22: Chapter 22 The Night Before the Siege

Chen Ergou stared at the pitch-black die in his palm, falling into deep self-doubt.

This thing was entirely black, with blood-red pips engraved on it, and it felt chilly in his hand, like holding a block of ice.

"System, are you sure this thing can be sold?"

[System Notification: chaos dice, SSR rarity, suggested price 50 gold coins per piece.]

"Fifty gold coins?!"

Chen Ergou almost dropped the die on the ground.

"Why don't you just go rob someone? Not only is this lousy die's effect random, but it can also screw over your own people. Who would dare to buy this?"

[System Notification: Take it or leave it.]

Chen Ergou: "..."

This lousy system had quite the temper.

Chen Ergou fiddled with the chaos dice, calculating in his mind. This thing was indeed a trap, but it had great effects. 1 point for party-wide speed boost, 5 points for single-target invincibility, 6 points for instant death; any of these effects on their own would be a god-tier skill.

The problem was, the side effects were deadly.

The effects applied randomly to both friend and foe; who could handle that?

"Forget it, let's list it first. What if there's a sucker out there?"

Chen Ergou placed the chaos dice on his stall and put up a price tag: [chaos dice: 50 gold coins/piece, random effects, no returns, proceed at your own risk.]

This slogan was written like a disclaimer.

As soon as he set it up, players gathered around.

"Yo, Ergous Stall has new goods again?"

"chaos dice? What the heck is that?"

"Let me check the description... Holy crap! The effects are heaven-defying!"

"Wait, what does this side effect mean? Applied randomly to both friend and foe?"

"What? Doesn't that mean if you roll a 6, your own people might die first?"

"Who would dare to buy this?!"

The players discussed it heatedly, but no one dared to make a purchase.

Chen Ergou wasn't in a hurry. He sat there with his legs crossed, looking like Jiang Taigong fishing—waiting for a willing victim to take the bait.

"Buy it or don't, it's up to you. This is an SSR-grade item; you won't find another opportunity like this!"

Just as he was speaking, a player dressed in flashy, gaudy clothes squeezed in.

This person's ID was "God of Gamblers," a notorious gambler. It was said that he was also a gambling addict in the real world, owed a mountain of debt, and had run into the game to try his luck.

"chaos dice? Interesting!"

The God of Gamblers picked up the die, looked at it over and over, his eyes shining.

"Boss, is this thing really as magical as you say?"

Chen Ergou immediately perked up: "That's a given! 1 point for party-wide speed boost, 5 points for single-target invincibility, 6 points for instant death! Just think, during the Siege Battle, if you roll a 6 and the BOSS just kicks the bucket, how cool would that be?"

The God of Gamblers swallowed hard: "Then... what if I roll a 2 or a 4?"

Chen Ergou coughed dryly: "Well, you know, business is business; there are gains and losses. 2 points is a speed debuff, 4 points is shrinking, it's not like they're unusable..."

"And that instant death from 6 points, could it fall on our own people?"

"This... theoretically, it's possible."

The God of Gamblers was silent for a few seconds, then suddenly slapped his thigh: "I'll take it!"

"What?"

"I said I'll take it! Give me ten!"

Chen Ergou's eyes widened: "Ten? Are you sure? That's five hundred gold coins!"

"Sure! I just like the thrill!"

The God of Gamblers looked excited, "Life is a gamble. If you don't gamble, how do you know if you'll win or lose?"

Chen Ergou was grinning from ear to ear, quickly packing up ten chaos dice and presenting them with both hands.

"Brother God of Gamblers, here you go! Wishing you a great victory in the Siege Battle!"

The God of Gamblers tucked away the dice and left in high spirits.

The surrounding players were stunned.

"Is this guy sick?"

"Spending five hundred gold coins on this trap?"

"The gambler's mindset—us normal people can't understand it."

Chen Ergou didn't care about that. Counting the gold coins he had received, he beamed with joy.

"Suckers, oh suckers, the more the better!"

After selling the chaos dice, Chen Ergou began to ponder how to sell off the rest of his stock.

Now that the entire Novice Village was preparing for battle, players were frantically purchasing supplies. But most people were frugal, saving wherever they could.

"I need to find a way to make them willing to open their wallets..."

Chen Ergou's eyes rolled, and a plan formed.

"Got it!"

He immediately opened the system panel and began designing new bundles.

[Pre-battle Supply Bundle: regret potion × 1 bottle + substitute scarecrow × 1 + shrinking cookie × 1, original price 29 gold coins, bundle price 25 gold coins!]

[Deluxe Pre-battle Supply Bundle: regret potion × 3 bottles + substitute scarecrow × 2 + shrinking cookie × 2 + rebound wristguard × 1, original price 75 gold coins, bundle price 65 gold coins!]

[Supreme Pre-battle Supply Bundle: regret potion × 5 bottles + substitute scarecrow × 3 + shrinking cookie × 3 + rebound wristguard × 2 + clairaudience potion × 1 bottle, original price 130 gold coins, bundle price 110 gold coins!]

