Chapter 12: Wavecrest, Kill Them All
Chapter 12: Wavecrest, Kill Them All
Qihai Studio.
Zhang Yuhao was in a foul mood. He desperately wanted to know — where had that person gone? There was a mutant crab, one even better than the Iron Armor-talented crab that top-ranked player Tianxing had acquired a few days ago, plus a powerful Fishfolk. How could someone with such an incredible Azure start just quit playing?
He had been staking out the fishing village every single day and still couldn't find the guy. What kind of person goes offline for several days straight?
But what Zhang Yuhao didn't know was that Chen Sui had never gone back to the fishing village at all.
"Damn it, I have to find him fast! More and more players are flooding into Azure, and new big shots keep showing up. I need to get my Mysterious Horn back before someone else loots it from me…"
He ground his teeth, his brow creased with anxiety.
"Brother Hao!"
At that moment, one of the studio members suddenly pulled off his virtual headset and called out: "Our guys spotted that person in the fishing village! He's at the sea beast recycling shop right now!"
"What!"
Zhang Yuhao froze for a moment, then a look of wild excitement spread across his face. "Get everyone together — call all the brothers over! Surround him. We absolutely cannot let him get away today!"
He rushed into the gaming room and put on his virtual headset.
Accept.
When Chen Sui heard the quest, his instinctive reaction was delight. He had long since grown tired of grinding those crabs, so how could he possibly refuse an opportunity to venture deeper into the sea?
Come to think of it, this was the first quest Chen Sui had accepted since entering the game. From the looks of it, quests in this game were trigger-based. If he got the chance, he should try talking to other NPCs more often.
"Uncle, you've already done me a favor, so of course I'll help you in return. Take this money — consider it a thank-you gift for taking that kid in."
Chen Sui pushed the coin pouch toward the old uncle at the recycling shop.
Hu Chao couldn't argue him out of it. With no other choice, he accepted the money, and found himself warming up to the young man standing before him. He smiled helplessly and said:
"Don't worry. Since I've agreed, she won't suffer any grievances while she's with me. — I'll write you a letter of introduction in a moment. Wait here for a bit."
"No problem, Uncle."
A few minutes later, Chen Sui walked out of the sea beast recycling shop with twelve thousand Fish Coins and a letter of introduction in hand. He gazed at the wax seal on the envelope — stamped with the image of a great whale — and felt a surge of anticipation.
"Hell yeah, I can finally head out to sea. Looks like my fish tank is about to get some new species."
But the moment he stepped outside —
A familiar face came rushing toward him, grabbing Chen Sui by the arm. The voice was urgent and breathless:
"Bro, Brother Hao is bringing a whole group of players to surround you. They're logging on right now — you need to get out of here fast, go another way or log off on the spot, or things are going to go south."
Chen Sui hadn't even gotten a good look at the person's face before the rapid-fire string of words left him completely stunned.
Who's Brother Hao? Players are surrounding me?
"Who are you?" Chen Sui frowned.
"Me? You don't remember? I was one of the guys following that person who wanted to buy your crab a few days ago."
Wang Kai said quickly.
That jogged Chen Sui's memory. He still didn't have a strong impression of the face, but he did remember that four-man crew from Qihai Studio that day.
"Hold on, hold on… what do you mean? Someone's coming to surround me? What for? And even if they are — why would you come warn me?"
Chen Sui asked, puzzled.
By all logic, shouldn't this person have a grudge against him? Why the sudden goodwill?
Chen Sui was a little suspicious — this could be some kind of trap. He was already mentally preparing to summon Wavecrest and put a spear through the guy.
"Because you dropped the Mysterious Horn. That item was supposed to be the foundation of Qihai Studio's future. Zhang Yuhao, that bastard, went back and pinned the blame for losing the Horn on me. So I came to warn you. Believe it or not, we can talk about the rest later — just log off now, they're almost here."
Wang Kai spoke at a rapid clip.
Chen Sui understood well enough. So there was an internal falling-out on their side. He half-believed it — not because he trusted Wang Kai, but because telling him to log off wasn't the kind of thing you could use as a setup.
"Wang Kai! You little rat, you actually came here to tip him off?!"
But before the words had even settled —
A voice rang out from nearby. Wang Kai and Chen Sui both looked up at the same time. A large crowd of people was converging from every direction, sealing off all the surrounding roads completely.
The one who had just spoken was Zhang Yuhao, with his sharp, high cheekbones.
"Looks like you really don't want to keep going."
"Wang Kai! You're absolutely hopeless. Last time, nobody held you accountable for losing the Mysterious Horn. And now you pull this stunt? Aren't you disgusting?"
"Wang Kai, you can get the hell out of Qihai Studio after this."
"You ungrateful mutt. Some people just can't be tamed."
"…"
A chorus of insults rained down on Wang Kai from the crowd.
"Shove it — you pack of dogs can save your barking. Zhang Yuhao, that scumbag, says something and you all just swallow it whole? The Mysterious Horn was never on me — how was I supposed to drop it?"
Wang Kai erupted like a volcano, roaring back at them.
"Zhang Yuhao, your studio's internal relations seem pretty rocky. Should we maybe give you some space?"
A young man with a flashy hairstyle standing beside Zhang Yuhao nudged him with an elbow, his tone dripping with schadenfreude.
Zhang Yuhao's face darkened. The man beside him was the head of Seven-Star Studio, named Lu Chengzhi. "Just get ready to do the job. Once we loot the Mysterious Horn, we all go in together."
That was exactly why the other studios had agreed to help Zhang Yuhao corner this person — they all knew they'd get a share of the hundred-player instance tied to the Mysterious Horn.
The two sides traded insults back and forth for a while before Zhang Yuhao stepped forward:
"Enough! Everyone shut up!"
The scene fell quiet.
Zhang Yuhao's gaze settled on Wang Kai. "Wang Kai, I'm very disappointed in you. I never thought you'd be so unrepentant — that you'd do something like this. I had thought last time was an accident."
"Zhang Yuhao, you can fool others, but don't fool yourself. Don't you find your own act nauseating?"
Wang Kai shot back. He had laid all his cards on the table now. Whether he got kicked out of Qihai Studio didn't matter — he hadn't planned on staying anyway.
"Haah…"
Zhang Yuhao let out a long, heavy sigh. An expression of bitter disappointment mixed with cold resolve crossed his face. "Then I have no choice. Qihai won't keep you any—"
But those words never finished.
Whoosh —
A streak of icy blade-light sliced through the air, severing several people's heads in one sweep. The game's censorship effects triggered instantly — each severed head dissolved into a puff of white smoke and vanished.
Player "Qihai Dahong" killed — Fish Coins ×16 obtained.
Player "Qiyuan Zhou" killed — Fish Coins ×18 obtained.
For a moment, the scene went dead silent. The crowd stared wide-eyed. They looked up to see a Fishfolk with a vacant expression but a murderous aura, shaking the last wisps of white smoke from the tip of its spear.
Chen Sui stepped forward, swept his gaze across the crowd, and smiled — a smile that showed every one of his stark white teeth:
"So, everyone here is gunning for me, right? Then let's not beat around the bush. Take a good rest tomorrow."
Then the smile vanished entirely.
"Wavecrest, kill them all."