Chapter 42 – Temporary Team for Treant Forest

The three soon arrived at the transfer point plaza. There, a group of ten or so players was waiting together, crowded together like how the stars cupped themselves around the moon. At the center of their attention was a curvaceous beauty in azure armour.

"Senior Sister Yu Lan (Blue Feather), they're here." Yao Yao walked to Yu Lan's side.

The two gorgeous beauties standing side by side were an especially stunning sight to behold.

"What luck! We're encountering beauties as soon as we set out. So beautiful! So gorgeous!" Tang Yao softly whispered. This little scoundrel was a lecherous pervert who wouldn't change even if you beat him to death. He enjoyed looking at beautiful women, but he knew very well that most of these beauties would never put him in their eyes. Therefore, he did nothing more than ogle.

"Pleasure to meet you," Yu Lan said, facing Nie Yan and Tang Yao. She carefully observed Nie Yan. Although his appearance seemed somewhat juvenile, his calm and unhurried bearing made him look quite composed. The most noticeable trait was the air of confidence and decisiveness that surrounded him. Since she could still be regarded as experienced and knowledgeable, she could discern he possessed some of the special characteristics of an expert. As for the fatty standing by his side… She didn't know what to make of him.

"Likewise." Nie Yan slightly nodded in reply. Yu Lan's complete set of azure armour perfectly revealed the curves of her model-like figure. A glimpse of her deep cleavage could be seen in the opening near her chest. From head to toe, she radiated a fatal, wild attractiveness. She undoubtedly possessed the best figure out of all the women he had met before. Moreover, she had a beautiful face as well. This devastating combination was practically capable of seducing men to their deaths.

In spite of this, Nie Yan held no interest or desires towards her.

Tang Yao, however, had a little trouble shifting his gaze. When comparing Yao Yao and Yu Lan, the latter evidently suited his tastes much more.

"Take care, this beauty is someone even I don't dare to provoke," Nie Yan secretly informed Tang Yao.

"H-hello," Tang Yao stumbled as he greeted her in an overly reserved manner.

Nie Yan's eyes widened in surprise. This little scoundrel often couldn't restrain himself when in front of beautiful women due to his perverted nature and natural tendencies as a chatterbox. However, today, Nie Yan was witnessing an unprecedented event. This chatterbox was acting quite shy and reserved! Am I dreaming? Did the sun rise from the west this morning?

"Alright, let's get ready to set off for the dungeon. If you have something to say, we'll talk on the road there." Yu Lan consistently paid attention to efficiency, thus she didn't want to waste any more time standing around.

"Remember our prior agreement. I'll be acting as team captain during the run, so I want everyone listening to my arrangements," Nie Yan promptly reminded Yu Lan. His gaze was sharp and resolute.

"Alright." Yu Lan nodded in reply. She turned around and addressed the rest of her team. "I'm disbanding the team. In a moment, accept Nie Yan's invite to form a team. He'll be temporarily acting as team captain, so listen to his arrangements!"

The rest of the members began heavily discussing. They were unfamiliar with Nie Yan. Therefore, in their hearts, they were somewhat unwilling to take commands from this stranger.

"Yu Lan, why do we have to take orders from this guy? If by any chance he doesn't know anything and ends up getting our team wiped, what do we do then?" The one who spoke was Chen Bo[1]. Nie Yan and Yao Yao's seemingly intimate relationship had caused a sense of crisis to arise. As a result, he regarded Nie Yan with an intense hostility.

Nie Yan wasn't unfamiliar with this Chen Bo. He was a classmate of Yu Lan and they were quite familiar with each other. In the past, he had always been pursuing Yu Lan, but after meeting Yao Yao, his mind went into a state of chaos. He liked all beauties. So, he didn't know which one he should pursue. Therefore, he decided to make both his property and became unwilling to let any others come near the two. However, to his misfortune, both girls greatly disliked him and as a result, he ended up getting neither. Simply put, he was merely a useless brat with some wealth who got smitten with any beauty he laid eyes on.

In Nie Yan's past life, this scoundrel was a walking tragedy. In this life, after encountering Nie Yan, it appeared he was still destined to become a walking tragedy.

"You are…?"

"I'm called Chen Bo!"

"Morning Wood? Ohh~ I see… So it was Elder Brother Morning Wood!" Nie Yan's tone dripped with sarcasm. He feigned surprise and acted as if Chen Bo's input held great importance.

"I said my name is Chen Bo!

"The same 'Chen' as in the surname.

"And the 'Bo' in 'enormous'!" Chen Bo replied in an irritated tone.

"I did say Morning Wood! I didn't speak incorrectly, did I?" Nie Yan innocently gazed at Tang Yao by his side.

Tang Yao clearly understood what was going on. Nie Yan was simply messing with Chen Bo and mispronouncing his name on purpose. Tang Yao was practically dying as he held back a belly full of laughter. He restrained himself and said with a smiling expression, "Right, you didn't speak incorrectly. You did say Morning Wood." Tang Yao even purposefully enunciated the two words in a serious tone.

