Chapter 344: Back to the Game (8/10, bonus chapter for

Bai Xiaoya was stunned for a moment upon hearing this.

After thinking for a while, she said slowly, "... Besides being a fool, I also want... to become stronger!"

The bone spear she had brought back was carefully preserved, placed in the corner of the room—her resolve to grow stronger was no idle talk.

"Become stronger? You're already this amazing and you want to be even more amazing? Leave some way out for the other girls, will you, hahahahaha!" Yuan Jie burst out laughing, but Fang Yue understood what Bai Xiaoya meant.

"What about Yuan Jie? What's Yuan Jie's dream?"

"Me? I want to eat a big meal every day, hang out with friends every day, never work overtime, and always have two days off on the weekend!"

Fang Yue couldn't help but break into a cold sweat—seemed like Yuan Jie had been tormented by the 996 work schedule pretty badly. Just as he was wondering whether to take this chance to make her rich too, Yuan Jie suddenly said, "Also... also, I have another dream: a big house, facing the sea, with spring warmth and blooming flowers. Then have all my friends move in, and live together forever!"

Yuan Jie's words left Fang Yue and Bai Xiaoya silent. Compared to them, Yuan Jie's wish was plain and simple, yet it warmed the heart!

"What about you? What's your ideal?" Bai Xiaoya asked at this point.

"Me? I used to want to make big money by farming gold in games. Now... I want to become stronger—strong enough to protect everything around me."

Without the parchment, without the strength from the game, Fang Yue would probably have died countless times already.

"That's right! Get stronger! Earn more money! Workers, worker spirit, we workers are all the best of the best! Tomorrow I'm going to wake up early, head to work early! Then deal with the explosion at home—pay what we owe, we can't cheat Xiaoya!"

Yuan Jie had clearly drifted off onto a different track, and was even giving everyone an inspirational pep talk.

The three chatted a while longer. Soon Yuan Jie was snoring asleep. Bai Xiaoya then said, "You go into the game to rest or just sleep now. I'll take the night watch tonight."

Fang Yue was taken aback, then realized this was necessary—he had been careless.

"I'll take the second half of the night."

Bai Xiaoya glanced at Fang Yue: "... Mm."

Connecting the Game Watch, Fang Yue sank into sleep.

……

Inside the game.

Fang Yue slowly opened his eyes.

A clear night sky, dotted with twinkling stars.

Tonight, the moonlight was beautiful.

"Captain Ye is awake! Captain Ye is awake!!"

Fang Yue had only just enjoyed a moment of the night scenery when the people beside him started clamoring, making his face darken.

But this was his own order, so he really couldn't blame anyone.

Soon, Tian Dan Zhi Yuan Wu came hurrying over.

"Ye Ge, Ye Ge, we're almost at Gu Yue Cun!"

Hmm?

How could it be that fast?!

Fang Yue questioned her a couple more times, only to find that what Tian Dan Zhi Yuan Wu meant by "almost there" was simply that she had spotted the familiar scenery from before and assumed they were nearly at Gu Yue Cun—this girl was also a little direction-challenged!

In reality, no matter how hard they pushed the march, no matter how much they sped up, a group this large still needed about the same amount of time as when they went to Mo Cun to get back to Gu Yue Cun.

After asking about the escort team's situation, Tian Dan Zhi Yuan Wu excitedly waved her little fists.

"Ye Ge, I killed a Gui Yi today!"

What?!

Fang Yue stared in astonishment, eyes wide.

"You? You killed a Gui Yi? How? With those little arms of yours?"

Although Fang Yue had always had Tian Dan Zhi Yuan Wu eat things, using her talent to raise her stats.

As for stats, they had risen quite pleasingly.

But the problem was, those were all just numbers—Tian Dan Zhi Yuan Wu had zero real combat experience, so how could she possibly take on a wild Gui Yi?

Fang Yue was a hundred percent skeptical, which made Tian Dan Zhi Yuan Wu's face flush red.

"Y-you, don't ask how I did it, okay? Anyway, I really did kill a Gui Yi. If you don't believe me, go ask Niu Niu... oh, right, Niu Niu stayed at Mo Cun to get rich and didn't come with us. Then, then ask Blood Hunter—he saw it too!"

Fang Yue suspiciously had someone summon Blood Hunter. The Blood Hunter, who had been riding his horse at the front, soon fell back to the middle of the group and came to the side of the carriage where Fang Yue was lying.

"Ye Ge, what's up?"

"She killed a Gui Yi today?"

Blood Hunter was stunned for a moment—probably not expecting that the first thing Fang Yue asked upon waking was this.

Looking at Tian Dan Zhi Yuan Wu's proud posture with hands on hips and chest out, he hesitated, then said, "She did kill one."

Holy crap?

She really soloed a Gui Yi? Did the sun rise from the west??

Fang Yue couldn't help but ask curiously, "How did she kill it?"

"H-how I killed it, why do you have to ask so clearly? Ye Ge, praise me first!" Tian Dan Zhi Yuan Wu's face wore a little proud expression begging for praise.

Fang Yue was just about to give this girl, who had finally shown some growth, a bit of praise and encouragement, when Blood Hunter spoke up.

"Reporting to Ye Ge, on the road we ran into a Black Grade Initial Stage Gui Yi that was on its last breath, almost dead. Originally I was going to have someone from the Guard Team take care of it casually—after all, this Black Grade Initial Stage Gui Yi basically had no threat left. Then Wu Wu got excited and ran over yelling 'Leave it to me!!', so we let her kill the Gui Yi. That's how it happened."

Fang Yue:???

Fang Yue turned to Tian Dan Zhi Yuan Wu with a dark, dumbfounded expression. The latter pretended to look at the scenery while walking away.

"Ah... ahaha, the night scenery is pretty nice tonight. Ye Ge, you go ahead, I'll keep at it and kill more Gui Yi! Look forward to my performance!"

Look forward to my ass!

You just stole the kill!

Fang Yue's face darkened. Just as I thought—how could this girl possibly solo a Gui Yi.

Unless she trains under his supervision, she might have a chance to amount to something. Otherwise, left on her own, any Gui Yi she met would just eat her for breakfast.

However, on the escort road, there was actually a dying Gui Yi, which made Fang Yue rather concerned.

"Blood Hunter, the ant theory you mentioned earlier — now that we've run into a Gui Yi on the road, what do you think?"

"Ye Ge, this confirms my guess even more!

Fights between Gui Yi aren't common. You didn't see the state of that one — it was as if some huge herd of wild beasts had trampled right over it, and only afterward did it end up on the brink of death.

And a Black Grade Initial Stage Gui with normal vision, if a normal herd of wild beasts charged past it, would just be adding to its meal! In other words —

Either the herd of wild beasts that trampled that Black Grade Initial Stage Gui Yi was enormous in number — so enormous that even this Gui Yi couldn't handle it and could only retreat.

Or… the group that trampled this Black Grade Initial Stage Gui Yi was stronger than it!

Whichever it is, for a group with that kind of strength or that kind of scale to be running forward like they're fleeing, there must be some special reason!"

Hearing this, Fang Yue's brow furrowed slightly. The closer it got to the Blood Hunter's theory, the less good news it was for the escort team.

He couldn't help but turn and look back, toward the direction of Mo Cun.

Could it be… something happened in that direction?

That's why those weak Gui Yi are bunching up and fleeing toward Gu Yue Cun?

(End of chapter)