Chapter 3

From a distance, a familiar, graceful figure could be seen standing there, dazed.

"Auntie, are you watching the rabbits eat grass?" Xiao Yu sent a message.

The girl was none other than Xiao Yueya.

"Don't call me Auntie!" "Then what should I call you?" "Call me Big Sister!" "Oh, Big Sister!" The three characters immediately appeared above Ceng Jing Shu Guang’s head. "Good boy..." A smile bloomed on Xiao Yueya’s face, and the two round mounds on her chest became even more pronounced. "Big Sister, help me lure the wolf. I want to hunt rabbits!" "I despise you..." "Don't look at me like that, you have the experience..." "Get lost! Are you even a man?" Xiao Yueya was furious. This guy was too much, actually asking her to lure a wolf.

Xiao Yu pulled open his pants and glanced down at his crotch.

"Big Sister, I am a man, the parts are all there! Don't believe me? Take a peek?"

0004: Pig King at the Village Entrance

"Peek at your head!"

Before Xiao Yueya could scold him further, she saw this "unmanly" man charge forward. His target: a Mountain Wolf!

With a *squelch*, he drove his longsword straight into the wolf’s anus, shaving off a tenth of its health in one blow.

Stabbed in the rear, the Mountain Wolf nearly had its hind legs severed. Jolted by the searing pain, it spun around and snapped its jaws.

Xiao Yu was already prepared. His left middle finger tapped the 'W' key, and the instant it lifted, his index finger struck the 'D' key. The interval between the two taps was exactly 0.7 seconds. Ceng Jing Shu Guang’s body pivoted in a tight arc around the wolf’s head, narrowly dodging the attack.

"Thwack!"

As the wolf landed, Xiao Yu raised his sword, switching from a horizontal swipe to a vertical chop. Another flash of blood appeared, draining 11 more HP from the wolf. The creature let out a wail, twisted its head to bite again, and Xiao Yu repeated his maneuver, his fingers dancing over the keys to evade it once more.

Just like that, the man and the wolf circled each other. "MISS" kept popping up over Ceng Jing Shu Guang’s head while the wolf’s health bar ticked down. It took a full half-minute, but Xiao Yu finally finished the wolf off.

Beside him, Xiao Yueya had been watching, stunned. She didn't snap out of it even after the wolf was dead.

"Big Sister, who’s going to take care of the rabbits?" "My little nemesis, how did you do that? Tell me, quick!" Xiao Yueya didn't even dwell on the implication of his earlier comment; the scene of him fighting the wolf had completely won her over. "What?" "Fighting the wolf! Why couldn't it bite you?" "Oh, positioning." "Positioning? How do you do it?" "When you see it about to pounce, you take a step to the side. It’s very simple." "Really?" "Yeah. Don't believe me? Try it. Another wolf is spawning; you take it."

As he spoke, a Mountain Wolf respawned. Xiao Yueya swung her longsword and lunged toward it.

The wolf’s aggro had originally been locked onto Xiao Yu, but Xiao Yueya’s strike snatched it away, and the wolf immediately shifted its target.

"40!"

A bright red number leaped up over Xiao Yueya’s head. At level 2, she only had 120 HP, so the wolf’s bite took a third of her health, while her strike only dealt 12 points of damage.

"Don't panic! Step to the side. Use the keyboard, the micro-movements won't register through the virtual goggles. Tap 'W' first, then 'D'..." "30!"

Xiao Yueya took another bite.

"Slow down, pay attention to the rhythm! You moved too early. The interval needs to be exactly 0.7 seconds..." "40!" "This isn't working. Run! You're about to die..." "38!"

And just like that, with "help" from Ceng Jing Shu Guang, Xiao Yueya was finally killed by the Mountain Wolf!

"You ******* jerk!"

Lying on the ground, Xiao Yueya didn't forget to send a message.

*System Notification: Xiao Yueya has left the party!*

In *God Tribulation*, if a player dies and respawns, they automatically leave the party. Xiao Yu stared at her last message, speechless. She was the one who got bitten to death by a wolf, so why was she blaming him? Such simple footwork—it was only two keys. Were people really that slow?

"Hmm? Why is there a sword on the ground?"

It turned out that when Xiao Yueya died, she dropped the longsword she was holding. In *God Tribulation*, there is only a 5% chance of dropping equipment upon death. This girl was truly unlucky.

