24: Chapter 24 The Chen Family's Counterattack

The fanaticism surrounding the establishment of the halls spread like wildfire, burning among the player community for three whole days and nights.

During these three days, the entire North Mountain Hollow camp was immersed in a state of frenzied, chaotic uproar.

Members of the Iron Wall Hall brandished their newly issued door-panel shields, practicing clumsy yet determined formation advances on the training grounds.

The Blazing Fire Hall tested newly exchanged low-level talismans in the corners; the occasional explosions of smoke and fire drew cheers and curses alike.

The style of the Unexpected Force Hall was the most bizarre; they gathered around several large pots, boiling indescribable liquids. The stench, which could send a person to the afterlife on the spot, even overpowered the smell of the nearby latrine, forcing passing players to cover their noses and detour.

However, this carnival came to an abrupt end on the morning of the fourth day.

The first person to notice something was wrong was the Hall Master of the Works Hall, "Infrastructure Maniac."

According to his plan, after the hall system was activated, the next step was an epic upgrade of the family's blacksmith shop and alchemy room.

He took his most hardworking group of life-skill players, and with pockets full of contribution points, excitedly found the NPC responsible for family material procurement, Grandpa Li.

"Grandpa Li! Come on, here's the list! First, get me five hundred catties of black iron ore and one hundred catties of hundred-refined steel! Also, as much red copper and cloud tin as you have! The Ancestor's mission system is open, and there are plenty of contribution points!" Infrastructure Maniac patted his chest boldly.

Grandpa Li, who was usually all smiles, now wore a look of distress. He took the list, his cloudy old eyes scanning it, and his wrinkled fingers trembled slightly.

"It's gone..." He sighed, his voice hoarse, "Everything is gone."

"Gone?" Infrastructure Maniac was stunned. "What do you mean? Out of stock in the market? That's impossible. Haven't those shops always..."

"It's not that they're out of stock." Grandpa Li shook his head, a trace of fear and helplessness deep in his cloudy eyes. "It's that they won't sell to us anymore. Old Sun went to the market yesterday to buy some grain and rice, but he ran through the entire Qingshi Town, and not a single shop dared to accept his copper coins. Never mind iron ore, he couldn't even buy a single sheet of ordinary wrapping paper."

"What?!" Infrastructure Maniac's voice rose instantly. "They won't sell? Why won't they sell? Are they idiots for not wanting to make money?"

Grandpa Li's lips trembled, finally turning into a long sigh: "It's the Qingxi Chen Family... It's the Chen Family who put out the word that anyone who dares to do business with our North Mountain Hollow is an enemy of the Chen Family."

The sentence was like a basin of ice water in the middle of winter, dousing them from head to toe.

The excitement and heroism on Infrastructure Maniac's face instantly froze. He stood dazed in place, his mind buzzing.

He had thought about the power of cultivators, the terror of spells, but he had never thought that war could take this form.

No blood seen, no blades drawn, yet it could precisely choke the throat of your development.

The news spread like it had grown wings, instantly reaching the entire player community.

"WTF? Economic blockade? Are these NPCs too damn smart? They even know how to play this game?"

"I just went to check. In the contribution points shop, all materials that need to be purchased from the outside have turned gray! The note says 'Supply line cut off'!"

"Damn it! My plan for a sea of talismans had just started, and now there's no paper? What am I supposed to draw talismans with? My ass?"

"The brothers in the Works Hall are about to cry. The newly established hall can't even produce a single iron nail."

On the forum, there was wailing everywhere.

The fanaticism of the past few days faded rapidly, replaced by a suppressed, restrained anger and anxiety.

They were like a fierce tiger gnashing its teeth and sucking blood, only to find themselves locked in an airtight iron cage, with nowhere to vent their strength.

"Everyone calm down!"

The post by Iron Wall Hall Master "Shield Mountain" was pinned high, with the bright red title: "Inventory Check, Preparing for Winter!"

"The Chen Family's goal is clear: they want to starve us out. If they can't beat us head-on, they play dirty. Now is not the time for anger; it's time to take stock of our existing resources! Infrastructure Maniac, count all inventory! I Love Exploiting Loopholes, tell your group to stop brewing that crap, go to the back mountain, see if there's anything edible or usable, even if it's grass roots or tree bark, dig it all back for me! What we need to do now is survive!"

