Reign of the Hunters

Chapter 288 Beyond Expectation

“Really?” it was obvious that Bai Mo did not believe what Ye Ci had said. If they were fighting, why would Fleeting Time send a message like that? Bai Mo had a feeling that he had developed the talent of a gossiper like Fruit Jelly and her friends.

But he was indeed excited.

The subject of the gossip were two top-tier players, and one of them was his sister. It was a weird feeling. It felt odd that his sister was involved, and yet he was excited to hear news about the incident straight from the person involved.

It was something that a novice gossipper would not understand.

Bai Mo wiped sweat away from his face. He had to worry about the wellbeing of his sister, and at the same time, he was also excited for more gossipping materials.

“Of course.” Even Ye Ci herself was not convinced by her own words. But a text message meant that Bai Mo was not able to see her expression, nor was he able to discern anything from her tone. She was not worried that Bai Mo would learn of her secret.

Bai Mo chuckled when he saw the two-word response. Of course he would not believe what she said. It was something that even Ye Ci herself had failed to realise. Ever since she was young, she would often offer answers that were brief and short whenever she felt guilt or was attempting to lie. A person who knew her would be able to gauge the truth simply from her response.

And it was only natural for Bai Mo to notice such a trait. He did not expose her lie. “You’ve increased your level cap now. When will you be back?” Instead, he changed the topic of the conversation.

“Soon. There are things that I have to buy. I found a good shop in Hero City.” Ye Ci let out a sigh of relief. She was glad to offer up the truth once the conversation had shifted to another direction.

“Alright then. We’ll be exploring the Desolate Blazing Canyon for the first time tonight. Will you be joining us?” It was one of the reasons Bai Mo came looking for Ye Ci.

“Sure.” Ye Ci replied after a moment of thought.

“Okay. Get things settled there and come back as soon as possible. I’ll see you in Red Lake City.” Bai Mo ended the conversation, and Ye Ci immediately headed into a secluded shop in Hero City.

The shop was situated in the alleys of the northern part of Hero City, and was known for the rare consumable that it offered. The items sold by the shop were refreshed weekly, and each item would only be sold at a limited number. Players would have to wait for the next refresh whenever the stocks were sold out.

The major guilds in Ye Ci’s past life would often post men in front of the shops who would then immediately clear out whatever items that were available whenever they were refreshed. It was a contest of speed and luck.

In this life, however, only Ye Ci knew of the shop’s existence.

Hero City had only been opened to the players, and a large number of them were still busy exploring the new realm. At this stage of the game, it was rare for players to stumble upon a secluded area like this. They would instead tend to flock to the more populated commercial zone of the city as well as any landmark and beautiful sceneries found in the city.

But these places had little appeal to Ye Ci who was already used to the city. The only intention in her mind was to benefit from this shop before it was discovered.

Solo players like her barely stood a chance against the major guilds when it came to acquiring the rare items, but it did not mean that she was a stranger to the shop. She was an expert in snatching up the leftovers.

She turned into a narrow alley, and headed towards a shop with the name David’s Groceries.

The shop was small, and its sign worn. The shop assistant sitting behind the counter was almost asleep when Ye Ci walked into the shop. The items displayed behind him were nothing but common consumables. Any players who knew nothing about the shop would naturally lose interest and leave for the larger shops in a busier part of the city.

But an observant player would be shocked by the items sold by the shop.

Judging a book by its cover is a major drawback of human nature.

Ye Ci walked into the shop, and rapped her hand against the counter, waking up the shop assistant who was snoring. He woke up, and stared at Ye Ci with a confused expression before finally speaking up after letting out a yawn, “What do you want?”

“I want to buy something.”

“Oh, if that’s the case, why don’t you head out from our shop, turn right, and walk straight until you see a sign. Follow that sign, and you will reach the commercial area of the city. The shops there have way more than what we have to offer.” the shop assistant stifled another yawn.

Any other player would definitely have left the shop there and then. Nobody would be willing to shop in a place that immediately directed a customer somewhere else. Even Ye Ci herself would immediately leave if she was not a reincarnator even if she was the first person to discover the shop.

“No, I want to buy them from you.” Ye Ci shook her head with a smile on her face.

The shop assistant was shocked. He studied Ye Ci for a long moment before grumbling under his breath, “What a weird person.” he then stood up and spoke to Ye Ci, “Wait here, I’ll get my boss.”

He then disappeared into the shop and returned with a Gnome wearing thick glasses and tattered clothing in tow. The NPCs appearance would not attract any attention if he was walking down the streets of the city. His name was David, the owner of the shop.

