Sniping Ye Qiu

Two days later, at night.

Lord Grim logged in, and Cold Night immediately sought out Ye Xiu.

"Brother, I've prepared all the materials. The record for the Buried Bones dungeon should be no problem, right?"

Ye Xiu smiled slightly and typed "ok" in the chat box.

The team quickly assembled: Cold Night from Tyrannical Ambition as the leader, along with Lord Grim, Windward Formation, Soft Mist, and Steamed Bun Invasion.

The five-member squad started clearing the Buried Bones dungeon.

It wasn't long before they emerged from the dungeon, and a shocking announcement appeared on the Tenth Server's bulletin board.

[Congratulations to Cold Night from Tyrannical Ambition, along with Lord Grim, Windward Formation, Soft Mist, and Steamed Bun Invasion, for breaking the record for the Buried Bones dungeon with a time of 19 minutes 26 seconds 33.]

This record indeed made all the guilds take a sharp breath. Tyrannical Ambition not only broke the 20-minute mark but also achieved a terrifying time of 19 and a half minutes!

Chen Yehui immediately rushed to the team training room to find Liu Hao. According to the development plan of the Jia Dynasty, they were supposed to squeeze out Tyrannical Ambition and rise to become one of the top three guilds. Now that Tyrannical Ambition had set such a terrifying record, it was indeed a headache.

Liu Hao thought for a moment and shook his head, "There's no way I can break this record. Ye Qiu clearly used the latest strategy; otherwise, it would be impossible to achieve such a terrifying time."

"What should we do then? Are we just going to watch Ye Qiu take the dungeon record?" Chen Yehui asked unwillingly.

Liu Hao thought for a moment and came up with an idea, "You should hire some internet trolls to spread rumours in Glory, saying that Tyrannical Ambition could only achieve such a record by hiring mercenaries. Stir up suspicion among players about the legitimacy of the record. Once public opinion turns, Tyrannical Ambition's reputation will be ruined, and no guild will dare to hire Ye Qiu for dungeon runs."

"Great idea!" Chen Yehui's eyes lit up. This way, Ye Qiu wouldn't be able to use the dungeon record to leverage rare materials from the various guilds.

"Moreover, if Ye Qiu dares to monopolise the dungeon records, you can unite with other guild players to attack him en masse," Liu Hao said calmly.

Chen Yehui, upon hearing this, looked at Liu Hao with admiration, "As expected of the boss, this vicious plan practically cuts off Ye Qiu's escape route! But... why are you suddenly so harsh on Ye Qiu?"

Chen Yehui asked suspiciously, "Is it because of Su Mucheng? Boss, don't tell me you have feelings for Su Mucheng?"

"Get lost!" Liu Hao cursed with a smile, "The reason I'm targeting Ye Qiu is that he's our enemy, and he's destined to come back for revenge. When dealing with an enemy, we can't afford to be soft-hearted!"

Chen Yehui clapped his hands, "Well said, Hao-ge! But are you sure it has nothing to do with Su Mucheng?"

Liu Hao's face darkened, "Remember, showing mercy to an enemy is cruelty to oneself."

"Oh, oh!" Chen Yehui finally believed that his boss's targeting of Ye Qiu had nothing to do with Su Mucheng.

After Chen Yehui left, Liu Hao sighed and slowly recited the second half of the creed, "Loyalty to others is a betrayal to oneself."

Liu Hao couldn't be loyal to anyone, and his subordinates couldn't be faithful to him forever, either. Liu Hao had to plan.

Chen Yehui had a grudge against Ye Qiu, and the enemy of his enemy was his friend. Liu Hao needed to rely on Chen Yehui, the guild leader of the Jia Dynasty, to fight against Tao Xuan.

Targeting Ye Qiu was actually a way to win over Chen Yehui. Of course, Liu Hao also had to admit that part of the reason he was targeting Ye Qiu did have something to do with Su Mucheng.

Liu Hao was actually quite annoyed that such a pretty girl like Su Mucheng was so close to Ye Qiu...

It's an instinct of men with a desire to conquer. Even if they already have a girlfriend, they still want to be liked by outstanding and beautiful girls. It's a primal instinct, a desire to conquer.

