Chapter 1: Defeat Worth 500 Gold Coins

"How come you don’t know about this?" The wolf-headed player looked at Li Bin in surprise, then quickly seemed to understand. "Looks like you’re here just because you heard about the event. Wait here for a bit; someone will come by and give you five hundred gold coins, then you surrender the battle and that’s that."

"Hold on, brother, I still don’t get it. Are you saying someone’s going to give me money in a moment?" Li Bin grabbed the player and asked.

"Yeah, see that human in full steel armor? Several old acquaintances have already gone straight to him for money."

Following the wolf-headed player’s gesture, Li Bin indeed saw several players running up to the human in steel armor. After receiving a few money bags, they simply walked right off the battlefield.

Li Bin, who had more or less figured out what was happening, still asked, "There are so many people here. Does he really have enough money for everyone?"

"You must be new. You don’t know he’s from the Black Moonstone Guild. Their guild controls four villages in the Bloodthirsty Wasteland, and since each lumber mill contest has only twenty slots, they can easily afford this." The wolf-headed player replied smugly, as if he were an executive of the Black Moonstone Guild.

"But aren’t they losing money doing this?" Li Bin asked again. "How much does a unit of wood even cost? How much timber can a lumber mill produce in a week?"

"Kid, now I really wonder how you got this far. Don’t you know rarity drives value? There are only three lumber mills in the entire Bloodthirsty Wasteland, and now each unit of wood is selling for a hundred gold coins. There’s no way they’re losing out." The wolf-headed player looked at Li Bin as if he were an alien.

Just then, the steel-armored player had finished dealing with most of the crowd and started walking towards Li Bin. Seeing Li Bin’s Graveyard Demon and battle banner, he paused for a moment, then called out loudly, "Hey, undead player up front, you must be new. Do you know the rules?"

"I know a bit. This gentleman explained it to me—take five hundred gold coins and leave, right?" Li Bin replied, not wanting to provoke the Black Moonstone Guild.

"Exactly, here’s your five hundred gold coins. But I have something I’d like to ask you." The armored player handed Li Bin a bag of coins.

"I wonder what advice you have for me," Li Bin said, surprised that the steel-armored player wanted him to stay.

"Judging by your appearance, you must be a VIP player. We have a plan for a counterattack on the Novice Continent. Would you be interested in joining?" The armored player pulled Li Bin aside and asked.

"A counterattack on the Novice Continent? Can you tell me more?" Li Bin asked quietly.

"Of course not. If you’re not in our guild, you can’t know about it. Even guild members only know part of the plan; only core members know everything. I’m telling you because you’re a VIP player—if you join our guild, the guild leader will explain everything to you." The armored player shook his head.

"I think I’ll pass," Li Bin declined without hesitation.

The armored player seemed to expect Li Bin’s answer. He didn’t press further, but asked, "May I know your name?"

"You just need to know my surname is Li," Li Bin replied, unwilling to reveal his full name. After all, directly opposing a guild was not something a minor player like him could handle.

"Surname Li?" The armored player’s expression showed he understood. He said, "Mr. Li, if you don’t want to join, that’s fine. But if you ever need money, feel free to contact our headquarters. I think you could easily get several hundred thousand, no need to wait here for five hundred gold coins in an emergency."

Li Bin smiled, pocketed the bag of coins, and quickly led his troops back into the Graveyard Demon, leaving the battlefield.

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Li Bin knew the armored player had mistaken him for the son of some powerful family. If he learned Li Bin was just an ordinary player, and had sabotaged several of their guild’s major plans, he might not even wait for a guild leader’s report—he’d wipe out Li Bin’s small force on the spot.

Actually, Li Bin’s guess was mistaken. Ever since Li Bin ruined the Black Moonstone Guild’s Amazon Camp plan, his background had been thoroughly investigated.

They let Li Bin go partly because he’d had good luck recently and they wanted to extend a goodwill gesture, and partly because their grand plan was about to unfold, so there was no need to provoke unnecessary trouble at this stage.

In their eyes, Li Bin would soon reach level five and leave the Novice Continent for other lands. With his strength alone, how could he ever compete with the massive guilds boasting tens of thousands of members?

Leaving the lumber mill battle zone, Li Bin immediately received a notification of campaign failure. He lowered his head and smiled bitterly. He never imagined that, after a string of successes since entering the game, his first defeat would come so easily.

Looking at the five hundred gold coins beside him, he realized his power had developed too quickly—so quickly it was beyond his control. From here on, Li Bin would face not only NPCs, but also wealthy players. Perhaps it was time to find an advisor to help him strategize.

Thinking this, Li Bin summoned Tordina and the others. "Tordina, do you know if there are any strategist-type undead heroes available for recruitment in the Bloodthirsty Wasteland?"

Tordina glanced at Dierdre and the others, shook her head, and replied, "Master, you may not know this, but the Bloodthirsty Wasteland is territory for barbarian players. With their fighting style, undead heroes rarely survive here, let alone strategist-type heroes, whom they consider devious."

"I see," Li Bin fell silent. He knew it wasn’t likely he’d recruit a strategist-type hero on the Novice Continent. He was about to wave Tordina and the others away when he noticed his skeletal mage wandering nearby.

An idea struck him. He beckoned the skeletal mage over and cast an observation spell. Instantly, the mage’s information appeared before him.

"Skeletal Mage, magic apprentice level 2; combat attributes: strength 8, agility 12, constitution 10, intelligence 18, perception 14, charisma 13; skills: Poison Gas Bomb, Ice Arrow, Ice Ring, Poison Mist…"

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