Nie Yan was heading towards his room when he heard the sound of cars outside the villa. His father and others had returned. He couldn’t afford to be reckless now, so he asked Xie Yao to return to her room and get dressed.
Outside, people were coming and going, carrying something large—probably some household appliances.
“Your uncle is back. Should I go and meet him?” Xie Yao asked nervously. The thought of meeting Nie Yan’s father made her feel uneasy.
Nie Yan thought for a moment and replied, “No, it’s not the right time yet. You’re staying at our house, and this must remain a secret. It would be better if fewer people knew, as we can’t explain the situation to my father.”
Xie Yao nodded. She also didn’t want Nie Yan’s father to think she was frivolous, moving into their house without his permission.
Nie Yan understood that this wasn’t the right time to make a move on Xie Yao.
“I’ll go see my father now. You stay here for now,” Nie Yan said, arranging for Xie Yao before walking towards the living room.
Inside the living room, a group of employees were busily moving things, placing various instruments into the villa.
“What are these for?” Nie Yan asked his father, noticing the strange instruments.
Nie Yan’s father looked at him with narrowed eyes and smiled, “They’re security measures to enhance the safety of the villa.”
“Oh,” Nie Yan nodded. He felt that his father’s smile carried some hidden meaning.
“Recently, the company signed a few major contracts with Longyue Corporation and Zhengrong Corporation. Zhengrong Corporation has decided to enter Faith and collaborate with us to support the War God Tribe. They’re very optimistic about the War God Tribe’s future development prospects,” Nie Yan’s father said cheerfully.
Upon hearing this, Nie Yan immediately thought of Xie Jun. It must have been Xie Jun’s doing. The Sky Group had just emerged and wasn’t on the same level as Zhengrong Corporation or Longyue Corporation. It was unlikely that Zhengrong would look favorably upon the Sky Group. Their decision to support the War God Tribe was a huge compliment to the Sky Group.
“Of course, we can’t afford to lose face either. You’re my son, and no matter what, I’ll always be your solid support. Go ahead and fight. If the sky falls, I’ll be the one to hold it up. I heard what you said to the Xie family at the Marlowe River Hotel. You did well. We can’t let outsiders underestimate us,” Nie Yan’s father said with a hearty laugh.
Nie Yan understood his father’s meaning. His father must have received some information about Xie Yao from Xie Jun, and this conversation deeply moved Nie Yan.
“Should I let her meet you then?” Nie Yan asked.
“No, it’s not the right time to meet her yet. I’ve had someone investigate, and Xie’s daughter is quite nice. I’m very satisfied. You’ve got some talent, kid,” Nie Yan’s father laughed heartily, patting Nie Yan’s shoulder.
The collaboration between Zhengrong Corporation and the Nie family undoubtedly presented a great opportunity for the Nie family’s development.
However, judging from his father’s tone, he wouldn’t easily compromise just because Zhengrong was powerful. Respect is given by others, but dignity must be earned. The Sky Group couldn’t rely on others’ charity; it had to become genuinely strong.
Nie Yan was determined to make the Nie family into a truly powerful conglomerate, at least on par with Longyue Corporation and Zhengrong Corporation. As for Century Corporation, he had to find a way to deal with them, no matter what method it took, as long as it brought Century Corporation down.
Nie Yan’s father had strict security measures installed in the villa. After everything was completed, he left for work, planning to stay at the company that evening.
After Nie Yan and Xie Yao had dinner, they re-entered the game.
Nie Yan appeared in Karol City. He had some plans for the upcoming activities and assigned Zhai Hao, Li Rui, and Liu Xuchen to Cui Can Dao Guang (Cui Can’s Light), Shui Se Yan Tou (Water-colored Cigarette), and others. These individuals often took the opportunity to guide new players through dungeons during their free time. Completing a regular dungeon usually only took them one or two hours, during which they could clear it multiple times.
Xie Yao returned to the city to replenish her consumables. She was preparing to head to the Elemental City of Kavodin to continue her quest for the legendary set.
Nie Yan and Xie Yao met near the Starlight Pharmacy. Xie Yao was dressed in a blue and white Saint’s Words mage robe, holding a staff embedded with a sapphire. The blue glow from the staff illuminated her face, making her appear especially charming and cute.
“Nie Yan, I’m preparing to go to the Elemental City of Kavodin to complete a quest. I’ll probably be back in two or three days,” Xie Yao said.
“The Elemental City of Kavodin?” Nie Yan thought for a moment. There were apparently several small guilds just starting to develop around Kavodin. The city had yet to be unified by a powerful guild, so it was quite chaotic.
“Yeah, is there anything I should be careful about?” Xie Yao asked. When moving around other cities, she needed to avoid certain enemies to prevent causing trouble for the Bull Player Tribe.
