TuxedoTranslations

Chapter 7

The treetops rustled in the gentle breeze, the dim light making visibility low. In a split second, Xia Tong tiptoed and sidestepped, narrowly dodging a purple spell that struck the spot where he had just been, leaving a small crater. Then, a dozen more purple spells rained down, forcing him to dodge clumsily between the gaps. Although he wasn’t directly hit, the level difference made the AoE’s residual impact take away a third of his health.

Tonight in Love’s character was high-level, equipped with level 100 gear. A basic attack alone could kill Xia Tong, yet none of the dozen skills they fired managed to hit him. Dodging left and right, Xia Tong looked as if he was cheating, darting through the Ancient Fragrant Path, shouting, “Help!”

It was absurd.

Tonight in Love was livid. “Lone Wolf! Finish him!”

“Got it.”

A huge, menacing beast roared, fur blazing like fire as it charged, blocking Xia Tong’s path. He stumbled backward in fear as the armored figure on the beast raised a sharp spear and slashed down at him.

A burning pain shot through his chest, sending Xia Tong flying back. He watched helplessly as his health bar hit zero, and his surroundings faded to grayscale.

Ten seconds later, he reappeared at the respawn point.

The respawn point was beneath a greenish Eternal Life Tree, with countless draping vines, located far from monster zones. It had a one-meter-wide protective barrier. This ambush had left Xia Tong utterly stunned. He sat there for a while, only getting up once his health bar recovered enough.

Without auto-navigation outside the starter village, he opened the mini-map, trying to find his way back to the Ancient Fragrant Path. He hadn’t taken more than two steps when a shot hit him square in the back, slamming him facedown and emptying his health bar again.

The second time, he found himself back at the respawn point.

By now, his hands and legs were numb. Leaning on his staff, he barely managed to stand up, but was instantly taken down again by another max-level player. Sitting up a third time at the respawn point, Xia Tong finally understood.

He stayed in the small protected area, waiting for a while, until two figures floated down from above.

“Delete your character, you little b*.” The purple-clad mage pointed a crackling, lightning-enchanted staff at him, looking at him with disdain.

“And what if I don’t?” Xia Tong stared back.

“We’ll keep killing you, camping here at your respawn point until you quit.” Tonight in Love said.

Xia Tong was quiet for a moment, then muttered, “You guys have a lot of free time.”

“We’re that free.” Tonight in Love replied.

Due to the frequent deaths, the time to respawn kept getting longer. This was becoming unbearable; deleting his character seemed like the only way out. But Xia Tong didn’t want to give in.

Why should he delete his character? He hadn’t done anything wrong!

They remained in a tense standoff, Xia Tong growing paler by the minute. Just then, he noticed a faint red line flash in the air.

A gunshot followed.

Tonight in Love’s character was hit, dropping to one knee as their health bar halved.

“Someone’s ambushing me!” he yelled, furious. Another shot rang out, this time piercing his head and killing him.

Xia Tong blinked in surprise. Ten seconds later, Tonight in Love respawned next to him.

“Sh*t!” Xia Tong jumped, instinctively retreating. Tonight in Love ignored him, his attention now on Lone Wolf, who was also down.

Gunfire sounded from different directions, sporadic yet nerve-wracking. They couldn’t pinpoint the source or figure out how many people were ambushing them; it was as if an invisible ghostly army lurked nearby.

Soon, the respawn area was full of max-level players.

Xia Tong, small and defenseless, shrank quietly into a corner.

“Are you kidding?!”Lone Wolf shouted angrily. “This jerk is using the Stone of the Fallen Sage!”

“No way, really?” gasps rose from the crowd.

The Stone of the Fallen Sage was a rare item, dropped only occasionally from new dungeons, making it extremely expensive. Bullets made from it inflicted a rare debuff called the Fallen Sage’s Curse. This slowed players’ actions, making them move and cast spells at half speed. The debuff couldn’t be removed, and it’s timer only counted down when actively moving. Even half an hour of it was maddening.

The respawn point became a scene of collective despair.

“Four hours! Who does this guy think he’s messing with? This is unplayable!”

“Where’s he getting so many Stones of the Fallen Sage? He must be drowning in cash!”

“Damn it, let me see who this sneaky bastard is!”

The debuff was so notorious in PvP circles that it was universally reviled. The system seemed to revel in this twisted setup, as using the Stone of the Fallen Sage triggered a flashy world announcement.

The crowd ranted about checking the global announcements, but the chat logs were buried as the same name kept filling the world channel.

