It took Liu Xiujuan a long while to recover from her shock.
She didn't think Xiao Fan would lie to her under these circumstances.
It was true!
Players in Cloud Sea already held a lofty status, and Xiao Fan, who had created a God-Tier Skill, was sure to achieve great things in the future.
No! He was already extraordinary.
"Auntie, I'm telling you this so you can relax. With my current strength, we shouldn't let this get out for now."
Xiao Fan was like a child holding a peerless treasure. If word got out, he would become a well-known target.
In the Real World, the nation could still protect him. But what about in Cloud Sea? There were too many uncertainties!
Until he had absolute strength, he didn't want to reveal that he possessed a God-Tier Skill.
More importantly, he had enemies.
Xiao Fan's gaze was like two sharp swords, fixed on the direction of the Chen Family. It was as if he could pierce through the buildings and crowds straight to the heart of the Chen Family.
The Chen Family's humiliation of him and their nearly beating his uncle to death had lodged like a thorn in his heart. One day, he would make them pay!
For now, he needed to grow stronger.
"Don't worry, Xiao Fan. We absolutely won't tell anyone." Liu Xiujuan understood how serious this was and gave him her solemn promise.
Xiao Le and Xiao An nodded frantically. "Don't worry, big brother. We won't tell anyone."
Xiao Fan patted them both on the head. "When you enter the game someday, I'll give you a surprise."
Xiao Fan could think of plenty of powerful skills, and he couldn't use them all himself. He could train his family and some teammates with them later.
As for his uncle and aunt, once he'd grown stronger and left the Novice Zone, he could help them get stronger too.
"A surprise!" Xiao Le and Xiao An exchanged a glance, already full of anticipation and wishing they could enter the game right away.
Xiao Fan asked, "Auntie, you feel better now, right?"
Now that there was a solution, Liu Xiujuan finally looked a little more at ease. "Thank you, Xiao Fan. You must be hungry after coming back from the Novice Zone. I'll go make dinner." With that, she turned and went into the kitchen.
"We'll help," Xiao Le and Xiao An said, following her into the kitchen.
Xiao Fan returned to his room alone. He hadn't expected so much to happen at home while he was back in the Real World. It was lucky he'd come back when he did.
Lying on his bed, Xiao Fan picked up his phone and looked up information about game mercenaries.
Now that he knew his uncle was in trouble, he didn't plan to stay long in the Real World. He would head back into the game later and look for mercenaries.
Game mercenaries had no centralized management yet. The profession was chaotic, and their strengths varied wildly.
To take on missions more effectively, many mercenaries banded together to form mercenary groups.
A good mercenary group depended on its reputation and mission success rate.
Xiao Fan opened the Cloud Sea Game Forum and looked up information about mercenary groups.
The three highest-ranked mercenary groups in the Dragon Nation were the Ferocious Tiger Mercenary Group, the Wild Wolf Mercenary Group, and the Night Blade Mercenary Group.
The leader of the Ferocious Tiger Mercenary Group had the ID Iron Hammer and was level 55. Before the game descended, he had owned a martial arts school and created his own Mystic Rank Skill Chain.
Most members of the group came from Iron Hammer Martial Arts Hall. The group had a good reputation and mission success rate, but it didn't take on especially difficult missions.
After thinking it over, Xiao Fan put the Ferocious Tiger Mercenary Group on hold.
Of the three groups, the Wild Wolf Mercenary Group had the worst reputation. Its leader was called Old Dog, was level 55, and had been a small-time hoodlum before the game descended.
Old Dog was ruthless, but talented. To learn a high-level Skill Chain, he married a player who possessed a Mystic Rank Skill Chain. Once he'd learned it, he killed his wife's entire family.
The Wild Wolf Mercenary Group was full of people like him. Although the group had a high mission completion rate, ordinary people rarely dared to do business with them.
Xiao Fan didn't hesitate to cross the Wild Wolf Mercenary Group off his list.
That left only the Night Blade Mercenary Group.
Its leader, Ye Bugu, was level 59 and a legendary figure in the game.
It was said that both his parents had died when he was young, leaving him with only his younger sister, who depended on him.
When he was still a beginner, Ye Bugu had only learned a Yellow Rank Skill Chain.
Later, after leaving the Novice Zone, he and his sister were targeted by a group of people while hunting Fierce Beasts in the wild. His sister tried to help him escape, but they killed her.
From then on, revenge was all that remained of his gaming life.
He couldn't beat those people during the day, so he lay low at night. His only companion was a pair of short blades.
Over time, he actually created a Mystic Rank Skill Chain for dual short blades. With its powerful skills, he killed everyone responsible for his sister's death, but also made enemies of numerous factions and was hunted for two years.
Only after he reached level 50 and created his first Earth-Tier Skill did his pursuers finally give up, unwillingly.
Later, Ye Bugu founded the Night Blade Mercenary Group, whose members had all gone through similar experiences.
Of the three groups, the Night Blade Mercenary Group had the best reputation and the highest mission success rate.
The downside was that they charged a lot, and whether they accepted a mission depended on their mood.
But the Night Blade Mercenary Group was especially good at finding people, with an eighty-percent success rate!
"That's the one!" Xiao Fan immediately made his decision.
He noted down the Night Blade Mercenary Group's business ID. After dinner, he eagerly asked his uncle for his game ID, then messaged Fatty and told him to come straight to Zone 18 in three days.
"Thanks for everything, Xiao Fan." Liu Xiujuan watched him leave with reddened eyes.
"We're family, Auntie. Don't worry. Uncle will be all right."
After speaking, Xiao Fan pressed his Login Device. The next second, he appeared in Zone 18.
It was still the same familiar, run-down village, yet Xiao Fan inexplicably felt a sense of belonging.
"Huh? Jiu Chen? You're back already? It hasn't even been a day." Wind Snow Traveler's voice came from behind him.
Xiao Fan turned around and explained, "Something came up, so I came back early."
"Is there anything I can help with?" Ever since the Beast Tide incident, Wind Snow Traveler's attitude toward Xiao Fan had completely changed.
Xiao Fan was only level five, but his ever-changing, mysterious skills were far beyond Wind Snow Traveler's understanding.
He'd also noticed that Xiao Fan could use skills without a weapon. It was something he'd never heard of before.
He admired Xiao Fan now, and even felt a little awed by him.
"No, I already have a solution." Xiao Fan shook his head.
"All right. If you need anything, just come to me." Wind Snow Traveler smiled and turned to leave.
Xiao Fan glanced around the Novice Village and suddenly noticed that the Black-Clad Girl who'd been curled up in a corner was gone.
"I guess no one could stand staying outside in these conditions."
They were strangers, so Xiao Fan didn't dwell on it. He turned and went back to the thatched hut.
He opened the add-friend function and entered the Night Blade Mercenary Group's agent ID.
"Enter verification message"
Xiao Fan typed: "I'd like to hire you to find someone."
The message was rejected instantly.
Xiao Fan: ?????
"What's going on?"
Xiao Fan frowned and sent another friend request.
But before a second had passed, it was rejected again.
The speed made it obvious the other person was online, but for some reason, they hadn't accepted.
He applied again.
Rejected.
He applied again.
Rejected.
Xiao Fan applied more than ten times, and every single request was rejected.
"Could they be looking down on me because my level's too low?"
Xiao Fan was a little angry. He was a customer, for crying out loud—the customer was always right! Was it really okay to reject him without even asking what he wanted?
Terrible service. One-star review!
Suppressing his anger, Xiao Fan sent another friend request.
"Hello, this is an urgent matter. Sorry for the trouble, but could you please accept my friend request?"
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