Chapter 67 Qin Wentian Sends Rockets

Korean Server, Main City, Goryeo War God Temple headquarters.

Kim Hyun-tae sat in the guild leader's chair, his face ashen.

Standing before him were over a dozen core members, each with an expression as grim as if their own father had just died.

It wasn't because Abyss Monsters had breached the Main City; in fact, the Abyss invasion in the Korean Server had only just begun, and the Abyss Minions hadn't even touched the city gates yet.

Their grim expressions were due to the messages in the cross-server channel.

The Abyss version in the Chinese Server had ended. It was ended by one person.

That person had also conveniently recruited the entire Abyss Council, signed them to employment contracts, and made them hand over artifacts and epic crystals every week.

Now, the Abyss Monsters in the Chinese Server were working for the players—mining when told to mine, hauling materials when told to haul, and patrolling when told to patrol.

Meanwhile, the Abyss Monsters in the Korean Server were gathering toward the Main City, and they would be at the city gates in three days at most.

Vice Guild Leader Park Min-ho said cautiously, "Guild Leader, should we also buy an Abyss Protection Package? The advanced package is 500,000 gold coins, which the guild treasury can still afford."

Kim Hyun-tae didn't speak.

He stared at the messages in the cross-server channel, specifically the one Lin Ye posted: "Local price in the Chinese Server is 500, export price for overseas is 50,000," and his fingers cracked as he clenched them.

He, Kim Hyun-tae, was the Guild Leader of the Goryeo War God Temple, the number one Berserker in the Korean Server, and a top-three player in the entire Korean Server. Making him pay protection money to Lin Ye? That was worse than killing him.

Park Min-ho added, "Guild Leader, the Abyss Commander has already reached the wilderness map. In a day at most, the Abyss Elites will be at the city gate. Our guild's elite team was wiped out three times by Abyss Minions while farming materials in the wild. Half their equipment dropped, and they lost five levels. If we don't buy the package, the brothers won't be able to leave the city."

Kim Hyun-tae closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then opened them: "Buy it."

Park Min-ho breathed a sigh of relief, opened the cross-server shop, and found the purchase page for the Abyss Protection Package. Then he froze: "Guild Leader, the price of the package has gone up."

"How much?"

"The basic package is 100,000, the advanced package is 1,000,000, and the top-tier package is 10,000,000."

Kim Hyun-tae stood up abruptly: "What? Wasn't it just 50,000 a moment ago?"

"It was in stock a moment ago. Now it's sold out, and only scalper prices are left. Fatty Wang just posted an announcement saying the first batch of 5,000 overseas packages is sold out, and the restock time for the second batch is TBD. The cross-server shop is full of scalpers now; the basic package that was originally 50,000 has been inflated to 100,000, the advanced one to 1,000,000, and the top-tier one to 10,000,000."

Kim Hyun-tae slammed his fist onto the table. The table shattered. The dozen or so core members stepped back in unison, and no one dared to speak.

Park Min-ho cautiously closed the shop page, calculating in his mind how many gold coins were left in the guild treasury. They couldn't afford it; 10,000,000 gold coins—they couldn't even scrape that together if they sold the guild territory.

Just then, Kim Hyun-tae's private message notification sounded. He looked down, and his pupils constricted sharply. The person sending the message was Qin Wentian.

Kim Hyun-tae stared at that private message for a full ten seconds. Qin Wentian, former Guild Leader of the Heavenly Temple in the Chinese Server, the top-tier whale who was the first to be fleeced bald by Lin Ye. He had spent over a hundred million in real currency, only to be forced by Lin Ye to quit the game, resulting in the Heavenly Temple disbanding and his own disappearance. Why was he looking for him?

Kim Hyun-tae opened the private message: "Guild Leader Kim, this is Qin Wentian."

Kim Hyun-tae replied: "I know. Didn't you quit the game?"

Qin Wentian didn't answer that question but instead asked directly: "Do you want to deal with Lin Ye?"

