Chapter 404: Better to Teach a Man to Fish

Even though the Region Channel updates news at lightning speed, it still only shows two characters—Black Feather!

The members of Great Wall Watch had their tails already up; although they are the second, after the region merger their prominence has really surged, so they can't help feeling proud.

Who would have thought that Black Feather's people would act in such a way that draws everyone's attention?!

Inside Great Wall Watch:

"What's this item? Can't we get one too?"

"We're not that bad, are we? Not to mention, didn't we already compile an item compendium? There's no such item in the compendium!"

"That's just too much! Black Feather's side said nothing and I knew something was off! Sure enough! Luckily we were just competing quietly, otherwise our face would be ruined."

"Sigh, Brother Zhan Lang has already instructed us not to clash with Black Feather; stay calm, there's no other way."

"This must be a new item that appeared after the region merger, right? I saw someone on the Region Channel mention it—called some kind of Pin Card! That person seems powerless, trying to sell it! @Zhan Lang Hun Bu Mie, Brother Zhan Lang, should we buy it?!"

"Buy! Why wouldn't we? We're the second‑ranked faction after all; we can't fall behind, right?"

"I think we should buy it! @Zhan Lang Hun Bu Mie, Brother Zhan Lang, step up and decide!"

【Zhan Lang Hun Bu Mie】: Buy! Keep that person's ID? Contact them now, pay a high price to get it. This is the crucial moment on the Region Channel to shape players' impression of us; the more we showcase our strength, the better!

【Zhan Lang Hun Bu Mie】: Keep a proper mindset; we're not competing with Black Feather, we're both forces of Long Guo, no need to sour relations! We're just showcasing our image to attract players who want to join us!

"Yes! Lao Da!"

"I'll go contact the seller right now!"

The Pin Card in hand, Zhan Lang didn't even read the description and used it immediately.

After entering Great Wall Watch's recruitment info, he deliberately posted in the group chat, "Use it right away," whetting every member's appetite!

Just when they expected their faction's pinned message to shine like Black Feather's—golden and prestigious—a dull gray pinned message drifted slowly to the top of the Region Channel.

【Great Wall Watch sincerely recruits players from all paths! Leader: Zhan Lang Hun Bu Mie (Long Guo Region Ranking #2)! We possess…】

Although this message is also pinned, its color is dull, its font plain, and worst of all, it's firmly buried beneath Black Feather's glittering announcement, like an inconspicuous subtitle.

The Long Guo channel erupts again:

"Puff—! The contrast is just too brutal?!"

"Hahahahaha! Sorry, I can't hold back! One is a golden‑bordered imperial edict, the other is a tiny street ad!"

"Both are Pin Cards, why such a huge gap? Great Wall Watch must have used a fake!"

"I'm dying of laughter, this effect is worse than not having it up at all, way too conspicuous!"

"No way, even though I'm not from Great Wall Watch, I still feel so embarrassed, hahahaha! How did this happen?"

The Great Wall Watch internal group chat fell into dead silence.

The members who were clamoring to buy it now wish they could bury themselves in the ground.

Zhan Lang Hun Bu Mie stared at the dull gray pinned message, his eye twitching sharply.

He opened the item description and saw that the Pin Card had tiny level markings; he had bought the most ordinary 【Ordinary Pin Card】.

Meanwhile Black Feather used, evidently, a higher‑grade 【Supreme Pin Card】!

"Damn!" Even with his composure, Zhan Lang couldn't help muttering.

That loss of face was truly solid.

Cheng Shuili naturally also saw the dull gray pinned message; she raised an eyebrow, said nothing, but the slight upward curve of her mouth showed her rather good mood.

The effect was even better than she expected.

After Black Feather's recruitment message went out, the notification sound for joining applications barely stopped, and the densely packed application list refreshed wildly.

Having downed two cups of coffee, Xinxue, along with several core members, was bustling nonstop; according to Cheng Shuili's criteria—attributes meeting standards or possessing a skill, no major personality flaws shown in conversation, and once a candidate passes the basic background check (001), they can officially become Black Feather's peripheral members!

Although this system was drafted on the fly, it received unanimous consent from all Black Feather members.

This recruitment definitely means Black Feather's numbers will surge; a bigger forest has all kinds of birds, and more people bring a heap of troubles.

