Chapter 30: True Players Have Already Learned to Act on Their Own

"This is insane! Absolutely insane!"

"This version update is too over the top. Dropping so many new features at once—are the developers trying to stun us with surprises?"

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

After reading the update notes on the notification board, everyone felt completely bewildered. They had assumed that after the release of a new map, there wouldn't be any major moves for quite some time, but they hadn't expected the surprises to come this fast.

It wasn't just the ability to exchange for weapons; even a vehicle rental system had been launched. The new gameplay elements weren't just minor additions—this was the start of a whole new era.

"That A5-grade composite longbow actually costs fifty thousand points?" Fang Zhen looked at the weapon exchange list, his initial excitement cooling significantly. He had known that weapons used by the NPCs wouldn't be cheap, but he hadn't expected them to be this exorbitant.

"Brother Zhen, what about that composite bow for fifteen thousand?" asked the Frontier Gunman beside him, looking somewhat excited. He had no illusions about the fifty-thousand-point longbow; he was currently only earning about 20 points a day, and the blood-essence rice he was growing wouldn't be ready for harvest for another ten days. Fifty thousand was unthinkable, but fifteen thousand seemed attainable—if he grinded hard for a month, he might just make it.

"That composite bow is decent," Fang Zhen thought back to the arrows he had seen the White Feather Gang NPCs fire. The power and range were fine; they were just slightly inferior to the composite longbow used by the Dojo Master, Lin Qi, but otherwise, they were quite good.

"Sister Wu, should we pool our resources to rent that large electric tricycle?" Dusk of the Gods stared at the tricycle on the exchange list, his eyes gleaming. "With that tricycle, we could head to the Grizzly Mine to transport ore and timber whenever we want. It would definitely earn more than just digging holes."

"Renting that tricycle is profitable, but you've seen the situation in the wilderness," Luo Wushang shook her head slightly. "The NPCs made it very clear in the storyline: the wilderness is prone to attacks, and the tricycle would be a target too. If we don't have enough strength, we won't just fail to earn points—we might end up losing everything."

"I agree with Wushang," Zhang Qingwei added after a moment of contemplation. "In the long run, renting the tricycle is great, but it depends on our own strength. This is likely a trap intentionally set by the developers. If we want to earn a large number of points, our first priority should be the main quests issued by the Dojo Master, and our second should be improving our own strength as quickly as possible. The simplest way is to exchange for weapons."

"Of course, if we have enough points, we can also exchange for those smartwatches. They make things much more convenient. If two people have them, one can act as a scout in the wilderness, and we can stay in contact within a kilometer, avoiding a lot of trouble."

"We're so poor," Dusk of the Gods sighed, suddenly feeling that the 200 points Lin Qi had awarded him weren't so impressive anymore. There were so many things he wanted, but none of them were items he could acquire on his own anytime soon.

"Guys, how about we join forces?" Yi Ye Fuyun proposed after reading through the list. "You've all seen the new items—they’re all great, but it’s too hard for any of us to get them individually. I propose we team up temporarily, pool all our points to rent a vehicle first, and also exchange for at least one or two weapons. That way, we’ll have both transport and protection, and we can run transport missions every day. We’ll split the earnings equally."

"I agree to teaming up, but not to an equal split," Fang Zhen shook his head. "Brother Yi, you haven't been to the wilderness. You don't know the strength and tactics of the enemies out there. Compared to the points for renting a vehicle, strength is what matters most."

"Those enemies are at least at the level of quasi-apprentices, and some of the stronger ones reach the peak of that level. It wouldn't be surprising if actual apprentices start appearing soon."

"What are you suggesting, Brother Fang?" Yi Ye Fuyun asked calmly. "That we distribute points based on individual strength?"

"Exactly. I propose that a pre-quasi-apprentice counts as one share, a quasi-apprentice as two, and a full-fledged apprentice as three. That's not unreasonable, is it?"

"I agree," Luo Wushang nodded. "In the wilderness, strength comes first. You get points based on your capabilities. That way, no one loses out."

"Fine, we agree," Yi Ye Fuyun sighed in resignation. Their strength was lacking, and if they didn't keep up with the core group, they would only be left further behind. Wilderness transport was like a new dungeon mechanic—every run was profitable, but for a pick-up group, contributions determined the rewards. Just like that, the three small squads merged into one team.

"But those two weapons are hard to afford. Even if we team up, it’ll take us nearly half a month, not to mention the twenty thousand points for the rental," Yi Ye Fuyun said, clutching his head. "Do you have any better ideas?"

"For weapons, we only need to exchange for one composite bow. I can exchange for refined steel arrows to use as weapons," said Luo Wushang.

"I’ll do the same," added Zhang Qingwei with a smile. "That gives us three weapons. Now we just need to solve the rental fee issue quickly."

"Actually... I have a way to earn a large amount of points in a short time," Dusk of the Gods raised his hand. "But I have to warn you, it’s high risk, and I want 20 percent of the earnings."

"20 percent is fine," Fang Zhen looked at him with curiosity, thinking the kid was quite cunning for someone he had kindly taught the Crushing Stone Fist. "What kind of risk?"

"If we can get the points to rent the vehicle quickly, I don't mind giving up 20 percent," Luo Wushang said, not caring about the cut as long as they secured the vehicle.

"I'm in, too," Yi Ye Fuyun said, curious to hear the plan.

Dusk of the Gods, seeing their agreement, stopped holding back. "When I was digging, I found a large fissure more than forty meters underground. Sister Wu knows about this. There are treasure chests in that fissure—each one is worth five hundred points, and there are dozens of them."

"Five hundred points per chest?" Luo Wushang was shocked. Dozens of chests would mean around twenty thousand points—enough to cover the rental without having to farm for twenty days.

"Yes, the reward is huge, but the Dojo Master mentioned there are creatures called Horned Gold-Eaters down there. They are strong, smart, and love metal," Dusk of the Gods said with a bitter smile. "If we steal the chests and lead those creatures back to the dojo, the Master will kick us out immediately."

"That is a significant risk," Fang Zhen muttered, shrinking back. For players, being kicked out of the game by an admin-like entity meant losing their future entirely.

"Then we just don't lead the monsters back, do we?" Zhang Qingwei rolled his eyes at Dusk of the Gods. "We've all been gamers for years; how do you not know the basics of kiting? If we die, it doesn't matter. We just need one person to kite the monsters away while the rest grab the chests, then clean up the scene and seal the fissure."

Dusk of the Gods felt as if his intellectual high ground had been seized. That fissure wasn't just a location; it was essentially a beginner-level dungeon.

Just as they were discussing this in the training grounds, a commotion erupted on the street outside the dojo. Many wanderers rushed out of their buildings, whispering to one another, and the noise even woke Lin Qi from his sleep.

"Brother Qin Mu, what happened in the Abandoned District again?"

"Did more wanderers invade?"

Lin Qi approached Qin Mu, who was also walking out onto the street, and asked.

"Not this time," Qin Mu shook his head, explaining kindly. "Something big happened in the wilderness yesterday. I heard two sons of the White Feather Gang's vice-leader were killed. Now, that vice-leader has sent people to distribute a bounty: anyone who finds the killer gets a reward of three hundred thousand bits!"