Kim Hyun-tae's fingers hovered over the virtual keyboard, but he didn't type. He certainly wanted to deal with Lin Ye. Ever since the day his team was wiped out by Lin Ye during the cross-server league, he had dreamed every night of how to kill Lin Ye back to the Novice Village. But wanting to do it was one thing; actually doing it was another. How could he, Kim Hyun-tae, accomplish something that Qin Wentian couldn't even do after spending over a hundred million in real currency? Was Qin Wentian coming to him now because he really had a way, or did he just want to drag someone down with him?

Kim Hyun-tae replied: "You have a way?"

Qin Wentian replied quickly: "Yes. But I need your cooperation."

Kim Hyun-tae hesitated for a few seconds, then finally typed one word: "Speak."

Meanwhile, Lin Ye was standing at the entrance of the Korean Server's Abyss Rift.

Behind him stood Su Qinghan, Po Jun, Fatty Wang, as well as the Lord of Destruction and the Lord of Corrosion.

The two Abyss Council members stood on either side like bodyguards, their three-meter-tall frames scaring the Korean Server players so much that they didn't dare to get close.

The Abyss Rift in the Korean Server was different from the one in the Chinese Server. The Chinese Server's Abyss Rift was black, like an open wound. The Korean Server's Abyss Rift was dark red, like an upright eye.

Rich Abyss energy surged at the edges of the rift; just standing at the entrance, one could feel the oppressive pressure emanating from within.

Lin Ye looked at that dark red eye and the corners of his mouth curled up: "How many Council members does the Korean Server's Abyss Council have?"

The Lord of Destruction replied in a low voice: "Two. The Lord of Shadow and the Lord of Flame. Their strength is about the same as mine."

"Are they stronger or weaker than you?"

The Lord of Destruction was silent for two seconds: "The Lord of Shadow is a bit stronger than me, and the Lord of Flame is about the same as me."

Lin Ye nodded: "Then let's start with the Lord of Flame. You go in and inform it, tell it that an Abyss Council member from the Chinese Server has come to visit. Tell it to come out and welcome me."

The purple flames in the Lord of Destruction's eyes flickered. It wanted to say something, but in the end, it lowered its head and stepped into the rift.

The Lord of Corrosion stood behind Lin Ye like a silent statue. Fatty Wang leaned in and asked in a low voice: "Bro, the Lord of Destruction isn't going to run away, is it?"

Lin Ye shook his head: "It wouldn't dare. The Decay Debuff on the contract is effective across servers. No matter which server it runs to, the debuff follows it. Unless it can run outside of the game."

Fatty Wang felt reassured. Less than five minutes later, a low roar came from the rift.

It wasn't a roar of anger; it was a roar of terror.

Then the Lord of Destruction walked out, followed by an Abyssal Lord whose body was burning with dark red flames.

The Lord of Flame, one of the two Council members of the Korean Server's Abyss Council, level 98. It was half a head taller than the Lord of Destruction, and the temperature of the flames on its body was extremely high; one could feel the heatwave hitting them even from ten meters away.

But the flames in its eyes were trembling.

Because it saw the two swords at Lin Ye's waist. The space-time judgment and the Abyss Corrosion Sword. Two SSS-rank artifacts: one to suppress Abyss energy, and one specifically to kill Abyss targets. Both swords were hanging on one person, and this person had also recruited the entire Abyss Council of the Chinese Server.

The Lord of Flame stared at Lin Ye for three seconds, then turned to the Lord of Destruction and asked a question in the Abyss language. The Lord of Destruction answered with a sentence in the Abyss language.

The flames in the Lord of Flame's eyes contracted violently. Then it turned to Lin Ye and lowered its head.

Fatty Wang was stunned: "Bro, what did it say?"

Lin Ye was also a bit surprised and looked at the Lord of Destruction. The Lord of Destruction translated in a low voice: "I asked it if it wanted to sign the contract. It said, sign."

Lin Ye's mouth twitched. He had originally prepared to fight. The space-time judgment and the Abyss Corrosion Sword were ready, and the Decay Domain had been pre-heated, but it just surrendered directly. All the lines he had prepared were wasted.

