Waiting for the First Snow
"Okay, I understand."
I replied with a simple message, then after Headshot several commando members in the head, I thought it was too easy and replied again, "Xie Xie."
Lin Qingying did not reply to the message.
Around 2 PM.
The great battle in the valley was nearing its end. Because of our group of players, Dark Tide sent a large number of Vanguard and assault teams into the eastern battlefield, but they still failed to make any progress.
At that moment, a squad from the Flame Wielder Regiment entered the battlefield, led by a Major wearing Generation 2 Power Armor. With their arrival, our mission was complete, and the Shanshan ringing of the bell rang in our ears!
[Congratulations! You have completed the mission "Intercept and Eliminate the Dark Tide Troop Transport Team" (Rank A). Rewards: 450,000 Character Experience, and an additional reward: "Undercurrent Bracer" (Quality: Blue)!]
Blue Gauntlets?
In an instant, a small buzzing sound came over my head. Great! The last piece of my gear is finally about to be completed!
He hurriedly opened his Dimensional Storage Space and took out a pair of arm guards that shimmered with a blue light and were integrated from his arm to his hand. His gaze lingered on them for a moment, and their attributes floated out.
[Undercurrent Bracer] (Quality: Blue)
Grade: Tier 2
Defense: 30
Strength: +20
Blessing: Powerful - I, increases attack power by 50 points.
Strength required: 200
The moment I saw the attributes, I was overjoyed again. It even had a powerful blessing attached! This was the best of the best attributes. If I could get a full set of powerful equipment, my attack power would be worlds apart from other players of the same level!
"Snap!"
I equipped it immediately and leveled up to 25!
My Overall Combat Level instantly reached 1802 points, breaking through the 1800-point mark!
"We've almost run out of ammunition."
"Ding Han," said the Gun Like a Dragon, "Our Crimson Firmament Alliance team is preparing to return to the city for supplies and rest. What's your position?"
I glanced at Zhang Ruolin; she had dark circles under her eyes and looked quite tired.
"Let's go back together."
"Well, that's good, at least we'll have someone to look after us."
"Oh right," said Gun Like a Dragon, "There are still some SS-rank Ability Crystal that haven't been opened yet. Let's open them all."
So, I opened all five of my treasure chests without thinking, and immediately I heard a series of tinkling sounds, and words appeared before my eyes.
[Congratulations! You have successfully opened your [BOSS Ability Crystal] and obtained the following item: Star Coins × 5000!]
[Congratulations! You have successfully opened your [BOSS Ability Crystal] and obtained the following item: Character Experience +50,000!]
[Congratulations! You have successfully opened your [BOSS Ability Crystal] and obtained the following item: Character Experience +50,000!!]
[Congratulations! You have successfully opened your [BOSS Ability Crystal] and obtained the item: [Dimensional Expansion Crystal] (Expansion Space: 0.4 cubic meters)!]
[Congratulations! You have successfully opened your [BOSS Ability Crystal] and obtained the item: [Blade of the Wilderness] (Quality: Blue)!]
Opening the first three boxes... made me want to curse!
The true nature of <Star Abyss> is finally showing. When players obtain a large number of treasure chests, low-quality chests will inevitably bring some surprises, either a small amount of Star Coins or some insignificant character experience, which is enough to satisfy the players!
Fortunately, the two Ability Crystal I obtained later were quite good.
One is a 0.4 cubic meter Dimensional Expansion Crystal, which is very important; at least I personally value it highly!
Using it directly, my Dimensional Storage Space instantly expanded to 2.1 cubic meters!
With steady effort, you'll eventually be able to expand to a three-bedroom, one-living-room apartment!
In addition, a blue sword blade was drawn and taken out from the Dimensional Storage Space. Wherever his gaze lingered, wisps of text floated out.
[Blade of the Wilderness] (Quality: Blue)
Rank: Tier 2
Type: Monomolecular Sword
Base Parameters: Attack 135-180, Attack speed 0.9 attacks/second, Durability 1900/1900
Strength: +18
Length: 0.7M
Weight: 4.5KG
Blessing: Lifesteal +2%
Specialty: Armor Penetration, ignores 12% of the target's armor.
Strength required: 200
Details: Swords forged by artisans in wilderness settlements often appear in the hands of wanderers.
This sword has decent stats, including life steal and Armor Penetration, and adds 18 points to strength. However, its attack power is a bit lacking, being 10-20 points lower than my Legion Blade. In addition, its Armor Penetration effect is 3% lower. Overall, it is a rare and excellent melee weapon at this stage, but it is not the pinnacle weapon at present.
"Ding Han."
Beside him, Gun Like a Dragon exclaimed in surprise, "You drew a blue sword?"
"Um."
"What level?" he asked, a little excited.
"Second order."
I highlighted the stats of Blade of the Wilderness.
"Holy crap..."
Chaos Demon King, Milk Tea Life-Extending Immortal, and the others were slightly taken aback, probably because they had never seen such a good melee weapon before.
Should we make a move?
"Although I specialize in Gun Specialization super weapons, this blue sword is still usable if a suitable spear isn't available," said the Gun Like a Dragon.
"Alright."
I nodded. "How much is Alliance Leader Long planning to offer?"
"A flat price of 60,000, how about it?"
After a moment's thought, I realized that 60,000 was actually a reasonable price. Blue melee weapons were priced similarly on the Dark Web, especially since it was the early game and melee weapons were generally cheaper than guns of the same quality.
This is easy to understand. Melee players' time to shine is still far off. The early game is definitely the time for Firepower Specialist, who can dominate with just a good gun. Melee players, on the other hand, are all late-game specialists. Once they have a full set of top-tier equipment and have enough armor to withstand the damage from Firepower Specialist, they can start hacking and slashing with their swords. That's when melee weapons reach their peak value.
