Rewards

Wang Qianduo's offer of 150 gold hadn't scared either side off. If anything, it had only made them curious.

They wanted to see just how much money Wang Qianduo had.

"170 gold," Sister Cat said after glancing at Wang Qianduo.

"200 gold." Wang Qianduo didn't hesitate for a moment before raising the price again.

This time, they fell silent. If they raised the price any further, it would work against their goal of winning Wang Qianduo over.

"You're loaded. Mind telling us how much Gold Crystal you've got left?" After everyone gave up bidding and the equipment ended up in Wang Qianduo's inventory, Sister Cat asked him.

Wang Qianduo glanced at the tens of thousands of Gold Crystal in his bag and said quietly, "Not much left, not much!"

Once those two pieces of equipment were in his inventory, he didn't bid on the weapon. The Chainsaw was basically a greatsword, which overlapped with the Minghong Blade.

Besides, he had to show some consideration for both sides. And it wouldn't be so bad to keep the thing as a toy.

He hadn't considered selling it, either. He still had to run Instance Dungeons with both groups.

In the end, Sister Cat bought the blade for 200 gold, and everyone's Instance Dungeon run came to a perfect end.

"Let's go back and turn in the quest!" Once they left the Instance Dungeon, Wang Qianduo said calmly.

He was incredibly laid-back now. The biggest reward from this run was seeing how the experts played the game.

No one said anything. After all, Wang Qianduo had led this quest, so of course they would follow his plan.

They had been running Instance Dungeons for quite a while without realizing it. The main reason was that Hard and Abyss dungeons took far too much time.

By the time they returned, it was already evening. On Planet 1 in Star Domain 5, this was the only time of day when sunlight could pierce the barricade of shrubs.

The golden sunset streamed through the trees and scattered across the ground, like coins strewn about—beautiful, yet deadly.

Without a Mecha to shield them, anyone caught directly in the sunlight here would be carried off by its intense radiation before long.

The planet where the Dark Forest lay was covered in trees, but it was hardly a hospitable place.

"Brother Yang, is that him?"

What Wang Qianduo and the others didn't know was that they had been watched by a group of people not long after leaving the Instance Dungeon. A voice came from a Black Mecha holding an enormous Mecha Sniper Rifle.

The Green Mecha behind it stepped forward. "That's right. His Mecha skin is very distinctive. I didn't recognize it that day. But..."

"Then I'm taking the shot." The White Mecha spoke as he moved to pull the trigger.

But the Green Mecha immediately pushed the barrel down. "Are you stupid? Didn't you check their info?"

"Their info? Who are they?"

"The first commander of [Great Qin] and the vice president of [Sword and]. Looks like this newbie isn't simple!

"Tell me, what are the people from [Mountains and Seas] after, leaking this to Old Yang, who flies off the handle at the drop of a hat?"

The pilot of a deep-purple Mecha in the squad spoke calmly.

"What else could they be after? Ever since this game took off, the capitalists led by Mountains and Seas have been trying to get their hands into the Professional Gaming Clubs.

"But the traditional big clubs like us have kept them out. I don't think we can keep blocking them forever, but this is our chance to make a fortune.

"Clearly, though, they don't want to pay too high a price. The easiest thing for them to do is make us tear ourselves apart from within.

"If I attack him today, I'll offend two major clubs at once, and countless people will help fan the flames.

"Heh... Then..."

"Hiss..." The whole squad drew in a sharp breath as the Green Mecha's pilot laid it all out.

"These people are terrifying. They knew Brother Yang had a bad temper, and that someone had stolen his kill, and they came up with such a vicious scheme so quickly. They..."

"Otherwise, what did you think they spent all their time doing?"

"So, are we still going to attack?"

"Of course not. I can't really say my kill was stolen. I just wasn't strong enough to finish it off.

"Even if this newbie hadn't picked up the leftovers, someone else would have. Now that I think about it, what's there to be angry about? Let's head back!"

The man his teammates called Brother Yang was the pilot of the Apostle of God Mecha whom Wang Qianduo had taken advantage of that day.

After speaking, he turned and left without the slightest hesitation.

Still, his tightly clenched fists showed that he wasn't calm inside. Whether his anger was aimed at Wang Qianduo, who had stolen his kill, or someone else was anyone's guess.

