GAMMT - Chapter 28

Chapter 28: A Sudden Turn of Events

When Yan Shangjun fell, Groundhog was single-handedly holding off two of his level-10 accomplices. Once one's attack power reached a certain threshold, a slight weakness in agility was of little consequence. Why?

Because his attacks were so powerful that the two men couldn't break away. They had to constantly divert their attention to defend, their aggro held firmly in place, leaving them no room to even attack.

"Damn it, where did this big rat come from?!"

"Is he some kind of spirit race?"

Hearing this, Groundhog grew furious. He roared, "I'm not a big rat, I'm a groundhog! No, I'm a Battle Earth Rat!!!"

He was so enraged he even fumbled his words.

How annoying. It was all that damned human captain's fault!

Just then, the furious Groundhog saw their strongest leader fall. His anger instantly turned to joy, and he shouted, "Look, your boss is dead! We're gonna kill you! Dadada…"

He even provided his own sound effects for the gunfire.

But the two men were utterly shocked and terrified. The boss was dead?

It was over.

They turned to run, but Groundhog laid down a suppressing fire of bullets to block their escape route while glancing over at Fu Chuan's side.

He was actually quite stunned. A fleeting glimpse of Fu Chuan's method for killing Yan Shangjun had broadened his horizons, but what he saw next made his eyes bulge.

He saw that as Yan Shangjun's head flew into the air, Ah Qi had seized the opportunity. A dagger flashed in her hand, and she plunged it straight through his back and into his heart.

The sight sent a slight shiver through Groundhog. Are all human girls this ruthless now? She feels even more vicious than our cunning captain.

Fu Chuan also gave Ah Qi a second glance but said nothing.

She had just received the kill notification. Yan Shangjun was a level-eleven Arcanist. Since Ah Qi wasn't her teammate, the kill credit belonged to her, granting her a full ten thousand experience points.

The notification indicated she was now level 9.

Then, she and Ah Qi decisively charged toward the other two men.

A dozen seconds later, the two fell with regret. Groundhog watched Ah Qi warily, his gun barrel subtly locked on her, guarding against a sudden move. After witnessing her ruthlessness, he couldn't possibly let his guard down.

But Fu Chuan didn't seem particularly guarded. She went straight to looting Yan Shangjun's body, and a pile of items burst forth.

Groundhog exclaimed, "Wow, a humanoid mini-BOSS!"

The little fatty couldn't tear his eyes away from the rewards. Fu Chuan, however, didn't touch the items, leaving them on the ground as she looked at Ah Qi.

Just looking.

What was she doing? Waiting for her to try and snatch them?

Groundhog was puzzled, but he scratched his head and said nothing, starting to loot the other two bodies while remaining on alert.

Seeing Fu Chuan's action, Ah Qi frowned slightly, as if realizing she was being tested.

So many rewards, more than what two bosses dropped. Are you greedy or not?

She had to restrain her avarice and make her stance clear.

"I delivered that final blow because I utterly despised that captain. I hated his past hypocrisy and his current cruelty. I'm not inherently vicious, nor do I have any intention of being your enemy."

After speaking, Ah Qi sheathed her weapon, adopting a non-hostile posture.

The reason was plausible.

But Fu Chuan simply sat down calmly on a large nearby rock, drinking a potion to replenish her mental power. "You're too sensitive," she said. "There's no need to lie about something so trivial. After all, killing people in a dungeon isn't a major crime, especially in self-defense. More than that, I'm curious how you knew in advance that we were hiding up there."

As she spoke, she observed Ah Qi's expression. Noticing a subtle change, Fu Chuan suddenly understood. "When you helped me kill him, you seemed to know beforehand that I had a spider silk ability, so…"

Fu Chuan turned her head to look at a spot where the men had dismembered a body.

She's so perceptive.

Ah Qi's heart trembled. She quietly clenched her fists, her arcane incantation ready, but her mouth spoke first. "Yes, I noticed something was wrong with the BOSS's corpse."