Shield Mountain's statement was as calm as ever, giving the chaotic player community a shot of tranquilizer.

But calm did not mean submission.

Blazing Fire Hall Master "Demolition Office Director" followed up with a post, the title full of his personal style: "Winter your mom! If they won't give it, we'll go grab it!"

"Blockade? Blockade my ass! The Chen Family can control the market, but can they control the official roads? Their merchant caravans have to go out, right? Their disciples have to go out for training, right? Brothers, don't hold back anymore. Blazing Fire Hall is recruiting. Let's hold a 'Caravan Welcome Party' tonight! Whoever grabs it gets to keep it!"

Under the post, there were frantic replies like "Count me in," "Director is awesome," and "Screw them."

However, the most eye-catching one was a short reply from Unexpected Force Hall Master "I Love Exploiting Loopholes," which appeared under the Demolition Office Director's post.

"Robbing caravans? That's small-minded, Director. You rob one cart, they can transport ten. We need to... cut them off at the root."

Following this reply was a lewd, giggling emoji.

Countless players asked for details under this reply, but "I Love Exploiting Loopholes" had nothing more to say.

Deep in the ancestral hall, Lu Bei's spirit body took in everything.

The players' reactions were even more intense than he expected, and... more interesting.

His original plan was to wait until the players were driven to a dead end before releasing missions to guide them to sabotage.

But now it seems that this group of leeks didn't need his guidance at all.

Their inherent desire for destruction and their unconventional thinking were the sharpest weapons.

"Cutting them off at the root, huh..." A hint of approval curved the corner of Lu Bei's mouth.

Very good.

With a thought, a golden announcement, more majestic and grand than before, unfolded on all players' retinas simultaneously.

[Family Emergency Mission: Wall-Breaking Operation]

[Mission Description: The Qingxi Chen Family has cut off our grain route, blocked our path to survival, and bullied us too much! How can my filial grandchildren sit still and wait for death? You shall transform into blades in the dark, infiltrate enemy territory, and use their own methods against them! Cut off their industries, destroy their spirit fields, pollute their medicine gardens, and disrupt their foundations! Let them know that the descendants of the Lu Family are not to be trifled with!]

[Mission Mode: Hall Competition Mode. Each hall can act freely, and mission completion will be settled with "Destruction Points."]

[Mission Reward: The top three halls in the Destruction Points ranking will receive the [Hall Treasure Chest] personally bestowed by this Seat. All players participating in the action will have their personal contribution points doubled!]

If the Chen Family's economic blockade was a basin of ice water, then the mission released by Lu Bei was a barrel of high-potency explosives poured into boiling oil!

"BOOM!"

The entire player community was completely detonated!

"Holy crap! Ancestor is awesome! Long live the Ancestor!"

"Wall-Breaking Operation! I like this name! The officials are supporting us in causing trouble!"

"Hall Competition Mode! And treasure chests! Brothers, the time for our Unexpected Force Hall to make a name for ourselves has arrived!"

"Demolition Office Director" roared directly in the public channel: "Blazing Fire Hall members! Get online, all of you! Tonight, let's show those Chen family bastards what justice from above looks like!"

Qingxi Chen Family, Spirit Medicine Garden.

This was one of the most important industries of the Chen Family, covering a hundred acres, shrouded in a spirit-gathering array all year round, misty and fragrant with medicine.

Dozens of rare spirit medicines were planted in the garden, each worth a fortune, and were meticulously cared for by the family's most careful cultivators who understood pharmacology.

Under the dark moon and high wind, the garden manager, Chen Ming, was dozing off against a piece of warm jade.

He was a third-layer Qi Refining cultivator, and working here was a leisurely, cushy job.

The Chen Family's prestige was far and wide; within a hundred miles, who would dare to run wild here?

Even a demonic beast, upon smelling the aura of the spirit-gathering array, would have to take a detour.

He did not notice at all that dozens of sneaky dark shadows, using the cover of night, were sticking to the garden walls like geckos, infiltrating silently.

The leader of this team was none other than "I Love Exploiting Loopholes."

