Elemental Orb

Wang Qianduo looked at the application records, casually added two low-level players, and got ready to enter the Instance Dungeon.

But he quickly realized they couldn't enter the Nightmare Dungeon. One of them hadn't even cleared the Hard Dungeon.

"Sorry, bosses, one of you hasn't cleared Hard. How about you leave for now, clear it first, and we can team up next time?" Wang Qianduo said bluntly.

"Bro, hold on! We can clear Hard first, then do Nightmare. I can pay extra!" said the pilot of an Intelligence-type Mecha, one of the two.

When they'd chosen the difficulty, he'd seen that Wang Qianduo had indeed unlocked Nightmare difficulty. He couldn't enter because he hadn't unlocked it himself.

A team capable of carrying people through Nightmare was a rare opportunity. If he missed it this time, there was no telling when he'd get another chance.

"Brother, there's still the other boss to consider. This puts us in a tough spot," Wang Qianduo said, pretending to mull it over.

"Brother, I'll cover your fee. Could you run Hard with me first?"

After the two discussed it, the player with the nickname Night Owl offered to pay the full 30 Gold Crystals needed for the Hard Dungeon. The other player agreed to run Hard next.

Wang Qianduo and the Yu Sisters were also successfully "persuaded" by him, and at last the group assembled and entered the dungeon.

Night Owl was clearly another player with money to burn. But at last Wang Qianduo had found someone worse than himself. He strongly suspected the guy had reached Level 5 by paying someone to carry him.

At last, he had someone he could look down on. It wasn't easy!

The Hard Dungeon was no problem for Wang Qianduo. They cleared it in just over ten minutes.

Then, while Night Owl and his companion looked completely stunned, the group entered the Nightmare Dungeon and cleared it again without a hitch.

This time went even more smoothly than the last, since the Yu Sisters and Wang Qianduo had grown more coordinated.

"Sorry, bosses, we've used up our dungeon runs for today. If you want to team up again, get in touch tomorrow!"

Night Owl replied, "All right! Make sure you call us tomorrow. We can work out the price!"

Though reluctant to disband, the two bosses didn't say much.

They added Wang Qianduo as a friend, repeatedly confirmed where to meet tomorrow, then left the party.

After saying goodbye to the Yu Sisters, Wang Qianduo returned to the plaza at the Homeworld Base to complete the final part of his chain quest: sweeping the plaza.

Wang Qianduo had no idea what these people were thinking.

The plaza wasn't even dirty. Why did it need to be swept so often?

The first four tasks had all changed in different ways, but the plaza-sweeping task hadn't changed at all.

He was still cleaning the same area: the plaza where the Dragon Hunter and Wavechaser's Halberd Mechas had dueled that day.

It made sense that this plaza was so expensive.

They'd invested a huge amount of manpower in maintaining it, after all.

Wang Qianduo was practicing drifts in the Street Sweeper when someone stopped him again.

"It's a hidden quest. I don't know exactly how to trigger it, either. Could you stop bothering me while I sweep?" Wang Qianduo said without even looking up.

These professional players had such sharp instincts!

To them, a quest like this was like a firefly in the night—irresistibly attractive.

And since Wang Qianduo had already done the quest twice, they'd formed a rough idea of what it involved.

So they kept coming to ask him about it one after another, driving Old Wang up the wall.

"Old Wang, be a little gentler. This is Manager Zhang, the manager of the newly established Game Department at Mountains and Seas!"

Just as the man opposite him was about to speak, a now-familiar woman's voice came from behind Wang Qianduo.

"Manager, what's going on?" Wang Qianduo jumped off the Street Sweeper and went over to Lin Qimeng.

From her sarcastic tone, he could tell she and the man didn't get along.

In the workplace, when your direct superior had a conflict with someone, which side to take was an easy choice.

You were on the same boat, whether you liked it or not. You didn't get to choose!

"What's going on? He's here to demand an explanation, obviously! How did you get Li Mingzhou thrown in there? Teach me how, too, would you?" Lin Qimeng rolled her eyes at Wang Qianduo with a flirtatious air, then spoke with a hint of excitement.

Looking at the ever-changing woman before him, Old Wang had to admit that, at that moment,

his heart was beating a little faster than it should!

"Hey, what are you thinking about? You're acting weird!"

