Chapter Fifty-Three: Sky Falcon-Class Assault Reconnaissance Craft

“It’s a Sky Falcon-class assault scout craft. Its recon abilities are average, but it packs a punch,” Ye Piaoxue said, glancing back from the screen where she’d seen the cockpit’s data feed, speaking to Huang Yunshuo at her side.

“Once the mainframe’s upgraded, we’ll work on the mechs. One thing at a time. But until we take out this scout, we won’t have a moment’s peace,” Huang Yunshuo replied.

Ye Piaoxue hesitated. “What about our Hurricane Helmets? If we don’t repair them, it’ll be a big problem.”

“That’s true… Let’s check how long the helmet upgrade will take. If it’s quick, we’ll do the helmets first. Being offline for too long is just a pain.”

“Do we have enough credits? The upgrade’s expensive,” Ye Piaoxue asked worriedly.

“Don’t worry.” Huang Yunshuo offered a word of reassurance.

Suddenly, Ye Piaoxue broke into a smile. “I’ve left the starter village, and by a stroke of luck, I got some pointers from a wandering alchemist. I’m on a chain quest right now, and if things go well, I could even gain the alchemist subclass!”

“Really?” Huang Yunshuo’s spirits soared; he was over the moon. An alchemist! If they could craft powerful health and mana potions, and all kinds of buffs and sprays, he’d be living the dream.

“Hmph!” Finally free from having to cling to Huang Yunshuo’s coattails, Ye Piaoxue looked rather pleased with herself, the corners of her lips quirking up in a charming, mischievous way.

After another five minutes’ delay, Chu Jun and Chen Juanfeng finished their tasks and returned to the ship. The Bright Mirror began to tow the meteorite, shifting course so the rock would shield the vessel as they continued toward Cangdong.

Once everything seemed stable, everyone logged back in.

“Charge! Little White Rabbits, here I come!” Huang Yunshuo was still obsessing over the Carrot Greatclub. Using a rocket launcher to one-shot a little white rabbit could drop the club, and he was determined to wring every last drop out of that drop rate.

After an hour offline, the town of Shitai was teeming with level-10 players, wandering in groups everywhere, finally bringing some life to the previously desolate place.

Many previously unseen NPCs had also come out, mingling with players, hawking their wares or handing out quests. Groups of players, pickaxes and baskets in hand, set out together—no doubt on mining or gathering missions.

“Buff scrolls are ridiculously expensive! A five-person, one-hour scroll costs a whole hundred copper. It’s painful, isn’t it?” a female player suddenly exclaimed, her companions nodding in agreement, each looking disgruntled.

“What buff?” Huang Yunshuo was momentarily confused, but quickly followed them to the grasslands.

At the far edge of the endless grasslands lay a vast forest. The field was no longer empty and bleak, but filled with dense crowds of players, all locked in fierce battle with countless little white rabbits.

Huang Yunshuo noticed that many five-person teams were bathed in a small, circular aura, a buff icon glowing above their heads as they slaughtered the rabbits with remarkable courage, utterly fearless.

-29!

+1!

+1!

He saw a red damage number pop up above a player’s head, instantly followed by a string of green numbers. The truth dawned on Huang Yunshuo—this buff was a healing effect! No wonder these guys were fighting so boldly.

A five-person, one-hour minor healing scroll, selling for only a hundred copper coins—clearly it was for PvE only.

Having figured it out, Huang Yunshuo left the crowded area, hefting his rocket launcher and beginning his bombardment.

Bang!

Even braced for it, Huang Yunshuo staggered back two steps when he fired, nearly losing his balance.

The rocket, trailing a plume of smoke, shot straight out and blasted a little white rabbit into the air.

-53!

The rabbit let out a miserable squeal, its fluffy white body hemorrhaging health as it tumbled to the ground, taking another -14 damage on impact.

Ten seconds passed, and Huang Yunshuo grew frustrated.

The panicked little rabbit had three health left, and it was more than twenty meters away. Would he really have to waste another rocket to finish it off?

Of course not. Six rockets cost fifty-two copper—who could afford that kind of waste?

He jogged over and smacked the rabbit with the launcher’s barrel. It died, but didn’t drop a Carrot Greatclub.

Bang.

He kept firing.

Disappointingly, the next rabbit also survived, trembling on the ground with only two health left, too far for him to be in its aggro range. It didn’t even know who was attacking it.

After using up the rest of his rockets, he’d only managed to one-shot a single rabbit—but it did drop a Carrot Greatclub.

“Nice!” Huang Yunshuo clapped his hands in excitement.

His damage was pitiful, and his odds of one-shotting rabbits were low, but as long as he could manage it, the drop rate was worth it—an incredible deal.

Without hesitation, he sprinted back to the materials shop and spent the last of his copper coins on ammo.

Now broke with only eleven coins to his name, he reloaded his empty launcher and stashed away an extra clip, though it was nowhere near enough.

“Out of cash again.” He scratched his head, anxiety gnawing at him. What now?

“Wait, I could sell gear—or offer carries!”

A lightbulb moment. Huang Yunshuo hurried to the trading area, where quite a few players had already set up stalls.

Most stalls featured feather dusters from the starter village—now that everyone was in town, they couldn’t go back for more, and prices hovered between twenty-five and thirty copper: a blatant rip-off.

Others sold minor healing sprays for one or two copper less than at the system shop—probably players who’d stocked up and now needed cash for other ventures.

The rest hawked a monotonous variety of materials, herbs, and ores. Nothing too exciting, but the market would surely grow in time.

“Ahem, Carrot Greatclub, attack 3-5, good for PvE or PvP! Ladies and gents, come take a look—selling cheap!”

Huang Yunshuo sat on the ground, displaying the club on his stall and hollered out.

Nearby players nearly popped their eyes out in shock, rushing over to crowd around him.

“How much? Can I pay with credits?” they asked urgently.

Once, few understood the value of the Carrot Greatclub, but as more top players got their hands on it, word quickly spread. Unfortunately, the local rabbits in Shitai were notorious for not dropping it, and no matter the cost, most players had no way of getting one.

Now, seeing one for sale out of the blue, how could anyone stay calm? Whether for leveling or reselling, it was worth a fortune. And since Huang Yunshuo claimed it was a bargain, it couldn’t possibly be more expensive than the black market.