LWGP - Chapter 135
Chapter 135: The Chief Purser
In the pitch-black darkness, the group was disoriented. When a band of shadows suddenly rushed out, even if they weren't scared into a heart attack, they would obey their self-preservation instincts and attack first.
In fact, the other party did the same.
In an instant, a chaotic barrage of skills erupted.
They seemed startled to see Wang Jiu's large group upon emerging, and they activated their attack modes almost simultaneously.
After a chaotic exchange, the glow of skills was still visible in the darkness, and sounds resembling gunfire could be heard. In this flickering light, one could see people collapsing as bullets pierced their brows, others activating defenses while casting skills, and even someone lurking in the darkness assassinating another assassin.
In any case, after a few clashes in the alternating darkness and light, the other side seemed to recognize someone in Wang Jiu's group.
"Luo Sheng, what the hell are you doing? It's me! Tell your people to stop!"
Luo Sheng actually took a closer look and was surprised. "Huh? Li Chui from Guangdong? Sorry, I didn't recognize you just now."
"Like hell I believe you! You saw me just now and still had your puppet attack me! Stop it! Fuck, I'm in a trap! Brother Dong Long, help me get out of this trap status!"
A deep, muffled voice replied, "Someone's attacking me. I can't get over there."
Luo Sheng said, "My point is, it's useless even if I recognize you. I belong to someone else now. I have to listen to her."
Then she completely avoided mentioning asking Wang Jiu to order a ceasefire. Firstly, she knew her place. Secondly, she didn't want to stop in the first place. Fight!
Relying on her stealth puppet, Luo Sheng killed several of Li Chui's subordinates, picked up their items, and quickly moved to Li Chui's side. She had just thrown down a bomb puppet, setting off an explosion, and Li Chui, caught in the trap, was instantly killed. He dropped seven or eight items, including a Class Skill Book and an Upgrade Scroll. Just as Luo Sheng was about to pick them up, her wrist was seized by the revived Li Chui. With a ferocious look, he raised his hand to strike with a blade.
Bang!
His head was struck by a bullet. It was an incredible bullet, killing him in one shot.
How was that possible?!
Li Chui fell with a thud, not even knowing how he died.
Luo Sheng, splattered with blood, was stunned. Seeing the figure that had appeared before her, her eyes lit up, revealing the charming and reserved smile characteristic of a socialite. "Lord Lao Wang, it's truly…"
Wang Jiu grabbed her wrist. Her fingers were too slender, long, and cold, soft as if boneless, yet they easily encircled Luo Sheng's wrist. Luo Sheng's heart trembled. For a moment, she was dazed, her breathing becoming subtle as her gaze subconsciously drifted up to Wang Jiu, who was slightly taller than her.
But she saw the smooth, delicate line of her profile, her red lips accenting her cold, pale skin, and the strange glasses resting on her ears and the bridge of her high nose.
Luo Sheng's daze lasted longer than normal.
But in the next second, the skill book she was about to grab was picked up by the other person. With a slight flick of her wrist, she let the corner of the skill book touch Luo Sheng's fingers.
It was a touch as light as a dragonfly on water, almost like a flirtation.
Wang Jiu's thin lips were cool. "Feel that?"
Luo Sheng was embarrassed, her face flushing for the first time in her life. "Uh…"
The system reminded her that the kill output wasn't hers. The bomb puppet she had thrown into the trap was wasted.
What an awkward reminder.
Suddenly, Wang Jiu had already let go and put away the skill book. She pressed the muzzle of her gun against the temple of the once-again-revived Li Chui. With a light touch, the cold metal made a subtle sound against his skull.
Li Chui's body froze. Along with Luo Sheng, he heard Wang Jiu say in a soft, husky voice that sent a chill through one's heart yet sounded lingeringly sentimental, "Next time, look more carefully before you act."
It was a double entendre, and both of them got her point.
Damn, so dominant, so desirable, so cold.
Then, both sides stopped, because Li Chui let out a howl—he had died twice in a row and didn't want to die a third time! Everyone, stop!
As for Wang Jiu's people, they understood her intention the moment she pressed the gun to his head.
In truth, they didn't want to fight either. They were all players and could revive on the spot. Doing so too many times would just drain everyone's spirit power.
