The Counterattack Plan of A Villain With Ten Thousand Fans - Chapter 81 (Patreon)

Chapter 81

Green Grass was exceptionally beautiful, with a classic beauty that ranked fifth among the game's beauties. She was accompanied by two flower guardians, and upon seeing Ling Chunann, they both greeted him warmly.

Green Grass glanced around Ling Chunann and, confirming there was no one else, smiled at him warmly. "Nanzhou, what a coincidence. Are you here for the instance too? Oh, by the way, didn't you mention bringing someone? Why isn't your friend with you?" 

"He just entered the game, still in the newbie village," Ling Chunann replied, his expression carrying a hint of fascination and joy, reminiscent of how Luo Yining used to look at this girl.

"That's a shame," Green Grass said, flipping her long hair. A hint of satisfaction flashed in her eyes. "By the way, if you're short on herbs, why not make a list for me? I can help you gather materials, how about it?"

"Host, don't agree to her, she just wants you to be her free labor," 098 reminded.

"Do I look that foolish?"

"..."

As Green Grass proposed her plan, the gazes of her two flower guardians behind her turned unfriendly towards Ling Chunann. How could this kid negotiate terms when given the chance to serve the beauty?

Ignoring the two's glares entirely, Ling Chunann focused on Green Grass. Shaking his head, he said, "No need, thank you. I've been offline for so long, my level can't keep up now. I plan to focus on leveling up for a while."

At this, Green Grass frowned slightly. Clearly, although his attitude hadn't changed, he seemed less enthusiastic than before. Perhaps he was genuinely worried about falling behind in levels. With this thought, Green Grass spoke up, "How about we help you level up?"

Before Ling Chunann could refuse, the two flower guardians brandished their weapons. "Kid, I advise you not to reject kindness. It's your good fortune that Green Grass wants your help. What's with the hesitation?"

"I, I really don't have time," the 'crybaby' Ling Chunann paled under their pressure, tears threatening to fall from his eyes. "I really don't."

"Just now, Yiyi said she'd help you level up. You kid, don't know how to appreciate it," the tall man said menacingly. Seeing tears welling in his eyes, he sneered, "Haha, see that? This kid's about to cry with just a few words, acting like a sissy. Looks like a little girl, is he really a man?"

The two burst into laughter together.

"You two!" Green Grass glared at the laughing duo, then comforted Ling Chunann, "Nanzhou, don't mind them. They're just like this, no filter on their mouths. They didn't mean what they said."

"Yeah, I know, thanks, Sister Yiyi." Ling Chunann nodded with reddened eyes. "I have to go do some tasks. Are you guys going to run instances?"

"Oh, right, I almost forgot." Green Grass checked the time. "Nanzhou, let's catch up later."

With that, Green Grass led her two flower guardians past Ling Chunann towards the nearby timed instance.

As they passed Ling Chunann, the two of them each gestured a middle finger at him.

098 nearly exploded in anger. "Host, are you just going to let them go like that? These three are too much!" Especially that Green Grass, so fake and pretentious, it's nauseating just to look at her.

"Am I someone who holds grudges like that?" Ling Chunann looked at the trio's backs with a mysterious smile.

Yes! 098 replied in its mind. Its previous hosts had never been as revengeful as Ling Chunann, but even as it thought this, 098 quickly gave its answer, "Host is the most magnanimous person I've ever met." It had never felt so hypocritical before.

"098 knows me best." Ling Chunann continued walking towards the Wolf Valley with a light step. "Not only am I not mad at them, I even gave them a little gift. I'm sure they'll appreciate it."

098 couldn't help but shudder. It hadn't noticed when the host made a move. It suddenly remembered that Ling Chunann had once practiced superb hidden weapon skills in the system space, which eased its concerns slightly. Curious, it asked, "What is it?"

At this moment, Green Grass and her two companions finally managed to enter the instance before it closed today. It was a three-person secret realm, so Green Grass's mention of bringing Ling Chunann was just a casual remark.

The three of them had cooperated many times before, so a three-person instance like this was no problem at all. However, today they seemed to struggle unusually. It was as if their magical powers and physical strength were inexplicably diminished, despite facing a boss that seemed just as ordinary as usual. Yet today, it proved exceptionally formidable, and the battle became perilous after just a short while.

Finally, after depleting half of the boss's health, all three of them felt exhausted and had no choice but to retreat. They watched helplessly as the boss recovered to full health and stood back in the center of the hall.

Furrowing her brows, Green Grass checked herself for debuffs, finding everything normal. "Did you guys feel a sudden drop in energy just now?"

"I didn't feel anything, just that today's boss seems unusually tough. Could it have been updated?" 

After resting for a while and restoring themselves to full strength, they once again attacked the boss in the center of the arena. However, soon after entering combat mode, they experienced the same sensation. Their stamina was rapidly depleted, and they were no match for the boss. Several minutes later, Green Grass had to order a retreat again.

To their astonishment, the previously normal boss suddenly entered a berserk state.

