Being Followed

"Boss, how did you charge ahead like that?" Xiao Liang asked excitedly. He had never imagined that Lu Yang would become the number one player on the Second World's Level Rankings. To him, it was utterly unimaginable.

"I naturally have my own methods. Where are you now?" Lu Yang asked.

"I'm in the level 1 monster area of Flower Whisper Plains. There are too many people fighting over monsters here, and so many big guilds have reserved entire areas for leveling," Xiao Liang said gloomily.

Lu Yang had known it would be like this. "Wait for me at the city gate. I'll take you leveling."

Xiao Liang was about to agree, but then he remembered that Lu Yang was already level 4 while he was only level 1. If Lu Yang took him along, it would surely delay his leveling and let others surpass him. After thinking it over, Xiao Liang sent Lu Yang a message.

"Boss, you don't need to carry me. I can manage on my own. Focus on leveling up—don't let anyone overtake you."

Lu Yang covered his forehead, speechless. Without even needing to guess, he knew Xiao Liang's old habit had flared up again. "Get over here. Taking you along won't slow down my leveling."

Lu Yang had already considered this when he went looking for Xiao Liang. Although he could not help Xiao Liang much in the early stages, he could still bring him along to kill monsters and level up while doing quests. It would not waste any time at all.

"Ah... okay." Hearing Lu Yang's tone, Xiao Liang immediately said, "I'll be right there."

"This kid," Lu Yang muttered.

But just as he finished speaking, Lu Yang's gaze abruptly turned sharp. Without moving his head, he glanced to the right. A blurry silhouette gradually came into focus—it was a stealthed thief.

Lu Yang was not entirely sure whether the thief was looking to cause him trouble, so he deliberately led him around for a while. In the end, he discovered that the thief was still following behind him. He understood then that the thief was indeed after him.

"A level 1 thief dares to stealth in front of a level 4 me? What a joke." Lu Yang could not be bothered with him. With his current strength, fewer than twenty people at this stage could not put any pressure on him. Turning around, Lu Yang headed toward the city gate.

If he was going to kill someone, it could not be inside the city!

Meanwhile, Xiao Liang had already run to the city gate. He sat down on the bridge over the moat. The place where he had been killing monsters was near the gate, so he had arrived quickly.

At that moment, players dressed in novice outfits constantly streamed out of the city gate to level up. The plain novice outfit was simply a set of ordinary white cloth clothing, while female players wore pink dresses. They looked quite monotonous.

As Xiao Liang looked toward the city, a player suddenly appeared at the gate, wearing a blue cape and holding a dark brown spiral-tipped staff with a long handle.

The surrounding players were all drawn to the person's equipment and could not help staring.

"Whoa, that guy's gear is amazing."

"Looks like a full bronze set."

"I think his weapon is silver. The tip is actually spiral-shaped—so flashy."

Xiao Liang also looked enviously at the person running toward him. But before he could think further, a message arrived in the mailbox at the lower right corner. When he opened it, he saw that it was from Lu Yang.

"I'm at the city gate. Where are you? I'm the one holding the spiral staff."

Xiao Liang was so stunned that he could not help scratching his head. He had never expected the person he envied to be his boss. As the other person ran closer and closer, Xiao Liang hurriedly raised his hand and waved, shouting, "Boss, I'm over here!"

The surrounding players instantly turned their attention to Xiao Liang. He greatly enjoyed the feeling of being noticed.

Lu Yang had recognized Xiao Liang long ago. The character appearance Xiao Liang had chosen was exactly the same as in his previous life. He had only sent the message to come up with a reasonable explanation.

When he reached Xiao Liang's side, Lu Yang saw the envy in his eyes and asked, "Well? Your boss's gear is pretty good, right?"

Xiao Liang nodded and asked, "Boss, what grade is your weapon? It looks so cool."

Lu Yang sent Xiao Liang an image of the Arsonist Staff's attributes.

Arsonist Staff (Gold Grade)

Attack 4-8

Constitution +2

Intelligence +10

Spell Damage +24

Spell Critical Hit Chance +12

Spell Hit Chance +12

Required Level: 5

"Gold grade?" Xiao Liang stared blankly. Although he had been in the game for less than an hour, from the guides he had read online and what he had experienced in the game just now, he could clearly tell that equipment in this game was extremely difficult to obtain.

So many people on the world channel were calling out to buy bronze-grade weapons, yet very few were selling them. Even when they did, the starting price was 500 Credit Points. Yet Lu Yang's weapon was actually gold grade.

Xiao Liang could not help asking, "Boss, where did you get it?"

Lu Yang did not answer. Instead, he asked, "Do you want a warrior set of the same grade?"

The envy in Xiao Liang's eyes turned somewhat hesitant. He shook his head and said, "Equipment of that grade is too expensive. I can't afford it."

Lu Yang shook his head, put an arm around Xiao Liang's shoulders, and said, "Trust your boss. I'll help you get a set of the same grade soon."

Xiao Liang nodded forcefully. Ever since childhood, he had always trusted Lu Yang, and Lu Yang had never lied to him. He had never failed to do anything he promised.

"Boss, where are we going now?"

"You'll know if you follow me." As Lu Yang spoke, he casually glanced toward the city gate and happened to see a thief desperately running over. It was none other than the thief who had been stealthed beside him earlier.

So he really was following me, Lu Yang thought.

When the thief saw Lu Yang look toward the city gate, he hastily used Stealth. At the same time, he turned and hid in the corner of the city gate wall, sending a message. "Boss Black Blood, I tracked that guy down. He's already at the city gate. What should we do?"

In the level 2 monster area of Giant Town, Black Blood, whose name was already red from killing players, stabbed a player who had refused to accept the reserved leveling area to death. Seeing the message, a ferocious smile appeared on his face. "Keep following him. I'll have Golden Eagle kill him right away."

That was right. The person who had been following Lu Yang all along was Black Blood's subordinate. When Black Blood bought equipment that morning, he had felt deeply humiliated by Lu Yang and wanted to redeem himself. After learning that Lu Yang had been leveling outside Giant Town, he arranged for people to watch outside the hotel where Lu Yang was staying while personally leading three thousand guild players to reserve a leveling area outside Giant Town.

But he had not expected Lu Yang to return to Giant Town. Instead, Lu Yang had gone to Flower Whisper Plains. Black Blood had killed so many people outside Giant Town that his name was deeply red, leaving him unable to return to the city. He could only have the subordinate stationed at Flower Whisper Plains handle the matter.

Lu Yang did not walk quickly as he led Xiao Liang onward. The two chatted and laughed as if taking a stroll, passing through the level 3 monster area. Just as they were about to enter the level 4 monster area, Lu Yang stopped.

"Boss, why did we stop? Are we leveling here?" Xiao Liang asked.

Lu Yang shook his head. "No, no, no. We're not here to level. We're here because it's convenient for killing people."

As he spoke, Lu Yang suddenly turned around and used a skill on the empty air not far behind them—Flame Impact.