Chapter 5: Framed
Tianyang City, Qihai Studio.
Bang!
The sound of a virtual headset being smashed echoed through the room. "It's gone! It's gone!"
Zhang Yuhao swept everything off the desk in one furious motion — computer monitor, ashtrays, empty bottles — sending it all crashing to the floor.
The room was instantly a wreck. The studio members who knew what had happened didn't dare breathe a word.
"What's wrong with Brother Hao?"
One member who hadn't been in the loop walked over and asked, trying to offer some comfort. "Brother Hao, calm down, calm down. There are plenty of lucky breaks in games — it's not worth getting this worked up over those people."
Zhang Yuhao didn't even acknowledge him. His expression was cold enough to kill.
His gaze swept the room as if searching for something else to destroy. No one dared meet his eyes. The studio fell so silent that only Zhang Yuhao's heavy breathing could be heard.
After a long moment, he finally spoke.
"The Mysterious Horn is gone."
The words landed, and everyone froze for a beat — then erupted.
"The horn dropped?!"
"That was the lifeblood of Qihai Studio's future — our ticket to the top! What happened? Who knew we had that thing?"
"We have to get it back."
"……"
Everyone in the studio knew about the Mysterious Horn. For a gaming studio, securing a top position in any virtual game meant a stable, iron-clad livelihood.
That Mysterious Horn was, in every sense, the key to all their fortunes.
Wang Kai and the others who had been there shrank back even further, glancing at Zhang Yuhao but not daring to say a word.
The members who hadn't been present caught on to the atmosphere and began to piece things together.
The rest of the studio turned to look at Zhang Yuhao with strange expressions.
The atmosphere grew awkwardly quiet.
Several seconds passed.
Wang Kai, wanting to smooth things over for Zhang Yuhao, forced a dry laugh and said, "Well, Qihai Studio built itself on grinding hard, after all. Today was just a bit of an accident — that person was really something else. Since it's already happened, we should…"
He didn't get to finish.
"Shut up!"
Zhang Yuhao's sharp bark cut him off. "If it weren't for you, would any of this have happened today?"
"Me?"
Wang Kai froze, genuine bewilderment written across his face. He was about to argue back.
"If you hadn't insisted on…"
Zhang Yuhao waved his hand.
"Forget it. You didn't mean it. Let's not talk about this anymore…"
Just like that, Wang Kai's protest was shoved back down his throat.
But the expressions of those who hadn't known the full story had already shifted. Even Wang Kai's earlier attempt to ease the tension was now being read as self-serving deflection.
The two teammates who actually knew what had happened kept their heads down, eyes fixed on the floor, saying nothing.
Having such an enormous blame dumped squarely on him, Wang Kai panicked.
"Me?! Everyone was there — everyone knows exactly what happened! What gives you the right to—"
"I said drop it!"
Zhang Yuhao's roar cut Wang Kai off completely.
Wang Kai stared at Zhang Yuhao, mouth open, unable to make a sound.
A torrent of barely-suppressed rage and disbelief churned inside him, rising and falling in waves.
For a moment, he didn't know what to do.
Then Zhang Yuhao took a few deep breaths and lowered his voice. "Wang Kai's right — since it's already happened, we need to figure out how to get the horn back. Don't spread this around for now. Everyone get ready, call in more people, reach out to players from other studios you know. Tomorrow night — meet at the fishing village!"
With that, Zhang Yuhao didn't spare Wang Kai so much as a glance. He turned and grabbed his jacket. "I'm going out to find help."
"Brother Hao…"
Wang Kai called after him, but it was no use. Zhang Yuhao walked straight out the door.
And just like that, there was no one left to set the record straight.
Wang Kai stood there, dazed and motionless, like a fish washed up on shore.
Someone behind him deliberately walked over and bumped hard into his shoulder, sending him stumbling sideways.
* * *
Azure world.
Chen Sui tucked the Mysterious Horn away, unable to suppress the grin spreading across his face. Gaming studios really did have access to incredible things.
Still, Ragetide-class… Chen Sui checked the official website. It was roughly what he'd expected — clearly not something achievable anytime soon.
"No rush."
Chen Sui glanced at the Red-Mantled Tide Crab in his hand. "This one I'll keep for now. It's a mutant, after all — it'll make a nice decoration in my fish tank."
With Wavecrest around, he had no worries about getting more Red-Mantled Tide Crabs.
