"well……"
In the real world, in District D of Hualan City, Duan Qing's home, a man's figure gradually appeared in the game cabin where he belonged, and then grabbed the door and climbed out. Looking at the advanced game cabin, he checked the online status of his friends, let out a long sigh, and finally gave up the idea of entering the game again, and instead walked towards the kitchen. With the sound of chopping and frying resounding in the room, bursts of aroma of vegetables began to appear around this small home. Two home-cooked stir-fry dishes that were popular among many people in the 22nd century also appeared in a few years. Minutes later, it was placed on the small table in the center of the living room. As the initiator, Duan Qing had no sense of satisfaction at this achievement. He was not even half happy until the sound of a woman opening the door came from the side. When it came, he who was sitting on the side of the sofa stood up helplessly: "It took longer than I thought."
"Are you done?" The woman looked at the small square table and said, "Thank you for your hard work."
"Those children of the family who regard these things as unparalleled delicacies should really go shopping on the streets. The lower-class places are better, where everyone in the market can cook such dishes." He pointed to the food on the table. , Duan Qing, who recovered from the waiting, showed a bitter smile: "If you have the chance, you can also try it. These skills of mine... are actually nothing in front of them."
"As a nanny, your skills have passed the test." Xue Ling Huan Bing showed a smile, and then slowly sat down on the opposite side of the sofa: "Okay, let's eat."
"...Why don't you introduce the situation in the game?"
"What else can we do? Everyone will die."
"It's that simple?"
"...Of course it's not as simple as it sounds."
Holding up a bowl of rice in front of her, the woman replied in a calm voice: "After you died, I dealt with the few remaining people for a while, and I took advantage of this opportunity to fully explore the rest of the place. "
"With so many people chasing you, you must not have much time to search for things, right?" Duan Qing said jokingly: "If there really is any treasure... wouldn't we lose blood?"
"...You guy, don't you feel anything even after being knocked out?" Xue Ling Huan Bing looked at the other party with squinting eyes: "The master who calls himself Qingshan Sword God?"
"Playing games, who doesn't die once or twice?" Duan Qing lowered his head and touched his nose: "It would be great to be able to bring back the clues we found."
"...Well, the number two figure in Devil's Paradise was indeed stabbed to death by your counterattack in the end."
After watching Duan Qing's face intently for a while, Xue Ling Huan Bing finally shook his head while holding his job: "I don't know what means you used, but in short, that guy just stood there motionless after using up the light of judgment, and rushed down. I originally wanted to give him a shot, but before I could touch him, he fell straight to the ground..."
"That's the Flying Star Sword, some unknown secret skill in the Jianghu game." Duan Qing, who was also holding a bowl, muttered: "To explain it from the world view of the free world, it is a kind of thrust. It’s just sword energy.”
"Flying Star Sword?" Xue Ling Huan Bing asked in a low voice: "Is there any sword technique that uses this method? I didn't even notice your movements when I came down..."
"This is within the scope of skills. As long as your movements and power are standard enough, even a very small slashing movement can still trigger an attack decision within the rules of the game." Duan Qing picked up the ball casually. A mouthful of food: "So... um... with your qualifications in perception, it shouldn't be very difficult to understand this. Once the way of dispersing power is recognized by the system, let alone the Flying Star Sword, even the Nebula Sword Technique... …Theoretically, it can also wield a large amount of sword energy.”
"Since it's sword energy, Mephisto should have noticed it, right?" Xueling Huanbing held her job and pondered for a while: "Why do I think he didn't react? And he is a full-blooded magician..."
"The Flying Star Sword is originally known for its concealment. Its power and practicality are not very high, but my Black Snake's Bite... also has some of its own effects." Duan Qing rolled over himself. Eyelids: "Fatal attacks in the free world have a very high trigger rate as long as they hit the vital parts of the target. My dagger also has the effect of greatly increasing the success rate of fatal attacks. The sword energy is also It is sent out in the form of a stab, so it is possible to poison the opponent... Hehe, after all these judgments, if even a magician can't be stabbed to death, I will have wasted the fate of being killed by the opponent."
