Virtual World: Close Combat Mage
chapter-349

Chapter 349 - Continuing the Expedition

The players that made up this third act should have reached a certain standard in their movement speed. Among the speedsters, only Svelte Dancer was probably capable of surviving Gu Fei’s Twin Incineration, provided that she wore her fire-resistant coat.

Gu Fei’s current target was only an average player in Linyin City, so he was definitely not the sort that could survive his one strike. White light flashed as Gu Fei’s descent from the rooftop continued. The fire from his Moonlit Nightfalls intermingled with that flash of white light, making it seem as though his one strike had caused the person’s head to explode in that visual spectacle.

The color on the spectators’ faces drained from shock as someone yelped, “The PK God is at it again!” This caused everyone to swiftly clear out a path for Gu Fei and to place their weapons across their chests in a defensive stance.

“Everyone, calm down! I’m just doing ‘Bounty Mission’; I’m not the type to slay the innocent for no reason,” Gu Fei said.

“Oh…” These people easily connected the dots at his mention of ‘Bounty Mission’, especially since they had previously seen him run into the Bounty Assignment Hall. However, Gu Fei’s claim of not being the type to slay the innocent was quickly met with the crowd’s scoff. His PK value of 54 points translated into fifty-four lives, so who would believe that he was not the type to slay the innocent without any reason?

In any case, with the players calming down, Gu Fei managed to easily make his escape. Those under the eaves of Yuanmu Tavern began stretching their necks in search of the NPC guards pursuing Gu Fei. This was when the sound of the ground shattering was heard. Following this sound, a handful of figures sailed through the air in rapid succession. Somehow, the entire squad was able to maintain its orderliness even when mid-air.

“That’s way too cool!” The players were entranced by this scene.

However, their awestruck expression over the string of figures’ uniform landing turned into one of distress in the next instant.

Who would have guessed that the Earthsplitter skill for jumping up the roof could be used by these guards to get down from the roof as well?

Although these guards were unintentionally targeting them, some unlucky individuals, who happened to be standing right under the point of these NPCs’ swords, were unfortunately killed off. These mindless guards would never seek to avoid executing such moves just because there were players in the way. They landed on the ground with such force that even the resulting white lights of the killed-off players dissipated from it.

As for those who were fortunate enough not to be the direct recipient of the killing move, they could only despise the fact that Earthsplitter was an AOE skill. Halving their HP with that first landing, those who had failed to flee in time were turned into white lights when the second guard landed.

Their cries caused Gu Fei to look backward. The series of white lights flashing by the tavern cruelly made for a scene that even he had not foreseen. And because of this incident, all became aware that even onlookers like them could get caught up in this matter.

Gu Fei continued to flee and the guards continued to chase. Once more, he let this squad chase him for a short distance. Just as they were about to catch up to him, Gu Fei patted his Windchaser’s Emblem and activated its teleport ability. Upon ‘Bounty Mission’ completion, the user could teleport himself to the Bounty Mission Assignment Hall by activating it.

Gu Fei was well aware of how fast these guards could move. Having pored over Linyin City’s map for almost an entire day, he could more or less determine the guards’ distance from the Bounty Assignment Hall. Knowing their distance and speed, he easily calculated the time that it would take them to reach him. This was just simple math, after all.

Equipped with this knowledge, he could easily accomplish many things, such as munching on an apple to replenish his consumed mana.

The number on the Wanted Players list was as paltry as ever. There were actually many bounties with high PK value last night, but they were all hunted down by either Yunduan City’s players or Deep Waters’ guildmates.

After filling up his mana, obtaining his next target, and checking the new coordinates, Gu Fei once more mapped out another route in his head while he accurately estimated the chasing guards’ current distance to him.

Since this was the first time he had planned out his bounty-hunting operation, Gu Fei’s plan was nothing less than perfect. The original difficulty lay in that first wave. He had no idea which direction the system would send the guards for him, so Gu Fei was worried that they would be on him the moment he logged into the game. That would have made things harder for him as he was unsure whether he could make it to the Bounty Assignment Hall without getting caught by the guards.

Thanks to the unintentional interference of the spectators, Gu Fei was able to gain the much needed time to grab his first ‘Bounty Mission’. Upon completing this mission, Gu Fei was able to utilize his Windchaser’s Emblem to instantly distance himself from the chasing guards. Every subsequent mission he accomplished let him evade their pursuit.

It was a simple yet elegant cycle.

Unless the target he obtained from the Wanted Players list happened to be standing beside the guards, there was simply no need for him to do what he had done before.

Nonetheless, given how huge Linyin City was, the chances of this happening were not exactly high. So far, he had not come across such a situation. After struggling for two full hours, Gu Fei finally breathed easily now that his PK value was down to 29 points after having cleared 24 PK points through the ‘Bounty Mission’ and by staying online for two hours.

Now that his PK value was below 30 points, the NPC guards no longer actively pursued him. He would be fine as long as he avoided the stationary guards and the patrolling soldiers around the city.

Should he clear off all of his PK value now or chase after the group that had departed for the next city? Gu Fei pondered on this for a while before opening the mercenary channel to ask for input.

