106: Chapter 106 Closing the City Gates to Make Things Difficult? All the Benefits Are Banned for You

Yellow sand swirled along the official road, the small pebbles clattering against the armor of the Guard Squad with a soft rustling sound. Lin Zhe and his group had traveled through the night, and as the sky just began to brighten, they arrived at the gates of Red Leaf City, a major imperial border town. The ten-meter-high bluish-gray city walls stood tall in the morning light, the city defense cannons atop them gleaming with a cold metallic luster. The gates were tightly shut, and not a single soldier could be seen guarding them.

Qing Yu urged her horse to the city gate. Just as she was about to raise her hand to call out, a head with thick features suddenly poked out from the city wall. Wearing the official robes of a Ninth Rank City Lord, his face was filled with malice; it was Li Biao, a distant nephew of the Li family nobles whose property had been seized. He had long since received word from the Remnants of the Three Clans, knowing Lin Zhe would pass through Red Leaf City, and had specifically waited here to give him a hard time so he could take the bounty and flee.

“Listen up, you people down there! Red Leaf City is under lockdown today. All unauthorized personnel, get lost immediately!” Li Biao stood with hands on hips, spitting as he shouted. When his gaze swept over Lin Zhe, who was dressed in plain cloth, his face became even more disdainful. “Especially you, that low-level Refugee NPC. You think you're worthy of entering my empire's major town? Dare to take one step closer, and the city defense cannons will blast you into dust!”

The Guard Squad was instantly enraged and was about to draw their blades to tear down the city gates. Lin Zhe raised his hand, his expression calm, not even lifting an eyelid. His fingertips moved slightly, and the pale gold Power of Rules instantly covered the entire area of Red Leaf City without a single redundant word.

The next second, a glaring red notification popped up in the vision of all online players in Red Leaf City, so bright it was dazzling:

[Warning: In the Red Leaf City area where you are located, due to the City Lord's malicious provocation of Lin Zhe, the highest authority of Luofeng Village, all Novice Area benefits are hereby banned effective immediately:

1. The 15% drop rate bonus for the [Empire Tour] event is cancelled;

2. All Red Leaf City players are permanently stripped of access to the Elf Secret Realm;

3. All Red Leaf City players are prohibited from maple coin exchange and trading;

4. The eligibility for Red Leaf City public warehouses to provide free potions is cancelled.

The time for lifting the ban will depend on the City Lord's attitude in admitting his mistake.]

As soon as the notification finished popping up, the entirety of Red Leaf City instantly erupted into chaos.

A solo player grinding mobs in the wild swung an axe at a wild wolf. What should have been a 100+ critical hit now only showed a white damage number of -52, and not even a single hair dropped on the ground. He was stunned on the spot: “What the hell? Where's my 15% drop rate? Why aren't even normal mobs dropping anything anymore?”

A player standing at the entrance of the Elf Secret Realm teleportation array had just taken out his ticket, preparing to enter the dungeon to farm for the Agility Blue Gear he had been longing for. Suddenly, a notification popped up: “You do not have permission to enter this dungeon.” The ticket he bought for three hundred copper coins instantly became a piece of scrap paper. He jumped in anger: “What the hell? I just saved up money for half a month to buy this ticket! You're just not letting me in like that?”

A player wanting to go to the trade route to buy forging materials pulled out maple coins to pay, only to be told by the stall owner that maple coins were currently unusable and only copper coins could be used. What originally cost 10 maple coins for high-grade moonlight grass now cost 1,200 copper coins. He cursed on the spot: “I just exchanged a thousand maple coins yesterday to buy materials for a weapon! Now they're all stuck in my hands? Even the official devs aren't this scammy!”

Newbie players queuing at the public warehouse for free potions were suddenly notified that their “eligibility has been cancelled.” They were already too poor to afford potions and couldn't even beat novice mobs; their eyes turned red with frustration on the spot.

In less than ten minutes, the players of Red Leaf City went crazy, searching for what had happened. Soon, some players who had been watching the excitement at the city gate posted a video of Li Biao making things difficult for Lin Zhe to the local channel, and it instantly spread throughout the city.

