Shen Chi raised a hand to support his forehead. In the end, he could only explain things to Xie Lin through private messages.
“I don’t want it. I’m the dignified Sword God—do I really need such an external aid?”
He was poor, and he wore that poverty proudly.
Shen Chi could only explain it to Chu Fu again. This time, he didn’t say it aloud and sent the words directly, otherwise Xie Lin would start making a fuss again.
“If you don’t take the money, and Xie Lin doesn’t take it either, then Xie Lin won’t have any extra income to earn. His growth rate will be limited. His class is clearly one that becomes powerful later, and it’s already beginning to take shape, but he’s short on money!”
Every time a major event took place, Xie Lin would spend money buying contribution points, so naturally, every bit of money he earned was spent.
Shen Chi, on the other hand, spent a lot, but he also earned a lot. He was practically an entire manufacturing industry by himself. Whether it was producing and selling flight wings or transporting players as a mecha pilot, every business brought him a fortune.
Xie Lin, by contrast, was simply too poor. Sure enough, sword cultivators were all poor.
Ten thousand gold coins—changed from the thirty thousand mentioned earlier—wasn’t a huge sum, but it was enough for Xie Lin to buy more than a thousand golden swords. That would definitely be a major boost.
Of course, Shen Chi wasn’t only thinking about Xie Lin. He mainly wanted to share the spoils with Chu Fu, but since she refused, he decided to include Xie Lin as well.
Chu Fu was finally persuaded.
“Fine, then! This is the revenge fund. We’ll split it! Thanks, Wheelchair Brother!” Chu Fu said sweetly.
If someone was giving you money, shouldn’t you sweet-talk them a little? Chu Fu understood the ways of the world perfectly. Just because she didn’t lack this money didn’t mean she could take it for granted.
“You should take it too! Plant Girl already accepted hers. If you refuse, won’t Plant Girl be losing out on ten thousand gold?”
Shen Chi resorted to provoking him.
Only then did Xie Lin accept the money. He threw an arm around Shen Chi’s neck and said, “Then your brother won’t stand on ceremony. Once my swordsmanship reaches the pinnacle, I’ll storm the enemy’s stronghold. I’ll give you one-third of the treasures, and of course, another third will go to Plant Girl!”
Xie Lin winked.
Chu Fu smiled. “I regret killing the enemy so early. I should’ve kept them alive, like… like shearing sheep. Let them grow a little, then shear them, and raise them again before shearing them again!”
Chu Fu nearly let slip that she should have done it like her brother did—raise Wan Huanyu up, kill him, raise him again, and kill him again. In the original plot, the story had been dragged out for three million words, and Wan Huanyu still hadn’t died.
But now, Wan Huanyu had already received his ticket out.
His name had been placed on the wanted list, and his entire family had been uprooted. It was impossible to say whether he would still cause trouble, but that was something they would only know if they crossed paths again in the future.
The most miserable one was actually Wang Rongxun. He had never even fought Chu Fu face-to-face. Chu Fu had merely used a few minor economic tactics to drive him into bankruptcy.
He was still alive, but his money was gone. He was saddled with a debt of 140 billion.
Before the game’s nighttime period—from 2:00 to 6:00 p.m., when it was daytime for the players—arrived, some players had already gone beneath the Shunmuyuan Building to unfurl banners demanding money.
The scene was incredibly lively.
Chu Fu could only sigh at the power of numbers. The three of them—her, Shen Chi, and Xie Lin—were like three mediocre strategists who together could rival her brother, Zhuge Liang.
At present, the only organization that couldn’t be targeted was the Longhan Group. They had no public leader. As for the Sun family, they had gone underground three years ago to prevent the scandal from affecting the company’s stock price.
Sun Jingya had been sentenced to life imprisonment and had yet to enter the game.
But it wouldn’t be long. A few months later, once game monsters invaded the real world and chaos broke out everywhere, Sun Jingya would naturally be released.
When that happened, Chu Fu would kill her with her own hands and make her pay the price she should have paid three years ago!
