Chapter 141: Sworn to Live and Die with the Dogs!

He remained silent for a long time, until a loud thump shattered the quiet.

The crowd turned their heads, and it turned out a player's foot gave way, and they fell flat on the ground, limbs splayed.

He gasped laboriously like a drowning person, stretched out his arms, and kept muttering.

"One person… one million… huh!"

One million!

Though no one spoke in the eerie atmosphere, the players glanced at each other, and madness was already spreading and igniting in their eyes.

No one would disregard money, and the richer one is, the more they care.

Even Fu Le, an old hand who's been hustling in the market for years, felt dizzy and broke into cold sweats.

He knew that if there were truly a hundred invitation codes, they could hardly be sold at a million‑level price again.

Yet in this seller‑monopolized market, huge business opportunities still existed.

After all, given the current hype and demand, even a slight hype could push an invitation code's price to an easy five‑ or even six‑digit figure.

That means the total value of these invitation codes will exceed ten million!

Indeed, Longfa Group's year‑end bonus pool is larger than that.

But that is to be divided among tens of thousands of employees, whereas only a hundred people here can claim it!

"Did I see that right? The top‑tier reward is one invitation code per person!"

Finally, with a eunuch‑like shrill scream, the crowd boiled over.

"I've watched it twenty times, it's an invitation code, damn it, it's really an invitation code!"

"Looks like the earlier claim that killing the final boss yields an invitation code was just a test; the developers want to build a huge wave!"

"Then maybe… isn't it… that everyone in the closed beta could become millionaires!?"

Because they could hardly believe it, the players in the game only just woke up now, but the on‑screen spectators in the comment barrage had already exploded.

The envious comments, thick with profanity and tangled sentences, begged to rush into the game right now and take over.

【Ahhh, I clearly booked the game the moment it launched, why didn't the closed beta include me!】

【What the hell is "ten draws at launch", what the hell is "full‑level reward", @ all major developers, see what real player compensation looks like!】

【Great Holy Seat, you're my dad! I want to be the Great Holy Seat's dog!】

These past few days, Code: Sun Month has been popping up on trending searches like a house bought on a hot list; before one story ends, another bursts onto the scene.

With the hype arriving, major self‑media and studios, like dogs smelling a scent, immediately began producing related posts and videos.

No need to elaborate on the copy and wording: hype, hype to the death, champagne‑filled, wishing a single sentence could stack three times for a distant lead.

【@Baohan, can a dog thing even talk?】

【I've always been a devout fan, I've been looking forward to Code: Sun Month since 2008.】

【Laxative, I just deleted all the Zhu E Mi games, I'm scared Code: Sun Month will get the wrong idea!】

Under the official accounts, a new wave of hype also surged.

【I finally get why there are those "smelly‑but‑still‑lickable" corporate fans, maybe there really is money to be had!】

【One million, will you lick it?】

【Damn it, I licked his bare‑leg skin!】

With a strained smile, Ji Ming skimmed through each, and hurried to close the system window before it vanished from his mind.

Since this is just adding fuel to the fire of the already‑high‑profile fourth stage, all of this was naturally within his expectations,

Unlike real‑world games, the closed beta's purpose is less about polishing direction and more about drawing capable players' attention and entry.

In plain terms, it's fishing.

In fact it worked well; in just ten days, the little boss's list already recorded over two hundred potential stocks.

Though it's still unclear why this bunch of goblins suddenly went mad, the bigger the storm, the pricier the fish, and invisibly that's another boost for us!

Leveraging the buzz generated by high returns to further expand the circle and break out, then using high‑difficulty hardcore game content to attract more professionals to comment…

Using this as the final stage of the closed beta seems far more interesting than the original grind.

Yet no matter how fiery the internet gets, it has nothing to do with the players inside the game.

Because as modern people, they soberly realize that even if quest rewards are generous, they're still just a cake for now.

To get that money, the biggest prerequisite is—Dog Village, not a single dog may be missing.

Talking nonsense won't help; taking action is what matters!

While the goblins haven't noticed yet, players hurried down the city walls, urging the dogs to gather at the small plaza in the village center.

"Everyone, staying here is too dangerous, evacuate quickly!"

"Miss Samoyed, please take good care of yourself; I'll fight to the death for you."

"Old man, just treat me as your grandson; I'll carry you."

Even the knife‑wielding Qimi Si who rushed over was being held by Lost One and Flying Fire Meteor and dragged to the small plaza.

"Woof! I'm a professional, let me go!"

"Can you resurrect? If not, stay low, we'll go first!"

"Master, you stay here to protect everyone."

After clearing up the cause and effect with Da Huang, Huo Ke and Qimi Si, the Dog Village residents gradually understood everything.