He gestured, and a dozen core members of the Unexpected Force Hall behind him immediately dispersed, their movements as skilled as if they had practiced a thousand times.

"Remember, we are here for 'agricultural technology exchange,' not to fight." I Love Exploiting Loopholes whispered and laughed in the hall channel, "Group A, go replace the eye of the spirit-gathering array with the 'specialty' we brought. Group B, go 'fertilize' the good-looking spirit medicines. Group C, follow me, we're going to add some ingredients to their water source."

A player took out a black, wriggling "meat chunk" that emitted a faint, fishy stench from his backpack and walked grinning towards the center of the spirit-gathering array.

That was the "Evil Qi Grease" they had cultivated using rotten flesh from killed demonic beasts mixed with certain special bacterial strains, specifically used to pollute spiritual energy.

Another group of players each held a large spray bottle filled with "Secret Immortal Water" brewed by the Unexpected Force Hall over three days—the ingredients included, but were not limited to, golden juice, scorpion venom, itching powder, and the juices of more than a dozen toxic plants.

They looked at the glistening, obviously valuable spirit medicines with the kind smiles of gardeners, and then fiercely pressed the spray bottle triggers.

"Pshhh—"

A fine, dark green mist was sprayed evenly onto the delicate leaves of the spirit medicines.

Those immortal herbs that had originally been stretching their leaves and breathing in spiritual energy seemed to have been splashed with sulfuric acid, instantly curling up and withering. Disgusting black spots appeared on the leaves, and the rich fragrance of medicine turned into a nauseating stench.

"I Love Exploiting Loopholes" led a few people to the source of the irrigation canal in the medicine garden.

It was a spirit spring, the water clear and sweet, rich in spiritual energy.

He looked at this spring and nodded with satisfaction, then carefully took out a clay pot from his backpack.

"Brothers, the moment to witness a miracle has arrived."

He opened the clay pot; inside was nothing but black-brown grass seeds with extremely vigorous vitality.

[Demon Vine Seed]: Special item.

If thrown into land or water sources rich in spiritual energy, it will grow at an astonishing speed. Its root system is extremely aggressive, crazily absorbing all energy around it and secreting venom to pollute the soil.

This was something they had looted from an elite monster during their last exploration of an abandoned cave, and they hadn't been willing to use it until now.

"Go, my little darlings."

"I Love Exploiting Loopholes" poured the entire pot of seeds into the spirit spring.

As the seeds hit the water, it was like dry sponges meeting water, instantly bursting with amazing vitality.

Visible to the naked eye, countless dark green shoots emerged from the seeds, growing crazily under the nourishment of the spirit spring water, and in the blink of an eye, they grew into vines as thick as an arm.

These vines were like poisonous snakes that smelled blood, spreading rapidly along the canal. Their root whiskers pierced into the canal walls and dug into the soil. Wherever they passed, whether it was spiritual soil or stone, they turned gray and lost their luster at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"Done! Retreat!"

With an order from "I Love Exploiting Loopholes," all players vanished into the night like a receding tide.

From beginning to end, they did not alert the manager, Chen Ming, who was still dozing off.

Killing people gave too few points and was easy to expose.

But this kind of destruction from the root was true art, and the only way to get the highest "Destruction Points."

The next day, when the first ray of morning light shone into the Spirit Medicine Garden.

A piercing, heart-wrenching scream that didn't sound human shattered the quiet morning of the Qingxi Chen Family.

Chen Ming knelt in the withered medicine field, trembling as he looked at the hellish scene before him.

The eye of the spirit-gathering array, that piece of warm spirit jade, had now turned pitch black and was emitting a foul odor.

All the spirit medicines in the garden were dead, turned into rotting mud.

And the spirit spring canal that had irrigated the medicine garden for a hundred years had now been completely blocked and burst by countless arm-thick, thorn-covered dark green vines.

Those vines had even started climbing the walls, and wherever they went, the walls began to peel and weather.

A century of foundation was destroyed overnight.

When the family head, Chen Xiao, rushed to the scene and saw this, for the first time, a ferocious, uncontrollable murderous intent appeared on his face, which was usually as calm as an ancient well.