rpbooks Chapter 34 : Thief
Chapter 34 : Thief
ThiefUpon hearing the hostess's question, Yuewu's expression stiffened for a moment, before she regained her smile and calmly refused:
"Sorry, I might have to disappoint everyone. Most of the credit for killing the world-class boss this time goes to Cecilia. I actually didn't contribute much, so without Cecilia's permission, I really can't reveal too many details. I hope everyone can understand that."
The hostess also seemed to realize that the question was inappropriate, and quickly tried to ease the situation, sighing, "Cecilia truly is a mysterious and unpredictable player. So far, she hasn't failed to defeat any of the three world-class bosses in the national server. She truly lives up to her reputation as the 'boss raider' of humanoid bosses."
Yuewu pressed her Bluetooth earpiece and nodded with a smile. "That's right. She's a player I personally admire greatly and is the strongest lone wolf I've met in all my years playing online games."
Listening to their interaction, Cecilia slowly frowned in front of her screen.
Wasn't the plan to analyze the new game update? Why are they suddenly hyping me up?
At this moment, the hostess asked again, "I see a lot of viewers in the barrage asking: What's the story behind Cecilia's maid outfit? Everyone knows the current version of the game hasn't unlocked the costume feature yet. Since Ms. Yuewu often teams up with her, do you know what's going on?"
"About that..."
Yuewu's smile froze.
Damn it, can't this idiot hostess ask about something else? Why are all her questions about Cecilia?
Let's not even mention that she actually didn't know; even if she did know, there's no way she'd dare spill it in public.
If Cecilia happened to be watching the live broadcast and saw her "snitching" on her to millions of viewers, how could she ever hope to team up and ride her coattails again?
Even though she was cursing the hostess hundreds of times in her mind, Yuewu kept a thoughtful look on the surface. After several seconds, she gently chuckled and said:
"Sorry, Cecilia is really a very cold and aloof player. I don't know much about her, but as far as I know, she's actually not too happy about wearing the maid outfit either. She was forced to do it for the stat boosts from the equipment. I have to say, the equipment's stats are rather outrageous."
The hostess nodded. "Alright, that's really a pity. Let me change the question. Players are very interested in world-class bosses right now. Especially since, in the national server, there's still a D-class world boss that's yet to be defeated. In your opinion, what makes world-class bosses different from regular or elite monsters?"
Hearing this question, Yuewu finally let out a small sigh of relief—at least it wasn't off-topic.
After organizing her thoughts, Yuewu explained with a smile, "The server has been up for a week, so I believe many players already know—world-class bosses are the most unique monsters in the game. They're generally much larger, higher in level, have stronger stats and more advanced AI. Not only will they escape when they sense their lives are in danger, but they may also have their own set of survival rules, like lords ruling over their territories."
As soon as Yuewu finished, the hostess revealed a surprised expression and asked again, "I see! Ms. Yuewu, could you tell us more about world-class bosses?"
"We'd be happy to share our team's experience with everyone."
After giving her team a small advertisement, Yuewu continued:
"Based on the available intel, world-class bosses have their own classifications in terms of strength. For example, the Bloodletting Tree that was just defeated, like the Darkwing Demon Bat before it, are both E-class world bosses, and are usually around level 15 to 20. Meanwhile, the boss in the Mutant Jungle is D-class, which is a tier higher, so we estimate its level to be between 25 and 30."
The hostess suddenly realized, "No wonder Cecilia hasn't attacked that boss yet. D-class world bosses are that strong? Ms. Yuewu, when do you think Cecilia will go after this D-class world boss?"
Why is it about Cecilia again?!
Yuewu's smile faded slightly. Forcing down her irritation, she replied with a smile, "I'm not Cecilia. How could I know? Why don't you guys go and ask her yourselves?"
The hostess apologized awkwardly, "We've tried every way to get in touch with her, but Cecilia just never replies. If only we could reach her..."
As Cecilia listened to this, she remembered that with so many people trying to contact her, she'd already muted all messages on the forum, as well as the in-game friend request function.
In other words, even in game, no one could search for the player named Cecilia. Only if she added someone as a friend herself could they connect; otherwise, no one could apply to add her.
