Chapter 38: Trial Dilemma

"Which kind soul can share a location? I picked up three last time and got killed; I really can't accept it."

"One Shou Shou Jili for the location of the God of Wealth. Give the coordinates first, then I'll transfer; my character is guaranteed, I'll never deceive."

"The God of Wealth is too fierce; players with good luck these past few days have earned several thousand Shou Shou Jili."

"Yesterday I watched a livestream where someone opened a second Star Vein slot by picking up Evil Crystals; my envy sickness flared up. I'm kneeling to beg for the God of Wealth's coordinates; I want to get rich too."

……

Player exchange messages flashed rapidly through Qi Sheng's mind.

Since the Broken Star appeared, the regional chat channel and forums have become exceptionally lively.

All players are discussing the Broken Star's whereabouts and have even given him the title 'God of Wealth'.

This is because many players have gotten rich by picking up Evil Crystals.

Compared to the Shou Shou Jili earned from grinding monsters hard, picking up Evil Crystals is obviously easier, and the income is far more substantial.

Especially after a player posted their Evil Crystal earnings on the forum and livestreamed using that Shou Shou Jili to open a second Vein slot, the players' enthusiasm for picking up Evil Crystals was completely ignited.

During this period, players organized a 'Wealth-Seeking Alliance', scouring the mountains and fields for the Broken Star's tracks, hoping to strike a windfall by following in his wake.

As soon as they spotted the Broken Star's tracks, they would report the coordinates in the regional channel, and then hordes of players would swarm there following the map guidance.

These players believed that sharing coordinates was the only way to maximize profits.

Going alone inevitably leads to instant death; only group participation allows one to seize the opportunity to pick up Evil Crystals amidst the chaos.

And discovering the Broken Star's tracks isn't difficult either.

Every time the Broken Star initiates a slaughter, he ignites a certain smoke pillar that attracts evil spirits; even from far away, one can see the smoke pillar rising, and nearby evil spirits react accordingly.

The only thing that makes players dissatisfied is that, facing their arrival, the God of Wealth's methods are extremely cruel.

He gives them no chance to communicate at all.

But players don't care about communicating with the God of Wealth; they only care whether the wealth created by the God of Wealth can give them a share.

Some players are also curious about the God of Wealth's behavior.

They don't understand what the God of Wealth is actually doing, or why he keeps changing locations to slaughter evil spirits.

No player can answer this question.

During this time, a refreshed forum post left Qi Sheng torn between laughter and tears.

【Has anyone noticed? The God of Wealth's facial expressions are changing quite severely.】

OP: Pay-to-win is the only way to get strong.

Content: These past few days, tracking the God of Wealth's tracks with everyone has allowed me to make a small fortune, but that's not the point; the point is the God of Wealth's mindset seems to have undergone some unknown changes. I've captured the facial expression changes from various livestreams since the God of Wealth appeared; you guys compare and see.

(God of Wealth Expression Collection)

……

In this post, the OP marked the specific time for every single expression.

The first expression was captured and recorded when the Broken Star first made contact with players.

At that time, the Broken Star was expressionless, his demeanor cold and stern, with confidence and arrogance visible between his brows.

The second expression was after the Broken Star had contacted players multiple times; when looking at them, his eyebrows were slightly furrowed, and a wisp of red could be vaguely seen in his eyes, appearing extremely impatient.

The third expression was when the Broken Star changed his hunting ground for evil spirits and met players again; the expression on his face when looking at the players had completely snapped, red light in his eyes seemed ready to overflow, and killing intent surged through the image.

The fourth and fifth expression images were when the Broken Star met players again after changing locations; while slaughtering evil spirits, the Broken Star happened to turn his head, and upon seeing the players' figures, he was first momentarily stunned, then covered by red mist.

The sixth image: the Broken Star, having changed locations again, looked at the suddenly appearing players; his eyes were complex, containing anger, unwillingness, regret, chagrin, and mixed with a touch of despair... This image was also commented on by players as the God of Wealth's Oscar-level performance, showing complex emotional changes in a single photo.

The seventh...

From coldness to despair, the God of Wealth's emotions in the players' eyes have already approached a breakdown.

His flowing long hair, once full of grace, has become disheveled in consecutive battles; his pure white eyes have turned completely red, and the light erupting from the rune armor on his body has also become dim.

Comparing the first image with the tenth image best reflects the drop in state.

The player comments below the post were also very interesting.

This Beaver: The God of Wealth seems unhappy; is it because he isn't killing enough to his heart's content?

Dark Land is So Fun: The God of Wealth might be a special mechanism in the game; hunting evil spirits everywhere is like scattering red envelopes; as long as you find the God of Wealth, you get a nice red envelope reward. The developers even added some difficulty to this mechanism specifically; the God of Wealth kills players who come to pick up red envelopes to increase the fun?

Human Race Rising replied to Dark Land is So Fun: Don't say it, but actually, don't say it; this very well could be a mechanism setting in the game.

Rust Enchantment: The God of Wealth and the evil spirits seem to have an irreconcilable feud; he looks exhausted to the point of collapse, yet still changes locations everywhere to kill evil spirits. I'm very curious about the story behind him; unfortunately, the content of this game relies entirely on exploration, so there's no way to view character background stories.

Fortune Turns: Brothers, the God of Wealth is at the Blood Plains (coordinates), charge!

……

Blood Plains, Southern Zone.

The moon was like blood, dyeing the horizon a crimson red, yet unable to dispel the gloom over the earth; the once lush greenery of the plains had vanished, replaced by a desolate and bleak wasteland, where every inch of land seeped with blood and bones.

"This is it, didn't they say the God of Wealth was here? Where is he?"

Two players passed through an area covered in thorns and arrived at the coordinates sent in the regional channel.

But to their disappointment, where was the God of Wealth? There wasn't even a single evil spirit life form around.

"It's over; I'm afraid we've been tricked by some bastard spreading fake news," the leading player gritted his teeth and said in a heavy voice.

"Brother, what do we do now?" the youth standing beside him, about eighteen years old, asked.

"What else can we do? Go back..." Just then, the leading man noticed what seemed to be a large pit not far away.

With curiosity, he approached the pit, reached out to pull away the thorns covering the opening, and the scene before their eyes made them suck in a breath of cold air.

Inside the pit hole, there was actually a pile of Evil Crystals; the estimated quantity must have been several hundred.

"Holy crap, we're rich!"

……

One hour later.

A streak of blue light descended from the sky, arriving before the pit.

He waved his hand, sweeping the thorns covering the pit's mouth to one side.

But just as he prepared to toss the evil crystal he held into the pit, his expression instantly froze:

"Where is the evil crystal?"

"Where is my evil crystal!"

Roar!

Duan Xing roared at the sky, his disheveled hair dancing in the wind, his eyes wide with rage as pure white irises were once again filled with red light.

Yet boundless anger was quickly overtaken by despair.

Five days had passed since the trial began, yet the mission had made no progress whatsoever; if this continued, his trial ranking would only drop further.

Duan Xing plopped down beside the pit, his gaze gradually becoming vacant.

Before the trial started, he had considered various dangers he might encounter, never imagining he would fall into a predicament in the Waning Moon scenario where the trial could not proceed.

"I cannot accept this..."

Duan Xing, his gaze already vacant, stared blankly at the empty pit and murmured.

(End of this chapter)