Chapter 88: The Hero’s Tournament (XVII)

When I returned home, dinner was almost ready. Xue Han was coming out of the kitchen carrying a big bowl of soup, and I hurried over to take it from her. Xu Lin smiled gently and sat down at the table.

“Lin Fan, did you know? There’s been a change to the rewards for tomorrow’s individual competition,” she said.

“What kind of change?” I asked.

“Yesterday, a lot of players complained that just levels and equipment were too stingy as prizes, so the company behind ‘Moonmark’ decided to adjust the rewards. The original prizes remain, but now, everyone who makes it into the top 32 will also receive a cash reward.”

I was a bit surprised. “Cash? As in real money?”

Xu Lin nodded. “Yes. If you make it to the top 32, you get 5,000 yuan. Top 16 gets 10,000, top 8 gets 30,000, top 4 gets 50,000, the runner-up gets 100,000, and the champion—half a million!”

I listened, practically drooling. “So if I win, I get half a million yuan?”

“That’s right, so do your best! And if you win, the prize money is all yours, not related to the studio. So you have every reason to win that championship.”

Xinyu laughed from the side. “Those heartless capitalists finally show a bit of humanity.”

Xu Lin shot her a glare, then turned to Xue Han. “Are we going to level up tonight, or go to bed early?”

Xue Han thought for a moment. “Let’s go level up. I’m almost level 31, and I haven’t even tried out those two pieces of purple gear yet.”

Xu Lin smiled and looked back at me. “What about you, Lin Fan? Leveling or sleeping?”

Feeling a bit tired, I replied immediately, “No more grinding for me tonight. I’ll get some rest. If I mess up in tomorrow’s match, I’ll regret it. Even the top 32 gets 5,000 yuan—that’s not an opportunity I want to waste!”

So everyone ate, then went off to level up. I returned to my room, peeked inside, and saw Xue Han using a curler to beautify her eyelashes. Her movements were clumsy, so different from Xinyu’s practiced hand.

I laughed and called out, “Need any help?”

She looked a little surprised, then smiled shyly. “Sure, come on in!”

Her room was softly decorated, with a creamy white vanity and a not-so-wide bed next to the window. But instead of sitting at the vanity, Xue Han was on the cozy bed.

“Sit on the bed. I don’t have any chairs in here.”

As soon as I sat down on the bed, my mind started to wander. The bed was so small that if I hugged Xue Han to sleep, neither of us would be able to move—or we’d fall off. Wrapping her slender, fair body in the quilt... happiness...

She handed me the eyelash curler, then closed her eyes. Her long lashes trembled gently, tugging at my heartstrings.

“Lin Fan, be gentle. I’m afraid it’ll hurt…”

Her fresh scent made me feel a bit dizzy. She was so close, almost in my arms, and I could feel the warmth radiating from her. It turned out her usual calmness was just a mask.

Click.

A few eyelashes slowly fell from her nose, and my heart sank.

Oh no! I’d accidentally snipped off her beautiful lashes!

She clearly sensed something was wrong—these fallen lashes were way too long.

“Um, Xue Han, I’ll go back to sleep now!” I bolted from her room.

She looked in the mirror on the windowsill and didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. With her lashes gone, she wouldn’t be able to show her face for at least half a month.

Lying in bed, I wasn’t worried. Xue Han was too sweet to hold a grudge over a few eyelashes—besides, they’d grow back soon enough.

The matches these past few days had worn me out, and I quickly drifted off to sleep.

“Lin Fan!”

I don’t know how much time had passed, but an earth-shattering yell pulled me from my dreams. It was Guo Zi, looking anxious.

I checked the time. It was 11 p.m.—I’d only slept four hours.

“What is it, Guo Zi? If it’s nothing, let me sleep.”

“Of course there’s something! Lin-jie and Xue Han are being attacked. They’re trapped in the northern valley by a bunch of thieves—can’t even teleport out. There’s a crowd blocking the road, saying they won’t let them go until they lose a level.”

“What? Getting PKed in the wild? Who’s doing this?”

“Kuangzhan’s gang. Over fifty high-level players. Lin-jie couldn’t log out, so she sent me to tell you—see if you can help.”

I quickly got up and dressed. So those jerks from Kuangzhan finally made their move. I never liked them—leftover scum from the old days of Legend. Every game has its “Arrogant” or “World” guilds, full of thugs who talk big and bully others with numbers. They’re all trash to me—no class, no skill, just gang up on people. One-on-one, they’re just a bunch of scrubs. All I feel for them is contempt.

I logged in and asked Xu Lin to invite me across maps. When I entered the map north of Hurricane City, I saw three orange dots moving slowly in the canyon—Xu Han and Xinyu, trapped there.

I opened the communicator and Xu Lin’s urgent voice came through. “Lin Fan, are you here? We’re barely holding on—so many thieves, and we’ve killed over a dozen but there’s still more!”

“I’m almost there,” I said quickly. “Check if there’s another exit. If possible, I’ll avoid charging in through the main canyon.”

“No need. If there was another way, we’d have left already. Figure something out.”

I turned off the communicator and focused on running. Up ahead, a few players were heading for the canyon exit. When they spotted me, they immediately surrounded me.

Two level 18 mages and a level 21 swordsman—all their names started with “Kuang,” so definitely Kuangzhan’s men.

I didn’t bother with skills. I rushed up and landed a basic attack on one mage. With my 161 agility from gear, none of them could keep up. In a flash, I was at the mage’s side and finished him off without suspense.

Without hesitation, I turned and struck down the other mage. Then a level 16 swordsman used a combo on me—

“42!”

“31!”

I almost laughed at the pitiful damage. When his combo ended, he was dead.

From afar, I could see the crowd at the canyon exit—Kuangzhan’s gang, waiting for me.