Hu Die Lan
Chapter 170 Searching for Him a Thousand Times in the Night
People had known for years that the most valuable resource in the 21st century was talent. To build a guild, three types of talent were indispensable.
First, there were charismatic leaders.
Second, there were wise strategist-types.
Third, there were assassin-types with powerful combat abilities.
The first type needed only one person, the second type depended on the size of the guild, and the third type was the more the merrier. In fact, every player in the game could be considered the third type of talent.
But a mage like Gu Fei, who could instantly kill anyone he wanted with a wave of his hand, was a top-notch talent. He was the best of the third type, capable of taking on the role of core assassin in any large guild.
Core assassins often possessed the strength to take on multiple opponents at once. These individuals were the core of the team, and the entire team would build a unique strategy around them to maximize their power.
Assassin-type players were everywhere, but those who could become core assassins were rare. These peerless experts either had solid financial backing, possessed the incredible luck to trigger hidden quests by simply stumbling, or had a close-knit team that worked together to create one.
As for the Parallel World’s Fab Five, Xi Yao Wu was undoubtedly the first type. Jian Nan You and Shui Shen, being professional players, were likely supported by studios, representing the power of a group. The situations of the other two were currently unknown.
Gu Fei, as the protagonist, could basically be considered the second type of talent, possessing luck. Plus, the unique event of entering the game with a full set of kung fu skills directly propelled him into the realm of the Fab Five.
Therefore, it was not difficult to understand why the guild leaders who had witnessed Gu Fei's powerful magic were so eager to recruit him.
That night, as Gu Fei slept soundly, Against the Wind and Cloud Herding held emergency meetings late into the night to discuss the issue of this powerful mage in depth.
Against the Wind had already started working on this yesterday, but the response that Rebirth Purple Crystal had promised them had not arrived by today. The president of Against the Wind, Ni Liu Er Shang, was embarrassed to press them, as their intention to poach the player was obvious to everyone. It was perfectly normal for them not to respond.
Later, upon learning that Cloud Herding Guild had also been defeated by Rebirth Purple Crystal in tonight's competition, Ni Liu Er Shang immediately realized that they could no longer afford to approach this powerful mage slowly. The people at Cloud Herding were definitely taking action as well. So, he gathered his men again late at night, hoping to find out the mage's background as soon as possible.
In the offices of the two major guilds, the speeches of the two guild leaders were remarkably similar: "We must be quick! We must snatch this mage before Against the Wind (Cloud Herding) finds out his identity and makes contact!"
Even the plans discussed and formulated during the meetings were quite similar.
First, contacting Rebirth Purple Crystal was naturally the quickest and most effective way. Try to find a way to do so.
Second, contact Rebirth Purple Crystal's opponents from the past few days. Perhaps someone there would recognize the mage.
Third, contact everyone in Cloudend City. Perhaps someone knew the mage.
In addition, it must be emphasized that the fact that the mage was a powerful player should not be revealed. The inquiries should be made in an appropriate manner to avoid attracting a second Against the Wind (Cloud Herding).
With such plans in place, the two guilds executed them with some differences.
Against the Wind, as a large guild with many talented people, immediately had several handsome men who claimed to be skilled at picking up girls volunteer, saying that if they launched a joint offensive, someone in Rebirth Purple Crystal would definitely be charmed, and they could casually ask about the mage without leaving a trace. Ni Liu Er Shang thought this was a good idea and immediately approved the handsome men's pursuit of girls, promising that all expenses incurred during the process would be borne by the guild if they were successful.
Cloud Herding Guild, on the other hand, had female players stepping forward. The volunteer's plan was to apply to join Rebirth Purple Crystal. Then, without saying anything, they could simply look at the guild member list to find out the mage's identity. Yun Zhong Mu Di thought this was a great idea and nodded in approval, promising to compensate for any losses caused by leaving the guild for this mission.
The execution of the second plan was relatively consistent. Both started from the website. First, they checked who Rebirth Purple Crystal's opponents were in the first and second rounds, and then they made contact.
Both were level 1 small guilds that were completely outside of Ni Liu Er Shang's and Yun Zhong Mu Di's vision. It was not easy to find out who the members of these unknown small guilds were. Fortunately, the guild hall could be used to find out who the presidents of the two guilds were.
