Chapter Twenty-Two: Being Followed

“Boss, how did you rush up there so fast?” Xiao Liang asked excitedly. He never imagined that Lu Yang would become number one on the level rankings of The Second World; to him, it was completely unimaginable.

“I have my ways. Where are you now?” Lu Yang asked.

“I’m in the level 1 wild monster zone on the Flower Language Plain. Too many people are competing for monsters here, and several major guilds have even reserved the entire area for leveling,” Xiao Liang said in frustration.

Lu Yang already suspected this was the case and said, “Wait for me at the city gate. I’ll take you to level up.”

Xiao Liang was about to agree, but then he thought about how Lu Yang was already level 4 while he was still level 1. If Lu Yang helped him, it might slow down his own leveling and allow others to surpass him. After thinking it over, Xiao Liang sent Lu Yang a message.

“Boss, you don’t need to lead me. I can manage on my own. You focus on leveling up—don’t let anyone overtake you.”

Lu Yang rubbed his forehead in exasperation. No need to guess, he knew Xiao Liang’s stubbornness had acted up again. “Just hurry over. Helping you won’t slow my leveling.”

When Lu Yang set out to find Xiao Liang, he had already made up his mind. Although he couldn’t help Xiao Liang much early on, he could accompany him while completing quests and fighting monsters to level up without losing time.

“Ah... okay,” Xiao Liang responded immediately upon hearing Lu Yang’s tone. “I’m coming now.”

“That kid,” Lu Yang muttered.

Just as he finished speaking, Lu Yang’s gaze suddenly sharpened. Without moving his head, his eyes flicked to the right side, where a blurry shadow gradually came into focus—a stealthy thief.

Lu Yang wasn’t sure if the thief intended to cause trouble, so he deliberately led the thief on a detour. Yet, he found the thief still trailing behind him. It dawned on him—the thief was indeed after him.

“A level 1 thief dares to hide in front of a level 4 like me? What a joke,” Lu Yang thought lazily. With his current strength, fewer than twenty players at this level could pressure him. Turning around, he headed towards the city gate.

No killing inside the city!

Meanwhile, Xiao Liang had already run to the gate and sat down on the bridge over the moat. His previous hunting grounds were near the city gate, so he arrived quickly.

At this moment, players in novice attire were constantly streaming from inside the city outwards to level up. The plain novice clothes were just simple white linen; female players wore pink skirts—very plain.

As Xiao Liang glanced into the city, suddenly a player cloaked in a blue cape appeared at the gate, holding a reddish-brown, long-handled, spiral-shaped wooden staff.

Nearby players were captivated by this person’s equipment and couldn’t help but stare in admiration.

“Wow, that gear looks so good.”

“Feels like a bronze set.”

“I think his weapon is silver—it has a spiral tip. So flashy.”

...

Xiao Liang looked on enviously at the approaching figure. Before he could think further, a message popped up in the bottom right mailbox. Opening it, he saw it was from Lu Yang.

“I’ve arrived at the city gate. Where are you? The one holding the spiral staff is me.”

Xiao Liang scratched his head in disbelief. He never expected the person he admired was his boss. As Lu Yang drew closer, Xiao Liang hurriedly waved his hand and shouted, “Boss, I’m here!”

Suddenly, all the surrounding players focused their gaze on Xiao Liang, and he relished the attention.

Lu Yang had long recognized Xiao Liang; Xiao Liang’s character appearance was exactly the same as in his previous life. He only sent the message to provide a reasonable explanation.

Approaching Xiao Liang, Lu Yang noticed his admiring eyes and asked, “So, how do you like the boss’s gear?”

Xiao Liang nodded and asked, “Boss, what level is your weapon? It looks so cool.”

Lu Yang sent Xiao Liang an image showing the stats of the Arsonist’s Staff.

Arsonist’s Staff (Golden Grade)
Attack 4–8
Constitution +2
Intelligence +10
Spell Damage +24
Spell Critical Chance +12
Spell Hit Chance +12
Required Level: 5

“Golden grade?” Xiao Liang was stunned. Though he had been in the game less than an hour, from online guides and firsthand experience, he knew how hard it was to obtain equipment.

So many people shouted in the world chat looking to buy bronze-level weapons, but few sold them. Even the starting price was 500 credit points. Yet Lu Yang’s weapon was golden grade.

Xiao Liang couldn’t help but ask, “Boss, where did you get that?”

Lu Yang didn’t answer directly but instead asked, “Want a set of warrior gear at the same level?”

Xiao Liang’s admiring gaze turned hesitant. He shook his head. “That gear is too expensive. I can’t afford it.”

Lu Yang shook his head and put an arm around Xiao Liang’s shoulder. “Trust me, I’ll help you get a set of the same level gear soon.”

Xiao Liang nodded emphatically. He had trusted Lu Yang since childhood, and Lu Yang had never deceived him or failed to fulfill a promise.

“Boss, where are we going now?”

“Follow me and you’ll see,” Lu Yang said, glancing casually at the city gate. Just then, he spotted a thief running desperately toward the gate—the same thief who had been invisible beside him earlier.

“So he really is stalking me,” Lu Yang thought.

The thief, seeing Lu Yang’s gaze, hurriedly used invisibility and slipped into a corner near the gate’s wall. He sent a message: “Boss Black Blood, I’ve tracked that person to the city gate. What should I do?”

In the level 2 wild monster zone outside Giant Town, Black Blood, who was already marked red for killing, stabbed to death a player unhappy about the guild’s monopolizing the area. Seeing the message, a sinister smile spread across his face. “Keep following him. I’ll send Golden Eagle to kill him.”

Indeed, the person stalking Lu Yang was one of Black Blood’s subordinates. That morning, when buying equipment, Black Blood felt deeply humiliated by Lu Yang and wanted revenge. Learning Lu Yang was leveling outside Giant Town, he assigned people to watch the hotel where Lu Yang stayed while personally leading 3,000 guild members to monopolize the area, blocking others from leveling.

But unexpectedly, Lu Yang hadn’t returned to Giant Town. Instead, he went to the Flower Language Plain. Since Black Blood had turned into a red-name killer outside Giant Town and couldn’t return, he had to send his men from Flower Language Plain to handle this.

Lu Yang and Xiao Liang walked at a leisurely pace, chatting and laughing as they passed through the level 3 wild monster zone. When they reached the threshold of the level 4 zone, Lu Yang stopped.

“Boss, why aren’t we going any further? Are we leveling here?” Xiao Liang asked.

Lu Yang shook his head. “No, no. This isn’t for leveling—it’s for easier killing.”

As he spoke, Lu Yang suddenly turned and cast a skill into the air not far behind them—Flame Impact.