To be safe, they first set a peripheral member; after a long assessment with no issues, they can enter Black Feather's core circle.

These matters don't require Cheng Shuili to handle personally, but as Lao Da, she still has plenty to deal with.

She had just created a new group chat when the vehicle suddenly jolted violently, then slowly came to a halt.

Cheng Shuili instantly rallied herself, stood up to check the situation, and Su Rui poked her head out of the cockpit, her face showing a rare hint of nervousness and confusion, whispering:

"Lao Da, it's the Rat King… he's standing in the middle of the road, as if he's been waiting here for a while."

Cheng Shuili's eyes narrowed, understanding instantly.

She smoothed her not‑messy collar, kept a calm expression, and pushed the car door open.

Ahead, not far away, the Rat King stood motionless.

The Rat King still wore a perfectly tailored suit, immaculate; his cane lightly tapped the ground, and though not tall, he exuded an aura as deep as a valley and as towering as a mountain.

He arrived faster than expected, and even more… unexpectedly.

Cheng Shuili opened the car door and jumped out.

The Rat King stroked his beard, eyes narrowed to slits, and began, "Little friend, how have you been? Your vehicle is quite nice…"

His gaze swept over the roof of Cheng Shuili's vehicle, seeming wary of the bow‑crossbow mounted there.

Cheng Shuili, unmoved, replied calmly, "I can't match your ghost‑like agility, Rat King."

This time meeting the Rat King, his attitude seemed more nuanced than before, with less initial enthusiasm and more scrutiny.

Both kept face, and Cheng Shuili, in a casual chat, remarked, "I just sent the letter, and you arrived—perfect timing."

"Hehe, I was just handling some trivial matters nearby, sensed you needed help, so I had to drop by." The Rat King said it lightly, but Cheng Shuili didn't believe a word.

He sized up Cheng Shuili and continued, "You mentioned in the letter that you want to go to Shou Ren Xiao Zhen? Anything you need to do there?"

Cheng Shuili's mind raced, but her face gave nothing away; she simply followed his words, "Indeed there are matters to handle in Shou Ren Xiao Zhen. Since you, Lord Rat King, have come, you must have a way to help me with this favor?"

The Rat King chuckled, tapping his cane lightly on the ground, "Of course there's a way."

He shifted his tone, eyes pointing toward the Black Feather Safe Zone, "Although Shou Ren Xiao Zhen is stable, the various races are entrenched, making the situation complex. Now that your family and enterprise are vast, any move might set off a chain reaction…"

Cheng Shuili heard the probing in his words, smiled lightly and replied, "Lord Rat King, you're overthinking; I'm just going to handle some private matters and won't interfere in the internal affairs of Shou Ren Xiao Zhen."

As for Black Feather, the other side didn't ask outright, and Cheng Shuili didn't want to speak.

"Oh? Private matters?" the Rat King's eyes flashed. "I wonder what kind of private matters are worth you raising an army? Even the letters I gave you have come in handy; could it be… related to the recent rampant plague?"

Cheng Shuili felt a chill; his tone wasn't inquisitive, it was definite!

After searching her mind, Cheng Shuili confirmed she had never told anyone about the purpose of going to Shou Ren Xiao Zhen. Since it wasn't a leak, only one possibility remained…

The Shou Ren Xiao Zhen must also have been unsettled by this disaster, right?

Cheng Shuili, expression unchanged, retorted, "Lord Rat King also has a headache because of the plague?"

Headache?

How does he not have a headache?

The Rat King glanced obliquely at the Abyssal Ring on Cheng Shuili's finger; this plague came both quickly and fiercely, countless Shou Ren Xiao Zhen are infected.

The Shou Ren Xiao Zhen of other tribes have little relation with the Rat King, but the little mice under his command are more than half infected; if they do nothing and wait for the disease to run its course…

A darker shade added to the Rat King's eyes; the intelligence network he painstakingly built was about to collapse.

For this, he queried several races' priests, and finally learned about the Eternal Life Bottle from the bear tribe's priest; racing to the hospital, he heard that damned director say it had been taken by humans!

The Rat King, suppressing his anger, asked for a name—well, isn't this the little friend who wrote me a letter?

