Lu Ming stepped into the Death Cave.
In the midst of the dark land, a general clad in golden armor, with a king's cape draped over his back and an emperor's crown on his head, sat silently on a throne.
"Who dares to disturb my peace!"
[Death Ruler Vilia] descended from the high throne, wielding a heavy sword, and approached Lu Ming and Niu Dehua menacingly.
The powerful aura from the level 19 bronze-tier BOSS forced Niu Dehua to retreat far to the back.
He didn't care about Lu Ming's fate; if things went south, he'd run without hesitation.
Lu Ming was left alone, facing the BOSS.
[Death Ruler Vilia] (Physical Type · Bronze-tier BOSS)
[Level: 19]
[Physical Attack: 620]
[Armor: 315]
[Magic Resistance: 260]
[Speed: 222]
[Health Points: 65280/81000]
[Skills: Death Stomp (E), Deadly Pressure (E), Death Execute (E)...]
[Description: The ruler of death, Vilia will lead you to your demise. Are you ready to face death...]
Even players from Tianxuan, ranked eighth in the national team rankings, tried twice and only managed to chip away a fifth of the BOSS's health.
Clearly, this bronze-tier BOSS was far beyond the current level of ordinary players!
"Prepare to die, mortal. I will lead you into the ranks of the death legion!"
With that, the BOSS charged at Lu Ming with the heavy sword.
Lu Ming stood his ground, calm in the face of danger.
Swish!
Sword Draw—
-5989!
[Ding~ Sword Draw skill effect triggered, attack power +200%, lasts for 200 seconds!]
In the next moment, under Lu Ming's command, dozens of Undead Warriors tore through space, appearing around the BOSS.
War Tread—
"Attack."
With a thought from Lu Ming.
Dozens of Undead Warriors simultaneously launched [Soul Shatter] at the BOSS.
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Swish, swish, swish, swish!
-3794!
-3794!
-3794!
...
In an instant, the BOSS's health bar, over 70% full, was depleted.
[Ding~ Killed level 19 bronze BOSS Death Ruler Vilia, experience points +50000!]
Lu Ming was aware of the team rules: help the employer complete the kill task, and regardless of whether the loot is gold or scrap, all spoils belong to the employer, with the team only charging a commission.
Moreover, this BOSS, which had been pushed countless times by previous players, was already worthless without Lin Youwei's drop rate bonus, yielding nothing valuable.
So, without a hint of attachment, Lu Ming instantly killed the BOSS, recalled the Undead Warriors, and turned to leave nonchalantly.
Watching the BOSS's body fall in a second, and then seeing Lu Ming walk past him casually, Niu Dehua's mouth hung open wide enough to fit a durian.
Meanwhile, outside the Death Cave.
Players from both God Slayer and Tianxuan were silent, watching Lu Ming emerge unscathed from the cave.
Even though they had anticipated this outcome, Tianxuan·Eternal and his team were still deeply shocked.
At this moment, Qing Yan smiled at Lu Ming and said, "The commission from the employer this time is fifty thousand. According to the team's rules, the member responsible for completing the task gets a 50% commission cut. Twenty-five thousand has been credited to your salary account for this month!"
"Okay," Lu Ming replied, "Is there anything else?"
"No, that's all," Qing Yan said. "It's late, you should head back and rest!"
With that, Lu Ming left directly.
This left God Slayer, Moon completely baffled by Lu Ming.
"Why is this happening?"
Watching Lu Ming's departing figure, God Slayer, Moon's eyes were filled with confusion. "Why would he rather take Tianxuan's twenty thousand than accept the million I offered?"
"Does he want money or not?"
While God Slayer, Moon's confidence was shaken, and she found Lu Ming increasingly unfathomable.
Across from her, Qing Yan waved and smiled, "We're leaving now, see you next time, bye-bye!"
Seeing Qing Yan's gloating expression, God Slayer, Moon stomped her feet in frustration.
On the other side.
On the way back to Starlight City, Tianxuan·Eternal asked Qing Yan, "How did you know Nether wouldn't accept her offer before?"
