Chapter 123
Chapter 123
Since Xiao Tan and the others were still marked as "In-Game" in the social panel, Feng Bu Jue decided to visit the Scare Box again. Compared to his earlier visit in the afternoon, the number of items had nearly tripled and kept increasing. This time, even if he only skimmed item names, it would be impossible to check them all—so he switched to a fuzzy search.
Without realizing it, Feng Bu Jue spent an hour this way. When he returned to the Login Space and checked the friend list, he noticed Xiao Tan’s group status shifting to "Idle" one by one. If all three left a scenario simultaneously, there were only two possibilities: either all three had died at the same moment, or they’d successfully completed the scenario and teleported out.
Feng Bu Jue leaned toward the second possibility—he had full confidence in the combat power of the two ladies. Without applying for communication, he directly invited the trio to his conference room. Xiao Tan accepted the invite, promptly added Feng Bu Jue to the party, and transferred team leadership to him.
Si Yu entered first. Glancing at Feng Bu Jue’s expression, she asked a sharp question driven by instinct: "Did you lose in Kill Game Mode?"
"Kind of", Feng Bu Jue replied.
At that moment, the door opened for the second time as Bei Ling walked in. Hearing their conversation, she interjected with a smile: "Chief, if you lost, just say you lost. What does ‘kind of’ even mean?"
"Better not to talk about it", Feng Bu Jue decided on a four-character response.
The door closed and reopened immediately—Xiao Tan stepped in, holding snacks and mumbling: "Yo, Feng Bu Jue, are you trying to imitate the Joker with that outfit?"
"Exactly. This look was personally curated by me", Feng Bu Jue answered proudly.
"Your taste in fashion leaves much to be desired", Si Yu remarked bluntly.
"Hmph", Feng Bu Jue feigned seriousness, shifted topics, and said: "Anyway… aside from the Kill Game Mode, I also dabbled in Nightmare Difficulty Singleplayer Survival Mode (Common)."
"So you didn’t clear it either?" Bei Ling teased with a mischievous grin.
"I did clear it, actually…" Feng Bu Jue’s expression darkened. "But the feeling after clearing it… I wish I’d just died halfway through."
"So it’s another plot-induced depression", Si Yu realized sharply.
"Heh… personally, I don’t recommend any of you, especially Xiao Tan, to try that mode."
"Even if you told me to, I wouldn’t go. I’m not even brave enough to play non-nightmare singleplayer modes", Xiao Tan replied.
Bei Ling narrowed her eyes and shot him a disdainful glance: "You screamed like a sissy when playing team modes too. It was so embarrassing because we were in the same guild."
"Give it time, and you’ll get used to it. Since Xiao Tan didn’t disconnect from fear and even survived to the end, you have to admit he’s got some skill", Feng Bu Jue defended.
"Speaking in a tone that excuses me while backhandedly insulting me… impressive", Xiao Tan sighed, swallowing another mouthful of snacks.
Ignoring him, Feng Bu Jue got serious: "Alright, let’s discuss what to play next. Considering we’re four players, if we play Kill Game Mode together, we can either have a 2V2 internal battle or continue with Team Survival Mode?"
"You haven’t queued for Team Survival with us yet. Let’s go for that", Si Yu suggested.
"Agreed", Bei Ling nodded.
"Seconded", Xiao Tan chimed in.
"Also, after this scenario finishes, we girls need to log off", Si Yu added.
"Understood. It’s unhealthy to sleep too long in the Gaming Pod", Feng Bu Jue smiled, recalling Si Yu’s earlier words. "You two have already completed two long-term team scenarios today. After one more, you should definitely rest."
"Since we’re already in the conference room, it’s better to understand everyone’s current status before queuing", Si Yu proposed.
"Reasonable. Otherwise, we’d enter the scenario without knowing our teammates’ capabilities", Feng Bu Jue agreed. "That would make the pre-party system pointless."