"Let's just grind. If one Red-Mantled Tide Crab with a good talent sells for that much, why would I bother going to work?"
Chen Sui grinned to himself.
If there was money to be made, the obvious move was to grind hard.
He walked a bit further away, originally planning to find a quiet corner and summon all nine of his Fishfolk at once — bringing Wavecrest and the Red-Mantled Tide Crab along for a full sweep.
But the System reminded him: only one combat pet could be deployed at a time.
Chen Sui had no choice but to leave Wavecrest out and let it solo grind.
There were plenty of other creatures on the beach.
[Sea Blue Crab]
Quality: Poor
A common beach crab found everywhere. Its pinch really hurts.
[Swaying Sea Anemone]
Quality: Common
Talent: None
A sea anemone that lives in shallow coastal waters. It wraps around people's feet and drags them into the sea. Ordinary people should not approach.
[Red Starfish]
Quality: Poor
An ordinary red starfish. Doesn't taste good.
Looking at these pitiful stat panels, Chen Sui decided that grinding Red-Mantled Tide Crabs was still the most cost-effective option.
Wavecrest wore a blank expression, throwing punch after punch, rapidly farming the hapless Red-Mantled Tide Crabs.
A relentless series of crashes rang out across the beach.
Claws shattered. Shells cracked apart.
It was absolute hell for the crabs — and honestly, it was making Chen Sui hungry just watching.
"Let's have spicy crab tonight. I'm pretty sure crab season has started."
The roe and crab fat on these Red-Mantled Tide Crabs was so thick it looked delicious, and with their large frames, there had to be an enormous amount of meat inside.
"There should be chefs in this game. I'll have to check later if someone can cook these crabs for me."
Before long, Chen Sui had collected 7 [Red-Mantled Tide Crab Egg (Green)]s.
His fingers were itching. Chen Sui cracked them open right away.
[Red-Mantled Tide Crab]
Quality: Common
Talent: None
"It's fine if the first one is a dud…"
[Red-Mantled Tide Crab]
Quality: Common
Talent: None
"It's fine if the second one is a dud…"
"It's fine if the seventh one is a dud…"
Chen Sui's expression darkened. Never mind a good talent — he couldn't even roll one with any talent at all.
Lady Luck had smiled at him once, and then promptly died.
Apparently hatching that one mutant had burned through every last drop of his luck.
"Whatever. Duds are duds. I can still list each one online for a few hundred yuan — that's way faster than my old job ever paid."
Chen Sui shook his head helplessly and put the Red-Mantled Tide Crabs up for sale.
"Keep going, keep grinding."
Over the course of the entire afternoon, Chen Sui had roughly figured out the drop rate for the Strange Egg — around 25%.
He'd farmed a total of 29 Red-Mantled Tide Crab eggs, which he'd been deliberately saving up for one big satisfying batch opening.
The sky in the Azure world had grown dim. Through the transparent, crystalline indigo sky, distant stars glittered, and several planets of varying sizes were visible in their full forms, hanging in the heavens.
Mysterious creatures drifted between the clouds as if swimming through water — a breathtaking sight.
"Alright… that's about enough. My Inventory has nearly a hundred and fifty Red-Mantled Tide Crab carcasses. I need to head back to the fishing village and find the Sea Beast Salvage Dealer."
Chen Sui recalled Wavecrest and turned to walk toward the brightly lit fishing village.
A rich, savory aroma of fish broth drifted into his nose, and his stomach let out a loud growl of protest. "That's it, after I offload these materials I'm done grinding for now. I absolutely have to go eat crab. I can't hold out any longer."
That rich, golden crab roe. That springy, snow-white crab meat.
The images floated through Chen Sui's mind as he quickened his pace and stepped into the Salvage Dealer's shop.
"Welcome. Buyback price is seventy percent of market value."
The dealer's voice drifted out through the smell of fish. A middle-aged man sat amid a pile of fish and crab remains, cleaver in hand, not even looking up. "How many are you looking to sell?"
Chen Sui flicked his wrist and dumped the entire contents of his Inventory — every last Red-Mantled Tide Crab carcass — onto the open floor.
Crash——
A small mountain several meters high appeared on the ground. Chen Sui's voice came from behind it: "A hundred and twenty."
The dealer blinked. "How many, now?"
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Edited by Fat Goose