Half an hour ago.
Chu Feng received a phone call from a stranger.
What the other party said shocked him from the start.
"Hello, are you Chu Fu's brother? I'm a gaming friend of Chu Fu's. She asked me to check on you and hopes you can connect a communication device for her so you two can talk!"
"What? Chu Fu is awake???"
"She's just playing games!"
"Okay, okay, okay, thank you, thank you! May I ask how my sister is doing in the game now? Is she alright?"
"She's amazing!" Shen Chi’s voice was warm, as if carrying a relieved smile. "Her talent is very high—she's S-rank! Her class is Toxicologist."
Chu Feng felt something was off.
As a devoted brother, he immediately detected a different tone in Shen Chi's voice.
Not only that, but he was also grumbling inwardly.
[My sister is too naive, telling someone something as important as her talent.]
But of course, Chu Feng couldn't say that out loud.
"That's good to hear, that's good. Thank you for your help. My sister hasn't played many games. She was only 15 when she became a vegetable, so she probably still has the mindset of a 15-year-old."
So no early dating!
Even though the other person's voice sounded young too, he better not get any ideas about my sister, got it?
"Chu Fu has a strong talent for gaming. We've just taken down a boss and cleared all three difficulty levels of the Rat Lair dungeon!"
[Oh no, oh no, oh no. Is my sister being carried? Isn't this just like that 'wild king' guy in games? My sister better not be fooled by this man!]
"I really can't thank you enough. How about I compensate you based on market rates? 10,000 per attribute point?"
[Take the money and stay away from my sister.]
Shen Chi naturally couldn't accept the money.
"No need, Brother Chu Feng. Chu Fu contributed a lot to clearing the dungeon. There's no need to pay me. Please hurry to the hospital and set up the device for Chu Fu! I have things to do, I'll hang up now!"
Shen Chi didn't dare continue the conversation.
He could feel Chu Feng's gratitude for making this call.
But how could Shen Chi deserve to be thanked by Chu Feng?
He hung up, stared blankly at his phone, and lost himself in thought.
"Ah Chi, dinner is ready. Come eat first! You haven't eaten all day!"
The game pod didn't require food.
But Shen Chi couldn't refuse.
"Okay, Mom."
Half an hour later.
Shen Chi logged back in.
Xie Lin had also eaten and washed the dishes before logging in.
Chu Fu immediately invited them both.
"Wheelchair Brother, Sword Saint Brother, hurry up and come do the dungeon!"
There were still two spots in the dungeon party, which they could fill at any time. Even kicking people or swapping mid-run was possible without affecting progress.
The two quickly drank potions and entered the Nightmare-level dungeon.
Xie Lin had originally planned to go after Huanyu Kuangba but now had to let him off the hook for now.
The stronger the enemy became, the more time it would waste, and when it died, the more painful and costly it would be.
With the two of them joining, the run became much faster.
Two and a half hours later, the dungeon was cleared again.
This time, it only took three hours.
Chu Fu finally leveled up to 5.
"Once we reach level 5, since each Nightmare-level dungeon run gives about 10% experience, that means ten runs will get Wheelchair Brother and me to level 6, and then we won't be able to enter this dungeon anymore.
How about this: we take down the Mutant Rat Wizard as fast as possible. That way, we save time, and the experience gain won’t be too high. We can run the Nightmare-level dungeon a few more times to accumulate equipment and also raise everyone's levels!
If we all get Bronze-tier equipment, then we'll go fight the Silver Moon Wolf King!"
"I'll follow the leader!" Shen Chi said.
"Yeah, me too!"
"Will you take me too? I'll pay..."
Chu Fu quickly stopped this spendthrift. "No need to pay this time, Sister Jiaojiao. Your equipment isn’t bad. Once you have a full set of Bronze-tier gear, you can tank the boss. We’ll probably need a healer, though. Sister Liangu might not be able to keep running with us."
Shafu Liangu wasn’t bothered. "I understand. I'm already satisfied being brought along for leveling now. Once I reach level 3 later, I’ll go level up with the other girls in the alliance. With my current damage output, I can help them clear a Normal-level dungeon!"
