Chapter 8

Chapter 8 Obey My Command.

In the infinite game, even a dog could not be underestimated. Because perhaps that dog, at some unforeseen moment, could successfully bring a player’s journey in this game to an end.

Any element that looked ordinary and commonplace in the normal world could become chains that hook away souls inside the infinite game.

For Lu Wen to have his wound dealt with in such a short time, whether it was luck or strength, it was enough to show that he was not completely useless. And in the game, having one more friend meant one more bit of hope for clearing it.

In the end, most players only had one simple wish—

to stay alive.

To desperately... stay alive.

The middle-aged male player, who understood the situation, chose to change his attitude immediately and proactively show goodwill.

“Hello, you two. I am Qin Jue.”

Lu Wen scratched his head. He knew the other party had misunderstood.

The reason he had not been dragged down by his injury was not because he had strength,

but because he had hugged the right thigh.

For a moment, he felt both bitter and fortunate.

He exchanged names with the other party. “Lu Wen.”

When it was Ning Rong’s turn, she only said simply, “My surname is Ning.” Before confirming whether telling others her full name would have any effect, she did not plan to reveal her real name. As for using a fake name, there was no need either.

[To be fair, the little newcomer’s vigilance is pretty strong.]

[After squatting here this long, we finally know the little newcomer’s surname.]

At this moment, a special bullet comment suddenly appeared in the livestream.

[I just came back from He Ye’s livestream, and I realized I actually misjudged her.]

[He Ye? The female player who mentally collapsed at the start of the game and was shocked this was a B-rank instance?]

[That’s right. I thought she was cannon fodder, so I specifically stayed in her livestream waiting to see when she would get herself killed. But... she’s nothing like the brainless person she acted like before!]

[How so?]

[She was also attacked by a dirt dog last night. She stayed calm the whole time, her skill isn’t weak, and in the end nothing happened to her.]

[I often jump around the six livestreams. All of them were attacked by dirt dogs last night. The only injured one was Lu Wen. Summary: Lu Wen is the weakest.]

[Good good good, Lu Wen low-tier player confirmed!]

[But He Ye’s performance really was kind of surprising. It honestly shocked me.]

At this time, that colored bullet comment rolled across the screen again.

[Don’t you know? During the three-month newbie protection period, players are only matched into game instances suited to their strength. The true deadweights all went to F-rank or E-rank instances.]

After saying that, the big shot sent another comment.

[In a B-rank instance... there are no truly stupid people.]

After seeing this comment, the viewers reacted differently.

[Big shot, looks like you really understand this game.]

[So after three months it becomes random matching? Someone with C-rank strength could get matched into an A-rank instance?]

[No wonder veteran players have such a high death rate! There are even many total wipes! So after the three-month protection period, the game truly begins!]

[Big shot, then what about Lu Wen? His strength clearly doesn’t measure up to a B-rank instance.]

After analyzing it, the big shot gave an answer.

[He entered the game in the same batch as Juanjuan. Juanjuan is already on her fifth instance, while this is only his third. Because he played negatively, he was punished.]

Viewers: ???

That was actually possible.

This punishment was a bit too harsh.

A moment of sympathy for Lu Wen.

[Based on his strength, his first game instance should have been an E-rank one. But after receiving the game invitation letter, he delayed going to the game teleportation point for too long. Likewise, as punishment for passive play, he was matched into a C-rank instance.]

Viewers: ...

This kid... what were they even supposed to say about him?

Say he had bad luck? He had at least safely cleared two games.

Say he had good luck? That did not quite fit either.

The viewers felt a little sorry for him, yet also found it a little funny.

After pitying him, they suddenly realized that according to the big shot’s explanation, the little newcomer had started at a very high point.

Back then, even Juanjuan’s first instance had only been C-rank.

So far, the little newcomer seemed to be the first player among all game players whose initial instance was matched to a B-rank one.

Compared like this, did that not mean the little newcomer’s initial skill was truly something extraordinary?

