Chapter 402: Wai Shu, Onii‑sama!

It was precisely because Pi Ka Ka had a unified world and a dream of covering everything with his own red robe that he spent a fortune hiring players from all corners, forming his own otherworldly crew.

Since the members came seeking profit, their methods were harsher than ordinary players', and as his power kept growing, a secret organization with a very small core circle but influence spanning both players and NPCs gradually took shape.

So, where is this violent troupe now?

Seeing Brother Yanwei strain to stand, ShanShang exhaled in relief and regained his combat confidence, gripping twin blades, his words ringing.

"Wai Shu! We have three people here, they have three over there; I think Yanwei and I can handle Ta Jiang Hu and Sen Zan, so the emperor can safely entrust it to reliable you!"

Ji Ming: "Ah, you're handing the big BOSS straight to me, huh? You really are a kind good kid!"

Yet before ShanShang finished speaking, a clamor like a school cafeteria opening spread from upstairs and downstairs, and a dozen or so fierce players brandishing various weapons flooded into the space.

—Good, the troupe has arrived.

ShanShang squeezed the hilt, and after an awkward silence suddenly erupted.

"Wai Shu, Oni Sa ma! Actually I'm also your fan! May I ask if you're confident enough to break out with me?"

Ji Ming: "Da mie!"

But at this moment jokes could no longer solve the problem; Ji Ming could only draw a long‑handled shovel, step forward, and execute a move of courtesy before force.

"His Majesty Pi Sai Er! I think you should know me; I'm a closed‑beta player of Double Moon Struggle, 'Wai Bo Zi Shu', and among players I have… a little bit of skill."

"As a veteran player, I consider myself fairly versed in this game, so if you still want to enjoy it smoothly and be a comfortable otherworldly emperor."

"Then I advise you to tone it down a bit."

Unfortunately, aside from the White Eagle faction beating him and agents demanding oil management rights, nothing in this world can make Pi Sai Er restrain himself!

So he narrowed his eyes, and struck the staff forcefully.

"I don't know, and I don't care who you are! But I now command you, kneel…"

Then a crisp "crack!" rang, his dignified dark face was struck by a steel bead, sending a spray of saliva and three white teeth flying out.

The one acting was naturally Ji Ming; although with updates the pure skill Precision Throw has largely been sidelined, even without damage its insult remains potent!

"Kill him, kill him!"

So, clutching his bleeding, leaking mouth, the irate Pi Sai Er ordered his subordinates to attack.

These money‑for‑services tough guys are indeed professional; no matter who you are, kill and get paid, at worst they'll bear a few days of bad reputation, the cost can be dealt with later!

So not everyone can be like Yanwei… gentle, considerate, good at communication, and there's no time for Ji Ming to win them over one by one now.

No choice; in desperation he could only harshly crush a player, his Zheng Qi surging, he swung the shovel and flung one away.

"ShanShang! You…"

He was about to call him and Yanwei to follow, hoist Matsui, and make a quick retreat, saying "We'll handle this later after I switch to a more convenient account!"

He then saw the two idiots already tangled in battle with Ta Jiang Hu and Sen Zan, and amid the hacking, Yanwei even flashed a confident smile at him.

"Don't worry, Wai Shu, we'll do our best to hold them off! When you wipe out Pi Sai Er and the others, be sure to come rescue us!"

Ji Ming: "Ah, not only do I have to eat the big BOSS raw, but also clear the elite monsters as well?"

But with matters at this point, he could only shake his head and smile, casually shoveling another approaching player to the ground.

"…Fine, if you all trust me so much, then I can rest easy."

These dozen‑plus players, judging by their looks, came from all corners of the world; their classes were still one of the three basic choices, but the talents that brought them here were varied.

Some were incredibly fierce, every movement accompanied by a sharp crack, likely men who practice Baji Quan in reality.

Their attacks were downright vicious, using killing techniques as if they were Ping A, intent on beating people to death, constantly trying to elbow Ji Ming.

