Chapter 13: The Bounty Pit Cries Out All Players; Zhao Kai's Money Goes Down the Drain

Less than ten minutes after Zhao Kai's 100,000 gold bounty announcement was posted, the entire server went crazy.

100,000 gold was worth at least 250,000 real-world credits at the current gold price. Where else could one find such a good deal as getting 250,000 for killing just one person?

[World Channel]

[Player "Invincible Sword God": 100,000 gold! I'll take this bounty! How hard can it be to kill a newbie from a Novice Village?]

[Player "Blood Rose": Stop bragging, the guy above. That Ye even took down over twenty elites from the Heavenly Temple. If you go alone, you're just delivering yourself on a silver platter.]

[Player "Invincible Sword God": That's because they're trash! Watch how I handle him!]

[Player "Brick-Moving Expert": Regardless of whether I can kill him, I'm going to join the fun. What if I manage to steal the kill?]

[Player "Yes Little Follower": Have you guys forgotten what Ye's Talent is? SSS-grade Decay! Whoever goes will die!]

But the temptation of 100,000 gold was too great; few people could be persuaded otherwise.

Within a short half-hour, hundreds of players flooded into the Novice Village, all coming for the bounty. The area near the Novice Village's respawn point was packed with people waiting for Lin Ye to appear. The World Channel was as lively as a wet market, with people forming teams, discussing tactics, and even opening betting pools on how long Lin Ye could last.

Lin Ye stood in the center of the Novice Village square, watching the crowd gather around him, a wicked smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

He had prepared long ago. The moment he saw the bounty announcement, he had applied "Rebound Decay" to himself—whoever attacked him would be infected with the debuff. Furthermore, he had specifically adjusted the rebound stacks to the highest setting: 20% of the attack damage would be converted into debuff stacks.

In other words, a player capable of dealing 100 damage would automatically be hit with 20 stacks of the Decay Debuff after attacking him. At 20 stacks, they would lose 20% of their maximum health per second, ensuring death in five seconds.

Just as he finished preparing, the first person who wasn't afraid of death charged forward.

The ID was "Invincible Sword God," a Level 15 Warrior dressed in Blue equipment, carrying a glowing greatsword that looked quite intimidating.

"You're Ye?" Invincible Sword God stood before Lin Ye, sized him up, and sneered, "This is it? I thought you were some big shot. A Level 8 newbie is actually worth 100,000 gold?"

Lin Ye didn't say a word, quietly watching him perform.

Invincible Sword God raised his sword and slashed, activating all his skills with a menacing aura—"Take this, Wild Wind Slash!"

The greatsword came down with the whistling sound of wind, landing a solid hit on Lin Ye.

[System Notification: Player [Invincible Sword God] attacked a malicious target, triggering the Rebound Decay effect! 20 stacks of Decay Debuff have been applied!]

Invincible Sword God's health bar instantly dropped by 20%. He froze for a moment: "Huh? What's the situation?"

Before he could react, the second tick of the debuff arrived, and his health bar dropped another 20%. He panicked and quickly pulled out health potions to chug, but the debuff's damage was True Damage; at 20% of maximum health per second, health potions couldn't withstand it at all.

By the third tick, his health bar hit rock bottom. By the fourth, it was cleared.

"Ding! Player [Invincible Sword God] has died. Level dropped: 15 → 10."

Two pieces of the Blue equipment he was wearing exploded out, and his greatsword dropped as well, as he turned into a corpse lying on the ground.

[World Channel]

[Player "Invincible Sword God": Holy crap! What the hell is this?! I hit him once and I died?!]

[Player "Blood Rose": Hahaha, you're killing me. Weren't you bragging just now?]

[Player "Invincible Sword God": Dammit, I lost 5 levels! My gear dropped too! Whoever wants this bounty can take it!]

But no one listened to him. The lure of 100,000 gold was too great; though one had died, there were a hundred more behind him.

The second to charge up was a mage with the ID "Fireball Mage," Level 13. Hiding behind the crowd, he conjured a large fireball and hurled it at Lin Ye.

The fireball flew in front of Lin Ye and exploded—then red debuff numbers appeared over Fireball Mage's own head.

20 stacks of Decay, losing 20% health per second.

"Crap!" Fireball Mage was so scared he turned and ran, but the debuff's damage ignored distance; no matter how far he ran, it was useless. Four seconds later, he collapsed at the entrance of the Novice Village, his level dropping from 13 to 8.

Next came the third, the fourth, the fifth...

An Assassin used stealth to circle behind Lin Ye for a Backstab, but as soon as he landed a hit, the debuff was rebounded, and he died instantly three seconds later.

An Archer hid in the distance and fired arrows, but before the arrows even reached Lin Ye, he was worn down to death by the debuff himself.