Of course, Liu Hao knew that this so-called "vicious plan" wasn't vicious enough. Ye Qiu might give up on competing for the dungeon record, but he could still trade dungeon strategies for rare materials with the various guilds.

Ye Qiu was an extremely clever person who always found a way to solve problems, so Liu Hao needed a more efficient method to target Ye Qiu.

Liu Hao walked to the front of the training room and clapped his hands to attract the team members' attention.

"Everyone, look over here. I have a new training task for you!" Liu Hao said.

Sun Xiang was currently training his hand speed and reaction time. Although he was unhappy about being interrupted by Liu Hao, he still obediently looked up, ready to hear Liu Hao's instructions.

Sun Xiang wasn't very impressed with Liu Hao, but he had to admit that Liu Hao was better suited to being the captain of Excellent Era and directing the team's training.

At that moment, Su Mucheng bounced back into the training room. She had just finished helping Ye Qiu break the dungeon record in Happy, and Ye Qiu had praised her excellent gun technique, which made her very happy.

"Good evening, everyone!" Su Mucheng waved and greeted everyone, then looked puzzled at Liu Hao standing at the front. "What are you doing?"

"Chief Su, you're back just in time. I was about to assign a new training task," Liu Hao said with a smile.

"What training task?" Su Mucheng suddenly had a bad feeling in her gut.

"Everyone, go to the guild and get an account card for the Tenth Server. From now on, you must assassinate a player with the ID 'Lord Grim' every day!" Liu Hao said.

Su Mucheng's mind almost exploded.

"Liu Hao!" Su Mucheng was a little angry. Liu Hao knew that Ye Qiu was coming back, yet he was still targeting him like this?

"What is it, my dear Chief Su?" Liu Hao said with a smile.

"Why are you doing this?" Su Mucheng questioned.

"This is for more efficient training. I believe none of you have experience dealing with unspecialised characters. This is to prepare for Ye Qiu's return and avoid getting beaten by Ye Qiu's unspecialised character," Liu Hao explained.

Su Mucheng wanted to argue, but Liu Hao's reasoning was too legitimate. From Excellent Era's perspective, there was nothing wrong with targeting Ye Qiu, and she couldn't find a reason to argue.

Sun Xiang, however, was completely puzzled, "Who is Lord Grim? And what is an unspecialised character?"

Liu Hao patiently explained to Sun Xiang, "Lord Grim is actually Ye Qiu's new account on the new server, and his class is unspecialised. Ye Qiu didn't choose to specialise."

Sun Xiang suddenly understood. Upon learning that Lord Grim was actually controlled by Ye Qiu, an endless fighting spirit surged within him. He hadn't forgotten how Ye Qiu looked down on him when he left Excellent Era.

"I'm in!" Sun Xiang was the first to agree with Liu Hao's plan.

After Sun Xiang joined the training plan, the other team members followed suit, except for Su Mucheng, who crossed her arms, pouting angrily.

Liu Hao chuckled, "Chief Su, has anyone ever told you that you look cute when you're angry?"

Su Mucheng immediately got even angrier, "You're cute! Your whole family is cute!"

"Thanks for the compliment," Liu Hao didn't mind. "So, what do you think? Are you going to join? I won't force you; you're free to refuse..."

"I refuse!" Su Mucheng said decisively.

"Hey, hey, hey, I wasn't finished," Liu Hao waved his hand. "You can refuse, but if you do, I'll reveal to the public that Lord Grim is actually Ye Qiu. How many people will want to challenge the former Battle God?"

Su Mucheng's face turned pale, almost on the verge of tears, "Liu Hao, you're despicable!"

"Sorry, it's all for the Excellent Era! If the Excellent Era wants a three-peat, we must eliminate all obstacles at any cost," Liu Hao said coldly. Of course, considering Ye Qiu's past contributions to the Excellent Era, if you participate in the plan, I won't reveal his identity."

Su Mucheng stared into Liu Hao's sinister, snake-like eyes, which seemed to see right through people.

"I... agree!" Su Mucheng decided to compromise.

Seeing Su Mucheng's aggrieved and pitiful expression, Liu Hao suddenly felt a pang of guilt. He was reminded of a line from a particular Japanese adult film:

"Wife..."

(End of chapter)