Chapter 63: Just This?

If you aren't going to play the game properly, why be a paparazzo?

This time, I've truly suffered a social death!

Deng Li Buduo gritted his teeth; he had thought about the possibility that his act of claiming Lin Bai's credit would be exposed, but he never expected it to be exposed in such a way.

Delete my account?

Don't delete my account?

I really can't bear to part with the Nine Suns True Scripture I finally got my hands on!

But when he scrolled down to read the replies, he was shocked to discover that, aside from the occasional post or two mentioning him, the focus of the vast majority of people was entirely on Lin Bai.

He was like a tiny ripple, completely inconspicuous and so insignificant in the face of the monstrous waves stirred up by Lin Bai.

He had actually lost to an NPC?

And then, this realization made Deng Li Buduo feel even more dejected.

Having tasted the feeling of being sought after by thousands, only to fall to the bottom, Deng Li Buduo's heart was filled with nothing but intense unwillingness.

Recalling all his experiences since meeting Lin Bai, Deng Li Buduo instantly made up his mind: he wouldn't delete his account.

The reason he was being ignored was, in the final analysis, a lack of strength.

He knew his own talents; once he deleted his account and started over, losing Lin Bai as a powerful backer, he would truly become just another face in the crowd.

Infamy is still fame.

He was just going to stay right by Lin Bai's side.

As of now, Lin Bai had already stirred up public outrage.

Those players clamoring to take Lin Bai down had no idea how meticulous and terrifying his mind was.

If there was anyone who could kill Lin Bai, it would probably only be him, this close disciple.

One day.

Once those people had suffered enough at Lin Bai's hands, he would suddenly strike, kill Lin Bai in one fell swoop, and he would still be a hero to the players, perhaps even reaping a huge harvest.

That's it!

If Lin Bai won't teach him a Martial Art, killing him will still cause the secret manual to drop; the result is the same...

Deng Li Buduo's train of thought suddenly cleared, and the more he thought about it, the more excited he became—an NPC's health bar is fixed, while players grow infinitely!

Don't look at how Lin Bai treats him like a vegetable now; once his level is high enough, everything will be reversed.

Not making a sound until the moment of a shocking breakthrough.

Enduring humiliation to carry out a heavy burden, only to finally eliminate the big BOSS, sabotage the Game Company's conspiracy, and pull off a heaven-shaking reversal—just thinking about it is exciting!

Jiamu City was undergoing major construction.

Song Qing and other families had contracted most of the projects, and several young noble masters were busy helping their families, so the night market project had temporarily gone quiet.

Lin Bai, in a state of rest, was teasing Xiao Apiao inside the shop.

Just then.

A burst of noisy chatter came from outside.

Black Heart-Intestine, Black Heart-Liver, Black Heart-Lung, Black Heart-Spleen, and Black Heart-Eye pushed open the door and walked in, chattering away.

Of course, in the eyes of a genuine NPC, the people pushing the door open were just a few quiet customers.

Song Jinnan went up to greet them: "A few guests, would you like to experience the night market project?"

"Let's look around first." Black Heart-Eye looked at Lao Song and his family, whose feet didn't touch the ground, a flash of surprise in his eyes, then he found a table on his own and sat down.

At the same time.

Black Heart-Liver, Black Heart-Intestine, and the others each found different tables and sat down.

Five people sat at five tables.

Song Jinnan was stunned and subconsciously looked at Lin Bai.

Lin Bai shook his head at him.

Although these colorful internal organs had changed their appearances and names, he could still tell at a glance that these guys were the Five Scoundrels of the Thorn Forest from the morning.

Interesting!

This group of guys was really going to wear him down!

"... Partners, talking on paper is meaningless. Whether it's a bug, an NPC becoming sentient, or a scheme by the Game Company, we have to verify it ourselves..."

"Aren't the NPCs in the game intelligent? Isn't he opening a shop to make money? We brothers are going to wear him down here..."

