Chapter 26: Slap in the face

"Boss/Captain, what did you say!?"

After hearing Xue Wu's words, Tong Qiao and Lu Xiaochi seemed to be frozen in an instant, standing there in a daze, as if they had turned into two clay sculptures.

The two recalled the conversation with 996 just now, looked at each other, and a bit of embarrassment appeared in each other's eyes.

"It looks like the game inside has started, let's go in and take a look!"

Someone in the crowd shouted, and Tong Qiao came to her senses. She quickly followed the crowd of onlookers into the training base.

******

After entering the training base, Zhu Yu summoned a bow and arrow and headed straight for the largest simulated battle room on the third floor.

After she opened the door, the noise inside became quiet.

"Which player are you?"

Several eyes were directed at her at the same time, with a hint of scrutiny and examination.

"I am the player number 996 that you have always wanted to meet."

Zhu Yu answered briefly, glanced at the players present, and continued, "I have something else to do. We are in a hurry. Let's get started. How are you going to compete?"

As soon as she finished speaking, the crowd on the opposite side immediately became agitated, and more eyes were fixed on her.

Just as Zhu Yu stood there patiently waiting for them to select the first challenger, several players walked towards her from the crowd.

The leading player was tall, wearing a sleeveless combat outfit, and his exposed arms were covered with tattoos that seemed to be patterns of some ferocious beasts.

"Hello, Player 996, I'm Player 2743. I've heard a lot about you."

"Um."

Zhu Yu continues to maintain her cool and arrogant boss persona.

"It's like this," said a female player with twin ponytails next to player 2743:

"We just discussed that since everyone has different professions and the location you chose is a simulated battle room, why don't we just release the simulated monsters and let everyone take turns to challenge them and see who can kill the most monsters in the same amount of time."

"Also, for the sake of fairness, the player responsible for releasing the monsters will not participate in the battle. What do you think?"

"No problem, let's get started."

Zhu Yu agreed readily, and was slightly surprised at their tactical adjustment.

Apparently, some players on the opposing team were worried that their profession would be at a disadvantage in a head-on confrontation with hers, so they proposed changing the way of the challenge.

After a moment, she saw the other party send a player to set the simulated monster as Snow Eagle on the panel.

The panel showed the appearance of a snow eagle, with a wingspan of nearly two meters, feathers flashing with cold light, and eyes sharp and full of aggressiveness.

Some players looked at Zhu Yu with hidden anticipation, as if waiting for her to show an uneasy expression.

Zhu Yu tried hard to suppress the slightly raised corners of his mouth.

It seems that the opposing player has made a detailed analysis of her archer's professional characteristics. The Snow Eagle flies fast and has good attack power, which is a great test for the archer's accuracy and speed.

However, for Zhu Yu, who had already killed a snow eagle when he was at level D, this was not a problem at all.

The first one to challenge was a bald player, whose weapons were two huge maces.

The timer is twenty minutes.

Zhu Yu stood aside, carefully observing how other players used their professions to fight against the Snow Eagle.

Although most people's performance was average, she also learned some practical skills from them.

After several players took turns to play, the player with twin ponytails was the best performer.

She killed 4 E-level Snow Eagles, 1 D-level Snow Eagle and 1 C-level Snow Eagle, with a total score of 5,000 points.

This result is considered to be very outstanding among the players present. Ordinary players will gradually become exhausted after killing two Snow Eagles of the same level as them.

But the player with twin ponytails was a mage. When she came on the field, she directly cast a group attack spell and quickly dealt with four E-level snow eagles. Then she slowly began to deal with higher-level snow eagles.

In Zhu Yu's opinion, her tactical arrangement was very wise. Other C-level players did not choose the low-level Snow Eagle, as if they were disdainful of these "low-end targets", but their final total points were not as high as the Twin Ponytails.

Zhu Yu couldn't help but click on the player page of Twin Ponytails.

[Player name: Lin Ji

Player ID: 7594

Occupation: Mage

Note: This player is an ice mage, and using skills in a cold environment will receive certain bonuses.

Occupational level: C

Experience: 1074/2000

Stamina: 9/100

Strength: 6

Agility: 6

Intelligence: 8

Luck: 5

This player's number looks familiar.

Zhu Yu quickly remembered that Lin Ji was the player who ranked first when he had not yet entered the battle power list!

Her tactics are indeed good. Why don't you try to kill the Snow Eagle step by step starting from a low level?

While Zhu Yu was thinking, a player next to her reminded her that it was her turn to play.

