Reign of the Hunters

The 30,000 gold might seem a lot, but once the conversion system was introduced it would be a meager amount.

It was not a wise choice to stock up on gold coins on that point. Items would be a smarter investment.

Ye Ci looked up Clingy Wolf and Remote Depths in her friend list and sent both of them the same message, “How many coins do you have right now?”

The two immediately replied. As Ye Ci had expected, they were both poor.

“Little Ci, you need money? I have 20 gold. It’s all I have. Lemme send them to you.” Responded Clingy Wolf.

“I’ll have 18 gold once I sell all these miscellaneous items I have. I’ll hand it to you later.” Was what Remote Depths said.

Tears flowed down Ye Ci’s cheeks as she stared at the 30,000 gold in her inventory...

Was there nobody else around her that knew how to make money?

“I’ll give you 1,000 gold coins.” Ye Ci sighed. She received a reply right after sending a message to the two. If Ye Ci did not know beforehand that Clingy Wolf and Remote Depths were in separate locations, she might’ve suspected that they were both in the same place. The replies were almost identically retarded.

“Oh, although I’m young and beautiful, b-but I’m straight. I’m not a lesbian. Even if you pay me 1,000 gold, I will not change my view. I’m a person with integrity. But if you’re willing to add 100 more gold into the sum, I will try my best.” Was what Liu Chang replied.

“Little Ci... Are you going to a gathering where you’re the only one without a boyfriend and you need me to pass as one? Oh, you don’t have to pay me for that. Your brother is cool and handsome. But if you really have to pay me, then pay me 999 gold, it’s a lucky number.” Replied Remote Depths.

Ye Ci had the urge to kick the two from her friend list after receiving their messages. How did she know such obnoxious individuals?

She sighed and replied, “I’m doing it so that you have money, so that you can have some savings, not because of something that retarded.”

The two remained silent for a long time, and then replied in unison, “You really are giving me money? I thought you were pulling my leg. Where did you get such a large amount of money?”

They almost drove Ye Ci crazy. She even thought to herself: Why are those two not BOSSes? If they’re BOSSes, she would’ve killed them repeatedly.

After more chattering, the two finally believed that Ye Ci was quite well off and was sincere in giving them the 1,000 gold. They immediately rushed to Red Lake City. They were so excited, as if they’d won the lottery.

Ye Ci gave them 1,000 gold each, and urged them to stock up on materials that she knew would become popular in the future.

They’re not idiots, and understood that once the Game Coin and Real World Cash conversion system was introduced, the in-game currency would surely suffer inflation. It would be more beneficial to have a stockpile of materials instead. The three split up, and Ye Ci retrieved the necessary materials to craft Novice Frostbane Potions.

Although Ye Ci had made up her mind to leave Steel-Blooded Battle Spear, she was a person who kept her promises. Since she had promised to clear the Frosty Wasteland for Thousand Sunsets, she would leave after fulfilling her promise. Besides, Frosty Wasteland was the place where a much-needed skill book would drop. If Ye Ci left then and there, she would not be able to find another 25-man party in such a short time.

As the saying goes, “make the best use out of everything.”

Even if she hated it, she still had to do it.

Ye Ci received a private message from Zero Arsenic as she was crafting her Novice Frostbane Potions.

“Gongzi, what are you doing now?”

“Leveling up some Life Skills.”

Zero Arsenic did not immediately reply. Ye Ci knew that he had something to ask of her, but she did not take the initiative to continue to conversation. It was never her way.

Both of them remained silent. For a moment, it was as if the conversation did not take place at all.

Zero Arsenic could no longer hold himself back after that short moment of silence, “Gongzi, did you... Did you help Blank Space with a dungeon today?”

Ye Ci answered with a slight smile, “Yes.”

“Why did you not inform the guild first before doing so?” Although Zero Arsenic’s intention was to reprimand Ye Ci, his tone was quite gentle. Nobody would be able to be harsh towards a person who brought 3 First Bloods and 2 First Five to their guild.

“Oh? I need to inform you about that?” Ye Ci narrowed her eyes.

It was Zero Arsenic’s turn to remain quiet. In an attempt to make Ye Ci stay in the guild, they did not restrict her actions. She was allowed to do anything she wanted. But just as the guild was keeping the video of her clearing the dungeon as a top secret material, she decided to offer help to someone else in order to clear the dungeon.

