Annie and Great Bear Tibers

Upon hearing Emperor Blood God Slayer's plan, the underlings' eyes lit up:

"Brilliant, boss!"

"Only the boss could come up with such a flawless scheme!"

"Heh, Skycutter Guild? They think having more people lets them do whatever they want? They'll still end up drinking our boss's bathwater!"

"We'll ruin their reputation!"

The underlings showered Emperor Blood God Slayer with flattery, while also rubbing their hands together, eager to join the operation.

Ling Feng wasn't one for flattery, but he nodded: "Understood. I'll tell Zhen Hong right away to take some men and get it done."

Emperor Blood God Slayer patted Ling Feng on the shoulder:

"Go. Don't leave any traces in this operation. The top players in the game are all concentrated in the first few novice villages. Novice Villages 6 through 8 have no experts at all. You can test the waters there first."

"Got it," Ling Feng replied.

Emperor Blood God Slayer swept his gaze across all the underlings: "Besides this operation, keep an eye out for this person called 'Kexing' at all times. The moment you have any news of him, report to me immediately!"

"Understood, boss!" the underlings promised in unison.

At the same time, in the same warehouse.

Skycutter Sword stared at the auction interface showing the detailed info for [Hill Sheep Leader's Horn], silent.

Ever since entering the game, he had believed he could fully control it with his past gaming experience and manpower.

But the appearance of this level 4 boss material suddenly made him realize his grip had slipped.

Skycutter Sword looked at his second-in-command:

"Qing Li, still no news of 'Kexing'?"

Qing Li was a young woman with features as delicate as a painting.

She shook her head with a cold, stern expression: "I've privately messaged most of the guild's mid-level members. No one knows—wait, it's a private message from Dongshan Jian. He knows about 'Kexing'!"

With that, she immediately copied the private message and forwarded it to the guild leader, Skycutter Sword.

"Dongshan Jian? Isn't that kid in Novice Village 6?"

Skycutter Sword frowned slightly and quickly read the private message.

The private message detailed how Dongshan Jian had run into "Kexing" by chance in a level 3 monster zone, invited him to join the guild, and was rejected—a whole series of events.

Skycutter Sword read the private message three times over.

After finishing, he closed the private message interface and said seriously to Qing Li: "Our original plan was to stop Emperor Blood God Slayer from monopolizing the area. Now the plan has changed. We're heading to Novice Village 6 immediately!"

"Got it, boss."

Just as every novice village was in an uproar over the equipment and skill scrolls Su Yu had listed, Su Yu's hidden quest had also reached its final ring.

Excellent Hidden Quest [Tears of Goddess Savi (20/20)]

Deep in the mountain forest west of the village.

Su Yu was slowly walking through the forest, holding the hand of a 7- or 8-year-old Loli NPC with a little red hat and a cute face.

The forest canopy was tall and dense, blocking out the sun.

It was nearly dusk, and the forest was dim, with very low visibility.

From deep in the forest came faint howls of ghosts and roars of beasts, especially terrifying.

The NPC Loli was named Annie.

She was terrified, looking fearfully at her surroundings, her small hands ice-cold:

"Uncle, is my toy bear 'Tibers' really here?"

"Of course. Aunt Margaret told us so, it can't be wrong!" Su Yu rubbed little Loli Annie's head to comfort her.

At the same time, he silently calculated: "We've walked 3500 steps so far. Only 100 steps left until the quest's 3600 steps."

Su Yu nodded, made a mark on the ground with his foot, then turned little Loli Annie 90 degrees, shifting their direction from due north to due east.

Finally, at the 3600-step mark, Su Yu and little Loli Annie arrived at the entrance of a pitch-black cave.

Seeing the cave, Annie tugged at Su Yu's sleeve, extremely frightened: "Uncle, do we both have to go in? It's so dark inside!"

"Of course. If we don't go in, why would we be here?"

Su Yu smiled.

Then he bent down, pushed aside an inconspicuous bush at his feet, and pulled out a toy bear the length of an adult's forearm, handing it to little Loli Annie.

[Toy Bear Tibers (Excellent)]

Note: Annie's favorite toy.

The final ring of this quest was incredibly tricky!

The trap was this: after a player walks 3600 steps and reaches a cave entrance, their first instinct is to go inside and check it out.

Plus, little Loli Annie had given hints, suggesting they go in together.

But Su Yu knew the cave was filled with instant-death traps, and the real quest item was hidden in the bushes at the cave entrance.

This was a nasty quest designed to exploit human habitual thinking.

The Loli Annie took the [Toy Bear Tibers], hopping and skipping with joy, a bright smile spreading across her little face:

"Thank you, uncle! Thank you for bringing me here, or I'd never see Tibers again in this life!"

"You're welcome." Su Yu patted Annie's little head again. "It's getting late now, let's head back to the village quickly, or your dad will start worrying."

"No can do~ uncle." Annie hugged Tibers tightly, her smile still radiant. "I'm really grateful you rescued Tibers from the bushes. But if we just leave like this, won't the bushes be sad?"

Su Yu: "..."

He turned to glance at the bushes by his feet.

Since when could this thing feel sad?

Annie continued on her own: "So, uncle, why don't you stay here and keep the bushes company, okay?"

"I think—"

Before Su Yu could finish, Annie cut him off: "You don't have a choice, uncle."

With that, Annie tossed the toy bear in her hand.

The bear grew larger in the wind, quickly turning into a massive brown bear standing upright, four meters tall!

[Great Bear Tibers (lv6)]

HP: 800

Tibers' HP was exactly the same as the Goat Boss Su Yu had just killed.

"Tibers! Take him out!" the Loli Annie shouted.

Hearing Annie's command, the great bear roared and charged straight at Su Yu.

But Su Yu showed no panic at all.

He downed a bottle of [Minor Wisdom Potion], Intelligence +10.

Then with a wave of his left hand, an [Ice Arrow] scroll was torn open, and the activated Ice Arrow slammed hard into Great Bear Tibers.

At the same time, the magic staff in his right hand crackled with dazzling electric light.

Crackle!

A [Lightning Arrow] shot out from the staff, striking Great Bear Tibers right on the forehead, leaving a scorched mark.

-55 (Ice Arrow scroll)

-101

The two damage numbers combined, knocking off 20% of Great Bear Tibers' HP!

But just then, the Loli Annie also attacked Su Yu.

She waved her little hand lightly, and a massive magical fireball, [Shattering Fire], hurtled toward Su Yu.

Su Yu smiled faintly.

He didn't even activate [Ice Shield].

With a quick sidestep.

The magical fireball grazed past his side, dealing no damage to him.

At the same time, he didn't stop his attacks, landing two more hits that pushed Great Bear Tibers' HP below 60%.