Chapter 52: This Time for Sure |
Qi Sheng had been watching Lu Xing’s ongoing saga with the Mystic Butterfly the entire time.
The whole process made him both amused and exasperated.
What did surprise him was that during this period, the Mystic Butterfly’s Hunt Level had increased by 6 levels.
But he could fully understand why the Primordial Monster had suddenly grown stronger.
As the creator of Monster World, Emperor’s Sign was the core framework of this world. Each separated Primordial Monster represented a specific world trait and could never be truly killed. Even if one perished, it could respawn and reinitialize elsewhere.
And growth for Primordial Monsters wasn’t limited to absorbing external energy.
As Monster World operated, it constantly generated universal energy. Spirit plants grew, spirit ores were nurtured… anything that conformed to the world’s operating rules could draw a portion of this universal energy and develop further.
Primordial Monsters were no exception.
Devouring, cultivating, getting beaten up, idling, each Primordial Monster had its own behavior logic in line with the world’s laws. As long as they followed these behaviors, they could draw on world-generated energy.
For the Mystic Butterfly, bullying the weak was clearly one of its ways to gain growth power.
By tormenting Lu Xing, it had earned gifts from the world’s energy, growing from Level 7 to Level 13.
What seemed like bizarre behavior was actually supported by very logical world mechanics, just like humans breathing was an interaction with the world, receiving biological feedback to maintain their bodies.
—
Emperor’s Mound Village.
Logging into the game again, Lu Xing couldn’t hide his gloom.
After years of playing virtual games, he had finally found one that was perfect, only to suffer utter humiliation in it.
The Mystic Butterfly’s arrogant expression was like a curse etched in his mind, impossible to shake off.
After dying, Lu Xing checked the forum livestream and saw other low-level players challenge the Mystic Butterfly, but it simply refused to fight.
Its submissive behavior toward other players had even earned it the forum nickname ‘Coward Butterfly.’
But while it chickened out against others, it ruthlessly went all out on him every time, forcing him to flee in disgrace.
There was only one truth behind this unequal treatment, the Mystic Butterfly viewed him as weak and easy to bully. This filled Lu Xing with deep frustration.
He secretly vowed that one day, he would defeat the Mystic Butterfly and redeem himself.
Opening his livestream, players quickly poured in.
Seeing the comments, Lu Xing’s expression grew quite complex.
The comment section was practically a motivational support group. Everyone encouraged him, saying he mustn’t fall down in the face of setbacks but must stand strong and face the storm.
The summary was simple: if you can’t beat the Mystic Butterfly, just keep fighting; one day, you’ll win.
Many even offered all sorts of seemingly reasonable tactics.
Faced with the viewers’ endless suggestions, Lu Xing couldn’t even be bothered to complain.
Before every fight, the chat was full of martial arts masters; once the fight started, it was all chaotic nonsense that offered no help.
At that moment, one comment caught Lu Xing’s eye.
Even if your name’s long, hiding behind a tree won’t help you get noticed: Streamer, you’re an idiot. Here’s a surefire way to win, go buy weapons from the Arms Dealers. Their weapons are insanely powerful and will help you overpower the Mystic Butterfly. Since you lack the ability, just use tech to bridge the gap.
Lu Xing had heard of these Arms Dealers before.
They’d formed a guild called Doomsday Technology, crafting real-world-style weapons and selling them to other players.
During the Shadowed Cavern purification campaign, the Doomsday Technology Guild performed brilliantly, earning them the nickname ‘Arms Dealer Guild’ on the forum.
Lu Xing had originally planned to continue leveling before challenging the Mystic Butterfly again. But after seeing that comment, he was suddenly tempted to make another attempt.
The idea of buying weapons seemed completely viable to him.
He immediately asked the viewers if anyone had contact info for the Arms Dealer Guild.
After receiving the info, he sent a friend request.
Before long, a notification popped up approving the request, followed by a chat window.
Big Killer: Bro, looking to buy weapons?
Explorer: I want to know what types of weapons you have.
Big Killer: Due to limited funding, we currently only sell Psionic Firearms. Each one costs 150 sacrificial power. You don’t need to buy ammo, just embed Spirit Stones from the shop. But only mid-grade Spirit Stones are supported; higher grades risk exploding with continuous fire.
Explorer: I’ll take one Psionic Firearm.
As soon as he replied, a notification popped up.
[Challenger Notification: Player ‘Big Killer’ requests to initiate a trade with you. Do you accept?]
Lu Xing selected ‘Accept’ with a thought, and a trade window appeared.
The window was divided into two sections, the upper half for the initiator and the lower for the invited player.
On the right was the inventory grid, with high-res 3D models of each item. Gazing at any item automatically triggered a pop-up analysis.
At the bottom was a display showing remaining sacrificial power.
In the top left was a mini chat box for text or voice negotiation during trades.
Lu Xing entered 150 sacrificial power on his side of the window, while the upper box displayed the Psionic Firearm.
Focusing on it, the analysis appeared:
[Psionic Firearm]
Item Quality: Level 4
Item Description: A custom-made weapon crafted by player ‘Big Killer.’ The barrel is engraved with energy compression channels that generate psionic bullets by compressing energy. Upon impact, the bullets explode automatically, dealing small-area blast damage.
—
He clicked confirm, locking the trade window.
The other party also confirmed, and a successful trade notification popped up in Lu Xing’s mind.
Big Killer: Thanks for your business! Contact us anytime if you need more. We’ll be launching even stronger weapons in the future.
Without replying, Lu Xing pulled out the Psionic Firearm from his inventory and examined it carefully.
His fighting spirit was reignited.
He renamed his livestream to ‘Revenge Battle’ and set off for Ripple Pool amid the viewers’ cheers.
Along the way, Lu Xing tested the power of the Psionic Firearm and was very satisfied with the results. The only drawback was its enormous consumption, each bullet cost sacrificial power.
Most of the sacrificial power he earned from killing a single Blood Corpse was spent on ammo.
After turning another Blood Corpse into Swiss cheese, Lu Xing’s eyes gleamed.
“This time for sure!”
One hour and thirty minutes later.
When Lu Xing saw the Mystic Butterfly again, he realized a serious problem.
He wasn’t the only one capable of ranged attacks, the Mystic Butterfly’s wind blades could actually intercept his bullets.
“Unbelievable! Using wind blades? That’s so cheap!”
“Ow! If you’ve got guts, don’t use Wind Control, I won’t use my gun either. Let’s go hand-to-hand.”
Amid the viewers’ laughter, Lu Xing eventually curled up on the ground, shielding himself while enduring another storm of wing slaps from the Mystic Butterfly.
Bruised and battered, Lu Xing finally understood something, he could no longer believe a single word from these livestream clowns.
After years of playing virtual games, he believed himself to have strong mental fortitude. But under the Mystic Butterfly’s humiliating beatings, even his willpower finally collapsed.
As inspirational slogans scrolled rapidly across the livestream chat, both physically and emotionally crushed, Lu Xing couldn’t hold back his emotions any longer. Tears of regret streamed down his face:
“Wuwuwu… damn it… I’ll never trust you guys again!”
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