"Nothing, nothing!"

"Then explain what happened with Li Mingzhou." As soon as Wang Qianduo finished speaking, the man who'd first stopped him finally couldn't hold back and stepped forward.

"Explain what? He was arrested for obstructing official business. What does that have to do with me?" Wang Qianduo asked, feigning confusion.

"You got the NPC to arrest him. What do you mean, what does it have to do with you?" Manager Zhang said flatly.

"I got him arrested? Can I just order NPCs to arrest people? Did I make this game?"

"You... Don't think you're so great just because you picked up a hidden quest. I can have you thrown out on your ear in no time, you hear m—"

Manager Zhang was left speechless by Old Wang's retort. Then, as if a wire had gotten crossed, he shouted at Wang Qianduo.

But the next moment, he seemed to remember something and quickly lowered his voice and dropped his hands.

(＿＾)(＾＿)

Wang Qianduo and Lin Qimeng exchanged a knowing look. This really was an unexpected bonus!

"I recorded that. Want it?"

"No need. I recorded it too!"

How had this guy ever become a manager? He sure said whatever came to mind.

Given Wang Qianduo's value to the company, even Lin Qimeng, his direct supervisor, wouldn't dare say something like that, let alone the manager of the Game Department.

"Phew. Sorry, I lost my temper. Please accept my apology!

"But Li Mingzhou is involved in a very important quest for us, and that's why I got so anxious.

"Sorry to interrupt you while you were doing your quest. I'll be going now." After saying that, Manager Zhang turned and left.

He couldn't hear their private conversation, but he'd guessed Lin Qimeng would record him, because he was recording too.

So his apology was sincere. He was just trying to limit the damage. As for his excuse? He'd made it up. Only he knew the real reason.

"...Was he here to make a joke out of himself?

"Could you explain what that was about?" Wang Qianduo asked Lin Qimeng, baffled, after watching the guy apologize and leave.

"Maybe!

"He hit on me, I turned him down, and maybe he's now bitter about it." Lin Qimeng pondered, arms crossed, one finger pressed to her chin.

"So I'm just collateral damage, caught up in this for no reason?" Wang Qianduo raised an eyebrow.

"Got a problem with that?"

"I do. I think you owe me dinner." Wang Qianduo.

"Did you hit on me, too?" Lin Qimeng gave Wang Qianduo an amused, knowing look.

"Ahem... I'd better go finish my quest!"

He couldn't handle this temptress at all. He figured he'd better focus on his quest.

Lin Qimeng watched Wang Qianduo hurry away, her smile growing wider.

Too bad that lecher Old Wang didn't see it.

After finishing his sweep of the plaza, Wang Qianduo was about to turn in the quest to Old Huang, but suddenly noticed Lin Qimeng waiting for him.

"?"

"Need something, boss?"

"Nothing much. Could you share the repeatable quest you have?"

"Heh...

"Sure. Actually, anyone can take the quest, and all you have to do is find General Huang!" Wang Qianduo said, shaking his head with a laugh.

"It's that simple? Is that why General Huang hasn't been seeing players lately?" Lin Qimeng asked with a frown.

"Yep, that's all. But you also need to reach the rank of Sergeant First Class!"

"..."

"You call that easy? Since the game launched, I haven't heard of anyone getting a Military Rank... Do you mean you unlocked that one?"

Lin Qimeng glanced around, then lowered her voice.

Wang Qianduo raised an eyebrow but said nothing. He still had to turn in the quest, or he'd miss the end of his shift.

Lin Qimeng didn't stop him this time, because Wang Qianduo's method couldn't be shared with others.

He'd unlocked his Military Rank through a unique hidden quest, so there was no point in anyone else hoping to do the same.

Wang Qianduo didn't dwell on what Lin Qimeng might be thinking. After turning in the quest to Old Huang, he opened the two chests.

System Notification: You opened the Daily Chest and obtained the rare skill [Elemental Orb] and Fine-Grade material [Moonstone].

Elemental Orb (Rare) (Active):

LV1

Condense an elemental orb to attack an enemy, dealing energy-attribute damage equal to (120% of Attack Power + Intelligence) to the enemy hit.

Attack Range: 300

Cast Time: 0.5S

MP Cost: 10

Cooldown: 2S

Proficiency: 0/1000