"Your death together can be regarded as providing me with many opportunities. After all, I don't have much confidence that I can withstand the opponent's disgusting style and judgment attacks alone." Xueling Huanbing slightly brushed his long hair: "Although facing that embrace of death, I don't have any good options..."
"The cooling time of the Light of Judgment is one hour. There is no chance to kill you again." Duan Qing shook his head and replied: "We are witnesses and betrayers, how can we not know the effect?"
"...Do you regret selling to them?"
"Why are you regretting that? Anyway, the other party is bleeding. The Valkyrie greaves also look very good. They are now on Xuyu Liushang's feet. When other Valkyrie suits are found in the future, we may... Well."
"..."
"Uh...so...how did you die?"
As if he noticed the hesitation on the other party's face, Duan Qing changed the topic slightly awkwardly: "Even if there are two other players, you should be able to escape, right?"
"With the help of the water stone, I easily escaped their attack by diving, but the most I can do... can only go so far." Xueling Huanbing slowly shook his head: "As long as the threat of death's embrace is still there, I can't risk being killed to fight with the opponent. Once they have one living person left, the entire Port Cassimus will fall into their hands, so I can't I could only hide in the dark and deal with them, while trying to delay time with the water in the passage, and they really didn't have any good way to deal with my trouble, so later... they didn't care about me much."
"Those three people just started the search despite my harassment." The woman said with a smile: "Now that I think about it... they are quite stupid."
"Without the existence of a commander, even professional teams will often make some low-level mistakes." Duan Qing said with a smile: "So... what happened next?"
"Then...the tide came in."
"……ah?"
"The tide is coming back in."
In Duan Qing's wide-eyed expression, Xue Ling Huan Bing, who was holding the rice bowl, blinked: "So everyone drowned."
"Why did you drown with the water stone? I won't ask..." Duan Qing pressed his forehead: "That cave should be an air-tight cave, right? Why does the tide rise?"
"There are probably some stone cracks leading to the surface, and air is secretly leaking somewhere in the cave. When we came in, didn't the tide also fall downwards?" The woman began to eat the food in front of her in small bites. : "As for the Water Stone...do you think that thing can be used unlimitedly?"
"..."
"I know what you want to say. After all, the platform we found should not be flooded."
Looking at Duan Qing's speechless expression, Xueling Huanbing smiled again: "However, the energy of the Water Stone is about to be exhausted, and I have almost explored other directions in the ruins, so I will take this opportunity to return. The city… shouldn’t be a big deal, right?”
"As expected of the goddess of ice and snow, she won't frown even if she commits suicide." Duan Qing gave a thumbs up: "But it's really surprising that she would sacrifice her life for the dead me... Hey, hey, don't do it, don't do it, okay? Easily prepared meals..."
"...Since you don't want to appreciate it, let's discuss other things."
Xue Ling Huan Bing, who had regained her cold expression, put down the bowls and chopsticks in her hands, and leaned against the back end of the sofa: "I wonder what happened in Zaraha City... have you heard about it?"
"Zalaha City?" Duan Qing asked with confusion, "What happened there?"
"...You are the one with a heart of stone. You don't even care about the members of your own adventure group." Xueling Huanbing said with squinting eyes: "Since the 'Fire Disaster' on Mount Rondel, players from the empire have They also completely lost their will to fight. They abandoned all defense lines, including the Feron Plains, and all retreated to Zaraha City. Now the secret fight between the two countries has reached Zaraha City. From the empire side The players on the principality side are now racking their brains and doing their best to fight for that city."
"What? The siege started so soon?" Duan Qing asked in surprise: "Didn't the ownership of Zaraha City not be mentioned in the alliance between the two countries?"