Unfortunately, after so long in Hui Guang Kingdom, Ji Ming's Zheng Qi Nourishing Body Skill had unknowingly reached the twentieth layer; with a Kun Earth Qi Shield he blocked everything, and seized the chance to waste that elbow with a Hidden Dragon Stab hidden in his glove.

There was a man holding a firearm, cloth covering his face, looking like a Western cowboy.

But for some reason, before raising his magically‑etched Winchester black gun, he insisted on lighting a hand‑rolled leaf cigarette and pulling the nearby female mage to snap his fingers for ignition.

As a result, Ji Ming seized the moment when he felt safe and unguarded, yanked out a box cannon aimed at his head and performed an American‑style Iaido technique—Magazine Emptying—so the blast through his brow left him utterly bewildered.

"Wait a moment!"

Moreover, the exploding Qi shield pushed aside the few players crowding him; Ji Ming swiftly changed magazines, sent the one busy flirting and luring a sucker away, and, remembering he should at least cast an Earth Shield Technique to protect his female mage, sent her off as well.

—"Double pairing, double flight, dying together; that's not unkindly a form of pure love!"

Besides these, there was a Robin Hood‑styled archer who wasn't really a thief, a traditionalist witch in a black robe chattering away, a berserker wielding a Germanic greatsword who would charge to death as long as he didn't die, and…

"I surrender!!!"

A skimpy‑clad woman who learned spatial magic through delusion, lacking skill, was struck by Ji Ming's kick, breaking her spell and stumbling to the ground.

Facing Wai Shu's retaliatory lethal strike and her own body, weakened by specializing in Intelligence, she chose to sacrifice face to survive.

It should be known that in the pre‑gun era, armies suffering over 10% casualties could rout, and for this group that appears fierce but is less professional than ordinary mercenaries and arrived here purely by luck, things would only get worse.

Thus, watching Wai Shu dash left and right like a cultivation novel protagonist, able to withstand a mob of a dozen thirty‑level players, even counter‑killing several show‑offs, their morale was already on the brink of collapse, and they could only keep fighting thanks to money.

Now, with her being the first to admit fear, already wearing a bitter‑gourd face, the other players, pining for their own levels, simultaneously dampened their attack urges and began hysterically goofing off.

"Heh…"

Ji Ming could of course read their petty thoughts; faced with such absurd ugliness he didn't trouble them further, but with a thud planted the shovel into the ground.

"You're called… Ms. Singularity, right? Give me a reason not to kill you!"

"I… I… I'm a woman… No, no, no! I have strength! I can help you fight them!"

Not bad, not foolish; but if she tried to argue that she's a woman, Ji Ming would bring up the near‑second‑time widowhood of Lady of the Cold Pond.

Yet he also knew how to roast someone on a fire, sneering, he pointed a finger around.

"Who?"

(Pause.)

"You, who do you want me to fight for?"

Now Ms. Singularity turned into a rooster spirit; I… I… was stuck for a while, unable to utter even a single sentence.

But she needn't speak, for as a convoluted, incomprehensible, horribly grating incantation rang out, she let out a painful scream, curling her body like a shrimp.

!!!

Ji Ming immediately noticed a foul stench coming from her belly, and was about to unleash a smooth combo of SpiritGathering Liquid and double talismans, but it was already too late.

Accompanied by a teeth‑grinding, nauseating sound of flesh tearing, a poisonous insect resembling a centipede and a scorpion actually burst from her abdomen, struggling to crawl out.

But its ferocity ended there; Ji Ming's shovel fell like a guillotine, skillfully beheading this creature, which could barely be counted as one of the ingredients of the Rejuvenation Liquid, on the spot.

However, the Singularity Lady, whose innards had been bitten and her intestines torn apart, was certainly dead; she shattered into a pile of light particles and was tossed back into the urinal strip to resurrect.

If Ji Ming, facing this scene, was merely surprised, then the other players were utterly shocked.

Regardless of their level or strength, they were frightened into retreating, their gazes unanimously falling on Pikaka.

"This... His Majesty Pisail! What happened to the Singularity Lady?"