Although killing players yielded items, most people now kept their valuable resources in their territory homesteads and had listed some of the resources from the first two dungeons on the auction house. While they still had some things in their inventories, the scale of drops was far less than in the first two or three days.
Running dungeons was the way to go; the immediate benefits weren't worth it.
Besides, the other side was strong, their team's strength no less than Luo Sheng's. A man and a woman among them were particularly difficult to deal with.
Their side had almost three times the numbers, but many of their people had been killed in the fight.
That man named Dong Long… was incredibly formidable.
So both sides stopped, and the priests or fire mages used skills to create light.
The underground space suddenly became spacious and bright, and the two groups faced each other.
The atmosphere was tense.
Zhong Qing observed that the other group looked somewhat battered, as if they had just escaped from something. On their side, the three teams had mostly obtained guns and ammunition, but it was clear that his two teams hadn't used them directly because they couldn't see. However, Wang Jiu's team had all used their guns, mainly because they were all wearing a pair of glasses.
The tall and burly Dong Long stared sharply at Wang Jiu. "Infrared night-vision goggles?"
Li Chui had actually noticed too and asked Luo Sheng, "You found the armory?"
Luo Sheng raised an eyebrow. "Not me. Didn't I tell you? I'm now…"
Li Chui said, "But my display shows you aren't on the same team."
Luo Sheng used an elegant turn of phrase: "Please shut up."
Li Chui chuckled and turned to Wang Jiu. "Hey beautiful, you're amazing. Let's be friends."
Wang Jiu: "I don't make friends with prisoners."
Only then did Li Chui feel the pressure on his temple. He immediately begged for mercy, "Hey, beautiful, don't be like that. Luo Sheng and I just had a few minor frictions in business. You don't need to kill me like this for her sake, right? You've already killed me once. I don't have much in my inventory, it's not worth your trouble."
This dog, he was doing it on purpose!
Luo Sheng reacted swiftly, retorting, "Lord Lao Wang and I just have a general cooperative relationship."
Wang Jiu definitely wouldn't give her face, so it was better to take the initiative herself.
Li Chui: "Then why are you blushing?"
Luo Sheng glanced quickly at Wang Jiu and smiled. "I was just hesitating over whether I should pull away when Lord Lao Wang grabbed my hand."
As expected of the top socialite, turning a passive, awkward situation into an active, ambiguous one.
Li Chui quickly dismantled her effort. "No need, really. She never intended to hold it for long."
"You're stalling for time with all this nonsense. You want to lure those mutated monsters chasing you over here, don't you?"
Being continuously provoked by Li Chui, Luo Sheng should have been angry and retaliated, but her mind was sharp and sensitive. She directly saw through his intentions.
The usually arrogant and unruly Li Chui paused slightly. He wasn't surprised that Luo Sheng saw through him, but he sensed something even more terrifying—this Wang Jiu, who had a gun pointed at his head, showed not the slightest tremor in her breathing.
She was terrifyingly steady.
Dong Long noticed it too and changed the subject, asking Wang Jiu, "It seems Lord Lao Wang has unlocked the armory. I wonder if you have any spare night-vision goggles to sell us."
At his question, Wang Jiu looked over, but not at him.
"Why did you go to Shenzhen?"
She was asking someone else.
Dong Long's brow twitched, and he turned to look at the person behind him.
The latter was also looking at Wang Jiu, hesitating whether to speak. Seeing that Wang Jiu had asked, she finally stepped forward. "Some accidents happened, so I went to Shenzhen. I didn't expect to see you, Dr. Wang."
Only then did Wang Shu and the others notice that the woman from the opposing team, who they had found troublesome earlier, was older, perhaps in her thirties, with a simple and elegant appearance and an extraordinary temperament.
The Chief Purser had been a very intellectual and capable professional woman. She was calm and composed on the plane and handled herself with ease in the game dungeon. Having become a mother, she always carried a hint of tolerant gentleness.
However, when she mentioned the accident, Wang Jiu could see a hint of frustration in her micro-expressions. She didn't ask, only saying, "Leave your team. Come over."
The Chief Purser was stunned. The faces of Dong Long and Li Chui's team members changed even more.
Wang Shu and the others were also very surprised, as this was the first time they had seen Wang Jiu so directly demand someone.
