Chapter 74 Qin Wentian and his guilds attempt to steal Abyss materials.

Qin Wentian squatted at the gate of the Korean Server Abyss City, staring at the small mountain of Abyss Crystals in front of him for a full ten minutes.

These materials were accumulated over three days of grinding with the Lord of Flame.

1,200 purple Abyss Crystals, 300 golden Epic Crystals, and 50 orange Legendary Cores.

They were all piled on the ground, like a glowing little mountain.

He opened his friends list. Only a few people were online.

Pojun's avatar was lit, but he knew Pojun wouldn't reply to his messages anymore.

The Heavenly Temple guild channel had gone completely gray, and even system notifications no longer popped up.

Qin Wentian closed his friends list and opened the cross-server channel. Then he did something that left global players collectively stunned.

"Qin Wentian: Does anyone want to pull a job with me?"

The cross-server channel was quiet for a few seconds.

"Korean Server player Park Jung-tae: Pull a job? Do what?"

"Qin Wentian: Rob Abyss materials."

The cross-server channel went quiet again. Then it exploded.

"Wocao Wuqing: Rob Abyss materials? Qin Wentian, are you crazy? The Abyssal Lord is now Brother Lin Ye's employee!"

"Brick-Moving Expert: Robbing Brother Lin Ye's materials, are you tired of living?"

"Invincible Sword God: Qin Wentian, have you forgotten about the 100 rockets last time?"

Qin Wentian didn't reply to these taunts. He sent another message.

"Qin Wentian: It's not just me robbing them. I provide the intel, the route, and the muscle. We split the looted materials 50/50. Is anyone in?"

The cross-server channel was silent for even longer. Then someone replied.

"Korean Server player Kim Hyun-tae: Me."

Kim Hyun-tae. President of the Goryeo War God Temple, the number one Berserker on the Korean Server. Ever since his team was wiped out by Lin Ye during the last cross-server league, there hadn't been a peep from him, and everyone thought he had quit the game.

"US Server player William: I'm in too. The Lord of Despair in the US Server Abyss City hands over twenty artifacts every week. I've been jealous for a long time."

"Japanese Server player Yamada Takashi: Count me in. I know where the Lord of Dark Erosion's Abyss Crystal warehouse is on the Japanese Server."

"European Server player Hans: The Lord of Plague on the European Server has been grinding like crazy recently, and the materials in the warehouse are piled like a mountain. Robbing it once is enough to live on for half a year."

Qin Wentian watched these replies, his mouth twitching. He thought at most two or three people would respond. As it turned out, more and more people responded. In less than ten minutes, over twenty people had signed up. They were all top-tier players ranked in the top 100 of their respective servers. Some had been dealt with by Lin Ye, some were just jealous of the materials, and some wanted to make a big splash.

Qin Wentian pulled them into a temporary group chat.

"Qin Wentian: The target is the Korean Server Abyss City. The Lord of Flame hands over materials every Friday night. Before handing them over, it concentrates the week's production in Warehouse No. 3 of the Abyss City. The warehouse is guarded by only two Abyss Commanders. Take down the two Commanders, and we can loot the materials in the warehouse freely."

"Korean Server player Kim Hyun-tae: Two Abyss Commanders? Those aren't easy to take down."

"Qin Wentian: I've obtained an Abyss Suppression Scroll. Use it on the Abyss Commanders, and their stats will be suppressed by 50%. Both will be half-crippled, making them easy to fight."

The group was quiet for a few seconds.

"US Server player William: An Abyss Suppression Scroll? There are only three of those in the entire server. How did you get one?"

Qin Wentian didn't answer that question. He closed the group chat and opened the Lord of Flame's chat box.

"Qin Wentian: Flame, are we going to steal ore from the north tonight?"

The Lord of Flame replied instantly.

"Korean Server Lord of Flame: No. The Director deducted 30 points from me. If I go again, my year-end bonus will be gone."

"Qin Wentian: In that wild Abyssal Lord nest in the north, besides ore, there is something else. The materials for the Abyss Suppression Scroll."

The Lord of Flame was silent for a few seconds.

"Korean Server Lord of Flame: How do you know?"

Qin Wentian didn't answer. He asked another question.

"Qin Wentian: Do you want to make up for the 30 points that were deducted?"

"Korean Server Lord of Flame: How do I make up for them?"

"Qin Wentian: Someone is planning to rob the Abyss City's Warehouse No. 3 tonight. If you lie in ambush in the warehouse beforehand and catch them, you get 10 points for each one you catch."

The purple flames in the Lord of Flame's eyes lit up.

"Korean Server Lord of Flame: How do you know someone is going to rob the warehouse?"

Qin Wentian closed the chat box.

10:00 PM, Korean Server Abyss City.

Qin Wentian led over twenty players to the entrance of Warehouse No. 3. Two Abyss Commanders stood on either side of the warehouse gate, their black scales gleaming coldly in the firelight.

Kim Hyun-tae took out the Abyss Suppression Scroll, preparing to tear it open. Qin Wentian held his hand down.

"Wait."

"Wait for what?"

Qin Wentian didn't speak. He looked at the warehouse gate, the corners of his mouth curling up.

Kim Hyun-tae looked in the direction of his gaze. The warehouse gate suddenly opened from the inside. The Lord of Flame stood at the doorway, its three-meter-tall frame blocking the entire opening. The flames on its body were not the usual dark red, but a bright orange-red, burning so hot that the air was distorting. Behind it followed four Abyss Commanders and eight Abyss Elites.

