Understanding

After a series of crackling strikes, Dragonfly presented Zhu Yan with his new weapon.

The upgraded saber featured a streamlined blade reflecting a pale blue cold light, exuding a concise and refined sense of elegance.

Zhu Yan gave it a casual swing and found he couldn’t tell if it was heavier or lighter.

“It feels light when you treat it lightly, and heavy when you treat it heavily.”

Dragonfly fluttered its wings gently, its large compound eyes admiring its work from left to right, clearly very pleased.

“Forty bone gold coins, customer,” it said with a click of its tongue.

For Zhu Yan, this price was absurdly cheap.

He readily flashed his player badge to pay and watched as Dragonfly scurried to pull open a few drawers, rummaging around and pulling out several items, presenting them like treasures before him.

“Please take a look, customer.”

This one was a [Hunter], currently appearing promising and cunning, and had at least entertained the idea of dealing with it.

It dared not be negligent.

It was just a simple-hearted dragonfly; it did not want to die at the hands of this freak player who could kill enemies eight levels above his own.

So, it decided to show its utmost sincerity.

Zhu Yan saw a small wooden tray holding a silver card and several tubes of ointment.

Dragonfly pointed at each item with one of its insect legs, introducing them enthusiastically.

“See, this is a membership card. Bring it next time, and you’ll get a twenty percent discount on everything. Oh, of course, I’ve already given you this twenty percent discount this time too.”

“These three ointments are a choice of one as a membership gift.”

Dragonfly bowed even lower.

“From left to right, they are [Copying Ointment], [Erasure Ointment], and [Peeling Ointment].”

All three were items Zhu Yan had used before.

The first could replicate the [Hunter] mark to frame others, the second could temporarily remove the [Hunter] mark for eight hours, and the third could remove it for up to three days.

Impressive.

Zhu Yan let out a neutral, inward expression of admiration.

Giving other things would have been fine, but giving these in particular?

This clearly meant it had seen through his [Hunter] identity.

Zhu Yan could probably guess the reason for this dragonfly’s fawning behavior.

From the moment he stepped in—refusing to upgrade his items, making declarations, and now giving gifts—it was saying it was afraid of death, was no obstruction, and could even be useful, right?

But this creature didn’t seem low-level at all.

Was it really this spineless?

Zhu Yan found it a bit amusing and suddenly felt the urge to play a prank on the dragonfly.

He was about to speak when he heard a burst of cheers in the distance!

That direction seemed to be the dormitory he had passed through earlier.

Zhu Yan instinctively turned his head to look, and Dragonfly, ever perceptive, promptly explained to him.

“Ah, no need to worry, customer.”

“That’s probably the newbies on this floor passing the [Night Game] and hearing the broadcast announcement.”

Alright.

Zhu Yan turned back, but soon a clatter of hurried footsteps mixed with noise approached, as if heading toward the [Lazy Craftsman Shop].

He quickly stowed away the level-13 saber and began choosing among the three ointments.

But soon, the sound of a door being pushed open came from behind, along with some excited shouts.

“Damn, found him!”

“He’s here!”

Dragonfly seized the moment and dumped everything from the tray into Zhu Yan’s arms.

It tugged urgently at Zhu Yan’s sleeve, speaking at a breakneck pace: “This membership on the first purchase is a special treatment—please don’t mention it—you’ll spare my life now, right—”

Zhu Yan quickly tossed the three ointments and the membership card into his ring.

He intended to nod at Dragonfly, but voices soon reached his ears from behind, cutting off his motion.

“Is that Zhu Zeyu?”

“Holy crap, the boss!”

Zhu Yan turned around, and his right hand was immediately grasped.

A slightly chubby young man, beaming, shook his hand excitedly. “Boss, you saved our lives! That move earlier was insane—how did you get that blade? Can you teach me?”

Behind him stood several other students, each with a degree of post-survival joy on their faces.

Damn.

Had he succeeded in building his prestige?

Zhu Yan curled his lips into a smile.

But he still had to go with Dragonfly to install windows, so he really had no time to deal with these people now.

“I took it from a [Hunter],” Zhu Yan said with a grin, offering a quick explanation. “One [Hunter] died, but unfortunately, there’s still one unaccounted for.”

“Strong as hell,” someone chimed in.

But Zhu Yan didn’t buy into the flattery.

He simply maintained the polite, gentle expression of “Zhu Zeyu” and pointed at the battered corridor behind them.

“Don’t come to thank me. Do you have time to rebuild the dorms?”

“Our broadcast said windows would appear at dawn, so I came to find [Lazy Craftsman Shop].”

Imitating the stereotypical “big shot” attitude, he offered them a virtuous reminder.

“Ask the boss if there’s any way to multitask. Folks, I’m heading downstairs now—you’d better hurry up too.”

The players exchanged glances and hurriedly agreed.

“Thanks, thanks.”

“Boss, can we add contacts?”

“We’ll get on it right away!”

Zhu Yan turned to look at Dragonfly, who let out a sharp, airy laugh, immediately catching Zhu Yan’s meaning.

“Oh my, how could there be such a meddlesome top-ranked player?” it said, playing the bad cop to help Zhu Yan build his reputation. “This shop has plenty of puppets for hire. As long as these folks pay up, I can work on multiple jobs at once.”

“Thanks for that,” said a new voice from the entrance.

Shen Zichen pushed through the crowd, strode over to Zhu Yan, and nodded politely at Dragonfly.

“Thanks to you, Zhu Zeyu,” he said, handing Zhu Yan a very small cloth pouch. “I’m Shen Zichen. I don’t have much to thank you with, so let me give you this.”

Zhu Yan shook his head, carrying forward the noble persona of “Zhu Zeyu.”

“We’re not short on items. Keep your good stuff—this game is tough enough.”

“We can add contacts and talk anytime, but I have to go now.”

He pointed awkwardly at Dragonfly. “Let’s chat later, okay?”

Shen Zichen looked at Zhu Zeyu’s sincere face and paused for a moment.

Like Yang Zhanbai, this guy was a good person.

Even more approachable than he had imagined.

In his expectations, someone who could reach the top of the rankings could never be a gentle person.

Rulers were never supposed to have excessive empathy or hardness.

But Zhu Zeyu...

Shen Zichen didn’t push the pouch again. Instead, he grasped Zhu Yan’s hand with genuine gravity.

“Honored to meet you. Go ahead—contact me online when you’re free.”

Shen Zichen hoped someone like Zhu Zeyu would survive longer. In the coming chaos, few good people would likely survive.

Zhu Yan, however, couldn’t care less about what Shen Zichen was thinking.

Looks like he’d successfully built goodwill; his [Hunter] identity would be even harder to uncover now.

He smiled, patted Shen Zichen on the shoulder, then grabbed one of Dragonfly’s insect legs.

“I’ve brought all the materials,” Dragonfly quickly said. “We can leave right now!”