The Art Style of This Chat Group Is a Bit Different Chapter 19

"?" Koschei choked. She clearly remembered Talulah hated everything connected to her—so why the sudden change?

"Old thing, you've been dragging me around for years. Time to cough up some gold." Talulah no longer found Koschei so repulsive; she was practically a goldmine.

After generations of imperial reforms in Ursus, heavy industry and military power had skyrocketed, making neighboring nations uneasy. This strength was meant for external expansion, but the previous emperor's sudden death had dumped massive power and troops into the hands of the great nobles.

The Third Army Group was one of them—a military force capable of crushing half a duchy, a private army held by the Grand Duke of Baikal.

A powerful duke like that, even the Ursus emperor couldn't touch. But Koschei could, because the Grand Duke of Baikal was nothing more than one of Koschei's lackeys.

In the original plot, when Koschei's scheme to spark a Yan-Ursus war was exposed, the Imperial Guards came to settle accounts. Yet the Grand Duke of Baikal and his ilk committed suicide out of guilt, while Koschei walked away scot-free. That said it all.

Now that she had a chance to seize the Third Army Group, why would Talulah let it slip by?

Cheap old dad, cough up the gold!

Koschei was speechless, wondering how Talulah had turned into this mess, but she had to swallow her pride and agree: "The Third Army Group can be yours, but I need time."

"How long?" Talulah asked.

"About two or three years." Koschei thought it over and gave a timeframe.

The smile on Talulah's face slowly faded, replaced by a deadpan expression like Summer Dragon Chen's.

Old thing, looks like you've lived long enough.

"Koschei, remember when you spiked Reunion's milk with something, and we all got so sick we couldn't walk?" Talulah's voice turned eerie as she circled behind Koschei.

Koschei slowly formed a question mark: "How could I forget..."

"I knew you wouldn't admit it." Talulah drew her weapon, speaking slowly: "Do you know how much my ass suffered yesterday, frozen half to death in the snow? You wouldn't get it—you're an undying, a grand duke, hard to grasp such troubles. But don't worry, you'll understand soon."

Koschei's expression froze. She desperately tried to turn, but Talulah's hand landed on her shoulder. In an instant, the Black Snake's whole body began trembling in fear.

Black Snake, don't look back—I'm Talulah.

The next moment, the flame-infused Joy of Fire thrust upward from somewhere below the Black Snake's backside, piercing through!

"Aaaah!!!"

The Black Snake felt unprecedented agony, as if a sharp blade had skewered its body—no, not as if—the blade really had pierced through. And the burning, raging inside, brought such intense pain that even this undying, who had lived a thousand years, couldn't bear it.

Even the onlookers instinctively clamped their legs together, feeling a chill in their rears.

Qianyi was drenched in cold sweat. Damn, if she found out it was me who gave her the expired milk that gave her diarrhea, would I be next?

But the pain wasn't over.

Because Talulah and Koschei each had a weapon, and since Koschei was tied up, her weapon had fallen into Talulah's hands. So even after Talulah shoved her own blade into Koschei, she still had another to use.

"Koschei, you know, in distant Bulgaria, there's a unique bathing method called 'ice and fire double heaven'—experiencing flame's burn and frost's chill in quick succession. Two totally different sensations. Honestly, I don't know where Bulgaria is—I read it in a magazine. A normal person couldn't handle it, but I think for an undying like you, it'll be a novel experience."

Woc! There's more!

"FrostNova, help with some frost." Talulah handed the sword to FrostNova.

FrostNova wanted to refuse, but seeing Talulah's smile on the verge of breaking, she couldn't bear to say no. She closed her eyes and added a frost enchantment to the blade.

Frost of Sorrow!

Talulah smiled as she took this Frost of Sorrow, holding the blade's face toward her own. Then her expression turned icy. The frost-coated blade reflected her face.

The next moment, she yanked the Joy of Fire out of Koschei's body and thrust the Frost of Sorrow in, gritting her teeth as she did:

"Can't dress properly—does that bother you?!"

"Sorry for not being feminine enough!!"

"Sorry for being a tomboy!!!"

Chapter 38: Love Brothers or Love Gold

That month, some small things happened in Reunion.

The camp successfully moved from the godforsaken snowy plains to Koschei's territory. Though no one knew why they ended up living in the ducal castle, at least they no longer had to starve and freeze every day.

All thanks to Reunion's leader, Talulah. But strangely, instead of being welcomed, she was feared by many members. The moment they saw her, they instinctively covered their rears and fled, pale-faced. Some even fainted on the spot.