Ni Liu Er Shang and Yun Zhong Mu Di entered the guild hall almost at the same time. As leaders of large guilds in Cloudend City, they didn't necessarily know each other, but they recognized each other when they met. Seeing the completely identical route, both guessed the other's intentions, smiled awkwardly at each other, and went about their business without saying a word.
The names of the two guild leaders were quickly found. They added the first one as a friend, but he was not online.
The second one... Ni Liu Er Shang and Yun Zhong Mu Di's hearts skipped a beat when they saw the name.
Yingzuka Tsukizi was actually a top player on the level rankings. Such an expert probably wouldn't have his friend requests open, even if he was online.
As expected, both tried and failed. As they walked out of the building with depressed expressions, they met again. At this point, realizing that the other's experience was definitely the same as their own, they both felt a little better.
In fact, there was still a loophole, but neither of them knew. But they couldn't be blamed, as who would have thought that Yingzuka Tsukizi would have his friend request option set so perversely that only female characters could add him as a friend...
The second plan obviously required time to continue, which could be done simultaneously with the third plan. The two major guilds sent out a large number of people to conduct random interviews in Cloudend City and its surrounding areas.
"Do you know a male player in Rebirth Purple Crystal?" This was the question that everyone commonly used.
There were only two kinds of answers.
First kind: "Huh? Did Rebirth Purple Crystal recruit male players too?"
Second kind: "Damn it! Why are you asking again? Who are you people?"
Due to the lack of scientific consultation and unity in the operation, coupled with the mobility of the players, many players were harassed by this question several times. Some who were mentally fragile couldn't stand the harassment and ran to the offline area in tears to log off. That night, Cloudend City had the lowest number of online players since the game officially launched, all because of the questions asked by the two major guilds.
Even more tragic was that even after all this trouble, there were still no results.
During the search, they did encounter the opponents of Rebirth Purple Crystal from the previous two rounds. The dialogue was as follows.
"Have you fought against Rebirth Purple Crystal?"
"Yes!"
Upon receiving this news, the entire guild shook hands with each other in excitement, finally finding them!! They quickly asked further: "Do you know if there's a male mage in their guild?"
"Yes."
Tears welled up in their eyes, and they hugged each other. This matter was finally coming to an end. "What's the mage's name?" They pricked up their ears, afraid of mishearing.
"How would I know?" the other party asked back.
!@#$%……
The two major guilds played a Q&A game all night and were also somewhat mentally fragile. They had forgotten that even for these two guilds, it was more likely that everyone in the guild had seen the person, but no one knew his name, just like Against the Wind and Cloud Herding.
"I am in the martial world, and the martial world is full of my legends, but no one knows who I am..." Countless people in the two major guilds imagined a blurry figure in black slowly saying this to everyone.
When Ni Liu Er Shang and Yun Zhong Mu Di were resting in a tavern in the city, it was the forty-seventh time they had unexpectedly met that night.
Before this, the two had met in forty-six corners of Cloudend City. As guild leaders, of course they had to lead by example, and they played the Q&A game no less than any member of their guild.
At this point, the hostile feelings they had before had disappeared, replaced by a sense of mutual understanding.
"Sit down!" Ni Liu Er Shang said weakly to Yun Zhong Mu Di.
Yun Zhong Mu Di sat down opposite Ni Liu Er Shang with a tired face and waved to the tavern waiter: "Bring wine."
"How's it going on your end?" Ni Liu Er Shang asked.
"What's there to ask? It's the same as you." Yun Zhong Mu Di said. There was no point in asking this question. The expressions on their faces were exactly the same, which showed how similar their situations were.
"Sigh!" They both sighed in unison, and Yun Zhong Mu Di's wine was brought over.
"To you, thanks for your hard work!" Yun Zhong Mu Di raised his glass to Ni Liu Er Shang.
"You've worked hard too." Ni Liu Er Shang smiled bitterly, and their glasses lightly touched before they each drank their fill.
"I'm just wondering, how can such a powerful person have no reputation at all?" Yun Zhong Mu Di said.
Ni Liu Er Shang shook his head: "Maybe there are too few people staying up all night. There might be some gains during the day."
"Yeah, maybe!" Yun Zhong Mu Di also agreed with this statement. Because their first plans had all been defeated for this reason.
The girls from Rebirth Purple Crystal didn't seem to be online during the late night hours.
The group of handsome men sent out by Against the Wind to pick up girls were walking around the city, creating encounters everywhere, asking every woman they met, "Are you from Rebirth Purple Crystal?" and turning away as soon as they heard no. Soon, many of the girls in Cloudend City were angry: "What's that supposed to mean? What if we're not from Rebirth Purple Crystal? Are we supposed to be looked down on?"