As if demonstrating, Si Yu spoke first: "I’m now level 15. My title has updated to Spirit Swordman, which passively increases sword damage against spirit entities. My highest proficiency is Martial Arts at D-level, while Medicine and Summoning remain unopened. I recently switched to a new main weapon, which should last me a long time."
She projected an item from her satchel as a 3D hologram onto the table, its stats clearly visible:
Name: Sealed Sainthood
Type: Weapon
Quality: Common
Attack Power: Moderate
Attribute: None
Special Effect: Holder’s spiritual power regeneration speed increases by 50%
Equipment Condition: Martial Arts Proficiency D
Background: This sword’s true power is sealed. When the number of malevolent spirits slain reaches a threshold, the seal will lift, allowing the weapon to unleash its original might.
"Oh, this is strong. Not even a psionic weapon, yet it’s an Equipment that grows stronger", Feng Bu Jue remarked.
"Psionic weapon?" The other three looked at him curiously.
Feng Bu Jue materialized his Death Poker as a data hologram on the table, then mimicked Si Yu’s approach to share his stats.
At this point, let’s switch to an omniscient perspective to detail Feng Bu Jue’s current status comprehensively:
Title: Scenario Explorer | Experience: 11,000/15,000 | Skill Points: 1,580 | Game Currency: 204,600
Proficiency: Universal D | Mechanics E | Scouting E | Martial Arts D (Mask Bonus) | Shooting D | Medicine F | Spirit Arts F | Summoning N/A
Satchel 7/10: Mario’s Pipe Wrench, Eye of Hostility, M1911A1 Pistol (2 bullets remaining), Echo Armor, Vitality Value Supplement (Medium)*4, Pocketknife, Flashlight
Equipment: Jazzy Moves, Casey Jones Mask, Death Poker
Space 3/10: Puzzle Piece Card - Monkey, Puzzle Piece Card - Sunglasses, Puzzle Piece Card - Spin
Skills: Hasty Repair, Brat’s Low Kick, Spirit Sense Body Technique, Know Your Enemy
After Feng Bu Jue’s introduction, the other three showed clear surprise. Of course, he hadn’t detailed every stat—merely following Si Yu’s pattern by mentioning titles, skills, highest proficiencies, unopened categories, and showcasing his Death Poker.
Still, this was enough to confirm his overwhelming strength. In fact, for a level 10-5 player, Si Yu already represented the pinnacle of common players. The gap between her and class players like Jianghu’s Swords and Laughter or The Gods’ Four Heavenly Kings was merely about playtime and attitude toward the game. Under equal level and Equipment conditions, her combat prowess wasn’t inferior. Yet she only achieved D-level in Martial Arts and hadn’t even unlocked a psionic weapon.
Feng Bu Jue's profile was practically unmatched - with all proficiencies maxed out except summoning, and three D-level and two E-level attributes to boot. Whether boosted by Equipment or not, these stats were simply out of reach for ordinary players.
Of course, Feng's path wasn't without risks. Compared to specialists who focused on one or two proficiencies, he had glaring weaknesses - notably combat experience. His battle against Kuangzong Jianying revealed this shortcoming. Worse still, he still lacked any truly effective combat skill. The Spirit Sense Body Technique only enhanced physical condition, which felt absurdly mismatched for a martial arts novice like him. It was like putting 97-octane gasoline in a tractor engine... though honestly, diesel would've made more sense.
A player's actual strength and their character's stats were two different concepts. If Feng's title ability "Know Your Enemy" was his signature skill, then fundamentally, he was just a puzzle-solving type player with extremely high proficiencies.
"Feng Bu Jue, this weapon's overpowered! How'd you get it?" Xiao Tan asked.
"Completed a hidden task in Kill Game Mode", Feng replied. "Actually, setting aside the result, that scenario itself was pretty good. It borrowed 'Pili' setting elements - all I needed was to create an appropriate poetic moniker for myself to complete the task."
"A poetic moniker? You actually came up with one?" Bei Ling asked.
