LWGP - Chapter 97
Chapter 97: Pleasing
"Master, Mei Qinghe and his team are probably from one of the villages around 425. I saw on the social forums for the Luoyang region that the novice villages from 400 to 450 were mostly hit by rat swarm invasions. While not as many rats as our 443, there were still tens of thousands. They suffered heavy losses, and even though they survived, the Eternal Night descended and destroyed their dungeon mountain. That's why they had to come over to our area for dungeon resources. But they haven't done the Huize Mountain dungeons, so they have to start over from the easy difficulty. With their strength, it won't take much time, but it's still a delay. They might not be able to catch up to us. Aren't you wasting the Puppet Cards by doing this?"
As the group headed toward the Fishman Chieftain's pool, Wang Shu, feeling pained that Wang Jiu had used up all the Puppet Cards in one go, had specifically browsed the forums. He found a bit of information and couldn't wait to share it with Wang Jiu.
Wang Jiu, however, was rather dismissive. "The effectiveness of Puppet Cards diminishes as I get stronger. Am I supposed to hold onto them until New Year's?"
That seemed right. Her attributes shot up like a skyrocket; even puppet bosses couldn't keep up with her. Using items as soon as she got them to plunder new resources in real-time—that was her method.
Could this be the reason she was getting stronger and stronger?
But could they compare to her?
It seemed not.
Initially, Zhao Shanxiao and the others were still thinking about Mei Qinghe's team, harboring schadenfreude and ill intentions. But in the end, their self-esteem was shattered by the eight Puppet Cards.
Since she didn't care, Wang Shu said no more. As they approached the Fishman Chieftain and saw the 300 fishman minions gathered by the pool, Wang Jiu said one thing: "Steamroll them."
Then, she had the puppet bosses from the Fishman Chieftain's family line up and charge forward. She even had the Fishman Chieftain's grandmother howl, "Fish Head, Grandma's here with the kids and grandkids to wish you a Happy New Year!"
Such a loud voice.
With a great splash, many more fishman minions emerged from beneath the pool, along with the enormous Fishman Chieftain, Big Fish Head.
It stared blankly at its "grandmother."
Wang Shu and the others, who were just preparing to start fighting the minions: ???
Master, you're too savage.
This is steamrolling? This is a damn gang-up!
Meanwhile, Wang Jiu ignored her teammates' complaints and directly announced the stats of the minions and the chieftain.
Fishman Minion (Level 11)
Strength: 30
Agility: 45
Stamina: 30
Fishman Chieftain (Dangerous Dungeon Bronze Boss, Level 14)
Strength: 450
Agility: 540
Stamina: 500
Damn, 600 minions with such high stats, plus a dangerous-dungeon-enhanced version of the Fishman Chieftain, and we're just going to brute-force it?!
That's right, brute force.
"There are too many minions. Pulling them all at once, can we really handle it?"
In fact, Jiang Kaikai's attributes were quite high, averaging 200. He just acted cowardly, and indeed, he was cowardly on the inside as well. He had achieved his high attributes by playing it safe, and he cherished his life dearly. The sight of such a massive battle startled him.
But after a moment of thought, he had an epiphany.
Why couldn't they?
In truth, Wang Jiu could take down the Fishman Chieftain all by herself, let alone with eight puppet bosses and the addition of Liao Luo and the others.
No, it was nine puppets.
Qiao Xuejing had thrown her puppet out as well. It was impossible for Liao Luo and his two companions to take a puppet, as any participation they earned would be useless. This arrangement favored Qiao Xuejing, allowing her to claim participation points and speeding up the dungeon clear.
Seeing her do this, Liao Luo felt a pang of discomfort. This dangerous-level dungeon was much stronger than they had imagined; the 600 minions alone would have been enough to overwhelm and kill them, Zhao Shanxiao included.
But the moment Wang Jiu brought out the puppets, they knew they could definitely clear this dangerous-level dungeon.
As long as one was willing to expend the resources, no dungeon was impossible.
Zhao Shanxiao's state of mind was complex. For the first time, he felt there were advantages to being a solo player.
Because when you're on your own, you have no one else to worry about. Just look at Wang Jiu's spendthrift ways!
It was just as Zhao Shanxiao and the others had predicted.
"Use the area around the pool to block them off at an angle. Stand twelve meters back and remember to dodge their spear throws."
The nine puppet bosses completely blocked the entrance to the pool, allowing Wang Jiu and the others to attack from range.
Ten minutes later, they had wiped out the entire fishman race of the dangerous dungeon.
There was no technique involved, just a brute-force confrontation. By using the puppets to block the path and absorb attacks, the seven of them still managed to take zero damage.
This was no surprise, as the environment in the dangerous-level dungeon remained unchanged, and Wang Jiu was already thoroughly familiar with it.
However, the dangerous-level minions dropped a few more items. Seeing Wang Shu's happy expression, Wang Jiu figured he had probably gathered all the materials for his recipe.
When the Fishman Chieftain fell, Wang Jiu had Wang Shu loot the corpse while Dao Dao went into the pool to search for items. "The rest of you, follow me up."
"Master, aren't we going to pull the big bear?"
"No pulling. We'll steamroll it directly. Come up on your own when you're finished."
A glint flashed in Zhao Shanxiao's eyes as he exchanged a look with Jiang Kaikai. They understood. The last time they ran the normal dungeon, Wang Jiu's team must have relied on taking zero damage to boost their rating. But now, with so many puppets to tank, there was no need to pull mobs. They could just brute-force it to save time.
The Mountain Bear up above was likely the second boss. She was probably experienced with it, too. They wondered what method she would use to kill it.
