Leaving the private room, Gu Fei turned a corner and checked the rooms one by one. As expected, he found the five elites of the mercenary group in the room two doors down.

"Knew I'd find you guys here," Gu Fei said.

"Spill it! What's the deal between you and those women? I noticed you were being protective of them last time," Han Jia公子 said.

"Ha… just acquaintances," Gu Fei replied.

The others stared at him blankly.

"Really, ha," Gu Fei insisted.

"Confess and receive leniency; resist and face the consequences!" the others said in unison.

"Shhh! Keep it down, they haven't left yet! Did you know, they keep trying to figure out who the members of our mercenary group are? They say they admire us," Gu Fei said.

"Those gossipy women," Han Jia公子 sighed.

"Yu Tian, where are you going?" Gu Fei asked, noticing Yu Tian Shen Ming sneakily getting up.

"Nothing, just taking a walk…" Yu Tian Shen Ming said, trying to head out.

"Grab him!" Han Jia公子 shouted.

Zhan Wu Shang got up and yanked Yu Tian Shen Ming back into his seat with one hand.

"Comrades, it's a guild of beauties, and they rarely admire us so much! Shouldn't we give them a chance?" Yu Tian Shen Ming said, his voice full of woe.

The others scoffed.

"Kid…" Gu Fei habitually looked down on him.

"That's right, Yu Tian, you're too immature," Zhan Wu Shang solemnly lectured Yu Tian Shen Ming.

*Now that's a mature man*, Gu Fei thought admiringly of Zhan Wu Shang.

Zhan Wu Shang turned his head. "Qian Li, I don't care where these women came from, or what your relationship with them is, I just want to ask one thing!"

"Ask what?" Gu Fei said.

"When are you going to introduce us?"

"…" Gu Fei was momentarily speechless.

Of the six in the Young Master's Mercenary Group, Gu Fei was least familiar with Zhan Wu Shang. Zhan Wu Shang didn't talk much usually; he'd silently come, sit down, and silently leave. Judging by his age, Zhan Wu Shang seemed to be on a different level than everyone else. Gu Fei figured that besides the game, their common ground was limited, so he seemed quiet and reserved. But Gu Fei had always used Yu Tian Shen Ming as a reference point, viewing Zhan Wu Shang as the epitome of maturity. He hadn't been wrong about that; the difference between the two was evident in this matter.

Yu Tian Shen Ming wanted to take advantage of their admiration for him, a clear display of an impatient, childish mentality.

Zhan Wu Shang, on the other hand, wanted to go through the proper channels of getting to know them through Gu Fei, which was basically the traditional matchmaking approach.

But either way, their goals were essentially the same: the legendary "chasing girls."

"Why bother with all that? Wu Shang, while they're still curious about us, let's hurry over there and tell them we're the elites of the Young Master's Mercenary Group. This opportunity won't come again," Yu Tian Shen Ming quickly suggested, looking like he wanted to team up with Zhan Wu Shang to complete the girl-chasing mission.

"The two of you going together?" Gu Fei laughed, but swallowed the words he was about to say.

But Han Jia公子 ruthlessly said what Gu Fei was thinking: "The two of you standing together, the old one will look even older, and the young one even younger. Aren't you afraid they'll think you're father and son?"

"A father-son girl-chasing duo? Now that's an awesome title! I think you guys should try it," Brother You also laughed.

Zhan Wu Shang and Yu Tian Shen Ming exchanged glances.

"Damn it, you old geezer, stay away from me!" Yu Tian Shen Ming said.

"Damn it, you little brat, you stay away from me!" Zhan Wu Shang retorted.

"Alright, you two, don't waste your effort. The only one these women are really interested in is the mage in our group," Han Jia公子 said.

"Qian Li! You're trying to hog them all to yourself!" Zhan Wu Shang and Yu Tian Shen Ming glared at Gu Fei together.

"Wu Shang…" Gu Fei said, his voice full of grief, "You've completely shattered my image of you today."

"Image is precious, but love is more valuable!" Zhan Wu Shang recited poetically.

"Damn it, I should have chosen to be a mage!" Yu Tian Shen Ming exclaimed, full of regret.

"It's not about the class, it's about the vibe," Gu Fei patted him on the shoulder.

Brother You couldn't take it anymore. "Heavens! Is humility really a virtue?"

A verbal PK broke out within the mercenary group, with everyone mocking, attacking, slandering, and looking down on each other, until Jian Gui asked, "Qian Li, what did you call us over here for?"

His voice wasn't loud, and the content was extremely bland, but it carried weight. Everyone immediately quieted down, feeling a wave of shame. Especially Gu Fei, who had just come from that group of girls from Rebirth Violet Crystal. Derailing the conversation – wasn't that a woman's specialty? How could a bunch of guys do that too? Everyone was doing some self-reflection.

Finally, Gu Fei took out Frost Memories and handed it to Jian Gui.

"You actually got it back," the others said in surprise.

Gu Fei smiled.

"A miracle!" Jian Gui exclaimed.

"Is it really that surprising?" the others asked skeptically. If that was a miracle, then what was it when Jian Gui got killed and had it dropped?

"Frost Memories, I've dropped it three times now, and I got it back all three times. If that's not a miracle, what is?" Jian Gui said emotionally.

The others were all amazed. The probability of that happening was indeed low enough to be called a miracle.

