The Counterattack Plan of A Villain With Ten Thousand Fans - Chapter 93 (Patreon)

Chapter 93

"Is that so?" Ling Chunann replied with a brief nod, then fell silent, and 098 obediently followed suit.

Returning home, Feng Buyu went off to attend to his tasks, while Ling Chunann went back to his room and opened a vial of purification potion.

"Host, is there something wrong with this medicine?" 098 felt that Ling Chunann behaved somewhat strangely after seeing this potion in the laboratory.

"No problem. I saw the seawater they used for testing, and it worked very well."

"098, is there a time limit for this world mission?"

"Host, theoretically, there is no time limit," 098 replied, "but the lifespan of the ocean is three years. If the pollution problem is not solved within three years, there may be no more organisms in the sea by then." In that case, completing the mission would be meaningless.

Ling Chunann nodded and then picked up the test tube, pouring its contents directly into his mouth.

"What are you doing, Host?!" 098 exclaimed, but couldn't stop Ling Chunann's actions, only watching helplessly as Ling Chunann gulped down the liquid of unknown composition.

Setting down the empty test tube, Ling Chunann remained silent, staring at it with a vacant expression.

Feeling uneasy, 098 wondered if something had gone wrong. "Host, are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Ling Chunann snapped out of his trance, looking at the empty test tube, licking his lips as if savoring the taste. "When I saw it, I thought it looked delicious. I tasted it, and it was even more delicious than I imagined."

"Huh?"

"Even more delicious than I imagined," he said with a hint of regret, "but there's just too little of it."

"..."

Faced with Ling Chunann's reaction, 098 didn't know what expression to use and ultimately decided that silence was golden.

After storing away the remaining test tubes, Ling Chunann logged into the game, which he hadn't paid much attention to for a long time.

It was already the tenth day, the last day of the ten days Zheng Mingjie had mentioned.

Just as he logged in, Ling Chunann's chat box was flooded with messages, including ones from Green Grass, Qin Xuyang, the Qiu Shui Yiren siblings, Zheng Mingjie and his sister, and some other guild members. After the notification sounds had gone off continuously for over ten minutes, they finally stopped.

Rubbing his temples where a headache was forming, Ling Chunann muttered, "This game is great everywhere except for the inability to mute notification sounds. It didn't seem like a problem when I used to log in frequently."

"You can suggest it to Feng Buyu. He'll definitely make the change," 098 suggested enthusiastically, offering ideas to Ling Chunann.

"Smart," Ling Chunann praised.

Just then, the notification sound chimed again, this time from Zheng Mingjie.

Ming Ri Tianya: Yi Ning, you came just in time. Chengtian Merchant Guild can't hold on any longer. They're about to apply for the dissolution of the guild!

Ming Ri Tianya: Some time ago, in order to compete with us, they engaged in a price war and received many deposits. As a result, their pharmacists collectively resigned, and they couldn't deliver the goods by the deadline. What's worse, an elder of their guild embezzled funds and left the guild. Now, there are still thousands of people surrounding Chengtian Merchant Guild, demanding refunds.

With lengthy paragraphs, it was evident that Zheng Mingjie was in high spirits. Ling Chunann asked for the location and arranged to meet him, then scrolled through other message records on his way there, picking out a few important ones. By the time he arrived at the tavern where Zheng Mingjie was, Ling Chunann had already caught up on the recent updates.

This tavern was conveniently close to the guild registration point, and from the third floor, they had a clear view of the guild's entrance. Looking down from the window, they could see the enraged players on the street and Qin Xuyang, who was surrounded by them.

"Refund! We won't allow the guild to be dissolved without a refund!"

"I ordered from your Chengtian Merchant Guild because it's the top guild. I saved up for half a year just to deposit ten thousand gold. Give me back my hard-earned money!"

"Give us our money back!"

...

As Ling Chunann ascended the stairs, Zheng Mingjie quickly came over to greet him. "Yi Ning, you're here! Come, have a seat."

Sitting across from them, Zheng Mingyue's face was flushed. "Long time no see."

Nodding to both of them, Ling Chunann focused his gaze on Qin Xuyang, who was surrounded by a crowd on the street. Even though it was just in the game, Qin Xuyang looked utterly defeated. His eyes were bloodshot, and he seemed dangerously close to a breakdown, as if teetering on the edge of collapse.

Exactly as Ling Chunann observed, Qin Xuyang was indeed on the verge of madness. He never expected his trusted subordinates to betray him, taking away not only his pharmacists but also his money, leaving him with no way to recover. It was a beautifully executed blow, striking at the heart of his power.

And the reason? It was that vile woman, Green Grass!

Didn't he kill her once after her betrayal? She deserved to die, but he never imagined that she would come up with such a scheme to retaliate against him.

The mere thought of it made Qin Xuyang seethe with rage.

He poured all his money into it, and this time, it was truly a lost cause. But as long as this game existed, he still had a chance to make a comeback. For now, the priority was to dissolve the guild. 

Since attacks were not permitted within the city, Qin Xuyang had squeezed his way into the registration point.

"Counterattack Value +5%, current Counterattack Value is 90%. Host, please continue your efforts."

"Host, the male lead has dissolved the guild," 098 said, "He's incredibly irresponsible. It seems he wants to sweep this under the rug and then create a new guild."

"Thinking wishfully, isn't he? But do you think he stands a chance?" Ling Chunann replied slowly.

"...True, with the Host around."

"It's not just me." Ling Chunann looked towards the seemingly crazed crowd, "Don't forget, the male lead has made plenty of enemies."

Especially Green Grass; she's not a kind woman.

