memes.

Nevertheless, he saw some live comments that were concerned about him, though few, indeed there were some.

As he saw this, his mood, which had just started to improve, plunged once again. He shifted his gaze and suddenly heard the sound of rustling grass.

A five-person squad, clearly Players, came into view. They were holding various dazzling gemstones, followed by a dark Shadow.

"—Great Commander, it’s him! He’s a high-ranking individual from the Regular Army!"

A Player spotted Su Ming’an and immediately spoke out.

Shadow had gone fishing by then and was not in the original spot, but these Players had long guessed that the one fishing must be a Cloning, and the true body should be the one with an NPC’s appearance, whose good looks made them envious.

"Not too stupid," Su Ming’an had been waiting for this group of Players to smarten up.

For example, instead of rushing over in succession to be killed... At least they should learn to leverage the power of NPCs.

In this instance, the power of NPCs is much more important than individual strength.

Clearly, someone had understood now and had brought a high-ranking NPC from the Revolutionary Army with them.

Seeing the situation turning unfavorable, the barrage of comments went into a frenzy, starting to issue condemnations like, "Actually targeting the Number One Player!" "Completely disregarding the overall situation!"

But the Players caught in the moment in front of him will not think too much. They only knew—at the death of this Number One Player, they would receive a large amount of Points, and Points were the source of the power they could exchange for after the game ended.

As for whether everyone’s Points meet the standard... anyhow, there would always be someone else tall enough to stand in; they had this opportunity and naturally wanted to seize it. If they were truly far-sighted, they wouldn’t have specifically come to this forest in the first place.

Survivor bias—selfish fools are always in the minority, and Su Ming’an had also anticipated that being in this position, he would inevitably encounter one batch after another of fools. And the clever ones wouldn’t seek death in front of him.

He looked over, and the person called the "Great Commander" slowly emerged from behind the Players.

The man wore a pitch-black top hat and was wrapped entirely in a black coat, resembling a thin, tall stick. His face was very pale, startlingly so against the entirely black ensemble, like an opera actor who had been overlaid with layer upon layer of filter, but his pitch-black eyes were exceedingly profound, within them intricate patterns.

...similar to the Pattern Marks on Hui Shuhang’s hands.

They must be the source of power for these Ability users.

"Qin Wang?"

Even though the Leader was holding an umbrella, when he looked over, he actually called out his name instantly.

Su Ming’an knew that Qin Wang had been in the square since he was young, and he rarely went out. To be able to match his face and name, and to be from the Revolutionary Army, the other party was clearly a high-ranking individual.

The Leader seemed somewhat surprised upon making eye contact, with a corner of his mouth holding a knowing smile.

"Where’s Shuhang that girl?" His tone was very familiar, as if he were chatting with a neighbor, which could easily make one relax.

"She left."

"She left?"

The Leader chuckled, and in the next moment, as if all pretenses were stripped away, his tone instantly turned frosty:

"—Then you will come back with me, don’t force my hand."

Intense Energy began to radiate noticeably from his body, like a threat.

His tone suddenly carried a sense of command, full of the tone of one who held authority, pressing down in an instance, making it hard to breathe.

It was as if he would forcibly take action if Su Ming’an did not agree.

Then, he watched as Su Ming’an, whom he assumed would fiercely resist, nodded.

"Sure," Su Ming’an said with a smile.

Free Skill, activated.