CHAPTER 35: CHAPTER 35: YOU’RE DEAD

[Private Intel: Gear Shop Owner, Safe Zone 9527]

[Quality]: Purple

[Requirement]: Player level 10

[Details]: The middle-aged owner of the gear shop has been feeling increasingly... underpowered. Too proud to publicly seek out a remedy, he’s stuck. However, the fluid that seeps from the heart of a sewer cockroach monster upon death has remarkable effects. Process it using a special method and deliver it to the shop owner—you might be in for a surprise.

Ethan eyed the latest intel drop in his warehouse, then glanced down at the hulking corpse of the cockroach monster sprawled on the floor, curiosity piqued.

Stuff like this was basically useless to him—right now. Still, it couldn’t hurt to stockpile a bit. You never knew when it might pay off.

With that in mind, he spent a little more time clearing a few more cockroach monsters, collecting the fluid that leaked from their hearts.

Then he checked his wristwatch. [Lucas] had pinged him a bunch of times again.

A moment later, he lowered his gaze to his wristwatch and saw a fresh flood of messages from [Lucas]. The updates said [Lucas] had already secured a venue to host the auction, and the Guild Leaders from the other Guilds were already en route to the site.

All that was left was for Ethan to show up and auction off the intel on the Guild Hidden Quest.

Ethan wasn’t in any rush. In fact, this was an opportunity. Before the auction, he wanted every guild in Safe Zone 9527 to witness what was about to happen to the Coffin Guild.

That way, not only would the intel fetch a higher price, but the other guild leaders would also learn an important lesson: in Safe Zone 9527, there are some people you absolutely do not cross. But first, he needed to use the gear shop owner intel to process the cockroach heart fluid.

Half an hour later, in Safe Zone 9527, a portly, stubble-faced middle-aged man was staring excitedly at the glass vial in his hand, muttering under his breath:

"Hmph. With this, tonight I’m going to prove who’s really not up to the task."

After saying that, he shot Ethan a grateful look and added:

"Buddy, I don’t have much that’s really special. But I do have a cloak I forged back when I was younger."

"Take it. And from now on, anything you buy here—20% off."

A moment later, the shop owner handed Ethan a cloak glowing with a cool blue sheen.

[Stealth Cloak]

[Quality]: Blue

[Requirement]: Speed 8

[Effect 1]: +2 Speed

[Effect 2]: Consumes 2 Energy to bend surrounding light, granting brief invisibility for 10 seconds. Does not mask sound, scent, etc., while moving.

[Note]: For a peeping tom, this is basically god-tier gear.

Ethan threw the Stealth Cloak on. With any luck, it would come in handy when he took the Coffin Guild apart later.

Then he pulled up his current stats:

[Name]: Windchaser

[Talents]: Pain Resistance (Blue), Ten-Thousandfold Intelligence Reward (Unknown)

[Level]: Lv. 10

[Class]: None

[Status]: Normal

[Gear]: Cotton Underwear (Gray), Frostblade (Blue), Stealth Cloak (Blue), Filthy Hard Hat (Green), Worn Protective Gloves (Green), Face-Silk Pants (Green)...

[HP]: 100%

[Strength]: 16 (+3 from gear)

[Speed]: 16 (+5 from gear)

[Defense]: 10 (+1 from gear)

[Energy]: 9

[Charisma]: 10

[Luck]: 1

[Attribute Points]: 0

[Inventory]: Hellblade Class Intel (Orange-quality), Guild Hidden Quest Intel (Purple-quality), Frostheart (Blue-quality), Impure Potential Stimulating Potion (Green)...

Gotta say, at a time when green-quality weapons and items are considered trophies only top-tier players can even get their hands on, his stats are miles ahead of the average player’s.

He was already rocking two pieces of blue-quality gear.

And that’s not even counting the boost from the Third-Gen Human Potential Enhancement Potion. If things went truly sideways, he still had a one-time-use trump card ready.

[Frostheart]

[Quality]: Blue-quality (Single-use)

[Requirement]: Energy 8

[Effect]: Consumes 8 Energy to create an 8-meter radius frost field that slows everyone’s movement and attack speed for 8 seconds. When the duration ends, the field explodes, dealing damage to all targets inside.

