"?" Mu Anqi almost laughed out of anger. "This brooch costs 100 points in the prop shop. I bought it myself!"
The person had a look that said Do you really think I'm stupid?: "Buying a glowing brooch for 100 points, are you the idiot or am I the idiot?"
"Idiot!" Mu Anqi's expression turned cold. "Have you never gotten an S rating before? Huh!" As she spoke, she immediately activated her Rich Woman Aura!
Her ordinary red-and-white tracksuit was coated with a layer of golden light. Every gesture Mu Anqi made caused the gold to flow across her body, and ethereal golden sparkles appeared within a meter around her—untouchable, yet giving a dreamlike feeling.
—It looked exactly like the V18 special effects in page games.
Of course, the special effects of this Rich Woman Aura were many times more refined than that crude version.
The male player froze. Xia Yun also froze.
With a "plop," the male player, for some reason, knelt down. He stared blankly at Mu Anqi, tears streaming down his face: "Rich woman, rich woman, look at me, rich woman! I'm easy to take care of!"
Bro, that's really not necessary.
Mu Anqi had never expected the Rich Woman Aura to have such an effect. She suddenly remembered the note behind the skill's description. Looking at the flustered male player again, her expression shifted slightly: If this guy is affected this much, could he be poor?
She turned to Xia Yun. The older sister with the "Sword Heart" was also looking at her in amazement, though not as overexcited as the male player. Seeing Mu Anqi glance her way, she could still smile and comment: "Your skill is really unique."
"Mm, after all, my ability's name is [I have Plenty Money], Mu Anqi shrugged. "So, activating the Rich Woman Aura makes perfect sense, right?"
"…Indeed, it does make sense."
The male player seemed utterly dumbfounded, kneeling on the ground as he stared blankly at Mu Anqi and the circle of golden sparkles. Mu Anqi was a bit speechless and was about to cancel the aura when two more players, each with red ribbons tied around their arms, walked over together.
These two players, one male and one female, seemed to have come as a team or perhaps knew each other beforehand. At first glance, the scene startled them, but they still approached. "You're all Red Team players, right? How about we introduce ourselves?"
Five players in total? By now, any other teammates should have already arrived. If someone hadn't, it probably meant they didn't care about the survival point for all members and preferred to go solo. Thinking this, Mu Anqi glanced at the male player on the ground and decided to cancel the Rich Woman Aura. "Mu Anqi. Ability leans toward support." Even in a team, there's no need to reveal everything at the start; a simple introduction suffices.
"Xia Yun, ability leans toward offensive." With Mu Anqi's introduction done, Xia Yun followed the template to introduce herself.
"…I'm Sheng Wujie, balanced in offense and defense." The kneeling player, as if waking from a dream, got up, his face slightly flushed—perhaps from embarrassment. He couldn't help but glance at Mu Anqi a few more times. His eyes moved from the brooch on her chest to the tattered backpack on her back, then lingered on her bracelet and rings. Swallowing hard, he said, "R-rich woman… I, I lost my temper just now. Th-this base really only has a broken wooden shed?"
"What else did you expect?" Mu Anqi was speechless. "The monsters are just waiting for you to rack up emotional points. You really think they'd let you stay in a five-star hotel in the forest?"
"Yes, yes, yes, the rich woman is right. It's all my fault for being ignorant." Sheng Wujie nodded repeatedly. "Your analogy is brilliant, truly a wake-up call, making me feel as if I've just awakened from a dream, suddenly enlightened, fully enlightened…"
Mu Anqi: "…"
"I'm Fang Xunjiu—'Xun' as in 'search,' 'Jiu' as in 'liquor.'" The male player who arrived later gave Sheng Wujie a look that was hard to read but still smiled as he introduced himself. He pointed to the female player beside him. "This is my sister, Fang Yunjiu—'Yun' as in 'rhythm,' 'Jiu' as in 'Qiongjiu.' Also, the capital of the number nine."
"I lean toward defensive support, and my sister's ability is more offensive." After introducing themselves, Fang Xunjiu glanced at the broken wooden shed, paused for a moment, and said, "This… can't serve as a rest point at all, nor can it provide any real defense. The supply box won't appear for a while. Let's first explore the forest nearby, eliminate dangers around the base, and then… do some construction?"
"Mm, we plan to turn it into a simple wooden hut and pile up a bonfire for light and warmth," Mu Anqi said. "Let's split up and gather materials. In the Eternal Night Forest, lighting is essential. Pick up extra branches just in case."
With a goal in mind, it was easier to take action. They had the base map, so even if they went out, they could find their way back without getting lost. Before the supplies appeared, the likelihood of running into other teams was low. The most important thing was to quickly make a fire and see if there was anything edible nearby.
The Fang siblings naturally formed a team, and Mu Anqi and Xia Yun were already familiar with each other. Sheng Wujie had been unfriendly toward them at first, and then, influenced by the aura, acted like a fool, leaving him alone.
