Chapter 122: Confrontation Mission

Qian Duoduo was not alone; he was flanked by three young women. They were all dressed in starter gear—short-sleeved tops and shorts—that perfectly accentuated their sultry appeal, causing passersby to turn their heads again and again.

"Hey! Master, Master! Over here!"

Qian Duoduo spotted Lu Kuan and began waving and jumping, as if afraid Lu Kuan might miss him. Lu Kuan shook his head in silence and walked over.

Only then did Lu Kuan notice that Qian Duoduo had upgraded his gear significantly. The belt he was wearing was clearly no ordinary item; it was likely a piece of purple-tier equipment, a testament to his status as a wealthy player.

"See this? This is exactly who I was telling you about—the top expert in Lava Fortress!" Qian Duoduo patted Lu Kuan on the shoulder while introducing him to the three attractive young women by his side.

The three girls eyed Lu Kuan with curiosity, clearly unimpressed. They looked at each other as if to say: *Who is this? He looks average, his height is average, and his gear doesn't even have a color grade. Is this really an expert?*

Qian Duoduo noticed their expressions and scoffed dismissively, "Forget it, your eyes aren't sharp enough to tell anyway."

The three girls didn't seem embarrassed at all; instead, they offered sweet smiles, as if being scolded by Qian Duoduo was a great honor.

Qian Duoduo curled his lip and shook his head, then turned to Lu Kuan with unconcealed impatience. "The item? Where is it?"

Lu Kuan smiled helplessly. "You want to look at it here? This is a pet worth hundreds of thousands, you know. Let’s find somewhere more private."

"Oh, Master, don't take this the wrong way—I’m not trying to show off—but I’ve spent over a million just on streamers this month. This amount is nothing!"

Qian Duoduo looked quite smug, urging, "Let me see it, quickly now."

What else could Lu Kuan say? He couldn't fathom the world of the ultra-rich. He simply sent a trade request to Qian Duoduo and placed the pet egg in the trade window, allowing him to inspect it closely.

"Hahaha! When a master makes a move, it’s truly extraordinary!"

Seeing the purple-named egg with A+ quality, Qian Duoduo was filled with excitement and satisfaction. "Based on these stats, how does 800,000 sound?"

Lu Kuan was surprised; that was a very precise valuation. It seemed that Qian Duoduo’s boisterous, flashy persona was just a facade, and he was actually quite sharp when it came to business.

Lu Kuan didn't show his surprise. Instead, he suggested the same 50/30/50 payment structure he had used before—a method that ensured he wouldn't lose out while keeping the risk low.

"Forget the installments. Games are meant to be played with a bit of flair, let's not haggle," Qian Duoduo said after a brief moment of thought. "1.3 million it is. I’ll take it as an investment in our friendship—I trust your judgment."

Lu Kuan had no objections to that. Only a fool would turn down extra money. Moreover, he was confident that this transaction wouldn't leave Qian Duoduo or Heaven’s Eternal Gloom disappointed. He was 100% certain that both pets would hatch with four innate skills and a high probability of mutation. The logic was simple: a boss-dropped item is always top-tier.

These two were future high-end clients. As this was his first major trade, Lu Kuan was determined to establish his reputation for "high quality and reliability."

Qian Duoduo kept staring at the egg in his inventory, his excitement plain to see. "Haha! Once this little thing hatches, won't it be incredibly cool to ride around? Just thinking about it makes me feel like a stud."

Lu Kuan watched the system notifications, seeing the extra string of zeros in his account, and couldn't help but smile. For the wealthy, this was just an ordinary transaction, but for him, it was deeply significant. He had finally proven that by reaching the "elite" level of play, one could make serious money in the game, far beyond mere small-time gains.

"Oh, right, Old Lu, this pet is probably super rare, right? Does it look cool?" Qian Duoduo asked, clearly very concerned about the aesthetics.

Lu Kuan laughed. "Of course. It can fly. While it won't soar through the skies like a bird-type pet, reaching a height of several dozen meters shouldn't be a problem."

"Good! Haha, just the 'cool' factor alone is worth the price!"

Qian Duoduo nodded in satisfaction and said to Lu Kuan, "I won't take up any more of your time then. I'm off to hatch this egg!"

After bidding farewell, Qian Duoduo hurried off toward the stables with his three companions.

Lu Kuan suddenly found himself with free time. Exhausted by his long journey, he headed to an inn to grab some food and recover his stamina. During this operation, any random wild monster could have killed him; he had truly been walking on the edge of a blade.

According to his initial estimates, he would have been satisfied even if he had died three times to secure the egg. He hadn't expected to be so lucky as to succeed on the first try.

However, this was a one-time deal. Since the Flame Wyvern boss had been robbed, it would surely guard its nest closely from now on, making another attempt impossible. Besides, as far as Lu Kuan could recall, the Flame Wyvern was the only boss whose egg could be stolen using this method. It was only by a stroke of luck that he had obtained the Cloak of Invisibility, which gave him a narrow window of opportunity.

"But compared to the S+-tier pet egg I plan to get in the future, this is just a drop in the bucket..." Lu Kuan thought to himself. Every time he considered the challenging mission ahead, he couldn't help but feel a rush of excitement.

He then sent a message to Dai Guang to join his party and chatted about the situation with the Qingshui Fortress quest.

As the situation grew increasingly tense, more combat missions had appeared around Qingshui Fortress, attracting a large number of players. However, nobody knew when it started, but a group of players had appeared on the Banyan Grasslands, engaging in malicious player-killing and specifically targeting those trying to farm reputation for the fortress. Their gear and skills were top-tier, and ordinary players were no match for them.

"Malicious PK? Shouldn't they have turned red-named? Do you know their names?" Lu Kuan asked, feeling surprised.

Dai Guang’s voice was full of confusion. "That’s the strange part! They don't turn red-named after killing people, and there are no system notifications revealing the attacker’s identity. It’s made everyone miserable; many newcomers have already been forced back to Lava Fortress."

Lu Kuan frowned slightly, a possibility forming in his mind.

"I think it's possible someone accepted a quest for the opposing faction to sabotage the defenses of Qingshui Fortress," Lu Kuan cautioned.

"Opposing faction?"

Bai Keke’s sweet, delicate voice chimed in, sounding puzzled. "Do you mean the Murlocs? Who would even take quests from them..."

Lu Kuan thought to himself that plenty of people would. The Murloc quests were rare, high-difficulty, high-reward, and limited in number—likely the first set of quests in the game that required players to actively oppose one another.

"It doesn't matter. They shouldn't be able to affect the big picture," Lu Kuan said after a moment of thought. "Just be careful. Don't let yourselves get ambushed. Losing a level will only hinder your progress on the quest."