"All three times, it was thanks to Qian Li," Jian Gui said.

Gu Fei was taken aback. In his memory, only two times involved him! Then he realized that Jian Gui was including the PK that he met Gu Fei in. Back then, Gu Fei had indeed taken Jian Gui's Frost Memories.

The others didn't have much to say about that. As those who understood Gu Fei's strength the most, they were already numb to how powerful he was. Especially after Yu Tian Shen Ming told everyone about Gu Fei's Moonlit Robe and Dark Night Flowing Light Sword, they could only be even more impressed. Gu Fei's strength was justified; he was strong without being at fault.

For them, who had always been at the top level of the online gaming world, having a character who was clearly a level above them was honestly a bit annoying. But fortunately, that person was their friend, and he wasn't an annoying guy, which made it easy for everyone to accept.

"Now that the serious stuff is over, can we go back to talking about those beauties?" Yu Tian Shen Ming asked.

"Beauties? What beauties? Where are all these beauties coming from? Out of the 20 girls in that guild, only a few are good-looking," Gu Fei said.

"20! You know them all?" Yu Tian Shen Ming was surprised.

"Fine! I'll confess, I… I'm also a member of Rebirth Violet Crystal," Gu Fei revealed.

"What!" This was the most explosive news of the day. Even Jian Gui getting killed and having his equipment dropped didn't elicit such a strong reaction from everyone.

"Doesn't that guild claim to only accept women?" Yu Tian Shen Ming said.

"It was a misunderstanding," Gu Fei said regretfully. "I accidentally responded to their guild application, and somehow ended up getting in. The guild has always been at the minimum number of members, so they won't let me leave."

"Damn it! Why doesn't that kind of misunderstanding ever happen to me? Leave? Why would you want to leave?" Yu Tian Shen Ming asked.

"Because it seems like they don't welcome me," Gu Fei said.

"Yeah, that must be a vibe thing. If it were me, the situation would definitely be different," Yu Tian Shen Ming fantasized about being held in the palms of all the women.

Everyone scoffed.

"But recently, their number of members has exceeded 21, and I've been thinking about leaving!" Gu Fei said. He had originally dismissed the idea, but after what happened with Lie Lie today, Gu Fei thought it was best not to stay any longer. It seemed like he couldn't get along with girls.

The main reason was that Gu Fei didn't have much of a "ladies first" attitude. This was related to his background. He came from a family of martial artists, and the atmosphere was relatively old-fashioned. There was a clear sense of male superiority at home. Fortunately, Gu Fei was from the new generation, and accepted new ideas relatively easily. However, his main environment was still like that, and under the influence of what he saw and heard, the new ideas and old ways merged together to form Gu Fei's own attitude. That was absolute gender equality; Gu Fei treated girls and men the same way.

When attacking girls, Gu Fei did seem to have some reservations, or perhaps used a lighter touch, but that wasn't because the other person was a woman. It was because girls were physically weaker. If Gu Fei encountered a weak old man, he would have the same consideration.

"Why would you want to leave!" Obviously, Gu Fei's way of thinking was completely incomprehensible to someone like Yu Tian Shen Ming.

"Kid, you wouldn't understand," Gu Fei said.

"Damn it!" Yu Tian Shen Ming said angrily.

"If it's not too much trouble, you still shouldn't leave," Han Jia公子 suddenly said.

"Why?" Gu Fei asked.

"We run a mercenary business and need a lot of intelligence sources. I support everyone infiltrating different guilds. Like what happened last time, Yu Tian Shen Ming in Across the World provided us with a lot of intelligence and convenience. I believe everyone remembers that?" Han Jia公子 said.

The others nodded.

"With our strength, it wouldn't be difficult to infiltrate any guild, but a purely female guild is a bit of a hassle. Since you're already in there, Qian Li, just stay!" Han Jia公子 said.

"It's just a small guild with 20 people," Gu Fei said.

"Don't underestimate it. A purely female guild naturally has something special about it," Han Jia公子 said.

Several online gaming experts nodded in agreement with Han Jia公子 with knowing looks on their faces.

"Since that's the case, I'll just stay for now!" Gu Fei said.

Yu Tian Shen Ming nodded repeatedly. "What you need to do now is quickly find out the information about the 20 beauties inside, details such as their height and measurements, and then present it as soon as possible."

Gu Fei's expression turned cold. "Is that the meaning of my existence in the girls' guild?"

Han Jia公子 said helplessly, "Sometimes it is, but at least now it's the holographic era, and this intelligence gathering isn't that difficult. If you're a seasoned old wolf, a visual inspection is enough to complete the job."

"Get lost, you guys!" Gu Fei clearly disdained doing those things.

"Alright, if there's nothing else, everyone go do their own thing!" Han Jia公子 said.

"Come on, Qian Li, I need to have a good talk with you!" Zhan Wu Shang dragged Gu Fei out. "Wait for me!" Yu Tian Shen Ming quickly chased after them.

Jian Gui also put away his dagger and got up.

"Where are you going?" Han Jia公子 asked.

"Leveling up, to kill that scum!" Jian Gui said.

"Level up first, and we'll discuss the other matter later," Han Jia公子 said.

Jian Gui nodded and left.

"What about you?" Han Jia公子 looked at Brother You.

"I recently got some word from a forum moderator that Parallel World is about to officially start operations!" Brother You said.

"Oh?" Han Jia公子's expression changed slightly.