Chapter 158: He Suddenly Feels a Little Heart Flutter
Translated by Karai of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
Editor: Addis
Nothing happened in the team.
ClearWind switched to the Vicinity voice chat and said, “Why aren’t they speaking?”
ScarletFruit couldn’t help but give ClearWind a nudge. “Hey, you big head, don’t expect them to respond.”
After a brief “What a coincidence,” there was no further conversation. The three of them, adhering to the principle that silence is golden, switched to the Vicinity channel and took turns expressing their shock.
“How did they end up in the same team!? Isn’t it more awkward if I don’t say anything? Nobody in the team is talking.”
ClearWind, looking bewildered, said, “I was scared out of my wits when I joined. Not saying a few words to ease the atmosphere really made it awkward.”
ZenSlasher politely suggested, “Should we leave the team?”
“Leave the team? No way, we’re not leaving. Is there anything we can’t say in front of us?” ScarletFruit glanced at the friend list. “It’s not right for Brother Wanderer to log off and immediately team up with someone else… One second he was chatting with someone, and the next second he seamlessly switched to another person. In the game, this is definitely worth 818 coverage.”
ClearWind said, “ReturnToSimplicity didn’t even respond to me. So cold.”
ScarletFruit said, “They definitely have something going on.”
ZenSlasher said, “Have you guys read too much fan fiction? Should we leave the team to cool off?”
ScarletFruit replied coldly, “ZenSlasher, you don’t understand. If there’s something going on, shouldn’t it be discussed in the team? Friend mail is so convenient…” He continued, “I’m not leaving the team. I have a feeling that ReturnToSimplicity coming here must mean something. I’ve heard that he gets along well with CloudTraveller’s people. Maybe he even knows BrokenOracle… I’m starting to develop a conspiracy theory.”
ClearWind said, “Now that you mention it, it’s quite terrifying to think about. Could he be here to gather intelligence?”
ZenSlasher, recalling her past experiences and getting caught up in ScarletFruit’s logic, said, “When I was in Temple of the Gods, sometimes they would send undercover agents before guild battles to gather intelligence, check defenses, or figure out the number of people… But since Ren Xiaoyao’s guild is quite upright, they probably wouldn’t do such a thing, right?”
ScarletFruit became even more determined, “No, I need to stay alert. I can’t let Big Brother be deceived.”
ClearWind said, “Fruit, if you don’t stay alert, it’ll be hard to spot anything in person later. ReturnToSimplicity and Big Brother are still neighbors.”
During their brief exchange, ReturnToSimplicity spoke.
“Are you still at the warehouse? I’ll teleport over,” ReturnToSimplicity asked.
Momo replied, “Yes, and check if you have any Fireflies. I’m out of Fireflies in my warehouse too.”
ReturnToSimplicity said, “I have some here.”
ScarletFruit couldn’t help but comment, “Brother, I also have Fireflies.”
Momo said, “It’s fine. You keep yours for practice. His warehouse has plenty.”
ScarletFruit went to ClearWind and said, “My brother has changed. He’d rather take ReturnToSimplicity’s Fireflies than mine.”
ClearWind was speechless.
ZenSlasher was speechless.
Both were at the warehouse entrance, so checking materials was easy.
Soon, ReturnToSimplicity handed over a lot of materials to Momo. The two of them exchanged messages in the team chat with ease, and the other three members in the team were unaffected by their conversation. ScarletFruit tried several times to join the chat but couldn’t get in. He only knew that they were gathering materials to refine equipment and nothing else.
And their way of communicating seemed very familiar, suggesting they must have known each other for a long time… just like how Momo interacted with UnchainedWanderer.
“Wait, I just realized something,” ScarletFruit suddenly said, “Brother Wanderer just logged off, so that means the three of them must have just formed a team???”
ClearWind was silent for a moment. “Could this be the infamous battleground?”
Sharp-eyed teammates had already guessed the battleground scenario, and ZenSlasher, overhearing the other two’s conversation in the team chat, couldn’t help but speak up, “Have you noticed something?”
