A pawn in the crosshairs, Gao Linzhi's calculations

At this very moment.

Zhang Mingzhen looked at the two fashion treasure chests but didn't intend to open them—he already had the "Immortal King" set, and he had no interest in appearance.

After a moment's thought, he decided to list them on the system auction house in exchange for Gold Coin.

The fashion items were immediately noticed by players as soon as they were released.

With nearly 100% online rate in the God's Domain, many players often browse the in-game store during breaks from challenging bosses.

The news of the "Chongxing" Cheater on the shelves spread almost instantly.

"I told you so! Sure enough, some players are willing to sell outfits! Someone actually traded points for this!"

"Open your eyes wide and see clearly who hung it! People who want to change their clothes don't have the means, and people with the means don't choose clothes anyway."

"Yeah, these days, who else besides that cheat-like guy could have enough points to exchange for clothes?"

"So it's the great master Chongxing, then that's not surprising."

"Have you redeemed all the rewards from the expert player?"

"There are still several days left in this event. Congratulations to the master for ending this torturous training ahead of schedule."

"The pros don't need to grind so hard... they can just casually grind."

"I saw the big shot strolling around the Fragrant Cloud Auction House in the city just a few days ago."

"It's truly the same world, but with different experiences..."

"Nonsense, isn't that just reality? Some people are born to be beasts of burden, while others are born in Rome."

"Alright everyone, let's get back to the main topic."

"That fashion box just now was asking for 300 Gold Coin. Players who are so keen on dressing up are really hard to understand. It's just an outfit, why is it worth that much?"

"That's right, with reality so dangerous, why bother with all this fancy stuff?"

"It's ridiculous."

That's it.

"You just don't understand. Some fashion items don't just look pretty; they also come with unique special effects and attribute boosts."

"Although the bonus isn't that much, wearing it on the street will definitely attract attention."

"But in terms of actual benefits, it doesn't seem like a worthwhile investment."

"Rational players would probably prioritize equipment, right? It seems like all the bidding right now are female players."

"Sisters, please help me, I really want this box."

"I really love that 'Frost Cloud' outfit inside."

"Calm down, raising the price any higher is going beyond what's reasonable. Everyone, please calm down," a mage girl with the game nickname "Xiaoxue's Snow" shouted in the public channel.

This player is known for his willingness to invest heavily, frequently purchasing various materials in the world chat.

The reason is simple: with a bunch of sycophants providing Powerful support, they're naturally willing to spend the money.

Dressing up nicely is the best reward for those who fawn over their idols.

"Little Snow, weren't you the one who kept raising the price?"

"The box contains dozens of outfits randomly obtained. The probability of getting 'Frost Cloud' is too low. Why not hold on and wait? What if someone else gets it and is willing to resell it?"

"Even if you get other outfits, they're all pretty good-looking. Who would want to sell them once they're actually in hand? Don't try to discourage me."

The two fashion boxes were eventually sold for 350 and 330 Gold Coin, and both were won by female players.

It must be said that women's enthusiasm for consumption should never be underestimated.

After all, it's mostly the men who foot the bill.

"Hey, you guys who got the photos of this box, come open it and take a look! I've never seen anything this expensive before."

"It's a pity it's not 'Frost Cloud,' but this set is still very beautiful."

"Xiaoxue's Snow" quickly shared the fashion information that had been released—naturally, to satisfy the expectations of the fans.

That was an outfit called "Shining Star".

The overall design is predominantly gold. After trying it on, it was magnificent and elegant, with shimmering gold light and occasional sparkling details. It was also paired with an exquisite veil accessory, making it a truly queen-like look.

"These special effects... they're absolutely mesmerizing! This is the first time I've ever seen an outfit with a 'Fortune' attribute!"

"Yes, it even has Fortune attribute!"

"Seeing this Fortune bonus, I bet many male players are regretting not participating in the auction now, right? This attribute is incredibly important for loot drops in the wild."

"What a pleasant surprise! If I didn't have to participate in an event right now, I would love to go out into the wild and test its effects immediately!" "Xiaoxue's Snow" herself felt that she had gotten a great deal; the expense was definitely worth it.

The other winner of the fashion box was a female player named "Imperial Dynasty Little Princess," who is the younger sister of "Imperial Dynasty Defies Heaven," and also has a large number of admirers.

However, she didn't need the sponsorship of her admirers.

"Imperial Dynasty Defies Heaven" did not initially approve of the auction.

His sister wasn't enthusiastic about combat gameplay and had no intention of becoming a high-level combatant.

Her family's expectation of her was simply to become someone capable of using her skills, enough to protect herself in reality.

Surprisingly, she was willing to spend a large sum of Gold Coin to buy a piece of clothing that offered only limited benefits to combat power.

This was incomprehensible to the Imperial Dynasty Defies Heaven, who therefore refused to pay the money for her.

To everyone's surprise, his sister quickly gathered enough funds from her friends (sycophants) she met in the game, and actually won the bid for the box!

