"So huge! Even though I've seen videos, it's still different from seeing it in person!" said Proud but Not Arrogant.
Suture Saint also spoke up: "I remember the strategy says to survive this boss, you need 100 points of defense, but also about 50 points of healing every 3 seconds, since the boss attacks every 3 seconds. My heals are ready. Which of you two will tank?"
Chu Fu raised her hand and said, "I promised to take you through this dungeon. You paid for it, so there's no way I'm letting you do the work! I'll tank this boss!"
"Theoretically, it'll only take 3 seconds!"
Chu Fu confidently made an OK gesture.
Then, she took out 10 dandelion seeds and planted them at the entrance of the cave.
As long as they didn't step inside the cave, the boss wouldn't attack them.
Chu Fu mutated the dandelions one by one. With her current mana, she could only mutate four at a time.
Luckily, she had plenty of mana potions. After drinking five bottles, she finally finished mutating all the dandelions.
"Spin, little tops!"
Chu Fu activated all the chainsaw dandelions.
Then, they walked into the cave.
The giant mutated mother rat finally sensed the enemy's presence, raised its head to look at them, and with a puffing sound, gave birth to ten mutated baby rats.
But before those mutated baby rats could get close, Chu Fu's chainsaw dandelions had already spun forward in a charge.
Each dandelion's chainsaw blade dealt 30 damage to the mutated mother rat.
10 blades meant 300 damage.
10 chainsaw dandelions spinning around the mutated mother rat dealt 3000 damage.
At that moment, a dense stream of damage numbers appeared above the mutated mother rat's head.
Chu Fu took a moment to cast a poisons spell, and Shen Chi fired three shots.
No one else even had to lift a finger before the massive boss crashed to the ground.
The next moment, everyone heard the system voice.
[You have cleared the dungeon: Mutated Rat Nest (Normal).]
[Dungeon clear time: 26 minutes 34 seconds.]
[You received first-clear rewards: All stats +1, an Iron-tier Chest.]
[A server-wide announcement is about to be released. Hide ID?]
Chu Fu looked at the group.
"Is there any point in hiding it?"
"There's no need to hide it—everyone will know it's us anyway," said Blind Who Calls Me Blind.
Proud but Not Arrogant immediately shook his head. "Don't hide it! I paid for a spot specifically for this moment."
Suture Saint said, "I'll go along with Proud but Not Arrogant."
Shen Chi didn't care either.
Chu Fu selected "No."
The next moment, a golden announcement swept across the entire 0308888 server.
[Server-wide announcement: Players "Who Wants to Be a Plant," "Rocket on a Wheelchair," "Blind Who Calls Me Blind," "Proud but Not Arrogant," and "Suture Saint" have cleared the dungeon Mutated Rat Nest (Normal), achieving the first server-wide clear! Rewards have been distributed.] x3.
The entire server echoed with a voice as loud as a bell.
The newbie village once again erupted in heated discussion.
Inside the dungeon.
Chu Fu and the others sorted through the loot.
The Normal difficulty Mutated Rat Nest only dropped white-tier equipment—five pieces in total.
[Mouse Skin Boots (White): Defense +3.]
[Mouse Tooth Dagger (White): Attack +4.]
[Rough Linen Bracers (White): Defense +2.]
[Mouse Skin Skirt (White): Defense +3.]
[Chewed-Up Wooden Shield (White): Defense +5.]
Also, 120 copper coins and several mouse pelts.
These items weren't very appealing to Chu Fu and the others.
But Proud but Not Arrogant bought them all.
"White-tier gear is still valuable right now. I have a bunch of sisters still wearing newbie cloth robes. Selling them off as a bundle, double the market price."
White-tier gear was only worth a few dozen copper coins, and Chu Fu didn't want to rip off Proud but Not Arrogant. The other party offered double, but business was about steady, long-term relationships built on integrity.
Bracers and boots were 30 copper coins each, the skirt 40, the dagger 60, and the shield 80. That totaled 240 copper coins.
Adding the boss drops and the copper coins from mid-level mobs, they had 600 copper coins in total.
According to the team's contribution, Chu Fu took 400, while Shen Chi and Blind Who Calls Me Blind each took 100 copper coins.
Then came everyone's favorite part: opening the chest.
Chu Fu didn't have high expectations, but when she opened it, she was pleasantly surprised.
[You received Mutant Hook-thorn Windvine Seed x5 (Iron-tier).]
"Wow! I got something good!"
Primordial Gate was a very considerate game. If you came across special chests, like first-kill or first-clear chests, the chests were practically mind-readers.
If you were missing something, it would give it to you.
After returning from Wild Boar Ridge, Chu Fu had looked at many plants along the way, but none of them could be mutated.
Now, the special chest had given her a mutant seed.
Chu Fu immediately took out one and planted it.
Using Plant Mutation, the seed sprouted and grew into a patch of vine-like weeds.
The leaves were palm-shaped, divided into five or seven lobes, and the vines were covered in dense, sharp thorns.
"Isn't this catchweed bedstraw?" said Suture Saint.
Chu Fu actually knew that catchweed bedstraw's scientific name was jaohu, and it matched the name perfectly.
But the Mutant Hook-thorn Windvine seed, after being mutated again, naturally had different effects.
Whether it was because of their conversation or because in Chu Fu's mind it was still catchweed bedstraw, even its description had changed.
[Mutant Catchweed Bedstraw:
Property 1: Rope Catchweed Bedstraw: Covering an area of 2 meters, the bedstraw can extend vines up to 3 meters to bind enemies.
Property 2: Thorn Catchweed Bedstraw: After binding, the thorns on the bedstraw can pierce through the enemy's defense, dealing penetrating damage.]
Area attack, ranged control, defense-ignoring damage.
It was perfect.
Chu Fu was thrilled.
She then checked what others had gotten.
Everyone had some rewards, but they were all equipment. The Iron-tier items weren't particularly exciting, though Suture Saint received a weapon suitable for her—an Iron-tier steel needle.
Her ancient Chinese medical techniques had two methods: one was massage, which restored stamina and provided a random buff, and the other was acupuncture, which restored a small amount of HP and internal energy.
Suture Saint had thought she'd have to keep using her beginner's needles and then find a blacksmith to craft a new weapon. She never expected to get in on a first clear, and the first-clear chest gave her a pleasant surprise.
She would work hard for Proud but Not Arrogant and keep him happy to repay this kindness.
Yeah, she'd treat it like a full-time job!
Working for Proud but Not Arrogant was a better career path than finding a job on her own!
...
Meanwhile, on the other side.
Universal Bully was hiding at a mediocre leveling spot, slowly grinding his way to level 2. By the time he got there, Chu Fu and her team had already secured the first clear!
This made him gnash his teeth in frustration.
"Boss, don't get too angry. Getting mad won't help. But I've thought of something," said one of his companions, named Universal Rage.
"What is it?"
"Primordial Gate assigns newbie villages based on regions. Basically, everyone in our server is from Linjiang City.
And those guys—a plant person, a cripple, and someone in a wheelchair—their traits are pretty obvious, right?
What if we take things offline and settle it in real life?"
