“Your boat?” The three of them looked at the newcomer. He was an ordinary-looking warrior. They used Appraisal on him and found he had no remarkable equipment, and his level was only 38, which was considered low.

“That’s right.” The man smiled and said, “Are you three going to Linshui City? The boat just left. Waiting for a new one will take two hours, and then waiting for it to depart will take another two hours. That's four hours before you can leave. So, why don't you try my boat?"

“Where did you get a boat?” Xi Xiaotian, the jack-of-all-trades who knew the game inside and out, had never heard of players owning “boats” in the game.

“Oh, I made it myself,” the man said.

“Made it yourself?” The three muttered. This was outside their area of expertise. How could you make a boat? The three couldn't figure it out.

“Uh, there were a lot of people waiting for the boat just now, right? Didn’t you invite them to take a ride on your boat?” Gu Fei suddenly asked.

The man smiled wryly and said, “I’d love to, but my boat isn’t that big.”

“Oh…” The three were relieved.

“Are you three interested?” the man continued.

Xi Xiaotian’s eyes darted around as she asked, “This boat ride probably isn’t free, is it?”

The other party chuckled. “Of course, you have to buy a ticket to ride the boat.”

“How much is a ticket?” Xi Xiaotian asked.

“50 gold coins,” the other party replied.

“That’s so expensive!” The three exclaimed.

The other party simply said, “The system’s big boat is 60 gold coins.”

“Damn, the system is always the biggest scammer.” Mang Mang de Mang Mang was indignant. Players were used to the parallel world ripping people off without batting an eye. System-monopolized businesses were mostly high-priced, making players’ teeth ache, but they were helpless. Many insightful people predicted that breaking the system's monopoly would be a path to becoming the richest player in the game. Because the players in Parallel World had long resented the system’s high prices, even if they competed at the same price, many people probably wouldn’t want the system to earn the money.

The player in front of them, who had developed a small boat to make a ferry business, seemed to be entering that realm. The three finally became interested in this person and his boat.

“Follow me, you three.” The man was very happy to see the business done and led the three to a dilapidated shed on the dock.

“Where’s the boat?” Just as the three were wondering, the man went into the shed and nimbly pulled away a thick layer of straw in the middle. A small wooden boat like those in parks for people to play on appeared before the three.

“This boat? Will it work…” The three were a little skeptical. After all, the vast expanse of water created by the system was much more powerful than the broken artificial lake in the park. The water surface was boundless and filled with mist. The system's big boat didn't seem to be moving fast, but it had already been swallowed by the mist and couldn't be seen.

“Don’t worry, I’ve been doing this business for a long time. The water surface is calmer than you think. As long as you know the direction, you can even paddle over with a piece of wood.” As the other party reassured the three, he continued to clear the straw covering the boat and helplessly explained, “It really won’t do if I don’t hide it like this. It’s still my own item, but it won’t let me put it in my pocket. I think it might be too heavy. I should be able to after leveling up a few more times!” The guy’s face was full of longing as he imagined the days when he could carry the boat in his pocket.

After sweeping away the straw, he stepped back and pushed hard, and the boat slid onto the water.

“You three, get on board!” the man said with a smile.

The three got on the boat one after another. The man took out a very long bamboo pole from his pocket, inserted it into the water, and pushed hard. The small boat quickly left the shore. The man’s movements were skilled and smooth, and the boat sailed quickly and steadily, clearly showing he was well-versed in this. It was like Gu Fei’s kung fu being used in the game, a display of real-world skills in the game.

“You three, can you pay the boat fare first?” the man said as he steered the boat. “To be honest, when we get there, you’ll just leave, and I’m all alone and can’t do anything about it.”

The three of them didn’t say much and quickly took out their money bags and paid. 50 gold coins was basically affordable for players of this level.

“Thanks!” After receiving the money, the man worked noticeably harder. The boat got further and further away from the shore, and the water got deeper and deeper. When the bamboo pole was no longer useful, the man put it away, took out two oars, tied them to the stern, and began to row forward, his movements still professional and smooth.

By this time, the three had basically lost their novelty about the boat and the boatman. They stopped observing how he steered the boat and began to chat idly while admiring the scenery along the lake.

“Are you two friends?” Mang Mang de Mang Mang asked the question she had wanted to ask since they were on the shore. It was certain that Gu Fei and Xi Xiaotian knew each other, but their relationship seemed a bit strange, like they were friends, but also like they were enemies.

Neither of them answered her question, which made her feel even more strange about their relationship. However, Mang Mang de Mang Mang was one of the few girls who didn’t gossip and didn’t continue to dig into the matter.

“What are you doing here?” Gu Fei also began to ask Xi Xiaotian. He realized that there didn’t seem to be any victims around, so it was quite bizarre that Xi Xiaotian was here.

