"Grinding mobs," Lin Tianhao replied simply. Simultaneously, a notification pinged: 9,000 yuan deposited. "Holy crap, Emperor Snow! Did you find some cheesy spot to farm Level 10 mobs safely?" FloatingPagoda_ShieldMountain's surprise was understandable. At Level 3, face-tanking Level 10 mobs was impossible. "Nope," Lin Tianhao sent the reply and ignored further messages. Time to grind.
FloatingPagoda_ShieldMountain grinned as he equipped the ring. Won't tell me? Fine. I'll find you myself.
Level 10 mobs were Twisted Treants – basic intel his guild's scouts confirmed at launch. He headed straight for their territory. There, he spotted an Archer. Clean, efficient motions.
*Thwip. Thwip. Thwip.*
-426-426...
ShieldMountain's eyes bulged.
Four hundred and twenty-six damage per shot?
Even the top DPS in his elite raid, fully geared, barely cracked a hundred Attack Power. This guy was hitting over four hundred... while underleveled? It defied belief.
"Emperor Snow!" The realization hit him like a truck. ShieldMountain had entered late due to IRL issues and was desperately behind. For someone used to dominating every game, it was agony.
"Emperor Snow! Party up? Carry me? Paid carry!" he messaged, hope warring with desperation.
Tianhao almost dismissed him. Time was precious. But the image of his sister in the hospital flashed before him.
"Fine. Three hundred thousand."
"Three hundred thousand?!" ShieldMountain nearly choked. A power-level to 10 usually cost twenty grand, tops.
"To Level 10. Today."
ShieldMountain paused. It was 4 AM. Twenty hours left. Even grinding non-stop, hitting 10 in that time seemed ludicrous.
"Even so... that price is insane." He was rich, not stupid.
"I know. What if it includes a full set of Level 10 Elite-grade gear?"
ShieldMountain's breath hitched. "Emperor Snow... you serious?"
"Dead serious."
Tianhao knew the Elite Treants dropped a full set. The catch? You needed insane luck... or to kill a lot of them.
"Deal. Five grand deposit?"
"No. Three hundred thousand. Upfront."
ShieldMountain hesitated. But seeing those relentless -426s flicker above the Treants, the decision solidified. "Done. Sending now."
Godslayer's Twilight had integrated banking. The transfer notification chimed in Tianhao's UI moments later.
Money secured.
"Wait here," Tianhao messaged. He ducked behind a massive tree trunk and logged out.
FloatingPagoda_ShieldMountain: ???
"F*CK! Scammed me? Takes the cash and logs? GODDAMNIT! I trusted you, you b*st*rd!" Rage and humiliation warred within him. Money wasn't the issue; it was the sheer betrayal. He felt like he'd swallowed something vile.
Tianhao wasn't running. He had the money. The hospital was his destination.
Seeing Lin Qingqing lying pale in her bed, he clenched his fist.
I'll fix everything this time.
After settling the surgical fee, he rushed back to the rented apartment. Logging back into Newbie Village #10086, he found ShieldMountain miserably grinding Level 4 Wind Hounds with a pickup group.
A message pinged:
Emperor Snow: "Level 10 Treants. Come. Now."
ShieldMountain blinked.
He came back?
Despite mentally cursing Tianhao's lineage eighteen generations deep moments ago, he scrambled towards the coordinates like an eager puppy.
Tianhao wasted no time. A party invite popped up. ShieldMountain accepted... then noticed the loot settings:
Master Looter (Emperor Snow).
He opened his mouth to protest, then shut it.
Fine.
The next notification made his jaw drop.
EXP Distribution: 90% (Emperor Snow) | 10% (FloatingPagoda_ShieldMountain)
Ninety-Ten?! This is a carry?!
"Uh, Emperor Snow... Sir? The EXP split... seems a bit off?" he ventured cautiously.
"It's correct."
Tianhao was already firing.
*Thwip. Thwip. Thwip. Thwip. Thwip.*
Five arrows. Ten seconds. One dead Treant.
Six kills per minute.
Three hundred and sixty per hour!
And Tianhao's Health pool was visibly climbing with every shot.
ShieldMountain watched, utterly dumbfounded. The raw damage was shocking enough – hidden gear or an early awakened talent? Maybe. But the technique...
It was the movement. The VR Stutter-Step.
Tianhao flowed between shots: a micro-step back, bow drawn smoothly, instant aim, release. Seamless. Effortless. The lumbering Treants died before covering half the distance.
Don't be fooled, ShieldMountain thought, awe warring with guild knowledge. This wasn't point-and-click.
In full-dive VR, Stutter-Stepping was exponentially harder. It required perfect coordination of four distinct physical actions: footwork, draw, aim, release. Any hitch caused stiffness, slowing the cycle.
Even Floating Pagoda's top-tier Archers were still struggling to master it. This... this was fluid. Artistic.
Instinctively, ShieldMountain activated his recording function.
The boss needs to see this. The raid team needs to STUDY this.
Tianhao, meanwhile, was in the zone. Stutter-Stepping? To him, it was muscle memory. Barely a "technique" worth noting.
"Emperor Snow... what was your old ID? With movement like that... you couldn't have been a nobody."
"Movement? Stutter-Stepping? Isn't that baseline?" Tianhao replied distractedly.
In the Cataclysm era, every competent Archer could do this. The real challenges were achieving Infinite Criticals through precise weak point targeting (Tree Cores, heads, hearts) and mastering battlefield Control – the true Archer endgame, especially in raids. But explaining that to ShieldMountain wasn't a priority.
He kept firing, steadily advancing. Common Treant EXP was too low. To hit Level 10 within the day with dead weight, he needed Elite spawns.
As arrows flew, ShieldMountain sent the recording to his guild leader.
FloatingPagoda_DivineWolf.
The leader of the Floating Pagoda Clan. Currently grinding mobs himself. A notification blinked.
ShieldMountain? Shouldn't he be leveling? What's this video...?
"Boss," the attached message read. "Check this. Major surprise."