*Ding!* *System Notification: Xiao Yueya invites you to be friends!* Xiao Yu clicked "Accept." *Ding!* *System Notification: Xiao Yueya applies to join your party!* Xiao Yu clicked "Accept" again.

Xiao Yueya: "You killed me! Where's my sword?" Ceng Jing Shu Guang: "Why are you being so cheap?" Xiao Yueya: "Get lost! I said where is my sword! Can't you read a typo?" Ceng Jing Shu Guang: "Oh, the sword is in the grass." Xiao Yueya: "Help me pick it up! Wait for me!" Ceng Jing Shu Guang: "It’s a broken sword, nobody wants it. Just run along!" Xiao Yueya: "..." Ceng Jing Shu Guang: "What are those six dots for?" Xiao Yueya: "Will you die if you aren't so snarky?" Ceng Jing Shu Guang: "Was I being snarky?" Xiao Yueya: "..."

When Xiao Yueya ran back to Ceng Jing Shu Guang, she saw another wolf corpse.

*Clang...*

Ceng Jing Shu Guang tossed a longsword from his pack.

"Here's your sword."

Xiao Yueya cast a look of disdain his way, but she stepped forward to pick it up anyway.

By then, the monsters had respawned. Xiao Yueya no longer dared to risk getting close to the wolves. She spent her time hacking at rabbits while staring at Ceng Jing Shu Guang, watching how he circled the wolves to kill them.

A few minutes later, Xiao Yueya’s quest was also completed. In *God Tribulation*, except for special ones, all quests are shared in a party, especially those in the Novice Village.

Back at the village chief’s side, Ceng Jing Shu Guang dumped the meat into the old man's arms.

"Buddy, where’s the reward?" "Young hero, you are truly valiant. Please accept this small gift." *System Notification: You have received +200 EXP, +10 copper coins, +5 Reputation, and [Young Hero’s Outfit].*

With 200 EXP, Ceng Jing Shu Guang instantly hit level 4. This was thanks to the extra wolves he had killed; otherwise, he would have likely stayed at level 3.

He opened the stats for the [Young Hero’s Outfit]. It was much better than the helmet from before.

[Young Hero’s Outfit] (White tier) Level: 1 External Defense: 5 Internal Defense: 5 Weight: 2 Durability: 70/70

He put on the outfit and checked his stats—

ID: [Ceng Jing Shu Guang] Level: 4 Class: Witchcraft Poison Master (East Continent, Tier 1) HP: 160/160 Mana: 105/105 Stamina: 100/100 External Attack: 16-31 Internal Attack: 16-37 External Defense: 8 Internal Defense: 11 Evasion: 4 Accuracy: 7 Crit: 1 Attack Speed: 1.3

In the party chat, Xiao Yu messaged Xiao Yueya.

Ceng Jing Shu Guang: "I'm level 4. What about you?" Xiao Yueya: "Level 3!!!" Ceng Jing Shu Guang: "So slow!" Xiao Yueya: "Your sister died once and lost EXP, okay?!" Ceng Jing Shu Guang: "You're still acting tough after dying?" Xiao Yueya: "..." Ceng Jing Shu Guang: "What are those six dots for?" Xiao Yueya: "Shut your mouth! If you mention those dots again, I'll 'dot' you to death!!"

"..."

With the clothes on, his underwear was covered. Although the outfit looked wrinkled, as if it had been worn by hundreds of people without being washed, it was much warmer than wearing nothing.

Looking at the system notification, the number of players online had already reached 15 million!

"Young hero, might you do this old man one more favor?" The village chief spoke up just as Xiao Yu was staring at the notifications. "Spit it out!" "Cough, cough. You seem quite hot-tempered. Perhaps drink some herbal tea to cool off..." "Old man, you dare talk to me like that? Want to stop living here? Hurry up and give me back the rabbit fur and meat! Otherwise, I'll cut off your junk to feed the wolves..." Ceng Jing Shu Guang brandished his sword, ready to strike. "Young hero, calm down! The old man has a gift for you..." "Say that earlier! You made everyone so unhappy! I love getting things for free. Hand it over!" Village Chief: "Cough, cough..." Ceng Jing Shu Guang raged: "Old man, do you have donkey hair stuck in your throat?" Village Chief: "Not quite..." Ceng Jing Shu Guang: "Tonsillitis?" Village Chief: "No..." Ceng Jing Shu Guang: "A cold?" Village Chief: "NO..." Ceng Jing Shu Guang: "You dare try to talk fancy with me? If you don't have a cold, why are you coughing like a jerk?! FUCK YOU VERY MUCH!" Village Chief (bewildered): "Young hero, what does that last part mean?" Ceng Jing Shu Guang: "...It means hurry up and get the item! Or I'll kill you!" Village Chief: "Please wait a moment, young hero!" *System Notification: You have received a [Skinning Knife]!* *Quest: Kill [Pig] 0/5, obtain [Pig Skin] 0/5 and deliver to the village chief.*