She listened carefully and then added, “The way ReturnToSimplicity talks is very similar to UnchainedWanderer.”
ClearWind said, “…Holy crap, is this some kind of stand-in literature?”
ZenSlasher didn’t follow his teammates’ line of thought. “What? Stand-in literature?”
ScarletFruit exclaimed, “!!! Exactly! I can’t refute that.”
ZenSlasher felt his teammates were dragging him into strange ideas. These two had been browsing the forums too much lately, always bringing up bizarre topics. She immediately said, “Don’t you think ReturnToSimplicity is a bit like UnchainedWonderer?”
ClearWind added, “Stand-in battleground literature, how dramatic.”
“I suddenly…” ScarletFruit began to react, “The more I listen, the more it sounds like ReturnToSimplicity is actually my Brother Wanderer… Wait, could it really be Brother Wanderer?”
In just a few minutes, their attitudes had become somewhat awkward.
Upon closer inspection, it did seem quite similar…
ClearWind said, “It really does seem like it… listen to this sentence, it’s quite similar.”
ZenSlasher agreed, “Yes.”
ScarletFruit listened for a while, connected the dots with UnchainedWanderer logging off recently, and finally couldn’t resist switching back to the team voice chat, asking, “Brother Wanderer?”
At that moment, one of the two main characters in the team, ReturnToSimplicity, responded, “What’s up?”
ScarletFruit said, “You should have told us earlier that you were logging on, you scared me! I really thought it was the real ReturnToSimplicity.”
Su Mo responded, “…?”
Yu Zhen said, “Did you guys misunderstand something?”
This response immediately brought the teammates back to reality. After speculating for a while in the Vicinity channel, they realized that the player behind ReturnToSimplicity was indeed UnchainedWanderer. It made sense, considering UnchainedWanderer had just logged off and ReturnToSimplicity appeared in the team right after. The timing couldn’t have been a coincidence. FireworksAndLanterns had mentioned that the three of them were good friends, and since Momo had access to ReturnToSimplicity’s account, UnchainedWanderer probably had it too.
“It really was Brother Wanderer,” ClearWind said. “Why didn’t you reply when I greeted you earlier? I thought ReturnToSimplicity might have been scheming to gather intelligence. Turns out it was you on ReturnToSimplicity’s account.”
Yu Zhen asked, “Gather intelligence?”
ClearWind replied, “Yes, I heard through the grapevine that ReturnToSimplicity had some sort of connection with BrokenOracle.”
Su Mo responded, “…?”
ScarletFruit commented, “I was wondering why my brother suddenly teamed up with ReturnToSimplicity; it was so odd. Your relationships are really complicated. FireworksAndLanterns said you were good friends, but I didn’t believe it. When I asked you before, you said you weren’t that familiar, and then you were so distant at first… Turns out you three have exchanged access credentials.”
ZenSlasher’s gaze lingered on ReturnToSimplicity’s ID, feeling that something was off.
“Are you guys misunderstanding again?” Su Mo continued, “We didn’t know each other before, but later found out we were neighbors in real life.”
ScarletFruit, sounding casual, said, “No misunderstanding, no misunderstanding, we’ve cleared it up.”
“Wait a minute…”
ClearWind said, “If this keeps going, the relationships between you three are getting too tangled.”
Yu Zhen, who had been silent, said faintly, “It’s not that tangled. ReturnToSimplicity is my old account.”
“Wait, what?” ScarletFruit hesitated, then asked uncertainly, “Wh… what?”
“ReturnToSimplicity was his old account, but he doesn’t use it much now,” Su Mo quickly explained, “When we first started playing, I didn’t know him. Later, I found out he was my neighbor.”
ClearWind, feeling disoriented, asked, “So, ReturnToSimplicity and UnchainedWanderer are the same person?”
Yu Zhen confirmed, “Yes. Do you want me to switch accounts to show you?”
“……”
ScarletFruit was incredulous, “Capital Planet can’t be that small, can it?”
“Oh,” Su Mo replied, “maybe.”