Standing before the special device, the Rat King looked at the device, then turned to the letter in his hand that clearly expressed his desire to go to Shou Ren Xiao Zhen.

With the two linked, there was nothing left to be puzzling.

The smile on the Rat King's face faded; his sharp eyes showed unmasked worry. He sighed lightly, his staff unconsciously grinding the ground.

"It's more than a headache…" the Rat King's voice was low and hoarse. "This plague is strange, its onset is rapid. The tribe's priest says infected Shou Ren Xiao Zhen first develop a persistent high fever, incessant cough, then gradually weaken, and from infection to death takes at most three to four days."

"Moreover, this plague is highly contagious; if uncontrolled, a single storm could wipe out several races."

Cheng Shuili showed a surprised expression, but not at the plague's damage; disasters in this world never pass easily, let alone a server‑wide calamity.

She was surprised that the number of Shou Ren Xiao Zhen might actually decrease.

She had previously thought the Shou Ren Xiao Zhen were just NPCs; even if dealt with, new ones would appear.

But now, thinking carefully, even the wolf tribe's Shou Ren Xiao Zhen still have families; without ordinary reproduction, how could this happen?

The Rat King waited a moment, seeing Cheng Shuili had no intention to speak, and didn't want to continue the pleasantries, so he got straight to the point:

"Little friend, I'll be direct: I know the Eternal Life Bottle is in your hands, and this plague is sweeping the entire Shou Ren Xiao Zhen population. My clan has suffered heavy losses; I need the power of the Eternal Life Bottle to curb this disaster. Set a condition; as long as I can fulfill it, I will not haggle."

His tone carried a barely perceptible urgency, his sharp eyes locked onto Cheng Shuili, trying to read something from her face.

Cheng Shuili's fingertips lightly brushed the cold surface of the Abyssal Ring, without answering immediately.

The Rat King's frankness was both expected and unexpected to her. She obviously knew what his sudden visit meant: the leader of both black and white paths had lost the confidence to fight the disease and could only turn to her.

If she ignored his plea, the Rat King's power might be reduced, but likewise, the relationship between her and the Rat King would instantly drop to ice, perhaps an endless bitter hatred.

Since the other side dared to say this openly, they are not afraid that Cheng Shuili will seize the opportunity to act.

A skinny camel is larger than a horse; he still has the confidence to confront a newly formed safe zone!

And if she helps the Rat King…

Could they turn swords into jade silk, becoming partners in the future?

The answer is obvious: impossible.

Power is only so much; the Rat King holds it tightly in his hand, cannot let go even a fraction.

But power, Cheng Shuili also wants.

The trade network and information network in the Rat King's hand are both very mature; this is a very rare…

Opportunity to weaken the Rat King's power!

Or… a chance to cut off a piece of the Rat King's flesh!

Cheng Shuili lifted her eyes, her gaze calmly meeting the Rat King's subtly burning stare.

"Lord Rat King, you speak plainly; I won't beat around the bush either." she slowly began, "The Eternal Life Bottle is indeed with me. But you also said this plague is raging; whether the Eternal Life Bottle can turn the tide, no one can guarantee."

"And such a treasure is rare in the whole world; using it once consumes a portion of its power," Cheng Shuili's tone carried just the right amount of difficulty, "If I trade it to you and the effect is poor, or later Black Feather faces a similar crisis, what then?"

This sounds like a refusal, but we're both millennial foxes; who wouldn't understand each other's meaning?

The Rat King's grip on his staff tightened, yet a smile appeared on his face, and he said warmly, "Little friend, any condition you state is fine; resources, intel, or safe‑zone development experience… whatever I can provide, I will not be stingy."

"Lord Rat King's sincerity, I have already felt," Cheng Shuili returned with a smile, but her tone was courteous while the words were not at all courteous, "Your arms trade is booming, I'm quite envious. How about, how did you build your factories? Teach me."

Giving a man a fish is not as good as teaching him to fish; wanting things follows the same principle.

Wanting those bullets and guns that always run out is worse than having a factory that can continuously produce weapons!

The Rat King's smile almost instantly froze, his eyes suddenly narrowed, the fingers gripping his gentleman's staff turning slightly white from the strain.

"Little friend," the Rat King's voice deepened, with a barely perceptible chill, "this joke is not funny at all."