This left Talulah deeply frustrated, and she even went into a brief period of self-isolation.

Besides that, as Reunion members arrived in Koschei's territory, they were immediately handed a big red envelope by an unfamiliar Reunion cadre. The amount equaled ten months' wages for a worker in Ursus's capital, Saint-Junburg. Even the meals changed from watery porridge and root soup to cheese pies, milk, sausages, and borscht. Suddenly, Reunion's morale soared.

Ordinary members who used to wet themselves at the sight of a single patrol squad now dared to charge at six alone. Most shockingly, many actually won!

Before, they were hungry, weak, and saw no future for infected. Swinging a baton once every six seconds was their limit; not running from an infected patrol counted as loyalty. Now, just following the group without saying a word, money was already thrown in their faces—so thick it was uncomfortable even under a pillow. Anyone who couldn't swing six times a second or dared not face an infected patrol alone was a coward, unworthy of Leader Talulah's kindness.

The leader's kindness could never be repaid.

In the chat group.

Steel Prison Big: This top-secret Ursus mission paid off well. Though we gave a big chunk of Koschei's inheritance to Reunion members willing to follow us, the remaining funds are still enough for each of us to split.

I want to eat Mei-flavored instant noodles: How much did we make this round?

Steel Prison Big: You'll find out soon.

Qianyi teased, stuffing gift boxes into the group red envelopes and tossing them to every group member.

Since Reunion's future development needed a lot of money, Qianyi only took a small portion. But a small portion of a duke's assets was still a terrifying amount.

Shoko curiously opened the gift box, wondering what could be so special that it warranted an entire box with such exquisite packaging. The moment she lifted the lid, a golden radiance burst into her sight, like morning sunlight scattering on crystal dewdrops, dazzling and brilliant, lighting up the path ahead.

A row of gold bars lay neatly arranged inside the box, captivating her gaze so completely she couldn't look away.

"Th-this... this this this..." She was already at a loss for words.

Children, the Dimensional Chat Group is handing out gold bars!

Steel Prison Big: Every member who participated in the operation gets ten kilograms of gold. Gold prices might vary across different worlds, but where I am, 24K gold costs about 13,000 yen per gram. Converted, that's roughly 130 million yen per person.

Customer Service Xiangzi is at your service: 130 million!!!

Talulah: Kiana, come over and slap me twice. I need to see if this is real.

I want to eat Mei-flavored instant noodles: On my way!

Kiana opened a Space Gate, reached through, and slapped Talulah in the next room right across the face.

Talulah, who had been dazed a moment ago, snapped back to reality instantly.

Talulah: What the meow! That was just a figure of speech! Who told you to actually open a Space Gate and slap my face?!

After sending the message, she stormed out, ready to settle this offline.

Lower District Flying Head Barbarian: Wait, wasn't this only for people who joined the operation? Why do I have one too?

Maple Sugar Commander: I got one as well. Are non-participants included?

Steel Prison Big: You didn't participate, so of course I couldn't pull two shares from Reunion's collective resources. But as members of the Dimensional Chat Group—a Community of Shared Destiny—if there's a benefit, it should naturally be shared. So I split my own share in two and gave them to you as gifts. I said it before: I won't enjoy this glory alone.

Lower District Flying Head Barbarian: Long live the boss!

Maple Sugar Commander: Long live the boss!

Child of Prophecy: Long live the boss!

Customer Service Little Xiang is at your service: Long live the boss!

I want to eat Mei-flavored instant noodles: Qianyi's a beast! Wait, no, Shoko, why are you joining in? That doesn't fit your character.

Customer Service Xiangzi is at your service: Kiana, don't say unnecessary things.

130 million. A full 130 million!

She'd only spent 50 points on a Travel Ticket to come here. What had she actually done? Seemingly nothing. And yet, she'd earned over a hundred million just like that. The thought of sleeping with gold bars this thick under her pillow tonight made her restless.

Is it really okay to take this much just for shouting a couple of cheers? Do you need me to put on a maid outfit and give you a massage, or wear black stockings and step on your back? If that's not enough, I can even give you a look of disgust if you want.

I want to eat Mei-flavored instant noodles: Brothers or gold?

Steel Prison Big: Brothers!

Lower District Flying Head Barbarian: With this much money, if I sold it back to the chat group, I can't even imagine how much rice I could buy.

Steel Prison Big: Wouldn't that be a huge loss?

Customer Service Xiangzi is at your service: Miss Seele's world is severely lacking in supplies. Even with gold, without the right channels, you can't get daily necessities. So selling it back to the Dimensional Chat Group and exchanging it for rice and other essential goods is a very convenient route.

