Chapter 88 Korean Server Players Collectively

After Kim Hyun-tae's apology statement had been hanging in the cross-server channel for twenty-four full hours, the Goryeo War God Temple guild flag in the Seoul City square on the Korean Server was lowered.

It wasn't Kim Hyun-tae who lowered it himself; the casual players on the Korean Server simply couldn't stand the sight of it anymore and snuck it down during the early hours of the morning when there were few people online.

The next day, when Kim Hyun-tae logged on and saw the bare flagpole, he sent a voice message in the guild channel.

The voice message was normal—there was no pig-squealing—but his voice sounded even worse than the pig-squealing; it was as hoarse as sandpaper grinding against sheet metal.

"Who did this?"

No one in the guild channel replied to him.

It wasn't that no one was online, but that no one dared to reply, and they didn't know how to reply—they couldn't exactly say that the casual players had long found the Goryeo War God Temple to be an eyesore.

Kim Hyun-tae was silent for a long while and did not pursue the matter of the flag any further.

He opened the guild treasury and began to calculate the compensation.

8.21 million gold coins, plus the cross-server protection fee, plus compensation for the brothers' level drops—it all added up to nearly 20 million gold coins.

He took one look at the Goryeo War God Temple's treasury balance, and his heart sank.

Before the cross-server league, there had been over 30 million gold coins in the treasury, but after being fleeced by Lin Ye again and again over the past six months, the reserves were long gone.

Park Min-ho said cautiously, "Guild Master, there are only 12 million left in the treasury; we are still short 8 million."

Kim Hyun-tae stood in front of the guild treasury without saying a word.

He opened his inventory and placed his valuable items into it one by one.

He sold his legendary Korean Server special-edition weapon, sold his epic-grade armor set, sold his limited-edition cross-server mount, and even sold the Korean Server first-season championship ring he had collected for three years.

Once he had scraped together 8 million gold coins, he transferred every last bit into the compensation account.

The transfer record was synchronized in real-time on the Chinese Server world channel.

Fatty Wang was staring at the backend data on the third floor of the Unscrupulous Business Center. When he saw Kim Hyun-tae's final transfer arrive, he turned his head and shouted to Lin Ye, "Brother, Kim Hyun-tae has finished paying! 8.21 million, not a single cent less!"

Lin Ye, sitting by the window holding a teacup, nodded. "Tell him to post an announcement."

After Kim Hyun-tae's final compensation announcement was posted, Korean Server players flocked to the Seoul City square.

They weren't there to celebrate; they were there to draw a line between themselves and the Goryeo War God Temple.

A casual player set up a stall in the square with the sign, "Goryeo War God Temple Withdrawal Registration Office."

Kim Hyun-tae stood at the entrance of the guild territory, watching his guild members walk toward that stall one by one.

The first to leave were the peripheral members, then the elite squads, and finally, even the core members who had followed him for three years began to waver.

Vice Guild Master Park Min-ho did not leave, but he sent a message in the guild channel with a tone heavier than ever: "Guild Master Kim, everyone isn't afraid of Lin Ye; they just feel that you aren't worth following anymore."

Kim Hyun-tae did not refute this.

He thought of Qin Wentian, the former Heavenly Temple Guild Master, who had poured hundreds of millions of real-world currency into the game, only to end up abandoned by everyone.

Every step he was taking now, Qin Wentian had already taken.

He opened the cross-server channel and posted a message that left players around the globe stunned.

"Korean Server Goryeo War God Temple Kim Hyun-tae: Brother Ye, can we have a face-to-face talk?"

As soon as the message was sent, private messages from Yamada Ichiro of the Japanese Server and William of the US Server popped up in front of him simultaneously.

Yamada Ichiro's tone was very subtle: "Guild Master Kim, what are you going to talk to Lin Ye about? Don't do anything stupid."

William was more direct: "You can cave if you want, but don't drag us down with you. The foundation of the Japan-US-Korea alliance is still there; even if you kneel alone, we can still hold on."

Kim Hyun-tae did not reply to curse them out; he simply took a screenshot and sent the chat record between himself, Yamada Ichiro, and William to Lin Ye exactly as it was.

