Steamed Bun's Struggle

Central Square of Bator City.

Players came and went in a constant stream, creating a lively and bustling atmosphere.

"I'll acquire a set of standard iron equipment!"

"Looking for a Sorcerer daddy, let's form a group of twenty to go to the mountains to hunt Yeti, no Wild Sorcerer."

"I'm looking to buy a musical instrument."

"We buy all kinds of medicines at market price, especially Healing Potion, and we'll take as many as you bring in."

The team, jokingly referred to by players as the "Black Slave Four-Person Group," reunited. They were still wearing their newbie outfits, unchanged, since all the money they painstakingly earned from completing quests had been used to pay off their loans.

Singo asked with great interest, "How much Faction Contribution? I currently have 7985."

Xia Ye Qiuyu said, "I am 6389."

The Born Battle Maniac touched his bald head. "7071."

Steamed Bun's expression had changed from utter despair to blankness. "I only have 5789."

"Xin Gou, we've been doing hard labor for eighteen days now. The title ' Black Slave Four-Person Group ' is already famous in the Player Forum. When will this end?"

Steamed Bun stroked his rough cloth clothes and missed his old leather armor even more. It may not have been cool, but it gave him a rare sense of security.

Born Battle Maniac patted Steamed Bun on the shoulder and said earnestly, "Therefore, when Heaven is about to place a great responsibility on a person, it will first test their will, strain their muscles and bones, and starve their body. The road to becoming a professional gamer is not easy."

Steamed Bun stared at Singo, who was still incredibly excited even after eighteen days of slave labor, and thought to himself that this guy was a complete monster. Meanwhile, the naturally Born Battle Maniac standing to the side was not to be underestimated either.

Xia Ye Qiuyu tidied her hair, which had become somewhat messy from mining. "Any leads on the Tiefling quest?"

Steamed Bun shook his head and said, "I'm exhausted these days, I don't have the energy to worry about anything else."

The Born Battle Maniac quickly rubbed his bald head until it was patina-like. "I went to ask those Tiefling, but they all refused to talk about it. Some even attacked me directly. Luckily, I'm Barbarian with thick skin, otherwise I would have lost my first blood."

Singo smiled mysteriously and said, "I have completed the mission."

"A few days ago, I bribed a penniless Tiefling to get information out of him, but even so it took a lot of effort. They didn't seem willing to talk about the past, but I understood later."

"These Tiefling originally came from a city called ' North Wind Fortress,' ruled by Duke Brad Lachmann of the Rackman Dynasty."

After Single finished recounting this tragic and bloody history, the words "Mission Completed" appeared on everyone's panel, and 500 Faction Contribution were added to their accounts.

After nearly a month of playing the game, most players have developed a sense of identity and belonging to the Bator City, and a support group for Mezhuolash has even appeared on the Player Forum.

Xia Ye Qiuyu sighed, "Mezhuolash really has it tough."

Even the Born Battle Maniac said indignantly, "Kill these damned Vampire!"

Only Steamed Bun suddenly seemed to remember something, staring blankly and asking, "Where did you get the money? Didn't you use all your Gold Coin to buy invitations?"

Singo remained calm and said Yun Danfengqing, "When I went to apply for the loan, I found that I still had some equipment to spare, so I only handed over the equipment of myself, Qiu Yu, and Battle Maniac as collateral. I sold your equipment to make money, and I will put that money in my account and reimburse you next time."

"You beast, Xin Gou, you'd rather sell it than return the equipment, don't you!"

Steamed Bun's pent-up anger from eighteen days of slave labor finally erupted, and he rushed up to try and strip Single of his newbie outfit, wanting to make him the second "Holy Light Bro" and completely ruin his reputation.

However, he was easily dodged by the agile Singo and almost crashed into the giant dragon sculpture in the center of the square.

"Calm down, even if you strip me naked—"

"The equipment is gone too."

While dodging, Singo didn't forget to show off his sharp tongue.

However, the Steamed Bun lying on the ground was surprised to find a line of barely noticeable words written on the base of the statue—

[Dedicated to the master of the Ember Nest, the mighty and noble Red Dragon, the eternal monarch of Bator City — Keosius Norikesius Claudeu

"Holy crap, look at this! I've found some important information!"

The four people quickly gathered around, and Singo, without any regard for his image, lay on the ground, sticking his butt out, and carefully examined everything.

"Keosius"

"This name sounds familiar."

The Born Battle Maniac touched his bald head, which was covered in patina.

After eighteen days of slave labor, even his mind was no longer sharp.

Xia Ye Qiuyu couldn't help but rub his forehead, kindly reminding him, "Remember that super handsome, no, important NPC? His name above his head was [Mysterious Dragon Vein Sorcerer - Keosius]."

Singo added, "And he has the characteristics of Red Dragon, scales, horns, and golden eyes."

Steamed Bun suddenly realized and said, "Doesn't that mean that mysterious NPC is our faction's leader, the humanoid incarnation of the never-before-seen Red Dragon boss?"

"I'm afraid that's the case."

Singo nodded in agreement.

Steamed Bun couldn't help but exclaim, "We've caught a big fish! Wait a minute, my favorability with the big boss has already dropped by 10 points. Xin Gou, give me back my favorability!"

Singo ignored him and turned to the other two, saying, "Have you noticed the recent movements of those big guilds? The guild leader of [Royal Authority], ' Overlord,' has started sending people to seize the city wall construction tasks. That Civil Engineering Bro ' Ti Tong Pao Lu ' was recruited by him with a lot of money, and they've contracted the entire area."

"And the people from [Sword Pavilion] have even started going down into the mines themselves. Isn't their intention a bit too obvious?"

The Steamed Bun asked in surprise, "You mean..."

"They should have already discovered the importance of Faction Contribution?"

"I'm afraid that's the case."

Singo crossed his arms and said confidently, "But we can already disclose the mission information. We all have 7,000 Faction Contribution now, and we've even bought the [Mysterious Invitation] in advance. Even those big guilds can't catch up with our progress."

"At this point, we should get all the players to contribute to the Faction Contribution, take over their quests, and delay the progress of those guilds. We can take this opportunity to make more money and take on the money-making quests that we couldn't get before."

"Steamed Bun, after you finish grinding today, go straight to making the video. I'll post the strategy on the forum, and we'll go for it tonight."

"Oh, okay."

Steamed Bun's tone suddenly became more spirited. "Hmph, fortunes change, and don't underestimate a young man's potential! I'll show those who mocked my black slaves what it means to seize every opportunity!"

But when he was editing a video tonight, he touched the back of his increasingly thinning hair and suddenly felt something was wrong.

"Damn it, I've already logged off the game, and I'm still working for Xin Gou!"