Chapter 55 Qin Wentian's remaining forces join forces to plot against the unethical business.

As the Commoner Supermarket's business grew larger and larger, Qin Wentian became increasingly uneasy.

He sat on the steps at the entrance of the Commoner Supermarket, holding the milk tea Fatty Wang had bought for him, his eyes fixed on the corner of the distant street. Several people stood there, wearing ordinary newbie gear, but their gait and posture didn't look like newbies. Their gazes would shift toward the Commoner Supermarket from time to time, carrying an indescribable gloom.

"Guild Leader Qin, what are you looking at?" Fatty Wang poked his head out from the supermarket.

Qin Wentian withdrew his gaze and took a sip of milk tea. "Nothing. Maybe my eyes are playing tricks on me."

But he knew his eyes weren't playing tricks. He had been watching those people for several days. They appeared at the street corner every evening, stayed for half an hour, and then left, never approaching the supermarket or communicating with anyone. They wore different colored clothes, but they had one thing in common—each wore a black ring on their right ring finger. That was the symbol of a core member of the Heavenly Temple.

Qin Wentian recognized that ring. Because he had once worn one on his hand as well.

That night, he found Lin Ye and told him about it. Lin Ye leaned back in his chair with his legs crossed, his expression unchanged.

"You're saying the remnant forces of the Heavenly Temple are stalking us?"

Qin Wentian nodded. "At least a dozen people. I recognize a few of them; they were all core members of the Heavenly Temple. Ling Tian, Kuang Zhan, Ying Ren... I thought they had quit the game, but I didn't expect them to still be around."

Lin Ye smiled. "It's good they didn't quit. If they had, I'd find it a pity."

"A pity?"

"If the leeks don't grow, what is the sickle supposed to cut?" Lin Ye stood up and walked to the window. "Let them watch. I want to see what they're plotting."

Qin Wentian hesitated for a moment and said, "Brother Ye, I'm not speaking for them. But these people are different from me. I was beaten into submission and saw reason. They were beaten into fleeing and are harboring resentment. People like that are capable of anything."

Lin Ye nodded. "I know. That's why I have to let them make a move. If they don't act, how can I deal with them?"

Qin Wentian looked at him and suddenly understood. It wasn't that Lin Ye didn't know someone was stalking them; he was waiting. Waiting for those people to jump out themselves.

Meanwhile, in a basement on the east side of the main city, a dozen people were sitting in a circle. None of them wore guild badges, but the black rings on their right ring fingers glinted coldly in the dim light. Sitting in the very center was Ling Tian, with a map of the main city spread out before him, covered in red pen marks.

"The Commoner Supermarket is located here." Ling Tian pointed to a red circle in the center of the map. "There are three exits around it: the Main City Square to the east, the Trading House to the west, and the Teleportation Array to the north. Lin Ye is usually on the third floor, Su Qinghan is on the second, and Fatty Wang is at the first-floor counter. Qin Wentian—" He paused. "Qin Wentian is at the door."

"That traitor Qin Wentian!" Kuang Zhan slammed the table. "He still has the face to stay at the Commoner Supermarket? If it weren't for him, would the Heavenly Temple have disbanded?"

Ying Ren sneered. "He's already been brainwashed by Lin Ye. Now he's just an obedient dog."

Ling Tian raised his hand to stop them. "Don't argue. We'll deal with Qin Wentian later. The problem now is how to bring down the Commoner Supermarket."

"Smash the shop?" Kuang Zhan suggested.

"Can't smash it. There are Decay traps in the shop; you'll die as soon as you go in."

"Then cut off their supply source. Although the materials market has been taken over by Lin Ye, the materials from high-level dungeons are still in our hands. We have the people and the technique; we can monopolize the drops of high-level materials."

"Monopolize? Have you forgotten the outcome of the last monopoly? Lin Ye directly crippled all the dungeon bosses."

"Then target his power-leveling service. Doesn't he have to audit orders? We'll create fake orders for him to take. If he takes them, we'll say he's bullying innocent players. If he doesn't, we'll say he took the money but didn't do the work."

Ling Tian thought for a moment, his eyes lighting up. "That's a good idea. But targeting power-leveling alone isn't enough; we also need to target his protection fee package. We'll find people to buy the package and then intentionally have their kills stolen or be hunted down to make his protection fail. Once players see the protection is useless, who will still buy it?"

