Chapter Fifty-Six: Surrounded and Trapped

A few minutes later, shadows of numerous figures appeared at the entrance to the mountain path of the Demon Witch Plains. Ye Chen stood in the distance and glanced over, immediately recognizing the one at the forefront as his longtime nemesis, Fierce Tiger Roar. This fellow flaunted his equipment’s radiant effects, his entire body shimmering with a bluish glow that shone like a beacon in the dark night, as if terrified people might not realize he possessed a full set of rare gear.

Ye Chen clicked his tongue in exasperation; this guy had bought yet another set of rare equipment. Truly, the mark of a wealthy man.

Fierce Tiger’s group quickly reached the edge of the monster horde, casually pulling aside a few lone players for information. It didn’t take long for them to spot Ye Chen, who was standing across the monster cluster, staring back at them. Fierce Tiger Roar laughed angrily, “Ye Chen, you’ve got some nerve! Seeing us come with dozens to hunt you, yet you just stand there without running.”

“Run?” Ye Chen retorted with a cold laugh, provoking, “Why should I run? I’m waiting for you. Come on, step in and kill me.” He was eager for Fierce Tiger Roar to charge in. His plan was to lure them deeper into the plains, where he could kill monsters without any negative effects, but their attributes would decrease the more they fought. When the time was right, he would use the Phantom Soul Pill to draw a horde of monsters, repeating his previous trick; Fierce Tiger Roar and his men would be wiped out without a trace.

“Roar, bro, finish off that damn milkman! Roar, bro, you’re awesome!” Before Fierce Tiger Roar could reply, a rogue clad in basic gear jumped up and cursed at Ye Chen. Ye Chen glanced at him—it was the same country bumpkin rogue who had earlier threatened to wipe him out. Instantly, Ye Chen understood: this was the one who had tipped them off. He felt disgusted; nothing was more irritating than someone without strength, trailing behind others as their lapdog.

“Who let you crawl out of someone’s pants, giving you the right to speak here?” Ye Chen’s cutting remark made the country bumpkin rogue’s face flush red with humiliation. Worse, the surrounding Fierce Tiger players burst out laughing, showing not the slightest camaraderie for their own faction. Clearly, no one cared about him.

Fierce Tiger Roar, impatient, shot the rogue a glance. “This has nothing to do with you. Didn’t I pay you? You can leave now.” He had already realized on the way that the informant rogue was an idiot; had he not needed a guide, Fierce Tiger Roar would have kicked him out long ago.

The country bumpkin rogue’s face burned with shame, but he still thickened his skin and pleaded, “Roar, bro, let me follow you. I’ll be your little brother. I hate that guy Ye Chen too.”

“Enough nonsense. Fierce Tiger doesn’t want useless trash like you. Take your money.” With a swift kick, Fierce Tiger Roar sent the rogue sprawling, and several Fierce Tiger players stepped forward to shove him out of the group. One even drew his weapon to intimidate him, “Get lost, or we’ll make you.”

The onlookers burst into laughter. The rogue’s face was a mask of humiliation and rage. He shot Ye Chen a hateful look, then gazed longingly at Fierce Tiger Roar in his rare gear, shouting, “Roar, bro, I’ll prove my loyalty!” Then he vanished into stealth.

“At least that idiot’s gone,” Fierce Tiger Roar muttered, lifting his head to see Ye Chen grinning at him from afar. He bellowed, “Ye Chen, if you’ve got guts, stand right there. Today, I’ll slaughter you!” With a wave, he prepared to lead his men in. A hundred monsters were nothing to him; at worst, each would be hit with four or five curse spells—no big deal.

“Roar, bro, don’t fall for it,” cautioned a hunter named Fierce Tiger Chase Wind, grabbing Fierce Tiger Roar back and whispering, “If we rush in, we’ll lose out. The monsters aren’t strong, but their curse spells are troublesome. Didn’t you say this guy has a pill that lets him stealth and move quickly? He might still have it. If we charge in and he repeats his trick, drawing a horde of monsters to attack us, we could wipe. We might all die.”

“What do you suggest?” Fierce Tiger Roar stroked his chin, pondering. Chase Wind’s advice was sound—and he couldn’t ignore it. This was someone sent by the boss to assist him, but in truth to supervise. After last time’s elite squad wipe, the boss was dissatisfied. If he messed up again, his position as second squad leader would be at risk.

“Block him,” Chase Wind replied with a sly smile.

Ye Chen watched as Fierce Tiger Roar refrained from attacking, feeling a bit disappointed—how had this guy gotten smarter? He tried provoking him again, but Fierce Tiger Roar unexpectedly played turtle, retreating with his group to the entrance of the Demon Witch Plains. Hunters set traps at the path, and thirty Fierce Tiger players lined up at the entrance, clearly intending to guard the exit and keep Ye Chen from leaving.

At first, Ye Chen was dumbfounded, but soon he chuckled. If they wanted to block him, let them—he’d just stay inside grinding monsters and leveling up. It was a pity that logging off in a non-safe zone meant his body would remain there for half an hour; otherwise, he’d just log off and sleep, leaving them to wait like fools.

An hour slipped by. Ye Chen checked the time—it was past 2 a.m. Yet the group blocking the entrance hadn’t dwindled; a few shameless bastards had even pulled out playing cards and started a game, clearly in it for the long haul.

Who was afraid of whom? Though tired, Ye Chen forced himself to stay alert. As he was killing monsters, a sudden whooshing sound broke the air, startling him—an assassin’s ambush.

Rip—minus thirty-five.

The tiny damage number made Ye Chen pause, turning to see it was the country bumpkin rogue again. The rogue was just as stunned, evidently not expecting to fail to break Ye Chen’s defense.

Ye Chen flashed a toothy grin and sent a black fireball his way. With barely four hundred health, the little rogue was sent back to town for free.

Watching the rogue dissolve into white light, Ye Chen smiled. That fool must have been kicked in the head by a donkey, daring to ambush him—evidently sick of living. Yet it served as a reminder: the minimap couldn’t mark every rogue. With his health and defense, a higher-level rogue’s ambush would be dangerous. Luckily, Fierce Tiger’s lot were intimidated and hadn’t sent more rogues after him; otherwise, it would have been too risky. Clearly, he needed to acquire a skill book for detecting stealth.

Another hour passed, and it was past three in the morning. Ye Chen could barely stay awake, his eyelids drooping. Just then, 2058’s voice sounded in his ear, “Ye Chen, why haven’t you logged off and slept? According to human theory, staying up late is bad for your health.”

Ye Chen finished off a Demon Witch with a black fireball and, too tired to keep fighting, sat down to chat with 2058. “I’d love to sleep, but Fierce Tiger Roar and his crew are blocking the path back to town. I don’t have a town portal scroll, so I’m stuck here grinding. You know that logging off in the wild leaves your body in place for half an hour—those wandering Demon Witches would kill me. With this top-tier gear, I can’t afford to die.”

“I see. Let me see if I can help.” 2058 fell silent for about a minute, then said, “Coordinates: 659 horizontal, 332 vertical, altitude 137. That’s a dead zone on the Demon Witch Plateau—no monster spawns, no monsters pass through, and it’s well hidden. You can safely log off there.”