Chapter 39: The Game Officially Begins

Night fell, and the two sat facing each other.

They looked at each other, Feng Yan couldn't stand it, his eyes involuntarily started to fight, and Chen Hao slapped him, saying, "Don't sleep!"

Feng Yan first looked around, somewhat puzzled, and said: "No? What's going on? Why haven't we returned to reality? Could we be trapped in the game world? Well, this has some advantages: one, we can see if there's anything fun to do at night; two, since we've been left in the game, Yang Xin and Wang Tingwan must also be left in this game, of course there are also disadvantages—today we humiliated the prince so much, they will definitely come back for revenge!"

Chen Hao nodded and said, "Exactly, they will definitely come back for revenge."

Feng Yan and Chen Hao opened the door; the sky was full of stars, twinkling, just like gold glittering in sunlight.

Feng Yan and Chen Hao stood outside, the night was quiet; Feng Yan stretched out a hand toward the sky, grasped it, as if he had caught the twinkling star in the heavens, then said to Chen Hao: "You say, is humanity's pursuit of profit like those stars in the sky—seemingly within reach if you stretch out your hand, but actually just an illusion?"

Chen Hao slowly sat down, crossed his legs, then followed Feng Yan's gaze and let out a sigh, saying: "Actually I don't understand either—in the adults' world, or rather the merchants' world, do they only care about profit?"

Neither spoke; they just sat outside, gazing at the stars in the sky, their hearts full of worry.

"The moon is so round tonight!" Yang Xin gazed at the moon; white light slowly fell over every corner of the palace, and the stars, because of the moon's appearance, became dim and lightless.

Wang Tingwan stood behind Yang Xin and calmly said: "The prince has been insulted; aren't you going to do something about it?"

"No need." Yang Xin laughed, turned his head to look at her, and continued: "Since we haven't disappeared tonight, that proves they're also here; those who can't sleep aren't just the prince alone. However, we should learn about this Bounty Hunter organization."

At that moment, in a corner deep inside the palace, the king quietly watched the experiment, which seemed to be awaiting a miracle's appearance; accompanied by a miserable scream, the dwarves in the cage began to tremble, and the king asked the person before him: "Still no success?"

All that could be seen was that the person's white clothes had been soaked red with blood; he lifted his head, his face also covered in blood, looking like a demon returning from hell! He opened the cage, took out another experimental item from inside, and placed it directly before the hatchet, saying: "Dwarves deprived of divine protection seem to have lost something as well; although their strength surpasses that of our countrymen, they have lost their original bravery and fortitude, and although they can go days without food, they have acquired all human emotions—namely, human negative emotions, fear."

"So, you mean the dwarves cannot be used as raw material for experiments to create a magic potion that would strengthen the Li State army?" the king asked.

"No, if we extract these dwarves' blood, then crush their bodies and grind them into powder, there is still a certain strengthening effect; although there is a time limit, on the ever-changing battlefield this is still a good strengthening agent." Having said that, the red-clothed person laughed.

The king laughed and said: "Then you really are a red-clothed devil; that's not bad, but can this truly let my nation acquire the most wealth in the world?"

"Red-clothed devil?" the person laughed, his smile terrifying, and continued: "It fits my title perfectly; I'll just call myself the Red-clothed Devil."

A dwarf slipped away quietly, watching his companions one by one being tortured to death by a red-clothed devil, letting out miserable cries; as he ran, he wondered whether the red-clothed devil had noticed a missing person, or whether the experimental subject had noticed one less; fortunately, they hadn't noticed tormenting such an insignificant little fellow—perhaps because the dwarves' juvenile state is even smaller.

The dwarf ran to the great hall where Feng Yan had arrived today; the hall was silent, and the dwarf, moving slowly in the darkness, feared tripping over something and falling; staying alive was his only thought!

The dwarf walked slowly; the gate was near! He eagerly wanted to flee this empty hall and the secret soldiers who might come at any moment to capture him from behind; his heart pounded harder and his steps quickened—suddenly he tripped on something, slowly got up, and through the crack in the door a faint light shone, allowing him to barely recognize it as an object from the Dwarf Kingdom, indeed one of the treasures on the chief's person.