With the players' persistence, about two hundred dogs and a Big Green Skin all crouched on the small plaza.

Looking around, every breed imaginable was present, looking at first glance like an otherworldly pet shop opened by Big Green Skin.

One can only say it's lucky they're dogs; if they were people, the visual would be far more interesting.

"Damn, I never imagined the villagers' dog breeds could be this diverse."

"Aww, so cute, I've decided to sacrifice my life for the dogs."

"Enough talk, the Ming troops are fully provisioned and unbeatable; since it's for a million, I'll die to block the front of the village!"

Having solved the rear‑guard worry, the players immediately started the usual public chat meeting.

Floral Prosperity: 【Everyone, speak up—any good ways to deal with goblins?】

Modern people have a strong urge to show off; whether useful or reliable or not, chaotic schemes fly left and right.

Ji Ming flipped through the players' messages and found not a single reliable one.

Hand‑crafted flintlock pistols, hand‑crafted tiger‑crouch cannons, hand‑crafted steam engines…

Ugh, even if Huo Ke has the skill of his interstellar hometown, a single him still can't "I think".

Leave the city to surrender, trading everyone's lives to save all of Dog Village.

Damn, where did this surrender‑ist weakling come from? If it really doesn't work, you could at least try some escapism!

Form an elite force of ten‑thousand troops to cut down the Mad King, scattering the goblin horde like birds and beasts…

No need for Ji Ming to complain about this.

Infantry without weapons: 【Bro, I really don't dare!】

He stared for a while; the most reliable plan turned out to be just charging head‑on.

But reality isn't horseback riding and slashing; a brainless F1F3 full‑scale assault is unrealistic.

Even if the game reduces pain, hardly anyone would volunteer to die.

……

Fine, except for perverts.

So the public chat refreshes quickly, yet no one can explain why,

As a game official, Ji Ming originally wanted to step in and give a couple of pointers.

But…

Uh, seems I don't really get it either…

After thinking, I decided to drop it.

Yet the map already shows that at the junction of the armory and the training ground, the Goblin King hasn't given up tracking the players.

He seems to have broken the massive Tribe into pieces, dispatching several scout squads.

Consequently, soon faint silhouettes began edging closer from the darkness, and goblins poked their heads around the city walls, searching everywhere.

Even though the feral creatures' scouting ability and eyesight are weaker than the players', they quickly sense something's off here.

The players instantly grew frantic, pounding chests and stamping feet yet having no solution, falling into a dilemma.

"Wai Shu, do you have any solution?"

Bai Yesheng beside him whispered the question, receiving only Ji Ming's shake of the head.

"Really no way?"

"No…"

"Heh!"

She hummed, the corner of her mouth slowly curving into a long‑planned smile.

"Since meekness looks unbecoming, let Daddy here show you a trick!"

Having said that, she drew her bow, nocked an arrow, aimed briefly and let it fly.

The swift arrow sliced through the air, true and steady, striking a goblin's head.

The death of their comrade roused the goblins, but bewildered, they looked around, not knowing who had attacked them.

Bai Yesheng's movements were fluid; she kept drawing arrows from the quiver, wiping out the squad in a few shots.

Ji Ming was stunned.

"Aurora, do you have to be this fierce?"

"Just kidding, I told you, I'm a bow‑master, and…"

She tossed the longbow back into the game's built‑in backpack, and Bai Yesheng began typing on the floating keyboard.

"I have a solution!"

【Everyone, this battle looks like a defensive one, but according to the officials, the win condition is simply to last until the closed beta ends】

【I suggest you make good use of the 'Revival' mechanism, split up and leave the village to draw the goblins' attention, gradually pulling them away from Dog Village】

【As long as you drag it out until the closed beta ends, it's a success!】

One of the official designers:?

Indeed!

Almost forgot, although Bai Yesheng when alone looks like a sand‑sculpture with a bishoujo skin mod, if I must say, she's a simulation‑management and strategy‑game…

Game‑domain god!. jpg

According to the game mechanics she designed, when players die they demote, but that's all.

Whether leveling up or changing class, the extra four‑dimensional stats remain unchanged.

You just have to grind back to the previous highest level before you can improve further.

And although the level drops, the experience gain also rewinds.

In other words, if a player earned 330 XP from goblins, rising from level 1 to 4, but then died by accident and fell back to level 3,

then the record shows the total XP gained from goblins changes from 330 back to 210.

Whether you continue farming goblins or switch to other monsters, you can regain those 120 XP!

