Chapter 170: The Heroines Grind
"You have exceptionally high viewer retention during combat."
Shen Tian stared.
"You made a chart."
Ling Shuangxue looked confused.
"Why wouldn’t I?"
Bai Xue looked toward Shen Tian.
"She’s already planning monetization."
Ling Shuangxue calmly took a sip of coffee.
"He’s leaving money on the table."
Shen Tian looked toward his mother.
"Help."
Yin Suyi was examining a different screen.
"No."
"Why?"
"I’ve been reading the comments."
That sounded worse.
Shen Tian immediately became cautious.
"...Why?"
Yin Suyi’s expression was cold.
"Some women are behaving inappropriately."
Shen Tian closed his eyes.
There it was.
Shen Yan leaned over.
"Show me."
"No."
"Mother."
"No."
"I want names."
"Absolutely not."
Shen Tian slowly stood.
"I think I’m going to log in."
Every chair moved.
He froze.
Eleven women stood.
"..."
"You’re all coming?"
"Yes."
He sighed.
"Of course."
Meanwhile...
Across the city...
Jiang Feng had already logged in.
Greenleaf Village was almost unrecognizable compared to launch day.
The chaos remained...
But players were adapting.
Markets had formed.
Guild recruitment messages filled the central plaza.
Crafting stalls appeared along the streets.
Players had begun discovering efficient leveling routes.
Most importantly...
Names were becoming known.
FallenWind was one of them.
His Unique Class remained secret.
But several players had recognized his name from the Forest Ruins first-clear announcement.
Others had watched clips.
He received party invitations constantly.
Guild offers too.
Jiang Feng ignored almost all of them.
He stood beside the southern gate.
Waiting.
His sword rested across his back.
His equipment had improved.
Nothing legendary.
But already better than most players at his level.
FallenWind
Level 8
Sword Wanderer
A message appeared.
LittleMaple: I’M COMING
Then...
LittleMaple: DON’T LEAVE
Jiang Feng smiled.
He typed.
FallenWind: I’m not leaving.
Three seconds later...
Another message.
LittleMaple: I GOT LOST
His smile disappeared.
"..."
He opened the map.
FallenWind: Where are you?
A screenshot arrived.
Jiang Feng stared.
She was standing beside the blacksmith.
On the opposite side of the village.
He closed his eyes.
FallenWind: Stay there.
LittleMaple: okay ;-;
Jiang Feng started walking.
He found her exactly where she’d promised.
LittleMaple stood beside the blacksmith.
Her short brown hair moved gently in the virtual breeze.
Her hazel eyes immediately brightened when she noticed him.
"Captain!"
Several players nearby looked toward Jiang Feng.
He stopped.
"...Why are you calling me that?"
LittleMaple blinked.
"You told me not to go into the spider cave alone."
"Yes."
"That’s captain behavior."
"No."
"It is."
"No."
She smiled.
"Captain."
Jiang Feng sighed.
He didn’t hate it.
That was the problem.
LittleMaple had gained one level since yesterday.
Her equipment remained mostly beginner grade.
But she had acquired a slightly better dagger.
Jiang Feng examined it.
"Where’d you get that?"
Her expression brightened.
"Quest!"
"Good."
"I only died twice."
"..."
"That’s improvement."
Jiang Feng stared.
"How many times were you dying before?"
LittleMaple looked away.
"...Not important."
Jiang Feng laughed despite himself.
Then...
A familiar voice came from behind him.
"She really does call you Captain."
Jiang Feng turned.
MoonPetal approached.
Her silver-haired mage avatar carried a new blue staff.
LittleMaple waved enthusiastically.
"Moon!"
MoonPetal smiled.
"Morning."
Then she looked toward Jiang Feng.
"Captain."
Jiang Feng sighed.
"Don’t encourage her."
MoonPetal grinned.
"Never."
Jiang Feng noticed her eyes briefly move around the area.
Searching.
He knew exactly who she was looking for.
He didn’t comment.
Instead...
He opened the party interface.
"Let’s do Maple’s quest first."
LittleMaple gasped.
"You remembered?"
Jiang Feng stared.
"We literally agreed yesterday."
"I know."
She smiled.
"But you remembered."
For some reason...
That sentence hit harder than it should have.
Jiang Feng looked away.
"Of course."
MoonPetal watched both of them.
Then...
A slow smile appeared.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Shen Tian logged in approximately twenty minutes later.
Unfortunately...
He wasn’t alone.
Twelve beams of light appeared throughout Greenleaf Village.
Players turned.
Then froze.
Shen Tian materialized first.
His Ranger equipment had improved considerably from yesterday.
A dark green cloak rested across his shoulders.
His bow had come from the Forest Ruins first-clear reward.
Ancient Grove Longbow
Rare Grade
The weapon alone drew attention.
Then...
The women appeared.
One after another.
The plaza became silent.
Shen Tian slowly looked around.
"...Why is everyone staring?"
Xu Ning appeared beside him.
[Host.]
"What?"
[You arrived with eleven beautiful women.]
"...Right."
A nearby player whispered,
"Bro..."
Another responded,
"Don’t."
"But..."
"Don’t ask questions you don’t want answers to."
Shen Yan immediately moved beside Shen Tian.
Yin Suyi occupied the opposite side.
Bai Xue stretched.
"Where are we going?"
Shen Tian checked everyone’s level.
Most were Level 4 to 6.
Ling Shuangxue had somehow reached Level 7.
Shen Tian stared at her.
"When did you level?"
"Last night."
"You played after the movie?"
"Yes."
"How long?"
"Two hours."
"What were you doing?"
"Trading."
Shen Tian frowned.
"You leveled through trading?"
Ling Shuangxue smiled faintly.
"Professions give experience."
She opened her inventory.
Hundreds of items appeared.
Shen Tian stared.
"...How much money do you have?"
"Twenty-eight gold."
Silence.
Shen Tian slowly checked his own currency.
4 Gold, 72 Silver.
He looked back at her.
"You have twenty-eight gold."
"Yes."
"How?"
"Market inefficiencies."
Xu Ning laughed in a robotic way.
[Host.]
"Don’t."
[She has defeated you financially inside the game.]
Shen Tian looked genuinely offended.
"This game has been out for two days."
Ling Shuangxue tilted her head.
"Exactly."
"As markets mature, opportunities decrease."
Shen Tian stared.
Then nodded.
"Respect."
Her lips curved slightly.
For the next hour...
Shen Tian did exactly what everyone demanded.
He carried them.
Efficiently.
Violently.
And without mercy toward the local monster population.
A Level 9 wolf pack spawned.
Gone.
A Goblin Elite appeared.
Gone.
A field boss emerged from a cave.
Thirty players immediately rushed toward it.
Shen Tian’s group happened to be nearby.
The boss lasted approximately forty seconds.
The other players stood in stunned silence.
Chu Mei cheered.
"We’re amazing!"
Shen Tian looked at her.
"You hit it once."
"I participated!"
Chu Chuchu raised both hands.
"I healed!"
Chu Luoshen looked toward her.
"You’re not a healer."
"...I used a potion on Bai Xue."
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(Author’s Note: IMPORTANT!)
SEND POWESTONES!!!
ALL SUPER GIFTS (Magic Castle, Space Ship, Golden Gachapon) = MORE ChapterS!