Ten Thousand Ways To Eliminate Players

MBD!

[Lonely Old Man] had just logged off but quickly logged back in. He didn't care about losing money; the critical loss was levels and time. The Player Level in Jiamucheng was already lower than others. His original plan was to take down Lin Bai, use the experience gained to level up quickly, and then hope for several top-tier Skill Books to drop, allowing him to soar to new heights. Coupled with his live stream, his account in "Immortal World" would become famous. He saw farther than others. He believed this cross-era virtual reality game was the future trend. If he seized the initiative, he would have both money and fame.

For this reason, he'd topped up with real money and expended considerable energy persuading many people to form this BOSS raid team.

But they were defeated without even touching the BOSS.

Moreover, with Lin Bai corpse-camping them, it was difficult to even disperse.

If he ended up in jail, his leveling time would be gone. If he were expelled from the martial arts gym, his new Skills would be lost. Once both were gone, playing this game would be pointless. Even if he deleted his account and started over, he would be ten-odd days behind other players in Level. How easy would it be to catch up? Furthermore, with Lin Bai, this plague god, around, the number of players in Jiamucheng would only decrease, making it difficult for them to develop their own forces...

This is really a pitfall! Damn game planners!

「…」

The former members of the Black Clan's Five Bears, now known as [Lumberjack No.1], [Lumberjack No.2], and others, logged in one after another. They shot Lin Bai a glare before moving towards [Lonely Old Man].

"Boss Lonely, what should we do now?" [Lumberjack No.1] asked. "Lin Bai, that bastard, is too insidious. Because of what he did, more than ten days of progress have been completely wasted."

All five of them had come specifically for Lin Bai, only to be repeatedly thwarted by him. Each one was indignant, hating Lin Bai to their very core.

Also logging in were [Refiner One] and [Miracle Doctor Flower]. One was passionate about Artifact Refining, the other about being a healer; they were the primary weapon suppliers for this BOSS raid. If they were jailed or had to start over, all their hard work of the past ten-odd days would be for naught. Life-class players like them already found leveling up much more tedious than others! Their closed beta accounts, which they had secured with so much effort, were now going to waste. They were truly unwilling to accept this!

The ones who stood to lose the most were Hidden Guards from the City Lord's Office, such as [Crazy Man], [Well Does Not Move], and [Bitter Melon Vine]. They were among the first closed beta players and had the highest levels. Moreover, they had recently acquired professions and could draw salaries from the City Lord's Office. If they developed slowly, they still had a future.

But, in a moment of greed, they joined the BOSS raid, and now everything was ruined...

The most crucial point was, from start to finish, they had only logged off; they hadn't even attacked once! In the real world, this would be, at most, an attempted crime... But in the game, being jailed for merely an attempted crime felt incredibly unjust!

「…」

More and more players came online, gathering around [Lonely Old Man]. Using their team voice chat, they complained about the cunning of the NPCs and discussed ways to break the deadlock, but no one could offer a viable solution. The three martial arts gyms had operated in Jiamucheng for countless years. Their disciples were numerous, and their levels absolutely suppressed the players. Charging forward would be like moths to a flame. The NPCs had surrounded them without attacking, clearly waiting for them to lay down their weapons and surrender. Once dawn broke, their black-clad, masked figures would have nowhere to hide.

[Lonely Old Man] listened to his teammates' discussions and sighed. None of them were dependable. High-quality players probably wouldn't choose Jiamucheng anymore!

Scanning the live stream comments, he hesitated for a moment before saying into the stream, "To my friends watching the live stream, I deeply regret providing such an imperfect viewing experience. The failure of the BOSS raid is entirely my responsibility. My ignorance of the game rules led to this crushing defeat. However, failure is also a learning experience, and I hope it can serve as a lesson for everyone. I don't regret doing this, but the situation has become a dead end. I cannot watch the players I dragged into this lose their levels and prospects."

"So, I ask the experts offline to suggest a way out. If you have a viable idea, please use a highlighted bullet comment. If it can resolve our predicament, there will be a generous reward."

「…」

A torrent of negative emotions flooded Lin Bai's mind, emanating mostly from those high-level players. The level-one rookies, however, weren't too emotional. At worst, they could delete their accounts and start over. Besides, someone else was covering their losses, and they had even made a small profit from the live stream.

