A subtle smile touched Lin Yi's lips. He surveyed the puzzled players before him, a hint of amusement flashing in his eyes.
"What are you smiling at?"
Lu Renjia frowned, displeasure in his voice:
"We're grateful to you, but isn't hogging all the treasure a bit much?"
"We'd get wiped out? Are you saying there are stronger monsters in the cave?"
Lin Yi didn't answer. He merely smiled and shook his head.
"What exactly do you mean?"
Lu Renjia's expression grew uglier, but he seemed to realize something. A trace of darkness crept into his eyes, and his voice gradually turned cold:
"I'm from the Royal Clan of the Canglan Galaxy. You think you can act so arrogantly in front of me?"
"Zero Game is still just a game!"
"And if it's a game, it has to have balancing mechanics!"
"I admit your combat power is a little high, but your defense should be just as low!"
"There are more than a dozen of us here. You think you're guaranteed to win?"
"You don't want to offend a major guild and end up with your lifespan reduced to zero, do you?"
"Hand over the treasure if you know what's good for you, and I'll overlook what you just said!"
Hearing Lu Renjia's words, the others instantly changed their attitudes as well, voicing their accusations one after another.
"Exactly, Return to Zero! Hogging everything isn't right!"
"We all admired you before, but now it looks like you're nothing special."
"Hurry up and hand it over, or we'll take it ourselves!"
As they spoke, they had already raised their weapons, ready to fight at any moment.
The Royal Clan? A meaningless status like that meant nothing the moment you entered the game!
Balance? Only novice players would mistakenly believe... this game had balancing mechanics!
A guild? Just a place where weaklings gathered to whine over nothing!
Lin Yi sighed, shook his head helplessly, and said softly:
"I have just a few words for you..."
"A heap of loose sand, a disorganized mob!"
"Frenzied Wolf's Wrath!"
Without any warning, Lin Yi gripped the Mountain Greatsword in a reverse grip and drove it into the ground!
Boom!
An explosive force burst outward, with Lin Yi at its center.
Whoosh!
In an instant!
The ground within twenty meters of Lin Yi became rather bare.
Whoosh!
In that instant, everyone gathered around him returned to the novice village together!
Clatter!
Clink, clink, clink!
Clang, clang, clang!
The sounds of equipment dropping gradually rang out in Lin Yi's ears.
At the same time, a series of kill notifications sounded.
[Killed player [Canglan Royal Lu Renjia]. Gained 132 years of lifespan.] [Killed player [Hard-Carrying Healer]. Gained 38 years of lifespan.] [Killed player [The Land Inspires So Much Anxiety]. Gained 62 years of lifespan.] [Killed player [Your Life Is Forfeit]. Gained 27 years of lifespan.]
As the dozen or so system notifications ended, Lin Yi glanced at his current lifespan:
879 years!
Not bad!
Lin Yi picked up the pile of equipment on the ground: one S-grade staff, three O-grade pieces of equipment, and twelve M-grade weapons.
As things stood, they counted as one of the stronger teams in the novice village.
Normally, Lin Yi would have been interested in chatting with them some more and teaching them a few more things.
But now, the entrance to the North Pole was right before him, and Lin Yi could hardly wait.
As for ruining his reputation?
Not a chance!
Perhaps some people would call him cruel early on, but as the game progressed, they would discover...
Without cruelty, survival was impossible!
So what if he became an evil dragon now?
Everyone wanted to slay the dragon, but everyone wanted to become the evil dragon even more!
Plots about defeating the evil dragon and saving the princess...
Only happened in fairy tales!
Moonlight spilled down, rendering the battlefield's wreckage in vivid detail.
Some other monsters in the surrounding area were howling with unclear meaning.
They seemed to be challenging him to battle, yet also seemed afraid.
Lin Yi smiled and shook his head. Ignoring the other monsters nearby, he put away his greatsword and strode toward the cave at the South Pole.
Ten meters later, Lin Yi reached the end of the cave.
Before him stood a magnificent gate, with another teleportation array to its right.
It was just like the cave at the South Pole last time, as though it had been replicated perfectly!
"I never heard of any ZZZ-grade keys in my previous life. I wonder if there's one here!"
"The farther in the treasures are, the better they are!"
"If there's another three-star key this time, this really might be a hidden chain quest!"
Standing before the gate, Lin Yi took a deep breath, slowly calming the stirring in his heart:
"My dear esteemed game guide Xiao Ling, please let me see... your big treasure!"
Whoosh!
As though it had a mind of its own, the gate sucked Lin Yi inside, body and all.
After a dizzying whirl, Lin Yi once again arrived in a mysterious space.
This place was exactly like the treasury at the South Pole. Countless treasures lay quietly on the ground, radiating dazzling light.
"Ding! Welcome to [Novice Village's Z Treasure Vault (North)]." "You have five minutes to select one treasure to take with you." "The countdown begins!"
Without the slightest hesitation, Lin Yi ran straight into the depths of the treasury.
"Leopard's Swiftness!"
He also activated his speed-boosting skill, moving so fast that he seemed like a streak of lightning.
As he ran, Lin Yi kept his eyes fixed ahead, ignoring everything on either side of the path.
The end of the treasury was where the most precious of all the treasures lay.
With the skill's boost, Lin Yi reached the end of the treasury in less than half a minute.
Three treasures stood at the center of the treasury's far end.
[Army-Breaking Thrust Skill Book] Category: Skill book Grade: AA Effect: Use to learn the skill [Army-Breaking Thrust]. Description: [Army-Breaking Impact] deals damage equal to 150% of combat power to all enemies along a straight ten-meter line and knocks them back 1-10 meters. Cooldown: 30 seconds. When the skill is cast, enemies knocked back are stunned for 0.1-5 seconds.
[Elemental Storm Skill Book] Category: Skill book Grade: AA Effect: Use to learn the skill [Elemental Storm]. Description: [Elemental Storm] summons an elemental storm that deals 200% magic damage to all enemies within a surrounding 10 × 10 area and applies one random elemental effect (freezing, burning, electrocution, poisoning). Duration: 10 seconds. Cooldown: 60 seconds.
[Silver Key] Category: Key Grade: ZZZ Effect: Used to open locks. Unique item. Indestructible. Description: Its holder can use it to open specific locks and gain unpredictable opportunities.
Lin Yi glanced at the attributes of the three treasures and pursed his lips slightly.
Whoosh!
He seized the [Silver Key] in the middle.