After receiving the quest, Ceng Jing Shu Guang ran toward the east side of the village. Not far into the run, Xiao Yueya’s message appeared in the party chat.

Xiao Yueya: "Hey! You shameless man!" Ceng Jing Shu Guang: "What now? Want to kill me?" Xiao Yueya: "Wait until later. I'm going to kill some pigs. Do you know where the 'pigs' are?" Ceng Jing Shu Guang: "In the pigsty." Xiao Yueya: "..." Ceng Jing Shu Guang: "At a pig farm?" Xiao Yueya: "..." Ceng Jing Shu Guang: "Is this a riddle?" Xiao Yueya was losing her mind: "Get lost! I’m asking about the quest pigs! You jerk, if you keep beating around the bush, believe it or not, I'll castrate you!" Ceng Jing Shu Guang: "East side of the village! Could you have been that polite earlier?" Xiao Yueya: "Damn it, no wonder they weren't in the north! What a crappy game, what crappy pigs, no hints on where they spawn! You made me look for so long!" Ceng Jing Shu Guang: "You can insult me, but you cannot insult my pigs!" Xiao Yueya: "Your pigs? You raised these pigs?" Ceng Jing Shu Guang: "I actually set these pigs up in the first place!" Xiao Yueya: "You beast! You won't even spare the pigs!" Ceng Jing Shu Guang: "I'm telling the truth!" Xiao Yueya: "Shut up!"

The spawn points for the pigs had indeed been set by Xiao Yu.

Ceng Jing Shu Guang: "Why don't people believe the truth anymore..."

Xiao Yueya went silent.

Ceng Jing Shu Guang quickly reached the east side, stepping on the soft grass and pushing through the endless crowd of people, searching for pigs.

The pigs here had it worse than the rabbits in the north.

As soon as a pig respawned, before the system’s white light even faded, it was hacked down by dozens of blades. That wasn't all—a bunch of ruthless butchers would immediately pull out their skinning knives, kneel on one knee, grab a pig by the ear, and *zip, zip, zip*...

Those who couldn't grab the ears grabbed the tails. Some, having nowhere else to hold, grabbed the two little balls in the pig’s crotch. Some pulled with too much force and ended up ripping the whole lot off, landing on their own behinds in the process...

Ceng Jing Shu Guang wandered the edges of the spawn area with his sword, but he couldn't find a single pig that hadn't been picked clean. He decided to drift toward the outskirts. Even if he wasn't questing, he needed to reach level 5 to unlock skills—that was far better than hacking away with a flimsy blade.

What monsters were next to the pigs again? As Ceng Jing Shu Guang pondered this, a striking system notification flashed at the top of the screen!

*Ding!* *System Notification: [Rabbit King] carrying a massive amount of treasure will appear in the Novice Village!* *Ding!* *System Notification: [Pig King] carrying a massive amount of treasure will appear in the Novice Village!*

A boss!

As soon as the notification appeared, a message came through the party chat.

Xiao Yueya: "A boss spawned!" Ceng Jing Shu Guang: "Mm." Xiao Yueya: "Are we fighting it?" Ceng Jing Shu Guang: "No!" Xiao Yueya: "...Why?" Ceng Jing Shu Guang: "Two reasons. First, I haven't found it. Second, even if I found it, I couldn't kill it! Answered." Xiao Yueya: "You're not a man..." Ceng Jing Shu Guang: "Girl, take advantage of the chaos to finish your quest!"

Once the world boss spawn message went out, the entire Novice Village erupted. Most players who were busy skinning pigs or hunting rabbits dropped what they were doing to search the map.

Especially the players from the guilds; the moment the notification appeared, they vanished at the command of their leaders.