Earlier, as she had walked toward the wind tunnel, she had noticed that the BOSS's limb joints were all broken, yet there were no weapon marks or traces of residual arcane elements. Wind would leave cutting and friction marks, fire would leave scorch marks, and other elements would leave their own traces. But this BOSS was different. Its limbs had been broken by physical force, yet there were no residual wounds.

That meant the weapon was extremely fine, a technique-based attack. Moreover, the BOSS's prone posture was still one of being bound.

Threads?

If they were threads with offensive power, they had to be tough. If they had enough force to sever a BOSS's limbs, pulling a human body would be even easier.

So…

She had realized then that the attacker had gone upwards. And if they had the ability to reach the mountaintop, there was no need for them to leave immediately. Instead, they could comfortably play the role of the oriole, watching them fight the next wave of locusts.

So she knew they had walked into a trap, but she hadn't warned Yan Shangjun and the others.

Hearing her explanation, Groundhog had a moment of realization and blurted out, "Ah, so you knew all along they were going to kill you?"

Ah Qi didn't deny it. Instead, she looked at Fu Chuan and asked, "I also want to know, how did you know in advance that I wasn't on good terms with them? Their act wasn't great, but only I, the person involved, knew the full extent of it. They thought their performance was flawless. You were an outsider, so how did you know? You even deliberately stunned them to frame me, driving a wedge between us and forcing them to act against me sooner."

Groundhog, who was rummaging through the loot, turned his head at her words. The sudden movement made the flesh on his cheeks jiggle. He widened his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I was wondering about that too. How did you know they weren't on the same side? Are you a psychic or something? I didn't see you do any finger-counting fortune-telling."

If cutting down the trees in advance was because she had already thought of using their weight and her spider silk to kill enemies, then her scheme involving Ah Qi was a bit too forward-thinking.

Fu Chuan could tell this Groundhog was a brute-force type of fighter, not skilled in intricate techniques. Was that why he was sticking to her? She thought her actions had been quite obvious.

"When they were positioning themselves to approach, the other seven clearly trusted each other. They stood close, not hesitating to leave their backs exposed to one another. But it was different with her. The person behind her was close because he was watching her, and the person in front kept his distance because he was wary of her. Also, there was a problem with how they addressed him."

"The others all called Yan Shangjun 'Boss.' Only she called him 'Captain.' There's a clear difference in familiarity."

Normally, such small details could be ignored, but combined with the traces of their positioning, she had her suspicions. Even if her guess was wrong, it didn't matter. Stunning them would cause them to be harmed by the locust swarm, which was beneficial to her. And due to the height difference, even if they discovered her, their attacks couldn't reach, while hers and Groundhog's could.

That was an absolute checkmate.

---

Ah Qi had clearly thought of this as well, which was why she ultimately went along with Fu Chuan's plan and turned on the others. She had chosen her side with the speed of lightning. Now, it remained to be seen if she and Fu Chuan would fight.

"I…" she began to say something else.

Fu Chuan suddenly picked up something from the ground and tossed it to her.

Ah Qi was taken aback.

She caught a piece of green equipment and an S1 that had been thrown to her.

But upon receiving them, she felt no joy, only a sense of alarm. She immediately threw the items back on the ground.

The ownership still belonged to Fu Chuan. If she took them, it would be considered looting by default, and the other party would likely attack her.

"What is this?" she asked, on guard.

Groundhog also stood up, tightening his grip on his gun.

The atmosphere grew tense, as if a fight could break out at any moment.

But then Fu Chuan set the rest of the resources to auto-distribute and said to Ah Qi, "Thanks for your cooperation. Actually, if you were on my team, then…"

Fu Chuan left the sentence half-finished. A smart person like Ah Qi immediately applied to join the group.

Once she was in the party, the ownership of the items on the ground transferred to her, since they were on the same team.

This was Fu Chuan's way of returning the favor for her earlier help, and the rewards from the other men were also distributed among the three of them.

Fu Chuan stuck to her usual habit: distribution based on contribution, followed by private discussion and trade based on individual needs.

"Time is tight, let's not worry about this for now. The situation inside is unclear, but I want to go in for a look, see if there are any treasure chests. I'll need you two to help."

