Chapter 3: Is There Such a Good Thing?

"Mabui, are you here too? And this brat Omoi as well."

Samui turned her head to look at her companions beside her.

Omoi, with dark skin and a toothpick hanging from his mouth, said discontentedly, "Don't call me a brat. I am already an official Genin of Kumogakure. That said, this really is a terrible encounter."

Mabui is the Raikage's secretary and possesses strong analytical skills; like the Shikamaru family of Konohagakure, she is famous not for her martial prowess, but for her intellect.

"I didn't sense any chakra; it shouldn't be Genjutsu."

She frowned slightly and said, "It is very likely some kind of Space-Time Ninjutsu for teleportation, but to be able to bypass the Kumogakure Barrier Squad and take me out right under the Raikage's nose..."

Such a terrifying Ninjutsu is unheard of.

Kumogakure also possesses Space-Time Ninjutsu: the Heavenly Transfer Technique, which can transport objects to any location.

But ordinary ninja cannot withstand the damage caused to the body during transport; only someone with a body as robust as the Raikage can endure it. Yet, just now, she saw many civilians who were not even ninja being transported over.

"It's not just us; also brought here are Kumogakure villagers, as well as merchants and samurai escorts from nearby towns who came to Kumogakure to issue commissions."

"And, ninja from other countries."

Samui grabbed the eaves with agile movements and vaulted to a higher spot.

Mabui rubbed her brow and said, "Check if there are any ninja from our village nearby. Everyone gather together, try to avoid direct conflict with ninja from other countries, and prioritize collecting information."

"I am a Konoha Jonin, Sarutobi Asuma."

"I am guaranteeing this mission, designating it as an S-Rank mission. Regardless of rank, all ninja present are to prioritize the collection of information above all else!"

Sarutobi Asuma said with a stern expression to the Konoha ninja gathering around.

Neji nodded and said, "Understood."

He had graduated two years ago, and his instructor Jonin was Might Guy of the Hokage faction, so he naturally knew Sarutobi Asuma.

Yakushi Kabuto lowered his head very submissively and said, "Yes."

Collecting information is certainly important, but it is not to help Konohagakure, but rather to help Orochimaru.

Especially regarding the 【Immortality】 mentioned by the mysterious person; even if he only collects trivial, fragmented news, he would surely be rewarded by Orochimaru, right?

"Alright!"

Uzumaki Naruto had not yet figured out the situation, but upon hearing that it was such a high-level mission, he instantly became full of drive and said, "I, Uzumaki Naruto, will definitely complete the mission!"

Sarutobi Asuma glanced at him and said, "Stay by my side and act with me."

Although the mysterious person said that dying in the game would mean returning to reality.

But seeing is believing; no one dares to trust something they haven't tried, and it is even more impossible to take risks with the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

The white-haired loli sensed the remaining players and said, "The three hundred who logged out were all civilians. Of the remaining two hundred players, there are nobles and guards, as well as merchant caravans and hired samurai."

Fang Yi nodded and said, "Although the game qualifications were distributed with the Ninja Villages as the center, it's impossible for all players to be ninja."

Ninja Villages also have ordinary people, and they make up the majority.

During the several Shinobi World Wars, the Ninja Allied Forces only numbered in the tens of thousands; the standing armies of the major Ninja Villages are not that large.

At this moment,

Most of the players willing to stay in the game have already stepped into the Pollution Zone and begun to encounter polluted creatures.

The composition of the players led by Sarutobi Asuma is quite complex.

Aside from two Chunin from the logistics department, Neji is a member of a noble clan with the Byakugan Kekkei Genkai, Uzumaki Naruto is the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, and Yakushi Kabuto is a disguised spy.

"What a massive building!"

Uzumaki Naruto exclaimed.

They had arrived at the Polluted Area of Ghost Mage Sarina, the Death Soul Mountain Range.

It contained destroyed towns and villages, huge castles built of marble, cathedrals, rib-like spacious avenues, various beast-patterned statues, and stretching high stone walls.

A magical world that once possessed Knights and Mages, with powerful labor capabilities.

Even the ruins of the towns after being destroyed were far more prosperous than the reality of the Middle Ages, just like a special town in a game.