After sending it, he added, "Brother Ye, they are still discussing how to deal with you."

Lin Ye was drinking tea on the third floor of the Unscrupulous Business Center. Seeing the chat screenshot sent by Kim Hyun-tae, the corners of his mouth curled up slightly.

Su Qinghan, sitting opposite him, saw the change in Lin Ye's expression and asked, "Kim Hyun-tae?"

Lin Ye pushed the tablet toward her: "He sold out Yamada and William."

Su Qinghan glanced at the screenshot, her brows slightly furrowed: "Has he truly surrendered, or does he want to use your hand to deal with the Japanese Server and the US Server?"

Lin Ye picked up his teacup and took a sip: "Both. His current situation is the same as Qin Wentian's back then; the guild is about to fall apart, members are fleeing, and the casual players want to settle scores with him. He views me as a life-saving straw, but he also wants to drag the Japanese Server and the US Server down to serve as his cushion."

Kim Hyun-tae's private message popped up again: "Brother Ye, I'm waiting for you. When are you coming to the Korean Server? I will personally go to the teleportation array to pick you up."

Lin Ye replied: "No need to pick me up. Come to Dawn City yourself."

Kim Hyun-tae was stunned: "I'm going to the Chinese Server?"

Lin Ye put down his teacup and typed: "Come to the third floor of the Unscrupulous Business Center in Dawn City. Bring your guild ledger and all the contact records you have for overseas guilds. I'll give you one hour."

Kim Hyun-tae did not send another message.

Forty-five minutes later, a dark red cross-server teleportation light lit up at the Dawn City teleportation array.

Kim Hyun-tae walked out of the teleportation array alone, wearing the gray cloth clothes provided by the Novice Village, clutching a thick guild ledger in his hand.

The Chinese Server players in the square recognized him, but no one stepped forward to stop him.

The news quickly spread throughout the entire square.

Fatty Wang stood at the entrance of the commercial center and, seeing Kim Hyun-tae in that novice cloth outfit, lowered his voice and said to Su Qinghan beside him, "He sold all his own equipment; the one he's wearing is what the system gives."

Su Qinghan glanced at Kim Hyun-tae indifferently: "He certainly has more sincerity than Qin Wentian."

Kim Hyun-tae walked into the first floor of the Unscrupulous Business Center without looking around and went straight to the third floor.

Lin Ye was sitting by the window with two cups of tea in front of him; one was steaming, prepared for him.

Kim Hyun-tae walked to the table but didn't dare to sit, placing the ledger on the table.

"The Goryeo War God Temple's entire fortune is here. Gold coin reserves, equipment lists, guild territory assets, cross-server cooperation agreements, and the screenshots of the chat records where the Japanese Server and US Server discussed dealing with you. I know you don't care about these things, but this is all the sincerity I can offer."

Lin Ye didn't look at the ledger and pointed to the chair opposite him.

Kim Hyun-tae sat down, his back straight as a board.

"How do the Japanese Server and the US Server plan to deal with me?"

"Yamada Ichiro wants to unite several small servers in Southeast Asia to organize a coalition army. William wants to bribe officials from the US Server to tamper with the cross-server channel. But they are all afraid of you and have been watching from the sidelines. After seeing my fate, they are even more afraid and dare not move for now."

Lin Ye picked up his teacup and swirled it: "I gave you a 20% discount on the compensation; do you know why?"

Kim Hyun-tae shook his head.

"Because the apology statement you posted on the Korean Server forum is the most decent thing you, Kim Hyun-tae, have ever said in your life. If a person can admit their mistakes in public, it means there is still hope. But admitting mistakes isn't enough; you have to do something. The debt the Goryeo War God Temple owed to the Chinese Server has been paid off, but the debt owed to the casual players on the Korean Server has yet to be repaid."

Kim Hyun-tae was silent for a long time, then spoke in a hoarse voice: "I know. The Goryeo War God Temple monopolized the Korean Server material market for over half a year, and the number of casual players who were scattered is countless. Even if the guild disbands, this debt cannot be repaid."

"The guild doesn't need to disband."

