CHAPTER 33: CHAPTER 30: TRUE PLAYERS MOVE ON THEIR OWN

"Crazy! Absolutely insane!"

"This update is just over the top, so many new features at once, are the game developers trying to knock us out with surprises?"

"Weapons! There are actually weapons available for exchange!"

After reading the update notes, everyone felt somewhat bewildered.

They thought that after releasing a new map, the developers wouldn’t have any big moves for a while, but the surprises came so quickly.

Not only can weapons be exchanged, but even the vehicle rental function is unlocked. The new gameplay isn’t just a minor update; it’s a new era entirely.

"That A5-level Composite Longbow actually costs fifty thousand points?" Fang Zhen looked at the weapon exchange list, his previously enthusiastic spirit suddenly feeling deflated.

It was expected that NPC weapons wouldn’t be cheap, but this expensive?

"Brother Zhen, how about that fifteen thousand Compound Bow?" the Outer Gunman asked excitedly.

The A5-level Composite Longbow priced at fifty thousand points was out of the question. Right now, he barely earns around 20 points a day, and it will take ten days for the blood essence rice he’s planted to be harvested.

Fifty thousand points is unthinkable, but fifteen thousand points might be within reach if he grinds hard for a month.

"That Compound Bow isn’t bad either." Fang Zhen thought for a moment about the arrows shot by the White Feather Gang NPCs.

The power and range are fine, just a bit inferior to the Composite Longbow tested by Hall Master Lin Qi, everything else is pretty good.

"Sister Wu, should we invest in renting that electric three-wheeler?" Twilight of the Gods looked at the three-wheeler in the exchange and said, eyes shining, "With that three-wheeler, we can transport ore and timber from the Grizzly Mine anytime, we’ll definitely earn more than digging tunnels."

"Renting that three-wheeler is indeed profitable, but you’ve seen the situation outside." Luo Wushang shook her head slightly, "The NPCs made it clear in the storyline, it’s easy to get attacked in the wild, and so can the three-wheeler. Without enough strength, you might not earn points, and could even end up at a loss."

"I agree with Wushang’s idea. Long-term, renting the three-wheeler is indeed a good choice, but it depends on our strength. This is likely a trap set by the developers." Zhang Qingwei said after a moment of contemplation, "To earn a lot of points, first, we must complete the main quests from the Hall Master, and second, improve our strength. The simplest way is to exchange for weapons."

"Of course, if there are enough points, exchanging for that Smart Watch would also make things much easier. With two, one can even scout in the wild, staying in contact within a kilometer to avoid a lot of trouble."

"We’re poor." Twilight of the Gods suddenly felt that the 200 points rewarded by Lin Qi wasn’t such a big deal after all.

There are so many things he wants right now, but none are achievable in the short term on his own.

"Everyone, how about we join forces?" One Leaf Floating Cloud suggested actively after reading, "You’ve all seen the new exchange items, they’re all great, but too hard to obtain alone."

"So I propose we temporarily team up, pool all our points, and first rent a vehicle. Of course, we can’t just rent a vehicle, we’ll also need to exchange for at least one or two weapons."

"That way, we have both the vehicle and weapons, allowing us to run transport daily and split the earnings."

"I’m for teaming up, but not for equal splitting." Fang Zhen shook his head, "Yiyi, you didn’t go outside this time, so you don’t know the strength and methods of those enemies. Compared to vehicle rental points, strength is actually the most important."

"Those enemies are at least at the apprentice level, some strong ones even reaching the limit. If real apprentices appear later, it won’t be a big surprise."

"So what’s Brother Zhen’s point?" One Leaf Floating Cloud asked calmly without refuting, "Do you suggest distributing according to personal strength?"

"Exactly, my point is pre-apprentices count as one share, apprentices as two shares, and real apprentices as three shares, isn’t that fair?" Fang Zhen proposed.

"Agreed." Luo Wushang nodded, "Strength is everything in the wilderness, earn as much points as your ability allows you."

"Alright, we agree too." One Leaf Floating Cloud sighed helplessly and agreed.

The current strength already lags behind; not joining the main team would only leave him further back.

It’s like the new dungeon feature for transportation in the wild; each trip is lucrative, but for a random team, BOSS loot naturally gets distributed according to contribution.

In an instant, the three teams became one.

"But, earning points for those two weapons isn’t easy. Even if we team up, it might take almost half a month to earn enough, not to mention the twenty thousand rent." One Leaf Floating Cloud looked at the points needed for exchange, feeling a headache, "Do any of you have a good method?"

"For weapons, just exchanging for one Compound Bow should suffice. I can exchange for Fine Steel Arrows as weapons." Luo Wushang said.

"Same here, a Fine Steel Arrow as a weapon is enough for me." Zhang Qingwei smiled, "That gives us three weapons, now we need to quickly solve the vehicle rent issue."

"I... have a method to earn a lot of points quickly in a short time." Twilight of the Gods raised his hand, "But let me say this first, the method carries significant risk, and I want 20% of the points earned."

"20% is fine." Fang Zhen curiously looked at Twilight of the Gods, thinking he wasn’t being fair despite teaching him Shattering Stone Fist, "Risk? What kind of risk?"

"As long as we can quickly earn enough points to rent a vehicle, 20% is no problem for me." Luo Wushang was indifferent, believing that getting the vehicle sooner was crucial.

"I don’t mind either." One Leaf Floating Cloud directly looked at Twilight of the Gods, wondering what he could possibly do.

Seeing everyone’s agreement, Twilight of the Gods didn’t hold back: "While digging, I found a large fissure over 40 meters underground, Sister Wu knows this too. There are treasure chests down there, each worth 500 points, with dozens of them."

"500 points per treasure chest?" Luo Wushang was stunned.

Dozens of treasure chests amount to around twenty thousand points, enough to rent the vehicle without farming for over twenty days.

"Yes, the rewards are great, but the Hall Master mentioned there’s a creature called the Single-Horned Gold-devouring Rat in that area. They’re strong, smart, and fond of metal." Twilight of the Gods laughed bitterly, "If we lure them to the Martial Arts Hall while stealing the treasure chests, the Hall Master will expel us immediately."

"Truly risky." Fang Zhen shivered at the thought.

For players like them, the greatest fear was losing access, being expelled from the game meant missing out on future opportunities.

"But can’t we avoid luring those creatures?" Zhang Qingwei glanced at Twilight of the Gods, "We’ve played games for so many years; don’t you know how to bait monsters?"

"We can sacrifice someone to lure the monsters elsewhere while others take the treasure, destroy the evidence, and completely seal the fissure, can’t we?"

Twilight of the Gods felt like his intellect was being overshadowed.

That fissure was basically just the basic dungeon playstyle from games!

Meanwhile, on the streets outside the Martial Arts Hall, there was a commotion, with many vagabonds rushing out of buildings, discussing amongst themselves, even waking Lin Qi from his sleep.

"Brother Qin Mu, has something happened in the Abandoned Area again?"

"Has another group of vagabonds invaded?"

Lin Qi looked at Heavy Gun Qin Mu, who had also stepped into the street, and approached to ask.

"Not this time." Qin Mu shook his head, kindly explaining, "There was a major event in the wild yesterday. I heard that the Deputy Gang Leader of the White Feather Gang had two sons killed, and now he’s put out a bounty offering thirty thousand bits for finding the killer!"