Before he could even get angry with her, he saw the fashion effects shared by "Xiaoxue's Snow" in the world chat and immediately got excited, asking his sister about the attributes of that outfit.

The "Imperial Dynasty Little Princess" initially couldn't be bothered with him.

It's all because the other party refused to lend me money, forcing me to scramble to borrow from my girlfriends and admirers!

This was a huge loss of face for her.

You should know that she considers herself different from other "green tea" girls.

However, seeing how eager her brother was to know the attributes, and considering that she might need his help to repay her sisters' money later, she obediently sent him the fashion information.

The outfit was called "Soul-Hooking Demon Envoy," and it featured a pair of small demon horn headdresses and miniature wings on the back.

The overall design is a black mini skirt with subtle shimmer, adding a touch of mystery and playfulness when worn.

Special attributes are:

"The Demon of the Abyss, the messenger of darkness."

"Fortune +1. Fortune will affect item drops from wild monsters."

"As expected! All the outfits you redeemed from the system have a Fortune attribute! You got your 300+ Gold Coin coins totally worth it."

"From now on, you must join the guild's organized outdoor leveling activities. You can't slack off anymore," said Imperial Dynasty Defies Heaven, overjoyed.

"No way! You guys spend ages grinding like that. I'm not going with the guild; I'll manage my own time."

Just kidding, if I agree, I'll become a regular tool for the guild to farm resources, with no freedom at all.

"If you don't want to go, that's fine too. Just hand over the outfit, and I'll give you the extra Gold Coin. I'll have other players wear it to farm, and the effect will be the same."

"Don't even think about it! I paid for this myself, why should I give it to you? I'm going to tell Dad you're bullying me! Besides, it's already bound to my account, I can't give it to anyone else."

"Even if I tell my father, he will support me."

"Little sister, the real world is so dangerous. The development of the guild is the focus of the family. It's fine that you couldn't help before."

"Now we need your help; we can't be as casual as before."

"I've made my decision. From now on, you must participate in all guild field operations. Objections will not be accepted."

Seeing her brother's serious attitude, she dared not refuse any longer.

She was raised under strict discipline by a large family, so she still had basic rationality.

She wasn't a truly ignorant Little Princess; she was well aware of the current situation facing the Dragon Kingdom.

The family is working hard to cope with the crisis and protect its members, and I really can't stay out of it forever.

"Alright, I'll do as you say," the "Imperial Dynasty Little Princess" agreed. "But you have to help me pay off my debts."

"Don't worry, the guild will handle the accounting."

"Compile the list and hand it over to the administrator."

Seeing that his younger sister had agreed, Imperial Dynasty Defies Heaven felt a little more at ease.

If I had known that the system-created outfits had Fortune bonus, I should never have let someone else have the other one; our guild should have bought it instead.

Perhaps it's time to readjust the points redemption scheme.

We decided to give up on fashion items at the last meeting, but now that we have Fortune bonus, it wouldn't hurt to change a few pieces.

Let's hold a meeting to discuss this later; he needs to hurry up and get to his game.

Today it's their guild's turn to ask Chongxing for assistance; they need to think carefully about the personnel arrangements.

"Sigh, if I had known that fashion could bring Fortune, I should have taken a chance back then."

"It's not like I can't get 400,000 points, it's just that I used them all to upgrade my equipment, so I'm way behind now!"

"Me too, there are only a few days left in the event, I simply don't have enough time to save up."

"If only we had known sooner, everyone could have a Fortune outfit, and we might have even saved money on buying equipment."

"Chongxing, it would have been great if you had released the fashion boxes sooner. The news was kept so tightly under wraps before."

"Shouldn't the exchange points have been cleared out on the first day of the event? The reason for delaying the sale until now is probably to prevent the outfits from becoming too common, otherwise they won't fetch a good price."

"Even the experts have their own little schemes."

"Watch your mouth upstairs, or you'll get beaten up."

"Dare to slander a master?"

"Yeah, the real world isn't safe anymore. It's not like before, where you could just insult people in games. Now they can actually come to your house."

That makes sense.

"The only one on the entire server who has the spare capacity to clear all the rewards is probably the great god Chongxing."

"Now all we can do is watch and sigh."

Lately, various discussions on the world channel have always veered towards Chongxing, leading to comments and criticisms of his every move.

Anyone with eyes can see that someone is deliberately manipulating public opinion, but no one knows what their motives are.

This is clearly because the real-world crisis is getting bigger and bigger.

Zhang Mingzhen clearly shows signs of becoming a "homelander".

Gao Linzhi is paying close attention to the changes in the Earth.

The changes here are similar to, but also different from, those in the Blue Star Corporate World.

The similarity lies in their upper-level thinking.

They all want to control, utilize, and dominate... at worst, they want to cooperate.

They both yearn for and fear the extraordinary power of the individual.