She whispered a few words to the player in charge of releasing the simulated monsters, then stood in the center.

The simulated monster started, and five E-level snow eagles spread their wings and swooped down.

The other players held their breath, staring at her movements intently.

Zhu Yu pulled the bowstring, and the arrow was deftly adjusted at his fingertips. With a flash of cold light, the arrow flew out into the air.

Before the first snow eagle could get close to her, it was shot in the vitals and killed on the spot, turning into a point of light and dissipating.

Then, the second, the third... and other snow eagles that came one after another were shot dead by her accurately. In less than five minutes, all five E-level snow eagles were easily dealt with.

Seeing this scene, some players couldn't hold back and started whispering to each other:

"996 is really strong. Her score has reached 2,500, but there is still more time left."

"That's right, her archery is so accurate! Snow Eagle is so fast, but she can hit it in one try without any effort!"

"Don't worry, she is just being clever and killing low-level monsters first. A truly powerful person wouldn't use such a trick."

The player who spoke glanced in the direction of the twin-tailed girl, as if there was something else behind his words.

Lin Ji rolled his eyes at him and ignored him.

Her team was composed entirely of combat players, and their combat power was among the best among many players, which inevitably caused some jealousy and gossip, but she didn't take it to heart. At this moment, all her attention was focused on the figure in the center.

Unlike those players who expressed disapproval, Lin Ji observed more carefully.

She found that player 996's reactions in battle were excellent. Just from the first round of kills, it could be seen that she had a deep attainment in archery, was very skilled in using the bow and arrow, and had a good control of the battle rhythm.

What surprised her even more was that after releasing her ultimate move, her stamina and mana bar would drop by half, but 996 seemed to have no signs of consumption at all and looked relaxed.

Sure enough, the next moment she saw Player 996 kill two more D-level Snow Eagles in a very short time.

At this time, her score had climbed to 4,500, and there were still more than ten minutes left before the end of the battle.

The players who were whispering just now shut up one after another, and the atmosphere suddenly became quiet.

Zhu Yu then seized the opportunity and accurately shot and killed three C-level snow eagles, and his points exceeded 10,000.

As the time was up, the watching players were stunned, their faces filled with shock and admiration.

She put away her bow and arrow and said calmly, "Right now, the highest level is only a C-level Snow Eagle. If there is a B-level Snow Eagle, I can definitely defeat it."

As soon as she finished speaking, a player standing in the front row couldn't help but question:

"996, we are willing to accept defeat this time, but you can't say that. After all, no one saw the whole process when you killed the B-level monster that night. Who knows if you have the ability to defeat a B-level monster alone?"

"Yeah, shooting a few snow eagles is nothing, archers have the advantage anyway."

Zhu Yu noticed these doubts, walked up to the player who spoke first, and asked, "What's your profession?"

"I... I'm a swordsman. Don't you see the heavy sword in my hand?"

Zhu Yu clicked on his personal panel to check and found that the man's name was Wan Ke, a C-level player. His game number looked familiar and it seemed that he had questioned and said bad things about her in the group chat many times.

"Well, now that you mention it, I remember you haven't played yet?"

Zhu Yu smiled slightly, walked to the control panel, clicked a few times, and released her B-level monitor lizard.

As soon as the monitor lizard appeared, the air was instantly filled with a cold breath. Others felt a biting chill, and some even shivered uncontrollably.

"This... is this the B-level monitor lizard she defeated before? The entity looks a hundred times more terrifying than in the photo." Many players took a few steps back.

Zhu Yu looked at Wan Ke and said slowly:

"Isn't this the B-rank monster you've always wanted to challenge? I remember you said in the group chat that you were just unlucky and had never encountered a B-rank monster. Otherwise, you would have defeated it faster than me and advanced to the next level earlier than me."

She pointed at the giant lizard and said, "I'm releasing it now. If you can defeat it by yourself within 20 minutes, you win the battle."

"This..." Wan Ke obviously did not expect that Zhu Yu would have time to lurk in the group and expose his remarks.

A trace of embarrassment appeared on his face, and then he became angry: "Go ahead, I'll remember your words! If I win, don't cheat!"

As he said this, he picked up his heavy sword, walked angrily to the center, and faced the giant lizard.

As the battle began, the monitor lizard moved slowly across the field, and every step caused the ground to tremble.

Wan Ke gripped the heavy sword tightly, rushed towards the monitor lizard, raised the heavy sword high, and slashed hard at the side of the monitor lizard.

