Chapter Thirty-One: Reunion of Old Friends

“Fish Sister!”
“Repeat Player?”

The sudden arrival of that group of players was none other than the squad led by Fish Scale Arm, consisting of eight members in total. Embers immediately spotted the Repeat Player hiding nervously among the crowd. Catching Embers’ gaze, the Repeat Player’s face twisted into a bitter smile, clearly distressed at encountering this unlucky star. Embers returned a smile—whether it was a smile that erased old grudges only heaven knew.

Fish Scale Arm’s reputation was immense, so much so that Singularity Corporation had given him the internal testing codename “D001.” He maintained good relations with the trio outside the underworld and had even sponsored the Duke of Thunder, so when he spoke, it immediately snuffed out sparks of conflict, calming the volatile powder keg before it could explode.

With a cheerful greeting to all, Fish Scale Arm then spoke seriously: “As the saying goes, a strong dragon doesn’t oppress the local snake. Even though these local snakes have only been around for a few dozen minutes and have spent much time infighting, we’re outsiders barging into the city, dividing up the hive resources. Naturally, this will cause backlash. They might even unite against us. So it’s best we stay on guard.”

“Fish Sister means…”

“A temporary alliance! Of course, this is just for show. When farming hives, everyone does their own thing, but we must appear united. After all, we’re here to grab meat. If we don’t show our teeth and claws, they’ll think we’re easy pickings—not only won’t they give us any meat, they might even eat us alive.”

Fish Scale Arm pulled out a map of the isolated island, pointing to the most densely built commercial district of Maple Island City. “This area should have plenty of hives, enough to accommodate all of us—these dozen-plus people. Later, we move as one and take this place. If they want to reason, we’ll reason. If not, we fight with confidence. In the end, it’ll come to blows sooner or later. A fair fight with equal numbers is better than being bullied by the majority. What do you think?”

Having played games for many years, Fish Scale Arm knew players’ nature well. He didn’t believe that his reputation alone could persuade those who entered the city earlier to hand over hive resources, even if there were more hives than could be farmed. Conflict was inevitable.

Therefore, he sought to seize territory without bloodshed. Even knowing the tension between the Duke of Thunder’s guild and Embers’ group, he pushed for a three-way alliance.

He also understood well that the Duke of Thunder never acted rashly in important matters. Rather than engaging in a mutually destructive fight now and letting others benefit, it was better to wait until the dust settled before making a decisive move. This was why the Duke hesitated—he didn’t want to jeopardize the guild’s chance to rise. Embers had learned of the Duke’s style from others and thus refrained from taking the initiative like he did against Sweeping Legion and others.

“I agree!”

Realizing he had to choose, the Duke of Thunder was the first to consent to Fish Scale Arm’s plan. The trio led by Embers, being the smallest group, naturally had no objections. Their drinking water company happened to be in the commercial district, so a joint move by more than a dozen people would greatly reduce combat risks.

“Good! No time to waste, let’s move out immediately!”

Commanding with decisive efficiency, Fish Scale Arm led the group in the middle, separating the two sides to prevent incidents. Unfortunately, he didn’t know that the Repeat Player in his team had once botched a sneaky move and offended Embers. Now, squeezed beside Embers by several teammates, the Repeat Player’s face was as awkward as could be—almost written plainly across it.

“Heh.”
“Heh…”
“You do run fast!”
“…”
“That grenade must have been worth quite a few credit points, huh?”
“Yeah.”

“To be honest, you actually helped me out.”
“Huh?”
“Though I really want to punch you, for Fish Sister’s sake, I’ll let it go this time. But on one condition—you have to apologize, sincerely!”
“S-sorry!”
“Alright, that’ll do for now. If you don’t mess with me again, I won’t waste time dealing with you.”
“Okay… thanks, thanks!”

Seeing the Repeat Player’s relieved expression, Embers shrugged at the puzzled glances from Not an Expert and Lu Renjia, choosing not to explain. He wasn’t petty. The Repeat Player’s apology seemed genuine, so he let it slide. It’s better to resolve grudges than to escalate them—if gaming meant endless fighting and scheming, it would defeat the purpose of entertainment.

“Embers! What’s that on your shoulder?”

Meeting Embers again, Fish Scale Arm was full of emotion. Before entering the Killing Island, he had guessed just how strong Embers was, but the continuous global announcements only raised his evaluation. Who would have thought the once inconspicuous ordinary player could become so formidable within the span of several dungeons?