Fu Chuan had spent time chatting with Ah Qi because she needed time to drink a potion and replenish her mental power. Now that it was restored, time was of the essence. Without even examining the resources, she wrapped spider silk around herself and said, "One of you needs to pilot the airship, the other needs to watch the spider silk. The moment I give a signal, pull me out immediately and start the airship to leave… Understood?"

With such detailed instructions, how could they not understand?

The two did as they were told, and Fu Chuan, with her high agility, quickly entered the cave.

The temperature inside the cave was high, and a foul, fishy stench filled the air. Fu Chuan was experienced and knew that in a temporarily constructed nest like this, treasure chests were usually located in places closely related to the creatures themselves, as they wouldn't have had time to hide them.

Fu Chuan followed the path with the most droppings, moving rapidly inward. She kept the spider silk pulled taut to make it easier to signal the people outside. Soon, in the area with the strongest smell, she saw a pile of food, likely brought back by the male locusts to nourish the queen and maintain her reproductive condition. Among the food, Fu Chuan quickly spotted several egg-sized crystals.

Besides the practical treasure chests, treasures in nests could also be resources like these crystals. She didn't know what they were yet, but she guessed they were crystallized secretions from this type of locust, probably a gem-like resource. Just as Fu Chuan was about to go over and dig them out, she suddenly noticed some shells nearby. She froze.

Carapaces?

Green-Brown Locusts were a soft-shelled species and normally wouldn't molt during their gestation period. Molting was a characteristic of three other, more dangerous types of locusts.

And only one of those was very similar to the Green-Brown Locust.

A cold sweat broke out on Fu Chuan's forehead. She now understood why this dungeon was so difficult and why the number of locusts completely contradicted her previous data predictions for such a small instance.

So that was it.

"I really don't know if this is dogshit luck or just trouble."

Fu Chuan's heart raced with anxiety, but then she suddenly heard a buzzing sound. Her expression changed.

They're here!

Fu Chuan decisively reached out and scooped up the filthy crystals, then immediately turned to run. However, the large black shadow had already spotted her.

Buzzzzz. They were ferociously fast, swarming toward her in a massive wave… Fu Chuan turned invisible and ran for her life, yanking on the spider silk. But the locusts behind her were far more formidable than the previous ones, much faster, and were about to engulf her in an instant.

Fu Chuan knew she had messed up this time; she had never expected this locust colony to deviate so far from her original assessment.

Everything about this dungeon would have to be re-evaluated, the situation reassessed.

But the question was, could she even get out?

Just as Fu Chuan was running for her life… the fastest locust behind her flapped its wings, raised its tail, and abruptly shot a poison needle at her back.

One poison needle… it struck Fu Chuan's back with a soft thud.

A flash of light emanated from her green armor, and with a clang, the poison needle fell to the ground, blocked. The dark green venom on it was clearly visible. Fu Chuan felt it and turned her head to see the locusts raising their tails…

Is this the end?

Fu Chuan decisively activated the skill: Terror of the BOSS!

A strange purple light radiated outwards. The front group of locusts that had raised their tails to shoot poison needles were instantly stunned. Their tails went limp in a daze, and they couldn't fire…

Just then, the spider silk in Fu Chuan's hand was suddenly yanked with immense force. Fu Chuan was pulled out with a whoosh, almost sent flying.

The distance between them widened in an instant. A moment later, light appeared. After exiting the wind tunnel, Fu Chuan was carried high into the sky by the ascending airship. The two people on board only saw a swarm of small monsters hot on Fu Chuan's heels.

Groundhog's piloting skills were indeed much better than Fu Chuan's. He was an old pro. Coordinating the throttle and the air valve, he increased their speed by 30%, instantly pulling away. Fu Chuan dangled high in the air, watching the locusts behind them get left behind…

After boarding the airship, Fu Chuan took two deep breaths and said to them, "We're in trouble. These aren't Green-Brown Locusts, they're Scorpion-Tail Locusts."

Groundhog was stunned. "Aren't they all locusts? What's the difference? Why do you two look so grim?"

