"How many levels has this guy gained? That's impossible. The strongest monsters near the village are only level 15 or 20. Players can only level up to that point, since there's no more experience to gain beyond it!"
"Unless he has a unique talent and learned a lot of Basic Skills!"
It had to be said: these players were all sharp. They quickly figured out Gao Linzhi's true capabilities.
"Isn't he one of the two who recently signed a Guard Contract with the village? Could the village have given him a special item?" someone guessed.
A few tons of strength was no joke. Among cold weapons, he was practically a divine general.
"His Constitution must be at least 50! He's definitely got five Basic Skills, all leveled up to the max at level 100!" an experienced player said enviously.
Listening to them, Zheng Dong couldn't help feeling relieved.
Their village had recruited a fine ally. He would make sure to help Gao Linzhi grow quickly and become a pillar of the village. He couldn't let the Corporate Players take over.
The two reached the shore, set down the boat, and rowed out to sea, not far from the coast.
The news soon reached the Xu Clan's base in the village.
"What?" Xu Tianlang frowned as soon as he heard the report from one of his subordinates.
He felt that something had slipped beyond his control.
Everything had been going according to plan. In three or four months at most, he would have the entire East Wolf Village under his control.
All the veteran Rogue Players would either be killed or brought under his control, and this place would become the Xu Clan's ultimate base in the game.
But now, an unpredictable variable had suddenly appeared.
"Damn it. These new talents keep cropping up, and they're a major obstacle to our control of the territory. Just one unpredictable variable could destroy a major corporation!"
Frowning deeply, he began to consider how to respond.
In his view, killing Canxue wouldn't be difficult. The difficult part was what to do if another person like Canxue appeared.
If things followed the usual course of events in a novel, he would keep suppressing the strongest players in each region until some protagonist appeared and wiped out the entire Xu Corporation.
And now, given Gao Linzhi's rate of growth, he seemed a lot like that protagonist.
Truth be told, Xu Tianlang badly wanted to kill Gao Linzhi, trample him underfoot, and devour his talent!
But the other man's growth and talent told him that the approach he wanted most to take simply wouldn't work!
Even if he concentrated the corporation's forces and killed Canxue this time,
the next time someone like that appeared, they would naturally learn from Canxue's fate. They would keep a low profile until they were strong enough, then overthrow the Xu Clan in one fell swoop.
Xu Tianlang clenched his fists. He understood that they needed to change.
He remembered that in the real world, the first company to recruit commoners and stop reserving management positions for nobles was called the William Company.
At the time, it was because William Company had good policies and was relatively lenient, allowing commoners to hold patents and enjoy the profits those patents brought.
Under its rule, one commoner family had improved the steam engine and obtained a patent for it.
After the company acquired the patent, it immediately used the improved steam engine to sweep the entire market.
This forced the other companies to follow suit and open the door to promotion for commoners.
Many people gritted their teeth in resentment toward William Company, cursing its leaders for actually bowing to the commoners.
But there was nothing they could do. If they didn't follow suit, they could only wait for the other company to unify the markets and land.
Out at sea to the east.
Gao Linzhi rowed three kilometers out to sea. With Zheng Dong's directions and the Minimap to guide him, he finally reached a patch of coral reefs.
The reef field made this an excellent habitat for schools of fish.
All around them, sea fish more than half a meter long leaped out of the water.
"Level 8, Stingfish."
There were so many of them that their numbers clearly exceeded what the natural ecosystem could support.
That was another characteristic of the world becoming a game.
"The sea air is damp, so bows are hard to maintain. But in a sea battle, ranged attacks still have the advantage!" Zheng Dong said as he took a bow and arrows from his gear and handed them to Gao Linzhi.
Gao Linzhi took the bow and arrows. He hadn't learned archery, but that wouldn't be a problem.
His Basic Perception was already level 100, and he was incredibly strong.
Zheng Dong gave him a quick lesson, and he got the hang of it.
But his skills had already reached their limit, so he spent another 1,500 Skyfall Stones to unlock a new skill slot. He now had 13 slots.
That was why Ordinary Players had no choice but to level up. At level 1, they only had six slots. Even if they learned a skill for each one, their overall strength would soon hit a ceiling.
They had no way to pay to unlock more.
Gao Linzhi, on the other hand, had no such limitation.
Then he spent the remaining 1,000 experience points on Basic Archery, bringing it to level 10.
His Constitution increased by 1 again, reaching 67.
Then he began shooting at the fish.
"Careful. The fish king here hasn't been killed yet. Once we've taken down enough fish, it'll appear."
"We need to keep rowing toward shore as we fight, and draw the monsters close to land. That way, if things get too dangerous, we can get to shore and run!" Zheng Dong warned him.
"Got it."
Zheng Dong didn't fight. Instead, he began rowing while Gao Linzhi took aim at a fish and fired an arrow with all his might.
"Thwack!" His first arrow hit.
"Gained 10 experience."
Unfortunately, the fish was quickly devoured by the others in the school.
He gained nothing else from it.
That was probably one of the reasons the villagers hadn't explored this lair.
After an unknown amount of time, Gao Linzhi had gained a full 4,000 experience.
Suddenly, a pitch-black whirlpool appeared on the surface of the sea.
"Not good! The fish king's coming! Run!"
Zheng Dong hurriedly rowed, and Gao Linzhi set down the bow and immediately helped.
Luckily, they had been drawing the fish monsters toward shore the whole time, so they weren't far away.
They rowed with all their might and finally reached the shore before the fish king appeared.
Just then, a fish king nearly five meters long, as big as a great white shark, suddenly emerged.
A thick, long spike like a lightning rod jutted from its head, making it look terrifying.
"Level 25."
"Stingfish King."
"HP:."
"Skills: Rapid Swim, Fierce Pierce."
What a pair of skills—they were both charge attacks.
"Good thing there's a warning when this Boss first appears. When it respawns later, it'll appear without a sound." Zheng Dong wiped the sweat from his forehead.
People only had one life. If this monster targeted them, they were done for.
The next moment, the fish king circled through the water. Seeing no enemies, it disappeared again.
But that also meant the two of them couldn't safely keep hunting fish unless they killed it.
Gao Linzhi had 67 Constitution, giving him 67 × 10, or 670 HP.
The other one had HP, and it also had the home-field advantage.
How were they supposed to kill it?
He couldn't just charge in recklessly. He wasn't afraid of dying, but Zheng Dong was.
Before you continue