Harboring this doubt, they watched as Wang Jiu had the Puppet Cards put away and then led the four main combatants up the steep cliff.
But she didn't let them climb all the way onto the precipice, telling them to wait below for a moment.
What for? Was she going up to pull the monster or to find some treasure?
As Liao Luo and the others watched with suspicion, they saw Wang Jiu act like a thief, stealthily peeking her head over the edge of the cliff. She glanced at the boss above, then took out a dark, black object.
What the hell was that?
The few people below her only saw that she had an object in her hand. Before they could get a clear look, they saw her lob it upward like a grenade.
And then… BOOM!!
A massive explosion was followed by a piercing, agonized roar.
The shockwave from the explosion swept outward, passing over the cliff above their heads. The powerful force nearly blew them off; fortunately, they were prepared and clung tightly to the rock face.
Qiao Xuejing figured this must be something made from Jenkins' alchemical materials.
It was so powerful. She wondered how many Wang Jiu had. If there were a few more, then dangerous-level dungeons would be a piece of cake.
"Up!" At Wang Jiu's command, she leaped onto the cliff. The others followed suit and were immediately startled by what they saw.
The massive, mountain-like Mountain Bear BOSS was a bloody mess. Its enormous head was dripping with blood, and it appeared to have been blinded by the blast.
Critically wounded!
As usual, Wang Jiu announced its attributes.
Mountain Bear BOSS (Dangerous Dungeon Bronze Boss, Level 16)
Strength: 670
Agility: 450
Stamina: 640
That Stamina was a huge problem; even nine puppets would have struggled to break its defense. But after being critically wounded, it was a different story.
It wasn't just different, it was…
"Into the trees!"
BOOM!!
As the Mountain Bear rose, a massive torrent of water burst from the opening it had been blocking. Wang Jiu and the others had just scrambled into the trees.
The normal-difficulty Mountain Bear could be washed away by the current, but this dangerous-level one didn't budge. It stood in the raging torrent, roaring at the sky. The water tore away chunks of its flesh, and the pain drove it into a frenzy, causing it to immediately enter a low-HP berserk state.
But… nine puppets were thrown out, and a beatdown ensued.
Two minutes later, thud!
The Mountain Bear collapsed.
Wang Shu and Dao Dao, who had just been drenched by the waterfall below and climbed up: "???"
It's over?
It's damn well over already?
Wang Shu swiftly squatted down beside the Mountain Bear to loot the corpse, simultaneously telling Wang Jiu to check the earnings in the team inventory.
Wang Jiu didn't look, but Liao Luo and his two companions did.
With a single glance, the three of them sucked in a sharp breath.
The very first boss in a dangerous-level dungeon dropped a piece of silver equipment—and it was armor.
Ten small treasure chests, four medium treasure chests, two Puppet Cards, a basic skill book…
In short, there was a huge pile of rewards.
There was also one class skill book.
"「Sword Frost」? It requires 30 Spirit to learn. Do you have enough?" Wang Jiu asked Qiao Xuejing.
Qiao Xuejing paused, then nodded. "I do."
"Learn it."
Wang Jiu took it out of the team inventory and tossed it to her, which in turn deducted from Qiao Xuejing's participation score.
The gazes of Liao Luo and his companions were fixed on the skill book as it flew through the air.
Qiao Xuejing was momentarily overwhelmed by the favor, wondering why Wang Jiu was suddenly being so good to her.
"It's nothing. Your pajamas this morning were quite nice."
Was this the overbearing CEO and his delicate little wife?
"…" Qiao Xuejing was caught completely off guard. After a moment of stunned silence, realization dawned, and her face flushed red. She wanted to explain something, but after a moment's thought, she decided to keep her mouth shut.
There was no other reason. She had, in fact, done it on purpose, just to show this person that her pajamas weren't ugly.
Women, especially beautiful women… they have their vanities.
However, she hadn't expected the subsequent benefit to be so significant, making it seem as if she had sold her charms.
So this was another way to curry favor with the team leader?
Dao Dao chirped in the private friends channel: "So all our previous hard and diligent work was for nothing, huh? Master, how about you change back into that apricot slip dress tonight?"
The little pink pig's tone was exceptionally excited, showing no concern whatsoever for its master's virtue or reputation.
Dao Dao, you've changed!
Qiao Xuejing: "…"
The path to depravity was but a single thought away; she had to hold firm.
The System was also puzzled. Could this female Grandet really be so generous?
It asked, and Wang Jiu answered.
"Originally, it was because 「Sword Frost」 is a bit restrictive, limited to sword-users. To me, it's a bit of a 'chicken rib'—not worth much in the long run. I figured it was better to give it to her so she could contribute more, and it would also deduct from her participation score, preventing her from competing with me for things like the Garden Field. That aligns with my interests."
System: "Originally? And now?"
Wang Jiu: "Her pajamas did, in fact, please me."
System: "…"
You're either pragmatic or perverse. I see you're a combination of both.
Meanwhile, in the chat channel for the Luoyang City region on the social network, a few messages like this flashed by.
People were reporting who they'd run into at the three dungeon vortexes in the Huize Mountain area.
Mei Qinghe's team and Wang Jiu's team were among those mentioned.
"The Huize Mountain Fishman Island dungeon? They're probably aiming for Nightmare difficulty, too. The ones from 443? Can they even assemble a team capable of running Nightmare?"
"Captain, after we finish our run, should we go over and give them a hand?"
Inside a certain dungeon, a captain was just clearing the dangerous difficulty and selecting Nightmare. He replied casually, "If that Short Winter Melon Mei Qinghe doesn't have his sister with him, we can give him a hand. If she's there, then we'll go help that Wang Jiu instead."
"Nightmare is starting. Focus up."
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