Kim Hyun-tae's face turned pale.

"Qin Wentian, are you setting us up?"

Qin Wentian took a step back.

"I'm not setting you up. I just sent a message to the Lord of Flame at the same time. It gets points for catching you, and you guys lose levels for getting caught. I get double the intelligence fee."

Over twenty top-tier players were collectively petrified. Then they simultaneously received a system notification.

"The Abyss Commander has used Abyss Suppression on you. All stats decreased by 50%."

The Lord of Flame stepped out of the warehouse. The Abyss Elites flanked from both sides, and the Abyss Commanders pressed forward from the front. The twenty-plus players didn't even have a chance to resist, being rubbed into the ground. Kim Hyun-tae's Berserker ultimate had just been activated when an Abyss Commander slapped it down. William's invisibility spell was useless in the Lord of Flame's flame domain. Yamada Takashi's traps were crushed by an Abyss Elite. Hans's shield was smashed by an Abyss Commander's punch.

In less than three minutes, all twenty-plus people were on the ground. They lost five levels, and half their equipment dropped.

The Lord of Flame squatted in front of Kim Hyun-tae and took out a small notebook.

"Name."

Kim Hyun-tae gritted his teeth and refused to say. The Lord of Flame wrote a line in the notebook. Anonymous No. 1, attempted to rob the Abyss warehouse. Captured.

Then it walked over to William.

"Name."

William said it. The Lord of Flame wrote another line. US Server William, attempted to rob the Abyss warehouse. Captured.

All twenty-plus people were recorded. The Lord of Flame put the notebook back, stood up, and clapped its hands. The four Abyss Commanders escorted the twenty-plus players away. Where they were being taken was unknown, but it definitely wasn't a good place.

Qin Wentian stood in the shadows, watching all of this. The Lord of Flame walked up to him and looked down at him.

"You reported twenty-three people. According to the rules set by Brother Lin Ye, you get 10 points for each one caught. Twenty-three people, 230 points."

Qin Wentian nodded.

The purple flames in the Lord of Flame's eyes flickered.

"I don't understand. You could have clearly robbed them together with them. Why report them?"

Qin Wentian was silent for a long time.

"Because I can't out-rob Brother Lin Ye. Can't out-rob materials, can't out-rob bosses, can't out-rob guilds. Can't out-rob anything. Since I can't out-rob him, I might as well change my approach."

He turned and walked towards the gate of the Abyss City.

"Reporting once gets me 10 points. Reporting ten times gets me 100 points. Once I've saved up enough points, I'll exchange them with you for Abyss Source Shards. Once I've saved up enough shards, I'll craft an Abyss Set myself. Once I've finished that, I'll go find Brother Lin Ye for a fight."

The Lord of Flame watched his back.

"You still want to fight Brother Lin Ye?"

Qin Wentian paused for a moment.

"It's not for revenge. I just want to try. Try to see where exactly I'm lacking."

He stepped out of the Abyss City.

In the cross-server channel, the twenty-plus captured players were crazily cursing Qin Wentian. Kim Hyun-tae was cursing the loudest.

"Korean Server player Kim Hyun-tae: Qin Wentian, you son of a bitch! Setting up your own people!"

Qin Wentian replied with one message.

"Qin Wentian: Who is your own people? I am an external employee of the Unscrupulous Business Center."

The cross-server channel went quiet. Then it exploded.

"Wocao Wuqing: External employee? When did Qin Wentian join?"

"Brick-Moving Expert: Just now. His name is on the performance review sheet issued by the Lord of Flame. His position is Intelligence Officer."

"Invincible Sword God: Qin Wentian working as an intelligence officer for Brother Lin Ye? This world has gone mad."

Lin Ye watched the messages in the cross-server channel, his mouth twitching. He didn't know about Qin Wentian joining either. He opened the Lord of Flame's chat box.

"Lin Ye: Flame, when did Qin Wentian become an intelligence officer?"

The Lord of Flame replied instantly.

"Korean Server Lord of Flame: He applied for it himself. Said he would trade 10 points for one report. Save enough points to trade for Source Shards. I thought it was a good deal, so I approved it."

"Lin Ye: Do you have the authority to approve hiring?"

"Korean Server Lord of Flame: No. So I approved him as an external employee. External employees don't count as official staff, don't occupy a headcount, don't get a salary, only performance points."

Lin Ye was silent for a moment. Qin Wentian, the former president of the number one guild in the entire server, a top-tier whale who had dumped hundreds of millions in real currency. Now he was an external intelligence officer under the Lord of Flame, getting no salary, only performance points. In the past, he would have definitely thought Qin Wentian was crazy. But now, he felt that Qin Wentian might be more clear-headed than ever.

Su Qinghan stood to the side and said softly: "Qin Wentian is finding his own path."

Lin Ye nodded: "Has he found it?"

"I don't know. But at least he isn't going astray anymore."

Lin Ye closed the chat box, stood up, and walked to the window. The night in Dawn City was deep, and the purple light from the Abyss Rift was particularly piercing in the darkness.

Three days later, the Lord of the Abyss broke the seal.

The speed at which Qin Wentian accumulated performance points to exchange for Source Shards couldn't keep up with the speed at which the Lord of the Abyss was breaking the seal. But he didn't know about this. He was squatting at the gate of the Korean Server Abyss City, holding a notebook, staring at every suspicious player approaching the warehouse.

The Lord of Flame stood beside him, the flames on its body illuminating half of the Abyss City.

One man and one Lord, guarding the warehouse.