The black-robed Elementalist was level 33, a figure who would rank among the top twenty on the Star Moon Kingdom's Level Honor Roll. His equipment was, needless to say, exceptional—over half of his gear was of Gold-grade quality at level 30, and the rest was Dark Gold rank. The staff in his hand was etched with numerous crimson runes; it was far from an ordinary Dark Gold weapon.
"Yao Chen!" Lie Sandao exclaimed in surprise when the black-robed Elementalist stepped forward. "What are you doing here?"
Among the top ten names on the Star Moon Kingdom's Red Name Ranking, Xue Wuhen held the seventh position.
And Yao Chen ranked even higher—at third.
The Red Name Ranking was nothing like the Level Ranking. It was arranged entirely based on actual combat strength, making it far more accurate than the Storm Experts Ranking.
"So you're Yao Chen, the one who defeated Chi Yu, the Star River Alliance's top expert." Beifeng Diaodi looked at Yao Chen with newfound wariness and said coldly, "Are you here to take on Zero Wing as well?"
Chi Yu was one of the Star River Alliance's strongest fighters, listed among the top experts on the Storm Experts Ranking.
To defeat someone of Chi Yu's caliber meant your strength placed you among the very best in the entire Star Moon Kingdom. Even Beifeng Diaodi couldn't afford to let his guard down—a moment's carelessness could cost him his life.
"I originally just wanted to make a little easy money, but that doesn't seem possible anymore," Yao Chen said, glancing at a spot not far beside Beifeng Diaodi and shaking his head. "Zero Wing really does live up to its reputation—experts are everywhere."
Lie Sandao was thoroughly confused.
With Yao Chen's strength and so many companions by his side, taking down Beifeng Diaodi in short order should have been no problem. Yet he was actually backing down now.
At that moment, a figure materialized beside Beifeng Diaodi.
It was Fei Ying, who had been lurking in stealth nearby all along.
"This guy is incredible. He detected me from this far away." Fei Ying was inwardly shocked. At his level, the only people in the guild who could spot him from this distance were Guild Leader Shi Feng, and maybe Huo Wu and Ziyan Liuyun. That said a lot about Yao Chen's real strength.
"You didn't step out just to say this whole thing is water under the bridge, did you?" Fei Ying said, fixing Yao Chen with a hard stare.
Yao Chen and his group had come after Zero Wing from the start. Finding out the target wasn't easy, they decided to walk away? That was treating Zero Wing far too lightly.
"Of course not," Yao Chen replied calmly. "I have some information that would be very useful to Zero Wing. Consider it compensation—how about that?"
"What information?" Fei Ying asked.
"Right now, the ones attacking your guild are red-name players and small studios, but this is just the beginning. I hear the mastermind behind it all has hired the Flower of Seven Sins to target Zero Wing specifically." Yao Chen spoke in a measured tone.
The moment the others heard "Flower of Seven Sins," they drew in a sharp breath.
The virtual gaming world was home to many kinds of organizations—guilds, studios, and also a number of unusual outfits, the Flower of Seven Sins among them.
The Flower of Seven Sins was neither a guild nor a studio, but its reputation echoed across the entire virtual gaming world.
The reason it was so famous was that the Flower of Seven Sins dealt exclusively in assassination work.
This meant assassinating players in-game.
As long as a virtual game had a PvP system, the Flower of Seven Sins operated in it. If a client paid enough, it didn't matter whether the target was a monster-like expert or the president of a super guild—the Flower of Seven Sins could get the job done.
This wasn't mere talk. There had been a case in the past where someone paid to have a super guild's president killed, and the Flower of Seven Sins successfully completed the contract. The super guild was furious and declared all-out war against the Flower of Seven Sins, but in the end, the super guild ceased to exist. The Flower of Seven Sins had slaughtered them down to the last member, and the guild vanished from the virtual gaming world entirely.