Chapter 1 The Evening

That evening, after dinner, feeding the cat, and a little tidying up, Feng Bujue lay down in the game pod. After a series of standardized operations, he finally arrived at the long-awaited login space.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he appeared in the elevator, a text window popped up before his eyes, accompanied by a system voice prompt:

[You are currently ranked second on the combat power leaderboard. Please choose whether to publicly display your nickname (currently the default anonymous state)]

Immediately afterwards, another dialog box appeared, with three options: [Public] [Anonymous] [Choose Later]

Feng Bujue was a little surprised by this, but after a little thought, he understood that it was reasonable. He considered it for a while... and chose to remain anonymous.

[Operation successful]

[You can change this setting at any time in the touch menu in the login space]

[In the future, if you temporarily leave the combat power leaderboard and return again, the system will automatically use the current setting]

After sorting this out, Feng Bujue immediately began checking his mail.

Needless to say, there was already a pile of mail waiting for him in his inbox.

Sorted by time, the first sender was Kuang Zong Jianying. On the nineteenth, when he sent the [Endless Grenade Magazine], he said that there would be two more items from [Hard Drive 2455-A-1] sent the next day, but from the next day on, Jue-ge (Brother Jue) had not been online, so it was delayed until today.

One of the items was:

[Name: wjQ-308 Military Shovel (Never Wears Out Type)]

[Type: Tool]

[Quality: Excellent]

[Function: everything!]

[Remarks: This is the most dominant military product developed by a certain country after "Want Your Life 3000." It has all the functions of a shovel, ax, saw, hammer, ruler, bottle opener, can opener, wire cutter, wrench, paddle, shield, hook, anchor, and ice ax. The words "mAdeinChinA" on the wooden handle are undoubtedly a guarantee of quality.]

And the other item was...

[Name: Energy Storage Three-edged Bayonet]

[Type: Weapon]

[Quality: Excellent]

[Attack Power: Relatively Strong]

[Attribute: None]

[Special Effect: 100% additional bleeding effect (when targeting theoretically bleedable targets); provides 1%-100% damage bonus depending on energy storage]

[Equipment Requirements: C in Melee Specialization, Level 30]

[Remarks: Automatic energy storage speed is 1% per second]

Jian Shao (Young Master Jian) really kept his word. That verbal promise had no witnesses, and even if he went back on it, Feng Bujue would have nothing to say. But Jian Shao handled things very thoughtfully and generously.

In fact, he could have sent Feng Bujue three pieces of garbage, saying they were made from the hard drive, and no one could prove otherwise. But he didn't do that. Whether it was the previous grenade magazine, or the current military shovel and bayonet, all were very practical and powerful equipment. All three items were not bound after use, which meant that even if Feng Bujue couldn't use them, he could completely put them up for auction.

Of course, Jue-ge wouldn't do that. These were all good items, and even if he didn't use them himself, he could let his teammates use them.

"Brother Feng, I've given you all the items. The quality is acceptable, right? Also, you must have seen the competition news announced this morning. You will definitely participate, right? I look forward to fighting you again in the competition! Don't get eliminated too early."

The above was the content of the email sent by Kuang Zong Jianying on the morning of the twentieth...

"This is a damn threatening letter!" Feng Bujue complained as he looked at the email. "It was just a duel that didn't end in victory! What a grudge!"

Then, Jue-ge opened the second email, which was from Shiva.

"Brother Feng seems to be very busy these days and hasn't been online. I have something I want to discuss with you in person. I hope you will reply quickly when you see the email."

After reading this passage, Feng Bujue pondered for about three seconds, then sneered and directly typed a reply on the control screen: "I appreciate your kindness, but there's no need to mention this matter again."

About two hours later, Shiva came out of a script and saw Jue-ge's reply. The scene at that moment could be compared to... a boy putting a letter in a girl's desk, asking her to meet after school, but before school was even over, he received a reply that said, "You are a good person."

In the next ten minutes, Feng Bujue read emails from other friends or players he had recently played with. Qi Sha, Zhao Yingwang, Yu Zhong Ji Chang, Qiu Feng Se, Atobe-shao ye (Young Master Atobe), Meng Jingchan, and Hong Hu were all there.

And the content of those emails was all related to the competition, basically divided into three categories, in addition to the above threatening type and the poaching type, there was also the inexplicable type. For example, Jin Fugui's email was: "In the morning, a rustic farmer, in the evening, ascends to the emperor's hall. Generals and ministers are not born into nobility, men should strive to be strong."

Feng Bujue really found it difficult to figure out... what exactly the other party meant by sending such a poem. Could this be an alternative way of intimidation? Self-motivating in front of the target to achieve the purpose of intimidation?

So, Jue-ge immediately composed two lines of doggerel to reply: "Since ancient times, masterpieces come from brothels, unsuccessful scholars are the most romantic." This was to deter the leader of that gigolo group and make him behave.

