The Importance of Typing Speed

Step one of the plan: find some muscle!

Chen Hao's Mage went to charm a few monsters as muscle, while Xu Pengkun's Taoist summoned a Skeleton Baby and leveled it up to level 7 (max level).

Since Legend version 1.50, "Tiger Guard Legend," had yet to launch, and there were no Tiger Guard Eagle Guards, Chen Hao could only go to the Centipede Cave and find a few "tires" to serve as muscle.

Mages in Legend had a skill called Charm of Light, which could charm monsters for their own use for a limited time. Level 3 Charm of Light could charm five pets.

The Black Evil Maggots in the Centipede Cave attacked anyone who approached with their rapidly spinning bodies. Because of their rounded method of attack, players affectionately called them tires. Their movement and attack speeds were fast, making them difficult to escape once they attacked. They were therefore highly favored by Mage players, the perfect choice for PK and Treasure Hunting.

At this point, the Taoist's Skeleton Baby had not yet been nerfed by the developers. A level 7 pet could take hits, deal damage, and had plenty of health, practically comparable to a minor boss. It was incredibly IMBA.

More than two hours later, Chen Hao looked at the five pale-blue tires beside him and the Skeleton Baby beside Xu Pengkun, so blue it was almost purple.

Chen Hao smiled in satisfaction.

Everything was ready. All they needed was the east wind.

"Haozi, Pengkun, food's here!" Old Ban's voice sounded from ahead.

"Coming!"

The east wind had arrived. Chen Hao and Xu Pengkun left their characters idle in Mengzhong City's safe zone, then got up to eat.

Pentium Internet Cafe was on the second floor, with a small restaurant right downstairs. They had arranged with the restaurant owner to deliver meals upstairs at set times, and Chen Hao's father settled the bill once a month.

Time to eat!

One meat dish, two vegetable dishes, one soup, four boxes of rice, and three young men.

Two minutes later, Old Ban finished two boxes of rice by himself and was the first to leave.

What a freak. Two bites for half a box of rice, a few mouthfuls of vegetables, and it was all in his stomach. According to Old Ban, it was a habit he had developed in the army. If he ate slowly, he went hungry.

The remaining two looked at each other, then used both hands and mouths as their eating speed increased further.

The dishes were a little salty. Looking at the bare counter with absolutely nothing on it, Chen Hao felt that business models were still far too simple at this time. Opening an internet cafe and only running an internet cafe was such a waste.

Back then, people liked buying their own snacks, instant noodles, drinks, and so on from the supermarket before bringing them to the internet cafe. Everyone had grown used to it.

In that brief moment of distraction, Xu Pengkun ultimately won by a narrow margin and returned to his seat, while Chen Hao sighed as he gathered the bowls and chopsticks and took them downstairs.

Chen Hao returned to his seat, grabbed two bottles of Happy Water from the supermarket next door, and handed one to his companion.

Then they returned to the game.

Both their inventories were full: the standard two Town Portal Scrolls, several bundles of Random Teleport Scrolls, a row of big red potions, two rows of Super Sun Water, and Big Blue Potions filling the rest.

Besides those, Xu Pengkun had bought two packs each of Blue and Green Poison, along with five bundles of Taoist Talismans.

Just those supplies alone had cost them a fortune.

Fortunately, they had some savings, since both of them were guild members of Sabuk.

To join the Sabuk guild, Chen Hao had even paid a Membership Fee, though the wool came from the sheep's back.

Besides being a symbol of status, the most practical benefit of Sabuk was the twenty percent discount on potions inside Sabuk City.

Buy low, sell high. The two bought potions in Sabuk, then ran to Mengzhong Earth City to sell them.

They made quite a profit on each round trip. That was how they earned their first pot of gold, and how they got the Magic Staff, Silver Snake, and Minor Godly Items they wore.

Even now, thinking about it made Chen Hao feel bitter. It was all hard-earned money.

The two set their respective pets in the safe zone. Everything was ready.

Target: Zuma Temple!

Move out!

Step two of the plan: enter the nest.

Zuma Temple had seven floors in total. The deeper one went, the higher the quality and density of the monsters became.

The first few floors were fine, and they could use Random Teleport Scrolls. The two flew around at random, occasionally encountering players leveling here. Whenever they teleported near an exit, they ran a few steps, then met up at the entrance to the next floor. They repeated this over and over.

At the exit of the fifth floor, the two stopped.

Xu Pengkun's voice sounded. "The next floor is Zuma Pavilion, a maze. I made it here yesterday, but I wandered around inside for ages and couldn't get out."