As soon as the three tiers of supply bundles were launched, they caused a sensation.

"Holy crap! There's such a good deal?"

"Buying in a bundle is indeed much cheaper!"

"Give me one Supreme Bundle!"

"I want a Deluxe Bundle!"

"Give me three Pre-battle Supply Bundles!"

Players swarmed in, and a long line formed in front of Chen Ergou's stall.

Poxiao and Anying were helping maintain order on the side, exhausted and covered in sweat.

"This profiteer, making money is too easy..." Poxiao muttered while wiping his sweat.

Anying said quietly: "The guild leader's judgment is indeed unique."

Chen Ergou was so busy he couldn't stop moving, his hands soft from counting money.

In less than half a day, more than half of the stock of regret potion, substitute scarecrow, and shrinking cookie had been sold.

"I'm rich, I'm rich!"

Chen Ergou looked at the constantly jumping numbers in his account, so happy he was almost bubbling over with joy.

In the evening, Ye Liuli came again.

This time, she didn't come alone; behind her followed a dozen or so core members of the [Dawn] guild.

"The supply bundles are quite effective. Give me fifty Supreme Bundles."

Chen Ergou almost choked on his own saliva.

"Fi... fifty?"

"What, you don't have them?"

"Yes, yes, yes! Please wait a moment!"

Chen Ergou quickly called Poxiao and Anying to help pack, while he himself scurried about to serve tea and water for Ye Liuli.

"Guild leader, your grand gesture truly makes me admire you to the ground!"

Ye Liuli glanced at him indifferently: "Stop flattering me. These supply bundles are prepared for the guild elites, so you must ensure the quality."

"Rest assured, the quality is absolutely no problem!"

Chen Ergou patted his chest to guarantee: "Every bottle of potion, every substitute scarecrow, I have personally inspected!"

Ye Liuli nodded and suddenly asked: "That chaos dice, did you sell it?"

Chen Ergou was stunned: "How did you know?"

"The God of Gamblers has been showing it off in the guild channel for a long time."

"..."

Chen Ergou scratched his head awkwardly: "Well, Brother God of Gamblers has unique insight, he saw the value of the chaos dice at a glance..."

"Value?"

Ye Liuli sneered: "That thing is just a ticking time bomb. If you don't use it well, it'll screw over your own people."

"Hehe, that's why I always emphasize, proceed at your own risk..."

Ye Liuli stared at Chen Ergou for a few seconds, then suddenly said: "Give me five as well."

"Huh?"

"I said, give me five chaos dice."

Chen Ergou was completely dumbfounded.

"Guild leader, are you... are you sure? This thing is very risky..."

"I know."

Ye Liuli said indifferently: "But sometimes, the higher the risk, the higher the reward. At the critical moment of the Siege Battle, perhaps this thing will come in handy."

Chen Ergou swallowed hard and obediently took out five chaos dice to hand to Ye Liuli.

"Guild leader, here you go. Good luck... good luck."

Ye Liuli took the dice and turned to leave.

Before leaving, she looked back at Chen Ergou: "Tomorrow is the final battle."

Chen Ergou nodded heavily: "I understand!"

Night fell, and the Novice Village was plunged into a tense atmosphere.

Players gathered in groups of three or five, checking equipment, distributing supplies, and formulating tactics.

Chen Ergou's stall finally became quiet.

He sat on a large rock at the village entrance, looking at the distant Dark Forest, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

Tomorrow, the Demonized Wolf King would attack the city.

That was a 15-meter-tall giant wolf, and it was said that it could swallow a player in one bite.

This battle was about the survival of the Novice Village, and also about whether he, Chen Ergou, could gain a foothold in this game.

"System, do you think I can survive?"

[System Notification: Host, please rest assured, this system will serve you wholeheartedly.]

"Give me a break, besides screwing me over, what else can you do?"

[System Notification: ...]

Chen Ergou sighed, preparing to pack up and go to sleep, when suddenly, a shrill wolf howl came from the distant Dark Forest.

"Awoo—"

The sound was extremely piercing, vibrating Chen Ergou's eardrums until they hurt.

Immediately after, a second howl, a third... countless wolf howls rose and fell, as if the entire forest were trembling.

The players in the Novice Village instantly became nervous.

"It's here!"

"The Demonized Wolf King's army!"

"Quick! Prepare for battle!"

Chen Ergou stood at the village entrance, looking at the pairs of eerie green eyes in the darkness, his heart pounding like a drum.

The Siege Battle, did it start early?

No, not yet.

The wolf pack was just lingering at the edge of the forest and hadn't rushed out.

But the oppressive feeling already made everyone unable to breathe.

Chen Ergou took a deep breath and clenched his fists.

Tomorrow was the real final battle.

And that chaos dice, what kind of storm would it stir up on the battlefield?