Kim Hyun-tae looked up abruptly. For the first time, something different appeared in his eyes—not fear, not calculation, but confusion.

"The Goryeo War God Temple will continue to exist, but its nature must change from a monopolistic guild to a casual player protection guild. You will remain the Guild Master, but I will set the rules. First, the guild territory must be open to casual players for free daily to use the forging benches and alchemy benches; no fees of any kind may be charged. Second, the guild's elite squads must take casual players to grind dungeons at least three times a week; no fees of any kind may be charged. Third, the guild warehouse must distribute 30% of its materials to casual players every month; no fees of any kind may be charged."

Kim Hyun-tae was stunned for a long time before he found his voice: "No fees of any kind? How will the guild be maintained? Members' equipment needs to be repaired, potions need to be bought, and dungeon supplies are needed—these are all costs."

Lin Ye leaned forward slightly, looking into Kim Hyun-tae's eyes: "Haven't you been monopolizing the Korean Server material market for over half a year? The materials stockpiled in your warehouse are enough to sustain you for a year or more. Take them out and distribute them. If you want to regain the recognition of the casual players on the Korean Server, you must first let them see that you have actually brought something to the table."

The corners of Kim Hyun-tae's mouth twitched slightly.

What Lin Ye said was a fact.

Most of the materials in the Goryeo War God Temple's warehouse had been acquired from casual players at low prices through monopolization.

Now, taking them out to distribute to the casual players wasn't charity; it was repaying a debt.

"I agree. The three rules—I will start implementing them as soon as I go back today."

"You don't need to go back to implement the third one. Implement it now."

Lin Ye pushed the tablet in front of him. On the screen was an agreement with a simple and direct title: "Korean Server Cross-Server protection fee package Agreement."

Kim Hyun-tae looked down and read through it point by point.

The Korean Server Basic Package is 100 million gold coins per year, including cross-server safe grinding, priority resource acquisition, and regular BOSS escorts.

The Korean Server Guild Exclusive Package is 500 million gold coins per year, including guild territory protection, priority mediation of cross-server conflicts, and protection from an avatar of the Lord of the Abyss.

Additional Clause 1: The Goryeo War God Temple guild warehouse must distribute 30% of its materials to casual players every month; no fees of any kind may be charged.

Additional Clause 2: Kim Hyun-tae himself shall serve as the Korean Server Casual Player Protection Officer for a term of three years.

Additional Clause 3: If any clause is violated, the cross-server pig-squealing debuff will be automatically triggered, permanently.

Kim Hyun-tae's gaze lingered on the third clause for a good while, then he reached out and signed the tablet.

After signing, he stood up, bowed to Lin Ye, and turned to go downstairs.

Fatty Wang leaned against the window, watching Kim Hyun-tae's back as he walked toward the teleportation array in his novice cloth outfit, and remarked: "The last time I saw someone come to our commercial center wearing novice cloth clothes was Qin Wentian. But Kim Hyun-tae is smarter than Qin Wentian; Qin Wentian only caved after completely quitting the game, while Kim Hyun-tae has surrendered while still in the game."

Lin Ye picked up his teacup and took a sip: "It's not smarts; it's because he's broke. Back then, Qin Wentian had to sell off his family property to scrape together the protection fee, and Kim Hyun-tae has also sold everything he owns. People are most likely to understand the truth when they have no money."

Su Qinghan opened the Korean Server data report on the tablet and chuckled softly: "Just after Kim Hyun-tae's agreement was signed, three small and medium-sized guilds from the Korean Server have already proactively contacted us, asking if they can also sign up for the protection fee package. They said they don't want to follow in Kim Hyun-tae's footsteps and would rather pay in advance for peace of mind."

Lin Ye stood up and walked to the window, looking at the night scene of Dawn City.

It took less than two days for the Korean Server to go from resistance to begging for mercy; the chat records of the Japanese Server and the US Server were still lying on the tablet.

He turned his head to look at Su Qinghan: "Send a Korean Server package price list to both Yamada Ichiro and William. And by the way, send them each a copy of the screenshot of the chat record where Kim Hyun-tae discussed with them how to deal with me."