In the afternoon, at four thirty, a bell echoed across Yun Shang County—
"Ding!"
System Announcement: Congratulations to player [Li Canghai] for successfully creating the guild [Cang Zhi Qi Shi Tuan]!
…
Here it comes, the first guild to be established in Yun Shang County has appeared!
Within the secret realm map, the members of the Scarlet Moon Knights felt a chill in their hearts. This trend wasn't looking good. Fortunately, Lin Zhao, Chen Xue, Ding Chi, Lu Han, and their group were carefree. So what if Cang Zhi Qi Shi Tuan was established? They'd still fight them head-on when they showed up. Besides, with an extra 5% attribute boost, it likely wouldn't make a fundamental difference.
Everyone should focus on clearing out all the red names first. No need to rush anything else!
…
Yun Shang County.
Li Canghai wasn't in a hurry to level up. There were too many things to plan today, making him feel as if he could strategize and win battles from a thousand miles away. Thus, he decided to show his sincerity. He directly teleported to Ling Bei County, then ascended the Wangjing Tower in Ling Bei County. He spoke with the NPC at Wangjing Tower, spent 1000 gold to book the top floor of Wangjing Tower, and then spent 6000 gold to hire two maids for 2 hours of service. He then went upstairs to drink tea, awaiting his guests.
Soon after, footsteps could be heard from downstairs. Before long, a middle-aged swordsman with a ferocious expression strode up Wangjing Tower, a long sword on his back, clad in armor, looking like he meant business.
[Ding Chunqiu] (Swordsman)
Level: 60
Belongs to Squad: Quan Yuan E Ren
Squad Position: Captain
…
It was none other than the leader of the infamous Quan Yuan E Ren guild in Ling Bei County. His name was interestingly chosen after a villainous character from a Jin Yong novel. Following behind Ding Chunqiu were a mage and a divine archer, his two deputy guild leaders. The mage was named Jiu Mo Zhi, and the divine archer was named Qiu Qian Ren.
A very interesting guild.
As soon as Ding Chunqiu entered the room, he stared directly at the two maids beside Li Canghai, his eyes widening. As expected of the boss of Cang Nan Transportation, a man of great means. This lavish spending was something he would likely never learn in his lifetime. After all, Quan Yuan E Ren was one of the few guilds without a massive financial backing. They relied on their "badness." Players without principles or bottom lines could join Quan Yuan E Ren. They preyed on the weak in the county maps, and even fought amongst themselves. In short, they were a bunch of scoundrels.
"The guild leader of Cang Zhi Qi Shi Tuan is indeed impressive!"
Ding Chunqiu plopped down in front of Li Canghai and said with a smile, "I heard you guys got beaten pretty badly by the Youthful Group last night?"
"Not entirely, perhaps?"
Li Canghai smiled and gently patted the jade buttocks of the two maids on either side of him, saying, "Go, serve the guests. Don't serve me."
"Tsk tsk!"
Jiu Mo Zhi and Qiu Qian Ren also sat down, each with a maid in their arms, discussing matters.
Ding Chunqiu seemed accustomed to the behavior of these two deputy leaders and said with a smile, "Let's get straight to the point. What do you need us for?"
"An opportunity for you to vent your anger and make money."
Li Canghai said, "You should already know that the competition for the Titan Secret Realm in Yun Shang County is quite fierce. Currently, Scarlet Moon Knights have the upper hand. And the main force of Scarlet Moon Knights... to put it bluntly, is the Youthful Group. So, I've come to you all for this very reason. I want to fund Quan Yuan E Ren to go to Yun Shang County and help Cang Zhi Qi Shi Tuan reclaim the territory of the Titan Secret Realm, and incidentally, destroy both Scarlet Moon Knights and the Youthful Group. What do you gentlemen think?"
Ding Chunqiu pondered for a moment, then looked at his trusted subordinates.
Jiu Mo Zhi frowned and said, "This is indeed a win-win strategy. Your Cang Zhi Qi Shi Tuan can regain territory in the secret realm map and suppress your opponents. And we Quan Yuan E Ren can get revenge for the Youthful Group's actions a week ago. I think it's fine. The biggest issue is Li Canghai's sincerity. After all, we Quan Yuan E Ren have to give up our time in the secret realm map to help you fight. If you don't offer a decent military allowance... I'm afraid my brothers won't be happy!"
"That's right."
Qiu Qian Ren smiled and said, "Friendship is friendship, but money is still necessary."
Ding Chunqiu said somewhat awkwardly, "Well, my two deputy leaders' opinions are essentially my own. Our guild values democracy. I have to listen to everyone, otherwise, I might be buried in a pit by everyone in the middle of the night. After all, we are Quan Yuan E Ren; none of us are good people."
Li Canghai's lips twitched, but he still managed a composed smile and said, "Money is not an issue. I plan to have Quan Yuan E Ren continuously attack for 72 hours, supporting Yun Shang County's secret realm map, helping Cang Zhi Qi Shi Tuan firmly occupy this map, and eliminate all Scarlet Moon Knights' forces within the secret realm map. As compensation, your military expenses for your deployment will be a whopping 50 million universal coins. Your Quan Yuan E Ren has only 2000+ people. Divided amongst yourselves, each person gets 20,000 universal coins. I believe your brothers will have no objections."