“Not really, just take these scrolls with you. They might come in handy in critical situations. Here are also a few gems that enhance Saint’s Words magic damage. You can embed them into your equipment,” Nie Yan said, handing over some scrolls to Xie Yao and giving her several high-tier gems specifically used for equipment crafting.
“Okay,” Xie Yao nodded, confirming the transaction.
Looking at the scrolls Nie Yan had given her, there were more than twenty, all of which were very useful.
“Then I’m off,” Xie Yao said, looking at Nie Yan.
“Have a safe trip!” Nie Yan kissed Xie Yao’s forehead.
Watching Xie Yao leave, Nie Yan thought for a moment. He should also get busy. To achieve Shadow Dance, he needed to break through the Shadow Dance tier before other players caught up, becoming an existence they could never reach.
Nie Yan thought of an item—the javelin launcher, which was sold by the Temple Commander Kooster. In his previous life, Temple Commander Kooster was a familiar figure to players who liked to pursue military ranks. When players’ ranks reached a certain level, they were eligible to purchase some equipment from Temple Commander Kooster, who sold various standard weapons and gear. For example, when players reached the rank of Centurion, they could buy Centurion equipment of various levels there. These were relatively inexpensive, with a decent piece of Rare or Epic gear costing only about a dozen gold coins. However, these items were bound upon purchase and couldn’t be traded to others. If a player no longer needed the gear, they could only sell it back to Temple Commander Kooster, though they would only get a few gold coins in return.
If players managed to reach the rank of Commander or High Commander, they could even purchase Sub-Legendary or Legendary-grade equipment.
In his previous life, Nie Yan’s rank had once reached Myrcha (Ten-Thousand Commander), but he never managed to reach Commander—it was just too difficult, something no ordinary person could achieve. Reaching Myrcha was relatively easier. Normally, honor points dropped slowly and accumulated over time until one reached Myrcha. However, advancing from Myrcha to Commander was different. Players were required to kill a certain number of enemy faction players within a specific number of days. Otherwise, their honor points would drop drastically. Sometimes, just when players were close to reaching Commander, a few days without kills would cause their honor points to plummet back to their original levels. In Nie Yan’s previous life, many Commander-level players dropped back to Myrcha.
After reaching Myrcha, players could purchase some decent equipment from Temple Commander Kooster. The available gear covered various levels, with the best being Epic-grade items. One of these items was the javelin launcher.
The javelin launcher was a famous high-attack projectile weapon. On the battlefield, it could achieve a maximum projectile range of about 200 yards. Myrcha-level warriors and rogues could use them to fight against mages, making them quite useful. Their attack power was much higher than that of ordinary crossbows. However, these devices were only available to Myrcha-level players. The only drawback of javelins was their low accuracy, making them easy to dodge, though they were sometimes quite effective for farming monsters.
Nie Yan headed toward the temple. After a while, he saw Temple Commander Kooster, who was a tall and young-looking paladin, exactly as Nie Yan remembered from his previous life.
“Respected Mr. Nie Yan, may I help you with something?” Temple Commander Kooster greeted Nie Yan as soon as he saw him.
“I need to purchase some equipment,” Nie Yan replied.
A list of various equipment appeared before Nie Yan’s eyes. He first selected the Myrcha-level option, which displayed a row of equipment options, including gloves, leggings, leather armor, weapons, and more.
Nie Yan selected the ranged weapon category and then navigated to the javelin launcher page.
There were dozens of javelin launchers listed, ranging from level 10 to level 200, with one type every ten levels. Nie Yan noticed that every fifty levels marked a significant tier. He looked at the stats for the level 100 javelin launcher. A level 100 javelin launcher was an Epic-grade item, with a projectile attack of 3200 and an attack interval of five seconds. In contrast, the level 90 javelin launcher only had an attack of 1800, a significant difference.
A javelin launcher could be embedded with two gems.
Nie Yan checked the price of the javelin launcher—210 gold coins. For a level 100 Epic-grade ranged weapon, this price was nothing.
Without hesitation, Nie Yan bought one. Examining the javelin launcher in his hand, it was a cylindrical object equipped with complex mechanical springs, a masterpiece of engineers. This small device could propel a javelin to a distance of exactly 200 yards!
In addition to the javelin launcher, Nie Yan looked at the javelins available for sale, which were divided into five tiers. The cheapest ones cost only fifty copper coins per piece, just regular javelins without any additional attack power, while the most expensive ones cost two gold coins per piece, with a 30% attack boost.
Nie Yan didn’t blink and bought one hundred and fifty sets, totaling three thousand javelins, costing him six thousand gold coins. These items would prove very useful in the upcoming tasks!
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