153: The Death Waltz is dead?

Hong Jiu'er's smooth, tender hands massaged his feet with just the right amount of pressure; the sensation felt like the love and care of his mother from childhood brushing across his heart.

Lin Du closed his eyes and enjoyed it, the corners of his mouth curling up comfortably.

Hong Jiu'er's foot-washing technique might not be the best, but her looks and temperament were definitely the most striking among all the foot-washers.

Men, after all!

What they want is this sense of accomplishment and desire for conquest!

Imagine, a beauty ranked in the top five for looks in Yunlong City, kneeling before you washing your feet—what could compare to this feeling?

This sense of satisfaction is irreplaceable by anything else.

Just as Lin Du was enjoying himself, a video chat suddenly popped up.

He opened it to see that it was Yuan Shu sending the chat invitation.

If it were just an issue regarding the qi blood stones, Yuan Shu probably wouldn't have sent a video chat.

"Boss Yuan, is something the matter?" Lin Du asked in surprise.

On the video, Yuan Shu's expression was uncharacteristically solemn.

"Your plan to go to Black Phoenix City is temporarily canceled!"

"What's wrong?" Lin Du asked curiously.

Yuan Shu said, "Death Waltz has already died once, there is no need for you to take action anymore."

Hearing this explosive news, Lin Du was first delighted, then immediately showed a hint of confusion.

"Did Black Phoenix City have an internal conflict?"

Yuan Shu shook her head.

"No, it's more serious than an internal conflict!"

"Today, when Death Waltz was leveling up in the wild, a 499-level Saint-level Monster of an unknown race suddenly appeared in the leveling area."

"Death Waltz was instantly killed by this Saint-level Monster."

Saint-level Monsters are strong, and a 499-level Saint-level Monster has reached the ceiling level.

But if it were just this one Saint-level Monster, how could it be more serious than an internal conflict in Black Phoenix City?

There was clearly another meaning in Yuan Shu's words!

Beep, beep, beep—

In Lin Du's chat list, Yuan Shu sent a short video.

Lin Du opened the video, and after seeing the content, his pupils shrank sharply.

"Starry Sky Zerg Hive!"

The video showed an endless wasteland, and in the sky at the very center of the wasteland, there was a conspicuous pitch-black crack.

The crack was pitch black, and one could faintly see brilliant specks of light flickering, looking exactly like stars in the night sky.

The crack was boundless, and one could clearly see black creatures crawling out of it; the creatures that crawled out were not any species known in the game.

Some of them were beast-like, some were humanoid, and others were like flowing liquid.

These black creatures were dense and countless, pouring out of the crack like a tide...

As the game's designer, Lin Du knew better than anyone what these creatures represented.

Their origins were the same as the Silver King and the mechanical monsters in the Qin Kings Underground Palace Instance; they were all fierce Starry Sky Creatures that should only appear in the late stages of the game!

These black creatures were unique to the Starry Sky Zerg Hive.

Their appearance in the crack meant that the Starry Sky Zerg Hive was right behind the crack.

This was a disaster!

"Boss Yuan, things might be a bit serious."

"During this period, it would be best for the war between the Three Kingdoms and the Peak of the Forbidden City to pause for a while..."

Lin Du didn't explain the reason, only offering his small suggestion.

Yuan Shu directly dodged the topic.

She picked up a small bag of red crystals and gestured to Lin Du.

"The qi blood stones you wanted are here, there are over a hundred of them in total, I will have someone send them to you."

Lin Du nodded.

"Then thank you for the trouble, Boss Yuan."

"By the way, how much 'lifespan value' are these qi blood stones in total?"

Yuan Shu waved her hand.

"They are free for you."

"If you need them long-term, I will have my subordinates save any subsequent qi blood stones."

Lin Du's eyes lit up, and he immediately cupped his fists at Yuan Shu.

"Boss Yuan is generous!!"

The video chat hung up.

Lin Du sat in the chair, the smile on his face gradually disappearing.

The Starry Sky Zerg Hive is the strongest combat force of the Starry Sky Zerg, and every Starry Sky Zerg Hive is a God-level Monster.

Its strength does not lie in its own combat power, but in the endless Zerg warriors bred within it.

The Saint-level Monster that killed Death Waltz was one type of these Zerg warriors!

Zerg creatures are characterized by their massive, endless numbers.

Even if there are billions of human players in Black Phoenix City, it wouldn't be easy to eliminate a Starry Sky Zerg Hive...

In the original game design, Zerg Hives would not appear one by one individually.

That version was called "Starry Sky Zerg Invasion", and a Zerg Hive would descend upon every main city.

This was also why Lin Du suggested that the Three Kingdoms and the Peak of the Forbidden City temporarily cease fire.

Since Yuan Shu wouldn't listen to his advice, Lin Du could only let it go; some things cannot be forced.

Lin Du couldn't control these issues for now, so he simply stopped thinking about them.

Let everything take its course...

Just now, while video chatting with Yuan Shu, many players sent private messages asking if Lin Du was still buying qi blood stones.

The function of qi blood stones in the game is mainly reflected in quickly restoring stamina and healing injuries.

Because they are rare, their value is not low!

But Lin Du really didn't know what the specific price was.

But it didn't matter, there was a great beauty right under his feet who knew everything...

"Miss Red Wine, I'd like to consult you on a question."

"What is the approximate market price for qi blood stones?"

Hong Jiu'er slowly lifted her head, a strange, charming smile appearing on her delicate face.

"I won't tell you!"

"It's fine if you don't tell me, then you can massage for a while longer."

Hong Jiu'er's hand movements stopped, and she looked at Lin Du, gritting her teeth.

"Every day you only know how to use foot-washing to threaten me!"

"Congratulations, you win!"

"The market price for qi blood stones is generally around 150 years of 'lifespan value'!"

Lin Du nodded with satisfaction, "It would have been better if you cooperated earlier; you just had to make me angry."

Half an hour later, players started coming one after another to sell qi blood stones.

In just a short while, Lin Du received nearly 400 qi blood stones, but he also shelled out 60,000 years of 'lifespan value'.

Lin Du felt a pang of heartache.

The 100,000 years of 'lifespan value' he got from Thousand Blade Drunk had been more than half squandered in one go...

The Three Kingdoms' qi blood stones were delivered very quickly.

There were over 150 of them in total!

Adding the two together, it was over 500 qi blood stones in total.

The Tier 2 materials for the shadow dragons fang were gathered.

In the back room of the Ye Clan Merchant Guild.

Lin Du crushed the qi blood stones one by one and infused them into the shadow dragons fang.

Hum—

【Item】: shadow dragons fang (Tier 2)

【Level】: No Level Requirement

【Quality】: SSS-grade (Perfect)

【Special Effects】: 1. Ignore 30% of enemy armor; after hitting the target, the armor ignore effect increases to 60%

2. Wearer's speed increased by 30%, strength increased by 30%

3. When hitting a vital point, there is a 4% chance to trigger a Fatal Strike, clearing the opponent's hp bar

4. Deal an additional 40% damage to lower-level players

5. Crippling Fang: After hitting the target, there is a 25% chance to trigger a Fear effect, amplifying pain by 150%

【Description】: A perfect weapon with growth attributes, current growth level is Tier 2 (Level 200), use 800 qi blood stones to upgrade to Tier 3

The Tier 2 shadow dragons fang was much stronger than the Tier 1 version.

However, the conditions required to upgrade to Tier 3 next gave Lin Du a headache.

800 qi blood stones!

It will probably take a while to gather them.

And, it's another big expense.