Chapter 78.2: Test
Long Wind Across the Sky: "Hello. I'm Long Wind Across the Sky, and this is my partner, Surging Undercurrent."
Surging Undercurrent: "Hello."
Nan Yu asked, "How long have you known my eldest brother and the others?"
Long Wind Across the Sky replied, "We've known them since we first started playing this game. It's been many years now."
Nan Yu had previously learned from his eldest brother that these two were exceptionally skilled players, and both of them were Ability Users. Unfortunately, they had terrible luck. They had been suppressed where they lived and lacked the means to create better opportunities for themselves, which was why they had remained unknown until now.
When they were young, their families couldn't afford to support them, so neither of them had been able to finish school. As adults, even finding work had become difficult.
Nan Yu said, "I've known my eldest brother for quite some time now, and I think he's a trustworthy person. Since he recommended you to me, I'm willing to trust you as well. Of course, no matter what we say now, they're only words. I'll let you join my Elite Guild first. After we've observed your performance for a while, if everything looks good, you'll be able to stay permanently. What do you think?"
Long Wind Across the Sky immediately nodded.
"No problem! Thank you, Guild Master!"
Nan Yu quickly sent the guild invitations.
The guild instantly gained two new members.
A Level 1 Elite Guild could only have ten members, and they had now reached the maximum capacity.
Nan Yu added, "By the way, the guild can only publish one daily mission at the moment, so hurry up and complete today's mission. The rewards are excellent."
The two of them immediately opened the guild mission panel.
There was only one available mission.
Complete a dungeon with an SSS rating, and receive 1,000 gold coins.
After withdrawing those 1,000 coins and paying the five percent processing fee...
The two of them wouldn't have to worry about living expenses for quite a while.
As long as they kept a low profile during this period, quietly saving enough money for two interstellar tickets to leave this star system wouldn't be difficult at all.
"Thank you very much, Guild Master!"
Nan Yu waved dismissively.
"Work hard. I believe in you, and I also believe in the people my eldest brother recommended to me. Don't disappoint their expectations, and don't disappoint mine."
"Alright, I won't keep you any longer today. Clearing a Hell difficulty dungeon three times still takes quite a bit of time."
Long Wind Across the Sky and Surging Undercurrent exchanged glances before clasping each other's hands tightly.
"We've finally found a place where we can earn a stable income."
"For now, let's continue living exactly as we always have. We absolutely can't let anything slip."
"I know. Once we earn the gold, don't withdraw it immediately. Leave it in the game. When it's finally time to leave, we'll cash everything out all at once, buy our tickets, and board the ship immediately."
"That way, if they let their guard down, they'll never catch us."
"You're right."
"We've waited so many years."
"At last... there's hope of leaving this planet."
The people they had offended ruled this planet like tyrants.
However, they couldn't interfere with affairs at the spaceport.
Those facilities were among the Empire's highest priorities and were managed entirely by the military.
And military personnel never showed favoritism toward anyone.
Since those people couldn't extend their influence into the spaceport, they resorted to preventing the two of them from ever earning enough credits to buy two tickets.
To accomplish that, they constantly suppressed them, forcing them to scrape by every day.
They barely had enough food to avoid starving.
They even had to rent the cheapest basement apartment available.
Long Wind Across the Sky sent a message to Nan Yu's eldest brother.
"Thanks, brother. If you ever need anything in the future, just ask us. We'll do everything we can."
His eldest brother quickly replied.
"No problem! I won't be polite with you!"
Seeing the reply, both of them smiled.
"Come on."
"Let's clear some dungeons first."
"Hopefully we won't run into any trash players who drag the team down."
"I heard there are two squads looking for damage dealers. Let's give them a try."
Because of the recent bounty incident, players with red names had become extremely common.
Almost everyone with even a little strength had participated in hunting those five bounty targets.
As a result, nearly all of them had accumulated at least some PK points.
In fact...
The darker a player's red name was, the more welcome they tended to be.
After arriving at the recruitment area, the two of them quickly found a team.
The guild mission required players from the same guild to clear the dungeon together.
However, it didn't require the entire party to belong to that guild.
As long as at least one guild member was present, the mission counted.
While they headed off to run dungeons...
