The corner of Su Yao’s mouth twitched into a slight smile as she continued to slaughter wild boars with her little priest without looking back, “When did you get so sharp, Ah Cao?”
“Hehe, isn’t it all thanks to Yao Jie’s teachings? Rest assured, our thieves’ guild will only ever listen to you. We’re all your people.”
“Looks like I didn’t spoil you for nothing.” Su Yao’s little Mary was already at level 15, working on a quest to exterminate a hundred wild boars for the village, just a little over halfway done. At that moment, a man and a woman entered her boar-infested map. The man was over level 100, the woman just at level 10. As soon as the man entered, he used a full-screen attack skill, instantly killing all of Su Yao’s boars!
“Haha, I bought this sword on the black market, spent thousands, I’ll get you one next time.”
The man was showing off to the woman, who, seemingly new to gaming, didn’t realize how shameful it was for a level 100+ player to kill level 15 wild boars to show off his full-screen skill. They started flirting right in front of Su Yao, stealing all her wild boars.
[[Local] “Mary Next Door”: Are you doing the quest?
The lovebirds continued their flirting and killing, completely ignoring her.
[[Local] “Mary Next Door”: If not, could you move aside? I’m doing a quest, just a little bit left.
Still no response.
Su Yao flipped the table in frustration. [“Local” “Mary Next Door”: Are you still robbing? With that outburst, the guy finally reacted. He probably thought he could grow a reproductive organ in his mouth and fiercely said, “So what if I robbed you? You think you can mess with me just because you’re level 15? You’re nothing!” Su Yao laughed, and A Cao laughed too. “Brothers, head to the Boar Forest for a heist!” Without Su Yao having to say anything, A Cao was already back at the computer next door, grabbing the microphone and calling out on the voice platform. The elite thieves of Xia Country flooded into the Boar Forest. Thief A: “Mary Next Door? Is this your alt, Yao Jie?” Thief B: “Ha, even someone as aggressive as Yao Jie enjoys playing a healer.” Thief C: “Wow, now I want to play an alt too.” Thief A: “Come on, what’s a big guy like you doing playing a healer? Are you gay?” Thief D: “Hey, A, are you discriminating against me?
Su Yao looked at the Boar Forest, now completely plundered by her followers. She scratched her head, starting to wonder if she had gone too far. In this life, she really didn’t want to get entangled in past grudges. “What about Xia Country?” A Cao suddenly asked, “Are you going back, Yao Jie?” “I don’t know.” Su Yao thought for a moment, then shook her head. She didn’t love Ji Canghai, but she loved the Xia Country she had revived with her own hands, loved the countless citizens of Xia Country. After she left, they would suffer under Ji Canghai’s rule again, with heavy taxes and suffering. Could she bear that? “Yao Jie, no matter where you go, we will follow you.” A Cao patted Su Yao’s shoulder. Suddenly, cries came from the other side of the voice chat. “What’s happening?” he quickly asked them. “Holy crap! That bitch Liuli is tearing down the gates of Tianya City! How did she get back to level 200?! Wasn’t she beaten back to level 1 and made to bark like a dog yesterday?!”
Chapter Eighteen: The Expedition Team
Before Su Yao became the national master of Xia Country, Tianya City by the Twilight Sea had faced destruction multiple times. It was Su Yao who, upon taking office, initiated massive construction projects, bringing prosperity back to Tianya City, the capital of Xia Country. In the game world, anything built by players, from cities to houses, has its own health points. Attacking a city means depleting its health points. Once the health points are drained, the city crumbles, reverting to its original building materials like wood, stone, and rare gems. Thus, destroying homes, razing small nations, and harvesting wealth are daily occurrences in this world. However, when Hong Yaotang was in control of Tianya City, no one dared to attack it. Now, with Princess Liuli attacking Tianya City’s gates, it was as if she was stepping on Hong Yaotang’s face. For Han Yanyan, Tianya City, and indeed all of Xia Country, were Ji Canghai’s wealth, and thus hers to do with as she pleased.
She was venting her excitement with her own wealth. A comeback? Full health resurrection? These terms couldn’t capture the shock of Princess Liuli’s return to level 200. Players across the server speculated on how she managed to restore her account. Upon her return, she acted as if nothing had happened, even more arrogant than before, wreaking havoc at her own city gates. Some well-meaning warriors tried to dissuade her from wasting the efforts of their predecessors but were instantly killed by her spells. She became insolent, killing, cursing, spamming the public chat, and taunting everyone, indicating she had powerful backing. “Do we all have to live in fear now?” people gossiped bitterly. She had connections; they didn’t. If they accidentally offended her, would their accounts be safe? “Let her be.” Su Yao was unbothered. The city walls she had built were incredibly sturdy. How could a few spells from Princess Liuli shake them? She was busy leveling an alt and truly didn’t want to be involved in past enmities. “Hahaha, Chang Sheng Dian, think you’re so great? Come kill me if you dare!”
Liuli stood atop Tianya City’s walls, spamming the public chat and occasionally casting spells at the gates below. This was where Hong Yaotang once stood, and now, as the empress of Xia Country, she looked down on everyone. In a city where player killing was forbidden, she didn’t believe Chang Sheng Dian or Wang Shenmu could do anything to her.
Even if her husband gets fired because of it, she’s not afraid; she’ll just seduce the new guy. “Oh, by the way, where are our elite thieves? Come out quickly, let me see what you’ve got!” The noble Empress continued to announce to the world through her loudspeaker, “I heard you were all trained by that bitch from the Red Medicine Hall, right? Remember this, from today onwards, I am your master, and you will only follow my orders. Otherwise, I’ll have you all kicked out. Got it? Cang Hai has handed over his account and password to me, making me the most noble person in Xia Country!” Seeing this message from her, Acao immediately felt a wave of nausea. “Brother, she probably wants to sleep with you too, hahaha…” Acao’s voice was filled with the mocking laughter of his underlings.
“Acao cursed back, ‘I’d rather sleep with all of you than sleep with that public bus!’ ‘Ah, brother, are you finally willing to sleep with me???’ ‘Ding, go to hell!’ ‘Stop it, does Yi want to sleep with me too?’ … Su Yao, listening to the laughter and chatter from their voice chat, felt a warmth in her heart. ‘Brothers,’ such a warm word, even though she preferred typing over voice chat, it didn’t diminish her affection for them. ‘Just play along with her,’ Su Yao instructed, ‘Make sure to keep an eye on her.’ Just as she finished speaking, a notification popped up in the lower right corner of her screen. [PM from ‘Santuhe’: Come to the Longing Tower in Yenching City, I’m waiting for you.] Yenching City? The Longing Tower is where the strategist, Luo Zishang, daily hands out equipment, ingots, and flirts with young girls. Why would Qin Chuan come here instead of leveling up with her? Su Yao, feeling a bit awkward, flew her little Mary over there. Luckily, Little Mary hadn’t joined any country, so she wouldn’t be targeted. Following the path in her memory, she made her way to the Longing Tower, where Santuhe the little assassin was already waiting. It had been a while since Su Yao had been to Yan Kingdom, and it was as prosperous as ever.”