"Teleport Scrolls stop working on the lower floors. Toss them and clear some space. Follow me from here on." The two threw their Teleport Scrolls onto the ground.

Chen Hao controlled his Mage and went in first.

Following the mnemonic from his memory—left, up, up, up, right—he smoothly reached the sixth floor.

Once you knew the trick, this place was laughably easy. You could get out in a few minutes. If you didn't know it, though, you could wander around for hours. Maybe you would circle around and suddenly—huh?—end up back on the fifth floor. Now wasn't that a surprise?

Upon reaching the sixth floor, Chen Hao took the lead while Xu Pengkun followed closely behind, matching every step.

The Statue Guards on the sixth floor had all been activated, and they were facing toward the entrance to the seventh floor.

Chen Hao gave a cautious reminder. "There should be a group up ahead. Watch the situation and prepare for PK!"

Xu Pengkun pursed his lips without speaking, then nodded.

The entrance from the sixth floor to the seventh was blocked by a mob of monsters.

"I'll lure them away. You go through first. I have Invisibility Spell, so I'll catch up afterward."

After casting Mass Invisibility Spell on Chen Hao, Xu Pengkun's Taoist moved from the rear to the front. He charged forward, throwing Fire Talismans and poison together to draw the monsters' attention before running back.

When Chen Hao saw an opening ahead, he immediately ran for the next floor. After going down, he quickly clicked the entrance and came back, using that brief chance to check the situation on the seventh floor.

He then relayed it to his companion. "There are only a few minor monsters at the entrance below. No big problem. You can come down."

After saying that, he went down again and began clearing monsters while waiting for Xu Pengkun.

The seventh floor of Zuma Temple was further divided into three levels, all one-way paths packed solid with monsters.

Beyond those three levels lay the ultimate destination of this trip: Zuma's Home.

Once Xu Pengkun came down, Chen Hao took a deep breath and continued carving a path through the dark, narrow, enclosed corridor ahead.

When they reached the exit of the first level, they finally encountered others on the same path.

The other group was fighting desperately against hordes of monsters ahead. There were six of them in total: three Warriors, two Mages, and one Taoist. Judging by their equipment, they were all around level 28.

Clearly, such a narrow passage could not accommodate two groups of people.

Especially not when the guild name above their heads was the glaring "Carefree Chaos." They were the sworn enemies of Chen Hao's guild, giving them even less reason to let them go.

The other side had the advantage in numbers, but not in terrain. Chen Hao considered it briefly and made his decision.

When enemies met on a narrow road, the braver side won!

"Big Bird, get ready! Kill the Mages first, then the Taoist!"

Xu Pengkun first buffed the two of them with dual defense and Mass Invisibility Spell, then directly threw Poisoning Technique at them. Yellow and green appeared on the enemy Mages, followed by flashes of lightning and Fire Talismans.

The two Mages already had incomplete health. Under the double assault of monsters and Chen Hao's team, their companion's Healing Spell was like a drop in the bucket. More than ten seconds later, they died one after another, dropping items all over the ground.

"Damn it, you two little trash dare sneak attack your daddy?"

The enemy Taoist typed a line in the public channel.

Upon discovering enemies behind them, the other four gave up fighting the monsters and turned back to engage them.

Oh, so they dared to curse at them? Then Chen Hao would not indulge them.

Chen Hao's hands flew, leaving trails of afterimages. The keyboard and mouse clattered one after another, crackling down like thunder, displaying the terrifying skill he had honed through decades of being single.

One golden insult after another poured out, each built from the universal formula of subject plus the other party's relatives plus various reproductive organs.

The public channel was instantly flooded by Chen Hao.

Meanwhile, the Mage under his control was not affected in the slightest. With slick movement, violent damage boosted by Minor Godly Items and a Magic Staff, another two people died.

The other side was so furious that their souls practically left their bodies.

One of the Warriors even stood there without moving for ages. That guy was probably searching the keyboard for how to type the character for "cunt."

Eighty, eighty, eighty. He did not manage to type a single word before he was smashed to death by the Great Hammer.

One side coordinated smoothly, with clear targets and focused fire. The other had completely lost their fighting spirit and were in utter disarray.

The outcome was self-evident.

One minute later, before Chen Hao and Xu Pengkun had even really exerted themselves or summoned their pets over, the opposing group had already been wiped out.

Countless items dropped by the other side were scattered across the ground: potions, equipment, and all sorts of things.

A massive double-bladed axe lay on the ground ahead, glinting with a cold light.

It was the Warrior's signature weapon.

Purgatory!