The monitor lizard reacted quickly, swung its tail, and hit Wan Ke's side with great force, causing him to stagger back a few steps and almost fall to the ground.

He gritted his teeth, endured the pain, and raised his sword to meet the attack again. This time he turned skillfully and stabbed the giant lizard with his sword.

Before he could show a smug smile, an ice-blue energy suddenly gathered in the giant lizard's mouth, followed by a cold air mixed with snow-white icy breath that suddenly sprayed towards Wan Ke.

Wan Ke was caught off guard and only had time to hold his sword horizontally in front of him, but the power of the icy breath instantly penetrated his defense and knocked him backwards.

After sliding for a distance on the ground, he stood up awkwardly and found that a thick layer of frost had condensed on his chest, gradually spreading to his shoulders and arms, as if it was going to freeze him completely and make his movements slow.

"Damn ice lizard!" He roared with gritted teeth, enduring the pain and swung his sword at the giant lizard.

This time his heavy sword seemed to have triggered some skill, leaving another bloody mark on the monitor's back.

The next moment, the temperature around suddenly dropped, and tiny ice crystals floated in the air.

Angry by the pain, the monitor lizard raised its front paws high and slammed the ground hard. A cold current spread out from it.

The ground froze instantly. Wan Ke's agility was average, and before he could react, his feet were frozen and he couldn't move.

He struggled desperately, but the ice beneath his feet seemed to have taken root, binding him firmly in place.

Then the monitor lizard opened its huge mouth again, and this time it spewed out a condensed ice cone.

The ice cone shot out like an arrow at an astonishing speed, heading straight for Wan Ke's heart.

He hastily swung his sword to block, but the impact of the ice cone was too strong, knocking his heavy sword out of his hand. The ice cone shot straight through his shoulder, and blood instantly dyed the ice surface red.

Wan Ke roared in pain and his face turned pale.

He looked up at the time and found that he didn't have much time left. He then realized that he was no match for the monitor lizard.

Helplessly, he gasped and raised a slightly trembling hand to indicate that he gave up.

Seeing him admit defeat, Zhu Yu manipulated the panel in time to end the simulated battle.

Wan Ke limped down from the stage, leaning on his heavy sword. The other players looked at his disheveled figure and fell silent.

This time no one dared to question it, for fear of being called up by Zhu Yu to fight the giant lizard.

The injuries sustained in the simulated battle would disappear after the battle, but the pain during the actual battle was real.

Several players who had supported Wan Ke just now quietly slipped away when he was halfway through the fight.

Zhu Yu glanced at the dispirited Wan Ke and said nothing more. He continued to operate the panel to start the next battle.

This time she did it herself.

She had beaten up the monitor lizard several times yesterday and was already familiar with the process.

She acted quickly, shooting several arrows in succession, each of which hit the monitor lizard's vital points. The monitor lizard struggled for a moment, and finally roared at her a few times in complaint, fell to the ground and disappeared.

This time it was Zhu Yu's turn to walk off the fighting stage with a chill all over his body.

She walked up to Wan Ke, whose eyes were dull, and asked, "How is it? Are you going to continue to say bad things about me in the group? Are you willing to admit defeat?"

Wan Ke's lips moved, and then he suddenly knelt on his knees, holding the heavy sword in front of him, and said respectfully: "Boss 996, please accept me as your apprentice! I want to learn your fighting skills!"

The smile on Zhu Yu's lips froze instantly. Before she could react to this sudden change, she saw a petite figure flash past.

"Go away," Tong Qiao kicked the man away, then turned around and said to Zhu Yu obediently, "My savior, 996 boss, beautiful sister, please ignore these bad guys. If you want to take a disciple, you should take me. I am obedient and will fight wherever you point me."

"Tong Qiao, don't steal my lines! Besides, Boss 996 is an archer, why are you, a warrior, joining in the fun? If you want to recruit a disciple, you should recruit me, who is also an archer!"

Lu Xiaochi followed closely behind Tong Qiao and shouted hurriedly.

"So what? Wan Ke is still a swordsman. Wait until you can beat me before you come and snatch my master from me!"

Zhu Yu helplessly watched the two people arguing and sighed: "You two should get up first and then talk--"

More and more players gathered around, and Zhu Yu's aloof personality was about to collapse. Just as she was about to give up, a voice came from the crowd.

She looked back and saw a tall girl with short hair waving at her excitedly:

"996, I'm a foundry master. What a coincidence, you're here too?"