33: Chapter 33 Pay-to-win players are not to be trifled with.

On the training grounds, the air seemed to freeze.

It was a dead silence mixed with shock, doubt, and greed.

The eyes of all the Adventurers were fixed firmly on Chen You, as if they wanted to see right through him.

Instantly killing an elite Garrison Army soldier of LV10 with a single sword strike was already enough to overturn their understanding of things.

Now, this guy who looked to be only LV5 and had equipment that was absolute trash actually dared to face the LV10 Orc Warrior Kage directly and even said he had missed his chance?

Kage's fury almost sprayed physical flames from his thick nostrils.

His knotted muscles trembled violently with anger, making a creaking sound like steel rubbing together.

“What did you say? Little bug, say that again!”

Kage took a step forward, and even the ground trembled for it.

He grinned savagely, revealing a mouthful of fangs.

“Do you think that because there's a newbie protection period, I can't do anything to you?”

“Newbie protection always disappears one day. I'll let you know what true despair is!”

He was very confident; LV10 against LV5 was absolute suppression in terms of level.

As long as the opponent dared to attack first, the moment the newbie protection failed, he could tear this human who didn't know the heights of the heavens into pieces.

However, Chen You just looked at him quietly, without the slightest hint of fear in his eyes.

Instead, they carried a hint of... pity?

“It doesn't matter if you insult me.”

Chen You suddenly spoke. His voice wasn't loud, but it clearly reached the ears of everyone present.

“But insulting my civilization? No.”

He thought of Director Li Guoan's serious face and the countless expectant eyes in the command center.

The country had spent so much money, and it wasn't so I could take the abuse of an otherworldly brute here.

Even less was it for him to take action personally like a hotheaded youth and waste the precious thirty-day newbie protection period.

If Director Li knew he was doing that, he'd probably be so angry he'd have to be carried away on the spot.

Some things don't necessarily require one to do it personally.

Power comes in many forms.

Chen You's gaze swept across the Adventurers around him, who had various looks in their eyes.

Back at the auction house, he had felt something was strange.

Those materials that were worth a fortune on Earth might only cost a few silver coins here.

And a piece of Level 10 purple equipment, enough for an ordinary player to struggle for a long time, was only priced at two or three gold coins.

The few quests he had done only rewarded experience and reputation, without giving even a single copper coin.

What did this mean?

It meant that in the bottom-level ecology of this world, gold coins were an extremely scarce hard currency.

Although he didn't know why this was the case yet, this was undoubtedly an opportunity.

A brand new, bold, and crazy idea instantly took shape in Chen You's mind.

He looked at the enraged Kage, and that cruel smile reappeared at the corners of his mouth.

He slowly raised his hand; not to draw his sword, but to extend an index finger toward Kage.

“Everyone.”

Chen You's voice rang out again. This time, he used a hint of spiritual power to let his voice spread throughout the entire training ground.

“I'm a bit annoyed by this guy's mouth.”

“Who can go up and smash it?”

He paused, and under the breathless gaze of everyone, he said words that were enough to be recorded in the annals of Zhao City's history.

“I'll pay... ten gold coins.”

As soon as these words came out, the training ground instantly fell into a dead silence.

All the Adventurers were like they had been hit with a Body-Binding Curse, frozen in place.

One second, two seconds, three seconds...

Then, a low hum exploded from the crowd, like a giant rock being thrown into a calm lake, instantly setting off monstrous waves.

“Ten gold coins?!”

“Did I hear that right? Ten gold coins?!”

“My God! That's enough for me to get a set of the best LV10 equipment! And even have some left over!”

Greed, shock, fanaticism... various emotions intertwined on the faces of the Adventurers.

The way they looked at Kage was no longer as a powerful fellow LV10 warrior, but as a glittering, walking vault!

Kage was also stunned for a moment. Then, a chill rushed from the bottom of his heart straight to the top of his head.

He felt the sudden change in the gazes of the surrounding Adventurers. There was no longer fear in those eyes; it was replaced by naked desire.

He couldn't help but panic, and fine beads of sweat broke out on his forehead.

“You... do you want to make an enemy of my Aila World?!”

