The Gopher Hunt and a New Variable

After settling matters with Embracing the Moon, Clear Breeze, Ye Jue turned his gaze to Lin Shenyue. Seeing her nod, he let out a long breath of relief.

This woman exerted considerable pressure on him. Perhaps it was due to his own hidden intentions toward Lin Shenyue, but he found himself unable to meet Xu Linglong’s discerning stare directly.

Thus, when it came to the decision of whether Xu Linglong should join his party, he timidly deferred the task to Lin Shenyue. Though unspoken, he knew Lin Shenyue would undoubtedly invite her to join.

Xu Linglong cast a fleeting glance at Ye Jue before asking, “What’s our next objective?”

“Peerless Karma Fire discovered a minor bug,” Lin Shenyue stated plainly. “We’re going to exploit it to level up.”

Xu Linglong shot a peculiar look at Lin Shenyue. This game was, in essence, her family’s creation, yet a bug had been found and Lin Shenyue was aware of it. Did she truly have no other thoughts on the matter?

Lin Shenyue, noticing Xu Linglong’s odd expression, was a little confused. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

Xu Linglong pressed a hand to her forehead, messaging privately with a sigh of exasperation. [Isn’t this your family’s game? Shouldn’t you tell your parents about a bug he found?]

Lin Shenyue paused for a moment before replying with a helpless smile. [It’s true this is my family’s game, but right now I’m just a player, not someone in charge of supervision. I just need to focus on enjoying the game.]

Xu Linglong observed Lin Shenyue, feeling that she was subtly different from before. It was just amnesia, yet even her personality seemed to have shifted. The old Lin Shenyue had been rather timid; confronted with such a situation, she would have hesitated for a long time, ultimately unable to make a decision.

Noticing Xu Linglong’s slightly scrutinizing gaze, Lin Shenyue awkwardly asked, “What is it?”

Xu Linglong silently suppressed the questions in her heart. Perhaps Lin Shenyue’s five years of detachment from the world had simply altered her personality. In any case, she was still herself, and it didn’t matter if she didn’t remember her. Shaking off her doubts, Xu Linglong smiled faintly. “Nothing. Shall we go level up now?”

Lin Shenyue looked to Ye Jue, who nodded. “We’ll level up first, saving our daily experience gain time for later. After all, grinding monsters outside the city still yields more experience than hunting gophers.”

****

The group followed Ye Jue to the eastern NPC residential area of Vermilion Bird City. Ye Jue led them through a maze of turns until they arrived at a farmhouse. Many such houses dotted the nearby area, while more luxurious residences were located in other districts.

Xu Linglong’s intensely scrutinizing gaze fixed upon Ye Jue, making his scalp tingle. He naturally understood why she was staring at him, yet he found it difficult to explain himself. Although he had concocted a convoluted excuse, he doubted this woman, who harbored an inexplicable hostility toward him, would believe it.

Ye Jue felt utterly helpless about this sudden animosity, unable to recall what he had done to provoke her. ‘It seems I need to be more careful around this woman in the future,’ he thought to himself.

Though he had revealed much in front of Lin Shenyue, she was not one to delve deeply into matters. So far, Lin Shenyue had only vaguely sensed something amiss but hadn’t pursued further suspicion or investigation.

Ye Jue approached the farmhouse door, where he saw a woman with a troubled, sorrowful expression, sighing incessantly. He stepped forward and asked, “Madam, you seem to be in distress. Can we be of assistance?”

The woman leaped up excitedly upon hearing Ye Jue’s words. “Of course, brave warriors! A nest of gophers has appeared in my backyard. There are so many of them, and they’ve gnawed all my plants to nothing. I beg you, please help me get rid of these gophers!”

[Ding! Do you accept the quest ‘Clear the Gophers’?]

“Yes.”

Gophers were low-health monsters, making them easy for the group to defeat. Lin Shenyue, in particular, was mostly just watching from the sidelines.

Ye Jue, meanwhile, observed the performance of Embracing the Moon, Clear Breeze and Xu Linglong. As one of the future god-tier experts, Embracing the Moon, Clear Breeze’s skills were already formidable, even before his true rise.

However, it was Xu Linglong’s technique that truly surprised Ye Jue. In his previous life, he had never once heard of someone named Exquisite Heart. Like Lin Shenyue, she was one of the biggest variables since his rebirth.

As a direct descendant of a martial arts family, Xu Linglong’s combat skills were naturally exceptional. In a game like this, people of her caliber possessed an inherent advantage. Beyond them, seasoned gamers and real-world soldiers also had a significant edge, adapting to the game much faster than ordinary players.

Ye Jue watched Xu Linglong’s posture, falling into deep thought. Although she wielded a greatsword, her unintentional movements struck him as eerily familiar.

Lin Shenyue noticed Ye Jue’s health dropping rather quickly. After casting a healing spell, she inquired, “What’s wrong? You seem distracted.”

Lin Shenyue’s interruption pulled Ye Jue from his thoughts, and he chuckled. “Nothing, just contemplating a few things.” He quickly changed the subject. “I’m going to start pulling more monsters now. Without pressure, our team’s coordination will be slow to develop. Everyone, pay close attention.”

The five-person party now consisted of a shield warrior, a berserker, a priest, a sharpshooter, and a mage—a configuration considered optimal. It could effectively handle a wide range of situations.

At this stage, dungeons were limited to five players. More slots would open up later, at which point the importance of a skilled commander would become apparent.

The group began their process of coordination, though none of them were true novices, so they adapted quickly. Often, Divine Wind and Embracing the Moon, Clear Breeze would stack damage, leading to overflow.

However, as time passed, the synergy between the two damage dealers grew, and instances of damage overflow became rare. With Lin Shenyue as the sole healer in the team, her primary task was to master the timing of her support skills.

The greatest challenge in their coordination lay between Ye Jue and Xu Linglong. Xu Linglong, having little gaming experience, struggled with managing aggro. Before her class advancement, she had been the primary tank of the party, allowing her to disregard aggro.

Now, as a melee damage dealer, her output far exceeded Ye Jue’s, and her proximity to the boss was similar to his. This made her prone to aggro overflow. When Ye Jue wasn’t using Taunt, she had to consciously rein in her damage.

In later stages, with a hunter’s Aggro Lock skill, all damage dealt by players within those few seconds would be attributed to the locked target. At such times, a tank’s aggro would typically be stable. However, later bosses often had chaotic aggro, making them difficult to manage even with Aggro Lock.

Ye Jue, hesitant to lecture the woman before him, reluctantly sent a private message to Lin Shenyue, signaling her to explain aggro mechanics to Xu Linglong.

Lin Shenyue, observing Xu Linglong still constantly stealing aggro, smiled helplessly and began to educate her on the intricacies of threat generation.