Red-Name Players with Precise Market Positioning

Guiji and Yasha were twin Red-Name Players who shared the core philosophy of "While others hoard food, I hoard guns," and put it into practice.

Among the many groups of new players, the type they most liked hunting was players whose beginner trial dungeon had been assigned "Super Mario Brothers" and who had just survived their first official monthly trial.

The Mario beginner trial guided players exceptionally well—so well that they could understand the basic operating rules of Chosen Evolution Space without a guide, so well that players would even develop certain mistaken ideas about Chosen Evolution Space—

That the danger Chosen Evolution Space posed to players was nothing special.

The biggest reasons were Mario's exceptionally excellent player guidance and dungeon design, as well as the mechanism trap directly built into Stage 1-4 that could instantly kill Fake Bowser.

Although this method of clearing the dungeon greatly increased beginners' survival rates, it also meant losing a proper boss loot chest. Players who survived the beginner trial would gain, at most, some Mushroom Gold, Super Mushrooms, and Fire Flowers. In other words, they traded a safe clear for an increase in strength.

As a result, their "hidden rating score," which existed only within the space's internal evaluation system, would remain relatively low.

If players who entered the low-rating bracket became more cautious—or simply chickened out and ran back to the real world to hide like turtles instead of seizing the opportunity to take bounty missions and improve themselves—then they would begin their first official monthly trial with that low rating.

At that point, whether they lived or died was entirely up to fate.

But if they happened to survive that monthly trial, Red-Name PK players like Guiji and Yasha, who only dared to target newcomers, would come sniffing around.

That was because such players had a high chance of still holding unprocessed savings.

They did not know the market prices of equipment and items, nor did they know where Heaven's Chosen Coins were best spent. They might even hesitate over their skill and equipment needs, leaving some points unallocated for the time being. Players like that were still extremely weak and had little ability to resist.

Since they had survived by luck, they naturally could no longer remain too naive. They would also, quite reasonably, begin exploring fields such as equipment trading, enhancement, and bounty missions.

The Guiji-and-Yasha duo would then stake out the player market and mission hall respectively. By offering free, enthusiastic guidance to newcomers, they extracted more information, confirmed their prey, and finally selected a suitable mission to complete their PK.

After tasting the rewards of this behavior once, people like Guiji and Yasha could never turn back. They were like gamblers who, after experiencing the intense thrill of winning hundreds of thousands in a single second, could no longer feel the slightest ripple in their hearts from a monthly salary of three thousand yuan.

What a fine way to get rich—killing and burning!

Under normal circumstances, Cheng Tian did not fit their hunting criteria at all. There could be far too many possibilities with a freak who had crawled out of the beginner's cesspit, and the variables were enormous.

But as the saying went, people would die for wealth. Knight Armor was a special enough bargaining chip to make them act in the end. They had even put their lifespan-limited Guide Bugs to use, meaning they had already paid a considerable price before seeing their target.

After entering the dungeon, they were still praying that Cheng Tian would not easily die at the hands of an NPC or another player.

Thus, when the Guide Bugs confirmed Cheng Tian's identity, their delight was plain to see.

When dealing with newcomers, they usually attacked without a word, relying on their strength to beat the target half to death. Then, using the fear of death as a threat, they forced them to hand over everything they carried. If they refused, Guiji and Yasha would simply kill them and claim the loot chest.

Guiji and Yasha would never allow any prey to leave the dungeon alive.

Yet at that moment, Knight Armor had completely blinded them. They had never considered why Cheng Tian was standing alone, openly, in an empty alley.

The distance between both sides rapidly narrowed. But when the two saw the strikingly recognizable shield appear in Cheng Tian's hand, their eyes widened as they leaped forward.

Captain America's Shield!?

Wasn't he a pure newcomer from Demon Village? What sucker had sold him something like this!?

Or had he already found a player organization to join in such a short time—and one wealthy and generous enough to casually give away this kind of "protagonist armament" at main-tank level?

...Damn it! Could he have traded Knight Armor for it!?

Guiji and Yasha, having thought of the same possibility, involuntarily exchanged a glance. In each other's eyes, they saw exactly the same worry and fury.

Because this might mean their early investment had gone completely down the drain. Even if they really killed Cheng Tian, they would be forever cut off from Knight Armor.

Should they retreat and pretend nothing had happened? Or continue killing Cheng Tian and recover as much of their investment as possible?

But Cheng Tian gave them no chance to overthink. The arm muscles beneath his "Chimera" uniform instantly tensed. The next second, the highly aerodynamic shield shot toward the twin on the right!

With Shield Master's hundred-percent increase to throwing speed and the boost from his astounding 24 points of Strength, the distance of over twenty meters was crossed almost instantaneously... Yet Guiji, whom Cheng Tian had chosen as his target, bent backward at the last possible moment and narrowly dodged it.

Guiji was a typical high-Agility build. With the combat suit and other scattered equipment suited to her, her normal Agility was above 22 points.

But while she was still holding her evasive backbend, she saw the shield she had dodged strike the wall and rebound directly toward her face!

Shield Master! Double Ricochet!

At that moment, a heavy kick slammed into Guiji's waist, sending her tumbling across the ground.

Yet that clumsy-looking kick had successfully caused her to evade Captain America's Shield's second ricochet.

The kick had naturally come from the other twin, Yasha, the younger sister. It was an excellent emergency maneuver... But the next second, her hand passed over her own sister and reached straight for Captain America's Shield, which had embedded itself in a discarded trash can nearby.

As long as she touched the shield, this ownerless item that had been thrown out could immediately be stored in Yasha's inventory. Whether from the perspective of disarming the enemy or claiming the spoils, retrieving the shield took priority over helping her sister up.

Yasha's hand touched the ownerless shield, but her inventory showed no intention of collecting it. A tiny message reading "You cannot forcibly loot another player's equipment or items" appeared on the shield's surface.

...Soul-bound!?

An incredulous expression once again spread across Yasha's face.

"Look out!"

Almost at the same moment Guiji shouted a warning as she climbed to her feet, Cheng Tian had already arrived in a flash. The sharp horn atop Troll Head stabbed mercilessly toward the twin Yasha, who had been distracted and immobilized by Captain America's Shield—

Blitz Charge!