MMO: Pierce Heaven Til' It Breaks
chapter-72

Chapter 72: No Shooting Blanks

“Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang…”

He had been shooting loads for so many days, but Li Yi never felt as good doing so as he did today. He did not need to really think about how to shoot, and he just put his mindless all into the shooting, watching as the combo rose madly.

[Combo 13,800!]

[Combo 15,780!]

[Combo 19,810!]

[Combo 21,800!]

“Warning, warning, the cannon emplacement area will explode in 10 seconds. Beginning countdown: 10, 9, 8, …”

“Retreat!”

Jiaojiao barked loudly and fired off another shot, settling their combo count at 23,799!

“23,799…”

When Li Yi saw the combo count, even he was stunned.

Even he had not expected that they could shoot so many loads today. The cannon-shooting today was far beyond their regular standards.

System Notification: [Your party’s cannon combo has exceeded 20,000 times. This event has been recorded in the World Hall of Fame.]

“The Hall of Fame!”

Li Yi’s heart was given one more jolt.

“Hall of Fame? What’s that do?” Orchid Elf bit the tip of her finger, perplexed.

“Silly, of course it’s for bragging rights. I got something that you don’t and all that, haha.” One Gunman was so excited that he spun around in circles. He did not spend even one Gold Coin today and still got two titles as well as a place in the Hall of Fame. Truly… this felt way too damn good, so damn good.

“I haven’t felt this good in a while.” Jiaojiao could not stop chuckling.

Li Yi shook his head but did not explain to them the uses of Hall of Fame records. As long as they continued playing, they would soon find out for themselves even without his explanation.

“Take me as your disciple, Master!” Silver Pig suddenly ran up to Li Yi, his expression full of idolatry.

“…”

Li Yi was slightly exasperated. This Mr Silver Pig had also been quite the celebrity in the past life as he had persistently battled the Heart of Fire for eight years. That sheer determination was already something no ordinary player could hope to match.

Li Yi still remembered how envious he had been of Silver Pig’s combo record. He had even devoted several months in a row to challenging it, but he still could not beat Silver Pig’s combo record.

Well, things sure had taken a twist this time around. The tables had turned, and his particularly good form had resulted in a combo record that was even higher than the one Silver Pig spent eight years on…

Silver Pig’s expression was full of anticipation. “Master, teach me how to shoot loads.”

Li Yi waved his hand. “I don’t accept disciples, but if you wanna learn the skill, I can give you a formula for success.”

“What formula?” Silver Pig was instantly alert.

Straight-facedly, Li Yi said, “Don’t fire blanks and hit it from behind.” ¹

“Don’t fire blanks and hit it from behind…” Silver Pig muttered it to himself a few times and then his expression lit up. He nodded his head at Li Yi powerfully, “Thanks!”

‘Thanks for what? This is the formula for success that you came up with after shooting for eight years in the past life, and you made me study it for many months. Now it’s your turn.’ Li Yi was extremely pleased inwardly.

“Hahahaha…” Jiaojiao laughed until she was doubled over.

Li Yi harrumphed. “What are you laughing about? What’s so funny?”

“It’s nothing, nothing.” Jiaojiao shook her head, laughing non-stop with her hand over her mouth.

“C’mon, let’s clear this dungeon!”

Li Yi rallied them with a call and led the way, running out.

Silver Pig remained dazedly where he stood, and as he watched Li Yi’s back, he gripped his fist confidently. “I… I will surely surpass you!”

Many years later, a white-haired Silver Pig finally broke Li Yi’s combo record. Someone asked him, what was the motivation behind your persistence?

“Don’t fire blanks and hit it from behind…” was Silver Pig’s reply.

…

Li Yi’s GS had now reached 339. By now, he felt no pressure at all in running the Heart of Fire dungeon, so they soon reached the end of the dungeon, shattering the Flaming Heart within several minutes.

“As we agreed, Orchid Elf will be the one to loot the boss.”

“Go on, darling, the God of Light is watching over you.” One Gunman cheered her on from behind.

Orchid Elf strode up to the treasure chest and stretched out her hand to loot it.

Notifications appeared in front of everyone’s eyes:

[Fire Longbow (Gold)]

[Fiery Explosion Shoulder Guard (Gold)]

[Fiery Explosion Greaves (Gold)]

[Fire Crystal Shard x21 (Miscellaneous Item)]

Li Yi sighed. “It still hasn’t dropped?”

