Chapter 68: Rescue

Hearing someone oppose him, Panda’s face immediately darkened with embarrassment.

He turned around and pointed his finger at a few people, scolding, “What do you guys mean by this?”

The swordsman, who seemed to be the leader of the opposing group, scoffed and stepped in front of Panda, sneering, “You just want to lick the feet of your rich buddy, don’t you? Always talking about Feng Ge like everyone’s supposed to know your little scheme!”

Panda’s expression instantly blackened at the slander. “Say that one more time, and I’ll kill you myself!”

“Oh? Someone’s got a temper! I’ll call you Bear Bro one last time—if you back off now, we might just let you off.”

The swordsman planted his double-edged sword into the ground, leaning on the hilt with one hand. As he spoke the words ‘we’ and ‘us,’ his supporters all stepped forward to stand beside him.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6… well, aside from the newly arrived priest and Panda, the other seven were all on the same side!

Zhang Cheng stood aside watching this scene with some amusement. Panda really had misjudged the situation—making friends with the wrong crowd.

But then he thought to himself with a wry smile: he too had misjudged Panda, once thinking the guy was pretty clever, but now realizing he was a fool inside.

The priest who had just joined glanced left and right, dumbfounded and unsure what to do.

On one side was a powerful gang of thugs. He didn’t want to stoop to their level, especially since Zhang Cheng had already bailed him out once.

But if he sided with Zhang Cheng, with just the two of them and the wyvern against seven opponents, his survival chances looked bleak.

Still, he reasoned, joining the thugs wouldn’t lead to a good outcome either. They had seven members sharing the spoils—why would they split the loot with an outsider?

Grinding his teeth, the priest moved closer to Zhang Cheng’s side.

“Well, well~ a priest with some guts, huh!” The swordsman pulled his greatsword out of the ground.

“If the three of you quit the dungeon now, I’ll pretend none of this ever happened.”

But it would be foolish to quit now. This was a team dungeon, and players in the same dungeon weren’t competitors. Just like in the Eternal World city, players who initiated PvP first would turn red-named, especially if they killed teammates—that carried even harsher penalties.

Besides, as long as they were still inside the dungeon, they belonged to the same team. To forcibly take equipment, the only method was rolling for it.

Their goal was “I want it all,” so even if the chance of getting the golden equipment was 7/10, or even 7/8, they wouldn’t risk it.

After waiting a while with no sign of the three backing down, the swordsman’s face darkened.

“Since you three don’t know what’s good for you, then accept your fate! Starting with this Bunny Lord!”

Zhang Cheng’s face also darkened. Though the Eternal server had been open less than a month, this nickname had long been a source of pain for him. Mentioning it only brought regret.

From Zhang Cheng’s perspective, although the opponent seemed to be targeting him, the real aim was Panda. He was willing to watch the fun unfold.

But now that they started aiming insults at him and gave him a humiliating nickname, Zhang Cheng was truly angry.

‘They only have one mage and one archer as ranged. I’ll take out those two and the priest first. With me flying on the wyvern, I’ll be invincible in the air.’

Zhang Cheng pondered silently as he drew his greatsword from his inventory.

Panda and the priest also prepared to strike, the tension between the two sides razor-sharp, ready to explode into battle.

Suddenly, a scream sounded beside him. Before Zhang Cheng could see the attacker, the priest next to him was already under attack!

Zhang Cheng whipped his head around and saw Panda holding a bloodstained flail.

Panda was still in the middle of a swing. The poor priest lay on the ground, his head split open, thick gore spilled onto the floor, and his body vanished into streaming light under Zhang Cheng’s gaze.

So ruthless! A killing blow—hit the head and instantly drained the health bar!

“Since you actually helped us out, I wasn’t going to make a move, but since you’re so stubborn and keep resisting, don’t blame me for being ruthless.”

Panda grinned viciously, slowly speaking.

While Zhang Cheng’s attention was fixed on Panda, an arrow suddenly flew from the crowd, grazing Zhang Cheng’s skin. He immediately entered combat mode, unable to log out.

“If you’d been sensible earlier and gave up that equipment, none of this would have happened.”

Seven of them surged forward, encircling Zhang Cheng and Panda. Panda wickedly pulled out a faintly glowing piece of paper and handed it to Zhang Cheng.

“Hand over your wyvern summoning item. Sign this transfer contract, and we’ll let you go, plus you can choose a few items from the loot just now. How’s that deal?”