"What kind of talk is that? This is my specialty!" Feng declared. "Speaking of which, your nickname styles are surprisingly Pili-esque too. Want me to create some for you?"
"No thanks."
"Please don't bother."
The two girls rejected instantly.
"Uh... fine then", Feng said awkwardly. "Moving on. Xiao Tan, describe your combat capabilities."
Xiao Tan popped a potato chip into his mouth and sucked his fingers, his expression betraying both contemplation and a hint of confusion as he secretly glanced at his game menu.
After several seconds, he finally spoke: "Well... I'm level 15 now. My title changed from [Panicked Ambusher] to [Nervous Duelist], which feels slightly better. It's still an active title ability called [Bee Sting], applying bleed effects. My highest proficiency is martial arts at D-level. I haven't unlocked spirit arts or summoning. Universal and shooting are E-level, while the other three are F-level. My main weapon is store-bought common quality - [Damascus Dagger]. I sold my kitchen knife. I haven't used [Slow Sand] yet... Oh right, Feng Bu Jue, your Winchester shotgun is still with me. Forgot to return it."
Feng waved him off. "You keep it. My current arsenal is already diverse." Saying this, he stood up and effortlessly lifted the stool he'd been sitting on.
Occluded by the conference table until now, everyone suddenly noticed Feng had never used the room's built-in chairs, instead sitting on a Folding Stool the entire time.
"Seeing your reactions eases my mind", Feng said, storing the Folding Stool into his satchel's eighth slot.
"Wait... that's considered a weapon too?" Xiao Tan asked.
"Exactly", Feng confirmed. "And through earlier experimentation, I've confirmed this can effectively hide lethal intentions while sitting."
"You're planning to ambush people with it in Kill Game Mode?" Bei Ling quickly discerned his intent.
"Naturally."
"Good luck with that..."
Feng shrugged, turning to Xiao Tan. "Back to business - elaborate on [Bee Sting]?"
[Name: Bee Sting]
[Special Ability Type: Active]
[Consumption: 7% of stamina value]
[Effect: Activates upon hitting target, inducing minor bleed effect lasting 2 minutes. Up to 10 stacks. Duration recalculates with each application regardless of stack count. (No cooldown. Requires cold weapon capable of cutting target's skin. Single target at a time)]
[Background: "When strength fails, try attrition warfare."]
After Xiao Tan explained the skill, Feng nodded thoughtfully. "Excellent! Paired with stamina supplements, this could potentially grind down even strong players."
"Players?" Xiao Tan chuckled. "I'd be happy just defeating bulky boss-level monsters. If fighting players, they'd probably use potions or bandages too."
"No, this skill's nuisance factor makes it perfect against players", Feng countered. "Just grazing them causes bleed, and with no cooldown, you can keep harassing. Full stamina lets you apply bleed over a dozen times. The duration's inconveniently short - light damage that's negligible if ignored, but stacking if left unchecked. Opponents would face a dilemma: using bandages too early wastes resources, while waiting escalates blood vial consumption."
Si Yu agreed, adding, "As for boss grinding, you're overestimating its potential."
Xiao Tan blinked. "Why?"
Feng sighed. "Bosses with natural regeneration would negate this skill entirely. Simple logic - agile monsters have fragile defenses, while sluggish monsters possess formidable destructive power or defense."
Xiao Tan scratched his head. "Huh... that's true. Honestly, I'm not eager to fight players anyway. Doesn't suit me."
"Enough about your skills", Bei Ling interrupted. "My turn. I'm slightly lower at level 14. My title [Shrewd Gunner] remains unchanged. Title ability is passive - no combat function, just allowing three different weapon magazines in one satchel slot. Shooting at D-level is my specialty, though I've opened all proficiencies except summoning. Universal, mechanics, and scouting are E-level, others F-level. No single main weapon - I regularly use three different guns."
After their introductions, Feng mused briefly before concluding, "Understood our team composition. Let's move out."
(End of Chapter)
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