…………

After dealing with the emails and collecting the items, Feng Bujue went to the mall for a while, and then accepted the invitation to come to Xiao Tan's conference room.

The other three members of Hell Front were already waiting there. When Jue-ge walked in, Xiao Tan and Bei Ling were sitting at the conference table, using the projection device to study the attributes of several pieces of equipment.

Si Yu was standing alone on the side, leaning her back against the wall, with her arms crossed in front of her chest, pretending to be resting with her eyes closed.

After the "Cang Ling Sword Debate" ended, Si Yu followed Feng Bujue's advice and went to change into a set of clothes. Considering factors such as mobility, cold resistance, and practicality, after some deliberation, she finally bought a "Survey Corps" set in the mall.

The upper part of this set is a light brown long-sleeved jacket with an upturned collar; the jacket is relatively short, only reaching the ribs; a white shirt is lined inside the jacket, and the lower part is white close-fitting trousers, and on her feet are a pair of knee-high dark brown leather boots. Around the waist of this set of tight-fitting clothes is a ring of brown straps similar to a skirt, connecting the suspender trousers above and the leather straps on the legs.

Of course, this set does not have the interwoven wings mark of the "Survey Corps" printed on it, but is replaced by the Hell Front logo.

"Yo~ everyone, long time no see." Feng Bujue greeted as soon as he came in.

"It's only been three or four days..." Bei Ling replied weakly.

Xiao Tan looked up and said, "Jue-ge, how's the manuscript coming along?"

"Naturally, I came online after I'd dealt with it." Feng Bujue replied, turning his head towards Si Yu's side.

Their eyes met and lasted for a few seconds.

Feng Bujue pondered, "Hiss--the way you look at me today seems a little unnatural."

"Oh?" Si Yu responded indifferently, "Then what kind of look should I use to look at you to be considered natural?"

"Just that kind of...expression where suddenly drawing a knife and stabbing me to death wouldn't feel out of place."

Si Yu turned her head expressionlessly, moved her gaze away from Feng Bujue's face, and snorted coldly in a calm tone: "Hmph...cheap."

"Ah...I was scolded again with words that the system didn't block..." Feng Bujue said with a smile as he walked towards the conference table, "It seems I'm getting what I deserve."

"Your sense of humor combines the childishness of a child and the perversion of a pervert." The corners of Si Yu's mouth also showed a faint, almost imperceptible smile for a very short moment, but she quickly hid it. "This is what is called 'annoying as hell', right?" She said, and also came to the conference table to sit down.

"Okay, let's talk about things about the game." Feng Bujue said, "First of all, has anyone noticed that a nameless hero suddenly appeared on the combat power leaderboard and climbed directly to the high position of second place?"

Bei Ling reacted the fastest, "Guild leader, you wouldn't want to say that person is you, would you?"

"Yes, it's me." Feng Bujue calmly shrugged in response.

His tone didn't sound like he was joking at all, so his teammates were all slightly stunned when they heard this.

"Really?" Xiao Tan asked with wide eyes.

Before Feng Bujue could answer, Si Yu said thoughtfully, "I see..."

"Oh? Did you guess it was me from the beginning?" Feng Bujue asked with some suspicion after hearing her words.

"Yes." Si Yu replied.

"Uh...besides 'yes', do you have anything else you want to say? Like...why?" Feng Bujue said.

"No." Si Yu said.

Since she didn't plan to say it, Feng Bujue didn't ask, and he changed the subject: "Okay...anyway, I just want to remind everyone that I'm now considered a powerful player, so when you guys queue for scripts with me, be prepared, the difficulty might go up."

"Is that so...that's interesting." Bei Ling suddenly interjected, looking at Si Yu with a sly look in her eyes, "Should I bring up the idea I just mentioned now?"

"What idea?" Feng Bujue asked, looking left and right.

"Internal practice battle." Si Yu gave the most concise answer.

As soon as Feng Bujue heard these five words, he already understood most of it, "Oh...good idea!" He paused, looked at Bei Ling, but pointed at Xiao Tan, "You're really taking care of this kid..."

"Huh? What?" Xiao Tan looked confused.

"Don't understand?" Jue-ge smiled, "Heh...if you don't understand, then forget it." He leaned back on the chair, turned his head to Bei Ling and said, "Then you've already figured out the grouping method for the four of us, right?"

"According to the principle of pairing the strongest with the weakest, it should have been me and you in a group, and Xiao Tan and Sister Biao (female cousin) in a group." Bei Ling replied, "But now...naturally, you guys are in a group, and we girls are in a group."

Feng Bujue nodded: "Yes, this is the best way to divide. It can ensure the balance of strength and separate those who are participating in the competition from those who are not."

Si Yu continued, "Then let's discuss the details now and prepare to start."