Chapter Ninety-Five: Huaxia Announcement

Chen Hao did not doubt Flying Eagle’s words. In the game War, the nutrient solution could affect a player’s real-world abilities, so every master in the game was formidable in reality as well.

For example, players who were outstanding in solo combat had honed an exceptionally sharp awareness in the game. With training and the nutrient solution, their physiques became formidable, and in the real world they were bound to be powerful soldiers. Those who chose the commander’s path gained abundant experience directing battles in the game, and under the system’s proper guidance their thinking was elevated; their ability to command troops in reality would not be lacking either.

The military had understood the game’s tremendous value from the very beginning, so when official personnel entered the game and discovered especially outstanding players, they would try to recruit them. This attack on Toad Rock had, admittedly, been influenced by Flying Eagle and Sky Pillar’s own circumstances, but Chen Hao had still exploited every detail to achieve his goal, and the precision of his calculations left Flying Eagle deeply impressed.

If he joined the military, Chen Hao’s real-world identity would change, but he had no intention of agreeing. Once he joined the official side, his in-game identity would have to be registered, everything would require prior approval and reporting, and even while playing he would have to obey the arrangement of the “overall situation.” He might even be made to serve players with deep official backing but no real ability. That was absolutely unacceptable to him.

Even if joining the official game faction meant he would not encounter anything disgusting, he still would not choose it. His goal in the game was to become a dominant figure in his own right, and the official faction would never allow him to develop that way.

Flying Eagle was a soldier through and through. He did not like to pester people. After Chen Hao refused, he said regretfully, “What a pity. I wish you the best of luck in the game. And while you’re at it, do me the favor of sending me on my way...”

Even if Flying Eagle had not said it, Chen Hao would not have been polite. The experience reward for killing enemies in a dungeon quest was substantial, especially when the enemy was a player from the opposing faction. He raised the deluxe Colt in his hand, pressed it against Flying Eagle’s head, and pulled the trigger. Originally, he had planned to save a bullet with his broadsword, but Flying Eagle had spoken with him for a bit, and using a blade now seemed a little cruel...

After Flying Eagle and Sky Pillar failed, they reported the course of battle to their superiors immediately. The official side changed its original approach. The people sent into the game were no longer merely soldiers; elites from every field were entering as well. Players like Flying Eagle and Sky Pillar were now always accompanied by a skilled strategist, and they were no longer allowed to act alone.

None of that had much to do with Chen Hao. After killing Flying Eagle and Sky Pillar, this dungeon quest lost all difficulty. Under Monkey Three’s self-important command, the remaining bandits broke through the innermost three earthen houses and even cut firing ports into the walls, trying to turn the three rooms into a solid fortress.

More than thirty earthen houses stood connected together. Like Flying Eagle and Sky Pillar’s defense of the front houses, there had been some point in holding the earlier rooms, but no matter how the last few houses were arranged, once the enemy controlled most of the complex, weren’t the bandits in the final three rooms just trapped fish in a barrel?

Chen Hao climbed onto the roof, walked along the ridge to the tops of the three houses, lifted away the thatch with his broadsword, and tossed the homemade bomb in his hand inside.

A deafening explosion rang out from within the earthen house. The three bandits defending it were blown to pieces, and they cried out, “We surrender.”

The horse bandits in the other two earthen houses were equally terrified. They all raised their hands and walked out to surrender. After the last bandit was disarmed, Chen Hao received a system prompt: “Player Chen Baxi, congratulations on completing the S-rank dungeon quest to eradicate the horse bandits. You have gained 343,343 experience points and reached level 13.”

“Player Chen Baxi, in this campaign you killed twenty-three enemies and captured ten. You commanded this battle to perfection. Battle rating: S. Congratulations, strategic analysis attribute point +1, tactical execution attribute point +1.”

“Huaxia Announcement: On January 28, 1900, players Chen Baxi, Lin Xiaofeng, Chen Feng, Bai Huhu Yaonie, Diao Yu De Luren, Liu Zixuan, and Yudie completed the S-rank dungeon quest and became the first team in the Huaxia region to finish an S-rank dungeon quest. They have earned a reputation bonus of +2. Let us congratulate them.”

An A-rank dungeon had already been completed in the game, but this was the first appearance of an S-rank dungeon, so the system issued a regional announcement. All online players in the Huaxia region saw it, and the name Chen Baxi once again became familiar to everyone. Chen Hao wanted to keep a low profile, but he simply could not.

“Damn it, we even died once in a B-rank dungeon, and they actually cleared an S-rank dungeon. Comparing people really is enough to make you want to die!”

“How can there be an S-rank dungeon in the game? We’ve only found maps for two A-rank dungeons. Where did these people find an S-rank one?”

Players in the game were talking about it nonstop, and the forums were buzzing as well. Meanwhile, Chen Hao and the other seven were busy cleaning up the battlefield. All seven had received substantial experience rewards, and each of them had gained two points of reputation. The battle commander was Chen Hao, however, so only he received the two commander-type attribute points.

This bandit group had terrible weapons, and the loot they dropped was mostly trash. The only thing of value was a Broomhandle pistol dropped by the bandit chief, One-Eyed Seven. Since the system had raised the dungeon difficulty to S-rank, it naturally could not give the players such meager rewards. By the end of the battle, there happened to be seven horses left on the mountain.

Chen Hao and the other six could each take one horse as a reward. In the game, riding a horse required at least elementary horsemanship, but that was not a problem. Bandits’ riding skills would not be bad, and the captured bandits could just be forced to act as teachers.

Chen Hao found Monkey Three and said, “We don’t know how to ride. Your riding skills shouldn’t be bad, right? Teach us to ride, and then we’ll let you go.”

These bandits were of low ability. Even if captured, they were of little use, and Chen Hao had no intention of hiring them. Hearing that they could leave, Monkey Three agreed to Chen Hao’s condition and, together with the other bandits, gave the seven of them one-on-one instruction.

“Player Chen Hao, congratulations on learning elementary horsemanship.”

Learning elementary horsemanship only allowed one to ride as transportation. To charge into battle on horseback, horsemanship had to be trained to at least intermediate level. As for swinging a saber in combat and becoming a proper cavalryman, horsemanship had to reach advanced level. These bandits’ riding skills were merely ordinary, and being instructed by them was about the same as practicing on one’s own, so once the elementary skill was learned, keeping them around no longer had any meaning.

After having the bandits lead him to One-Eyed Seven’s room, Chen Hao sent them away and took Chen Feng with him to thoroughly search the room. After a brief rummage through boxes and chests, Chen Feng dug a small box out of the earth. When the lid was opened, it was full of gleaming silver dollars.

After cleaning up the battlefield, the seven rode out of Toad Rock. When they looked back, Toad Rock had already vanished. The system had automatically generated a new map, and before long new nonplayer characters would appear there, along with a brand-new dungeon quest.

The box contained 148 silver dollars. After subtracting the sixty dollars Chen Hao had spent on bullets, each person received more than ten dollars. Chen Hao had Bai Huhu Yaonie rent a farmhouse outside the city, then hired a nonplayer character to take care of the horses. After handing the horses over to the nonplayer character, he returned to the city.