Ah Qi glanced at Groundhog with a faintly disdainful look, probably thinking that this furry fatty was lacking in knowledge. Although he was incredibly strong, without their captain, he might not have survived this dungeon.

"Green-Brown Locusts are a low-threat disaster species, but Scorpion-Tail Locusts are medium-threat. Their defense and speed far exceed the former. But the most troublesome thing is that their reproductive rate is more than ten times that of the Green-Brown Locust. In other words, if we previously estimated this small dungeon had a swarm of over a hundred thousand locusts, we now have to calculate it in the millions."

Groundhog: "!!!"

Fu Chuan frowned. "I now understand why it had a 250-person limit at the beginning. Normally, a Green-Brown Locust dungeon would only have a 100-person limit. It seems this dungeon did give a hint. I was careless."

Who could have expected this? Scorpion-Tail Locust disasters were very rare in low-level dungeons; historically, they had only been seen a few times. For them to suddenly encounter one was an opportunity, but a dangerously risky one.

What should they do?

"We can't get out. We can only find cover and team up with a group to fight," Ah Qi said calmly. But Groundhog and Fu Chuan exchanged a look.

They thought of that ruthless group.

Those people were indeed formidable, but would they be willing to team up? Even if they were, the moment they saw the two people who had barely escaped from them, they would surely kill them on the spot to prevent any future retaliation.

"You should both go to the farm. The buildings there still have some defensive capabilities."

Fu Chuan suddenly said this.

Ah Qi caught on. "What do you mean, 'we go'? You're not going?"

How can I go? Can Xie Keli and I exist in the same place?

Fu Chuan felt helpless inside, but an excuse came to her lips instantly. "That's the property of the Jingyang Xie Clan, you know?"

Groundhog and Ah Qi both indicated they knew. So what?

Ah Qi asked, "Do you have a grudge against the Xie Clan?"

Fu Chuan glanced at her and said, "I'm that Xie stud's illegitimate daughter. Does that count?"

At that moment, both Groundhog and Ah Qi were stunned.

Groundhog said, "Then isn't this a perfect chance to acknowledge your father?"

She was so poor, yet so talented and intelligent, cultured and profound. What father wouldn't love a child like that? Especially in a noble family, where having children was all about screening for good genes.

Fu Chuan smiled faintly and spun a very sincere-sounding lie. "He's a misogynist. He despises me for being a daughter and couldn't care less. He abandoned us long ago. My mother died of depression because of it. The reason I came to this farm was to see what kind of person that useless new son of his is."

"If he knew I existed, he would assume I hate him. What do you think he would do?"

It was certainly a sad story, and a dangerous one.

Ah Qi said, "I've heard that this person is very shrewd and adept at weighing pros and cons. The Xie Clan has been managed by him for many years. Although there are complex networks and internal struggles, he has always been in control, and the Xie Clan has been prospering under his leadership."

So, this person was very capable, and capable people were also ruthless enough.

"Exactly. With this dungeon opening here, it's impossible for the Xie Clan not to know. They might even send people to protect that new son. If I go over there and get recognized, and you're with me… you might also be assassinated. So, are you willing to come with me?"

Then, with two soft clicks, both of them left the party.

Groundhog said, "I think, you know, people should learn to let go. Your dad is trash, but you can find a good father for your future kids. Actually, my dad was a scumbag too, and I was also abandoned, so I get you…"

Ah Qi was not as shameless as Groundhog. She said calmly, "If the dungeon anomaly becomes known, the people the Xie Clan sends will be very strong, possibly level-20 Arcanists. We are no match for them. I hope you will also exercise restraint. There will be opportunities in the future."

Fu Chuan replied, "Alright, I know. If you see any good dad candidates, keep an eye out for me."

Ah Qi and Groundhog: "…"

Captain, you really know how to focus on the important things. And why can you still be so gentle when talking about something like this?

But putting that aside for the moment, Fu Chuan quickly wiped the five crystals clean with her clothes. Once they were clean, the three of them could finally see what they looked like.

This time, it was ironically Groundhog, the one with the least knowledge, who reacted the fastest. "Ah, Insect Marrow Crystals? Captain, you found these good things in there?"