A warrior standing nearby chimed in with a threatening tone, looking confident they had Zhang Cheng cornered. The group chuckled darkly.

“If you refuse, and we restrain you later, it’ll be a forced contract. You’ll lose an extra 5% experience and get nothing!”

Zhang Cheng’s expression turned furious, his eyes blazing with anger as he ground his teeth, about to retort, when a system notification sounded.

“10 minutes of post-battle equipment distribution time has ended. In 15 seconds, the main storyline will force start. Equipment distribution time is postponed and will reopen after the storyline ends. Countdown: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1……”

Everyone was stunned. The game had such a setting?

They were all riled up, ready to fight, and suddenly told to stop?

*****

Lu Qiuchen snapped back to reality, watching the reactions of the three teams. The other two teams celebrated after dividing the loot, then started watching the main storyline—or rather, the cutscene.

To be honest, Lu Qiuchen cared a bit about her acting performance. Though feeling somewhat embarrassed, watching it from a player’s perspective, she found her acting quite good!

Of course, she selectively ignored that the system had guided and forced her through the performance, with countless retakes in between, and that the system had overseen the final version. How could it be bad?

Though only a two-minute short, she felt that if she were still a man, she would definitely fall in love with this Dragon Lady!

It was a bit narcissistic to say, but this Dragon Lady really was beautiful!

Damn! She’d been so caught up in watching her own performance that she’d forgotten to interact with the players!

Lately, she felt she’d been forgetful and prone to strange moods.

Oh no, could it be that after turning into a dragon, her brain was getting dull too?

Although dragons in this world generally didn’t seem very intelligent, Odyn and the Dragon Kings were all wise… well, better not think about it!

Fortunately, many teams were still working through the dungeon.

… Hmm? That team just now had been stuck for almost 10 minutes without starting the storyline?

Zhang Cheng was still in that team—better not meet him now, wait for the next team instead, Lu Qiuchen thought, glancing at the screen.

Yeah, looks like a fight’s about to break out, and a priest already died… Are they threatening Zhang Cheng?

WC! You dare bully my former bestie?!

Anger flared suddenly in Lu Qiuchen’s heart. Although she now strangely disliked Zhang Cheng and avoided him, she would never stand idly by while he was being bullied!

“Just you wait, I’m coming to clean you up!”

Lu Qiuchen tapped on the screen, her spirit entering the dungeon where Panda’s group was located.

The storyline was starting; she was going to control that body and help Zhang Cheng regain the upper hand!

……

The tide of battle turned inside the dungeon. The opposing eight looked lost, while Zhang Cheng smiled faintly.

Last time with the silver dragon, the distance was far, but this dungeon space was so vast. Even if the silver dragon ignored him as before, he believed he could find more clues through careful observation!

The storyline began, and in an instant, they were back to the moment they’d just defeated the boss.

But now, only nine members remained in the party.

The young dragon’s lingering soul was defeated. With its painful roar, the last wisp of soul gradually dissipated.

At the center of the arena, a flash of silver light appeared, revealing a slender, curvaceous figure standing before the fading soul.

Her silver hair floated down gracefully as the teleportation ended, strands curling gently, falling softly behind her.

She wore a long dress woven from white and pale blue threads, layered with lace, making her look like a blooming flower.

A small hat adorned with a silver-gray floral ribbon added a touch of elegance.

A silver-white fine tail swayed gently behind her, not detracting from her refined beauty.

She extended her hands, clad in white gloves edged with silver stripes, gently cradling the fading young dragon’s soul.

As a soft light radiated from her hands, the soul ceased its screams, shrinking from black smoke into a white orb about the size of a fist. It floated up and settled on her hat, sticking to the silver-gray ribbon.

After finishing, the figure slowly turned around, revealing a lovely face.

But her pupils had already turned crimson, radiating an intense pressure.

No one, including Zhang Cheng, could have guessed the ending from the beginning.

The elegant, fresh-looking beauty suddenly pulled out a spherical orb the size of an egg.

No one knew what she intended, but all were suppressed by the dragon’s aura, unable to move, forced to watch the Dragon Lady’s performance.

She summoned a shard of sharp ice, hesitated briefly, and finally stabbed it into her exposed pale shoulder.

Blood gushed out but healed quickly. The Dragon Lady quickly caught the blood with the orb, an excited expression spreading across her face.

By now, the opposing nine were completely baffled by her absurd behavior.