Speaking of which, despite all of Luo Sheng's "flirting," Wang Jiu hadn't seemed very interested.
Was this poaching?
"Uh, Lord Lao Wang, this isn't appropriate, is it? Lin Guiwan is a member of our team, she…"
Bang! Wang Jiu shot Li Chui dead. In the instant that Dong Long and the others were about to attack in collective anger, Wang Jiu said, "Your conditions don't seem very good. You're carrying negative statuses, otherwise you wouldn't be so weak. You're also being tracked, which is why you were in such a hurry to get close to me and divert the trouble."
"If you really want to trade to save your lives, you need to show some sincerity."
Dong Long frowned, looking at Li Chui's corpse.
Li Chui wanted to explode right now!
In less than two minutes, he had died three times!
In the team channel, he was fuming, but he didn't dare get up again.
"Can you beat her?" Li Chui asked.
Dong Long: "If I were in my peak condition…"
Li Chui grew excited. "You could?"
Dong Long: "No. Not unless Miss Lin and I teamed up, and even then there'd only be a sliver of hope. But from what I know, Miss Luo is someone who greatly admires intelligence. If that person couldn't suppress her with their methods, she wouldn't be willing to follow them. Therefore, she must be much stronger than what we see before us. Teaming up would still be no match. Unless your little uncle was here."
Besides, Dong Long glanced at Lin Guiwan beside him. She wouldn't make a move.
"My brother has his own team. He's probably already in a Nightmare Dungeon by now. How could he possibly come back to help me?"
Li Chui understood Dong Long's suggestion. He had a headache, but he was reluctant to let Lin Guiwan leave.
Her powerful strength and high aptitude were one thing, but more importantly, the woman's character was too good. She was sharp and decisive, spoke with substance, was capable but didn't like to stir up trouble, and was incredibly steady. She was exactly the kind of talent that leaders loved most.
Most importantly, her integrity was precious.
He wanted to break free from his family's control and, like his brother, establish his own power to in turn control the family's authority. To do that, he needed his own foundation. The team he had currently assembled was excellent, but there were different levels of excellence.
Lin Guiwan was too outstanding. He didn't want to give her up, but he was helpless against Wang Jiu.
Dong Long understood Li Chui's meaning, so he said to Wang Jiu, "This must respect Miss Lin's choice."
It seemed the two knew each other. If Lin Guiwan didn't agree… there was still a chance.
Wang Jiu looked at Lin Guiwan. "You're not in a permanent team with them, are you?"
Lin Guiwan was taken aback and gave a wry smile. "Dr. Wang's insight is as sharp as ever."
Wang Jiu's insight was more than just sharp. She slightly raised her eyelids. "Come with me, and you won't have to fear Lin Jun harassing you anymore. The Li family in Shenzhen needs to maintain its relationship with the capital. Once they've stabilized, they'll consider diplomacy with the Lin family. They can't protect you. I reckon you weren't planning on staying with their team for long anyway. Since that's the case, come with me."
This time, everyone was truly stunned. Li Chui and Dong Long exchanged a look.
No wonder when they first invited this Lin Guiwan to join them for a dungeon run, no matter how much goodwill and recruitment they expressed, she had politely declined, only saying it was purely for the dungeon, but refused to explain why.
So it was because of this concern.
The Lin family of the capital, Lin Jun?
That little pervert from the Lin family.
Although he was the same age as him and Luo Sheng, many elders spoke of him with deep apprehension.
He was too twisted.
Lin Guiwan's knowledge of Wang Jiu was limited, but she keenly sensed that the other party was, conversely, very familiar with her.
No wonder she had taken extra care of her on the plane.
Why was that?
She couldn't figure out the reason behind it. A few things flashed through her mind, but she didn't say much, only stating, "Lin Jun is a very dangerous person. He…"
"He doesn't like your daughter, but he doesn't mind using your daughter to force you to submit. You learned that lesson two years ago, didn't you?"
Wang Jiu's words finally struck a nerve with Lin Guiwan. She was unwilling to burden others, but if the other party took the initiative and might truly have the ability to be fearless of Lin Jun and the Lin family, she couldn't help but want to take a gamble for her daughter's sake.
"Okay."
Lin Guiwan agreed and apologized to Li Chui and the others. Li Chui couldn't blame her for leaving the team, because there was a valid reason.