The team fell into a new silence. ClearWind and ScarletFruit remained quiet for a long time, trying to process and confirm the relationship order with Su Mo. Their once quick minds became overly fixated on confirming this result, and it took a while before they accepted it.
Su Mo asked in confusion, “He didn’t hide it, so why didn’t you believe it?”
ClearWind was stunned, “I always thought there were three of them. FireworksAndLanterns even said you three were good friends.”
ScarletFruit said, “I’m suddenly a bit tired and want to log off to sleep.”
He recalled many details in a daze, realizing that ReturnToSimplicity must have known UnchainedWanderer when he first started the A-game. Later, ReturnToSimplicity was all about being leveled by others, while UnchainedWanderer was always played by him personally. He didn’t know why he had always thought ReturnToSimplicity and UnchainedWanderer were two different people. The misunderstanding just grew and grew.
After Su Mo and Yu Zhen finished trading items, Yu Zhen switched accounts. The five of them then went to complete their daily tasks. During this time, ScarletFruit messed up the healing a few times, almost causing the team to wipe. After finishing the daily tasks, they happened to see that BitterMelon and the others had logged in, so they held a pre-match meeting.
Su Mo’s understanding of [Ren Xiaoyao] was quite limited. His only interaction with them was leading their elite team during a Global Boss event. Ren Xiaoyao wasn’t one of the most famous guilds at the start of the server but was composed of many free players. It had a strong reputation in the Abyss faction, and many players had gone to great lengths to join their sub-guilds.
The group ate and chatted in Desert Inn, using ClearWind’s VIP card, which unexpectedly unlocked the inn’s private room service.
When Apple and FireworksAndLanterns arrived, they were met with the resentful gazes of ScarletFruit and ClearWind. FireworksAndLanterns asked in surprise, “What’s wrong with those two? They look like they’ve been haunted by a female ghost.”
Watermelon commented, “They look dissatisfied.”
ClearWind snapped back, “You’re the one who’s dissatisfied!”
ScarletFruit decisively pushed FireworksAndLanterns into a corner.
Cantaloupe asked, “What are you guys up to?”
ScarletFruit replied, “Exchanging insights.”
Apple was speechless.
Cantaloupe asked, “Can summoners and clerics really exchange insights?”
Putting the side talk aside, they quickly began discussing the lineup for their upcoming match against Ren Xiaoyao. The Grand Debate of the Realm Tournament had reached the finals, and the rules were adjusted to maximize variability. The original quest arena rules required players to submit lineups, and each match would involve choosing one of the submitted lineups. This rule has been modified.
There were only two rules for the lineups now:
- A player who has participated in a match needs to wait one match before participating again; they cannot compete in consecutive matches.
- There was no need to submit lineups in advance; all lineups would be selected on the spot based on the situation, with lineups submitted progressively by the participating players.
BitterMelon noted, “The second rule now allows for targeted participation. Previously, we submitted fixed lineups and chose from them, with no time for adjustments during the match. Now, it’s changed to allow for on-the-fly adjustments based on the opposing lineup. There will definitely be targeted strategies. Honestly, it’s not as good as the previous method; it seems like the organizers want us to outwit each other.”
Su Mo reviewed the new rules and said, “It’s not that different. There are only 10 people in total, and the lineup combinations that we can use are also predictable for the opponents.”
When it came to lineups, the discussion inevitably turned to Ren Xiaoyao’s lineup.
The lineup consisted of two warriors, two Daoist priests, one healer, one cleric, and additional mage, marksman, physical swordsman, and assassin.
This included the top Daoist priest [BrokenOracle], the top mage [Begonia], the top physical swordsman [Air], and the top cleric [DurianMilkTea]. The warriors were all in the top ten, and the healer was ranked third.
It could be said to be a team as impressive as Veiled Cloud Sanctuary, with a gathering of strong players.
“Ren Xiaoyao’s team has dual commanders, and their lineup is somewhat similar to ours,” theorist Cantaloupe said before the match, presenting the data, “You all know BrokenOracle, currently ranked number one, and the top Daoist priest. His playstyle combines offense and defense. His attack is substantial, and his control is very detailed. In a team setting, his role is far more significant than in solo PvP; he can be considered the central figure of Ren Xiaoyao’s team.”
