Chapter 296: Mo Yuan Mountain
The guy selling materials was called “New Employee 005,” a name that matched his plain appearance very well.
After suggesting the idea of escorting, he remarked something like, “Beautiful lady, you underestimate this game too much.”
Then, Starry opened the sheen of her necklace, ring, and wristguards.
The shining gold color startled him.
“‘Three pieces of Gold Tier…!?’”
In the end, 005 agreed.
At this stage, only three types of people could don Gold Tier items.
1. Tycoon 2. European Emperor 3. First Tier Expert
Based on previous actions, the first could be ruled out.
As for the second… to be honest, the drop rate for top-tier equipment in Dream of the Mists was already absurdly low. One piece is manageable, but this person had three, making that probability roughly equivalent to the imminent destruction of the universe.
So, it must be the third possibility—this girl is an expert!
Wait, could it be that someone gave them to her? That possibility isn’t small…
However, the intangible aura emitting from Starry dispelled his doubts.
As a seasoned player, even if he had switched to production now, his judgment wouldn’t be wrong.
She was different from the clingy, cute girls.
005 decided to trust this stranger.
……
Ziyu said she would be undertaking a communication task for a while.
These were things that Zane had directly overlooked before; perhaps there would be some hidden Easter eggs, so let her busy with that.
Coincidentally, Starry could go with 005 to gather materials.
Speaking of which, during their casual chat on the road, Zane realized they were a studio that exchanged gold materials for money.
And “new employee” was a code name representing the staff of the new studio, with 005 indicating his serial number.
It sounded like there were many people, but in reality, he was number five, meaning there were only five of them.
“That’s not right; you said sacrificing two or three levels, so how many are left?”
“Exactly, the battle team has 3 people, and the production team has only 2. If the combat team is wiped out, we’ll just head back.”
“…This studio is pretty miserable.
“Haha, don’t look at us losing levels every day; our daily income is still decent. Sometimes if we gather enough, we can earn three to four hundred at least.”
“That’s pretty good.” It’s the truth; having a stable income in the game was something Zane had dreamed of since his student days.
“By the way, how should I address you, beautiful lady?” 005 turned to ask.
“Just call me Starry. What should I call you then?”
“Starry… feels like I’ve heard that somewhere. Forget it, just call me Little Five; we in the studio just add a small number to our serial numbers.”
“Got it, Little… Five.” As she pronounced this, her gaze instinctively shifted downward a bit.
“Why do you look down when saying ‘Little’?!”
……
“Here we are!” Little Five stopped and pointed at four nearby players at the city gate.
Three men and one woman, with levels 29, 28, 28, and 21, respectively.
They sure had the guts to go to a place with level 45 monsters.
“Little Five, who’s this…?”
“Brother One, she’s our gold sponsor… um, I mean, the escort I invited. She’ll help us buy time, and as compensation, we’ll provide her with materials to become a level 4 brewer.”
“Right, I’ll do my best to deal with the monsters on the road and protect you while gathering materials,” Starry interjected.
At that moment, Little Five was pulled aside by 001 for a quiet conversation.
Their words were inaudible; it seemed they were in a private chat.
After two minutes, 001 spoke first, casting a suspicious glance, “Why are you wearing a red name…? You don’t have any enemies, do you?”
The worst thing for a studio to have is enemies, especially for small studios like theirs; they had no means to counter malicious acts, so everything had to be done cautiously.
“I do… but I can handle it on my own.” After some thought, Starry ultimately told the truth.
……
To promote a level 4 brewer to level 5, six types of materials were needed: sorghum rice, sorghum brewing yeast, spring water, corn, tiger bones, and a golden hoop. Except for tiger bones and the golden hoop, the rest could be bought at the grocery store and didn’t need to be specially collected.
Furthermore, they had already gathered some of the golden hoop; they were just short on tiger bones.
Of course, not just tiger bones; they were handling a lot of materials required for other professions as well.
The place they were headed to was Mo Yuan Mountain.
An odd name, rumored to be the result of battles among NPCs before the server opened, literally split apart.
The monsters on the mountain were primarily demonic raging tigers, and with good luck, they might encounter level 1 tiger cubs.
While it’s said that two tigers cannot coexist, this is a game; it’s not strange for a mountain to have thousands of them. They occasionally conflict, and after a clash, the leftover tiger bones become their targets.
“I mean, Brother One, do we really need to keep this distance from her?” Little Five looked at Starry, who was 100 yards away, feeling somewhat embarrassed.
“What do you know? That red name level means she’s probably killed over a dozen people; she’s likely a player who enjoys PK. She has skills, but she easily invites trouble!” “But isn’t no one bold enough to come to Mo Yuan Mountain? It’s a level 45 Golden Monster! Besides us, who else would show up?”
“Who knows how persistent her enemies are?” 001 casually replied. “Alright, enough talking. Let’s prepare for later; we should try to rely on ourselves, even if we all die today, we must gather more materials. For the money!”
“For the money!” Everyone’s eyes turned into shapes of currency.
……
Starry was the first to approach the outskirts of Mo Yuan Mountain.
From the moment they left the city, someone had been following them, but unfortunately, they couldn’t keep up with their speed and had to give up.
This mountain had a very peculiar shape, resembling an upside-down giant bowl.
However, at its lowest point, where it met the outside land, a buffer zone had formed over time, making the difficulty of climbing the mountain less than anticipated.
But the road was basically untraversable all the way to the end. In such places, a mage’s Blink skill might be the most convenient.
Unknowingly, the sky gradually darkened.
Nightfall had come.
Checking the time, it was 6 o’clock.
The Imperial City side was about to take action, and if they wanted dinner, they had to resolve it within this time.
At the same time, Little Five approached and called out, “Starry, let’s log off for dinner; let’s regroup in half an hour!”
“Sure.” Just in time.
After giving Ziyu a wave, Zane removed his gaming helmet. After playing for a long time, there’s a fleeting sense of disorientation the moment one leaves.
After waiting a bit, the brother and sister walked out one after another.
“What should we eat today~?” Ziyu spoke with a hint of excitement, seemingly in a good mood.
“Isn’t it obvious? Stir-fried noodles + clear broth will fill us up!”
“Won’t you get tired of eating that every day?!”
“Then what do you suggest?”
Spicy hot pot!
“… Zane facepalmed, that’s just splitting hairs.
Five minutes later, they arrived at a familiar shop.
The door was tightly shut, with a sign hanging that read, “This store is for sale. Interested parties please contact 155 xxxx7408.”
Goodness, they’ve even written the number as x’s; who are you supposed to contact for a takeover!?
