Chapter 33: Money Talks

[Ding~ Welcome to the Second World of the Otherworld: Zombie Siege.]

Whoosh!

White light descended, and Zhang Yue appeared in Notting City.

Before, he had thought that joining Yan Yu Pavilion wasn't such a bad idea. They didn't interfere with his daily activities, and the monthly salary of 30,000 credits was a quick way to make money. But now that he had left, Zhang Yue knew that, with his strength, earning gold in the Otherworld wouldn't be difficult.

His top priority was still covering the 50,000 credits needed each month for his younger brother Zhang Zhao's medical bills.

Opening the Otherworld Marketplace, Zhang Yue listed all the materials he had collected from the past few days—various low-level equipment blueprints, chunks of monster meat, and magic crystals from killing monsters. Though the total value wasn't much, the hundred or so items only amounted to 3,000 credits.

They were, after all, just low-tier materials, and Zhang Yue had only spent two days gathering them. But once he entered higher-level worlds, the materials he could collect would be worth far more.

Next, Zhang Yue planned to quickly finish up his tasks in the Second World and move on to the Third World.

Just then, he received a flying message from Su Jinyan: "Zhang Yue, wanna level up together?"

"No thanks," he replied. "Got something to do."

"Alright…" Su Jinyan sounded a little disappointed, but Zhang Yue closed the chat window without another thought.

"There are two waves of zombie hordes left, plus one dungeon to conquer before I can complete the Second World mission," Zhang Yue murmured to himself, checking his level and current status. "There are three ordinary dungeons in the Second World—Dark Zombie Nest at Level 15, Zombie Hospital at Level 17, and Death Grounds at Level 20."

"At my current level, 17, soloing Death Grounds should be manageable."

"Let's start with the dungeon."

With that, Zhang Yue opened his map, locked onto the location of Death Grounds, a Level 20 dungeon west of Notting City, and set off.

As Zhang Yue's feet left the city, a group of players followed close behind him…

Zhang Yue, with the heightened awareness of the Shura—the strongest warrior of Dragon Nation a century ago—had already sensed the presence of his stalkers.

"They still haven't given up?"

Just as he spoke, a large group of solo players suddenly emerged from both sides, blocking his path.

Zhang Yue thought it was another bunch of cannon fodder coming to attack him, expecting them to turn gray once they made a move so he could kill them without consequence. But to his surprise, they didn't attack. They merely formed a human wall, standing in his way.

Every time Zhang Yue tried to move to the side, they blocked him again.

It was clear now—they weren't here to fight. They were here to stall him and hinder his progress.

These players were all around Level 11 or 12, far weaker than Zhang Yue. It would be easy for him to kill them. But the price of killing them—accumulating over 1,000 sin points—was a burden he didn't want to bear.

With that many sin points, he'd need to kill over a thousand monsters to clear his red name. Until then, he'd be unable to enter safe zones or log off, and he wouldn't be able to challenge any bosses either. He'd be stuck in the Second World.

The group of solo players in front of him, whom Zhang Yue didn't recognize, began taunting him.

"Coward, are you scared to make a move?"

"Come on, kill us if you've got the guts!"

"Do it! Hit me! You useless trash!"

Zhang Yue wasn't fazed by their provocations. He calmly asked, "How much did Chen Jun pay you to act like idiots?"

One of the players, a short assassin, responded without hesitation. "Five thousand per person plus a resurrection scroll. If you kill us, we get an extra five thousand."

"So… 10,000 per kill, huh?" Zhang Yue laughed. "Chen Jun sure thinks highly of me."

Money really can make the world go round.

As Zhang Yue considered how to deal with these people, a young man with a refined appearance and an air of nobility suddenly appeared. Surrounded by a group of Level 14 Ironclad Knights, he walked leisurely up to Zhang Yue and addressed the group blocking the way.

"How much did the Yan Yu Pavilion guild leader pay you? I'll double it."

Zhang Yue turned to see that the newcomer was none other than Liu Yao.

The group of solo players, however, didn't recognize him. They had no idea that Liu Yao was the eldest son of the richest family in Linhai City.

The short assassin pointed at Liu Yao and sneered, "He gave us five thousand each. Can you afford to match that?"

Without a word, Liu Yao glanced at his assistant, the mage Supreme Wanderer, who stepped forward. The bespectacled, scholarly-looking man approached the short assassin and asked, "Show me your payment QR code."

The assassin hesitated for a moment before pulling up his flying chat payment screen, almost as if compelled to comply.

Supreme Wanderer scanned the code with his own device.

Moments later…

Flying Chat Transfer: 20,000 credits received.

The assassin stared at the notification in shock.

One by one, Supreme Wanderer scanned each player's QR code, transferring 20,000 credits to each of them.

Then, Liu Yao addressed the group. "Now, go kill the Yan Yu Pavilion guild leader for me. Die once, and I'll compensate you 50,000. If anyone actually kills him, I'll pay them 500,000."

The dozen or so players stood frozen, jaws agape, their eyes as wide as saucers.

Seeing their stunned expressions, Liu Yao added with a smirk, "What, don't believe I can pay? Relax. All this money? It's just an hour of my pocket change."

"Holy crap! He's Liu Yao, the eldest son of Linhai City's richest family?"

Once they realized who Liu Yao was, the group scattered, sprinting away like they were in a hundred-meter dash.

"Brothers, we're taking down the Yan Yu Pavilion guild leader!"

"He's mine! Don't even think about stealing the kill!"

"I'm coming for that 500,000 reward!!"

As the dust settled, Liu Yao turned to Zhang Yue, trying to contain his excitement. "Brother, I heard Yan Yu Pavilion kicked you out?"

"Yan Yu Pavilion's blind for not seeing your potential. My Supreme Guild values talent above all! Come join us. You'll get the best food, and as for models at the clubhouse? You can have your pick!"

Having just been set up by Yan Yu Pavilion, Zhang Yue had no fondness for guilds at the moment. He simply replied, "Maybe later."

With that, Zhang Yue turned and walked away.

Watching him leave, Supreme Wanderer, Liu Yao's trusted assistant, couldn't help but grumble. "What an ungrateful brat! Didn't even say thanks! Yao, you just wasted all that money for nothing!"

But Liu Yao waved him off, unbothered. "It's fine. He's just been burned by Yan Yu Pavilion, so it's natural he doesn't want to join another guild right away. I understand."

In fact, Liu Yao found himself even more intrigued by Zhang Yue. "Yan Yu Pavilion's a bunch of blind fools. They couldn't recognize a true talent and even tried to drive him out!"

"They've got some idiot in charge over there, no wonder they're perpetually at the bottom of the guild rankings."

"Give him some time. One way or another, I'm going to recruit him into Supreme Guild."

Meanwhile, on his way to the dungeon, Zhang Yue's thoughts drifted back to Chen Jun and his underhanded tactics. A cold glint of murderous intent flashed in his eyes.

"It seems like if I don't deal with Chen Jun, he's going to be a never-ending problem."

With that, Zhang Yue changed direction, heading southwest of Notting City instead.

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