Passing Off

"Exactly, exactly," agreed Another Summer of Sleep. "If you don't even dare to take on seven players in an online game, how can you dream of going pro?"

Loulan Slash(ID name of Lou Guanning) face darkened. "Damn, you guys are so tough. You've got crappy orange weapons, so if you die it's no big deal. But I've got an exceptional orange weapon comparable to a silver weapon - Slash Edge. If I lose it, how much do you think it'll cost me to get another one?"

"What are you afraid of? Aren't you a rich second generation? Don't you have plenty of money? Can't you just buy another Slash Edge? It's not like it's the only one in Glory," said Sun Zheping nonchalantly. (I will occasionally use real names and then in-game names of the players so it won't get too much confusing for the readers)

"Damn it, do you think my money is just paper to be thrown around? My money doesn't come easy either, you know. Do you have any idea how long I have to beg my old man for an allowance of a million? A whole day, a whole damn day! And a million still isn't enough to buy another Slash Edge! I'd have to beg that shameless old man for several more days!"

Liu Hao: "Haha, You father and son love each other, Loulan Slash…"

Liu Hao knew that taking on seven was a very difficult task. If it were seven small fries, he could handle them easily, but if they were seven elite monsters, it would be tough, and he might not win. Even Ye Qiu wouldn't dare to claim a guaranteed win against seven.

"So what do we do?" asked Another Summer of Sleep. He knew he couldn't win either, but he was just talking big. After all, he was Glory's number-one Berserker.

"Of course, we run! Or do you want to stay here like fish on a chopping block?" Loulan Slash said, exasperated.

"I'm tired of running," said Another Summer of Sleep, giving up.

"What do you mean tired? You're not even running yourself, just tapping on the keyboard," Loulan Slash retorted. He didn't know what to do with this big shot.

"I don't want to run either," Liu Hao chimed in.

Loulan Slash was almost in despair. "Listen, Hero, you're amazing. You broke through Tyrannical Ambitions formation all by yourself. But that was because you took them by surprise. If you stay to face them head-on, you won't even have a corpse left. They can kill you and have the priest resurrect you to kill you again!"

Lou Guanning spoke quickly, his words rattling off like a comedy routine. Liu Hao thought he had a talent for comedy and might even make it to the Spring Festival Gala with some practice.

"I meant that I've called for takeout, so there's no need to run," Liu Hao said calmly.

"Takeout? What takeout?" Loulan Slash was confused. "Is this the time to be talking about takeout?"

"Idiot!" Another Summer of Sleep laughed and cursed. "Takeout is esports slang for reinforcements!"

"Are you saying someone's coming to help us?" Loulan Slash asked excitedly.

"Of course, just look behind you," Liu Hao said calmly, pointing his Demon Swordsman's short sword towards the west. Backlit by the setting sun, a phalanx of over a hundred players marched towards them with unstoppable momentum.

Leading them was none other than the Excellent Era Dynasty's guild leader, Chen Yehui.

"Damn! So you're not a lone hero, you're the head of the Quanzhen Sect? And you have so many subordinates?" Loulan Slash exclaimed. "Wait, when did you call for reinforcements?"

"About seven or eight minutes ago, when I first joined the team. I anticipated we'd be chased, so I called for help in advance. It looks like they've arrived right on time," Liu Hao said calmly.

"Hero, your foresight is impressive. No wonder you had us follow the marked escape route," Slash Loulan realized.

Another Summer of Sleep regained his interest, "So, does this mean we can fight now?"

"We won't be fighting, because there's no benefit to it," Liu Hao said calmly.

Jiang You, seeing the approaching Excellent EraDynasty phalanx, frowned. Though he had brought elite players, they were outnumbered two-to-one. Even if they could fight, there was little to gain, and his side would suffer heavy losses, leading to a lose-lose situation.

As the guild leader of Tyrannical Ambitions and the overall leader, Jiang You had to prioritize the guild's interests. Starting a guild war with the Jia Dynasty would be idiotic.

"Guild leader, are we still fighting?" one of his subordinates asked Jiang You.

Jiang You frowned, biting his lip, and reluctantly said, "Retreat!"

"Damn, Hero, you were right! They are retreating!" Slash Loulan said joyfully.

"Not interesting," Sun Zheping said, losing interest. He turned his attention back to Six Ahong. He was very curious about this player. The player's skills and awareness were undoubtedly professional levels, and he was a Demon Swordsman... Could it be Liu Hao? Sun Zheping wondered.

"Haha, all according to plan," Liu Hao said softly.

He sent a message to Chen Yehui, promising to treat him to a meal someday. Chen Yehui, with a big smile, led his hundred-plus players away.

Seeing the crisis resolved, Lou Guanning breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, "Thank you for saving us, Hero. Can I add you as a friend? If you need any help in the future, just call, and Heavenly Slash will be there."

"You don't have to wait for the future. I need your help right now," Liu Hao said with a smile.

Slash Loulan's mouth twitched. He had known the hero had an agenda. There was no way someone would risk their life just to save him like Zhao Zilong rescuing A Dou. "What do you need help with?"

"I need some money," Liu Hao said.

Lou Guanning's mouth twitched even more, not knowing whether to curse or praise the hero's shamelessness. Who just blatantly asks for money like that?

He controlled his temper, knowing the person before him was a Glory expert. Though shameless, he couldn't afford to make an enemy of him.

"How much do you need? Three or five thousand is fine," Slash Loulan said, holding back his temper.

"A bit over a million," Liu Hao said calmly.

"Damn, Hero, are you joking? Over a million? Do you think I'm an ATM?" Lou Guanning was both angry and amused.

"Let me finish. I know you're planning to form a team and join the Glory Professional Alliance. You'll need silver weapons, right? I'm actually a silver weapon designer. I came to you to sell you a silver weapon I designed," Liu Hao explained slowly.

Lou Guanning realized he had misunderstood the hero. Hearing that the hero was a silver weapon designer, he was thrilled. Silver weapon designers were highly sought after by esports clubs. He was lucky to have met one.

"Yes, we're indeed looking for silver weapons, but no club is willing to sell us theirs. The ones on the market are mostly garbage, just silver in name, with attributes worse than orange weapons..." Lou Guanning lamented the difficulties of acquiring silver weapons. Suddenly, he realized something, "Wait, I never told you we were forming a team to join the professional league. How did you know?"

How did I know? I read it in the novel... Liu Hao stammered, "I-I heard it from Another Summer of Sleep. He mentioned it earlier, didn't he?"

Lou Guaning "oh" -ed and realized. Liu Hao breathed a sigh of relief, glad he had passed off the lie.

But Sun Zheping, standing aside the whole time, frowned. He wasn't so easily fooled. He remembered clearly that Six Ahong had mentioned "With this courage, you still want to go pro?" first, meaning he knew about their plans in advance. He had targeted Loulan Slash from the start.

Six Ahong had deliberately saved Loulan Slash, had them follow his escape route, and then used his forces to resolve the crisis. All along, Six Ahong had been calculating. He knew esports slang and had professional-level skills... Sun Zheping thought Six Ahong was cunning and extremely dangerous, but he didn't plan to expose him. He wanted to see what he was up to.

Scamming Loulan Slash for money? He had plenty of money and no fear of being scammed...

(End of this chapter)

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