"..."
Ding Chunqiu's heart tightened. He had originally expected a small sum, and he would have taken his brothers to do it. His psychological expectation was around 5 million universal coins, which would have been enough. Each person getting a few thousand universal coins would be enough for some drinks and fun. He never expected Li Canghai to be so generous, offering 50 million in military expenses. Magnanimous, truly magnanimous!
"Deal."
Ding Chunqiu immediately agreed, saying, "Since we're all friends, money isn't that important. Fifty million it is. When do we start?"
"Immediately."
Li Canghai said, "I will transfer 20 million to Guild Leader Ding as a down payment. Once you receive the money, immediately gather your forces and head to Yun Shang County. The target time for Cang Zhi Qi Shi Tuan and Quan Yuan E Ren to jointly attack Scarlet Moon Knights is set for 7:00 PM tonight. What do you think? If you can do it, I will immediately sign a written agreement with you and make the payment."
"Deal!"
Ding Chunqiu said, "Sign immediately!"
"Good!"
…
Scarlet Moon Knights' studio, dinner time.
Xiao Juzi ran out of her room with her homework book, asking a question. Lin Zhao patiently explained, while Chen Xue played on her phone. Luo Man cheerfully handed her phone to Chen Xue to look at, saying, "This sycophant is so disgusting." Chen Xue covered her mouth and giggled, saying, "Delete him. You don't like him, so why string him along?" Lin Zhao glanced at Luo Man's phone and then at Luo Man, saying, "Be a good girl."
"Okay~~~"
Luo Man quickly replied to the other party: "My boyfriend is angry and doesn't allow me to have any male friends around, so goodbye, bye-bye~~~"
Saying that, she deleted the other party.
"That's more like it."
Lin Zhao smiled, "If you don't like someone, why keep them around?"
"Mhmm~~~"
Luo Man nodded repeatedly, "From now on, Little Man Man will only be Brother's sycophant, and only let Brother lick her."
"Damn it..."
Lin Zhao rolled his eyes, unwilling to deal with her. Chen Xue smiled and said, "Lin Zhao, have you ever been a sycophant?"
"It seems..."
Lin Zhao couldn't quite recall. Back in Tian Chi Town, was he a sycophant to Chen Yu? Probably not. It was just the purest, most sincere liking. If the most sincere liking was mocked as being a sycophant, then the concept of love in this society was truly rotten.
"No, I'm not that kind of person!"
He shook his head decisively.
Chen Xue raised her eyebrows, "Okay, I'll take your word for it."
…
Just then, a message appeared in the Scarlet Moon Knights' management group chat from the online Lu Han: "Everyone, I have something to report. Our people discovered that starting from 5 PM today, players from Ling Bei County's Quan Yuan E Ren guild have been continuously teleporting to Yun Shang County. Many of them are familiar faces who we beat up quite a bit in Ling Bei County. I don't know what they're up to."
"Many?"
Chen Xue replied, "About how many?"
"It feels like all of them have come." Lu Han said.
"Hmm?"
Lin Zhao picked up his phone and frowned, "This isn't good... One possibility for a guild to suddenly transfer its entire force is that they've been invited by one side to cause trouble in Yun Shang County. Another possibility is to compete for map resources in Yun Shang County, but that's unlikely. The players in Yun Shang County can barely feed themselves; why would they come here to eat?"
"It's almost certain that they're here to cause trouble."
Chen Xue frowned slightly and said, "And they're likely targeting us. Either invited by Cang Zhi Qi Shi Tuan, or by Sheng Shi Mu Dan. Next, we might face the predicament of being attacked from both sides."
"Mm."
Lin Zhao nodded, "Lu Han, tell the online brothers to consolidate their territory, abandon the central areas, and level up by relying on the southeast zone of the map. This way, even if we come under attack, it will only be from one direction, and we won't be caught between enemies."
"Understood."
"We'll log in after dinner. It won't take long."
"Okay!"
…
A few minutes later, Ding Chi and Zhang Jun helped Sister Juzi serve the dishes. It was still a table of home-cooked meals, smelling very fragrant.
Chen Xue ate while looking at Lin Zhao beside her and said, "Cang Zhi Qi Shi Tuan established their guild around 4 PM, and people from Quan Yuan E Ren started appearing in Yun Shang County at 6 PM. It's too coincidental, so there must be a connection. If nothing unexpected happens, this is a combo attack from Li Canghai. Establish a guild to boost Cang Zhi Qi Shi Tuan's strength, recruit allies, invite Quan Yuan E Ren to join, and together suppress our Scarlet Moon Knights guild. This combo is intended to completely snuff out Scarlet Moon Knights in its cradle..."
"It's alright."
Lin Zhao was philosophical and said with a smile, "The fire may burn endlessly, and the spring breeze will bring it back to life. At most, they'll prevent us from farming dungeons. I don't believe they can kill us all back to level 0, nor do I believe Quan Yuan E Ren can stay in Yun Shang County forever. It's fine. We'll fight when it's time to fight, and level up when it's time to level up. Cang Zhi Qi Shi Tuan makes a move, and we'll respond!"
"Mhmm~~~"
Wang Ju listened while eating small bites, feeling a little worried. Was something going wrong with the studio's operations in the game? She could only understand half of what everyone was talking about.