Customer Service Xiangzi is at your service: Wait, I just realized a big problem. By this logic, isn't the chat group's pricing kind of a scam? One point only gets you ten jin of rice, but the Originium Inhibitor that Talulah desperately needs is worth just ten points. Meanwhile, a mission to save Changkong City only gives 1,000 points—converted, that's 10,000 jin of rice. Is the chat group just ripping us off, or is there some loophole here?

Lower District Flying Head Barbarian: No idea. Never thought about it.

Talulah: Never really considered it. I just thought it was a great deal to earn ten jin of rice by checking in and jogging a bit every day.

I want to eat Mei-flavored instant noodles: I always thought points were for charity.

Steel Prison Big: Since we can exchange one point for ten jin of rice, can we do the reverse—exchange ten jin of rice for one point?

Child of Prophecy: Is that even possible?!

Customer Service Little Xiang is at your service: Let me check... Looks like... it is!

Toyokawa Shoko looked up the recycling function in the shop and found that buying rice and then selling it back incurred a loss—one point's worth sold for only 0.6 points. But right now, everyone was loaded!

Shoko couldn't even imagine how much grain Grand Duke of Baikal and Duke Koschei had stockpiled. If she could recycle all that into points...

Just thinking about how many points would come flooding in made her gasp.

Could it be!

There's another level!

Chapter 39: Meter Spinning Backwards, Suffering Sanctions (Third Update)

This world is full of surprises.

Just when you think God has closed a door on you, a helicopter might show up to pick you up. As long as you agree to board, your life could change completely from that point on.

Getting on that helicopter feels like things will gradually get better.

With this idea in mind, Qianyi acted on it immediately. Using the resources he had left, he bought rice, exchanged it for Originium Inhibitors to sell on the Terra Continent, then converted the proceeds back into rice to recycle. This cycle felt strangely familiar.

He remembered back in the S9 version of Teamfight Tactics, when a strategy called "meter spinning backwards" was all the rage—having three or more three-star units on the board, and when a Yordle reached three stars, it automatically evolved to four stars. A four-star unit sold for about three times the price of a three-star. In other words, with enough speed and luck, you could keep buying three-star units and selling them as four-star to make a profit.

In simpler terms: meter spinning backwards!

Too bad this chat group's shop didn't have anything directly for sale that was truly valuable. If it had items like the Four Swords of Zhuxian, the Great Dao Fruit, or omniscience, Qianyi could have exploited this bug to farm massive points, buy them instantly, and start an invincible life.

Abandoning unrealistic fantasies, he scrolled through the shop and found that the best prize available was still the Heracles Stone.

Items sold directly either have severe side effects or are outright scams—like the Great Seal, Ultraman Bomb, Power Bond, and so on. A true testament to the fact that powerful skills often come with enormous risks.

Looking at it this way, Heracles really is the best thing available. The only downside is that pulling him doesn't give you the whole package—just a part of it.

"Heracles, the greatest hero of Greece, gets chopped into so many pieces and stuffed into the gacha pool to milk us. Want the full set? Gotta collect all six copies."

I thought this was ridiculous before, but no matter how many times I look back, Qianyi still finds it utterly absurd.

Still, it's just like FGO—every player knows how scummy it is, but when a new banner drops, they still log in and go all out on pulls. When the bait like lucky bags comes around, they obediently whip out the Blue-Green Modifier, buy thirty paid Saint Quartz, and let the game drain their wallets.

Now, it's time to be drained.

Like a newbie who bought a starter account, spinning the meter backward for days, Qianyi now has a whopping 500,000 points in hand.

All that's left to do is start pulling!

Steel Prison Big: I just noticed—everything in this gacha pool only has one copy.

Customer Service Xiangzi is at your service: Only one copy?

Steel Prison Big: That's right. Whether it's Heracles's martial arts, weapons, or innate skills, there's only one of each. Once you pull it, it won't appear again.

Child of Prophecy: What happens if there's only one?

Steel Prison Big: Originally, each of us could collect the full set of Heracles's skills. But now, only one person can obtain the complete power of Heracles.

Child of Prophecy: Boss, congrats—you're about to become the strongest!

Lower District Flying Head Barbarian: Congrats.

Maple Sugar Commander: Congrats.

Talulah: Congrats.

Customer Service Xiangzi is at your service: Congrats.

I want to eat Mei-flavored instant noodles: Congrats. So, Qianyi, does that mean you're now the strongest hero of Greece, the living incarnation of Heracles the demigod?