Top of the ranking, first kill of the hive, first player kill, solo cleared multiple medium hives, even leading by a wide margin in killing points.

On paper, it seemed Embers was almost guaranteed a knight’s rank.

Many players had the skill to solo medium hives, but the higher the reward, the greater the risk. Of the over thirty well-known players with Killing Island entry tickets, only a dozen remained, and very few still chose to go solo. Main quests were either snatched up or missed, making it impossible to catch Embers’ pace in scoring.

“That’s the Mantis Shadowbug, pet dropped by the Mantis Leader. It’s more like a pet, but it disappears after the assessment ends.”

Embry’s voice tinged with regret as he teased the little mantis perched on his shoulder. The tiny bug lightly clamped its sickle on Embers’ finger affectionately. Now about the size of two palms, though still small, its combat ability rivaled that of a Mantis Queen, making it the fourth member of Embers’ team and boosting their fighting strength considerably.

Hearing this, many players cast envious glances. Compared to rankings and killing points, they were more drawn to tangible rewards. No one yet knew how to obtain pets, and though the possession time was only a few dozen minutes, it was enough to stir envy. Even Blood Feather, who usually kept quiet among the crowd blending in as an ordinary player, couldn’t help but glance at the little mantis.

As for Clear Skies, who had some past grudge with Embers, she laughed maliciously after her envy, only to draw a cold glare from the Duke of Thunder.

“Your luck is something to admire.”

Glancing at Clear Skies, who immediately lowered her head, Fish Scale Arm smiled wryly and continued, “We’ve farmed a lot of hives back and forth, but hardly found any control items, and only two Flame Emblems. Just when we finally got a main quest, someone snatched it halfway. The quests have limited triggers anyway. Now, even I haven’t scored ten points; others are worse off.”

Main quests could grant large extra points without sharing with teammates, making them crucial for killing points. But the same quest clues were available to only two or three players, so among nearly a hundred testers, only twenty or thirty got main quests, many interrupted for various reasons. Few reached the fourth stage like Embers.

Thus, most players teaming up still struggled to reach ten points, unlike Embers who was nearly at thirty.

“Embers, you’ve got good skills and composure. Interested in going pro?”

Fish Scale Arm admired Embers and habitually offered guidance: “Once the server opens, player livestreaming will be allowed. If you can, start streaming. With this wave of server launch hype, making money won’t be hard. You already have a fan base. Later, find teammates yourself or I can introduce some well-known players to boost your fame. With effort, you can achieve a lot quickly.”

Hearing this, envy for Embers grew. As an industry big shot, Fish Scale Arm’s words carried weight. Gaming and streaming were always intertwined. Not all game fans played themselves; virtual game streams remained popular. If Embers agreed, it meant easy money.

Yet Embers’ response stunned everyone.

“Fish Sister, I appreciate your kindness, but I have my own job and make good money. Gaming is just a pastime.”

“Oh? I’m curious—what’s your job?”

“Artist.”

“…”

“Don’t doubt it!”

“…”

Looking around at the incredulous faces, Embers couldn’t help but sigh again—these days, no one believed the truth.

After this little episode, Fish Scale Arm dropped talk of careers and streaming, focusing entirely on the map. He led everyone straight into Maple Island City, charging toward the commercial district. Such a large group of sixteen moving together naturally caught the attention of local snakes. The frontmen of the three factions—Withered Vine, Death Song, and Waterborn—received the intel almost immediately, exchanged opinions, and reached consensus.

They could give up territory.

But where to concede was for them to decide.

The commercial district was the coveted core territory for all three factions. Due to various disputes, it remained unexplored and would never be handed over to outsiders.

Noticing the outsiders’ movement toward the commercial district, the three forces halted their own advances and jointly blocked Embers and company at the district entrance.

“Fish Sister, long time no see!”

Death Song, codenamed “X006,” was comparable in seniority to Fish Scale Arm, though more reclusive and less sociable. Ranked lower in the hierarchy, and having remained active in the Titan world while Fish Scale Arm had faded from the frontline, Death Song saw this reunion as a chance to prove something.

“Long time no see. Meeting someone from our generation here, not bad!”

“Not so sure,” Death Song sneered, glancing around. “Old friends meet, but no greeting—just ready to fight over territory?”