Chapter Sixty-Nine: The Bow of the Night Elves

A crystal-clear, fiery red longbow lay quietly in my inventory; at first glance, it was obviously a formidable weapon—

[Night Elf Bow] (Blue Equipment)
Attack: 110-165
Strength: +15
Stamina: +24
Agility: +27
Required Level: 26
...

I rubbed my eyes and looked again, finally confirming that this bow belonged to the same series as Murong Shanshan’s blue sword—the Night Elf Sword. Its attack was slightly lower, but for a ranged archer, it was more than sufficient. After all, archers have far more skills that boost attack damage than swordsmen—skills like Shock Shot, Flaming Arrow, Critical Arrow, Furious Arrow, Guided Arrow, Piercing Arrow, and Multi-Arrow, all of which can be learned directly from NPC trainers. Not to mention, Xinyu also has the powerful skill, Power of the War God.

This Night Elf Bow is pretty good. Xinyu is already level 25, and with her diligence, she’ll surely reach level 26 within two days, which will greatly enhance her combat power in the upcoming tournament.

There’s also a book—

Swordsman’s Rush: Activating this skill increases a swordsman’s movement and attack speed by 30% for 30 seconds. Duration and effect improve with skill level. Requires swordsman level 32.

...

Another active skill, and it requires the same level as the Dark Sword. Looks like I must reach level 32 within these two days, or else I won’t be able to unleash my full strength in the tournament!

Three pieces of equipment and a book all lay silently in my bag. I should check out my surroundings now. The map showed the name of this place: Muddy Swamp!

No wonder that boss was called Swamp Guardian—he’s here to protect the swamp.

In the distant woods, several giant pike fish crawled about. Even at level 30, I couldn’t see their levels. These beast-type monsters didn’t interest me much, since they rarely dropped good gear or money.

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Avoiding a patch of trees, I observed the narrow forest path ahead and suddenly discovered a long, wide river. Across the river, smoke curled up from the woods—sure enough, there must be a camp over there!

I walked straight from the path to the suspension bridge spanning the river. It took me half an hour, but there were indeed humans on the other side.

A transport convoy was blocked here; all the soldiers had set up camp but were facing difficulties.

A man who looked like an officer approached me: “We are a transport convoy from the Shaka Kingdom. A month ago, we passed through here, but magical beasts blocked our way. Bandits have infested this area for over a month, and most of our food and supplies have been stolen. Young warrior, can you help retrieve the missing goods?”

System prompt: Help the Shaka Kingdom convoy recover 50 lost supplies.

Finding supplies basically meant killing those level 35 swamp bandits. Even without the quest, I wouldn’t miss the chance to hunt humanoid monsters.

Looking around, I found a craftsman between the tents who could repair equipment. The undead’s power has been growing for nearly two years, and the nations of the continent have reached a tacit agreement, temporarily forming an alliance, so NPCs from other countries are friendly. Repairing gear was no problem.

...

Two hours later, my perspective on this map completely changed—damn, it was truly a treasure map. In just two hours, I recovered 15 batches of supplies, and cleared out all the swamp bandits around each batch. My experience jumped from 30% to 40% at level 30, and more importantly, I obtained six pieces of high-level green equipment, usable from level 23 to 25, which would be hot sellers next week. Two items were perfect for Xu Lin and Lu Xuehan; the rest could be consigned. A level 23 green axe with 55-80 attack and a level 24 green war bow with 40-75 attack could fetch good prices. Prices for high-level equipment, especially green gear above level 20, start at 100 yuan minimum.

Checking the time, it was already 11 PM. Oddly, Murong Shanshan still hadn’t logged on. With her passion for the game, she shouldn’t have missed such a prime leveling opportunity before the tournament.

I logged off, washed my feet, took off my clothes, wrapped myself in a blanket, and leaned against the headboard. I wiped the condensation from the window and could faintly see snowflakes swirling outside, as if Murong Shanshan’s lovely face and sweet smile appeared before my eyes. The phone on the bedside table blinked quietly; compared to the snow outside, the room felt especially tranquil.

Picking up the phone, I scrolled to Murong Shanshan’s number and hesitated—should I call her? She’s just my client, not someone I’m close to. Is it necessary to worry so much about her…?

Lu Xuehan, wiping her face as she walked in from the hallway, saw me leaning at the headboard and smiled. “You’re going to bed early tonight—can’t sleep?”

I smiled back. “Sleep early, and you’ll be even prettier~”

Lu Xuehan smiled and entered the room. At the same time, I pressed the call button. Since I was a bit concerned, I might as well call, lest I despise myself later.

“Beep…”

The phone rang for a long time before someone answered, but it wasn’t Murong Shanshan.

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“Hello, is this Lin Fan?” It sounded like Coco.

I replied, “Coco? Where’s Shanshan? Why didn’t she log in tonight? Didn’t we agree to work on reputation together?”

Coco’s voice was anxious. “Shanshan is sick. She has a high fever and is hospitalized. She’s on an IV; the doctor said she’ll be discharged tomorrow. The fever’s pretty severe.”

I was stunned. “How did it get so bad? Which hospital?”

“She’s on the third floor of XX Hospital.” Coco hung up right after, not asking if I would come visit.

Should I go see her?

What would I say if I did?

After tossing and turning, I finally got up, dressed, and went to Xinyu and Xu Lin’s room.

“Xinyu… Xinyu…”

I gently shook Xinyu awake—she had gone to bed early and was almost asleep.

“Lin Fan, what is it?” Xinyu rubbed her eyes.

“Lend me a thousand yuan, right now, hurry!”

Xinyu immediately asked in confusion, “Why are you taking money out so late?”

“Cut the nonsense. Tomorrow, I’ll give you a level 26 blue bow for a thousand yuan!”

Xinyu quickly pulled ten red bills from her wallet…

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