Old Wang had no idea that he had narrowly avoided trouble thanks to Sword of Miracles and the others.

But he wasn't too worried about being killed, either. Aside from his newly acquired blueprints and some money, nearly all his equipment was bound to him. Getting killed wouldn't cost him much.

Still, who liked being killed for no reason? Right?

Homeworld Camp

Wang Qianduo and the others recalled their Mechas and headed toward the Command Hall. General Huang was waiting for them there.

Once they had recalled their Mechas, their in-game appearances were revealed. The four members of Sword of Miracles were all handsome men and beautiful women.

Sword of Miracles had a mature, dependable look; Song in the Clouds had more of a "puppy boy" vibe; Bright Moon over the Blue Sea leaned toward a classical style; and Sister Cat looked like a cool, domineering beauty.

Their appearances had clearly been designed by professionals, though, and might have differed from how they looked in real life.

After all, there weren't many obedient kids left in this game who entered with their own appearance, like Wang Qianduo.

"You're back! Where's the thing I asked for?" The moment Wang Qianduo and the others reached the Command Hall, General Huang came over.

Sword of Miracles and the others exchanged glances, looking rather shocked.

They hadn't expected Wang Qianduo to have raised his reputation with the camp's general so high. It seemed he wasn't just lucky.

Wang Qianduo wasn't lucky, of course. He was cheating!

One of the special bonuses of VIP 15 was a thousand points of NPC favorability. In other words, when it came to building favor with the same NPC, he had already won at the starting line.

He was the kind of runner who started a hundred-meter race fifty meters ahead.

"Here. This is the ore and the Hyena's head you asked for."

Wang Qianduo handed both items directly to General Huang. The general nodded, then had someone take them away.

"You did well. Here's your reward. Take it!"

"You completed the Hidden Quest [Insectoid Shadow 1: Hyena Minkson] with 100% completion.

Your Homeworld Base Reputation increased to Revered. You received the Position [Squad Leader], 1,000 EXP, 20 Gold Crystal, and the Rare Skill [Instant Slash]."

Instant Slash (Rare) (Universal)

LV1

Dash toward an enemy at incredible speed and deal physical damage equal to 200% of your attack power.

Attack Range: 200

Cast Time: 0

MP Cost: 50

Cooldown: 30S

Proficiency: 0/300

Judging by the looks on Sword of Miracles and the others' faces, the rewards for this Hidden Quest were indeed generous. The universal skill in particular was no simple reward.

"General, there's another thing we found!"

"Mm. Come with me." While the others were taking stock of their rewards, Wang Qianduo followed General Huang toward the back of the hall.

Seeing this, the four members of Sword of Miracles knew that Wang Qianduo had received another quest.

Wang Qianduo himself hadn't expected to be called aside alone. It seemed this quest was bound to him, and no one else could take it.

"What did you find?" Once the two of them reached an empty office, General Huang asked calmly.

Wang Qianduo said nothing. He handed over the Secret Letter. He had already read it, and there wasn't much written inside.

"The first phase of the Insectoid Control Plan has completely failed. Seven specimens have escaped. Preparing to withdraw."

From those few simple words, Wang Qianduo could already glimpse the enormous amount of information hidden behind them.

If the Insectoid in this game were the same as the ones he knew about, these people were clearly playing with fire.

"Those bastards! How could people who don't know their place possibly control a Universe-Overlord Tier species?"

Sure enough, General Huang was furious as soon as he read the letter. Then he said to Wang Qianduo:

"You're not strong enough to investigate the Insectoid yet, so you can leave that to others for now.

"The Black Shark Pirates actually dared to try to control the Insectoid. They can't be allowed to live.

"So, I'll give you this quest for now. Come see me once you reach level 10.

"This quest might be difficult. You can find some friends to help you."

"System notification: General Huang has issued you the Hidden Main Quest [Eliminate the Black Shark Pirate Leader]. Accept?"

"Accept!" Looking at the Main Quest that was different from everyone else's, Wang Qianduo selected Accept without hesitation.

A Hidden Main Quest was still a Main Quest, right? It should keep him leveling until level 10... probably...

It was so frustrating trying to level up without a quest.