"Of course not." Zero Arsenic chuckled. Yet the disbelief in his eyes was clear. He didn't believe that Unbridled Willow knew Gongzi You by chance. "Say, since when is the great Gongzi You so free that she began meddling in somebody else's business?"
"Are we very close with each other? Why are you talking as if you know me very well?" Ye Ci sneered coldly, then shifted her gaze to Unbridled Willow.
Zero Arsenic pursed his lips, ignoring Ye Ci's sarcastic comments.
Unbridled Willow remained smiling. He was not as skeptical as Zero Arsenic, despite being surprised to run into Ye Ci. "I've been looking for you. Thank you for helping me with the Swordback Hold." He patted the shield on his back.
After hearing the words from Unbridled Willow, Zero Arsenic broke into a guffaw. It was something not known to Unbridled Willow, but anybody who knew Gongzi You would know that her luck was so bad that it could drive someone to commit suicide.
Unbridled Willow was slightly embarrassed. He casted a confused glance at Zero Arsenic before continuing, "Gongzi, thank you so much."
Ye Ci narrowed her eyes and spoke out her next words calmly, as if she was just reminiscing about old times with Unbridled Willow. But only Ye Ci knew that her words were actually directed at the sly old fox Zero Arsenic, "When did you join Steel Blooded Battle Spear? You weren't one of them when I first saw you."
"About that…" Unbridled Willow was guarded when faced with this question.
The answer was not important to Ye Ci. She raised her eyebrows, "You're good, and your game sense isn't bad either. Have you ever thought of joining a different guild? Come over to Upwards Ho!. Although we're not as rich as Steel Blooded Battle Spear, we're quite capable when it comes to obtaining First Bloods. Interested in joining us? I can pull some strings and place you into the first squadron."
"Uhh… About that…" Unbridled Willow was lost for words. He originally suspected Ye Ci of approaching him because of his relationship with Thousand Sunsets, and that she was trying to gain some benefits from doing him some favors. But after hearing Ye Ci's words, he was unable to respond.
There were times when one would be faced with dilemmas, and Unbridled Willow was in such a situation. He felt that it would be troublesome no matter what his answer was. It was impossible for him to accept Ye Ci's invitation. But as a player, who would decline such an offer from Gongzi You? How could he decline Ye Ci's offer?
Just as Unbridled Willow was faced with such difficulty, Zero Arsenic laughed, "Hey hey hey. Gongzi, you're way over your head. You're poaching my guild member right in front of me. Give me some respect. This is our latest top Warrior player, you can't do that!"
"Doing things under the table is not my nature. Since I'm going to poach, I'll do it right in the open." Ye Ci looked at Unbridled Willow and then at Zero Arsenic with a smile on her face.
Since Zero Arsenic had spoken up, Unbridled Willow was no longer in a difficult spot. He smiled sheepishly at Ye Ci, "I've already promised Zero Arsenic. But I still need to thank you for helping me with the shield…"
Ye Ci did not want to waste time on superfluous words. Speaking would only increase the chances of her making mistakes. It was better for her to leave the scene as soon as possible, "If you care about it so much, then you should not forget about it. I'll be on my way." She then departed on Ol' Four.
"She's always like that. But please do not mind her." Zero Arsenic patted Unbridled Willow on his shoulder. Despite being suspicious that Gongzi You had inside information regarding their guild, Zero Arsenic has no solid proof, and he opted to overlook the situation.
"Yeah, she must be one of those gaming whizzes. They tend to have the own sense of pride." Unbridled Willow retracted his gaze from Ye Ci's direction. Although he was new to the game, he had some knowledge about what was going on in the game.
Zero Arsenic laughed. "So what if she's good in the game? A person can't be playing the game for his or her entire life." ?He spoke with a hint of disdain, "Being an expert in the game does not mean that a person is successful in real life."
Unbridled Willow did not immediately respond to Zero Arsenic's words. He once again stared at the direction where Ye Ci had departed and pursed his lips. In truth, despite agreeing with Zero Arsenic, this was a time where logging into the game was like entering a whole new world. Unbridled Willow decided to keep his opinion to himself.
This girl named Gongzi You was definitely not a nobody in game or in real life.
If… If he had the chance, he would definitely not be as foolish as Thousand Sunsets. He would definitely not become enemies with a person like Gongzi You.
The ghost of a smile formed on his lips. It was befitting of his image of having lukewarm attitude in the eyes of outsiders. He then looked at Zero Arsenic after a long moment and smiled, "So, what's my assignment?"