These buildings were completely different from those in the Land of Fire, being much more magnificent and grand.

"Could it be that we have really come to another world?"

Even Asuma was shocked, reaching out to touch the ruins of the buildings filled with religious atmosphere.

Just at this moment,

A grey-black phantom emerged from the gaps in the buildings.

It was a life killed by Sarina, who had fallen into a ghost state after death, driven to become a minion.

"Watch out for the enemy!"

Neji reacted very quickly; although he lost the advantage of the Byakugan in the game world, the habit of maintaining observation allowed him to be the first to notice the appearance of the ghost.

A crude short sword appeared in Asuma's hand.

This was discovered in the inventory slot when they were studying the Player Panel; it was the gifted beginner equipment.

It had no attributes.

Fang Yi certainly couldn't let the players kill monsters with their bare hands; that would be no different from sending them to their deaths.

Five hundred weapons cost 500 Reward Points.

The white-haired loli said with a pained heart, "Why give them weapons?"

Fang Yi smiled and explained, "Don't feel bad about the early investment. A weapon can speed up the players' monster-killing efficiency; why not do it?"

A light screen appeared in front of the two, like a security room's surveillance monitor, divided into countless blocks, projecting the players' movements.

Asuma joined forces with Neji to kill the ambushing ghost.

After the ghost died, a faint trace of origin essence dissipated and merged into Neji, who had dealt the Final Kill to the ghost.

The white-haired loli said worriedly: "In the past, there was also a World Consciousness that recruited humans to fight against the Pollution Source, but doing so has very significant drawbacks."

"Origin is a very special substance; it is a type of the purest origin energy."

"After a Pollution Source dies, the origin will preferentially merge with the life that killed the pollution; even for the World Consciousness, it can at most forcibly extract one-fourth, and the remaining majority of the origin stays within the player's body, which causes serious waste."

Fang Yi said with pleasant surprise: "The players work themselves to death killing the Pollution Source, and we actually get to pick up one-fourth for free?"

The white-haired loli nodded with a pained expression: "Yes, that is why there is a 'gu-raising' mode, using mission failure penalties and death threats to force the reincarnators to hand over Reward Points; should we do the same?"

"Of course not."

Fang Yi shook his head repeatedly and laughed: "The origin we pick up for free is our pure profit!"

"As for the remaining origin inside the players, half accumulates as Experience Value, and upon reaching a certain level, it prompts the player on whether to level up; as long as they choose to level up, I can directly take away this portion of the player's origin and bestow upon them a certain degree of body Reinforcement, which is to say, Attribute Points."

"The final part is the Reward Points they drop, which can be used to purchase equipment and skills from the Mall to become stronger; for items I can create by spending one Reward Point, the Mall price is directly marked up tenfold."

Since he had decided to use a game to fight against the Pollution Source, it was naturally not a strategy thought up on a whim.

Fang Yi had plenty of ways to make the players willingly hand over their Reward Points.

The white-haired loli listened, feeling dizzy, and asked doubtfully: "If the Mall prices are too expensive and the players can't afford them, won't that delay the progress of eliminating the Pollution Source?"

"You don't understand the sensitive points of players at all."

Fang Yi sneered repeatedly and explained: "It needs to be expensive; if other players don't have it, and one works desperately for months to barely craft a Dragon-Slaying Saber, or sells their house and car just to buy a single Pet Egg, if everyone could easily buy them, then who would still have the motivation to eliminate the Pollution Source?"

"Moreover, various Bloodline Limits, Ninjutsu, and Ninja Tools from the Ninja World can all be exchanged for origin, right?"

"If they don't want to spend time grinding, then they can be 'pay-to-win' whales and take the initiative to exchange valuable things to me!"

Fang Yi's gaze landed on the players on the light screen, just like a farmer looking at his field of chives with satisfaction.

Especially in the Ninja World, where peace is short-lived and the major Ninja Villages all want to obtain more benefits.

Once this group of players tastes the sweetness, they will definitely fall into a frenzy, throwing themselves into the game world without sparing any effort, waiting for me to harvest them.

(End of chapter)