“What the hell? It's that dog Li Biao looking for death? He's a distant nephew of the Li family, right? He already embezzled a lot of disaster relief funds from our city before, and now he dares to mess with the big boss Lin Zhe? And he's dragging us down with him?”

“Damn it, I just got a Purple Gear Blueprint and I'm missing an exclusive material from the Elf Secret Realm. I was planning to farm it today, but now I can't get in! You dog City Lord, I'll kill your whole family!”

“Let's go! To the City Lord's Mansion! Make him open the gates and apologize! Otherwise, we'll trash his kennel!”

No one knew who shouted first, but it was instantly met with a hundred responses. Thousands of players, clutching their weapons, rushed toward the City Lord's Mansion. Many more players who had been screwed over joined along the way. The massive crowd filled the entire main street, shouting the slogan “Open the gates and apologize,” making the ground tremble.

The guards of the City Lord's Mansion were about to stop them but were immediately sent back to the respawn point by a player's axe. The heavy mahogany doors were smashed to pieces with a “clang.” Players rushed in and smashed everything in sight, shattering Li Biao's treasured vases and antiques. Even the gold coins hidden in his secret room were dug out and divided up.

Li Biao was still on the city wall feeling smug, waiting for Lin Zhe to bow his head in submission, when he suddenly received a message from his butler saying that players had stormed the City Lord's Mansion and almost dragged out his newly married concubine for a beating. He was so scared his fat was trembling all over. He wanted to deploy the city guards to suppress them, but it turned out those soldiers were also part-time players. He had already withheld their pay several times, and now they were on strike, standing on the city wall watching the show, occasionally joining the players in shouting “Open the gates and apologize.”

“Lord City Lord, you'd better hurry up and open the gates to apologize, otherwise even we won't be able to protect you!” the squad leader of the city guards rolled his eyes and said irritably, “The Elf Secret Realm ticket I just bought is also wasted. I even feel like giving you an axe myself.”

Li Biao's face was as white as paper, and his legs were shaking uncontrollably. He never imagined that a seemingly ordinary Refugee NPC like Lin Zhe would have authority so vast that he could ban the benefits of an entire city's players. Now he was stuck between a rock and a hard place; if he didn't bow his head, he'd probably be torn apart by the angry players.

He quickly scrambled down the city wall and tremblingly ordered the city gates to be opened. The heavy gates slowly creaked open with a “groan.” Li Biao ran out of the gates and fell to his knees before Lin Zhe with a “thud,” kowtowing loudly. The fat on his face quivered: “Mr. Lin Zhe! I was wrong! I had eyes but couldn't see Mount Tai! You are a great person, please forgive me this once! I will immediately give you the list of the Remnants of the Three Clans hidden in the city! Please, first lift the ban on the players' benefits!”

The surrounding players who had followed him out saw Li Biao kneeling like a grandson and began to cheer. Screenshots were lightning-fast posted to the world channel. Players across the entire server were laughing like crazy, and the screen was flooded with messages like “That dog City Lord deserved it for seeking death” and “Big boss Lin Zhe is awesome.”

Lin Zhe leaned against a nearby tree trunk, his fingers lightly tapping against it, as he glanced indifferently at Li Biao without speaking. His Rule Perception had already spread across the entire Red Leaf City. There were at least a dozen malicious auras marked as Remnants of the Three Clans shivering in various corners, clearly having colluded with Li Biao long ago, planning to flee after striking from the shadows.

Xing Jianwan stood nearby holding her staff, kicking Li Biao's shoulder with a cold sneer: “First, hand over the list of remnants you're hiding. Then, take all the money you've embezzled since taking office and deposit it into the Red Leaf City public warehouse as compensation for the players. Only then will we talk about lifting the ban. Dare to be short by even one copper coin, and you won't be the City Lord anymore.”

Li Biao didn't dare to offer the slightest rebuttal. He scrambled up and ran back into the city to get the list, running faster than a rabbit for fear that if he was a step late, the players would tear down his City Lord's Mansion again.

Lin Zhe looked up and scanned the several malicious auras floating within the city, a faint cold sneer curling at the corners of his mouth.

The waters of Red Leaf City are quite murky.