"Exactly. A guild or alliance can't grow on one person alone," Chu Fu shared her insights from her gaming experience. "Take the Rat Lair dungeon as an example. No matter how strong we are, we can only run the Nightmare-level dungeon a dozen times before we outlevel it and can't enter anymore.
But if a studio or alliance keeps having new players cycle through, the daily influx of Bronze-tier equipment increases naturally.
More Bronze-tier gear has a direct impact on the success rate of the final village defense battle."
The worst-case scenario was a village that couldn't form a single S-rank squad. They couldn’t clear Nightmare-level dungeons and thus had no way to get Bronze equipment. Without Bronze gear, they couldn’t beat Nightmare-level dungeons.
It was a vicious cycle!
So as long as dungeons were cleared, equipment was sold, and the top players enjoyed the benefits, subsequent teams could obtain equipment and keep raiding, forming a virtuous cycle.
Not just for the server's overall strength, but for the alliance's strength too—it would naturally rise.
"Plant Girl, did your brother tell you all this? He's really a top-tier player. I’ll definitely ask him for tips later. By the way, do you want to join our Rose Alliance? I’ll appoint you as our strategist!"
Chu Fu laughed. "Sister Jiaojiao, if the boss drops a Guild Order and you establish a guild, I'll definitely join."
"It's a deal then!"
Chu Fu's strength was obvious to everyone. Jiaojiao Bu Jiao was already thinking about offering Chu Fu an annual salary of several million.
No, wait—several million wasn’t enough. If Chu Fu joined, she should give her shares in the studio instead.
After all, this was someone who could endlessly carry teams to first kills!
And so, the team ran dungeons like clockwork.
Apart from Chu Fu, Shen Chi, Xie Lin, and Jiaojiao Bu Jiao as permanent members, the last slot was always given to someone from the Rose Alliance. Once Shen Chi reached level 5, they could even bring level 1 characters to run dungeons.
Those with strong talents who were willing to join the Rose Alliance—all of them were power-leveled.
This was far better than Huanyu Kuangba's empty promises.
Combined with Sister Jiaojiao's big-sister, take-charge personality, a crowd quickly gathered around her.
The team’s overall equipment kept improving.
Clear times also got faster—from the initial three hours down to two hours, and finally settling at a limit of one hour and thirty minutes. They couldn’t go faster due to map navigation constraints.
The group ran the dungeon a full eight times.
You might ask: was running the dungeon really that addictive?
Yes—every time, different equipment dropped, and every run felt fresh.
The four of them played straight through the night and into the next day.
By 1:30 PM the next afternoon, Chu Fu also received a health warning.
[You have been fighting continuously for 30 hours. Please rest. The game pod cannot alleviate mental fatigue.]
You can rest inside an inn or tent in the game—doing so will put you into a deep sleep. Four hours of sleep can fully restore your mental state.
You currently have a DEBUFF: Mental Fatigue—mental attributes reduced by 50%.
“Ah, I’ve finally gotten a health warning too!” Chu Fu said regretfully.
Because Chu Fu logged into the game later than the others, her health warning came later than everyone else’s. She was the only one still leading the charge, like a workaholic.
“Let’s rest up. Plant Girl, I’ve prepared a tent for you. You can sleep in the tent later, and I’ll have someone watch over you outside!”
Sister Jiaojiao said.
The tent was naturally bought in the beginner’s village. Folded up, it took up one backpack slot, but it was affordable—only 100 copper coins—and allowed you the freedom to sleep in the wild.
However, the tent had durability. If it was attacked by monsters, its health would drop, and you yourself could be attacked while asleep.
Of course, the player would wake up if attacked.
The most terrifying scenario was if a powerful boss suddenly appeared and you got one-shotted—well, there’d be no one to complain to about that.
“Alright! I’ll go sleep now!”
Chu Fu agreed. She finally left the area of the Mutant Rat Nest and then canceled the effect of the shrinking potion.
Instantly, she grew back to her normal size.
Just as she was finding a spot to set up the tent, she saw a group of people swaggering over in the distance.
She looked closely—it was none other than Huanyu Kuangba!
At that moment, Huanyu Kuangba was also staring nervously at Chu Fu.
“Get ready!”
Huanyu Kuangba bellowed.
