Early the next morning, the first thing Xiao Fan did after waking up was open his friends list. Ye Bugu hadn't sent him a message.
"Looks like Uncle hasn't woken up yet."
What had happened to his uncle—the disappearance and injuries—had left Xiao Fan with a sense of urgency.
He had originally planned to lie low and develop in Zone 18, but now he was desperate to grow stronger. At the very least, he needed to be strong enough to leave the Novice Zone at any time.
Xiao Fan had enough Core Power to reach level ten, but he hadn't leveled up yet. He wanted to refresh his traits and get good ones before reaching level ten.
"I'll farm traits for another week, then level up."
Xiao Fan did the math. He'd been farming traits for about ten days already, so another week should just about do it.
By then, whether he got a trait related to the sun or one related to the moon, he'd be able to come up with plenty of good skills.
Seeing the Fat That Glows still asleep beside him, Xiao Fan unceremoniously kicked him.
"Ah! What's wrong? What happened?"
Fat That Glows abruptly sat up in bed and looked around in confusion, until his eyes landed on Xiao Fan's expressionless face.
"Had enough sleep? Get up and get to work."
Squinting sleepily, Fat That Glows reluctantly glanced out the window. It was just getting light, around five in the morning.
He couldn't help but feel a deep sense of admiration for Xiao Fan.
"Brother Fan really is something. Not only is he talented, he works so hard too. He's definitely just a little bit better than me."
The two left the thatched hut and happened to run into Qin Muyu coming toward them.
Fat That Glows's eyes lit up. "What a gorgeous girl!"
Faced with his undisguised stare, Qin Muyu furrowed her brows, a flash of murderous intent crossing her face.
Seeing this, Xiao Fan patted Fat That Glows on the shoulder and introduced him to Qin Muyu. "This is my friend and our teammate. His game ID is Fat That Glows."
"This is Soul Piercer," Xiao Fan added, introducing her to Fat That Glows.
Fat That Glows came to his senses, rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, and held out his hand to Qin Muyu. "So you're a teammate. Nice to meet you."
Qin Muyu's murderous intent faded, but her expression remained cold. Without even looking at the hand Fat That Glows had extended, she asked Xiao Fan, "Are we hunting Fierce Beasts starting today?"
"Yeah. We'll go once Garfield Without Fat and the others get back," Xiao Fan said with a nod.
When Qin Muyu ignored him, Fat That Glows didn't mind at all and simply withdrew his hand.
"Fa... Brother Chen, what kind of Skill Chain do you think I should learn?"
After Fat That Glows transferred to Zone 18, his original game data had been reset. Even the beginner weapon he'd bought, the White Shield, was gone.
Since Xiao Fan planned to train Fat That Glows to be the team's main tank, he'd already made plans for his Skill Chain.
"You two can farm Core Power with us for a couple of days. We'll worry about skills in a few days." Xiao Fan planned to level them both up first. Fat That Glows in particular needed to buy some attribute points before he could create high-tier skills.
"You two?"
Qin Muyu and Fat That Glows looked at each other at the same time.
They suddenly realized that the other person might have transferred from another Novice Zone, just like them.
Around then, Garfield Without Fat and the others logged into the game one after another.
Xiao Fan introduced Fat That Glows and Qin Muyu to them.
The four stared in surprise. What had happened while they'd been back in the real world?
The genius who'd transferred from Zone 1 wasn't hiding in a corner anymore—he wanted to join their team? And there was a player who wouldn't even stay in Zone 2, insisting on coming to Zone 18 to join them.
Good grief! The world had finally gone crazy in exactly the way they liked.
After the introductions, Xiao Fan suggested that Fat That Glows and Qin Muyu level up with the team for now.
If anyone else had suggested it, the four of them would never have agreed. But when Xiao Fan was the one asking, it was different.
After all, if it weren't for Xiao Fan, they'd still be shivering in fear in the Southwest Forest, hunting level-one Fierce Beasts like all the other new players.
When they'd returned to the real world this time, their families had been so shocked to hear they'd reached level four that their jaws nearly hit the floor. All the shame they'd felt at being assigned to Zone 18 had vanished, and they could finally hold their heads up when they spoke.
They owed it all to Xiao Fan.
"No problem." Garfield Without Fat and the other three patted their chests, showing no sign of minding.
Seeing this, Fat That Glows immediately went over and cheerfully struck up a conversation with the four of them.
Qin Muyu felt a little embarrassed. Back in a Novice Village like Zone 1, crowded with geniuses, she was usually the one people begged to carry them. Now that she'd come to Zone 18, she had to rely on others to carry her.
"Let's go."
The sun had already risen, so the group headed toward the Southwest Forest.
Although two level-zero players had joined the team, Xiao Fan had no intention of hunting low-level Fierce Beasts for their sake. His target was still the Misty Forest. After all, a reward of a thousand Core Power a day was too tempting to pass up!
Besides, the four members of Garfield Without Fat's group were about to have enough Core Power to reach level five. Once they had new skills, the team's strength would rise considerably, and they'd earn Core Power even faster.
On the way, Xiao Fan said nothing and simply kept looking up at the sun.
The others were used to it by now. Wanting to fit in, Fat That Glows pretended he knew what was going on too.
When they reached the Southwest Forest, Xiao Fan looked at the vibrant Seven-Colored Flowers, itching to get started.
"No. I promised I'd leave these flowers alone once my mana exceeded ten thousand."
Xiao Fan forced himself to keep walking. He was mainly worried that if he kept planting flowers, he'd get Gardener again when his traits refreshed at level ten. That would be a terrible waste.
After hunting a few level-four and level-five Fierce Beasts, the group arrived at the entrance to the Misty Forest.
Only then did Qin Muyu realize that Xiao Fan was planning to take them into a secret realm.
Her brows drew together slightly. Secret realms were indeed the fastest way to earn Core Power early on, but they were extremely dangerous!
Qin Muyu didn't know that Xiao Fan's team had been farming secret realms all along. Even in Zone 1, players only dared enter a Level 5 Secret Realm after reaching level five and gathering a full team of ten.
Their team had one level-five player—Xiao Fan—four level-four players, and even two level-zero players: her and Fat That Glows.
What difference was there between taking a team like that into a Level 5 Secret Realm and asking for death?
However, seeing that Garfield Without Fat and the others looked completely unfazed, and remembering the strange, unpredictable skills Xiao Fan had used during the Beast Tide, she wisely kept quiet.
Fat That Glows didn't even know what a secret realm was. He just followed Xiao Fan wherever he went. Besides, watching the team hunt level-four and level-five Fierce Beasts as if it were ridiculously easy had already shocked him enough.
"Once we enter the secret realm, you two stay behind us. Whatever you do, don't move around."
Xiao Fan warned them, still concerned.
At Fat That Glows and Qin Muyu's levels, even a weak monster could kill them if it landed a hit.
"Don't worry, Brother Fan. I'll do exactly what you say." Seeing Xiao Fan's serious expression, Fat That Glows quickly thumped his chest and promised.
Qin Muyu nodded too.
"Don't be too nervous. As long as you two follow Brother Chen's instructions and stay put, we'll keep you safe. We'll clear the place with ease."
Seeing the geniuses from Novice Village Zones 1 and 2 now carefully following behind them, asking to be carried, gave the four members of Garfield Without Fat's group a tremendous boost to their egos.
This was the life! It felt great!
"All right, get ready to enter the secret realm."
As he spoke, Xiao Fan placed his hand on the entrance to the secret realm in front of him.
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