Chapter 293 - 58: A Willing Fish Takes the Bait

As a man of vision and a second-generation heir, Eight Desolates immediately saw from the Witch’s notes that the only way to clear this dungeon was through unity.

Players are the least unified group of people. They divide themselves based on game genres, splitting into console fans and PC fans, mobile gamers and non-mobile gamers, fans of a certain game and those who aren’t, and so on.

Then, depending on who they simp for, they further divide into the mommy faction, the little sister faction, the big brother faction, and more.

Based on their different XPs, they split into...

But give them one catalyst, and they’ll miraculously band together to accomplish a common goal.

Like right now.

Although there was still a long way to go before all the players were truly united, Duan Fei’s act of publicizing the notes was a good start. The next step was to let the players slowly gather and begin the struggle.

After learning the origin of Duan Fei’s notes, Eight Desolates immediately realized something: he and Duan Fei had used the same dungeon entrance.

After all, Duan Fei had added a short description explaining the notes’ origin, and his description of the Witch matched exactly what Eight Desolates himself had seen.

Thus, Eight Desolates no longer hesitated. He charged straight for Miss Witch’s house, and after barging through the door, he indeed saw Duan Someone.

But upon seeing him, he felt he had come at a bad time.

Because the three Slimes were having a party on the table.

"This is the life! The life!" the drunken Cuihua exclaimed, raising a flask. "Duan Someone, this Magic Elixir you concocted really packs a punch!"

"You bet!" said a flushed Duan Fei. "Who do you think I am? The Ultimate Alchemist!"

"Cuihua, you’re surprisingly chatty. Why are you usually so aloof?" Darts Guest said, slinging an arm around Cuihua’s shoulder.

"Social anxiety!"

"Hahaha, look at this Cuihua, so lame."

Watching the three Slimes drink with glee while the two children at the side ate with just as much delight, Eight Desolates felt that these three players were wolves in sheep’s clothing, their bad influence on the youth immeasurable.

Letting out a long sigh, Eight Desolates felt his ideals shattering.

He had expected a classic scene of Liu Bei meeting the Hidden Dragon. He had even prepared his lines for the "three visits to the thatched cottage." He never imagined reality would just slap him across the face and tell him, ’Trying to act cool? Not a chance.’

Just as the elixir’s effects began to wear off and the three Slimes were about to drink more, Eight Desolates finally cleared his throat. "Duan Someone, may I have a word? I’m Eight Desolates."

Duan Fei, who was just starting to recover, rubbed his head. "Eight Desolates? Who’s that? Never heard of him."

Forget Eight Desolates, who was second on the leaderboards; even if the number one Great Sword Master, Qian Wulu, showed up, Duan Fei would claim not to know him.

Despite being snubbed to his face, Eight Desolates wasn’t annoyed. Instead, he nodded in appreciation.

’As expected of the Hidden Dragon I’ve set my sights on. He’s got personality. I like it.’

Walking forward, he said with a smile, "It’s alright, I’m easygoing. We’ll get to know each other after a chat. I came here because of your previous post. I’d like to know..."

Before Eight Desolates could finish, Cuihua, who still wasn’t sober, came over and forced two bottles of Magic Elixir down the throats of Duan Fei and Eight Desolates.

"Enough with the chatter! Drink up!"

The Magic Elixirs Duan Fei concocted could grant various buffs. Some even affected the soul, allowing a portion of the buffs’ effects to persist after resurrection.

Once he understood this, Duan Fei opened up the Witch’s storeroom and began crafting Magic Elixirs with a vengeance.

He refined a massive amount of ingredients into Magic Elixirs, and the three players drank the expensive elixirs as if they were free. The Magic Power contained within was absorbed by the trio, eventually causing them to become drunk.

This stupor was also known as "Magic Power Drunkenness." A normal Witch would usually sober up in a short while.

However, the players were currently in their Slime forms, so even a tiny bit of Magic Power could get them drunk for the better part of a day. What should have been a simple affair of taking medicine had been turned into a party, and now even Eight Desolates had been dragged into it.

Eight Desolates had tried to dodge, but Cuihua’s Attributes had skyrocketed after drinking the Magic Elixir, making it impossible for him to escape. In the end, he was force-fed a bottle and began to giggle foolishly.

The four Slimes sang and danced on the table, wasting their precious time on drinking elixirs and merrymaking. They didn’t sober up until the next day when they developed a resistance to the concoctions.

After waking up, Eight Desolates first logged off to shower, eat, and change his clothes. He then returned to his game pod, and seeing the other players who had similarly gotten themselves in order, he was momentarily speechless.

Finally, he let out a long sigh, flopped onto the table, and lamented, "What is this mess? How did my ’three visits to the thatched cottage’ turn into a hangover party? And this damn game’s realism is too good! Why would it even replicate the feeling of being drunk?"

"It’s fine. As long as I’m not the one who’s embarrassed, someone else will be," Duan Fei said decisively. "Alright, Eight Desolates, we’re acquainted now. You can go die."

"Why?!" Eight Desolates shouted in disbelief.

"You’ve witnessed my cringey past, and you still expect to live?!"

Raising his crowbar, Duan Fei swung it at Eight Desolates.

The other man hastily dodged while shouting, "You said you weren’t embarrassed, but aren’t you so embarrassed you could die?!"

"That’s why you have to die for me!"

"You lunatic, stop for a second!"

"You... die..."

"Zhang Fei... no, Cuihua, you stop too!"

After finally getting them to stop, Eight Desolates felt utterly exhausted.

As a fan of the Shu Kingdom, Eight Desolates had already cast himself as Liu Bei. Duan Someone was his Hidden Dragon, Cuihua was his third brother, and while Darts Guest was a bit of a stretch, he could temporarily serve as the second brother.

But now, he, who had wanted to make a grand entrance, had nearly been taken out by his own Hidden Dragon and third brother. What kind of mess was this?!

After managing to placate the three of them, a panting Eight Desolates said, "Alright, getting drunk on elixirs is no big deal. I came to find you all to discuss something."

"Are you asking for a good burial plot with excellent feng shui, one that will bring honor to your ancestors after you’re in it?" Duan Fei asked, eyeing Eight Desolates sideways.

"Are you ever going to get over this? Besides, I’m the sole heir for three generations. Burying me means my family line dies with me."

Duan Fei liked that joke. He found Eight Desolates much less annoying now.

Putting away his crowbar, Duan Fei asked, "For the sake of that joke, I’ll let you say what you came to say."

"The way you put that..."

Eight Desolates gave a wry smile.

But Eight Desolates, this second-generation heir, truly had class. Even after being toyed with like this, he still felt the trio was free-spirited and unconventional, possessing the air of the famous scholars from the Three Kingdoms era. This only made him want to befriend them more.

So, he sat down and got straight to the point. "Duan Fei, join my guild."

"I already have a guild, and I’m going to be the guild leader."

"Is that so? A pity. Then, on to the next matter: tackle the dungeon with me. The Eight Desolates Guild has over a thousand members. Every single one is an employee of my company whose sole job is to support me in this game. With a talent like you joining us, it would be like giving a tiger wings. We’d definitely reach a whole new level."

"Is that so..."

Looking at the sincere Eight Desolates, Duan Fei felt like a fish was on the hook.