"Today, each of us will order a plate of peanuts and sit here all night, then come back and sit all day tomorrow. We aren't here to eat, just to occupy the seats. I want to see if this NPC loses his temper?"

"If he dares to make a move, we'll go to the City Lord's Mansion to report him first, then go to the Game Company to file a complaint..."

"If we can't beat him, can't we at least ruin his business..."

"Can a player who gets bullied by an NPC even be called a player?"

"Brother Lin, they look like they're here to cause trouble." Song Ling lowered her voice and said timidly, "Let Father throw them out!"

"No need, guests are guests, and they haven't violated our shop's rules." Lin Bai said softly, "You just focus on serving the food, don't worry about anything else."

The few players were there specifically to disgust him.

To them, it was just a game; as long as they were happy, they could play however they wanted.

Doing evil in a game was also a form of fun.

Anyway, a level-one alt account loses nothing when it dies.

Besides, they were livestreaming, and there were plenty of people to send them gifts...

Perhaps his fame can be built up this way.

Either way, there's no loss...

Harsh words chill one to the bone even in the sixth month.

Lin Bai sighed; he had intended to rest before starting, but now it seemed he was forced to begin ahead of schedule.

"Waiter, bring a plate of fried peanuts." Five voices spoke almost simultaneously.

Song Jinnan looked at Lin Bai.

Lin Bai nodded at him.

Song Jinnan carried the peanuts, drifted over to the side of Black-Hearted Eye, and slammed the plate onto the table with a bang: "That will be seventy wen, please."

"We'll pay when we're finished." Black-Hearted Eye was here to cause trouble and didn't care about the price of the dish at all.

"The shop's rule is payment before service, the same for everyone." Song Jinnan said coldly; he didn't give a shred of a pleasant look to these few customers who had come to stir up trouble.

Clatter!

A piece of broken silver was tossed onto the table.

Song Jinnan collected the silver and served a plate of peanuts to each table.

"Brothers." The five players looked at each other and laughed, "The NPC conditioning has officially begun. Let's see how your Shopkeeper Lin gets driven crazy..."

"Shopkeeper, give us a lucky saying." Black-Hearted Intestine picked up chopsticks of uneven lengths, tossed a peanut into his mouth, and smiled at Lin Bai.

"Some people look good when they smile, but you're different; you look very funny." Lin Bai wore a smile.

"..." Black-Hearted Intestine froze on the spot.

"Don't be sad, child, eat your meal in peace. No one here will laugh at you; being ugly isn't your fault." Lin Bai swept his gaze over their table nonchalantly and shook his head, his face full of pity, "Being poor is."

"..." Black-Hearted Intestine looked around at his comrades and switched to private chat, "I feel like he's insulting me."

"No need to feel, he didn't just insult you, he insulted us too." Black-Hearted Liver looked at the lonely plate of peanuts on the table, "I can't help but want to smash money into his face."

"Don't be impulsive, if we actually order food, we'll fall for his trap." Black-Hearted Eye said, "Stay calm, stay calm. We're here to waste his time, not to actually eat."

"Child, don't be sad. Actually, you aren't lonely. Look at your friends beside you; aren't you all hanging out together precisely because you're poor?" Lin Bai smiled, took a plate of beef, a plate of pig trotters, and a few cold dishes from the kitchen, placed them on the table in front of himself, and sat down at his leisure.

His calm and elegant manner formed a sharp contrast with the players at the other tables who had only a plate of peanuts.

Pfft!

Song Ling couldn't help but laugh out loud, looking at the few players as if she were looking at a few clowns.

In the livestream room that Lin Bai couldn't see, the comments were already flying everywhere.

"Damn, that's so sharp. He didn't use a single dirty word, yet every sentence stabs the heart."

"Even through the screen, I feel like I've been hurt by him."

"Shopkeeper, 666."

"Old Black, don't just stand there like a fool, say a few more things and let the shopkeeper show off."