He glanced at the tattered wooden shed. To the left, the Fang siblings had gone together to gather supplies. To the right, the two female players had taken off on flying swords to somewhere unknown. In the end, he was the only one left behind.
"…Really unlucky." He muttered something, probably a few curses, then kicked the dirt. After venting, he finally turned to gather supplies. Players recruited by monsters were mostly not to be trifled with, and their abilities were all strange. He had indeed acted foolishly at first—after all, there were only two female players, and they had a lighting item. What if the player decided to give up the item to keep the peace?
Then he remembered how ridiculous he looked kneeling and calling out to the rich woman, and the memory made him wish he could crawl into a hole and die. If it weren't for being on a team with these players… he would have wanted to kill everyone who saw that scene.
…
Outside the arena, many Demon Kings and Ghost Kings had arrived. The scene was somewhat reminiscent of the trial dungeon back then. However, this time, in addition to the real-time broadcast on the big screen, there was also a screen showing the odds for each player. The strong on the Shattered Mirror Continent could bet on their own players or others'. Unlike ordinary gambling, there were multiple types of bets, such as "successful completion," "survival points over thirty and successful completion," "one person survives and completes," and other possibilities. Successful completion returned double the bet. Over thirty survival points returned triple, and so on. The hardest bet, "one person survives," returned twenty times the bet.
In this kind of dungeon, the strong on the Shattered Mirror Continent were required to initially bet 50,000 Guansi on the "successful completion" option. They could later add more bets or select other completion types. However, once the first player was eliminated, no additional bets could be made.
Ji Huaichu looked at the screen in her hand. When that male player shouted at the Little Money Tree, her mood soured. Still, she trusted that the Little Money Tree wasn't so easily bullied, so she patiently continued watching. When she saw the male player dare to kneel publicly, begging the Little Money Tree to support him, her expression turned terrifyingly grim.
"What's wrong? One of your players being bullied?" A Ghost King, affected by General Ji's aura, couldn't help whispering.
"…Nothing." Ji Huaichu pressed her lips together. Just then, she heard the Black Bear Demon from the Underworld curse, "Gan!" Looking up, she saw the Black Bear Demon furious.
"What kind of players am I recruiting? Skills are mediocre, brains barely working!?" The Black Bear Demon was extremely angry and slammed the empty ground beside him, leaving a pit. "Does he even know the saying, 'There's gold under a man's knees'!?"
General Ji looked coldly at the Black Bear Demon, thinking: So these are the players under his command.
"General Ji?" The Ghost King beside her whispered, noticing Ji Huaichu's increasingly unfriendly gaze. "Do you have a grudge against that Black Bear Demon?"
"Originally, no," Ji Huaichu said lightly. "But he's been so noisy, now I do."
"Perfect, I don't like him either," the Ghost King murmured. "Call me over before you take action at the end of the game. I want to give him a beating too."
Ji Huaichu: …
"And that Black Bear Demon?" The Ghost girl sitting in front of Ji Huaichu turned back. "Count me in. Last time he called me a stinky woman, so this time it's the perfect chance to settle the score."
"Hey hey, I heard that!" The Black Bear Demon couldn't help shouting. "If you've got the guts, duel me one-on-one. What's with ganging up on me?"
"Then let's duel. With so many enemies, you'll probably have to fight several times anyway," the Ghost girl said, springing to her feet and putting her hands on her hips. "Apologize to me now, and I won't hold it against you!"
"One spit, one nail. I haven't said anything wrong. Apologize my foot!" The Black Bear Demon rolled his eyes. "It's just a fight. Come at me now if you want. Lose, and I'll make you call me Grandpa!"
"Hey, you blind bear—" The Ghost girl, furious, was about to step forward, but the moment she took a step, a black ghostly shadow appeared in front of her, blocking her path.
"The show hasn't started yet. No need to rush," Ji Huaichu stood up, brushing her cheek. The blue-faced, fang-toothed ghost mask appeared over her face. Her tone was calm, as if casually saying to the assembled ghosts, Since there's nothing to do, let's roll some dice. "Let me deal with him."
By rank, Ji Huaichu was only at the fourth tier of Kaiyuan, not considered top-tier on the Shattered Mirror Continent.
But by combat power, Ji Huaichu was a different story. Most Ghost Kings, after recruiting players, didn't like entering the Black Mirror Vortex. After all, they could just command their players or subordinates, enjoy cultivating themselves, and live in peace. Not every Ghost King found joy in slaughter. Ji Huaichu, unlike other demons and monsters, loved killing and excelled in combat—a complete madman.
The Black Bear Demon's expression stiffened. Although he was also at the fourth tier of Kaiyuan, still…
"Fight then! Come on! Just the chance for this old bear to stretch his legs. I've heard of your strength, but looking at that body of yours now, I'm not sure it can withstand one of my slaps."
Under the ghost mask, her red eyes locked onto the Black Bear Demon. Donned in battle armor and a cloak, Ji Huaichu casually swung a long sword, sneering: "We'll see."