Because humanity has never experienced such an environment, where one person's power surpasses that of ten thousand.

The strongest general in ancient times was a "Captain of a Hundred".

The so-called ability to defeat ten thousand men is based on the collapse of the enemy's morale.

Zhang Mingzhen also sensed something was amiss, but he didn't intend to investigate further.

Some things are best addressed by addressing their root cause.

It's good time to give a warning to those forces that have been eyeing this opportunity.

"Chongxing, we've found it."

"An organization called 'Thorn Bramble' is secretly manipulating public opinion to focus on your movements and spreading unfavorable rumors."

"Send me the information, I will verify it..." a high-ranking member of the guild sent a message.

Previously, Zhang Mingzhen had agreed to trade assistance sessions with various guilds, with other guilds paying Gold Coin per session. However, in transactions with the Legion, he wanted intelligence.

He wanted to know if any forces were targeting him recently, and which faction those sarcastic players in the world belonged to.

It's ultimately more convenient to leave this kind of thing to the authorities to investigate.

Of course, he wouldn't completely accept the official investigation results; he would always verify them himself to avoid being used as a tool.

After all, with his current strength, he is already a sharp blade.

"Thorn Bramble... what exactly do you want? But it doesn't matter anymore."

"No matter the reason, I'm going to kill you chickens."

He decided to Thorn Bramble.

He wanted to make all the current powers understand that if they provoked him, they had to be prepared for retaliation.

The "Thorn Bramble" organization has been expanding rapidly recently. Not only have its member levels increased at breakneck speed, but the guild has also been distributing equipment and organizing activities in a unified manner, recruiting new members indiscriminately, and its size has been growing like a snowball.

An underground shopping mall somewhere in the real world.

This is the new underground stronghold of "Thorn Bramble".

"Boss, our guild has surpassed 100,000 members, making us one of the top guilds! Why hide anymore? The brothers in the guild are getting upset, let's just confront the authorities head-on!" the vice president said excitedly.

Confidence has recently surged among management.

Thorn Bramble is no longer the cautious, timid, and newly formed organization it once was, one that dared not clash with the authorities.

"We are certainly not lacking in numbers, but if we really push the authorities too far, we won't benefit either."

"Besides, the members' strength still needs to be built up, which requires more time."

"How's the task I assigned you progressing?" the chairman asked.

"We've tried to contact Chongxing, but he never gets close to outsiders and only associates with a few senior members of major guilds, so recruiting him is probably hopeless."

"Sending people to investigate him and stirring up trouble on the world channel... won't that anger him? We don't need to provoke this devil."

The vice president felt a chill Chongxing down his spine when he recalled those rumors about Chongxing.

"Where do you think the guild's resources have come from lately? Some forces are willing to support us, but it's not charity," the guild leader sneered.

"They want Chongxing to cause trouble, to test the strength of Dragon Han."

"In that case, we need to make him 'conspicuous' first."

"Furthermore, our guild doesn't have a fixed location in the game, and our real-world base often moves. Even if Chongxing wanted to find us, it probably wouldn't be that easy."

"It's always safe to stay hidden in the shadows."

Just then, an unfamiliar male voice rang out in the room without warning:

"So, this is your reason for daring to scheme against me? Did you really think I couldn't find you?"

"Who?!"

The high-ranking members of Thorn Bramble instantly tensed up—this was their most secret hideout, and if even this place had been exposed, the consequences would be unimaginable.

"The person you were just talking about."

A figure appeared silently.

He wore a face covering and dark clothes, his posture as straight as a pine tree, and just standing there brought a heavy sense of oppression.

"You are... Chongxing?!"

The people inside immediately turned pale.

How long has he been here? Did he overhear everything we just said?

"So it seems you were indeed plotting against me behind the scenes."

"I didn't get the wrong person, did I?"

The group exchanged bewildered glances, and someone seemed about to say something...

However, having received tacit approval, Zhang Mingzhen said no more and took action immediately.

Regardless of their fighting strength, none of the people inside the room could withstand a single blow from him, and they all fell down in an instant.

Some of them possess special abilities, allowing them to transform into spirits after death, at which point Priest might be able to save them.

They knew this all too well, and finally realized what was happening.

They hurriedly begged for mercy, trying to buy a chance to survive.

"Boss, we were forced into this."

"Yes, the real leaders are yet to come."

Zhang Mingzhen recalled that this organization had not officially established a guild in the game, making it difficult to track down all its members.

To eradicate them completely, perhaps it's necessary to leave one survivor to lead the way.

Therefore, he ultimately selected a manager with high combat effectiveness—those who could participate in the secret talks must be the core of the organization.

As for the president, "Thorns," whose eyes were filled with hatred, he wasn't worth keeping alive.

The person who was resurrected was named "Zhang Song".

He claimed that after his family was murdered, he was recruited by "Thorn Bramble" and rose to a management position due to his outstanding abilities. He also knew the hideouts and secret locations frequented by other high-ranking members.