This offended all the girls in Cloudend City. The handsome men were still oblivious. From then on, if they wanted to pick up girls, they could only go far away.
The female spy sent out by Cloud Herding Guild went directly to the guild office of Rebirth Purple Crystal, but there was no one there either. The guild leader was not online, so to show her sincerity in joining the guild, she simply waited there foolishly, still sitting at the door. Later, she was mistaken by the girl-hunting group from Against the Wind as a member of Rebirth Purple Crystal, and they went up to curry favor with her. When they finally realized what was going on, the two sides almost got into a fight.
"Sigh!" Speaking of this, the two shook their heads. This happened during their fortieth encounter, and they solved it by the way. At the same time, their first plans were also revealed to each other, and they immediately used them for their own purposes. It was just that Against the Wind quickly had someone selected as a female spy, while Cloud Herding Guild also wanted to find some handsome men to use seduction, but there were no brave men even with a generous reward. Yun Zhong Mu Di was still a little resentful about this.
"I say, what are you planning to do next?" Ni Liu Er Shang asked.
"This..." Yun Zhong Mu Di hesitated.
"Hey, what can't you say? With the way we're doing things, I guarantee that we'll both find out at almost the same time. No one will be faster than the other. Do you believe it?"
"That's not what I meant. I just haven't thought about what to do next." Yun Zhong Mu Di said.
"I don't think it's a good idea to keep asking randomly like this. How many players are there in Cloudend City?"
"Ten thousand? Two hundred thousand? Three hundred thousand?" Yun Zhong Mu Di said.
"It's possible!" Ni Liu Er Shang nodded solemnly, "How long are we going to ask? You have to know that our two guilds combined only have a little over a thousand people. And we can't guarantee that we won't ask the same people twice."
"Dare to ask the same people twice? If we ask any more, I think our guild will be kicked out of Cloudend City." Yun Zhong Mu Di said.
Ni Liu Er Shang smiled slyly: "Hey, I won't lie to you. Last night, whenever someone got angry and asked who we were, I told them to answer that they were from Cloud Herding Guild."
Yun Zhong Mu Di was stunned after hearing this, and then suddenly laughed out loud.
"What's wrong?" Ni Liu Er Shang asked blankly.
Yun Zhong Mu Di laughed non-stop, unable to speak, and gestured wildly, pointing at Ni Liu Er Shang and then at himself.
Ni Liu Er Shang watched him gesture for a while, and then suddenly realized: "Are you saying that your guild members have been telling people that they're from Against the Wind?"
Yun Zhong Mu Di nodded wildly while laughing.
"Damn!" Ni Liu Er Shang cursed. Then he began to savor how many times the two major guilds had coincided that night. Then he counted the forty-seven encounters between them.
Forty-seven times... Damn it, why am I so bored, actually counting in my head. Thinking of this, Ni Liu Er Shang suddenly asked Yun Zhong Mu Di, "How many times did we meet tonight?"
Yun Zhong Mu Di gradually stopped laughing and replied, "Forty-eight times."
"Huh? Forty-eight? I counted forty-seven. You must have miscounted," Ni Liu Er Shang said.
"No, I'm right." Yun Zhong Mu Di replied, "There was one time when I saw you, but you didn't see me. So you probably didn't count it."
"Since I didn't see you, then of course it doesn't count as a meeting, so you shouldn't count it either," Ni Liu Er Shang said.
"Uh, I'm counting how many times I'll encounter you, not how many times we'll meet," Yun Zhong Mu Di said.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk..." the two sighed together.
As they were talking, suddenly the door of the tavern opened, and a person ran in hurriedly, shouting at Ni Liu Er Shang, "Guild Leader, I've thought of a way! Why don't we put up advertisements? We can put them up everywhere in Cloudend City, and then people who know about it can contact us. Maybe that mage will see it, and it would be best if he contacted us himself!"
Ni Liu Er Shang's face changed when he heard this: "It was enough to send a message. Why did you have to run over here?"
"Uh? I just happened to be passing by here and knew you were drinking here. What's wrong?"
Ni Liu Er Shang didn't say anything, but the person sitting opposite him slowly turned around and smiled at the player: "That's a really good idea!"