Sure enough, shortly after Qin Xuyang dissolved the guild, criticism against him poured in from both the world and the game forums. He had truly angered the masses.

Once hailed as the popular male god, Qin Xuyang had become a universally reviled rat within a few days. The psychological gap he experienced was unimaginable.

He now hardly dared to venture outside, fearing he might be attacked on the streets. He appeared nervous no matter where he went, as if constantly on edge.

Later, Qin Xuyang simply stopped logging into the game. But he found that the video of him bullying that kid on the campus forum had been dug up again, combined with his actions in the game. Everywhere he went,

 people looked at him with disdain and whispered behind his back.

Qin Xuyang was on the verge of losing his mind.

"Have you found out who did it?" Qin Xuyang sat on the couch in his dorm room, disheveled, holding his phone, his eyes bloodshot, his hands trembling.

"The distributor of the video kept it very confidential, but I still managed to find out."

"Who?"

"The Murong family."

Qin Xuyang took a deep breath, his knuckles white as he gripped the phone, his expression contorted in rage and frustration. Despite his current downfall, he felt powerless. Even at the peak of his success, he couldn't handle the formidable might of the Murong family. Otherwise, he wouldn't have resorted to such means to deal with Murong Xue in the first place.

"Oh, right. Since you're an employee of my boss, I'll give you a freebie," came the voice from the other end. "The reason the Murong family targeted you is because their patriarch received an audio recording. I've already sent the recording to your email."

Listening to the busy tone on the other end, Qin Xuyang stumbled into his bedroom and turned on the computer.

He had never felt these few seconds of booting up the computer so agonizing. As soon as the computer connected to the internet, Qin Xuyang hastily opened his email, and his voice emanated from the speakers.

"50,000 yuan. Five minutes later, a girl will pass through that alley. Intercept her, make it look like a rape. I'll come to stop you..."

The file was short, barely over a minute long, and it was quickly played.

Qin Xuyang slumped to the floor, feeling drained. It was over. Everything was over.

At that moment, his phone, which he had just placed on the table, rang again.

Qin Xuyang sat motionless on the floor, reaching blindly for the table. It took him a while to find the phone, and just as the ringtone sounded for the second time, he managed to grab it. Tempted to throw the phone away, he suddenly noticed the note on the screen and reluctantly answered the call.

"Mr. Qin, I forgot to tell you. The person who sent the audio to Murong Ming is called Green Grass. I don't know if you know her. Well, that's it for now. Have a pleasant cooperation."

After Ling Chunann hung up the phone, 098 asked, "Host, are you sure it's safe to provoke the male lead like this?"

"Are you worried about him?"

"N-no, I'm not. I'm just concerned that if he dies, it will lead to the failure of our mission. We're at 90% completion, it would be such a shame," 098 said sincerely.

"No need to worry. I know what I'm doing."

The game developers invited well-known players to the meetup, which was held at the most famous star-rated hotel in Haicheng.

As it was the first player gathering, the response was enthusiastic, with many invited players arriving in Haicheng one or two days in advance.

Under the urging of his gaming friends like Qiu Shui Yiren, Ling Chunann arrived at the hotel early on the day of the meetup. Of course, the most important reason was to secure a good spot to watch the show.

Ling Chunann spotted a man and a woman standing at the entrance, apparently waiting for someone. They looked just like their in-game avatars. Ling Chunann stood in front of them and said, "Bai Xiaosheng, Qiu Shui Yiren?"

Both of them were startled, a hint of surprise flashing in their eyes. But obviously, they didn't recognize Ling Chunann. Bai Xiaosheng reacted first, "Who are you?"

"I'm Ling Chunann." Ling Chunann extended his hand, smiling at the two.

Bai Xiaosheng was about to shake hands when Ling Chunann's hand was suddenly grabbed by another hand. Feng Buyu, with a smile on his face, held Ling Chunann's hand and pulled him into his arms. "Darling, sorry I'm late." He looked at the frozen siblings beside them, "Are these your friends?"

"Hello, I'm Chu Feng, and this is my sister, Chu Yu. Our IDs in the game are Bai Xiaosheng and Qiu Shui Yiren." Bai Xiaosheng couldn't help but soften his tone in front of Feng Buyu.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Feng Buyu, and I'm the love of Little Nan's life." Feng Buyu nodded at the two and then touched Ling Chunann's head. "Baby, I'm going upstairs for a bit. Do you want to come with me?"

Ling Chunann shook his head.

"Well, I'll be down in a while. You can hang out with your friends first." After leaving a kiss on Ling Chunann's lips, Feng Buyu reluctantly left.

"..." 098 remarked, "He's really jealous over a simple handshake."

"Don't you think it's cute?" Ling Chunann replied.

"..." Whatever makes you happy.

Just as Feng Buyu left, Zheng Mingjie and his sister arrived. Along with many members from the guild, they gathered around Ling Chunann, making him feel like the center of attention.

"Chunann, I didn't expect you to be so good-looking. How much did you lower your appearance in the game?" 

"I've seen people who desperately make themselves look better, but I've never seen someone intentionally make themselves look worse like you."

"Yeah, unlike some people who don't look so great but somehow manage to get on the beauty list. Tut-tut."

As these words were spoken, everyone's gaze turned to Green Grass, who had just entered through the main door. The meaning behind their looks was obvious.

Although Green Grass was also a beauty in real life, she had indeed slightly lowered her appearance value in the game. Coupled with the game's built-in beautification function and the presence of so many handsome men and beautiful women at the meetup, she appeared rather ordinary.

With Green Grass's personality, being criticized like this was naturally unacceptable. But just then, someone walked in through the main entrance.

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