The reputation of that pervert Lin Jun was well-known in places like Hong Kong and Shenzhen. He was a notorious madman in business circles. Even in the apocalyptic game, he had caused a huge stir. To think he had set his sights on Lin Guiwan, who was ten years his senior, and even forced her to leave her home in the capital for Shenzhen.
Li Chui knew full well that his family would not support him in making an enemy of Lin Jun for a single team member.
And so, the matter was settled.
Luo Sheng frowned, her expression not looking good. Zhong Qing glanced at her carefully and smiled wryly to himself. This young miss is probably feeling stifled.
This Wang Jiu's preferential treatment was too blatant.
This wasn't just poaching, it was a damn excavator!
So domineering!
What kind of qualities did this Lin Guiwan have that made her so coveted?
A new person joined the team. Bai Bai was curious at first, but then saw that it had been kicked out to let Lin Guiwan directly into the top ten.
Bai Bai exploded. It saw an application sent over by Wang Jiu.
"No, I'm not joining! I won't join even if you kill me! I'm angry!" Bai Bai whined angrily.
With extreme indifference, Wang Jiu directly used a Slave White Paper as punishment. Amidst the numbing electric shock, Bai Bai tearfully joined the team.
The others didn't have time to speculate on the connection between Lin Guiwan and Wang Jiu, because they heard the roars of monsters approaching from nearby.
"Lord Lao Wang, now that Sister Lin has joined you, we can be considered family. Let's deal with these monsters together. These monsters are several times stronger than the ones outside, their stats are all over 300. You should sell us the night-vision goggles first."
Hearing the sounds of the terrifying monsters drawing near, Li Chui was one to seize an opportunity. He proactively tried to build a connection, even though he hated Wang Jiu to death in his heart and was determined to loot her equipment if he ever got the chance.
Wang Jiu didn't mince words. "50 gold each. Send a trade request if you want them. If not, I'll sell them to someone else."
Damn it, 50 gold? Are these night-vision goggles gold-plated? So expensive!!
50 gold could buy several basic skill books!!
Li Chui couldn't bring himself to do it and wanted to haggle!
Wang Shu: "Don't even try, dear. Haggling will only bring you humiliation. Even I, her disciple, bought it for 50 gold."
Li Chui: "???"
Wang Shu: "I hear you talking about the Lin family and the Li family, prestigious clans, eh? So stingy? Can't even afford 50 gold? Do you need my Master to give you a discount?"
For wealthy, aristocratic families, the word "discount" was a devastating insult.
Li Chui: "No need, we'll buy them!"
Equipment like night-vision goggles would be useful in the future. Buying one as a long-term piece of gear was fine. If they survived and continued onward, dropping a single Class Skill Book would make it worth it.
Especially since Luo Sheng had already started wearing hers.
That woman was fast. Seeing this, Li Chui grew anxious and quickly traded with Wang Jiu. Just then.
Bang! A wind blade shot out from the darkness. Dong Long raised his scimitar and split the wind blade. "They're here. They have a speed-enhancing skill."
"Quick, quick, trade!"
Li Chui immediately sent a trade request to Wang Jiu. As she placed ten night-vision goggles into the trade window, she threw out a Flowing Light.
Whoosh! A monster shot out from around the corner. Its eyes glowed green, and its four limbs scrambled across the ground at extreme speed. Through the night-vision goggles, Wang Shu and the others could only see an afterimage. Then, as it drew near, Wang Jiu's Flowing Light struck its massive head, knocking it sideways. When it landed, yellow-green liquid splattered from its mouth and body.
Wang Jiu saw it and frowned slightly. The smell of this liquid was a bit like those potions.
More monsters poured out of the tunnel. Their forms were much stronger than the bronze-level mobs outside, and their numbers were unknown, but they appeared from both openings simultaneously.
Just as they were roaring and about to charge out…
"Xuejing."
As soon as Wang Jiu called her name, Qiao Xuejing activated the trap.
It was a series of connected traps. Once activated, the ground naturally collapsed, forming a wide, deep trench.
The art of traps was wonderfully varied, its specifics dependent on application, making it much more subtle than skills. But it generally followed two cardinal rules—first, make you fall into a pit. Second, make sure you can't climb out.