Kuang Zhan clapped. "Great idea! A double-pronged attack; let's see how he handles it."

Ying Ren frowned. "But the players who bought the package have an anti-kill-stealing debuff placed by Lin Ye. How do we steal their kills?"

Ling Tian smiled. "We won't do it ourselves. We'll get outsiders to do it. Aren't there many people from overseas servers who want to come to the Chinese Server and cause trouble? Let them come. They'll rob the solo players, and we'll shift the blame to the overseas players. Who will Lin Ye go to for reckoning then?"

They looked at each other and nodded in unison.

"Then it's settled. Act separately. Kuang Zhan, you're in charge of the power-leveling orders. Ying Ren, you're in charge of contacting the overseas servers. I'll be responsible for watching Lin Ye's movements. Within three days, we'll turn the Commoner Supermarket upside down."

They stood up, clenched their fists, and disappeared into the darkness.

Early the next morning, Fatty Wang opened the order system as usual and found something wrong. Overnight, over a hundred power-leveling orders had appeared, and they were all of the same type—kills stolen, equipment scammed, or being hunted down. The victim IDs were all newly registered smurfs, and the registration times were all last night.

"Brother, look at this." Fatty Wang pulled up the order list for Lin Ye. "These orders are too fishy. Over a hundred orders, all the same type, and the victims are all smurfs just registered yesterday."

Lin Ye glanced at it and smiled. "They're fake. Someone is trying to mess with us."

"Then do we take them?"

"Take them. Why wouldn't we?" A wicked smile curled on the corner of Lin Ye's mouth. "Let them place the orders. We'll take the money and put them in the queue. We'll handle them whenever the audit passes."

"But these orders will never pass the audit."

"Then let them wait. If they can't wait, they'll ask for a refund. Refunds incur a 20% processing fee." Lin Ye shrugged. "A hundred orders, averaging 100 gold coins per order; the processing fee is 2,000 gold coins. It's free money."

Fatty Wang was stunned for a moment, then laughed. "Brother, you're too wicked!"

"Professional." Lin Ye turned and left.

Meanwhile, Qin Wentian also noticed something unusual at the entrance. Several players in newbie gear were hanging around the Commoner Supermarket entrance, wanting to buy the protection fee package, but the payment always resulted in "operation failed." They tried over and over, sweating profusely from anxiety.

Qin Wentian walked over and asked, "Do you need help?"

One player looked up at him, his eyes flickering. "No... no need. It just seems like there's a problem with the payment system."

Qin Wentian glanced at his payment interface—it wasn't a system problem; his account balance was insufficient. Someone who couldn't even afford 100 gold coins insisted on buying a yearly card? If this wasn't causing trouble, what was?

"The system is fine. Your balance is insufficient," Qin Wentian said coldly.

The player's face changed, and he turned to leave. The others followed behind him and ran off dejectedly.

Qin Wentian returned to the supermarket and told Lin Ye about it. Lin Ye was by the window cracking sunflower seeds and laughed after hearing it.

"They're getting anxious."

"Anxious about what?"

"Anxious to bring us down. Unfortunately, their methods are too low-level." Lin Ye stood up and brushed the dust off himself. "Ling Tian and that bunch weren't my match even back when they were in the Heavenly Temple. Now that they have no guild and no money, they're even worse."

Qin Wentian hesitated and said, "Brother Ye, Ling Tian and the others aren't bad people. They just took the wrong path. Could you... give them a chance?"

Lin Ye looked at him and was silent for a few seconds. Then he smiled. "Fine. But chances aren't given; they're earned. Tell them to come find me. We'll talk face-to-face."

Qin Wentian nodded and turned to leave. He was going to contact Ling Tian and arrange a meeting.

Meanwhile, in the basement, Ling Tian was staring at the map in a daze. Both Kuang Zhan's and Ying Ren's plans had failed. The power-leveling orders were taken but never audited, the disruption of the protection fee package was seen through by Qin Wentian, and the contact for the overseas servers couldn't find anyone reliable. They had been busy for two days and hadn't earned a single cent; instead, they had lost quite a bit in processing fees.

