Selling the Same Item Twice!

Liu Hao didn't know what to say at that moment. Su Mucheng had just given him such a shock that he lost control of himself. But why didn't Su Mucheng push him away? Liu Hao couldn't understand it. He licked his lips, still tasting a slight hint of orange sweetness—Su Mucheng had applied orange-flavoured lip balm.

Neither Su Mucheng nor Liu Hao spoke, standing still in the corner.

Su Mucheng had never been in a relationship and had never been close to a boy before. Fans often speculated whether she might like the Battle God or if she could secretly be his girlfriend. But Su Mucheng knew well that her attachment to Ye Qiu was not out of romantic love but rather admiration and dependence. She viewed Ye Qiu as a good brother and a family member, much like how she saw Su Muqiu.

Similarly, Ye Qiu only saw Su Mucheng as a sad little sister because she was the only family he had left in this world.

"Ahem," Liu Hao coughed twice. In the midst of this ambiguous and awkward atmosphere, someone had to break the silence.

"How about we move to the bed?" Liu Hao immediately wanted to slap himself after saying that. What was he thinking?

Su Mucheng was stunned for a moment, then blushed deeply. Surprisingly, she didn't scold Liu Hao but gently pushed him away and quietly said, "Give me back the Myriad Manifestation Umbrella."

"Oh, okay." Liu Hao instinctively reached for the account card, but reason quickly took over.

His plan wasn't complete yet, so that he couldn't give the account card back to Su Mucheng. That kiss had almost made him ruin all his plans.

"I'll transfer the Myriad Manifestation Umbrella to your email tomorrow," Liu Hao said, looking into Su Mucheng's eyes, but he avoided her gaze out of guilt.

Su Mucheng also felt guilty and didn't dare to look at Liu Hao. She just lowered her head and softly said, "Okay."

Both of them tacitly avoided mentioning what had just happened. Liu Hao cursed himself for not controlling his desires, while Su Mucheng silently scolded herself for not pushing Liu Hao away from the start.

At that moment, Wang Ze finished his training and returned to the dormitory to sleep. As he opened the door, he saw Su Mucheng with her clothes in disarray and Liu Hao, the boss, in a white bathrobe. Although Wang Ze had never seen a pig run, he had undoubtedly eaten pork before, so he naturally guessed what had just happened.

"Um... I must have been seeing things. I didn't see anything."

Then, with a bang, Wang Ze closed the door. It wouldn't be long before rumours of Liu Hao and Su Mucheng's late-night rendezvous spread throughout the Excellent Era.

Liu Hao didn't stop him. This was precisely the effect he wanted. He needed to keep Su Mucheng at Excellent Era by any means necessary!

"I'm leaving." Su Mucheng said softly, then fled the room, holding her cosplay costume.

Liu Hao sat on the bed, pondering why Su Mucheng hadn't refused. He hadn't used much force, yet she seemed quite willing, even enjoying it…

Was it because of their growing tacit understanding? Or was it from taking CP photos together? Participating in commercial events together? No, no, it couldn't be because of their usual bickering, like a pair of love-hate rivals growing fond of each other over time, could it?

But every time he noticed Su Mucheng's gaze, wasn't she always full of disdain?

…

Su Mucheng's Room

Su Mucheng buried her head under the covers. She also didn't understand why she hadn't rejected Liu Hao. She clearly hated him, knowing he was a wrong person.

Girls are indeed strange creatures. Their hormones, especially in their early twenties, can surge like a nuclear explosion.

Emotions influence hormones—the more substantial the emotional shift, the more intense the hormonal response.

Liu Hao, that despicable villain, spent all day with Su Mucheng—training together, taking CP photos together, attending commercial events together, and even working together. On top of that, Liu Hao always liked to tease Su Mucheng, stirring her emotions. This emotional turmoil caused her hormones to surge.

Under the influence of these hormones, Su Mucheng's attention was constantly drawn to Liu Hao. This hormonal stimulation made her mistake these emotions for romantic love, which is different from admiration or reliance.

So, the way to pursue a girl is quite simple, especially in their early twenties. Just stir up her emotions—whether positive or negative—and biological instincts will often cloud their judgment with desire.

This phenomenon has a professional term—Romance Brain.

…

Happy Internet Cafe

Ye Qiu stared at the message from Liu Hao, frowning, unable to figure out Liu Hao's true intentions or what scheme he was plotting.

"Qiao Yifan?" Ye Qiu muttered the name. He didn't know who Qiao Yifan was. Still, Liu Hao's message stated that if he wanted the Myriad Manifestation Umbrella back, he would have to recommend Qiao Yifan to Excellent Era's youth training camp and teach him how to play Ghostblade. If he agreed, Liu Hao would return the Myriad Manifestation Umbrella.

Could it be that simple? Was there another trap in this? Unable to figure it out, Ye Qiu decided to take the most direct approach and asked outright:

"Liu Hao, who is Qiao Yifan? Why do you want me to teach him to play Ghostblade?"

Liu Hao replied, "Qiao Yifan is a bottom-tier trainee of the Tiny Herb team. He's an Assassin player, but he has no talent for it. However, he shows great potential for playing Ghostblade."

Ye Qiu remained silent. Was it really that simple? Didn't Liu Hao fear that if he agreed and got the Myriad Manifestation Umbrella back, he would refuse to fulfil his promise?

Liu Hao, anticipating Ye Qiu's thoughts, laughed and said, "You might break the agreement, but do you think I wouldn't leak your Myriad Manifestation Umbrella again? Or twice? Or even a third time?"

Ye Qiu facepalmed, silently cursing Liu Hao for threatening him again. At this stage, he just wanted to level up peacefully. If Liu Hao had really teamed up with Sun Xiang and others to target him, it would have been unbearable.

"Fine, I agree."

"I hope Captain Ye keeps his word. I'll have Su Mucheng return the Myriad Manifestation Umbrella to you tomorrow."

Ye Qiu was stunned. Why tomorrow? And why through Su Mucheng? Can't you return the Myriad Manifestation Umbrella now? I need it to level up tonight!

However, since Liu Hao held the upper hand, Ye Qiu couldn't argue. Since Liu Hao promised to return it tomorrow, he would have to wait until then.

…

Liu Hao secretly laughed. His plan to sell the same item twice had finally succeeded. By using the Myriad Manifestation Umbrella, he not only obtained Su Mucheng's beautiful and embarrassing cosplay photos but also had Ye Qiu train Qiao Yifan—a twofold gain.

After six months of Ye Qiu's training, by the ninth season, Qiao Yifan would be ready to join the Excellent Era team.

…

Meanwhile, the nine significant guilds concluded negotiations with Ye Qiu, announcing an end to the assassination missions, and the two sides reached a truce.

Ultimately, Ye Qiu didn't manage to extract compensation from the guilds. Both sides made concessions: the nine major guilds called off the joint assassination operations, allowing Lord Grim to continue levelling up, but he could no longer compete for any dungeon records or first kills.

Ye Qiu agreed to the terms but also introduced a new business—dungeon strategy merchant.

Ye Qiu would sell his researched strategies to the guilds, leaving them to compete for dungeon records with their abilities. The nine significant guilds all agreed to the purchase, and peace returned to the Tenth Server.

…

Two days later, the All-Star voting window quietly opened, and the match between Excellent Era and Blue Rain began.

(End of Chapter)