81: Mysterious girl

As the voice of the Game System faded, the blood-red mist shrouding the sky also vanished.

Outside Yunlong City, the Weeping Mountains.

Lin Du looked at the red countdown above his attribute panel, feeling both helpless and speechless.

This was simply too coincidental.

Yesterday he had just learned that the Year of Death One was approaching, and today the countdown had actually begun.

A year would pass quickly; after Zhao Yunsou died today, his hatred for Lin Du would surely reach its peak.

When the Year of Death One arrived, Zhao Yunsou would definitely fight to the death!

Besides Zhao Yunsou, the various major powers within Yunlong City would surely be in total chaos by then.

"The chaotic times are approaching; my level must be raised quickly. There is no time to lose," Lin Du thought to himself.

Beside him.

Ning Fengya's expression was complex as she, too, was thinking about the matter of the Year of Death One.

With the Year of Death One descending in one year, the half-year contract she signed with Lin Du now seemed like a bit of a waste of time.

For a moment, Ning Fengya actually felt some regret about signing the contract.

Lin Du seemed to have noticed Ning Fengya's thoughts.

He smiled and said, "Brown-Eyed Beauty, we have signed a contract; you cannot go back on your word!"

Ning Fengya cast a glance at Lin Du.

"I will not go back on my word, I hope you can do the same."

"If my younger brother fails to change his class to the All-Round Blacksmith, I will definitely make you regret it!"

Lin Du laughed nonchalantly.

"As long as you fulfill your end, I will certainly not break my promise. Have your brother come find me tonight!"

While Lin Du was speaking, his friend chat list suddenly vibrated.

Opening it, he saw it was a message from the new shop assistant he had just hired, "Miss Bu Dong."

"Boss, Boss, look at the World Chat Channel quickly."

"There is a wonderful performance!"

From Miss Bu Dong's words, Lin Du vaguely detected a sense of schadenfreude.

This piqued Lin Du's curiosity; could there be something interesting happening on the World Chat Channel?

Driven by curiosity, Lin Du opened the World Chat Channel.

"Adulterer and adulteress, teaming up to scam money! A lesson written in blood and tears, everyone must be careful of Night Ember and Ember Eyes in the future!"

"In the future, everyone must never go to the Ye Clan Merchant Guild to buy things, and never join the guild Rule the World. As long as you dare to join, they will dare to treat you like leeks to be harvested!"

"Night Ember and Ember Eyes are a pair of scoundrels, singing in harmony to set up scams for money!"

"The things Night Ember sells at a high price, Ember Eyes steals back; they reuse the items repeatedly, earning black-hearted money!"

"This young master offers a high reward for Night Ember's head! Whoever can take one of his lives, this young master will reward 50,000 years of 'lifespan value', no deception!"

Looking at the scrolling insults on the chat channel, Lin Du was dumbfounded.

The drama actually ended up being about himself?

The people posting these messages had different game IDs; he figured they were all internet trolls hired by Zhao Yunsou.

The last high-reward message was posted by Zhao Yunsou himself, which showed just how much he hated Night Ember!

If you ask why he didn't put a bounty on Ning Fengya?

Big brother, is your brain broken?

Looking across all of Yunlong City, how many players could be a match for Ning Fengya?

Could it be that Qilin Immortal Venerable and Yuan Shu would personally attack Ning Fengya?

With Lin Du's reminder, Ning Fengya also saw the messages on the World Chat Channel.

She didn't just see the comments related to scamming; there was also a lot of CP hype about her and Night Ember...

Ning Fengya's expression seemed calm, but her heart was filled with anger.

She had only made a small trade with Lin Du; she never expected to suffer such slander.

Since joining "universe ol", Ning Fengya had never been insulted in public.

With Ning Fengya's arrogant nature, how could she tolerate such humiliation?

With a thought, a message appeared on the World Chat Channel.

Ember Eyes: I have screenshotted the game IDs of those who just spoke rudely; within three days, I will come to you to demand an explanation!

After Ning Fengya's message was sent, the whole world went quiet.

The World Chat Channel, which had been scrolling rapidly, actually fell into a brief silence...

About three or five seconds later—

A message appeared, breaking the deadlock.

Night Ember: @Young Master Zhao, may I ask if I turn myself in, can the reward amount be doubled?

Whoosh—

Lin Du's statement helped the players open up the conversation again.

The World Chat Channel began scrolling again.

"Night Ember is 666, in my lifetime I must go to the Ye Clan Merchant Guild to buy a piece of equipment and get scammed by you once!"

"@Heavenly Longevity, Eldest Young Master Zhao, hurry up and reply to him!"

"He's already called you out; 100,000 years of 'lifespan value' to turn himself in voluntarily; this price is a great deal!"

"Eldest Young Master Zhao, your 70,000 years of 'lifespan value' have already gone down the drain, why not throw in another 100,000 years of 'lifespan value' and let us all hear the sound of it?"

...

The topic on the World Chat Channel continued.

At this time, Lin Du and Ning Fengya had already arrived at the entrance of the Serpent Cave Dungeon.

Along the way, Ning Fengya did not say a word.

Fortunately, this was a game, and Ning Fengya did not know Lin Du's identity.

If this were reality, Lin Du would inevitably be on the receiving end of Ning Fengya's venting and output; getting beaten up would be the least of it...

With the Year of Death One approaching, Lin Du did not intend to return empty-handed this time he left the city.

He recalled carefully, and finally, from his vague memories, he chose the Serpent Cave Dungeon instance.

The Serpent Cave Dungeon is a high-difficulty single-player instance with a level requirement of level 25.

As long as a player's level does not exceed level 25, they can enter to challenge it!

But because the difficulty of the instance is quite high, basically only level 24 and level 25 players enter to challenge it; those below level 24 find it very difficult to succeed...

After receiving the rewards from the Qin Kings Underground Palace Instance early this morning, Lin Du's level had already increased to level 18.

The Serpent Cave Dungeon before his eyes was the first step Lin Du had prepared for his rise!

On the wall at the entrance of the Serpent Cave Dungeon, five instance records that had been set were inscribed.

First Place: Yuan Shu, 21 minutes 38 seconds

Second Place: Ember Eyes, 22 minutes 05 seconds

Third Place: Miss Bu Dong, 22 minutes 18 seconds

Fourth Place: Zhang Fei Who Can Sing Karaoke, 25 minutes 19 seconds

Fifth Place: Violent Aesthetics, 25 minutes 28 seconds

Lin Du looked at the five names on the wall, his gaze locked in surprise on the third name.

Miss Bu Dong!

He hadn't misread it; it was indeed the little shop assistant who had just been hired in the merchant guild.

The dazed, cute, and silly Miss Bu Dong!

"Interesting."

When Miss Bu Dong first came to buy weapons on credit, Lin Du had vaguely guessed the class she had awakened.

Today, after seeing the name on the leaderboard, Lin Du could already confirm the conjecture in his heart.

He had guessed correctly.

"Is this the luck power of the Son of Destiny?"

"To casually pick up a little shop assistant and actually find a treasure."