Chapter 53: A Group of Enemies

Slime Plains.

The place was crowded with people. Slime Plains was busier than ever before. A large circle formed around the BOSS spawn point.

In the middle of the circle, a huge purple crystal Mutant Slime King was madly killing players. The players around it kept running away, but none could escape the Mutant Slime King. It often killed a whole group with just one move.

Although there were many people, only a few players could really hurt the Mutant Slime King. Even the players being chased by it tried to fight back before dying, but the damage they dealt was pitifully low.

Except for that one time when a group of well-equipped expert players had surrounded it, the Mutant Slime King seemed completely unbeatable.

“Brother, this BOSS is really tough,” Wang Xu said with a serious face to the young man beside him.

If Chen Mo were there, he would have recognized this young man. Even though they had only met once or twice, this young man left a strong impression on Chen Mo.

He was Wang Xu’s older brother in real life, Wang Wen. Unlike Wang Xu, who was in his mid-twenties, Wang Wen gave off a deep and steady feeling.

“Yes, but it’s not surprising. It’s a mutant BOSS. One team alone can’t defeat it. Brother Xiaolou, what do you think?” Wang Wen did not give his opinion but instead asked a young, scholarly-looking mage beside him, whose game ID was Xiaolou Fengyu.

Xiaolou Fengyu smiled lightly. “Of course we have to kill it. We’ve taken a big loss on this deal. Since there’s a mutant BOSS, we must kill it. Don’t worry, I’ve contacted all the members of the Glacier Game Club who haven’t left the Starter Village yet. With them and the hired experts, killing the BOSS won’t be a problem. Last time we were caught off guard, but this time we’re prepared. As long as we stop the BOSS from splitting into copies, we can easily kill it.”

The copies split by the Mutant Slime King were not as strong as the real one, but players still couldn’t handle them.

A team with knights and priests could barely hold off the BOSS’s attacks if the knights defended and the priests healed. But if there was an extra copy, the team would quickly fall apart.

“Stop the BOSS from splitting? How do we do that?” Wang Xu frowned, not understanding.

“Isn’t Leng Xiaoliu right over there? His gear has a silence skill,” Xiaolou Fengyu said, looking toward another team. Just then, he saw Leng Xiaoliu looking back at them.

Leng Xiaoliu walked over with a big smile. “Brother Xiaolou, I’ve heard so much about you! I heard you joined the Glacier Game Club. Congratulations!”

Xiaolou Fengyu was a fairly famous expert in competitive games in the Huaxia Region, known for his skilled play. He didn’t usually interact much with people like Leng Xiaoliu, who ran gaming studios. But when Leng Xiaoliu’s studio wasn’t busy, they sometimes took on high-level practice accounts at good prices. In some ranked matches for those accounts, Leng Xiaoliu had run into Xiaolou Fengyu a few times and been beaten by him, causing delays in completing the orders. Plus, their names were similar—one was “Xiaolou,” the other “Xiaoliu”—so it was hard to forget him.

Hearing Leng Xiaoliu’s words, Xiaolou Fengyu sneered inwardly. Although Leng Xiaoliu was congratulating him, anyone could see that the Glacier Game Club had gotten off to a rough start and taken a big loss. It was unclear if it could even keep running, and even if it did, it probably wouldn’t get much support. Leng Xiaoliu was surely delighted inside.

But with the BOSS in front of them, Xiaolou Fengyu didn’t want to bother with this narrow-minded and cunning guy. Nodding, he got straight to the point. “Boss Xiaoliu, I know you have a piece of gear that can silence BOSS skills. Neither your team nor ours can take this BOSS alone. How about we cooperate?”

Leng Xiaoliu was a professional too. When it came to business, he put aside his personal feelings. He had come over with the same idea. After thinking for a moment, Leng Xiaoliu asked, “Cooperation is fine, but how do we split the loot?”

“To kill the BOSS, our two teams alone won’t be enough. I’ve also called the rest of the Glacier Game Club members and some other expert players. There will be quite a few people to share the loot, but I can promise you this: out of the three most valuable items the BOSS drops, you can choose one.”

“Okay, but who picks first?” Leng Xiaoliu agreed without much thought.

Even if it was a mutant BOSS, it would only drop about ten items. Getting one of the three most valuable ones was already pretty good.

But among the three most valuable items, some would be better than others. Who picked first was still an issue.

“For the three most valuable items, we’ll all choose together. If no one argues over an item, the person can take it. If there’s a dispute, we’ll draw lots.”

Xiaolou Fengyu had already thought of a fair way to divide the loot. Leng Xiaoliu thought it sounded reasonable and nodded in agreement.

The group then began to prepare and get ready.

In the distance, the Mutant Slime King was still madly killing the players who were just watching. Many players knew they couldn’t kill the BOSS themselves but still hoped to take advantage of the chaos.

With so many people around, including experts who had failed to kill the Flame Three-Headed Wolf, the BOSS would be killed sooner or later. If they could grab a piece of equipment in the confusion, they’d strike it rich.

“The experts are making their move!”

Finally, those players saw Leng Xiaoliu, Xiaolou Fengyu, and the others begin their attack.

There were about eight teams in total, fewer than fifty people. But once they all started attacking together, the Mutant Slime King’s Health Points began to drop rapidly.

“Knights, focus on defense! Priests, heal!” Xiaolou Fengyu shouted.

The first wave of attacks took a big chunk of the BOSS’s Health Points, but if they couldn’t withstand the BOSS’s counterattacks, they would be wiped out instantly.

Almost all of them were experts, so they didn’t need Xiaolou Fengyu to tell them—they were already defending with all their might.

But while they could handle other attacks, the Mutant Slime King’s purple sphere Area Attack wasn’t something a few knights could block. The other team members could easily get hit and killed.

Xiaolou Fengyu and the others had a plan for this move.

As they fought, they moved toward the surrounding players. When the purple spheres bounced out from the Mutant Slime King, they quickly hid among the crowd.

With their skills, they could easily use the nearby players as shields against the spheres. Once the spheres disappeared, they swiftly regrouped and continued their attacks.

“Darn it, these guys are awful!”

After this happened twice, the surrounding players understood what Xiaolou Fengyu and the others were up to, but Xiaolou Fengyu’s group didn’t care.

They were sure that at least seventy percent of these onlookers were there to steal the BOSS! If it weren’t for the fact that players couldn’t attack each other in the Starter Village, Xiaolou Fengyu and the others knew these people would try to kill them and take the loot when the BOSS was almost dead. Using these players as shields didn’t bother them at all.

“Good, I made it in time.”

Just then, Chen Mo finally arrived.

Seeing the BOSS with nearly half its Health Points gone, Chen Mo knew he wasn’t too late.

“Wang Xu? Wang Wen?” Looking at the team fighting the BOSS, Chen Mo immediately recognized Wang Xu and Wang Wen.

The two brothers had slightly altered their appearances, but among a group of strangers, it was easy to spot two people he knew.

“Wang Wen is as steady in the game as he is in real life. Impressive!” Chen Mo had only met Wang Wen twice and didn’t know what he did for a living, but Wang Wen’s performance in the game was remarkable.

“He’s here too. What a small world.” Then, Chen Mo also recognized Leng Xiaoliu and Leng Xiaoqian.

“The Glacier Group, the Wang brothers, that foul-mouthed, sharp-tongued woman… If I don’t steal this BOSS, I’d be letting myself down!”

The game didn’t have rules against stealing BOSSes, but if there was no reason, stealing a BOSS from a group of strangers might make Chen Mo feel a little guilty. But with this particular group, stealing their BOSS wouldn’t just be guilt-free—it would feel great!