Just then, a “ding” rang out by his ear.

[You have found a stone tablet amidst the ruins. Upon closer inspection, you realize that an Arrow Crafting Skill is inscribed onto the stone.]

[Congratulations! You’ve obtained an Intermediate-level Arrow Crafting Skill Guidebook.]

“It dropped…” Li Yi was stunned.

He did not run the Heart of Fire so many times just to earn a quick buck. His other aim was precisely to obtain this Intermediate-level Arrow Crafting Skill Guidebook of Raoul’s.

“What dropped? Wow, an Inferno Equipment Set, that’s the best equipment for Archers!” Jiaojiao saw the list of equipment and immediately yelped in surprise.

The Intermediate-level Arrow Crafting Skill Guidebook that Li Yi had obtained was a product of the quest he had accepted, so no one else received that notification. Jiaojiao and the others could not see it even if they wanted to.

“Fire Longbow, Crit Rate 3%. Whoa, these are all legendaries.”

They had agreed on it a long time ago. He carried them so that they could obtain a title for free, but all the equipment that dropped would belong to Li Yi. That was why, even though One Gunman and the others looked at the legendary equipment with considerable desire, they could not do anything about it.

The loot option was Master Loot, so they could not take it even if they wanted to.

Li Yi gave all the equipment and miscellaneous items to Jiaojiao.

He had declared this earlier, stating that no matter what equipment they obtained from the dungeon, it would all go to Jiaojiao.

Li Yi said with a laugh, “The party is hereby disbanded. It was nice working with you.”

“Let’s work together again someday if we get the chance. Haha, bye, bye.”

One Gunman and the other two left the party, their bodies vanishing from the dungeon.

…

“That’s weird, why haven’t you ever been this lucky when you run dungeons with me?” Afterwards, a confused One Gunman asked Orchid Elf.

Orchid Elf thought for a moment and replied, “Differs from place to place, I guess.”

…

“You’re an Archer too, are you sure you want to give me all this equipment?” Jiaojiao looked at Li Yi, her head tilted to a side.

“A man never goes back on his word, how could I possibly lie to you?” When Li Yi said that, he could not help but redden slightly. It was instinctive. He had said this many times in the past life as well, but after saying it, he would always cheat the other party out of everything save their underwear.

“Hahaha, you’re regretting it, aren’t you? Oh dear, it hurts your heart so much that even your face is turning red. It’s fine, we don’t know each other that well, so I won’t take this equipment.”

Jiaojiao gave Li Yi a trade request and placed all the equipment there.

System Notification: [Player Dark Wing has transferred captain’s rights to Invincible Jiaojiao…]

System Notification: [Player Dark Wing has left the party…]

Li Yi did not press [confirm], his body vanishing from the dungeon.

“Hey, you d*ckface, how could you run!” Jiaojiao was so angry that she stomped her foot.

…

Li Yi’s body appeared at the entrance to the dungeon, and he smiled wryly to himself.

In the past life, he had owed Jiaojiao too much. What was giving her a mere few pieces of equipment, when he could not make it up to her even if he stripped everything off his own body and gave it all to her?

“Haha, Brother Dark Wing, did you just finish that dungeon?”

Hua Feiwu approached him, leading a large group of red-named subordinates, accompanied by Scumbag Wang from the Huashan Guild.

They all had red names.

Li Yi blinked for a moment and then smiled as he held his hands in greeting. “Guild Master Hua, it’s a pleasure to see you again.”

Inwardly, Li Yi was extremely curious. ‘That’s weird, these two were fighting like cats and dogs just yesterday. Why are they best friends again in the blink of an eye?’

“Pleasure’s mine, all mine.” Hua Feiwu turned around and gave his men a look. More than ten of his subordinates all rushed up at once, surrounding Li Yi.

Li Yi’s expression darkened. “Guild Master Hua, what is the meaning of this?”

“It’s nothing.” Before Hua Feiwu could reply, Scumbag Wang strode out confidently and pointed at Li Yi as he said, “We’re giving you two choices. One, join the Century Flower Guild, or two, join the Huashan Guild.”

Just then, Li Yi received a private message from Delicately Cute.

“Century Flower and Huashan are working together to kill the members of Dark Empire everywhere, you better watch out.”