"The boss is berserk! We can't retreat!" a man's voice trembled with fear.

"Ah! Help! I have no more energy!"

*Roar!*

With the boss's roar, one man was bitten on the neck, while the other was pierced through the heart by its claws. Seeing the two vanish into white light, Green Grass paled. But as nothing more than an artificial intelligence, she was again caught by the berserk boss, which clasped her with its claws and then bit her neck.

"Counterattack value +5%, current counterattack value is 15%."

At that moment, Ling Chunann was clearing out the wild wolves inside the Wolf Valley with a large cleaver. Suddenly, as he observed the world information, 098 flashed a message.

"Host, Green Grass has died!"

Death penalties in "Spirit Realm" were particularly severe; dying would directly reduce one's level by ten, or reset it to zero for novice players. Therefore, the death rate in the game was extremely low, and the name of every player who died in the game would appear in the system announcement. Additionally, deceased players would receive a three-day game suspension as punishment.

Looking at the three consecutive announcements, 098 raised the question again that Ling Chunann hadn't answered before. "Host, what was the gift you gave them earlier?"

"It was just an ordinary powdered medicine," Ling Chunann said, observing the chaos in the world that had erupted. "It was a discarded product from the original owner's alchemy. I found it in his backpack, and it seems its effects were quicker than expected, within just half an hour."

"Considering you've had contact with them, won't they suspect you?" 

"Did you find out what I did just now?"

"No," 098 hesitated for a moment, "but in the game, isn't using debuffs considered suspicious? They might easily associate it with you."

"So I deliberately chose a powdered medicine without debuffs. With their intelligence, they'll never think it's the work of a cowardly crybaby like me. So, at least we'll have a peaceful eighteen days."

"... "

As Ling Chunann anticipated, for quite some time afterward, Green Grass never approached him again, nor did the main male lead's group appear.

Three hours later, with the last herb uprooted, Ling Chunann's task was officially completed. 

As he put the final herb into the basket, Ling Chunann stood up and walked out of the Wolf Valley. With a cleaver as his shield, all the surrounding monsters became mere souls under his blade. Ling Chunann couldn't help but exclaim, "A divine instrument truly is a divine instrument. It may be ugly, but it's quite powerful."

Returning to the task completion point, Ling Chunann placed the herbs in front of the old man, who eagerly awaited. "Old man, here are your herbs."

"You're truly speedy, young man. I'm so grateful to you. If it weren't for your help, I wouldn't know what to do," he said, taking out a piece of paper from his pocket. "This is the prescription for the Cleansing Pill. Since you seem to be an alchemist too, I'll leave it to you. I hope you'll carry on the alchemist legacy."

"Thank you." Ling Chunann took the prescription and placed it carefully. "Then, I'll take my leave."

"Hey! Young man, wait a minute," the old man suddenly remembered something and stopped Ling Chunann.

098: "Host, he must be asking for that large cleaver of yours."

"I think he has another hidden task," Ling Chunann said.

"There's one more thing I'd like to ask for your help with, young man, if you don't mind." The old man smiled awkwardly at Ling Chunann. "My brother disappeared in the Dongling Mountains a few years ago. Could you help me find him? But the Dongling Mountains are high and dangerous. I suggest you bring friends along."

[Old Man's Request: Find the missing brother, Two-player task, five-day time limit. Accept: Yes, No.]

Looking at the floating prompt box in front of him, Ling Chunann chose "Yes."

[Please select a team member.]

Just then, a team invitation appeared. Ling Chunann glanced at the name and clicked "Accept."

Feng Buyu's player was named Wind No Words, a name that fully reflected his tendency to choose meaningless names. However, what 098 cared about was not that. "Host, Feng Buyu has only been in the game for a few hours, has just left the newbie village, and hasn't even changed his profession yet. The monsters in Dongling Mountain are all above level thirty, and you're only level thirty-five. Isn't this team a bit... risky?" Moreover, Ling Chunann was just a low-attack pharmacist.

Before 098 finished speaking, the team was already formed, and as the countdown began ticking in the mission prompt, 098 couldn't help but sigh deeply.

Hidden missions in this game, especially time-limited ones, had severe penalties for failure. Light penalties could reduce basic attributes for ten days or half a month, while heavy ones could randomly downgrade by one to three levels. This was simply a nightmare for all players. The later the stage, the harder it was to level up. After level thirty, each level required at least a dozen hours, and the experience needed for leveling up increased geometrically.

The original owner was able to reach level thirty-plus mostly due to the pills he consumed.

"098, I see you're becoming more impatient. You need to work on your patience," Ling Chunann said.

Without waiting for 098's reply, Ling Chunann sent a private message to Feng Buyu.

Not With Nanzhou: Uncle, I've received a task that requires teaming up. When I joined the team just now, the countdown had already begun. What should I do?

At the end, he added a pitiful little emoticon.

098: "... It's shameful to act cute."

Soon after, Feng Buyu's message came back.

Wind No Words: Wait there, I'll come over soon.

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