Chapter 46: Light After Darkness

After a busy afternoon, everything was finally in order.

When his mother returned in the evening, she scolded Lu Kuan harshly for being extravagant and spending money carelessly. He took several knocks to the head, but thankfully his father intervened. Now that everything was installed and paid for, what could be done? Seeing Lu Kuan laughing and hiding from afar, his mother was so angry she stamped her feet.

“Let him spend his money if he wants; he earned it. Must he be a miser like us? We’ve saved all our lives and we’re still poor, aren’t we?”

His father pulled his mother aside and patiently persuaded her. “I think Xiao Kuan is becoming more independent. He’s a young man; this is how he should be.”

Hearing this, his mother’s anger gradually faded. Lu Kuan, seeing this from a distance, darted back into the house, and at the doorway secretly waved his cigarette box at his father. His father glanced over and, with his back to Lu Kuan, quietly gave a thumbs up.

Night descended.

This time, Lu Kuan arrived at the internet café early, entered the game’s standby interface, and waited patiently. When the time came, flashes of light and shadow danced before his eyes, lines of alphanumeric code rapidly scrolled, constructing a scene of a dark cavern.

The bonfire crackled and burned. Twenty hours had passed in the real world, but in the game it was only an instant.

Lu Kuan first checked on Ah Tang, who was fast asleep—the boy’s condition was good, nothing was amiss. Then Lu Kuan sat by the bonfire and opened the ever-blinking system menu.

At the very top of the menu, a ranking board had indeed appeared.

The rankings were divided into equipment and combat power, with more detailed subcategories below. For example, the equipment ranking was split into weapons, armor, rare items, and special tools, alongside meticulous regional classifications.

Lu Kuan selected “All Equipment - Lava Fortress Region,” and a list of twenty equipment names instantly appeared, with the top spot proudly occupied by the “Valentier, Ranger’s Oath” in his possession!

Second place was the world-drop purple bracer “Scorching Flame’s Lament,” while the rest were all blue-grade items. Notably, the shield Lu Kuan had rented to Qing Yi, “Demon Guardian,” had made it onto the list, holding the last spot.

He then expanded the range to the Northern Empire, Eastern Continent, and the entire world. Ranger’s Oath remained firmly at the top, filling Lu Kuan with satisfaction.

No wonder this core purple equipment had proven itself in his previous life—the system’s evaluation was indeed different. Clearly, he must find a way to upgrade this ring someday.

Lu Kuan then opened the character combat power rankings. Naturally, he was first in the Lava Fortress region, with a combat score of 215—over a hundred points higher than second place.

Expanding the regional scope, Lu Kuan’s name quickly dropped out of sight. He couldn’t even be found in the top five hundred of the Northern Empire.

It made sense, really. Leaders of major guilds, or tycoons like Qian Duoduo, could easily break 300 in combat power if they wore two purple items. Lu Kuan’s score couldn’t compete.

Even so, Lu Kuan was quite satisfied. He had built everything from scratch, relying on his own abilities to accumulate strength. Those others had guilds and resources backing them, but Lu Kuan hadn’t fallen far behind.

After admiring himself for a moment, he closed the rankings and set both lists to anonymous—because in just a few minutes online, he’d received over ten thousand private messages and call requests.

“Thank goodness for the block-unknown-messages feature…” Lu Kuan wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, thinking to himself.

Messages from strangers could be ignored, but friends’ messages could not. As soon as he logged in, before he even warmed his seat, Lao Lan’s call request came through.

“You’re online early today~” Lu Kuan said with a smile.

Lao Lan’s hearty voice rang out: “Ha, the early bird catches the worm! By the way, Lao Lu, I heard from a friend that you had a bit of trouble with the people from Supreme Heaven?”

Lu Kuan raised an eyebrow, admiring the professional merchant’s knack for information. “More or less. Why?”

“Those Supreme Heaven folks always act so aloof. I’ve never liked them. If I’d been there, I would have given them a piece of my mind.”

With a tone of shared indignation, Lao Lan made his stance clear, before chuckling and saying, “I heard you want to trade a quest item with them? Mind letting me in on the details? I happen to have some good intel on items myself.”

Lu Kuan smiled, knowing Lao Lan wouldn’t beat around the bush without a motive.

“Yes, it’s a profession quest item, quite rare.” Lu Kuan replied succinctly.

“How rare?” Lao Lan pressed eagerly, refusing to let the matter drop.

Lu Kuan frowned slightly. Normally, Lao Lan wasn’t so nosy; this wasn’t his style. That sudden urgency made Lu Kuan suspect something. “Why, do you have a lead?”

Lao Lan chuckled. “You might not believe it, but I really might have a lead. I have a few friends abroad—their guild’s elite squad explored a B-grade treasure site and found a mysterious ranger item. It could be the same kind as yours.”

Lu Kuan’s heart leapt—could fortune finally be turning? He’d thought that “Lost Prosthesis” would forever slumber in the bank, but now there was hope!

“Then, Lao Lan, I’ll trouble you to get in touch for me. If it’s truly what I need, we can arrange a real-world transaction.”

Lu Kuan responded decisively, adding, “Naturally, your brokerage fee won’t be overlooked—name your price~”

Before Lao Lan could say anything, Lu Kuan had voiced everything on his mind. Lao Lan laughed awkwardly, then said, “Great, I like your straightforwardness, Lao Lu! I’ll get in touch first, we’ll talk about the fee later.”

“No problem,” Lu Kuan agreed.

Hanging up, Lu Kuan exhaled in relief. The Ranger’s Awakening Quest—he’d only heard of it in his previous life. Twenty percent range increase; for a ranger, it was like a dream.

Composing himself, Lu Kuan returned his focus to the present. Now finally with time to sit down, he drew his short sword and took off his hunting bow, carefully polishing them with linen.

After a while, a white light flashed from the neighboring tent—someone was logging in.

Rustling sounds came from inside, and soon Qing Yi lifted the tent flap and stepped out.

“You’re here early~” Lu Kuan greeted with a smile.

Qing Yi nodded slightly, paused in front of the tent, then came to the bonfire and sat down. “I’ve got enough stamina. Two people keeping watch is… safer.”

“Alright, thanks for your help,” Lu Kuan agreed.

Silence settled; Qing Yi was taciturn, and Lu Kuan wasn’t good at small talk, so he simply focused on maintaining his weapons.

After a moment, Qing Yi asked, “By the way, about the treasure Ah Tang mentioned earlier… do you think it’s credible?”