Fu Chuan recognized them too and was a little surprised, but it made sense after a moment's thought.

During their mutated reproductive phase, the queen locusts' bodies underwent massive changes, forcing them to secrete special gonadal crystals to maintain hormonal balance. The accumulation of these precious crystals had formed these egg-sized gems.

So what were they used for?

They could be used to improve a pet's aptitude. The supply was extremely scarce and rare, so the price was outrageous. A single Insect Marrow Crystal like this could fetch over 100 green coins at an auction house or on the black market.

How many copper coins was that?

Ten million copper coins.

That meant Fu Chuan's little trip had netted her fifty million copper coins.

This was no small fortune, and what's more, they were hard to come by; people would have to bid higher.

"Level-20 Arcanists are in desperate need of this resource for cultivating their pets. They'd fetch a high price at any auction house, especially with the school season approaching. All the major academies are recruiting, and the children of nobles and wealthy families are burning through money…"

Ah Qi seemed very knowledgeable about these matters, speaking with the air of a seasoned veteran. Fu Chuan said nothing, her mind on another use for the Insect Marrow Crystals.

Then, Fu Chuan directly gave one crystal to each of them, keeping three for herself.

Although the other two were surprised, they were mortals after all and couldn't feign refusal of such a substantial benefit.

However, the way Groundhog looked at Fu Chuan grew even more fervent. He even hesitated, wondering if he should just stay and have her be his dad.

Was it easy to find such a capable captain? Not at all!

Fu Chuan flew the airship near the farm, dropped off the person and the rat, and then left.

Watching the airship's departing silhouette, Groundhog felt a bit melancholic. "I wonder if I'll ever meet such a good captain again… So gentle, she even patted my head just now."

Ah Qi's expression was a bit odd. She said, "Are you sure it's not just because your head is easy to pat?"

Groundhog: "Huh?"

Then he saw Ah Qi, with a stern face, reach out and roughly ruffle his head.

"Let's go."

"Go where? Let's go to the farm together, form a party! I'll be the captain, I'll give you a chance to be my teammate…"

Groundhog had latched onto another girl.

On the airship, Fu Chuan flew back into the forest where she had been before. After hiding the airship, she quickly snuck back to the farm.

Before returning, she observed the area and only went back after confirming that the ruthless group's airship was not there.

By this time, the guard captain and the others had already returned, their faces pale. They had nearly died. If they hadn't been near the farm and managed to escape in time, they would have likely perished in that wave of locusts.

The guard captain wiped the blood from his face and asked the farm's foreman, "How is the young master?"

"Still in his room. Probably scared stiff. Hasn't made a sound."

The guard captain's expression was grim. He ran upstairs, but was met with a fragrant aroma…

Knock, knock, knock. The door opened. Their young master was waiting for his instant noodles to cook, a displeased look on his face.

The guard captain braced himself and said, "Young Master, the situation is not right. There are too many locusts outside. Logically, there shouldn't be this many."

Fu Chuan deliberately asked, "What do you mean, too many? How many did you encounter?"

"We ran into over three thousand and barely managed to deal with them. But then we saw several more waves. If we hadn't run into other teams, we might have died. We talked, and it turns out our two teams alone have killed more than ten thousand. Yet, judging by the current situation, the frequency of encountering locust swarms is still very high. It's definitely more than the predicted hundred thousand. So we suspect there's been some change in this dungeon, and it might be extremely dangerous. I was thinking of restoring the signal to notify the family."

Fu Chuan had actually considered it, but later decided it was unnecessary.

"News will spread. Jingyang City itself is the territory of our Xie Clan and two other Green Blood noble families. Information flows quickly. You encountered other teams, which means information about the dungeon has already leaked. Do you think my father doesn't know?"

In fact, Fu Chuan was basing this on the presence of people like Groundhog and Ah Qi, plus the others from before. There were quite a few of them, all unrelated, but they had all rushed here from all directions. This showed that the news had long since leaked. It was possible that the Xie Clan's forces were already inside, as long as the 250-person limit wasn't full. But on the other hand, if the limit was already full, then notifying the Xie Clan was pointless.