A Priest tried to use a Purification Spell to clear the "Rebound" effect from Lin Ye, but the Purification Spell was automatically rejected by the Talent. Instead, he suffered a backlash and was hit with 10 stacks of the debuff.

In just ten minutes, more than twenty players who charged up to attack Lin Ye had died. The Novice Village's respawn point was crowded with people, all of them cursing.

[World Channel]

[Player "Invincible Sword God": I told you not to go! You just wouldn't listen!]

[Player "Fireball Mage": What kind of Talent is this? Hitting him is the same as hitting yourself?]

[Player "Blood Rose": Reflect damage? No, it's Rebound Decay! Whoever hits him gets infected!]

[Player "Brick-Moving Expert": How can we even fight? Hitting him is basically suicide!]

But some people still wouldn't give up, thinking Lin Ye's Talent must have a limit. If twenty people wouldn't work, then forty would charge together!

"Brothers, charge together! He can't tank the damage of this many people alone!"

Over forty players attacked simultaneously, their skills blanketing the sky as they crashed toward Lin Ye.

Lin Ye stood in place, not moving an inch.

The next second, red debuff numbers appeared over the heads of all forty-plus people at once. Twenty stacks, thirty stacks, fifty stacks—the rebounded debuff stacks were calculated based on damage, and those players who used ultimate moves were directly hit with over a hundred stacks.

All forty-plus people died simultaneously.

The Novice Village's respawn point was instantly filled to capacity, and the ground was covered with corpses, a truly spectacular scene.

[World Channel]

[Player "Invincible Sword God": I told you not to go! You just wouldn't believe me! Now look, everyone's dead!]

[Player "Fireball Mage": I lost 8 levels! Is this game even playable anymore?]

[Player "Blood Rose": 100,000 gold? This is a damn trap! Whoever goes dies!]

[Player "Brick-Moving Expert": Master Kai, did you do this on purpose? This bounty is nothing but a scam!]

Zhao Kai watched the cursing on the World Channel, his face turning ashen. He hadn't expected that a 100,000 gold bounty wouldn't even touch the hem of Lin Ye's clothes.

Gritting his teeth, he added another line to the bounty announcement—"Kill Ye once, and get an additional reward of one piece of Purple Gear!"

Purple Gear!

The entire server exploded again. Purple Gear was rare stuff; even if you had money, you might not be able to buy it.

Another group of people who weren't afraid to die charged forward, followed by another team wipe.

Even with the Purple Gear added, still no one could touch Lin Ye once.

Zhao Kai upped the ante again—"Adding one Epic Weapon!"

An Epic Weapon?! There were currently very few in the entire server!

Under a heavy reward, there will always be brave men. Another group charged—and yet another team wipe followed.

Zhao Kai looked at the corpses covering the ground and completely broke down. He had spent 100,000 gold and put up Purple Gear and an Epic Weapon, yet he hadn't even scratched a single hair on Lin Ye.

[World Channel]

[Player "Invincible Sword God": Master Kai, are you in cahoots with Ye to scam us?]

[Player "Fireball Mage": I lost 10 levels! Are you going to compensate me for this loss?]

[Player "Brick-Moving Expert": Brothers, don't go and die anymore! This bounty is a scam!]

[Player "Blood Rose": Master Kai, are you stupid? Spending 100,000 gold to bounty someone who can't be killed?]

Zhao Kai watched these messages, shaking with rage. He wanted to argue back, but found he couldn't—because what they were saying was the truth.

He slumped in his chair, staring at Lin Ye's character model on the screen, gritting his teeth.

Meanwhile, Lin Ye was standing in the center of the Novice Village square, surrounded by a field of corpses. He glanced at the rebound records on his Talent panel—in just half an hour, he had rebounded over three hundred player-times, with each person losing an average of 5 levels.

He opened the World Channel and sent a message—

[World Channel][Ye]: Master Kai, thanks for your 100,000 gold. But your money seems to have truly gone down the drain.

When the players across the server saw this message, they all laughed like crazy—

"Hahaha! Ye is killing the heart!"

"Master Kai spent 100,000 gold and didn't even touch a hair on Ye. You're killing me!"

"Master Kai being a total leek is confirmed! He's trash and loves to show off, getting plucked and then sending money!"

Zhao Kai looked at these taunts and was so angry he smashed his keyboard. He closed the World Channel, not daring to look anymore.

But Lin Ye didn't plan to let him off just like that.

He opened the bounty announcement and followed the bounty records to find Zhao Kai's hiding place—a small cottage in the southeast corner of the Novice Village. Zhao Kai thought he was safe hiding there, but he forgot that the bounty announcement automatically displays the publisher's location.

Lin Ye's mouth curled into a wicked smile as he slowly walked toward that small cottage.

Zhao Kai was hiding in the room, sulking, when he suddenly heard footsteps outside the door. He opened the door and saw Lin Ye standing there, looking at him with a grin.

"Master Kai, hiding here?"