This gave the little pigs a short reprieve, and Ceng Jing Shu Guang finally managed to skin his first pig. Then the second... the third...

When the quest completion notification popped up, he let out a sigh of relief. After turning it in, he’d be level 5 and could finally learn some skills.

"Girl, finished your quest?" "No!" "How many missing?" "Five!" "..." She hadn't managed to skin a single one. "Want me to help?"

Xiao Yueya was just about to ask about the six dots when his message popped up. He typed too fast; she was always a beat behind.

"Sure! Now that's like a man! Big Sister loves you. Come here, give me a kiss."

Pig skin could be traded. Each player in the game could get one piece of skin from the same pig, and a single pig could provide skin for a maximum of six people. After that, no one would get anything.

A few minutes later, Ceng Jing Shu Guang had five more skins in his pack.

Ceng Jing Shu Guang: "Girl, got enough skins. I forgot to call you to help kill the pigs!" He had only realized after skinning that the quest wouldn't finish with just the skins. Xiao Yueya: "It's fine, I finished killing the pigs too." Ceng Jing Shu Guang: "Oh? Then why didn't you skin them yourself?" Xiao Yueya: "Watching you do it was just fine, hehe."

Xiao Yueya swished her hips and walked over from behind him. It turned out she had been there the whole time, watching him kill the pigs and skin them, sharing the experience until the quest was done, only then revealing herself...

*CRACK!*

A golden bolt of lightning struck from the sky! A massive creature, over five meters tall and twenty meters long, descended from the heavens and blocked Xiao Yueya’s path!

[Pig King]!!

0005: The Pig King’s Wrath

The sudden appearance of the [Pig King] scared Xiao Yueya so much that the mounds on her chest nearly jumped out of her clothes.

"The Pig King is here!" "Come quick!" "Kill it!"

Before Xiao Yueya could recover from the shock, dozens of nearby players had already charged forward. Aside from the majority hacking away with swords, a few players who had hit level 5 proudly showed off their newly learned skills to the envious gazes of the crowd.

Although most of the skills only emitted a faint glow, any glow was better than none. The village’s "pass-through" mechanic allowed players to overlap while fighting, meaning dozens could stand on a single coordinate. The [Pig King] had thick skin and high HP, but it couldn't withstand the sheer number of players. Its long health bar began to shrink, bit by bit.

"Group up!" "Anyone without a party, join here!" "Level 4 Poison Master looking for group!" "Level 3 Lance Cavalry looking for group!" "A bunch of idiots, stating your class before even learning a skill! Level 5 Monk looking for someone to carry me!" "Level 4 Fairy Harpist looking for group, I'll marry whoever takes me!" "I'll take you! Honey, what do you do for work?" "I'm a hostess at Sky-Earth..." "..."

More and more players gathered around the [Pig King]. Xiao Yueya noticed that her own party had somehow filled up, but everyone was level 4; not a single one was level 5.

In the party chat:

Ceng Jing Shu Guang: "Have you guys played *God Tribulation* before?" Xiao Yueya: "..." Dou Ni Wan: "Didn't it just go into open beta today?" She Si Ni: "Never played!" Piao Lai Piao Qu: "Nope." Taiyi Zhenren: "Is the captain talking about the closed beta? Didn't make it in..."

*God Tribulation* had conducted one limited closed beta, with only a few thousand game cards released at the time.

Ceng Jing Shu Guang: "Then listen to my command. First, hide all players outside the party!"

To make things easier, *God Tribulation* had dozens of auxiliary functions. Hiding non-party members allowed players to see only their teammates on screen.

Piao Lai Piao Qu: "Captain, let's use voice chat. Isn't typing tiring?" "Fine."

*God Tribulation* was a semi-virtual game with built-in voice chat. By default, it was off when logging in. Players could converse with NPCs via brainwaves, but player-to-player communication required the voice function to be enabled.

Xiao Yu didn't like voice chat; he was used to typing, and he could type far faster than he could speak. However, to compete for the boss, voice chat was indeed more convenient. He enabled the system and adjusted the sound realism to 50%.

Sound realism adjustment was a special feature. Players could change their voices in-game—pitch, tone, even gender. However, most preferred their original voices because the official website had an event with massive rewards for players who scanned their real voices. As for the purpose of this event, only the Tenglong Company knew.

As soon as he opened the voice chat, Xiao Yu heard someone calling his name.