“Same as you, the Across the Four Seas quest,” Xi Xiaotian said.

“Oh? You’re also doing it? Why didn’t I see you?” Gu Fei asked curiously.

“There are over a thousand people, is it strange you didn’t see one?” Xi Xiaotian said.

“Then why did you miss the boat? You seem to have arrived earlier than us, right?” When Gu Fei and the others arrived, the boat had just left. If Xi Xiaotian had arrived earlier than them, she should have been able to catch it.

“I arrived long ago. I was just fighting monsters around here. I didn’t manage my time well, and I missed it by just a little bit. If I were you, I could have caught it?” Xi Xiaotian said.

“Hmm?”

“Instantaneous Movement!” Xi Xiaotian said.

“Oh!” Gu Fei nodded.

Just then, the three of them noticed that the rhythmic sound of the oars splashing in the water from the stern suddenly stopped. The boat’s speed also noticeably began to slow down. The three turned around together and saw that the guy at the stern had stopped rowing. He was holding a shield in his hand, not knowing when he had taken it out, and was smiling at the three of them. As soon as he saw the three turning around, he immediately said, “You three, can you swim?”

“What do you mean?” The three had already realized something was wrong.

“If you can’t swim, it would be very troublesome if I capsized the boat. If you can swim, uh… how good are you at swimming? Have you ever fought in the water?” the man said.

The three looked at each other. Indeed, not many people had fought in the water. Gu Fei was even worse. He belonged to the former category: he couldn’t swim. If he fell into the water, he would drown, so how could he fight?

“Um, what will it take for you not to do this?” Gu Fei asked.

“It’s simple. 300 gold coins per level. You’re all great heroes above level 38, right? If there’s a business where you can level up for 300 gold coins, you definitely won’t think it’s a loss,” the man said.

“So, we each need to pay you 300 gold coins?” Gu Fei said.

“No…” the man shook his head. “300 gold coins is enough for the two beauties, but you, brother, will have to pay 1200 gold coins. Because it’s not one level, but four.”

“How do you know I have PK value?” Gu Fei was surprised by this. He had 29 PK points, and he would drop four levels if he died.

“Hehe, there are many strange pieces of equipment in this game!” the man replied.

“1200 gold coins… I don’t have that much money on hand,” Gu Fei said.

“Few people do,” the man said, showing his knowledge of the game. 1200 gold coins was a huge sum of money. Some people didn’t have that much. “So, I’ll allow you to use equipment or something to pay instead of gold coins.”

“Is that so!” Gu Fei was thinking.

“Brother, you seem to be stalling for time,” the man smiled. “I know who you are. With such a high PK value of 29, you’re that video mage, right? I know your Double Flame Burst is very powerful, and from what you were saying earlier, you also know Instantaneous Movement? Are you thinking of suddenly teleporting next to me and using your Double Flame Burst while I’m not paying attention?”

“But look, I know so much about you, how could I not be prepared? You can’t kill me in one hit. If you can’t kill me, I’ll immediately jump into the water and capsize the boat. It wouldn’t be good for anyone! So, brother, calm down! I know you’re a powerful person, but it’s okay to take a loss once in a while!” the man said eloquently and confidently.

At the same time, Xi Xiaotian, who had used Appraisal on him, sent Gu Fei a private message: “His shield is resistant to fire magic!”

“It’s okay,” Gu Fei replied.

“What are you going to do?” Xi Xiaotian asked.

“Kill him,” Gu Fei replied simply.

“How are you going to kill him?”

“Like he said,” Gu Fei said.

“Can you kill him in one hit? He’s a heavily armored warrior with a fire-resistant shield,” Xi Xiaotian reminded him.

“I can only try,” Gu Fei said. He had never thought of compromising with this kind of person.

“Perhaps you can be a little more cautious,” Xi Xiaotian sent a message. Just as the guy finished his eloquent speech, Xi Xiaotian immediately chimed in, “I’ll pay.”

“Beauty is a smart person,” the man smiled. “Slowly take out your money bag and throw it at my feet.”

“There might be an opportunity when he picks up the money,” Xi Xiaotian sent a message to Gu Fei as she did so. Originally, her ideal scenario was that the other party would reach out to catch the money bag, which would definitely create an opportunity. But unfortunately…

The money bag was thrown at the other party’s feet, but his gaze only glanced at it quickly before immediately returning to the three of them. His shield was still protecting his body, and then he slowly squatted down to pick up the money.

He definitely had to pick it up, because the system was always very quick to refresh items dropped by players. But the opportunity that everyone was expecting didn’t seem to appear…

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I almost didn't make it in time to update, so close… Last night, I got drunk with friends and lost my phone, lost my glasses, lost my coat. I'm so relieved that I didn't lose myself. This allows me to continue to count everyone's monthly votes here. Please vote to your heart's content, tears streaming down my face…