"Big brother, why don't we just forget it?" Kuang Zhan said dejectedly. "We can't beat that Lin Ye."

Ying Ren also nodded. "He's too shrewd. He knows everything we're thinking."

Ling Tian bit his teeth, unwilling to give up. But he knew Kuang Zhan was right. They couldn't beat Lin Ye. Not because Lin Ye was strong, but because they themselves were too weak. Without the Heavenly Temple, they were nothing.

"Guild Leader—" Ying Ren suddenly called out, then realized he had misspoken and quickly corrected himself, "Brother Ling Tian, a message came from Qin Wentian."

Ling Tian was stunned for a moment. "What did he say?"

"He said... Brother Ye wants to see us. To talk face-to-face."

They looked at each other and were silent for a long time.

"Are we going?" Kuang Zhan asked.

Ling Tian stood up and took a deep breath. "Yes. I want to see what that Lin Ye wants to say to us."

That night, Ling Tian brought Kuang Zhan and Ying Ren to stand at the entrance of the Commoner Supermarket. Qin Wentian was waiting for them at the door. Seeing Ling Tian, his eyes reddened slightly, but he quickly regained his composure.

"Are you here?"

Ling Tian nodded without speaking.

"Go upstairs. Brother Ye is waiting for you."

The three followed Qin Wentian upstairs. Lin Ye was sitting on the sofa by the window, holding a cup of milk tea, his expression lazy. Su Qinghan stood behind him, and Fatty Wang leaned against the doorframe.

"Sit." Lin Ye pointed to the chairs opposite him.

The three sat down and looked at Lin Ye with complex gazes. This person had destroyed their guild and their dreams, but they couldn't bring themselves to hate him. Because everything Lin Ye had done was provoked by them first.

"Ling Tian, Kuang Zhan, Ying Ren." Lin Ye read their names one by one. "You want to bring down my business?"

Ling Tian gritted his teeth. "Yes."

"Why?"

"Because you destroyed the Heavenly Temple."

Lin Ye smiled. "I destroyed the Heavenly Temple? Or did you destroy it yourselves?"

Ling Tian fell silent.

"When the Heavenly Temple monopolized materials, did you ever think about how the solo players felt? When you hunted down solo players, did you ever consider that they were people too? When you spent tens of millions to buy oracle scrolls, did you ever think about where that money came from?"

Ling Tian's face turned bright red, but he couldn't say a single word.

Lin Ye stood up, walked over to him, and patted his shoulder. "I don't blame you. Because like Qin Wentian, you just took the wrong path. Now, I'm giving you a chance—stay and join the Commoner Supermarket. Work under Qin Wentian."

Ling Tian was stunned. Kuang Zhan was stunned. Ying Ren was also stunned.

"You... you're not kicking us out?" Ling Tian's voice trembled slightly.

Lin Ye smiled. "Kicking you out? That would be too easy on you. I want you to stay, work, and pay off your debts."

Ling Tian was silent for a long time. Then he stood up and bowed deeply to Lin Ye.

"Brother Ye, I'm convinced."

Kuang Zhan and Ying Ren also stood up and followed suit with a bow.

Lin Ye waved his hand. "Don't get sentimental. Starting tomorrow, work under Qin Wentian. Do whatever he tells you to do. You can voice your opinions, but no causing trouble. For those who cause trouble, face the consequences."

The three nodded. Qin Wentian stood to the side, his eyes red. He hadn't expected that Lin Ye would not only refrain from dealing with Ling Tian and the others but also give them a chance to start over.

"Brother Ye, thank you," he said in a low voice.

Lin Ye smiled. "No need for thanks. Just work hard."

He turned and walked to the window, looking at the night scene in the distance. Su Qinghan walked up and stood beside him.

"You really are something, taking in just anyone."

Lin Ye shrugged. "It's not about being daring; it's about them being useful. Ling Tian understands tactics, Kuang Zhan can fight, and Ying Ren knows how to scout. These few are even more useful than Qin Wentian."

Su Qinghan smiled. "You really are... calculating everything."

Lin Ye also smiled. "I'm a professional, after all."

The night was deep, and the starlight was dim. The lights of the Commoner Supermarket flickered in the wind like a lighthouse, illuminating those who had lost their way.