At this point, Gu Yanxi turned to ask, "Did you all team up to kill the boss?"
"Yeah, you were in the arena at the time, so we didn't call you,"
Cecilia replied with a nod.
Gu Yanxi wasn't interested in server-wide announcements. She simply nodded slightly and shifted her attention back to her phone, continuing to watch the live stream quietly.
Remembering the world-class boss she killed at noon today, Cecilia recalled it had dropped a set of level-15 priest equipment, and said:
"By the way, that boss dropped a set of level-15 purple priest equipment. How much experience do you need to reach level 15? Once you make it, you can use it."
"I'm still quite far off—about a whole experience bar away,"
Gu Yanxi recalled after thinking for a moment.
After playing for a week, she'd finally learned some basic game terminology, and now wouldn't be at a total loss when hearing such things. She'd also listened carefully to Yuewu's explanation about world-class bosses.
"Yeah, that's quite a way off. Try to level up quickly then,"
Cecilia answered quietly—whether she said that to Gu Yanxi or herself was unclear.
This time, killing the Bloodletting Tree had given Cecilia over 600 experience points. Although that sounded like a lot, it only increased her progress by about 5% in the level-15 to 16 experience bar. She was still far from leveling up. To avoid trouble later on, as soon as she finished Forging her off-hand weapon, she'd have to rush to kill that giant crocodile in the Mutant Jungle.
The hostess on the phone came up with a new topic. "Yes, I believe everyone has heard the news—the number of players overseas is plummeting, and 22 servers are about to be merged. We're not sure about other regions, but it's basically certain that the Japanese and Korean servers will soon be merged with the national server. The three servers will be consolidated as the Asia server. Ms. Yuewu, what are your thoughts on this?"
"There are pros and cons to server mergers, but for us in the national server, the pros outweigh the cons. After all, we have more players. Whether it's fighting for resources in the future, or guild wars, players from the Japanese and Korean servers won't be our match. There's no need to worry about that."
The corners of Yuewu's lips curled up as she spoke with confidence.
The hostess smiled as well. "It seems you have a lot of faith in the adventurers of the national server. I also think a server merger is a good thing. I wonder if the Korean oppas are really as handsome as they are on TV dramas—if they join the national server, I bet they'll be very popular among female players."
Yuewu immediately gave a mocking smile, crossed one leg over the other, laid her hands on her knee, and calmly said, "No, I think only you would think that. If I run into those Korean jerks in-game, I'll kill each and every one until they're too scared to show their faces again. Otherwise, Cecilia might have to change her nationality."
"Haha..."
The hostess gave an embarrassed laugh. "Ms. Yuewu, you're really humorous."
Yuewu simply smiled in silence.
The barrage of comments got more and more intense. Eventually, after reading a few ads, the hostess ended the stream.
Switching off the live stream, Gu Yanxi glanced at Cecilia and said quietly, "It seems Yuewu doesn't like Korea very much."
Cecilia smiled. "I think she's right. Why? Do you like Koreans?"
"Not really. But quite a few girls in our class do. They're always cheering for idols and even saving up to send them gifts."
Gu Yanxi didn't idolize celebrities or watch variety shows, so she knew little about these things.
"Koreans really are annoying. They try to steal everything—not just our food, but also our clothes and festivals. Any time someone posts something about traditional culture online, Koreans accuse us of copying them. Now they're even trying to claim the Lunar New Year. They certainly didn't originate the universe themselves, no matter how much they brag."
Seeing that Gu Yanxi didn't know, Cecilia explained the situation briefly.
"Wow, they're that bad?"
Gu Yanxi's face flushed with anger after hearing Cecilia's description.
She'd seen shameless people before, but never this shameless.
"They're just pathetic clowns. If we really do merge servers, it's fine if they behave; if not, killing a few wouldn't matter,"
Cecilia said nonchalantly, ending the topic.
A small server merger wasn't enough to concern her.
Yuewu was right: the national server's player base crushed the other two servers, so there was no chance of "cuckoos laying eggs in another's nest."
What Cecilia truly cared about was the world-class bosses in the Japanese and Korean servers.