"Damn, these perks are way too good, aren't they?"
"Yeah. We work our asses off for a month and can only afford two Green Grade Paper Talismans, while they're just rookies and they get Blue Grade Jade Talismans right off the bat!"
"A Blue Grade Offensive Jade Talisman can take down level-20 monsters."
"And a Blue Grade Defensive Jade Talisman can withstand several hits from a level-20 boss."
"Plus, Purple Grade Escape Talismans are a perfect match for us players."
"Right. As long as you get out of range and leave combat, you can log off immediately. Each extra one is another life!"
The players envied them, but if they were asked to sign a Guard Contract, they absolutely wouldn't agree.
The Fourth Elder took the jade talismans with a beaming smile, then handed each of the two five defensive talismans and two escape talismans.
"All right, take these and use them to keep yourselves alive. If you need more, come ask me."
"Let's go hit up the Second Elder and Fifth Elder for some handouts," the Fourth Elder added.
The Third Elder turned to leave, tossing out a parting remark: "If you still can't train any qualified guards this time, don't expect to get even one from me again."
Gao Linzhi took the two kinds of talismans and put them in his Game Backpack.
After he checked them, a game prompt appeared:
[Blue Grade Defensive Jade Talisman (100/100), five pieces. Can be brought into the real world. Automatically blocks 100 attacks below Blue Tier. Can be recharged repeatedly; each recharge reduces the maximum durability by ten points.] [Purple Grade Escape Jade Talisman (10/10), two pieces. Can be brought into the real world. Set a safe point in advance. When faced with mortal danger, it automatically sends the user back to that safe point. Usable ten times, with a maximum range of 30 kilometers. Can be recharged repeatedly; each recharge reduces the maximum durability by one point.]
Seeing this, Gao Linzhi finally felt a weight lift from his heart.
With these, he would have more ways to protect himself in the real world.
Afterward, he followed the Fourth Elder and continued on.
Meanwhile.
In a large residence in East Wolf Village.
The players from Xu Corporation stood together in the living room, heads bowed and eyes fixed on the floor. Not one of them dared breathe too loudly.
It was like they'd all been made to stand in punishment.
"So that woman has an exceptionally high talent—high enough that the village's Fourth Elder would rather offend our corporate players than let anything happen to her?" a young man said with a mocking smile.
He was none other than the high schooler who had berated the players at the village entrance and ordered them to Farm BOSS—the heir to Xu Corporation, Xu Tianlang.
He looked young, but his gaze was vicious. He toyed with a gleaming Steel Dagger in his hand.
"That's exactly what the Fourth Elder said, Young Master," Lao Qi and Lao Ba replied cautiously.
"Then I'm curious. In the real world, why didn't you take control of her immediately?"
"Why give her time to move around freely?"
"Why not immediately implant a microbomb in her vagina?"
"Are the people in your security department all useless freeloaders?"
Xu Tianlang grew more and more ruthless as he spoke!
The dagger flew from his hand toward Lao Qi and Lao Ba.
As if it were alive, it circled around the two men's left ring fingers.
Two freshly severed fingers fell to the floor, blood still dripping from them.
Lao Qi and Lao Ba gritted their teeth and endured the pain, not daring to make a sound.
They hated Xu Tianlang, but didn't dare let it show on their faces.
Damn it, damn it, damn it!
They were dogs in the real world and dogs in the game. Was being a dog all that people who'd lost the lottery of life could ever hope for?
Everyone else stood in fearful silence.
Lao Qi struggled to explain. "She used going to the bathroom as an excuse. We had someone follow her, but she disappeared right away."
"We logged in and chased after her."
"We didn't expect her to be so lucky. She ran and ran, and ended up coming straight to East Wolf Village."
"Good, very good. The lot of you couldn't outrun one woman?" Xu Tianlang said coldly.
"She's in great shape. Vice President Xu, who handles team-building activities for the company, loves marathons and often makes the employees run 20 kilometers with him. And her talent must be very high..."
"I hate marathons." Xu Tianlang took a deep breath and calmed himself down before asking, "What about her family?"
"This woman is hardhearted. We tried threatening her with her parents, but she said..." Xu Qi gritted his teeth against the pain and hurriedly repeated what Lin Qing had said earlier.
Xu Tianlang paused, then burst out laughing.
"How interesting. Woman, you've successfully caught my attention!"
Everyone's hearts trembled.
They all knew Young Master Xu's habits. He'd made up his mind to torture Lin Qing to death.
Young Master Xu was shrewd, highly intelligent, and capable.
He was also vicious and ruthless. Anyone working under him had to stay alert at 120 percent.
"By the way, the report said there were two people present at the time. Where's the other one?" Xu Tianlang asked after calming down.
"The other one's called Gao Linzhi. He's an ordinary programmer who's good at writing novels and made a fortune from them. He's lazy, and we have people watching him."
"He's been staying at home the whole time. Since a player only drops a Game Poster when they die, we're sure he's just an ordinary passerby who missed his chance," Lao Qi replied quickly.
"Foolish!" Xu Tianlang said coldly. "Do I need to teach you all over again?"
"Better to kill a thousand by mistake than let a single one escape!"
"Go get that man immediately, along with every living thing that came into contact with the crime scene. I don't care if it's a fly—bring them all back and lock them up!" Xu Tianlang said flatly.
A bunch of shortsighted idiots!
They were always worried about attracting reporters and sparking online outrage, but they didn't realize the world had changed!
"Yes, Young Master. We'll go get him right away!" Everyone hurriedly obeyed.
An hour later.
In the Fourth Elder's residence at the center of the village.
Gao Linzhi and Lin Qing listened intently as the Fourth Elder taught them the fundamentals of guarding.
The Fourth Elder had just taken the two of them to visit the Second Elder and the Fifth Elder.
The Second Elder specialized in Medicine Making, while the Fifth Elder specialized in Artifact Crafting.
The Fourth Elder had planned to get them some more equipment and medicine. He hadn't even asked for much, just a full set of Purple Quality gear.
He'd also asked for Purple Quality pills for boosting basic attributes, restoring health, treating wounds, detoxifying, and staving off hunger and thirst...
It wasn't that the guards had bad perks.
Players had to spend half a year working hard to get this kind of stuff, but these two were being kitted out with everything right from the start.
However, the two elders hadn't given them anything. They'd only told the Fourth Elder to bring them back after he'd kept them around for half a month.
The Fourth Elder had been so furious that he'd cursed the two old penny-pinchers out loud.
Gao Linzhi guessed that the Fourth Elder had trained guards before, and the experience had cost him a great deal.
For example, a player might find someone to sell the equipment and medicine for them, log off, and never come back.
No matter how powerful a Guard Contract was, could it still work in another world?
The Fourth Elder then brought them back to his own residence, the one at the center of the village.
He began teaching them the fundamentals of guarding and passing on basic guard skills.
Before you continue