Zhao Kai was so scared he took a step back: "How... how did you find this place?"

Lin Ye pointed to the location information on the bounty announcement: "You posted the announcement yourself; your location is right on it."

Zhao Kai's face turned deathly pale; he had forgotten about that.

"What... what do you want to do?" Zhao Kai's voice was trembling.

Lin Ye laughed: "Don't be nervous, I won't hit you. I just came to let you know—I've accepted your 100,000 gold. If you want to bounty me in the future, remember to bring more money. 100,000 isn't enough to fill the gaps between my teeth."

With that, he turned and left.

Zhao Kai watched Lin Ye's back, shaking with rage, but he didn't dare to give chase—he was afraid of dying.

He slumped in his chair, staring at his empty wallet and backpack, crying without tears.

100,000 gold, gone. Purple Gear, gone. The Epic Weapon was also lost. He had spent so much money, yet not only had he failed to kill Lin Ye once, but he had actually helped Lin Ye become famous across the server.

[World Channel]

[Player "Yes Little Follower": Master Kai, how about you bounty him again? Add more money this time?]

[Player "Invincible Sword God": You're trying to scam people, guy above! Whoever takes it dies!]

[Player "Brick-Moving Expert": Master Kai, do you have a grudge against Ye? Even if you do, don't just give away money like this!]

[Player "Blood Rose": Master Kai the Leek, lives up to the name!]

Zhao Kai looked at these messages and completely broke down. He shut down the game and logged off.

At that moment, Lin Ye was sitting on a stone in the Novice Village square, looking at the 100,000 gold in his backpack that Zhao Kai had transferred over, in high spirits.

He opened his Talent panel and looked at the newly unlocked effect—the progress bar for the "Social Death Package" was already full.

[Social Death Package (Unlocked)]

Unlocked Effects: Forced Nearby Voice Chat, Offline HP Drain, Game Pod Synchronized Vibration, Server-wide Forced Rotating Announcements, NPC Favorability Reset.

Unlock Condition: Cause the same player to lose a cumulative total of more than 30 levels (Completed).

Lin Ye looked at this list of effects, a wicked smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

Zhao Kai thought logging off would make him safe? Too naive.

He raised his hand and activated the new effect of the "Social Death Package" on Zhao Kai's ID—Offline HP Drain.

[System Notification: Applied [Offline HP Drain] effect to target [Master Kai]. While the target is offline, the Game Pod will vibrate once every 5 minutes and force a popup message: "You are in arrears, please pay the protection fee in a timely manner."]

Zhao Kai had just taken off his Game Pod helmet and was about to go get some water when the Game Pod suddenly emitted a series of violent vibrations, giving him a fright.

He looked down and saw a line of large red characters popping up on the Game Pod's screen—"You are in arrears, please pay the protection fee in a timely manner. Current debt: 100,000 gold."

Zhao Kai froze for a moment, thinking his eyes were playing tricks on him. He rubbed his eyes and looked again—yes, the debt reminder was written clearly on the screen.

"What... what the hell is this?!" Zhao Kai frantically pressed the cancel button, but the reminder wouldn't close. He pulled the power plug, and only then did the screen go dark.

He breathed a sigh of relief and was about to go to sleep when the Game Pod vibrated again—this time it was the vibration reminder from the built-in battery; pulling the power didn't work.

"Ah—!" Zhao Kai let out a roar, grabbing the Game Pod and shaking it frantically, "What exactly do you want?!"

The Game Pod ignored him, vibrating once every five minutes, making the entire bed shake.

Zhao Kai was tormented all night long, his eyes turning bloodshot, his spirit on the verge of collapse.

Early the next morning, sporting a pair of panda eyes, he opened the game and sent a message to Lin Ye—

[Private Message] Master Kai: Brother Ye, I was wrong. I was really wrong. I beg you to let me go. I'm willing to pay the protection fee, any amount is fine.

Lin Ye looked at this message and smiled.

He replied: "Should have done this earlier. 100,000 gold, not a penny less."

[Private Message] Master Kai: ...Fine. I'll pay.

Zhao Kai gritted his teeth and transferred the last remaining 100,000 gold.

[System Notification: You have received 100,000 gold from player [Master Kai].]

Lin Ye received the money and nodded with satisfaction. He raised his hand and cleared the HP drain and social death debuffs from Zhao Kai, but he left a backdoor—as long as Zhao Kai dared to provoke him again, all the debuffs would return instantly and could never be cleared.

[Private Message] Ye: Money received. Debuffs cleared. Remember, don't provoke me again in the future.

[Private Message] Master Kai: Understood, understood! Thank you, Brother Ye! Thank you, Brother Ye!

Zhao Kai felt as if he had been granted a great amnesty and scrambled to log off.

Lin Ye couldn't help but laugh as he watched Zhao Kai's dejected departure.

Master Kai, the big leek, had been completely plucked bald by him.