Kage shouted loudly with false bravado, trying to use the power behind him to intimidate these guys who were blinded by money.

“He's just a little shorty from who-knows-what backward civilization!”

“There's no way he can produce ten gold coins!”

Kage's roar did not have the intended effect.

The desire for gold coins in the Adventurers' eyes did not fade, but because of his questioning, a hint of hesitation did indeed arise.

After all, ten gold coins was not a small amount. If it was a bad check, no one wanted to offend a LV10 Orc Warrior for nothing.

Chen You looked at Kage's desperate appearance, and the cold smile at the corners of his mouth became even more obvious.

“Oh? I can't produce the gold coins?”

He asked back softly, his tone carrying a hint of playfulness.

He didn't say any more nonsense, nor did he deign to argue.

With a thought from Chen You, a system interface that only he could see instantly expanded before his eyes.

“I remember it seemed to be under social...”

Chen You murmured in a low voice, tapping lightly with his finger.

【My Bounties】

The interface then jumped, displaying his personal bounty panel.

【Post Bounty】

He clicked again.

Editing complete, a dialog box popped up: 【Bounty Target: Orc Warrior Kage.】

【Bounty Content: Defeat him and make him unable to speak (Duration: 1 hour).】

【Bounty Reward: 10 Gold Coins.】

【Confirm Posting?】

Chen You chose “Yes” without hesitation.

【Ding!】

A crisp system notification sound suddenly rang out over the training ground.

This sound didn't just echo in Chen You's ears, but in a peculiar resonance, it penetrated the barrier of the training ground and spread toward the entire Zhao City!

Immediately following, a golden announcement formed in the sky above Zhao City like a divine oracle. Its momentum was so grand that it seemed it wanted the whole world to hear it.

【Zhao City Announcement!】

【A new bounty mission has been posted!】

【Bounty Target: Orc Warrior Kage (LV10)!】

【Bounty Content: Defeat him and make him unable to speak (Duration: 1 hour)!】

【Bounty Reward: Gold Coins * 10!】

【The mission poster has deposited the bounty into the system's escrow account. It will be distributed immediately upon mission success!】

This world announcement took Zhao City as the center and quickly spread outward like ripples. In an instant, it reached every corner of Zhao City.

Everyone saw this golden announcement and heard this soul-shaking notification.

Zhao City was completely boiling over because of this sudden bounty!

On the training ground, all the Adventurers looked at the golden announcement in the sky as if they were wooden chickens, then they all turned their gazes toward Chen You in unison.

Shock, awe, fanaticism, greed... various emotions mixed together, framing Chen You's figure like a deity.

“Gold coins... there really are gold coins!”

“And it's ten gold coins! Guaranteed by the system!”

“Who on earth is he? He just throws out ten gold coins like that?!”

Kage's face turned from green to white, and then from white to purple.

His body was stiff, and his eyes were filled with unbelievable fear.

He never dreamed that this low-level player he regarded as a “little shorty” could so casually push him into the abyss!

Ten gold coins were enough to make countless low-level Adventurers go crazy for them.

Waves of fanatical gazes fell on Kage like physical objects.

He was no longer that proud Aila World warrior, but a huge, moving piece of fat meat.

Chen You withdrew his gaze and looked at Kage with a playful smile on his face.

“Now, do you still think I can't produce the gold coins?”

His voice was very light, but it was like a heavy hammer, smashing hard against Kage's heart.

Kage opened his mouth, but found his throat was so dry he couldn't make any sound.

He felt the gazes of the surrounding Adventurers that were so hot they seemed to melt him. In those gazes, there was no longer any hesitation, only pure hunting instinct left.

He was finished.

At this moment, Kage suddenly remembered Chen You's calm words from before:

“I gave you a chance, but you were useless.”

Chen You looked at Kage's expression, which was like a stray dog's, and snorted coldly in his heart.

This was just a little shock he was giving Kage, and also giving to all the alien players who looked down on huaxia civilization.

A tiny bit of shock.

A figure rushed out of the crowd like an arrow from a bow.

It was a lithe Werewolf Warrior, eyes flashing with fanaticism for the gold coins.

“Kage! Die!”