Rumor had it that he might have appeared in a live‑action Hannibal, and Pisail, who had plenty of insight on how to be a person, grinned...

Oh, because he was missing three teeth and looked ridiculous, he suddenly realized he shouldn't grin.

... In short, he broke out a grim, cold smile full of malice.

"It's fine; I merely left a little trump card to prevent those lacking resolve from betraying me."

He reached out his hand, and a poisonous insect sturdier than the previous one climbed up his arm.

"What, are you all thinking about when to betray me?"

Such methods and threats instantly shattered everyone's courage, after all they had seen players kill players, and even killed players themselves.

But gu poison hidden inside a human body—something that doesn't even appear on a player's panel—is simply too horrifying to hear!

"I dare not, I dare not..."

"You are our leader; how dare we overstep?"

Thus they all lowered their heads in submission, swallowing their anger and hesitation, for fear that Pisail might have even more terrifying methods.

After all, what if there's something that even death cannot escape? Better to just get on with business, make money—no hard feelings.

While watching all this, Pisail, who had successfully suppressed another betrayal, was secretly pleased when he saw Wai Shu suddenly pull out a stack of strange yellow paper.

Haha, how pathetic—are you trying to bribe me to spare your life, just like those fools who were hanged?

Just...

Has the Yangyue World already started selling banknotes somewhere? How would I not know?

Because he liked to act profound, his thoughts were many, but Ji Ming suddenly sprang forward, slapping talismans onto everyone's foreheads like subduing zombies.

This included Matsui lying on the ground, as well as Sen Zan, who was still fighting with all his might for His Majesty, causing Yuanwei to be unable to stop watching the show.

And then, in the next moment.

"D Zone!!!"

The whole floor sounded like a blaring album of Island City's Old Eight shouting "Olige" during a lockdown, filling ears with retching noises that made you want to vomit your guts out.

The result of the retching was that, aside from Ji Ming and his two newcomers, and Yuanwei among the new recruits who had only joined a few days ago, everyone vomited up inactive poison‑gu larvae from their stomachs.

The mercenaries were completely dumbfounded; even real mercenaries, if screwed over by their employer like this, should fight their way out of death, cut off his head, and use it as a chamber pot.

Thus they all pointed at Pisail's head and began cursing loudly.

"Pisail, you son of a bitch, you're really secretly harming us!"

"D Zone!"

"Heavy Gift Crab, you damned sunshine‑rainbow little black horse, I knew you couldn't be trusted!"

"D Zone!"

"Good heavens, you even... Pisail, you're so vicious, you're practically smearing our clan's reputation!"

"D Zone!"

"Pis... hey, isn't it over yet? Did you eat a ton of cement for dinner, why are you still vomiting?"

They turned their heads and saw that it was Sen Zan, who was about to vomit an enhanced poison‑gu larva.

His sturdy body was now sprawled on the ground, like a worm‑queen mother constantly "producing" larvae, seemingly without end.

Yuanwei, who had been fighting him for a while, was so shocked that his sword clanged to the ground.

But he had no mind to deal with this; instead he slowly turned around, pointing at Pisail's nose.

"Pisail, although I've only been with you for two days, I know Sen Zan has always been your most loyal and trusted follower, you really call him dad—how could you bear to do this!"

To be honest, even with Ji Ming's thick skin, doing such a shameless thing ought to bring shame.

After all, for his most loyal Silvia, aside from their first meeting, he has never let her knees touch the ground.

Yet Pisail still held his head high, arrogant as ever, acting as if it were only natural.

"Since he trusts me, he should trust my suspicions!"

"Hah, don't think I don't know—you're all after my money and my power; since it's purely a matter of interest, am I wrong to guard against you!?"

This remark was unusually clear‑headed; none of the mercenaries could deny it.

As a result, for a moment it actually quelled the rising unrest, pulling him back onto the moral high ground.

"You're full of shit!"

But in the silence, someone stood up, bravely pointing at his nose and continuing the output.

That was the angry ShanShang, who stepped forward, ripped off his mask like a superhero ready to unleash a verbal barrage in a movie.

(End of Chapter)