Qin Jue smoothly joined Ning Rong and Lu Wen’s team.

He took the initiative to mention the results of his observations during this period.

“I’ve walked around the entire village twice. The villagers all seem normal, but the overall environment gives me a very discordant feeling. Unfortunately, I still don’t know exactly what feels wrong.”

Ning Rong vaguely had some idea what Qin Jue’s skill was.

In certain aspects, he was exceptionally sharp.

For example, Lu Wen’s injury earlier, and now this prediction about the overall environment.

Ning Rong said, “After 24 hours, we should know.”

As their group walked through the village, they ran into quite a few villagers. Toward these outsiders, the villagers were neither resistant nor warm. Clearly, this place was not completely isolated. The villagers still had some contact with the outside world, so their reactions upon seeing outsiders were fairly normal.

They also separately encountered the other three players.

That pair who looked like mother and son had been acting together the whole time, while He Ye did not get close to anyone and had always acted alone.

None of the groups nodded to greet each other. When they met, they were like strangers, merely passing by one another.

Nothing special happened during the daytime. They did not even encounter a single dog. To avoid a repeat of last night’s situation, Ning Rong had specially picked up a wooden stick by the fields and carried it, but until nightfall, the stick never came into use.

The whole way, Qin Jue wore an expression as if he wanted to speak but hesitated. His conflicted look made Ning Rong glance at him twice.

When their gazes met for the second time, he finally spoke.

“Physical attacks are useless against any NPC in the game.”

The safe period had already entered its countdown and they were about to enter the second day of the game. Even though Qin Jue was a veteran player who had cleared four games, he still lacked confidence inside. In the end, he could only rely on intuition to avoid fatal danger, but that did not mean he had enough self-protection ability.

His skill could only serve as support. It did not have much offensive power.

So he needed companions.

Parentheses: reliable companions.

Hearing this, Ning Rong paused in surprise.

She gave a slight nod. “Thank you.”

After saying that, she directly threw away the wooden stick in her hand.

Her decisiveness made Qin Jue somewhat surprised inwardly.

Still, his tone carried a bit of world-weariness.

“It’s nothing. You’re a pure newcomer. It’s normal not to know some experience-based things.”

[The little newcomer really listens well. Listen to advice, eat your fill.]

[Veteran players really have it tough too.]

[The veteran player probably doesn’t know the hidden rules of this game. If he did, he could be one hundred percent at ease with the little newcomer.]

Lu Wen lowered his head in shame. He had already cleared two games, yet he had no idea about this at all. Would Big Thigh dislike him for being useless?

While Lu Wen was suffering inwardly, Ning Rong said calmly not far ahead of him,

“Keep up.”

The moment he heard this, Lu Wen hurriedly perked up.

“Coming!”

Time passed second by second, and very soon it became night.

At ten o’clock sharp, dog barking rang out as if it had been preset, perfectly on time. Compared with last night’s shrillness, tonight’s barking seemed to contain something more.

But half a minute later, all of the barking stopped abruptly.

Just as the whole village abruptly sank into a strange silence, towering flames suddenly burst up from the southeast side of the village. Even from that far away, the scorching heat could be felt.

That bright orange-yellow color, in the heavy night, somehow carried a hint of blood-red.

At that moment, someone shouted, “Fire!”

The entire village instantly sprang into motion.

【The hunting game is about to begin.】

【Little newbie, get ready. The game is about to take off.】

【biu~】

Perhaps sensing something, Qin Jue’s face grew paler and paler.

At that moment, a group of villagers holding torches charged furiously toward Ning Rong and the others.

“Speak! Did you outsiders set the fire?!”

“Nothing ever happens here normally, but the moment you outsiders arrive, trouble starts!”

“All the dogs in the village are dead too! Did you poison them?!”

“Why even ask? They definitely did it!”

The villagers roared angrily. In the distorted torchlight, their faces looked as if they were melting in the heat, filled with hysterical madness.

Qin Jue shouted, “Run!”