“You’re seeking to buy something?”

“Yes.”

The Gnome David scratched his balding head, “I don’t sell normal goods here.”

“I know.” Ye Ci offered her smile. She was here exactly because she knew.

“Alright then, if you insist. I’ll show you my wares. Scram if you don’t need anything! I don’t have time to waste.” David was apparently not a good natured person. He spared no courtesy for Ye Ci even when she was his first customer.

“Show her what we have.” he spoke to one of his employees, “I’m busy. Don’t bother me if it’s nothing big.”

The shop assistant nodded, and opened up his inventory when his employer left.

Most of the items were expensive, but affordable by Ye Ci. They might not be as good as products of Goblin Engineering, but they were still items with high destructive power such as deep water torpedoes, electrical nets, time bombs, and many more.

Only 20 of each item were sold, and they would only be restocked in the following week.

Ye Ci glanced at the amount of gold she had, and bought all the available Deep Water Torpedoes, Electric Net, Medium Time Bomb, and Large Time Bomb. By the time the purchase was completed, she had only a single digit amount of money left. Looks like it’s time to ask Bai Mo for some money.

The shop assistant was shocked by the large transaction made by Ye Ci. He ignored David’s warning, and ran into the shop. David soon emerged once again with his employee, and when he spoke to Ye Ci, it was with a more polite tone, “You sure know your stuff, Elf!”

Ye Ci nodded at David, “You’re the one with the good stuff.”

David was satisfied with the praise he received from Ye Ci. He welcomed Ye Ci to shop in his place again with a chuckle. This came as a disappointment to Ye Ci, who was expecting some form of discount as the first customer to the shop. It seems that David is living up to the stingy reputation of the Gnomes.

Ye Ci summoned Ol’ Four and headed straight for the city’s Flying Stone once she left David’s shop. A Gryphon ride was no longer necessary when the stone was activated. The cost of using the stone was twice the fare charged by a Gryphon ride, which meant that the Flight Manager would still retain its customer despite the convenience.

She carefully studied her surroundings once she was at her destination. Once she was certain that there were no hooded players in her vicinity, Ye Ci dismissed Ol’ Four and walked up to the stone.

But before she could return to Red Lake City, Ye Ci felt a lap tight on her shoulder followed by an annoying voice, “Heh, we meet again Little Gongzi.”

Ye Ci yelped and jumped away from the man, canceling her the channeling of her recalling spell. She raised her head and stared at the shameless man who had just greeted her, “Fleeting Time! Why are you here?”

“I’m here because you are here.” Fleeting Time smiled.

“You…” Ye Ci, who was at a loss of words, glared at Fleeting Time.

She did not expect Fleeting Time to pull up his hood, leaned forward, and whispered into her ear, “Don’t look at me like that, it’s dangerous.”

His voice was soft, and the players around them did not take note of the interaction between the two hooded players.

“You rascal!” Ye Ci spoke through gritted teeth. Her face was rapidly heating up. She had hoped to forget what happened in the wisteria garden, but with the rascal around, it was a hard thing to do.

“Me? A rascal?” Fleeting Time was not angry, and was instead grinning from ear to ear. He muttered under his breath before replying, “I don’t think I’ve said anything wrong. But if Little Gongzi is calling me a rascal just because of the few words I said, perhaps you’re thinking about… Something…” he chuckled.

“You’re asking for it!” Ye Ci was truly angered. Why does such a shameless man exist! Her perspective of Fleeting Time had slightly improved during her time spent with him in the Western Continent, but it was immediately destroyed by his shamelessness. Her voice was so cold that it could even freeze the very air around her. She pulled her dagger out of its sheath, and plunged it into Fleeting Time’s chest.

By sheer muscle memory, Ye Ci aimed at the most vulnerable part of the human body with her strike even without thinking.

It was also the weakest spot of a player’s character: The heart.

A strike to the heart could almost guarantee an instant death.

But what Ye Ci did not expect was Fleeting Time’s inaction even as the dagger headed straight for his heart. Based on her knowledge of Fleeting Time, Ye Ci thought that he would definitely be able to avoid her attack.

She was stunned, “Why did you not dodge?”

Fleeting Time lost 90% of his health when the strike landed, and his health was rapidly dropping because of the bleeding. He smiled at Ye Ci whispered into her ear, “If you want me dead, I will not fight back.”

“Are you an idio-” Fleeting Time dropped dead before Ye Ci before she could finish her sentence, and the system notification immediately rang out in her ears, “You’ve killed an innocent in a Neutral Area of Hero City. You will be arrested by troops from the Hero City Guard. Please do not resist arrest.”