When it was announced that Blank Space received the achievement [Bane of the Automatons], Peacock Blue was the first one who noticed that Ye Ci’s name was included in the announcement. She immediately reported her discovery to Thousand Sunsets and Zero Arsenic. Thousand Sunsets was pissed, but before he could reprimand Ye Ci’s behavior, he was stopped by Zero Arsenic.

There was no other reason.

They had not fully grasped Ye Ci’s character. What if the Huntress chose to just leave in the face of Thousand Sunset’s anger?

The guild was already preparing to explore the Frosty Wasteland dungeon. It was said that World Conqueror was doing the same thing. If Ye Ci left them at that crucial moment, they would lose more than they would gain.

Although it did not necessarily mean that they would definitely be able to clear Frosty Wasteland with Gongzi You’s help, the difficulty of doing so would greatly be decreased with such an excellent player in the team.

Zero Arsenic was able to calm Thousand Sunsets down with his reasons, but this incident was not something that they were able to simply overlook. It was then decided that Zero Arsenic would be the one to clear things over with Ye Ci.

“Cough cough. What I meant was that... A guild has its own system, and every guild member should have team spirit.” Zero Arsenic coughed lightly to hide his emotions.

“Team spirit...” Ye Ci repeated slowly with a slight hint of sarcasm.

Zero Arsenic was embarrassed after hearing Ye Ci’s tone. The word “team spirit” was ridiculous, especially when they knew very that Ye Ci was simply being exploited.

Zero Arsenic had a strong will. But in front of Gongzi You, he could not maintain his composure.

He let out another slight cough and decided that it would be a great idea to not further question Ye Ci’s actions, “Anyways... Just let us know if you’re going to go clear a dungeon with players who are not from our guild. We want you to lead a party into the dungeon in the following days.”

Zero Arsenic was truly worthy of being the strategist of Steel-Blooded Battle Spear. He managed to avoid a topic that would be too awkward for him to continue and then took the chance to restrict Ye Ci with orders from the guild.

Ye Ci of course knew full well of what Zero Arsenic was thinking. But with her mind set to leave the guild after clearing the Frosty Wasteland for them, she accepted the order.

On that day itself, Ye Ci was “abducted” to work as a hard labor for the guild.

From the core players who do not have good enough equipment, to the substitutes, and then the normal guild members, Ye Ci’s timetable was packed full.

Ye Ci narrowed her eyes at Zero Arsenic. She did not even flinch after reading the timetable that Zero Arsenic handed to her. She only made one request: she would bring Liu Chang along.

Although Liu Chang was able to level up very fast, a Summoner itself was weak, relying heavily on summoned monsters to fight for him or her. With her rusty skills, Liu Chang died frequently and eventually, nobody wanted to party with her, and she became the one who had the worst equipment among the 4 friends.

Despite being hesitant, Zero Arsenic accepted Ye Ci’s request.

Liu Chang was so touched that she was crying internally.

After following Ye Ci into the dungeon for 2 days straight, Liu Chang’s equipment was greatly improved. Even if she was very unskillful, she made up with her lack in skill by working hard. With that, she was able to greatly reduce her deaths when exploring dungeons.

Liu Chang’s hard work paid off. She was able to avoid dying while clearing a Hard Difficulty Cruel Pit. Her excitement was doubled when a mid-tier Fire Spirit was dropped among the loots.

After distributing the equipment and disbanding the party, Ye Ci left the dungeon with Liu Chang. She immediately received a message from Zero Arsenic, “Gongzi, there’s a party needing your help in Hard Difficulty Forest of Stone.”

Even an angel would be pissed after being worked like a pack mule for days, not to mention someone like Ye Ci who had a temper. She replied coldly, “What? You’re treating me like a slave now? I don’t even get to rest?”

Zero Arsenic was a very sociable person. Ye Ci had been keeping quiet as he ordered her around for days and he was used to it. But when Ye Ci finally snapped, Zero Arsenic immediately realized that he had gone too far. He immediately said with a smile, “Uhh, no, definitely not. Why don’t you take a 2-hour break?”

Ye Ci did not utter a single word, and cut off the voice connection.

“Little Ci, why don’t you just leave?” Asked Liu Chang, who was beside Ye Ci.

Ye Ci was momentarily stunned. She stared at Liu Chang, slightly surprised. She had never mentioned her intention of leaving to anybody.

Liu Chang laughed and said, “Even if I’m just a nobody in the guild, it doesn’t mean that I’m ignorant. The Ye Ci I know would’ve left a long time ago. Why are you holding yourself back?”

Ye Ci simply smiled, “It’s not time yet.”