The Era of Chaos, Year 1818.
The afternoon sun filtered through the leaves of the forest, casting mottled shadows on the bumpy carriage road. The wheels rolled over the gravel, making a monotonous sound.
"Xia Lun, do you feel like Moke has been acting a bit weird lately?"
Liana, with a wild grass stem she had picked from who-knows-where hanging from her mouth, leaned forward and said to Xia Lun.
As she spoke, Liana turned her head and spat out the grass stem with a "ptui." The stem shot out like a short dart and pierced right into the trunk of an old oak tree by the roadside.
Liana certainly had some skills.
But this little trick was obviously nothing special in this party.
Xia Lun sat in the front, holding the reins, while Aina sat beside him, keeping a certain distance from him.
"Moke? Isn't he quite normal? What's wrong with him?" Xia Lun pondered for a moment. "Moke has been much more cheerful lately, and he seems to be putting more effort into his singing. I thought he would be resistant to it... Recently, our gains and the adventure group's funds have gone up quite a bit."
Thirty percent of the rewards obtained from adventures and commissions were kept by Xia Lun as funds for the adventure group's various activities or needs... such as purchasing magic potions from Miss Ancora, as well as daily banquet expenses.
The remaining seventy percent was everyone's salary, divided equally among the members... while some other uncounted gains, such as monster cores, or equipment and treasures opened from dungeon chests, were distributed according to contribution.
Everyone basically lacked nothing. Whenever they got equipment they couldn't use, they would usually just sell it at the auction house or the Adventurer's Association.
"That's exactly what's wrong!" Liana glanced at Moke behind them and whispered to Xia Lun, "Moke used to be quite lazy. If it wasn't for your orders, he wouldn't even bother to move... But now he actually takes the initiative to find work!"
"Is that so? I actually think Moke is quite hardworking." Xia Lun raised his eyebrows. Moke could execute his orders perfectly every time, which Xia Lun was quite satisfied with.
"That's only toward you! He doesn't have that attitude with me... Whenever I ask him for a favor, he always acts like he couldn't care less!" Liana looked indignant.
Xia Lun: "What did you ask him for?"
Liana: "I asked him to teach me how to pick locks. But he refused no matter what, saying that I must want to do it so I could break into the boudoirs of those beautiful noble girls in the city... He really pissed me off!"
Xia Lun asked curiously: "Then what did you want to learn lockpicking for?"
Liana: "That kid Moke guessed right, and that's why I'm angry!"
Xia Lun: ...
Aina, sitting beside Xia Lun, clicked her tongue in disdain: "Shameless."
"Don't you guys know? Recently, there's been a legend in the city... that a handsome elven phantom thief will sneak into the boudoirs of beautiful young maidens who are bound by family and etiquette, taking only a single gold coin, and their most precious thing..." Liana explained in detail.
Aina's face, hidden beneath her hood, frowned slightly: "That is not a good story."
Xia Lun gently put his arm around Aina's shoulder. Although she was a bit resistant, she didn't swat Xia Lun's hand away.
Xia Lun looked at Liana: "So, Liana, what does this have to do with you?"
Liana scratched her forehead in embarrassment: "Hehe, after all, I'm an elf too... I can at least fantasize about such a good thing! There's no harm in thinking about it, and what if it comes true!"
Liana's tone gradually became more righteous and confident.
"Scum," Aina snorted coldly.
"This story has even been adapted into a script, and people are performing it in the theater. It's quite popular lately. It has even become a series called The Legend of the Elven Phantom Thief... Xia Lun, you aren't interested in these things, so you probably don't know about it." Liana shrugged her shoulders, seemingly trying to excuse herself.
"So what is the ending of the story?" Xia Lun asked casually.
Liana: "It's still being serialized. Basically, his emotional experience with one maiden is a major chapter... In the latest plot, the elven phantom thief was caught, and the maidens he had redeemed united to save him from the inquisitor's hands..."
"Filthy." Aina was completely dismissive. "He's clearly just a lecherous thief, yet they call it redemption... I really don't know how such a story could become popular."