For example, high-level orange, cyan, and even pink Power Sword of the sixth, seventh, and Eighth Order will definitely be extremely difficult to obtain, and their prices will likely be driven to an alarming level.
"Okay, sixty thousand it is."
I immediately gave Blade of the Wilderness to Gun Like a Dragon.
He paused for a moment, clearly not expecting me to just throw it at him, then smiled and counted out stacks of Star Coins from his Dimensional Storage Space, tossing them over to me as well. "72,000 for nine rockets, plus 60,000 for the Blade of the Wilderness, that's a total of 132,000. Count them."
"No."
I put the money into my Dimensional Storage Space and laughed, "Let's go, time to head back."
"Okay, let's go!"
The members of the Crimson Firmament Alliance huddled together, chatting and laughing.
Although two players were lost, the trip was very rewarding, and most players are now taking it easy. They've decided that death is death, and perhaps the deceased players will be able to return to reality sooner, which is a kind of early release for them.
I walked side by side with Zhang Ruolin.
Opening the Points for the "Stream City Campaign," unsurprisingly, I was at the top, holding a position that no one else could challenge.
1. Shadow Chaser Level: 25 Class: Starry Sky Super Weapon Points: 32784
2. Gun Like a Dragon Level: 26 Class: Starry Sky Super Weapon Points: 16882
3. One Blade Into Soul Level: 25 Class: Starry Sky Super Weapon Points: 15527
4. Bunny Critical Hit Level: 25; Class: Firepower Specialist; Points: 14988
5. I'm Bad But Can Talk Trash. Level: 24. Occupation: Firepower Specialist. Points: 14772
6. Lu Xun Deletes Comments Overnight. Level: 24. Occupation: Starry Sky Super Weapon Points: 14003
7. Milk Tea Life-Extending Immortal Level: 24 Class: Starry Sky Super Weapon Points: 13974
8. Zu'an Liberal Arts Top Scholar: Level 23, Class: Psionicist, Points: 13762
9. Ruolin's Level: 23; Starry Sky Super Weapon Points: 13625
10. Chaos Demon King Level: 23 Class: Starry Sky Super Weapon Points: 13274
Their Points are far ahead, and they almost reached the double Points of the second-place Gun Like a Dragon!
One Blade Into Soul followed closely behind, while Rabbit's Points Bunny Critical Hit and I'm Bad But Can Talk Trash's two Firepower Specialist were neck and neck in points. Ruolin remained firmly in ninth place, maintaining her position in the top ten of Creek City.
Actually, for a woman to achieve such a ranking in <Star Abyss>, she must have some skill.
"I'm so tired..."
Zhang Ruolin yawned, exuding a lazy air. "I'll go back and have a good meal, then get a good night's sleep. I want to sleep for 24 hours before considering going out of town for the event."
"Um."
I nodded. "Remember to save money to replenish ammunition."
"Don't worry, I'll definitely keep it."
Afterwards, we passed through a battlefield outside the city. In a charred thicket of bushes, I spotted a faint green glimmer. Amidst the ashes, a cactus was growing in a crevic at the foot of the mountain. Normally, a cactus growing in the wild during the cold winter would have frozen to death long ago, but it stood upright like a cockroach that could not be frozen to death.
So I went over and used the Legion Blade to dig it out of the foot of the mountain, roots and all.
"What are you doing?" Zhang Ruolin asked with a smile.
"Take it home and use it as a potted plant."
I tossed the cactus into my Dimensional Storage Space and said, "You have to pay to buy a cactus at the flower market in Creek City."
"Sharp..."
Zhang Ruolin gave me a deep look. "Ding Han, your stinginess has truly opened my eyes."
I rolled my eyes and continued walking towards the Phase Teleportation Array.
Soon after arriving at the Teleportation Array, the players who had been coming and going were exhausted. Meanwhile, the battle outside the city between Creek City and Dark Tide had reached a stalemate and was expected to continue for some time. The players were not in a hurry to earn Points.
Player Black Market to replenish their RPG supplies of rocket grenades and various bullets to their current levels. However, Old Ma said that ammunition consumption was too high and there was no stock available. Players would have to wait and could pay in advance. He would send someone to notify them when the supplies arrived. After making the prepayment, players were left with only 10,000+ Star Coins, returning to a state of near-poverty.
Stepping out of the black market and strolling through the ancient city, I finally felt a sense of returning to normal life. A feeling of anti-war sentiment welled up inside me. Damn it, if it weren't for leveling up, who would want to face the bloodshed outside the city!
Downstairs in the apartment complex, I went into a lamb restaurant and wolfed down a big meal. Afterward, I found a flowerpot, planted a cactus in it, and placed it on the coffee table in the living room. Then I took a shower, leaned against the pillows, and drifted off to sleep.
The next day, early morning.
Feeling refreshed, I woke up early, went downstairs to buy breakfast, and after having breakfast with Lin Qingying, I placed my potted cactus on the balcony, then turned around and asked, "Has it snowed this year?"
"Not yet?" Lin Qingying seemed unsure.
"Good."
I arranged the cacti.
"What's so special about this cactus?" she asked.
"It's special. I named it Zhang Wansen so that it will be the first to see the first snowfall in Creek City."
With a mischievous grin, I turned to her and said, "When the time comes, all you have to do is walk up to it, whisper 'Zhang Wansen, it's snowing,' and then silently make a wish, and all your wishes will definitely come true!"
"..."
Lin Qingying opened her beautiful eyes wide, seemingly incredulous.