Lin Ye took the employment contract out of his backpack and threw it to the Lord of Flame: "Sign it. The terms are the same as the Lord of Destruction's. Ten artifacts and 1,000 epic Abyss crystals per week. Breach of contract triggers the Decay Debuff, which is permanently effective."

The Lord of Flame took the contract, didn't even look at it, and pressed its mark directly onto it. Then it spoke voluntarily, saying a sentence in the Abyss language.

The Lord of Destruction translated: "It asks if the Lord of Shadow's contract needs to be signed too. It can go notify it."

Lin Ye was silent for two seconds: "Fine. Go notify it. Once it's signed, you two will pay the protection money together."

The Lord of Flame turned and walked into the rift. Less than ten minutes later, it came out, followed by an Abyssal Lord whose body was shrouded in black mist.

The Lord of Shadow, the first Council member of the Korean Server's Abyss Council, level 99. It was a head taller than the Lord of Flame, and the black mist on its body was so thick it couldn't be dispersed; one couldn't see its true appearance, only two cold, purple flames within the mist.

The Lord of Shadow stared at Lin Ye for a full ten seconds. Then it spoke, its voice as low and muffled as thunder coming from underground, and it was actually speaking human language.

"Ye the Wicked. The Abyss Council of the Chinese Server has all been recruited by you."

Lin Ye nodded: "You are the last one. Sign it, and the Korean Server's Abyss version ends. Don't sign it, and I'll beat you until you do."

The Lord of Shadow was silent for three seconds: "Sign."

Lin Ye took the last employment contract out of his backpack and threw it over. The Lord of Shadow took the contract and pressed its mark onto it. The system instantly popped up three golden announcements.

"Server-wide Announcement: Player 'Ye the Wicked' has subdued the Korean Server's Abyss Council member 'Lord of Flame', Korean Server Abyss invasion progress decreased by 50%."

"Server-wide Announcement: Player 'Ye the Wicked' has subdued the Korean Server's Abyss Council member 'Lord of Shadow', Korean Server Abyss invasion progress decreased by 100%."

"Server-wide Announcement: The Korean Server's Abyss invasion version has ended early. All Korean Server players who participated in the Abyss defense receive the 'Abyss Resister' title and corresponding rewards."

The entire Korean Server exploded. The cross-server channel exploded too.

"Korean Server Player Park Jung-tae: The version ended? Brother Ye came to the Korean Server?"

"Japanese Server Player Yamada Kenta: The Korean Server's Abyss version was ended by Brother Ye? Then what about our Japanese Server?"

"US Server Player Johnson: Brother Ye! The US Server needs you! The Abyss Council member has already breached the Main City!"

"European Server Player Schmidt: Brother Ye! The European Server can't hold on either!"

"Korean Server Player Kim Hyun-tae: ..."

Kim Hyun-tae only sent six dots. But everyone knew what he wanted to say. He had just been plotting with Qin Wentian on how to deal with Lin Ye, and as a result, halfway through the plotting, the system announcement popped up. Lin Ye had already recruited the Korean Server's Abyss Council. He hadn't even finished plotting, and the other guy had already ended the version. How was he supposed to fight this?

Meanwhile, Qin Wentian was crouching in his gaming pod in his rental apartment. He wasn't logged into the game; instead, he had a webpage open watching the livestream. In the livestream, Lin Ye was standing at the entrance of the Korean Server's Abyss Rift, with four Abyss Council members standing behind him: the Lord of Destruction, the Lord of Corrosion, the Lord of Flame, and the Lord of Shadow. The four level-99 Abyss Council members stood behind him like four bodyguards.

Qin Wentian stared at the screen, his fingers cracking as he clenched them. He had just been plotting with Kim Hyun-tae on how to deal with Lin Ye, and as a result, halfway through the plotting, Lin Ye had recruited the Korean Server's Abyss Council too. His plotting speed couldn't keep up with Lin Ye's recruiting speed.