"After all, men will insert themselves into the role of the male protagonist, and women will also hope to have some indescribable things happen with a young, handsome, and extraordinarily mysterious elven phantom thief..." Liana's voice grew quieter and quieter as she carefully observed Aina's expression.
Aina seemed a bit too innocent and really hated such stories.
Liana didn't dare to speak rashly anymore, afraid of upsetting the young mage lady.
Moke walked over from the back of the carriage.
"Xia Lun... I have something I want to tell you guys." Moke took a deep breath and spoke slowly.
"Just say whatever is on your mind." Xia Lun wore a faint smile on his face. "There's no need to be formal."
Liana cast a grateful glance at Moke. Thank goodness he came over and changed the subject.
"I hope... we can take on more money-making jobs recently." Moke pursed his lips. "Usually, when we don't have missions to go to the dungeon or subjugate monsters... we all seem to be idle. It feels like a bit of a waste. Some escort missions or guard missions actually have quite considerable payouts..."
Xia Lun nodded gently: "You make a good point."
"Is it okay? Xia Lun?" Moke was a little surprised, not expecting Xia Lun to be persuaded so quickly. "Won't everyone mind? Compared to adventuring, these missions might be quite boring."
"No problem. In the past, our adventure group didn't have much fame and our rank was low. We might have been looked down upon by the clients, suffered indignities from them, and could easily have our rewards docked... Taking that into consideration, I didn't take on such tasks. Now, with our reputation, it's obviously not an issue anymore." Xia Lun replied slowly.
Aina looked at Xia Lun beside her with some surprise, not expecting him to have considered things so comprehensively.
Xia Lun was truly leading and caring for this team well.
"Really? That's great." Moke looked very happy.
Liana patted Moke on the shoulder and said with some suspicion: "Why does it feel like you've become obsessed with money lately? You've become more diligent in your work, and you're trying to find all kinds of ways to make money... You weren't like this before."
Moke rolled his eyes at Liana: "Do you think I'm the same as you?"
Liana cursed dissatisfiedly: "Hey! What do you mean by that?"
"Sheila... her family in the Savage Wilds is having a very hard time. She only came to the human side to strive for the sake of her family's tribe, which has not been easy for her." Moke spoke slowly, "I have no ties or burdens on my own... but if I want to be with her, I plan to save up more money so I can help her more in the future."
"Moke..." Liana's voice choked with emotion. Moved to a mess of snot and tears, she threw herself at Moke. "If I were a little bunny, I would definitely fall in love with you too!"
"Get lost, you bastard! That's disgusting!"
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
with countless casualties. As a top-tier gamer, Liu Xuan volunteered to join the fight, intending to dominate with his skills, but instead he obtained the hidden class: [Pacifist]. Unable to attack. Unable to use active skills. Fortunately, with each level gained, he acquired a new passive skill. And so, armed with a body full of passives, Liu Xuan slaughtered his way through the battlefield of ten thousand races! [You attacked Liu Xuan] [You gained the debuffs: 'Poison', 'Fear', 'Burning', 'Bleeding', 'Freeze', 'Silence', etc.] [Your attack speed has been reduced by 99%] [Your armor and magic resistance have been reduced by 99%] Warriors of the Ten Thousand Races: How the hell am I supposed to fight this?!
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
u Chenyuan transmigrated into a female-oriented novel about a real and fake heiress, becoming the CEO elder brother of both. Unfortunately, the entire Lu family—including himself, the CEO—were mere cannon fodder in the story. Determined to save himself, Lu Chenyuan took action. The spoiled, attention-seeking fake heiress? Thrown into the harsh realities of the working class to learn humility. The love-struck real heiress? Pushed toward academic excellence, so lofty goals would blind her to trivial romances. As for the betrayed, vengeful arranged marriage wife… the plot hadn’t even begun yet. There was still time—if he couldn’t handle her, he could at least avoid her. "CEO Lu, are you avoiding me?" Mo Qingli fixed her gaze on Lu Chenyuan. For the first time, the shrewd and calculating Lu Chenyuan felt a flicker of unease.