Only by mastering these two rules to a certain level could one qualify as a true formation master.
Qiao Xuejing was a world-class architect. She had formidable talent and knew the importance of a solid foundation. So, after settling on her class path, all her resources were funneled into one direction. She also pooled funds to assemble things. Now, the trap she activated was one she had bought from the auction house—《The Trench》.
What a crappy name, why not just call it the sewer? That's what Dao Dao had complained about at the time, but after buying it, Qiao Xuejing had reported it to Wang Jiu.
Why?
Because she had also defined her own value—she had to be useful to Wang Jiu.
Why would a formation master need so much attack power? Couldn't she just find another Xie Lu?
Everyone has their specialty. She chose resources and skills that benefited the group as a whole.
Like traps. The moment this trench appeared, the monsters fell into it as soon as they emerged from the openings.
Couldn't they climb out?
No, they could, but they would be afflicted with the trap's inherent negative statuses—fracture and slow.
There were only two openings. Either they didn't come out, or they came out and fell into the pit. If they fell in, they had to climb out, otherwise the status would persist, and they would die inside from total bone fracture. Dao Dao only knew its name was bad, but didn't know a single trench could be so deadly.
Especially a trench in the dark.
So when Wang Jiu learned that Qiao Xuejing had bought such a skill, she didn't say much, only replying with a single word in a voice message: "Good."
Seven parts praise, three parts flirtatious charm.
At the time, Qiao Xuejing had been dazed for a good while, finally sighing to herself that it was no wonder Lao Wang could sit on her throne as the king of players for so many years without her persona collapsing.
Probably because all the fish she raised were willing.
"Trap Art? It's her?" Luo Sheng raised an eyebrow. She had been wondering why someone like Wang Jiu would tolerate a fool like Li Chui running his mouth. It turned out she never intended to let this group of monsters go.
Right, they were all resources.
One had to scheme for resources. This time, Li Chui and his group were, in a different sense, bait.
While Li Chui was deliberately spouting nonsense with ill intentions, Qiao Xuejing had not been in the crowd. She had quietly gone to the two openings to set up the trap.
And before that, Wang Jiu had heard the sounds of the pursuing monsters beyond their own commotion and had used her Purple Gold-grade Demon's Eye to observe them.
How terrifying was a Purple Gold-grade Demon's Eye? Its observation was divided into three parts: distance, obstacle penetration, and detail perception.
Currently, its three parts were: 1000 meters, able to penetrate general physical obstacles, and able to see the opponent's skills and statuses.
It was terrifying.
At the very least, Wang Jiu saw the monsters' movements in advance. So while Li Chui and his group were stalling for time to lead the trouble to them, she used her insight to map out the nearby building passages, forming a mental map. She was certain of the two openings they would ultimately charge out of and had privately messaged Qiao Xuejing to prepare the trap.
"They came so fast! You really did lead them here!" Mei Qinghe had a very poor impression of Li Chui's group, since they had deliberately led the trouble to them.
"So what if we led them here? Your lord isn't panicking at all, she must be confident she can take them out. Look at how this trap was set up, it's amazing. You should thank us for luring the monsters for you." Li Chui hid behind a pillar, using the formidable firepower of Wang Jiu's group to alleviate the pressure, and spoke shamelessly, though he felt aggrieved inside.
This trap master lady is beautiful and capable. Wang Jiu has such talent under her, yet she still used an excavator to dig up someone from my team. It's too much!
Although he was unhappy, the four teams all seized the opportunity, moving to a suitable long-range distance to snipe the mutated monsters continuously climbing out of the trench.
"Miss, how long can your trap last?" Li Chui asked.
Qiao Xuejing didn't reply, only telling her own team in the party chat, "Fifteen minutes."
At this time, Lin Guiwan had also been pulled into the team by Wang Shu. Because of the urgency of the fight, they couldn't talk much. After seeing Qiao Xuejing's message, she had some judgment about Qiao Xuejing's role and personality.
Traps, huh? Then no one in this team should have a class that conflicts with hers, which is why Wang Jiu asked her to join.
She couldn't think too much about it and just silently killed monsters.
Wang Jiu: "The underground passage openings are limited in size. Keep a close watch on those two openings and don't let them get out. Also, watch out for their saliva. Use ranged attacks. Aside from some status skills, use other skills sparingly to conserve spirit power."