Qing Yan smiled and said, "He needs money, but he's not someone who would easily bow down for it!"
"So, you can't just give him money like charity; it's an insult to him. What he needs is money earned through his own skills!"
This simple statement enlightened Tianxuan·Eternal.
It also made him look at his usually unreliable sister with newfound respect: "Wow, Yan Yan, I didn't expect you to be so perceptive!"
"Uh-huh~ Now you know how awesome your sister is!"
"Yeah, you're amazing!"
...
On the way back to Starlight City, Lu Ming felt a bit down.
Every time he saw God Slayer, Moon, it was as if he saw the shadow of the person who had caused his death.
He was eager to take revenge on every enemy immediately.
Yet he missed the chance again and again.
"God Slayer, Moon is too well-protected. How can I find a way to get her alone?"
If it were just God Slayer, Moon, Lu Ming wouldn't have such a strong desire for revenge, as it was her brother who had caused his death, not her.
Lu Ming's real goal was to use God Slayer, Moon as a hostage to lure out her brother, achieving two goals with one move!
Otherwise, Lu Ming would have to wait until his level reached at least 150 to have the strength to take revenge on her brother and Ye Ling'er, that bitch couple.
But just imagining the scene of that couple drinking and reveling night after night made Lu Ming want to kill them immediately!
So, Lu Ming couldn't wait that long.
And God Slayer, Moon was the perfect entry point for Lu Ming's plan to take revenge early!
"I must find a way to seize this opportunity!"
Lu Ming returned to Starlight City, logging off at one in the morning.
Through the window, he could see the night market street outside the community was still bustling.
Lu Ming planned to go downstairs for a late-night snack, have a drink, and wash away the irritation caused by Ye Ling'er.
Thinking it over, Lu Ming decided to invite Lin Youwei along.
After all, they had just moved into a new home today, and overall, they had made quite a bit of money in Sky Abyss, so it was a good reason to celebrate and reward themselves!
So, Lu Ming went to Lin Youwei's room and knocked on the door, but there was no response for a long time.
Lu Ming picked up his phone and opened WeChat to send Lin Youwei a message.
But he found several unread messages from Lin Youwei sent over twenty minutes ago.
One of them was a transfer message, amounting to 287.25 yuan.
Below, Lin Youwei said: "Nether brother, thank you for not minding me and helping me level up. I will work hard to earn money and pay you back! And I'll also pay you the rent!"
Lu Ming was taken aback.
He had thought Lin Youwei was a little money-grubber, but he didn't expect that tonight she had been killing monsters and collecting copper coins and Soul Stones to sell for money to repay him!
And this transfer could have been 287 or 280.
But it was precisely 287.25!
This meant she had transferred all the money from her wallet to Lu Ming, leaving nothing for herself!
Lu Ming couldn't help but sigh, "It's a good thing you met me. If it were someone else, they'd sell you, and you'd still be counting money for them..."
Lu Ming accepted Lin Youwei's transfer.
He had only heard before that: when men have money, they become bad.
But later, Ye Ling'er made him understand: when women have money, they also become bad.
So, he couldn't let Lin Youwei have too much money.
He needed to let Lin Youwei see hope, but also keep her constantly aware of one thing: without Lu Ming, she couldn't survive on her own!
Lu Ming sent Lin Youwei a message: "Going downstairs for a late-night snack, wanna join?"
Lin Youwei didn't reply, and there was no movement from her room.
Lu Ming knocked on the door again, but there was still no response.
He pushed the door open, and it swung open easily.
Turning on the light, he found the room empty!
Strange.
"Didn't she return to the city before I went to the Death Cave?"
"Logically, she should have logged off by now..."
At the very least, WeChat and player accounts are interconnected, so even if Lin Youwei was online, she should have received his message.
But after a long time, the chat box still showed the message as unread!
At that moment, Lu Ming suddenly realized something was wrong.
He immediately returned to his room and logged into Sky Abyss.
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