The guard captain saw the logic in her words. "Then what should we do now?"

Whenever they encountered a situation they couldn't handle, these guards knew how to pass the buck to the scum young master. That way, if any bad decisions were made, he would take the blame. As subordinates, they had no room to object.

Fu Chuan couldn't be bothered with their petty schemes. She had already formulated a plan on her way back.

"If there's a problem with these locusts, other teams will surely have sensed it and will choose to retreat, just like you. In that case, our farm is the best option. I now have three orders for you."

Hearing this, the guard captain and the others focused.

Please speak.

After Fu Chuan spoke, the guard captain's expression turned awkward. "This… I'm afraid they won't listen."

Fu Chuan sneered, "Just do as I say. Time is short. You all go out and handle it."

The guard captain asked, "And you?"

Fu Chuan replied, "I'm eating my instant noodles."

What the hell… The men were speechless, but they still went downstairs sheepishly, not daring to disturb the scum young master's meal.

The moment the door closed, Fu Chuan began to organize her gains.

With the situation so urgent, she needed to arm herself as quickly as possible.

Fu Chuan quickly reviewed the resources at hand, and her anxious mood calmed considerably.

Setting aside the miscellaneous rewards, she filtered out the most useful resources for the current situation.

First: 4 S1s. (This group had some resources. Whether they got them from dungeons or by killing people, they hadn't had time to use them yet. Who knows how many others like Ah Qi were nearly tricked by them.)

Second: 3 small green items, 15 bronze items. Fu Chuan took stock. Sure enough, with quantity came quality—she was referring to finally completing a set.

"A full set of six pieces of equipment: chest, 2 gauntlets, 2 greaves, pants, and boots. The chest piece was already green, and so were the gauntlets. Now I've got another gauntlet, pants, and boots. I'm still missing two greaves, but using bronze ones as substitutes will still grant me half of the Green Locust set bonus. Let's see the set bonus: +1000 Agility, +500 Strength, +500 Constitution."

Sets were hard to complete, but once you did, the bonus attributes were impressive. And this was just for a half-set of green gear. A full green set would likely be even more powerful.

Third: A large number of skill books, 58 in total, of various types. Fu Chuan sorted through them, leveling Arcane Missile to 9, Flame Blast and Forest Thorns both to 5, and Azure Radiance Feather to 4.

Fourth: A green-tier seal. It was the seal fire cannon that Yan Shangjun had fired from his palm. Its destructive power was formidable, comparable to a skill unleashed with 7000 strength, which was exactly the kind of offensive ability Fu Chuan currently lacked.

Fifth…

Fu Chuan looked at the gem in her hand, a little surprised.

She had wondered how Yan Shangjun was able to cleanse negative statuses. Logically, at his level, he shouldn't have access to a debuff-cleansing skill of that caliber, unless it was a special item.

And indeed, it was an item.

"Dark Cleansing Orb, a green-tier special support gem… a really good item."

After equipping all the new gear, Fu Chuan bound the Dark Cleansing Orb and then began to socket basic gems.

When did basic gems become too common to even be listed as loot?

When you had a lot of them.

Fu Chuan had a total of twenty tri-stat skill gems. She socketed all of them into her set of equipment, focusing especially on the green pieces.

After a flurry of socketing, Fu Chuan took out the 4 S1s.

Her attributes had already been pushed much higher, but Fu Chuan knew that to truly have a chance of surviving this dungeon and protecting the people on the farm, the key lay in the third branch of her Gene Tree and the Insect Marrow Crystals.

She might have to resort to the same method she had used with the Devouring Scroll back when she was fighting for her life.

Success or failure hinged on this one move!

As Fu Chuan's instant noodles were steeping and she prepared to take another risk… about three kilometers away from the farm, beyond the horizon, three airships were rapidly approaching.

On board one of the airships, a middle-aged man and two youths beside him, all dressed in similar attire, were making preparations. Their clothes were emblazoned with the crest of the Xie Clan.

Get instant access to all chapters now.

Previous Table of Contents Next