The reason Ji Ming discussed this extra setting with Yangyue is to prevent Yangyue World's "single‑species XP cap" from persisting, which would leave resurrected players without new monsters to farm, trapping them in a vicious cycle of ever‑harder leveling and ever‑lower levels.

Death can be revived, demotion can be re‑leveled.

All of this forms the foundation of Bai Yesheng's "drag‑character" theory!

Being nudged a bit by this suddenly appearing Aurora Dance, the players on the public screen also came to their senses.

Isn't the biggest advantage of being a player precisely the unlimited manipulability provided by the resurrection system?

So defending from within the village would be abandoning the advantage and fighting the enemy with a disadvantage, wouldn't it?

【That's right, why should we trap ourselves inside the city? Taking the initiative is the best defense!】

【Defending is too stupid, the goblins outnumber us several times, even a several‑meter‑high wall can't stop those big monsters' assault.】

【Yeah, following the ancestors' wisdom, wouldn't guerrilla warfare be better?】

With direction, the players were no longer headless flies, but began to discuss purposefully.

Some wily ghosts kept interacting with the live broadcast room's audience, picking out the more reasonable bullet comments and posting them on the public screen.

Finally, with everyone's collective brainstorming, a prototype of a battle plan was produced.

We had intended to refine it further, but time was not on our side; even after just a dozen minutes, more goblins roamed in again.

High‑level players such as Fu Le and Zhao Jun went over the plan again and posted the entire battle plan on the public screen.

【Comrades, or rather, fellow battle‑mates…】

【Luring the goblins away sounds simple, but there are still a full four days until the closed beta ends; we need a more secure plan…】

Even a complete fool, when there are enough people, some wise ones will emerge.

After the heated discussion, they discovered flaws and defects in Bai Yesheng's plan and immediately patched them.

【Besides the Sanctum and Dog Village, the place most familiar to us players should be Sacred Tree Lake…】

【Teleport to other locations, stay as far from Dog Village as possible, and gradually lure the goblins away…】

【Create the illusion that Sacred Tree Lake is our players' settlement, forcing the goblins into a meaningless attack‑defense battle with us!】

Brilliant!

If we hadn't been unable to relocate in time, Sacred Tree Lake would actually be a better defensive position for the players than Dog Village.

The only link between the shore and the lake island is a wooden bridge; no matter how many goblins there are, they have to squeeze through to cross.

As for crossing the water, it's impossible; it's not that we lack swimmers among the players, but none can even make it halfway, all being killed by inexplicable water monsters.

Moreover, to make fishing easier for players, Ji Ming had set up a direct teleport service to Sacred Tree Lake in the Teleport Hall, making both post‑resurrection logins and strategic relocations very convenient.

At the end of the battle plan came encouragements from two professional squads.

【It may be difficult, it may be exhausting, but this is a million‑dollar order, we can't miss it!】

【Now, let's set off!】

To welcome today's new version, the players had already split into many groups, and now there are ready-made teams.

The players' tactics changed, so the emergency evacuation of Dog Village ended; after emphasizing safety, they left Dog Village in droves,

From the map one can see that some people arrived at Sacred Tree Lake directly via the teleport gate, while others went to the armory.

Ji Ming wanted to ask Bai Yesheng what the next plan was, but a figure he was familiar with, yet not intimately, walked over.

Naturally, the newcomer was a gunner; he never held back his enthusiasm, and whenever any player performed a brilliant move, he would rush over to draw attention.

"Aurora Dance, is it? I just noticed it..."

But he didn't expect that this mysterious expert, like Xi He, would also be a beautiful girl.

He was momentarily stunned, checked the ID once more, then continued.

"It was you who gave everyone the idea, really thank you!"

But after waiting earnestly for a long while, he heard no reply.

Ji Ming also looked puzzled and saw Bai Yesheng with a strained face, head down, lacking the earlier confidence from planning.

Strangely, he couldn't help but elbow her.

"Hey hey, you should say something."

Zhao Jun, seeing this, had to ask Ji Ming.

"Friend, are you together with her? She seems a bit nervous, doesn't she?"

Ji Ming was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized.

Awo~

Someone's social anxiety just flared up!

So he took a small step forward.

"Um, right, this is my brother's daughter's... daughter."

"Huh?"

"It means I'm her second uncle... ah!"

Zhao Jun's confused expression deepened.

"Friend, why did you suddenly make such a loud noise?"

Ji Ming seized Bai Yesheng's hand behind her and pulled it down hard.

"It's nothing, just... a personal... speaking habit... that's all!"

?

How could a mere seven Qi blood possibly match me? In the end, Ji Ming claimed victory in this hidden showdown!

And seeing Bai Yesheng eager to speak, he quickly added.