"To be looked down upon by an NPC, that's too damn much. If it were me, I wouldn't be able to sit here anymore."

"I feel like these few troublemaking streamers are being bullied by Shopkeeper Lin instead, so pitiful!"

"This is probably the crushing weight of intelligence!"

"Just order a few dishes, you're not just losing face for yourselves, you're smearing all players!"

"Fight back! Retort hard..."

"Love it, love it!"

"I didn't expect Shopkeeper Lin to be so sweet with his words, yet so elegant when roasting people."

【Anger from Black-Hearted Eye, Black-Hearted Intestine, Black-Hearted Liver, Black-Hearted Lung, and Black-Hearted Spleen; +1+1+1】

"Boss, should we order a few more dishes?" Black-Hearted Liver was like sitting on pins and needles, "I feel like we don't look like troublemakers, but rather like targets sent here!"

"We can't order, we have to win back our dignity." Black-Hearted Eye looked at the composed Lin Bai, "Shopkeeper, sometimes, only ordering one dish isn't because of poverty..."

"I know, young man, no need to explain to me. Keep walking your own path, don't worry about how others see you. Because no one will look at you at all." Lin Bai smiled and interrupted him, "Life is just like this; when you feel that what I say is unpleasant, look in the mirror, and you'll feel it's perfectly reasonable!"

"Poor and ugly, hahahaha!"

"Shopkeeper Lin has a high level of eloquence."

"Learned it."

"Such an interesting NPC, do you have the heart to bully him?"

"You've got it wrong, it's no longer the streamers bullying Shopkeeper Lin, it's Shopkeeper Lin bullying the streamers. Didn't you see they can't even eat their peanuts anymore?"

"If they don't order a few dishes, doesn't that just prove they're poor and ugly!"

"Flip the table!"

"If you flip the table, you lose."

"If you don't flip the table, you still lose, it's too damn embarrassing."

"Boss, what do we do?" Black-Hearted Intestine asked, "Should we order food or not? I feel like we're just props now; we haven't disgusted him at all, it seems like we've brought him joy instead?"

"..." Black-Hearted Eye was silent. He had never suffered like this before; he couldn't stand Lin Bai's disdainful gaze if he didn't order, but once he did, he felt he would fall right into Lin Bai's trap!

Lin Bai sighed softly, picked up a brush from the counter, dipped it in some ink, and under the surprised gazes of the few, walked over to the Wooden Tablet hanging the menu, reaching out to fill in the numbers on the prices:

"Fried peanuts: one hundred and seventy wen; flatbread: one hundred and thirty wen..."

Seeing this scene.

The five players were practically going crazy.

It was seventy wen just a moment ago, and after saying a few words, it had risen to one hundred and seventy wen. This was deliberately disgusting them. Ordering food now would make them pure suckers; not only poor, but stupid too!

Inside the livestream room.

The audience was amused to pieces.

"That's low!"

"Shopkeeper Lin is 666!"

"He's got those streamers completely under his thumb."

"Flip the table!"

"Can't flip the table. Once the table is flipped, Shopkeeper Lin will have a reason to take action. If you die once, everything on you drops, and the money still goes to Shopkeeper Lin. Shopkeeper Lin doesn't lose either way!"

【Anger from Black-hearted Eye, Black-hearted Intestine, Black-hearted Liver, Black-hearted Lung, Black-hearted Spleen: +1+1+1】

"Let's go." 【Black-hearted Eye】 slammed the table hard, stood up, and said with a dark face, "Shopkeeper Lin, the green hills remain and the clear waters flow; we shall meet again."

"Is that it?" Lin Bai raised an eyebrow, dropped the brush in his hand, and said with disdain, "If you threw a block of tofu on the table, even a pig would have more composure than you lot!"

"..." The Black-hearted Five Organs.

"Dear guests, you are welcome to patronize us often," Song Ling said with a grin.

(End of this chapter)