“You’re not yet in prison?” Young Master Han was the first to respond.

“My PK value is now down to 29 points,” Gu Fei announced his accomplishment.

“How did you deal with the guards?” Royal God Call asked. These mercenaries firmly believed that no players would be able to beat Gu Fei given his transcendent strength, yet they had apparently still underestimated him.

“Nothing much,” Gu Fei answered truthfully, asking back, “And you guys?”

“Us? We’re currently waiting for the ferry.” Gu Fei could detect anger from Young Master Han’s typed words.

“Screw Linyin City’s ferry,” Brother Assist added.

“We’ve been waiting here for two hours,” Royal God Call said.

“God*mm*t.” War Without Wounds did not say anything besides that curse.

“Perhaps, the ferry won’t be there yet by the time I make it there,” Gu Fei gleefully said.

“Sorry to say but I can already see the ferry approaching,” Young Master Han dispelled his delusion.

“You’ll probably make it over here in a little over an hour if you leave Linyin City now and be able to catch the 11 P.M. ride,” Brother Assist said.

“How long will the journey be?” Gu Fei wrinkled his brows.

“About half an hour based on the information I’ve gathered,” Brother Assist replied.

“That’s fine, I guess. I won’t log off too late.” Gu Fei sighed in relief. “I’ll make my way right now.”

These late-night experts all rolled their eyes.

Gu Fei tidied his attire before stepping out of Linyin City’s Bounty Assignment Hall. He strolled along the streets and, at the absence of any pursuing guards, Gu Fei whistled in a carefree way. He felt as though the air in Linyin City had become fresher.

Arriving at one of Linyin City’s gates, he saw that a large crowd in the midst of sending someone off. Gu Fei reflexively glanced over and realized that the person being sent off was someone he knew. This group of men happened to glance over to him as well. Some of them gawked at the sight of him, and one of them even brandished his saber toward him and bellowed, “I’ll kill ya!”

It was Gu Fei’s turn to widen his eyes at the man charging toward him from just two meters away. This man swung his saber wildly as he incessantly roared.

“Uhm… Is he drunk?” Gu Fei could smell alcohol in the air. Looking at these men before him, he saw that each of them was red in the face and was leaning on one another for support as they swayed in place.

A Mage stepped out and pointed his staff at Gu Fei, saying, “Thunder - Thunder - Thunder - Thunder …” for the longest time. He then turned to look at the man beside him and asked, “What comes after ‘Thunder’?”

“Thunderbolt… uh… Strike!” The person chanted as he pointed his finger at Gu Fei. Ignoring that he was not a Lighting Mage, even if he was one, adding that syllable “uh” in the incantation would cause the spell-casting to fail.

At least, the man in front was now aware of the words he had missed. The Mage raised his staff and attempted to chant once more. Gu Fei was about to make his move when someone stepped out and pulled the Mage’s arm, saying, “Forget it!”

“Lushness, it’s that guy!” the Mage Blue Ease pointed at Gu Fei, finally saying something intelligible.

“I know.” Vast Lushness nodded her head. “I’ve long buried the hatchet with him in Yunduan City, so there’s no need to dredge up the past.”

Blue Ease was still in a haze having drunk so much. Shaking his head in confusion, he muttered something unintelligible once more. However, the hand he was using to cast spells was at least no longer outstretched. Vast Lushness gazed at Gu Fei. “Are you trying to catch up to them?”

“Yup!” Gu Fei nodded his head. “Where’s Moony and the others?”

“They left last night while I was catching up with my friends here,” Vast Lushness answered.

“From last night until now?” Gu Fei regarded these drunk as a skunk men that looked as though they had spent the entire night wrestling in the sauce than drinking.

Vast Lushness rubbed her eyes, revealing a tired expression as she nodded. “Yeah!”

“And you’re planning to carry on with the mission right now?” Gu Fei looked at these men once more. They were evidently old acquaintances of hers in Yueye City. It would be more logical for her to stay and play the game with them from here onward.

“Of course. Since I’ve pledged myself to the mission, it is my responsibility to see it through the end,” Vast Lushness answered before saying, “Let’s go!”

“Oh, let’s!” Gu Fei naturally had no reasons to refuse.

Vast Lushness said goodbye to all her friends and walked alongside Gu Fei. The two knew the way as Gu Fei had those men from Young Master’s Elite informing him while Vast Lushness, even more incredulously, was told in a detailed way for over a hundred and eighty times of the route to reach the ferry by Sakurazaka Moony, who was in fear of them never meeting each other again if she ended up walking the wrong way.

Gu Fei could only regrettably match his walking pace with the Priest he had in tow. Making this trip in an hour was no longer possible. As for two hours… Gu Fei looked at the time. With two hours....

“I don’t think we’re gonna make it for that 11 P.M. ferry,” he said.

“Don’t worry! That port is apparently a log-off point, so it won’t affect the time you go offline.” Vast Lushness glanced over to him.

“Is that so? That’s good, then.” Gu Fei brightened up considerably.