"There's a lot of experts in the Eastern Continent. It's almost impossible for a newbie like you to obtain First Blood. The Old Master wants you to get First Five of the Castle Ruins."
"Is this one of my conditions or an opportunity?"
"It's both."
Without offering more words, Unbridled Willow squeezed his legs against his horse's sides, pulled the reins, and the horse's head reared up.It let out a long neigh as it raised its two front legs. From afar, Unbridled Willow was exceptionally handsome. With that, he galloped into the dungeon without looking back.
The first thing Ye Ci saw as she returned to Red Lake City was the face of Green Hill's Moon that was decorated with a sly smile. As he hurried his way towards Ye Ci, she wished that she could just disappear. Not every wish however, could be granted so easily. Green Hill's Moon grabbed at her arm and smiled, "Boss! Boss! I've been waiting for you."
"Let go, or you'll die a horrible death." Ye Ci's hand was already on her Venomous Scorpion Stinger as she issued her threat.
Who are the scariest people in this world? Those who were not afraid of death? They were scary, but you could still put them down by simply killing them. Who was even more scary than someone who is not afraid of death, you ask? The answer is simple: someone who is shameless.
When a person is shameless, he can do a lot of unexpected things that will definitely impress you.
Ye Ci regretted associating with Green Hill's Moon. His intelligence was vast and he was a decent person who could keep a secret. Besides, he was rather compatible with her in her last life. There was, however, a downside to Green Hill's Moon's character: he was a shameless person. As someone who was bad when it came to interpersonal relationships, dealing with such a shameless individual was something Ye Ci was incapable of.
"Aiya, aiya, don't be angry! I merely wanted to forge a better relationship with you! It was not my intention to make a fool out of you." Green Hill's Moon's face was lit up with a broad smile, as if Ye Ci's torrent of abuse had not occured.
Ye Ci immediately pulled her arm away and turned around. She had no intention at all to deal with this person at the moment. The run in with Unbridled Willow had foiled her plan. She needed time for herself to decide if she could follow through with her original plan.
If Green Hill's Moon would leave just because of that, he would not be Green Hill's Moon. One could see a male Elf in shabby clothing wearing a mask following close behind the famous persona of Red Lake City, Gongzi You. As if it was not weird enough, the male Elf was boisterous, while Gongzi You's expression was cold as ice. The sharp contrast was a sight for sore eyes.
"Boss! Boss! Just listen to me!"
"I've said this before. I'm not paying the downpayment. I'd rather face the penalty from the system for breaching the contract."
"Boss, please don't be angry! To make up for my mistake, I'll tell you some gossip. It will definitely be very useful for you."
"I'm never interested in gossip."
With that, Ye Ci walked into the Mercenary Guild and headed for her room.
Green Hill's Moon was still following close behind, "No, listen, you might be interested in this." Seeing that he was still being ignored by Ye Ci, Green Hill's moon stomped his foot while gritting his teeth, "Alright, if the gossip that I'm about to tell you is of no interest to you, I'll cancel the contract myself, and not ask for the downpayment. How about that?"
For someone as greedy and shameless as Green Hill's Moon to say something like that, it was like red rain would pour down from the heavens. For a gossip to be held by Green Hill's Moon with such high regard, Ye Ci's interest was suddenly aroused. She stopped abruptly in front of the carved doors and looked at him coldly. "Alright, come in and tell me what you know."
Green Hill's Moon was as happy as a inmate on death row who had just been pardoned.
As expected. Ye Ci was interested in this gossip.
Ye Ci had originally planned to get Green Hill's Moon to investigate the background of Thousand Sunsets so that she would have a contingency plan if everything went wrong. She did not expect Green Hill's Moon to come up with so much information.
Thousand Sunsets was indeed from a wealthy family with a long history. The family's business was very renowned in Ye Ci's city, spanning into multiple sectors throughout the nation. The person who wielded power in the family was none other than the grandfather of Thousand Sunsets. Despite being healthy and well, his grandfather was desperate to appoint an heir.
The family was very cautious when it came the the selection of heirs. Thousand Sunsets' family, however, was rather lacking in terms of offsprings. The grandfather of Thousand Sunsets had 2 sons. The eldest was the father of Thousand Sunsets, while the second son was a willful child. It was said that he had broken ties with the family a long time ago. This incident saddened Thousand Sunsets' grandfather, and he made the decision to leave all the family's wealth to his eldest son.
In truth, among both of the Old Master's sons, the second son was more talented in running a business. His interests however, lay elsewhere…