“It can be said that way. We focus on control with summoners, while they center around Daoist priests,” Yu Zhen continued. “I’ve fought against BrokenOracle before. At that time, his equipment wasn’t fully developed, and his playstyle differed from the conventional Daoist priest. His control was indeed detailed and flexible.”
Apple added, “Yes, and there’s also Begonia. She’s the top mage, renowned in AbyssAlliance as a prominent female commander. Several faction battles were commanded alternately by her and BrokenOracle.”
ClearWind asked with curiosity, “Does your guild not have a commander?”
“Let’s not even talk about it. Their two commanders are actually quite good,” Watermelon sighed. “Our guild’s commanders are okay for guild battles, but in large-scale faction battles, things can easily fall apart. Not to mention, we’re in the same faction as them and cooperate a lot. Even though Abyss doesn’t have as many commanders as the Eclipse faction, the ones we do have are quite renowned.”
They faced the same awkward situation they did against Veiled Cloud Sanctuary, struggling to leverage equipment advantages. Ren Xiaoyao’s team was more flexible, with a lineup similar to theirs, making it very difficult to gain an advantage through composition. With dual core players, the control core Daoist priest and the summoner, while both roles were comparable in terms of output, Daoist priests had a much simpler time with control compared to summoners.
Summoners also focused heavily on control, but their control was often limited by their reliance on summon beasts, which required consideration of mental energy and positioning. This made Daoist priests a popular profession, while summoners were considered less favorable.
Cantaloupe had done the research in advance to discuss the data with them, knowing that a direct battle of strength would likely be unfavorable against Ren Xiaoyao. Although they had excellent operators on their side, they couldn’t field their top players every match. Moreover, with the new rule focusing on targeting specific roles, if summoners or array masters were targeted, it would be particularly challenging.
If they couldn’t compete through lineup composition, they had to rely on their command skills.
With ten people, countless lineups could be formed, and the choice of targeted strategies depended entirely on the commander. Everyone’s attention turned to the two most crucial individuals on the field.
The two people in identical red robes sat together, their shoulders touching, quietly reviewing various pieces of information on the documents.
“Oh, I forgot to mention, there’s also Air and Durian Milk Tea,” Watermelon said through gritted teeth. “I’ve encountered them several times on the battlefield. I could never steal from Durian Milk Tea; every time I tried to flank and steal, Air would counterattack and kill me. I’ve never seen a more synergistic pairing.”
“Synergy?” Su Mo glanced at Air’s information.
“Air and Durian Milk Tea? That combination is indeed very strong. Even though it’s not a highly adaptable lineup, their coordination in 2v2 and 3v3 is very stable.”
Cantaloupe turned his head to look. “To put it simply, any melee team that encounters them would immediately collapse; they’re particularly good at stalling the game into the later stages. There’s a saying on the forum: ‘You can’t kill his wife with the physical swordsman master in hand.’”
“Wife?” Su Mo paused slightly.
“Of course. They are Daoist partners,” ScarletFruit said. “In quest arenas, where quest skills are not restricted, they are the first successful Daoist partners in Celestial Horizon, and they even have Daoist partner skills.”
Su Mo asked again, “Daoist partners?”
“Yes. In Celestial Horizon, becoming Daoist partners involves completing tasks that test their synergy. Many people went to get married, but a lot of couples who got stuck on the partnership stage ended up breaking up,” Apple added. “Remember the old Qixi Festival quest? It was equivalent to a four-star quest. Those with good synergy passed easily, while those without struggled.”
Watermelon sneered, “One day, with a knife in hand, we’ll slaughter all the lovey-dovey couples.”
ClearWind clapped, “Nice, very idealistic. You’re in charge of assassinating our master’s partner.”
Cantaloupe sincerely suggested, “You could try 1v1; take out one if you can, and forget about the second.”
Su Mo’s gaze lingered on the Daoist partner section for a moment. He suddenly felt a bit intrigued.
Thanks for the chapter!!