"Um, don't take it the wrong way, my great‑granddaughter had a high fever as a child that damaged her brain; she's been a blockhead since then and can't speak!"

???

Regardless, Zhao Jun's expression stayed the same.

"Oh, so she's disabled, I was being abrupt, then... can she hear me?"

"Ah... can!"

"That's fine then; I just wanted to express my thanks to everyone!"

Having said that, Zhao Jun turned and left in a great hurry.

Ah, what a reliable good person.

Seeing the spearman had already gone far, Ji Ming was about to say something when a fist suddenly enlarged in his view.

Bang!

"Y‑you… why are you hitting an old man?"

"Old thing, I'm hitting you!"

Seeing Bai Yesheng still about to swing another punch, Ji Ming quickly stepped back a few paces, brought out a Deep Forest battle shield, and held it up.

"You repay kindness with hatred; I'm just helping you get out of the encirclement!"

"Damn it, you still have the nerve to say you're helping me out? Ah, you just love taking advantage of me, right!?"

Bai Yesheng darted left and right trying to break through, but Ji Ming blocked himself solidly with the shield.

She had no gauntlets or anything, hammered twice, and it hurt like hell.

"Stop, Ah Zu, you can't break the shield with bare hands."

But after lowering the shield, Ji Ming saw Bai Yesheng's hand reaching out.

"What, a three‑year‑old got hurt and you want me to comfort him?"

"Er—big—grandpa—"

Bai Yesheng elongated his tone and shouted a question.

"Hand over all the New‑Year money I've saved in my nineteen years of life, right now!"

"Huh? You're nineteen this year?"

"Yes."

Ji Ming began to count on his fingers.

"Then I'm twenty‑eight this year, round that up to thirty; assuming I can live to sixty, that's nearly half a century, and recalculating, I'm fifty this year."

He wore a solemn expression.

"Miss Bai, I hope to see you respect an elder in the future!"

"I…"

Bang!

"Ah!"

Bai Yesheng claimed that his attack power had never been this high in his whole life, delivering one punch after another.

"Old thing, you damn well should be dropping gold coins!"

Ji Ming tried to break free but she grabbed his collar; worse, the player's clothing had no rule‑based protection, so he was quickly pulled away by brute force.

Actually, being pulled off didn't matter; he feared catching a cold with the season change, so he always wore two, even three layers, with just an undershirt underneath.

But during the tug, his wallet fell out, the strap came undone, and the coins inside clattered to the ground.

…

"No way, grandpa, you really are dropping gold coins!"

"... Hey, don't grab my money and run; do you have anywhere to spend it?"

Their quarrel didn't hinder the players from earning money; by now they had already started a lure‑enemy battle.

Groups of three or five would pick off lone Goblins to kill.

Since they weren't afraid of death, they could be more reckless with strategy and tactics.

Especially Death God!

The value of the phrase "seek death" needs no elaboration; he beat the Lynx Drum, parading through the market, one person ran ahead while a horde of ferocious Goblins chased.

And when he saw the Goblins slowing and about to shift aggro, he instantly raised his Tower Shield, turned, and unleashed the skill "Barbaric Charge".

"Charge!"

The clustered Goblins were live targets, instantly blown apart by his self‑sacrificial strike.

Can anyone tolerate this?

The ferocious Goblins immediately mustered all their strength to counterattack, their aggro rising instead of falling.

By the time he was finally judged by the Goblin warriors with both man and shield, over a hundred Goblins were standing there cursing.

"Where are the corpses? Where is this human corpse?"

If you can't measure, fine, but how can you not even slay the bodies!

"Human, you should die!"

Now, not even saying they were provoked by humans; they start hunting as soon as they see a human.

And all this falls into the players' lap.

So Snow Leopard flamboyantly played the lute, Qiangzi shouted into the mic with force, and other players mimicked each other; as one finished singing, another took the stage, giving a sense of a hundred schools debating.

Clearly only dozens of players were competing on the same stage, yet it felt like thousands were besieging the Goblin Tribe.

Feeling the scouts constantly disconnecting and the chaos growing, the once‑confident Mad King was now bewildered.

Although he was awakened by some inexplicable magic, his brain remained wooden and he couldn't grasp what was happening.

He could only rage helplessly, wildly kicking his four‑wheeled war cart as two Goblin warriors dragged it.

"Wuwa, anger!"

"Wuwa, fury!"

"Wuwa…"

Snap.

Old and dilapidated, stepping creates a pit.

Lately my head feels a bit wooden, my fingers and lower back are also uncomfortable, so this chapter was voice‑entered and then edited by the computer, thus it has no chapter divisions.

Alas, at least lying down is a little more comfortable for the body…