"What sound!" a soldier stopped at the noise, then flung open the door and shouted loudly.

"What sound? Are you just nervous?" a soldier replied.

The dwarf hid behind the door; when the soldier opened it, he dared not breathe, holding his breath until the soldiers relaxed their guard and walked away, then he began to draw deep breaths, thinking the danger had passed and preparing to leave in peace—when footsteps echoed from the darkness.

"Pat-pat-pat," the long footsteps echoed in the darkness, then his face appeared as he said: "Little fellow, let me have a good look for you—originally, taking advantage of my inattention, you wanted to prepare an escape? But you're still one step short!"

"It's the Red-clothed Devil!" the dwarf's voice trembled as he slowly closed his eyes; it seemed he had accepted his fate's arrangement, but after a sound arose, he felt hopeful again.

That was Feng Yan and Chen Hao; Feng Yan said: "Little fellow, I've been looking all over for you—turns out you're here; come on, let's go back to the Traveling Palace."

Having said that, Feng Yan reached out his hand; the dwarf looked at him doubtfully, Feng Yan nodded and called out: "Master! You've finally come; you forgot to take your things—look, isn't this it?"

Having said that, he directly handed the metal in his hand to Feng Yan; Feng Yan glanced at it, then passed it to Chen Hao, saying: "Chen Hao, see if this little fellow picked up something that isn't your little trinket—today it's not that thing, so I think we're both in trouble."

Chen Hao nodded and said: "The little fellow is right—this thing is mine! Thanks for your trouble; let's go back and rest."

"Um, you two aren't mistaken, this is mine·····" the Red-clothed Devil seemed to want to explain something, saying with a smiling face.

"How? You doubt my pet?" Feng Yan asked directly, his tone very serious.

"Um, you two adventurers, I don't mean that·····" the Red-clothed Devil continued with a smiling face.

"What does that mean?" Chen Hao asked.

"This·····" the Red-clothed Devil couldn't speak; he realized the two people before him would surely take this dwarf away!

The Red-clothed Devil shouted directly: "Soldiers, seize them!"

As soon as the words fell, Feng Yan and Chen Hao were again surrounded; the soldiers all showed fearful expressions, Feng Yan's face darkened, and he said: "I'll count to three—if the time's up, either disperse or I'll scatter you! Now, three, two, one!"

Before the count had even finished, the soldiers scattered, making a path; some even apologized proactively. Seeing this, the Red-clothed Devil felt a surge of anger rush to his head, and he bellowed at the soldiers: "All you do is eat and take money? Can't you even make something disappear properly?"

Before the Red-clothed Devil's words were finished, a black sword aura shot from his side and struck a corner of the palace; Feng Yan gripped the black sword and said: "Why so much nonsense? If you can do it, come on—do you need subordinates to do your work? Come up and try it yourself!"

Seeing that, the Red-clothed Devil saw the palace corner sliced off by that sword aura; he broke out in a cold sweat and said: "No, no, it's my clumsy eyes—sorry, esteemed adventurers!"

"Now that your eyes are clear, get lost!" Feng Yan said.

The Red-clothed Devil stood behind the palace, watching Feng Yan and Chen Hao depart; his clenched fists tightened, his eyes fixed on their backs, thinking: "Adventurers, wait—I will surely trample you underfoot and make you beg for mercy!"

Yang Xin and the Prince stood on the palace roof; the Prince stared at the power of that sword, instantly dazed, unable to recover for a while; Yang Xin slowly called to the Prince, who gradually regained his senses and said: "That sword—where exactly does it come from?"

"Nothing much, just an ancient sword weapon." Yang Xin said offhandedly, "but if we faced it head-on, we could never win—its power is too great, and Feng Yan only managed to unleash a small fraction of it."

"Just a small part?" the Prince exclaimed, "What does that mean?"

"Yes." Yang Xin replied, "Whether it's Feng Yan or me, we cannot fully master our weapons; however, looking now, my weapon is easier to operate, and compared to Feng Yan, ours is better suited for use as Bounty Hunters in this country."

In the Traveling Palace, Feng Yan and Chen Hao were preparing to sleep, and the dwarf came with them to the Traveling Palace.

Before sleep, Feng Yan said: "It seems the game has only just officially begun."