“Whoa! Did I just see what I think I saw? Zero is online!!”

“Is it really him? I can’t believe it!”

“Two years! This bastard still remembers how to log in! I’m crying!”

“Our gun god is back, and it’s a bloodbath! My nostalgia!”

“Who’s Zero? New player here.”

“Yeah, who’s Zero? I thought Dylan was the top gunner from Saber Tiger. Is there really someone better than D-god?”

“Heh, when your daddy Zero was handling guns, Dylan was still picking his toes!”

“Oh, here we go again—another Zero superfan. Afraid the world won’t know how old your Z-god is?”

“Just a washed-up old man, that’s all.”

“But isn’t it cool that the ‘old man’ can still one-shot people whenever he feels like it? You wouldn’t understand.”

“Hahaha, am I the only one who noticed the Fallen Sage debuff? He must have a serious grudge!”

“Feels like this is Z-god’s entire PvE stockpile he’s using just for revenge, hahaha!”

“Two years of silence, and he comes back causing mayhem… this guy is wickedly charming!”

Tonight in Love’s face darkened.

He’d been playing this game long enough to remember how Zero, indifferent to the waves of anger and curses, single handedly won people over through sheer firepower. The bounty on him was enormous, with a multitude of players thirsting for revenge. Yet, no one ever managed to claim the prize; they just watched as the bounty expired, turning from helpless rage to quiet resignation. Eventually, Zero had grown bored and signed with a club to play professionally, dedicating part of his chaotic energy to PvE, and finally, peace had returned to the game.

If it really was Zero after him, then any hope of retaliating was nil—there was no way they’d even get close to him.

Tonight in Love sank to the ground, defeated.

Meanwhile, Xia Tong remained blissfully unaware of the world chat frenzy. He’d just been invited to a team by Lin Mingfei and received a private message.

Polaris_Zero: “Come to the marked point.”

The marker Lin Mingfei sent wasn’t far. In the midst of golden wheat fields, Xia Tong spotted him—a man kneeling with a rifle strapped to his back. Xia Tong ran over, plopping down beside Lin Mingfei, breathless. “I’m here!”

“Next time, just message me if you run into trouble like that,” Lin Mingfei said, not looking up. “Got it?”

“No way!” Xia Tong shook his head emphatically. “Next time, I want to be like you, beating them so badly they don’t dare to leave the respawn point!”

Lin Mingfei chuckled, adjusting the floating menu with his gloved fingers.

“What are you doing?” Xia Tong asked, curious.

“Clearing friend requests.” Lin Mingfei sighed.

He hadn’t intended to cause such a stir, but the dramatic effect of the Fallen Sage Stone had splashed his name across the world chat with announcements like: “[Polaris_Zero] ruthlessly killed [Tonight in Love], cursing him under the Fallen Sage’s name to an eternity of prolonged agony!”

Now, his screen was flooded with friend requests, mostly from fans nostalgic enough to cry, overwhelming him.

After finally clearing the notifications, Lin Mingfei decisively disabled friend requests, then turned to look at Xia Tong.

The little wizard was a pitiful sight—his robe in tatters, his staff cracked. Lin Mingfei sighed, gesturing with his chin. “Come on, let’s get your gear fixed.”

“Fixed?”

“When equipment durability hits zero, it’s useless. If your weapon breaks, you won’t be able to use any skills.”

“Oh! I see!”

“There’s a repair merchant on the map. I’ll show you where they are, so you can remember it.”

The two walked side by side, the handsome hunter striding smoothly while the ragged little wizard bounced along beside him. The golden wheat swayed around them like ocean waves under a low sky scattered with stars. Occasionally, Xia Tong looked up to ask a question, and the hunter would nod patiently, their eyes meeting in a quiet exchange.

Time felt peaceful and still.

That is, until Xia Tong was given a middle finger by the repair merchant NPC.

“If I’m short on money, just say it! No need to be so rude!” Xia Tong pouted.

“Every NPC has a different personality.” Lin Mingfei felt a little embarrassed, just now remembering that Xia Tong’s level was still low. The few coins from beginner quests barely covered the repair costs.

“My account’s been inactive for too long, and I’m still under a trade freeze, so I can’t give you any money right now.”

“So… what should I do?”

“Let me think…” Lin Mingfei stroked his chin thoughtfully, then snapped his fingers. “I’ve got it!”

“What? What?” Xia Tong asked, excited.

“Follow me,” Lin Mingfei said with a mysterious smile. “I’ll take you to strike it rich overnight.”

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