Nan Yu and Yang Zhou logged out.
Nan Yu looked at Yang Zhou before taking a deep breath.
"Yang Zhou..."
"Don't you think we've forgotten something?"
Yang Zhou blinked.
"What?"
Nan Yu rubbed his stomach.
"I don't think we've eaten dinner."
The moment Yang Zhou heard that, his stomach growled loudly.
"Ah!"
"You're right!"
"We still haven't had dinner."
"Let's hurry and eat."
Nan Yu nodded.
"Where should we go?"
"The restaurant downstairs?"
"The food there seemed pretty good."
Yang Zhou agreed.
"Let's go take a look."
However...
As soon as they entered the downstairs restaurant, they saw several familiar faces.
One of them was the Mental Power User who had previously assaulted Yang Zhou.
He still looked weak and frail.
Standing beside him were two Ability Users.
Nan Yu recognized them immediately.
They were the very same two Ability Users who had been taken away by property management after Nan Yu reported them that night.
It had only been a few days.
They had already been released?
Even worse...
The property management had actually allowed them back into the residential complex, letting them swagger around openly.
Without changing his expression, Nan Yu withdrew his gaze.
He led Yang Zhou into a private dining room and began ordering food.
Everything was ordered directly through their optical brains.
Once the order was placed, the staff would deliver the dishes to the room, so there was no need to worry about being overheard.
After closing the private room door, Nan Yu spoke.
"The two Ability Users aren't the same ones who stood behind that Mental Power User when he beat you before."
Yang Zhou nodded.
"Yeah."
"They're definitely different."
"So these are the two Ability Users you mentioned before—the ones who fought for that Mental Power User?"
Nan Yu replied, "That's right."
"Don't you think it's strange?"
Yang Zhou clenched his teeth.
"Of course it's strange."
"It's only been a few days, and they've already been released."
"Are our lives really worth so little?"
"What exactly is this property management doing?"
"I'm reporting them right now!"
Naturally, reporting the property management couldn't be done through the property management office itself.
The report had to be submitted directly to the academy.
After all, many aspects of this residential complex were under the academy's authority.
Nan Yu didn't stop him.
Instead, he quietly watched as Yang Zhou filed the complaint.
After connecting with the academy's complaints department, Yang Zhou dramatically described everything that had happened, embellishing the story along the way.
Finally, the staff member replied,
"Please rest assured. We will investigate and verify this matter as quickly as possible. If everything you reported is true, we will deal with it immediately, ensure you have a safe living environment, and punish the residential complex accordingly."
Offending the academy—
Especially the Royal Military Academy—
Would be a devastating blow to any residential complex.
Less than five minutes after Yang Zhou ended the call...
Their food hadn't even arrived yet...
The academy called back.
Yang Zhou blinked.
"That was incredibly fast."
Nan Yu nodded.
"Answer it."
Yang Zhou accepted the call.
The person speaking was the same staff member who had answered his report earlier.
"Hello. Is this Student Yang Zhou?"
Yang Zhou frowned slightly.
"Yes, that's me."
"What is it?"
"You've already finished investigating?"
"So you're going to deal with it now?"
The other party chuckled twice.
Both Nan Yu and Yang Zhou frowned.
What was that supposed to mean?
What kind of attitude was that?
Could someone inside the academy have been bribed as well?
"I'm very sorry, Student Yang Zhou."
"We've already investigated this matter."
"Everything you reported simply doesn't exist."
"So all I can do is apologize."
"I hope that the next time you contact us, you'll first verify whether the information you're reporting is actually true."
After hearing those words, Yang Zhou froze for a moment.
Then he immediately realized...
He had been played.
"What do you mean?"
"Have even you been bribed?"
"You're part of the Royal Military Academy's complaints department!"
"I'm asking you one more time."
"Is this really how you're handling the matter?"
Even Nan Yu found it difficult to believe.
This was the first time he had ever encountered the possibility that someone from the Royal Military Academy had been bought off.
"Student Yang Zhou."
"If you continue to stubbornly persist, then don't blame us for recording this incident in your academic file."
"This matter is nothing more than slander."
"We will not stand by and allow it."
"If you stop now, we'll pretend that none of this ever happened."