Chapter 148-1: Reshaping Order, Taunt Tactics (1) |
Countless times in the dead of night they had silently mourned, believing that the bunch of ‘animals’ they would only ever see again in memory were now vividly standing before them.
All the trainees who had come from the Snow Valley training camp were stunned.
Their rapidly running brains could not assemble a reasonable explanation, and a lifetime of understanding felt pale and powerless in this moment.
Looking at the familiar playful smile on Li Zheng’s face, Ghost Eye’s heart spasmed violently, as if seized in a death grip by an invisible hand, and even his blood seemed to congeal in that instant.
He subconsciously parted his lips, wanting to say something, yet no sound came out.
His throat felt blocked by an unseen barrier, and he could only make a faint choking sound. His reddening eyes seemed to glisten.
“What is wrong, what is this, are you about to cry?”
“Hahaha, do not cry. We have all revived. You should feel happy for us.”
“Is it that your emotions are surging, a mixture of feelings, finding it unbelievable and feeling like you are dreaming?”
Hearing the Grind Kings players’ teasing, Ghost Eye and the others’ eyes grew even redder.
They did not know what exactly had happened, but they could be sure this was no dream. That bunch of animals from the player race had truly returned.
“Beat them up!” Ghost Eye suddenly roared and struck first.
The other trainees of the Brass race, Night Hawk race, and so on all followed suit, raining random punches down on Li Zheng and the others.
“What the hell do you mean by this? We risked our lives to save you. Is this how you repay us?”
“Good grief, Ghosty, are you trying to kill and silence witnesses? If you do not want to give the necklace, just say it. Taking a swing is too much.”
“A slap to the face huh? You must be looking for death. My divine skill is complete now… do not kick the crotch, it hurts.”
—
After the roughhousing, the group lay on the open ground in front of the tombstones, gazing up at the starry sky and panting heavily.
“So you people of the player race have a revival ability and were not truly dead.” Out of breath, Ghost Eye took a deep breath and sprawled on the ground, staring at the sky. The gloom in his eyes completely dispersed, and a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
“That is right. I, your big brother, revived after death, then contacted Elder You and retraced the trial road. We arrived only today, and after searching around we found you crying in the cemetary.” Li Zheng, bruised and swollen, lay beside him and replied.
“Who was crying?”
“You.”
“Nonsense. It is good that you died. At least after entering the second phase training camp you did not starve.”
“Then you are out of luck. We already revived, so next you will probably starve again.” With that, Li Zheng turned his head to look at Ghost Eye.
“Ghosty, do you still remember the promise you made to me before I died?”
Faced with the question, Ghost Eye immediately felt guilty. His eyes dodged, not daring to look directly at Li Zheng.
“What promise?”
“Do not pretend you do not know. You said at the time you would give me the necklace.”
Recalling the scene then, Ghost Eye felt a surge of anger.
Now he finally understood what was going on. No wonder Gold-Farmer was still thinking about the necklace on him before he died. Turns out it was all premeditated, knowing he would revive and return.
It was setting him up.
“There was no such thing. Do not talk nonsense. How could I possibly give you something that symbolizes the identity of the next race leader? I warn you, do not joke about the necklace. Careful or I will beat you.”
Seeing Ghost Eye decisively turn his face and refuse to admit it, Li Zheng’s eyes also widened.
This was the first time he had seen Ghost Eye this shameless.
Before this, Ghost Eye had always been bold and forthright, never playing at fakery.
“Ghosty, you have changed. Did you train the thickness of your skin in the second phase training camp?”
“If something did not happen, I will certainly not admit it. Do you have evidence?”
Hearing this, Li Zheng gnashed his teeth.
He did indeed have evidence. As a player he could at any time enter the forum to view event videos, with all content saved permanently.
But the problem was that the video evidence could only be viewed by himself or shared with other players. It could not be extracted to show non-player lifeforms.
“Right, I knew you had no evidence. From now on do not spread rumors. I will let you off this once and treat it as a joke. Next time do not blame me for turning hostile.”
Seeing Ghost Eye’s dead-serious reply, Li Zheng swung a fist in anger.
“Alright, Ghosty, not admitting it huh. Eat my fist.”
“Alright, Gold-Farmer, slandering me huh. Eat my two fists.”
Seeing Li Zheng and Ghost Eye scuffling together, the trainees looked at each other, then burst into loud laughter.
Before this, the sacrifice of the player race trainees had always been a thorn in the hearts of the Snow Valley trainees.
Every time they thought back on it, they felt guilt and pain.
But at this moment, the gloom buried deep in their hearts dispersed completely, and they felt incomparably light.
It was as if a heavy shackle borne on their bodies had been lifted.
—
Late at night.
The Grind Kings players and the other trainees from Snow Valley gathered in the room of the Four-Eyed race trainees.
From Ghost Eye’s account, Li Zheng and the others roughly understood the situation at the second phase training camp Gale Fort.
The trainees who entered the second phase training camp came from four training camps, totaling 198 trainees.
Among them, Ghost Eye specifically mentioned the new trainee from the Dragon Valley training camp, Phantom Duck.
Although they were all new-generation Anti-Tide reserve trainees, Phantom Duck possessed a terrifying strength that crushed the entire camp, standing alone at a unique tier.
He was the kind of super gifted trainee like the God of Wealth.
The Dragon Valley training camp he led was also the strongest among the four major training camps, and the group who came from the Snow Valley training camp had been beaten badly during this period.
There was no suppressor wristband restriction in the second phase training camp, and they were simply no match for Phantom Duck and the Dragon Valley trainees.
Seeing the gloom on Ghost Eye’s face as he spoke, Li Zheng could not help but laugh.
“Hahaha, by the way, why did you not use the hunger-tanking tactic?”
“We thought about it, but the problem is that after each training session we were truly hungry. When we saw food we simply could not hold back. We swore at the time to avenge you. Growth was the first priority. Going hungry every day is not conducive to growth.”
“Looks like we still have to take the lead. Do not worry, Ghosty. The brothers will get back the face you lost.”
Ghost Eye heard this and said irritably.
“Looks like we have to go hungry again.”
With that, Ghost Eye glanced out the window shrouded in night.
“Why not run an all-nighter tactic tonight?”
Hearing this, Li Zheng and the others decisively shook their heads.
“Forget tonight. We are too exhausted from the journey. Once we are rested, we can stir things up tomorrow.”
They had not slept well during the long trek. Now that they had finally entered the training camp, they had to get a good night’s sleep.
They could absolutely crank up the intensity tomorrow.
The Snow Valley trainees, already itching to move, nodded one after another in understanding.
They still clearly remembered how wretched they had been when they first arrived at the second phase training. Once assigned to rest, they had fallen fast asleep immediately and did not wake until dawn.
At this time a Brass race trainee asked curiously.
“Something is off. I feel like you have gotten stronger. Back at the cemetery, your punches felt heavy… and the vitality fluctuations radiating from your bodies have clearly changed.”
Facing the question, Dirt Poor nodded smugly.
“We saved up so many gold coins in the training camp and went back to buy gear for an upgrade. Getting stronger is perfectly reasonable.”
Snow Valley trainees: ???