Letting her live three extra years—even allowing her to continue believing that she could have her sentence reduced and be released after more than ten years—was the greatest insult to the dead parents of Chu Feng and Chu Fu.
Blood debts should be repaid in blood.
The more Chu Fu thought about it, the angrier she became. Just then, someone suddenly pressed down on her shoulder.
“What are you three researching? Have you got some little secret going on?” Jiao Jiao Bu Jiao wrapped a sturdy arm around Chu Fu.
“Haha, our Avengers are up to something bad. We can’t let anyone hear!” Chu Fu joked, smoothly changing the subject.
Jiao Jiao Bu Jiao was still puzzled about what bad thing Chu Fu and the others had done.
She found out soon enough.
The people from the Starstar Alliance had started making a scene.
They began condemning the Thorn Guild across the entire internet.
“My brother entered the dungeon with Plantman and the others. If Plantman and the others had known the dungeon was so dangerous, they should have issued a warning. Then my brother wouldn’t have gone in. They’re responsible!”
“That’s right! Rocket on a Wheelchair clearly came to the area, but he only focused on collecting crystals and completely ignored us. If he’d spared us even one glance and sent someone to rescue us, things wouldn’t have turned out this way!”
“The Thorn Guild has to take responsibility! Hurry up and go back to rescue our brothers!”
What the Starstar Alliance hadn’t expected was that the Thorn Guild was now at the height of its power. It had ten thousand guild members, along with another ten thousand independent players who had followed along and benefited. They had genuinely gained advantages from the dungeon.
At that moment, driven by a sense of justice and gratitude, they picked up their keyboards and fought back.
“Your brother overestimated himself. Why blame other people?”
“Were you entitled to our help? Why should we have rescued you just because you died? We were busy clearing the dungeon!”
“The dungeon is already over. Rescue what? Do you have no common sense when playing games? No wonder your Starstar Alliance never manages to develop.”
“The guild leader is an idiot, and so are all of you.”
“Sisters, I’m honestly worried about you. Do you even know what the price of gold coins has become? You’re still bleeding yourselves dry to support him? Why not earn money to improve your own families, or stockpile more supplies? What time do you think this is?”
“Ah! The Mechanical Boss has posted a clarification video.”
…
On the forum, Shen Chi uploaded a video.
“I didn’t see anything. I didn’t know. Where were you?”
The video then showed a first-person view from inside his flying mecha.
The mecha was simply too fast. It shot past in an instant, leaving only blurred scenery all around.
Even netizens armed with magnifying glasses couldn’t see anything.
After Shen Chi landed and dismantled the crystal generator, the players finally spotted something more than a hundred meters away that looked like a skull.
“The flesh had already been gnawed clean. You’re saying that was your body? I thought it was goblin kitchen scraps!”
“There were pieces of the body scattered everywhere.”
“Anyone who didn’t know better would think it was just part of the game’s background scenery.”
“Stop trying to extort people. To put it bluntly, you made the wrong decision and are now looking for a scapegoat, abusing an innocent bystander.”
“Am I the only one focused on the fact that this is the mecha’s point of view? My god, that speed, those controls—the Mechanical Boss is unbelievably cool! Mechanics are so awesome!”
“This is a 3D video. Zoom in and the Mechanical Boss looks so handsome. His whole bearing is amazing—gentle as jade, with such clear and refined features. He looks like he must have a wonderful personality. I’m in love! I’m a Mechanical Boss fan from now on!”
“??? Wasn’t the person above a Jiang Yixing fan? What kind of filthy creature is this? I hereby sternly reject you on behalf of the Mechanical Boss.”
In the end, the crisis turned into a farce.
After Shen Chi uploaded the video, he stopped paying attention. Naturally, he hadn’t included the part where he used a suction machine to vacuum up the other players’ equipment. By now, the Starstar Alliance players were dead and unable to provide evidence.
Besides, he didn’t have time to bicker with them.
He was busy repairing his mecha!