"Is there a problem with the saliva?" Xie Lu asked.
"It's a poison. Li Chui and his group have a poison status on them. It wasn't dispelled even after dying twice, making them weak. The attacks they launched didn't match their strength. It was only resolved after their third on-the-spot revival. Otherwise, why do you think Li Chui would risk getting up a third time? It was only because he had nothing left to lose."
Mei Qingshu: "It probably also emits a scent, otherwise they couldn't have tracked them here—I noticed Li Chui's group appeared too abruptly, as if they used a short-range group teleportation talisman. If we get poisoned, we don't have that kind of talisman, and we'll be hounded to death by them."
Liao Luo: "Li Chui and his group didn't mention this information. They probably wanted to get us poisoned as well, to weaken us, giving them a chance to counter-kill."
The above was the group's chat and speculation, but it didn't delay their attacks. After all, with their coordination from the high ground, everyone's actions were smooth. Even Luo Sheng and Diao Guang's two teams didn't drop the ball.
The main reason was that the firing frequency of the guns was too high. There was no delay, it was a complete sweeping slaughter.
The muzzle flashes from the guns formed a continuous sheet of light.
This also made Li Chui and his group extremely jealous. Skills were useful, but they consumed spirit power. Wang Jiu's group's attack method was completely spirit power-free.
"Fifteen minutes is almost up, two minutes left."
"Their numbers have decreased a lot, it should be over soon. Keep it up!"
Wang Jiu suddenly led her people to retreat. Behind them was a stairwell. She stood on the stairs, and the others naturally followed.
Seeing this, Luo Sheng knew something had changed and immediately shouted for her people to follow.
"Follow them!" Li Chui and Dong Long led their people over, but kept some distance from Wang Jiu's group.
Just as everyone got on the stairs, they saw mutated monsters charging out of the other two openings.
Damn it, they changed their route, and there are still so many of them!
Luo Sheng gave Li Chui a cold look. "With so many, weren't you afraid of getting your own team wiped out after luring them over?"
Li Chui looked sheepish and rather innocent. "I didn't know there were so many of them either. My heart isn't that black."
Without the trap to hold them back, the massive number of monsters swarmed out, charging towards the stairs under a hail of bullets. Even as they were shot down, they spat venom towards the stairs, forcing everyone to retreat again and again.
Just as they were closing in, like a zombie siege about to push Wang Jiu and the others into a desperate situation.
Wang Jiu suddenly threw out a bottle of Mist Potion.
Bang! The Mist Potion exploded, releasing a misty liquid. As it hit the ground, it instantly dispersed into a current of air that enveloped the monsters.
Would it work? Wang Jiu actually suspected that these Mist Potions were refined from these underground monsters, as they were somewhat similar to their venom. But she was also certain that this Mist Potion was an improved version. Since it was used by the police, where would the police use it?
If not on players, then on these mutated monsters. Like those modified guns, they were mostly targeted at monsters.
So, perhaps it was also effective against the monsters in this abandoned underground research institute?
With this speculation, Wang Jiu didn't hesitate to try, so she threw a bottle.
As the mist entered their bodies, the venom-spitting monsters groaned and began to weaken, but they still ran towards the stairs.
Seeing this, Wang Jiu threw out two more bottles of Mist Potion.
Bang, bang! The dense mist made the monsters directly weaken and vomit. They lost all combat capability, turning into weaklings that everyone could shoot at will.
"Wow, Lord Lao Wang is still the most amazing! Quick, everyone, let's finish off these monsters!"
Li Chui was ecstatic and expressed his utmost admiration for Wang Jiu, but just then… someone behind them suddenly screamed.
They had been assassinated.
Liao Luo whipped around and saw a dagger being pulled from the back of a fallen person, but the killer was nowhere to be seen.
The terrifying thing was—there was more than one killer.
In an instant, four out of the forty people from the four teams fell. They were all standing on the rear steps, and among them were Mei Qinghe and Qi Shuanghan. They had all been assassinated.
"There are people here!!"
As everyone was shocked, the four hidden assassins vanished, but bullets also rained down from above.
Another team had arrived.
They had flanked their rear, trapping them between the monsters and the mist for a decisive kill!!
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