Chapter 116: The Beginning of the Plan

Five minutes later.

Lu Kuan bid farewell to Paradise Eternal Gloom and Old Zhou, then deposited the 5,000 gold coins he had just earned into the bank.

Paradise Eternal Gloom needed some time to reconsider, because the recipe adjustments for strengthening equipment varied depending on the item's tier. Naturally, he had to choose the equipment that offered the greatest benefits and the longest possible durability.

In truth, the most crucial item was the Black Iron Hammer. Without it, all the recipe tweaks and forging secrets would be useless. Equipment like the Black Iron Hammer acted like a key, opening the mysterious door of forging for players.

Lu Kuan continued crafting his insanely spicy chili sauce and completed about 100 portions before midnight. He listed each batch for sale at 20 silver coins apiece in the auction house.

During this time, Lu Kuan received a system notification: the number of pets tamed by players had surpassed one million, triggering the activation of the pet leaderboard.

Lu Kuan immediately opened the pet rankings, selecting the "worldwide" scope, and scanned the top few entries.

Ranked first was an A-grade mutated Shadow Leopard. Both the pet and its owner’s information were kept confidential; the only visible detail was the pet’s location somewhere on the European map.

"Shadow Leopard, huh," Lu Kuan mused. If memory served, Shadow Leopards were unique to the underground world, and mutated versions were typically descendants of boss-level Shadow Leopards.

Could these Europeans be stealthily exploring the Dark Regions?

The second and third spots belonged to an A-grade mutated Mountain Rhino and a Sky-Cracking Roc, respectively—both A-grade pets. The rest were B+ and B-grade creatures, which Lu Kuan found uninteresting and quickly closed the leaderboard.

“Even the best are only A-grade,” he remarked, stroking his chin out of habit. Though many players had tamed pets, including some exquisite ones, Lu Kuan felt no urgency.

At this stage, no one had reached level 20, and pets were mostly ornamental rather than practical. As long as he followed his plan step by step, Lu Kuan was confident he wouldn’t fall behind others.

When the day’s game time ended, Lu Kuan returned to reality and went straight to bed to rest and recharge.

The following day, Lu Kuan didn’t leave the house. After a nap to regain energy, he spent the rest of his time bent over his writing desk.

His first task was to recall the equipment enhancement formulas buried deep in his memory—to remember them as completely and accurately as possible, then write them down.

The second was to prepare for tonight’s operation, drafting a detailed action plan. If tonight’s plan succeeded and he sold the treasure, all the money he had earned before would seem like mere pocket change.

In the afternoon, Dai Guang called Lu Kuan for a forty-minute conversation.

“Old Lu, you wouldn’t believe how interesting Clearwater Village is! There’s even a quest to rescue little saber-toothed tigers. Akui got urinated on by one of those little tigers, haha!”

“That explosive staff Akui wields is incredible. When fighting a horde of monsters, the staff’s special effects are literally mind-blowing! I just saw her wave it lightly, and then crackling noises filled the air like fireworks…”

“And get this, Akui talks a lot like one of my cousins…”

“Stop, stop,” Lu Kuan interrupted after listening to Dai Guang ramble for ten minutes, smiling. “Cut to the chase—do you have a crush on Akui?”

Dai Guang was momentarily stunned, then nervously admitted, “You can tell? I thought I was being subtle…”

Lu Kuan almost spat out his saliva, laughing helplessly. “Subtle my foot—you might as well have written ‘I like you’ on your forehead.”

“I’m not into her like that, I just think she’s a nice person, with a great personality, and she’s cheerful…” Dai Guang hummed twice before starting to babble again.

“Alright, alright, I get it,” Lu Kuan said, tired of the back-and-forth. “If you want to chase her, go for it. No one can stop you from dating now.”

“Really? I can?” Dai Guang immediately perked up. “Old Lu, do you think I have a chance?”

Lu Kuan was speechless. “Of course you do. As long as you’re shameless enough, your chances are huge.”

Just as Dai Guang was about to ask more, Lu Kuan cut the call and sighed deeply.

Good grief, this kid is definitely in the throes of first love...

He had no idea what Akui was like in reality or what her situation was, but whatever—after finishing high school, everyone was bound to have a passionate romance waiting. Success or failure didn’t matter.

That evening, Lu Kuan logged into the game immediately as usual.

He first used up all the chili sauce ingredients, then made over 300 more portions of seasoning, and spent the remaining time practicing alchemy.

As dawn broke in the east, Lu Kuan left the Alchemy Hall, stowing his purple-grade gear and unnecessary items in the bank. He took only two short swords, several blue-grade agility-boosting pieces, an invisibility cloak, and some essential potions.

Next, he visited the general store and bought stacks of grass paper, priced at one copper coin per bundle.

Yes, grass paper—the kind frequently used by the native inhabitants of Lava Fortress in their daily lives.

Seeing his two backpacks stuffed full of grass paper, leaving only three free slots, Lu Kuan nodded in satisfaction. Without pause, he hurried to the stagecoach station outside the city gates and took a carriage bound for Clearwater Village.

Upon arriving at the village entrance, Lu Kuan’s eyes brightened at the familiar yet strange sight before him.

The original wooden palisades surrounding the village had been partially replaced by towering stone walls, while construction on the remaining sections was ongoing. Both NPCs and players were busy at work, creating a scene bustling with activity.

Facing the lake, Clearwater Village had also erected many defensive structures, most notably small chevaux-de-frise and wide trenches.

“The players’ enthusiasm is truly unstoppable. They’ve pushed the storyline this far already?” Lu Kuan marveled.

Entering the village, Lu Kuan immediately headed to the clinic where Old Blind Man was recovering.

Outside the clinic, the massive Lightning lay quietly under the shade of a tree, eyes half-closed in a nap. But saber-toothed tigers had incredibly sharp hearing; just by the sound of footsteps, Lightning recognized Lu Kuan’s presence.

A low growl sounded.

Suddenly, a blur flashed, and within tens of meters, the saber-toothed tiger was right in front of Lu Kuan. Nearby players gasped in unison at the speed.

Lu Kuan stood still, waiting for Lightning to rush over, then abruptly brake and nudge him over with its large head, affectionately sniffing around him.

The tiger’s stiff whiskers tickled Lu Kuan, making him laugh heartily. But their level difference was too great; a mere touch from Lightning caused a damage number of “-10” to pop above Lu Kuan’s head, leaving him amused and exasperated.