[Note]: Ready to meet death together?

The catch is that activating [Frostheart] costs eight points of energy, and he’s only sitting on nine in total right now. On top of that, triggering the [Frostblade] equipment effect also eats up energy—meaning he’d be left with just a single point to play with, so he has to budget every point carefully.

Ethan casually asked the shop owner if he had anything that could raise his max Energy or quickly restore it.

The shop owner reluctantly pulled out a blue-glowing necklace, set it on the counter, and said with obvious pain on his face:

"Sigh. This was a gift from my first love. If you really need it, I’ll let it go for 150,000 Dawn Coins."

[Staying Power Necklace]

[Quality]: Blue-quality

[Requirement]: None

[Effect 1]: Increases the wearer’s Max Energy by 2

[Effect 2]: Activate to instantly restore 4 Energy. Cooldown: 24 hours

[Note]: Staying power is a man’s most important asset!

A cloak made for peeping and a necklace that boosts "stamina"—Ethan couldn’t help giving the shopkeeper a strange look.

With his power bumped up again, he could finally get to what he had in mind.

He’d barely stepped out of the gear shop and hadn’t even made it to the junkyard to look for Grimmount when he noticed a crowd of players had gathered on the nearby street.

The Coffin Guild’s leader, [Overlord], strode out from the throng with a smug grin, pitching his voice theatrically:

"Well, well, look who we have here. Rapist. Pedophile. Scum."

"[Windchaser], everyone knows what kind of person you are now. How does it feel?"

As soon as [Overlord] finished, some of the onlookers started venting in disgust:

"Gross! Just knowing I’m in the same safe zone as someone like [Windchaser] makes my skin crawl!"

"Yeah—some rapist, pedophile, and he still has the nerve to walk around in broad daylight. Shameless."

"I saw the photos of the victims. I can’t even describe how sick it made me feel. Those kids were so innocent, so pure—what kind of monster would want to hurt them?"

"Rapists and pedophiles should be put to death!"

"Execute him!"

"Die, [Windchaser]!"

"You’re a disgusting freak—trash that makes people lose their appetite!"

With the jeers ringing in his ears, [Overlord’s] grin only grew wider. He sauntered up to Ethan, lifted his chin, and looked down his nose at him.

"Don’t think winning in-game means you’ve actually won," he said.

"Crossing me will be the stupidest decision of your life!"

Ethan met the smile on [Overlord]’s face and answered evenly, "Give it time—people will see the truth for what it really is."

"A smear is still a smear. When the truth finally comes to light, the ones who’ve been hurling insults at me will realize they were wrong."

At Ethan’s reply, [Overlord] burst into an unrestrained laugh. He sauntered over to him, leaned in, and lowered his voice, a taunt threading through every word:

"Naive. You’re far too naive."

"Go on then—try to set the record straight. Let’s see if anyone believes you."

Ethan’s expression didn’t so much as flicker. "I’ll clear everything up," he said evenly. "All of it."

A spark lit in [Overlord’s] eyes. He was dying for Ethan to make a statement—it would force him to leak something real.

At the very least, once he posted his ’clarification,’ Overlord could have people trace Windchaser’s exact IP address.

Can’t deal with an enemy in the game? Make sure they die in real life.

That was [Overlord’s] usual playbook. And he was convinced [Windchaser] had no way to hit back. This clash was already his.

Drunk on his own victory, he didn’t notice Ethan tapping out a message on his wristwatch.

[Overlord] reached out, patted Ethan’s shoulder, and said slowly:

"Alright, enough pretending to be calm. Kneel and apologize, and hand over that purple-quality Guild Hidden Intel reward, and I’ll let you walk."

"I’ve given you your chance. Your call. I don’t think you’re that stupid."

When he finished, [Overlord] stepped back two paces, fixing Ethan with the haughty, triumphant gaze of a victor.

He was waiting for Ethan to bow his head, admit fault, and beg for mercy.

Then the other Guilds in Safe Zone 9527 would realize what a terrible mistake it was to cross the Coffin Guild—to cross him.

But when [Overlord] searched [Windchaser]’s face for that familiar panic and fear, all he found was a cool, indifferent stare—like he was looking at a man already dead.

In front of everyone, Ethan said calmly, "You know, you’re about to die."