The moment the word fell, Ning Rong and Lu Wen followed him and sprinted toward the other side. While running, they ran into He Ye and the others. She looked physically weak, slower than the villagers, and was about to be caught.

At the critical moment, she activated her skill.

The instant she did, the villagers chasing her froze on the spot, as if someone had sealed their acupoints. They did not move for several seconds.

Using that brief chance, she ran far away.

Seeing this, Qin Jue’s face was full of envy. “Hard crowd-control on NPCs for three seconds. Is this her initial skill?”

【It really is hard crowd-control on NPCs.】

【But you probably don’t know that last night Little Newbie hard-controlled the village chief for more than half an hour.】

【A mere three seconds.】

Hard crowd-control for three seconds?

During those three seconds, it gave the illusion of an absolutely frozen domain.

This skill was good. Ning Rong wanted it too.

That thought only flashed through her mind for a moment.

Faintly, she sensed a slight change in her personal skill panel.

Under 【Money Can Make Ghosts Turn Millstones】, another skill had appeared.

【Derived Skill: Your thing is very nice. Now, it is mine.】

Below that was a more specific description.

【In the Infinite World, anything can be bought—including lifespan, skills, opportunities... as long as you can pay the price, as long as you want it.

But be careful—do not be too greedy. If greed knows no bounds, severe negative effects may occur.

What? You ask what negative effects?

Of course—

Bankruptcy.】

Ning Rong: …

This skill looked powerful, but if used badly, she might try to steal a chicken only to lose the rice.

Clearly, this was not something the current her could control.

Once bankrupt, all the advantages she currently possessed might vanish completely.

While Ning Rong was still studying her new skill, Qin Jue suddenly cried out, “So many snakes!”

Lu Wen’s face was as pale as Qin Jue’s. He stopped in his tracks, fearful and not daring to move forward.

“These… why do they look so much like Five-Step Snakes?”

【Not look like—they are.】

【Qin Jue’s “Intuition” works pretty well. He led them onto a path with comparatively lower lethality.】

【Just Five-Step Snakes. Next door they already ran into a swarm of venomous bees. That’s the real line between life and death.】

【If Lu Wen hadn’t treated his injury last night, then when the village dogs suddenly died just now, he would have dropped dead too. He dodged the first crisis. Let’s see whether he can dodge the second.】

【Relying on himself? Definitely doubtful. Depends whether the thigh he’s hugging is sturdy enough.】

Facts proved that the thigh he was hugging was indeed extremely sturdy.

With venomous snakes ahead and villagers chasing from behind, Ning Rong did not need to hesitate. She directly activated the skill 【Money Can Make Ghosts Turn Millstones】 once again.

“Help me block the people behind us.”

Lu Wen, Qin Jue: ???

Only when the snakes hissed and slithered past Qin Jue and the others without even glancing sideways, never turning back, did Lu Wen and the livestream audience realize that the target of Ning Rong’s skill this time was the snakes!

And her skill had actually activated successfully!

That group of Five-Step Snakes, which should have been their crisis, turned around and became the weapon used against the villagers!

Seeing the snakes all heading toward the villagers behind them, Lu Wen, after the lingering fear passed, was even in the mood to joke.

“Sis, is this still sleight of hand this time?”

Ning Rong perfunctorily replied, “No. This time it’s ‘Hear My Command.’”

【……】

【Keep bluffing. Just keep bluffing!】

【Hear My Command? I believe your ghost! You little newbie, not one truthful sentence comes out of your mouth!】

【Alright, alright, why does this feel like a big sister teasing her little bro?】

【Suddenly feel like this pair is kind of shippable. Can I say that?】

Hearing that, Lu Wen grinned so wide that eight white teeth showed. With a radiant smile he said, “Alright, Sis! I’m willing to hear your command! Anytime, anywhere!”

Qin Jue: ???

Audience: …

Was that something they were allowed to hear?

【Zhou Yujing, you’re in danger!】

【Zhou Yujing, your girlfriend is about to be stolen!】

【Zhou Yujing, wake up and pay attention already!】