Chapter One: The Pig Teammate, When Cleverness Turns Against the Clever

Just then, as another group stepped into the inn, a player with the servile smile of a personal attendant murmured to another, “Leader, our guild’s finances are not looking optimistic. We aren’t as strong as Violet Mirage Realm or the First Faction, and you know in Divine Catastrophe it’s hard to raise your level without enough power. Why don’t we merge into the Saints Under Heaven? It’s for the sake of our brothers.”

When the one addressed as “Leader” finally lifted her face, everyone was stunned to see she was a woman. Curiously, she had chosen the gun profession. Her black hair fell in a curtain to her waist, and her bangs lightly hid half her face; the other half was undeniably beautiful. Her build was not remarkable, yet she clearly belonged among the beautiful.

Her game ID was “Never Lost a Trace of Childishness.”

At that instant, the expression on Never Lost a Trace of Childishness’s face showed clear unease. The other player beside her, who had been cajoling and advising her as if in earnest, also drew the attention of the six players from Ye Yu’s side. When those six looked closely, all of them froze.

What a coincidence, isn’t it?

Ye Yu kept a composed expression, but Huang Hong and Luo Feng wore expressions so perfectly performed it seemed as if they had practiced for this moment.

“Unbelievable… what a coincidence. It’s him!” Luo Wei said, shaking his head slightly, a bitter note in his voice.

Yes. That bitterness was natural, because the player before them was precisely the one Night Yu’s six had overheard during their leveling and monster runs, the one who had openly shown his ID in a private trade conversation.

“My Nature Is Proud and Wild!” someone breathed.

“Could it really be that man? The one we met that night, the one making those secret illegal deals… Clearly that whole plan was aimed straight at that woman.”

“True enough.”

“Not exactly a miracle, no. In this area, there is only Taicheng, that giant city. And since this city is one of the key resource hubs every faction will eventually fight tooth and nail over, clashes between guilds are bound to intensify. It’s not severe yet, but it is coming.”

Ye Yu spoke, though his words carried a private sigh.

They had never expected to run into the exact plan described by My Nature Is Proud and Wild, and this was a reminder of the brutal law of Divine Catastrophe: survival of the fittest, might makes right.

Fortunately, My Nature Is Proud and Wild had not seen all six of Ye Yu’s party, so the six moved with perfect coordination, rising to leave. There were already players at LV40 already gathering nearby, and any showdown between these powers would have to wait. The other side had too many people; for now, the six needed to raise their levels first.

Just then, Qu Zheng, who earlier had not noticed My Nature Is Proud and Wild and had dozed off, left and caught sight of him. He spoke a little too loudly, “Third, wait— that… that isn’t… that day!”

Huang Hong, nearest to Qu Zheng, quickly caught him by the elbow and forced him to shut up. The move drew eyes all the same, and through a sidelong glance My Nature Is Proud and Wild noticed.

His pupils snapped shut to slits as he looked at Ye Yu’s six. It was obvious he had recognized them.

As My Nature Is Proud and Wild watched the direction from which they came, his expression changed. His narrow pupils gathered a deep and obvious panic, and beneath that panic, pure fear. His gaze flicked between Never Lost a Trace of Childishness and Ye Yu’s six in quick motion; even his eyelids kept twitching, as if he were trying to guess what was about to happen.

Luo Feng stepped forward and said, “Actually, we…”

Before he could finish, My Nature Is Proud and Wild suddenly went pale, then visibly lost his composure. In frantic haste, he spoke at the same time as Never Lost a Trace of Childishness: “Leader… I did not conspire with anyone from the Saints Under Heaven! I only think of our guild’s good. With the Saints Under Heaven’s leader, we could get better resources, and the leveling problem would be solved. The brothers in the guild would be able to play comfortably. Don’t trust them if they say otherwise!”

For a moment, Luo Feng, Ye Yu, and the others stared in blank shock. Luo Feng even left his mouth hanging open; in his mind, a thousand alpacas seemed to bolt at once, and vulgar three-word curses flickered through him over and over.

Damn it, I wanted to tell him we heard nothing at all that night—but clearly Luo Feng knew it was useless now. My Nature Is Proud and Wild’s intelligence was beyond explanation, almost absurd in its stupidity.

Even Ye Yu, helpless, shook his head and tapped his left palm against his own face as if he could not bear to look on.

In this game, the thing you fear most is meeting players so stupidly sharp that sharpness ruins them—what they call, simply enough, pig-minded players.

“Tell me, did someone trap your brains in a door?” Huang Hong, face flushed, shouted, unable to hold himself back.

“We said nothing! The moment you saw us you got all worked up. Are you insane? Running into a pig player like you is misfortune for eight lifetimes, do you understand? You panicked first. Aren’t you broadcasting your own weakness to everyone? With you like that, you still want to be guild master? Better you quit being human and be a dog. No—don’t even try. A dog is too good a destiny for you. You shouldn’t be alive.”

Luo Feng held Huang Hong back, then glanced at My Nature Is Proud and Wild with a hopeless expression. “If I were you, I’d never play Divine Catastrophe.”

Beside him, Ye Yu looked down and smiled faintly at the scene, then looked at Huang Hong. “I never thought you’d get this worked up just because the fool on the other side is that stupid.”

Only after hearing the exchange among Ye Yu’s six did My Nature Is Proud and Wild truly wake up. He only then noticed the icy stare falling on him, sharp as a knife edge.

My Nature Is Proud and Wild turned toward Never Lost a Trace of Childishness, as though to explain, but whatever words he wished to speak seemed caught in his throat.

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