Chapter 396 - 386: The Moves of the Various Factions

Everyone was incredibly curious about this mysterious person, especially the members of the Major Guilds.

They swore they would find this person.

Anyone who bought one of the items could tell just by checking its Attributes that they all came from the same creator.

What did this mean? It meant this person either knew an NPC who could mass-produce Special Items, or she had found a way to mass-produce them herself.

In either case, she was someone the Major Guilds absolutely had to win over.

Worse, some even held the sentiment that if they couldn’t have her, they would destroy her.

In short, overnight, every guild was searching for news of the mysterious person, and the Astranet was flooded with similar messages.

Even The Royals, the military, and the pirates couldn’t sit still after testing the effects of the Healing Rings and Healing Pearls.

The effects were good, and while the required number of Reality Exchange Coupons wasn’t small, you could say that any high-level player could afford one if they saved up. They weren’t nearly as expensive as the three items that had appeared before.

Most importantly, both items were incredibly practical.

「At the same time.」

Inside a military base known as the Silver Fortress, two figures were fighting on a combat platform.

No, "fighting" wasn’t the right word. It was more accurate to say they were brawling.

The two traded blows back and forth—you punch me, I kick you.

When they struck, neither held back. On the contrary, they put 120 percent of their strength into every blow, gritting their teeth with each punch as if trying to beat the other to death.

An unknown amount of time passed before both were exhausted, drenched in sweat, and gasping for breath as they collapsed to the ground.

At that moment, two people in white lab coats quickly approached.

These two weren’t doctors—and of course, the two on the ground didn’t need doctors.

Because despite brawling for so long, they didn’t have a single wound on them.

Or perhaps they did, but the injuries healed themselves in an extremely short time, so they were negligible.

Just then, a man in silver armor with a red cape walked over. Seeing the two researchers running their tests, he asked, "What are the results?"

The two stopped what they were doing and reported with solemn expressions, "Marshal, according to our tests, the Healing Rings heal within one second. However, with frequent injuries over time, this duration extends to about three seconds. This is very similar to the original Healing Ring."

"However, this isn’t permanent. If the wearer avoids injury for a period, the Healing Rings’ speed returns to normal."

The other person continued, "Our research shows that the original Healing Ring continuously emits a mysterious aura that nurtures the wearer’s body, even when they aren’t injured. The effect is similar to constantly soaking the body in nutrient liquid. The new Healing Rings, however, do not possess this ability."

After listening, Yarrow nodded. "What about the research on the Healing Pearls?"

"We have the results for the Healing Pearls as well. Currently, a Healing Pearl’s maximum area of effect is a circle with a diameter of ninety to one hundred meters."

"Any living being within this area will be healed effectively, and the closer they are to the center, the better the healing effect."

"Additionally, we compared the finer details of the original Healing Ring and the new Healing Rings. We found that the new Healing Rings are more finely crafted than the original, but certain details still suggest they were made by the same person."

Hearing this, a person standing to Yarrow’s left spoke up. "If that’s the case, why is the more finely crafted item inferior to the less refined one?"

"We’ve looked into that as well. We believe it might be related to the rings’ materials."

"Based on our comparison, the Healing Rings and Healing Pearls are likely made from Cloud Sandalwood, which is a fairly standard material in *Divine Soul*. As for the material used to make the original Healing Ring and the other two bracelets, we have yet to find anything similar."

After the two finished their report, Yarrow asked the people behind him, "How many Healing Rings and Healing Pearls did we manage to get this time?"

"Counting the ones we snatched and those we recovered, we have thirty Healing Rings and Healing Pearls in total."

This was already an astonishing number.

You have to understand, right now on the Astranet, the price of a single Healing Ring had been driven up to hundreds of thousands, even millions, and the price of a Healing Pearl had also multiplied several times over.

But in Yarrow’s eyes, this number was still too small. Far from enough.

"Tell our people in the game: at any cost, we must find that person before The Royals and the pirates do."

"Yes, sir!"

The same order was being given in two other places at the same time.

The next day, Moira Lynch and the other two sat at the table eating breakfast, looking at Hugh Finch’s still-closed door.

Kai York said, "Should we go wake him up? He should at least eat something."

The body of a Talent consumes a massive amount of energy every day, even if they do nothing.

Hugh Finch’s talent wasn’t combat-oriented, so his energy consumption was relatively lower, but only slightly lower compared to combat personnel like Shane Rhodes and Kai York.

Moira Lynch finished the last bite of her wonton noodles and said, "No need. He came out to eat last night. When I opened the fridge today, I noticed several Energy Bars were missing."

Whenever possible, they always ate fresh food and rarely touched things like nutrient liquid or Energy Bars.

Keeping those in the fridge was just for emergencies.

Hearing that Hugh Finch had taken the Energy Bars, Kai York was instantly relieved.

After the three finished breakfast, they rested for a bit before starting their daily workout. Only after they were done did they enter the game.

As soon as Moira Lynch logged into the game, she received a message from the auction house.

[Respected player, due to the immense popularity of the items you listed for consignment, all goods were sold out yesterday. After deducting the service tax and confidentiality fee, the remaining funds have been deposited into your account. Please check carefully. We look forward to working with you again.]

Seeing this, Moira Lynch opened her inventory and saw that her assets had indeed changed from ten to a long string of numbers.

’I had a total of ninety-seven Healing Rings—it was originally ninety-nine, but two broke. I priced them at twenty thousand each. There were ninety-nine Healing Pearls, priced at ten thousand each. That adds up to a total of two million, nine hundred and thirty thousand.’

Of course, the amount she actually received couldn’t be two million, nine hundred and thirty thousand.

A thirty percent service tax and a ten percent confidentiality fee had to be deducted. That left one million, seven hundred fifty-eight thousand.