"Not only Zaraha City, but also the entire Felong County has not been mentioned, so the current ancient city is still in the hands of the empire in name." Xue Ling Huan Bing replied in a low voice: "It is also because of this The reason is that the imperial people did not withdraw the garrison there. This is also the biggest reliance of the players who stayed in that place. Otherwise, facing the attack led by Jiang Hu... they would not have the ability to defend the master of Felong County in this situation. City."
"So that means..." Duan Qing sighed and asked: "Now the battle has become a battle between the players of the principality and the regular army of the empire?"
"No, it's not."
Seemingly thinking of something interesting, Xue Ling Huan Bing smiled: "There has been no formal battle so far. The current situation is just secret fighting... and scoldings on the Internet."
The scolding war on the Internet has gradually begun since Freya broke out. Players in the two camps also began to use everything that happened in the game world to weaken each other with mutual accusations. arrogance. The players on the Principality side laughed at each other for overestimating their abilities like moths to a flame. The players on the Empire side began to accuse the Principality side of being lackadaisical and actually using the NPCs of the Mages Council to frame them. After the Principality coalition forces reached the city, the Empire side The players on the principality side began to laugh at the principality's timidity, not even having the courage to attack Zaraha City, while the players on the principality side began to accuse the imperial players of being insidious and cunning, wanting to use the imperial army to consume their troops. It wasn't until the secret war between the two sides gradually unfolded, and all parties began small-scale sabotage and counter-reconnaissance operations in all corners of Zaraha City, that such scoldings began to take shape and became a mouthpiece to reflect various events in the game.
"You ridiculous principality pig! Isn't the armory a place where you can come whenever you want?"
"Shameful imperial dog! He actually laid an ambush in the shopping street!"
"Be careful wherever the Imperial team is stationed! The Imperials must be waiting nearby to tip off!"
"Attention players of the Empire, we have discovered that people from the Principality are stirring up trouble in the civilian areas..."
"like this."
Pointing to the titles displayed on the screen, Xueling Huanbing said with a low smile: "Whenever players from the two countries secretly compete in Zalaha City to determine the outcome, something like this will appear, and then in a Amid the denunciations and criticisms of a large number of players, the next conspiracy and action are brewing... Isn't it interesting?"
"It's indeed very interesting. Every conspiracy has become a conspiracy." Duan Qing replied helplessly: "Presumably that guy Duan Fenglei didn't expect such a result, right?"
"Your captain and those cute little members are also participating in these actions." Xueling Huanbing held her waist with one hand: "Such a secret melee... is about to become a global phenomenon. Participated in the chaos."
"The officials of the principality and the empire have not spoken, indicating that such a result is acceptable to them." Duan Qing replied in a low voice: "Since those NPCs have figured it out, let them do their work, we... …”
"Go and do our work too."
Some time later, in the Free City, Duan Qing and Xueling Huanbing appeared again in the room of the Vixis Tavern. They discussed briefly for a while, and then started their respective journeys towards their respective destinations. of action. Compared to previous plans, Duan Qing's action this time seemed much simpler. He briefly inquired about the location, and then came to a luxurious residence in the luxury area near the north of the city pier.
"Hello." He pinched a piece of parchment in his pocket, and then said to the rude-faced bodyguard guarding the door: "Can you please inform your elders, I want to see him. …”
"Who is it?" The bodyguard in black raised his eyes and looked at Duan Qing's face with disdain: "Is our boss someone you can meet casually?"
"My name is Mo Shang Qingshan." Duan Qing smiled nonchalantly and said, "That's all you need to say. I believe your adults will agree."
The strong bodyguard glanced at him up and down for a while, and finally glared at him fiercely. Then, with a low voice, he turned and walked towards the house. Duan Qing, who ignored the glances of several passers-by, did not wait here for too long. He waited in the courtyard outside the mansion for the return of the bodyguard. However, this time, the way he looked at Duan Qing had some changes: "Master Tielin has an order..."
"You go in." He whispered: "My lord is waiting for you in the living room."