Qin Wentian took a deep breath and opened Lin Ye's livestream. In the livestream, Lin Ye was standing in the Korean Server's Main City Square, with the four Abyss Council members behind him. Korean Server players surrounded them in a circle, but no one dared to get close.

Qin Wentian hesitated for three seconds, then clicked the rocket icon.

One super rocket, 2,000 in real currency. In the livestream, Lin Ye saw the rocket and looked down at the screen.

"Yo, Qin Wentian? Didn't you quit the game?"

Qin Wentian gritted his teeth and typed: "Brother Ye, I want to buy an Abyss Protection Package. I want to farm Abyss materials."

Lin Ye smiled: "Others buy the advanced package for 50,000 gold coins. As for you, 100 rockets. Not one less."

100 rockets, 100,000 in real currency. The livestream comments exploded instantly.

"Wocao Wuqing: 100 rockets! 100,000 bucks! Qin Wentian is going to be fleeced again!"

"Brick-Moving Expert: Kai the Leek has returned! A classic iconic scene!"

"Invincible Sword God: Qin Wentian, don't be a coward! Gift them! Let everyone see your strength!"

Qin Wentian stared at the screen, his finger hovering over the recharge button. 100,000 bucks wasn't much to him. But this wasn't a question of money; it was a question of face. If he gifted these 100 rockets, all the players in the server would take screenshots. The nickname 'Kai the Leek' would never be shaken off for the rest of his life. But if he didn't gift them, he wouldn't be able to enter the Abyss map to farm materials. Without Abyss materials, he wouldn't be able to craft equipment. Without equipment, he would never be able to beat Lin Ye.

Qin Wentian closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Then he clicked the recharge button.

Super rocket x1, super rocket x2, super rocket x3... The livestream comments scrolled crazily, and players from the whole server were watching collectively. Some were counting the rockets, some were taking screenshots, and some were spamming 'Kai the Leek'. Qin Wentian kept his eyes closed and didn't look at the screen, his fingers clicking on the rocket icon mechanically. After the final click, it was exactly 100 rockets.

Lin Ye watched the rocket special effects filling the screen and the corners of his mouth curled up: "Alright, Guild Leader Qin keeps his word. The advanced Abyss Protection Package is arranged for you. Go to the Korean Server's Abyss City and find the Lord of Flame; it will take you to farm materials."

Qin Wentian typed a reply: "Thanks, Brother Ye."

Then he instantly exited the livestream.

Fatty Wang leaned in and asked in a low voice: "Bro, Qin Wentian suddenly came back to buy a package, could it be a trick?"

Lin Ye shook his head: "No trick. He really wants to farm materials."

"How do you know?"

"Because if he wanted to cause trouble, he wouldn't have gifted 100 rockets. He would have bought the package secretly and developed quietly. He gifted the rockets because he wanted all the server players to see that he was back. He doesn't want to cause trouble; he wants to find a sense of presence."

Fatty Wang nodded, seemingly understanding. Su Qinghan stood by and said softly: "During the time Qin Wentian quit the game, he must have thought through many things. He is not your opponent, and he doesn't want to be your opponent anymore. He just wants to find a step to come back."

Lin Ye didn't speak. He looked at the notification in the livestream that Qin Wentian had instantly exited, and was silent for a few seconds. Then he closed the livestream and turned to look at the four Abyss Council members behind him.

"Next server, Japanese Server."

The four Abyss Council members lowered their heads in unison. Meanwhile, Qin Wentian sat in his gaming pod, looking at the character interface. His character was still standing in the Korean Server's Main City Square, wearing the Corrosion Immunity Amulet that came with the Abyss Protection Package. The Lord of Flame stood beside him, waiting to take him to farm materials.

Qin Wentian didn't move. He looked at the grey name in his friends list. Po Jun. The former Vice Guild Leader of the Heavenly Temple, his most trusted brother. Now Po Jun's name was lit up, but he knew that Po Jun would no longer follow him.

Qin Wentian closed his friends list and walked toward the Abyss City.

Behind him, the Lord of Flame followed silently. Like escorting a prisoner.