「…」

Lin Bai heard all their private chats. Seeing [Lonely Old Man] starting to ask for help from outside the game, he couldn't help but chuckle.

Clearing his throat slightly, drawing everyone's attention, Lin Bai said, "There's no point in futile resistance; it's meaningless. Little Deng's betrayal might not be conclusive evidence, but there are only so many 'Chosen Ones' in the city. I also have some standing in the City Lord's Office, so tracing you would be very easy. Even if I don't corpse-camp you, you won't be able to escape..."

「In the darkness of the night.」

Xu Longyun scoffed lightly. What a braggart! What standing could he possibly have in the City Lord's Office!

She quietly observed Lin Bai, her eyes filled with curiosity. At this moment, Lin Bai's stature in her mind rose once more. She knew better than anyone that Lin Bai had been obsessed with Alchemy these past few days, not stepping out of the City Lord's Office once. He had only slunk away that morning because he had offended her. Yet, in just one day, he had not only discerned the ambush plan of these Descended Ones but also mobilized people from the martial arts gyms to set a counter-ambush.

This was somewhat terrifying. Sometimes, Xu Longyun even suspected Lin Bai had truly mastered The Art of Deduction, allowing him to accurately know everyone's movements. Xu Longyun was happy to see Lin Bai deal with these Descended Ones; she loathed all unstable factors that endangered the world. However, Lin Bai knowing the Descended Ones' plan but not informing her still left Xu Longyun somewhat dissatisfied. Mobilizing the City Guard Army in the name of the Government Office could have captured all these Descended Ones in one fell swoop, without incurring Heavenly Retribution... But Lin Bai always acted with profound meaning, so Xu Longyun didn't act rashly. She was more curious about how Lin Bai intended to handle these people.

「…」

[Lonely Old Man] found a solution from the live stream comments and confidently stepped out from the crowd. "Lin, the Storekeeper, perhaps we can talk..."

"Of course, we can talk." Lin Bai interrupted him with a smile, glancing around. "I didn't notify the City Guard Army precisely to leave us room for negotiation."

"..." [Lonely Old Man]'s heart pounded furiously.

The netizens were right. To play this game well, one had to follow real-world rules. The more you treated it like a game, the more miserably you would lose. The City Guard Army, which hadn't appeared, was indeed the breakthrough point! However, despite finding a way out, Lonely Old Man felt no joy. Instead, a terrifying thought arose in his heart. Were Lin Bai's interconnected strategies truly something an intelligent AI could devise?

"Lin, the Storekeeper, how can you let us go?" [Lonely Old Man] temporarily abandoned the solution suggested by the netizens and asked.

"You've caused such a huge commotion, and with so many eyes watching, if I let you go, your prospects in the city would likely be ruined anyway." Lin Bai shook his head with a smile. "Gym Master Zhang and the others won't idly watch you continue to use the Martial Arts they taught you for nefarious purposes. So, regardless of which gym you learned from, you will undoubtedly be expelled."

"Not just expelled, your Martial Arts will also be reclaimed," the master of Mo's Sword Gym declared solemnly, looking at the players before him. "On this point, there is no room for negotiation."

"Damn it!"

"Still no solution."

"Losing our Skills is no different from deleting our accounts!"

The players' whispers started up again.

"Lin, the Storekeeper, you must have left a way out for us!" [Lonely Old Man] looked at Lin Bai and cupped his fists. "Otherwise, you wouldn't have gone to such lengths. Lin, the Storekeeper, please stop keeping us in suspense. As long as your demands aren't too excessive, we will comply."

"Correct, I have indeed prepared a way out for you." Lin Bai clapped his hands lightly. "Join the Beggar Gang."

"The Beggar Gang?" [Lonely Old Man] was stunned.

"Crispy Rice, come out!" Lin Bai beckoned to his rear.

[Crispy Rice] and [Sticky Rice] emerged from the crowd and stood beside Lin Bai.

Looking at the elite Jiamucheng players before him, [Crispy Rice] felt an inexplicable excitement. He truly hadn't expected his little brother to be so capable! He was just wondering how to proceed, and his little brother had delivered so many players to him. This was what you call smooth sailing!

"Yes, the Beggar Gang." Lin Bai nodded with a smile. "[Crispy Rice] is also one of my people. Disciples of the Righteous Door, when they roam the world, must establish a Righteous Gang. The Beggar Gang is the Righteous Gang I have prepared for myself..."