"Yun Zhong Mu Di???" The player almost fainted, and only then did he realize why Ni Liu Er Shang was scolding him so much. But the problem was that he had no idea that the two of them would be drinking together.
"Damn it, such a good idea, and you just let him pick it up for nothing." Ni Liu Er Shang complained.
"Don't worry, you won't hear it for nothing," Yun Zhong Mu Di said.
"That's more like it. Let me know when you get any news!" Ni Liu Er Shang said.
"What are you talking about?" Yun Zhong Mu Di asked in surprise.
"Huh? What..."
"I mean, I'll pay for your wine! Did you think that I would specially tell you after I got his news?" Yun Zhong Mu Di laughed.
Ni Liu Er Shang was being presumptuous and had embarrassed himself, so his face darkened and he said, "Don't be so smug. It's not like you're definitely going to get the news. Don't forget, we have more people in our guild than you do."
"Yeah, two hundred and fifty more." Yun Zhong Mu Di laughed.
"Damn it, let's go!" Ni Liu Er Shang left with the player from the guild in a huff.
Seeing that Gu Fei was about to be poached again, the two's previous state of mutual understanding immediately disappeared, and they returned to the starting line of competition.
Yun Zhong Mu Di didn't rush to leave. He stayed at the table and didn't move. Before long, several people came to him.
"What's the matter, boss?" the men asked as they entered.
Yun Zhong Mu Di chuckled: "I just sat with Ni Liu Er Shang for a while, and a reckless little brother from their guild ran in and gave him an idea, and I shared it by accident."
"What idea?" the men asked.
"Put up advertisements!" Yun Zhong Mu Di said.
"Oh?" The men's eyes immediately lit up.
"It's a good idea, right? Hurry up and get it done. Write a lot of them. We'll not only put them up, but also hand them out on the streets like flyers. No matter where they fly, as long as someone sees them, they'll contact us. Write that there will be a generous reward!" Yun Zhong Mu Di said.
"How much of a reward?" one person asked.
"This..." Yun Zhong Mu Di hesitated, not because of the money. The main reason was that Against the Wind was also using this method. If they really put a number on it, the two guilds would probably start a price war, which would only benefit the person selling the information. He would probably have to negotiate with Ni Liu Er Shang about this.
Just as Yun Zhong Mu Di was thinking this, Ni Liu Er Shang suddenly rushed in from outside the tavern again and came straight to Yun Zhong Mu Di: "I have something to tell you."
It couldn't be that coincidental! Yun Zhong Mu Di thought to himself, were they going to work together again?
"When you write the advertisements, you're not going to be stupid enough to write the amount of the reward on them, are you?" Ni Liu Er Shang asked.
As expected, they were going to work together again. Yun Zhong Mu Di clicked his tongue in wonder, and then shook his head and smiled: "Of course not. I know what you're worried about."
"Hmm. That's good. We can still cooperate where we should cooperate!" Ni Liu Er Shang smiled.
"That's right." Yun Zhong Mu Di nodded.
"Then I'll see how you're planning to write it." Ni Liu Er Shang stood aside leisurely. Yun Zhong Mu Di's confidants were already趴趴趴 on the table, preparing to start writing. After they finished writing, they would send the content to the guild channel, and others would copy it in the same format.
Now that such a competitor was standing next to them so openly, the people writing the稿稿稿 naturally felt very uncomfortable and looked up woodenly.
"Go, go, go, what are you doing messing around!" Yun Zhong Mu Di pushed Ni Liu Er Shang to the side.
"You two bosses, are you really not going to write the reward amount?" suddenly a voice floated over.
The two looked in the direction of the voice and saw a beautiful woman getting up from a nearby table and walking towards them.
The two looked at each other and asked together, "What do you mean?"
"If you don't specify the reward, I really don't know who I should sell my information to!" the beauty said.
"What information?" the two asked together.
"The level 39 mage from Rebirth Purple Crystal!" the beauty said with a smile.
The two looked at each other again and asked, "Are you from Rebirth Purple Crystal?"
"No." The beauty shook her head, "I just happen to know what you want to know."
"Oh? How do you know?"
"Because I know the person you're looking for," the beauty said.
"What's his name?" the two asked in unison, trying to outdo each other in volume.
The beauty was still smiling, but she didn't say anything.
"Hmm..." The two reacted. Ni Liu Er Shang thought for a moment, and then smiled and said, "Beauty, don't go anywhere yet!" After saying that, he pulled Yun Zhong Mu Di and dragged him to the side.
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