However, from the smiling expressions on their faces, it was clear they weren't pronouncing Chen Bo's name correctly and were pronouncing it as 'Morning Wood' instead.

Granted even if the person were an idiot, they would clearly understand what was going on. Yao Yao flashed a beautiful smile as two dimples emerged on her face. She shot a glance at Nie Yan, feigning displeasure. This guy is too awful. You can't just humiliate people like this…

The majority of people she and Yu Lan met were quite reserved while in front of them. That being said, Nie Yan's frank and forthright manner of speaking didn't arouse her disgust. On the contrary, she felt Nie Yan was different from people like Chen Bo who often hid their true intentions and acted in an extremely hypocritical manner.

Yu Lan also slightly showed signs of being unable to hold back her laughter. Seeing Chen Bo on the brink of lividness, she hurriedly took on the role of peacemaker and said, "Forget it, he was just joking around. Nie Yan, go create the team."

Nie Yan sent everyone in Yu Lan's group an invite, Chen Bo included.

Chen Bo had the faint urge of lashing out.

Nie Yan fixed his expression and announced in a stern and severe tone, "If you've accepted me as team captain, you will unconditionally obey my commands as long as you're within my team. If you have any misgivings or objections, you can come looking for me after the run and settle it then. Anyone unwilling is free to leave the team right now. We can still find others to fill your spot. If you attempt to cause mischief or join with malicious intent, even if the team is completely wiped during the run, the ones suffering losses, in the end, are still yourselves. Twenty percent of your experience bar… I think it'll still take quite some time to fill back up, right?"

As Nie Yan spoke, he simultaneously swept his gaze over everyone present. His imposing stature was reminiscent of a true leader. Not a single person dared to look him straight in the eye. The crowd slowly discussed amongst themselves. After a short while, the people in the group began subsequently accepting the invitation.

「System: Yu Lan has joined your team.」

「System: Yao Yao has joined your team.」

「System: Bottled Water has joined your team.」

…

Nie Yan was quite imposing. Yu Lan's eyes flashed with praise after evaluating his performance. Perhaps he really could carry them through the Treant Forest.

Yu Lan followed in a stern tone as well, "Regard Nie Yan's orders as team captain as if they were given by me. Anyone who fails to comply might as well quit the team, because in the future… our team will no longer have such a person."

The crowd immediately quieted down. As her own team members, they knew this type of order was extremely severe. After being in a team with each other for so long, they were quite familiar with one another and had established amicable friendships with their surrounding teammates. If they were forced to leave the team, where would they go? Even if they found another team, one that was capable of running a twenty-player dungeon like Treant Forest was extremely difficult to find!

Chen Bo held a resentful expression and was prepared to speak out.

However, Yu Lan's severe gaze suddenly focused on him. Chen Bo, who was on the verge of speaking his mind, immediately swallowed his words back down his throat.

「System: Chen Bo has joined your team.」

"Since all of you have already entered my team, don't blame me if I immediately kick you for disobeying orders. Our objective here is the same. We're here for the sake of getting some equipment and nothing else. If things go smoothly, we may be able to pick up even more equipment. If no issues arise, everyone here can gain at least twenty percent of a level. If there's anyone who wants to secretly sabotage the run, the damages inflicted on the entire team will be solely placed on them. The people next to you are all your fellow companions! Don't think it's necessary to make things difficult for your own people. If it appears I'm unsuitable to lead and cause mistakes to arise, I'll hand over ten silvers to your captain, which can be considered compensation for you team!" Nie Yan said. He swept his gaze over everyone present and stopped on Chen Bo.

If it weren't for the fact that this high-level dungeon dropped a certain jewel, he wouldn't have even bothered coming here.

Many players within the group were quite dissatisfied with Nie Yan. However, they had no choice but to concede. Nie Yan's words were quite reasonable. If they absolutely wanted to make things difficult for him, it would be the same as making things difficult for themselves. Harming others without benefitting yourself? It wasn't worth the trouble. They could only oblige themselves to listen to Nie Yan for the time being. He even gave his word and said he'd compensate the team with ten silvers if huge mistakes occurred because he was unsuitable as team captain. This could already be regarded as extremely benevolent.

"We've already been wiped in this dungeon twice. It wouldn't be a strange matter if we ended up getting wiped once again. Besides, those elite teams from the large guilds frequently get wiped all the time too. We're going to the Treant Forest simply to feel things out. As for those tens silvers, how could we possibly be so shameless as to ask Brother Nie Yan for it?" The one who spoke within the team was a Fighter called Bai Kaishui (Plain Boiled Water). He could be regarded as one of those players who were fair and just.

One by one, the surrounding members also began agreeing with his reasoning, and their impression of Nie Yan somewhat changed as well.

[1] Chen Bo appears in chapter 17 for the first time.