Scourge Messenger

Chapter 251 Until the End of the Road
Unless it's a legendary online game with alien black technology where 'the power of the game can be reflected in reality,' in normal online games, there will always only be one type of player at the top of the food chain: the big spender.

In legendary online games, they might be called big spenders; in SLG mobile games, they might be called alliance leaders; even in time-based subscription online games that don't sell stats or items, they still dominate the game, paving the way with money and treating everyone as pawns, enjoying the most gaming experience with the least effort, and discarding all the game's formalities.

Even for the most difficult dungeons, they can hire super elite players to help them clear them. At best, they call in a proxy player; at worst, they insist on doing it themselves, leaving everyone else to clean up their mess.

Yan Qing's goal is to become a big spender player; he wants to sponsor the Thieves' Family!
Previously, Yan Qing was just a nobody in the Thieves' Family, so poor that he could only afford to eat pork trotters from the Pingcheng Army Camp. Naturally, he had no right to say such things. But as the saying goes, "No one can help me reach the clouds, so I will use my cheat code to reach the mountain peak." After his trip to Shudao Mountain, Yan Qing's resources were completely overflowing. Even a little bit of medicine would be enough for him to eat his fill.

At this point, Yan Qing had two choices: use these resources to create new accounts or to train teammates, and he quickly made a decision—he wanted them all.

The pharmacist doesn't need to invest anything further; she can slowly level up to level 39 on her own. Although Shang Xinlei is a bit useless, if you calculate carefully, she only needs the Heavenly Gang and Earthly Fiends and a few introductory books of secret techniques, which Yan Qing happens to have in excess.

If Yan Qing can produce another Heavenly Gang and Earthly Fiends quest within these twenty days, he can cultivate a Foundation Establishment alt account and simultaneously level up Yaoshi Yuan and Shang Xinlei to the third job advancement. When the Thieves' House goes on a quest, the little maid Shang Xinlei and the MT Yaoshi Yuan will take care of it. He can find a place to have afternoon tea, watch the flowers bloom and fade in the courtyard, and observe the clouds drift by. This is the demeanor of a true patron.

If Shang Xinlei and the pharmacist were to come running over crying and saying they needed the Yellow Dog Emperor to take action, Yan Qing would give a wicked smile, shout "Alt!", and then the Foundation Establishment Alt would descend from the sky in a furious and ferocious manner, ruthlessly killing enemies beyond its level, and all the traitors would die.

It's cool to think about.

Some might ask, "Do you really want to stay in this run-down thief's den? Can't you just leave and not participate in the theft missions?" Well, that's not an option.

Before, Yan Qing hadn't felt it, but after choosing the [Immortal Journey] team skill, he felt more and more how overpowered the Thieves' House's [Return] characteristic was. There was no cooldown time, no casting time, and at any time, in any place (excluding secret realms), as long as you could activate it first, you would be invincible.

The fact that the pharmacist didn't escape from the Shu Dao Mountain was purely bad luck. Even Yan Qing didn't expect the local Foundation Establishment cultivators to be so rude, taking control of the situation without saying a word.

Without the Thieves' Den, Yan Qing would have to stay in the main world. Even living in the main city wouldn't give him a sense of security; the 30-second activation time of [Immortal Travel] would be enough for a Foundation Establishment cultivator to cook two dishes with him. Conversely, as long as Yan Qing is the Thieves' Den's patron, he can only go outside to sunbathe when his Jade Syndrome flares up. Even if something happens, there's a very high probability he can instantly return to the Thieves' Den. This sense of security is second only to playing a game with Wind Spirit Moon Shadow.

The importance of the Thieves' House is undeniable; the current issue is whether the Pharmacist and Shang Xinlei will accept his financial injection. However, Yan Qing has no interest in persuading them. Damn it, I accept the difficulty of borrowing money, but giving it away is even harder! I'm here to be a sugar daddy, not a lapdog!

Seeing that they were still hesitant, Yan Qing said, "Don't just throw it away. Giving you money is the same as giving money to Baihu. I'll ask her if she accepts angel investment when Baihu goes online."

With no further objections, the pharmacist and Shang Xinlei temporarily set aside their psychological burdens and were determined to squeeze every last drop of Yan Qing's inventory, ensuring that not a single spirit jade was given away to an outsider like the white fox.

After finishing their hot pot and cleaning up the table, they immediately began their training session, since the messengers weren't afraid of appendicitis anyway.

After a brief assessment, the pharmacist began to regret his actions.

"You two...don't you ever take responsibility for facing demons head-on?"

Yan Qing and Shang Xinlei shook their heads. Yan Qing was a complete stat monster, relying solely on consuming secret manuals to boost her numbers; she had stats but no skill. Shang Xinlei was a bit better, but her flying circle style was less a melee weapon and more a mid-range spellcasting style using flying circles. Flying circles were essentially no different from staffs. Besides, as the fourth daughter of the Shang family, she naturally wasn't suited for close-range frontline combat.

"The good news is that you don't have any bad habits and are highly malleable," the pharmacist said. "The bad news is that you don't have any habits at all. You're like blank slates. If you were in Zhou Kingdom, you'd have to train with ten-year-old children!"

"It can't be that bad, can it?" Shang Xinlei couldn't help but say, "I'm also a frequent visitor to the secret realm. I've been training there for many years and have never had an accident."

"That's because you're training in your own secret realm, with strategy guides and teammates protecting you. It's no different from performing on stage; there's not a shred of danger," the Pharmacist said bluntly. "If you think you'll never encounter unexpected enemies in your life, then you can continue in this state. The real danger is what tests your ability to handle unexpected situations!"

"So we need your guidance, Black Wolf." Yan Qing perked up, now that he was the sugar daddy, he had to stand tall: "Twenty days should be enough time for you to train us to be almost as good as you, right?"

The pharmacist smiled.

It turns out that people can actually laugh when they're extremely speechless.

"Do you think I can hypnotize or brainwash you, and just stuff knowledge into your head?" She gave an almost cruel smile: "Since I only have half an hour each day, I can only do my best."

Today's training is to keep your eyes open.

Simply put, it's the ability to remain unmoved even if Mount Tai collapses before you, and to keep your eyes straight ahead even if a deer runs past on your left; only then can you control advantages and disadvantages, and be ready to face the enemy. The pharmacist offered to take out two feather dusters and asked them to remove the defensive barrier and extend their hands.

The training method is simple: a feather duster will sweep their face, and their lower body cannot move. Only their head can dodge, but if the dodge is too wide, their hand will be hit; if they fail to dodge the attack that will hit them, then... they will be slapped hard across the face.

This training focuses on concentration and observation, as well as overcoming the physiological reaction of still widening one's eyes even after being slapped in the eye. This technique cannot improve one's level, but without specific training, even if one progresses through the secret manuals to the third rank, this weakness will still appear in combat. Soon, red marks appeared on Yan Qing and Shang Xinlei's palms and cheeks. Although the pain was not unbearable for a third-rank messenger, the burning sense of humiliation was real.

Pharmacist Yuan wasn't hypocritical. After training them for a quarter of an hour, he gave them a chance to challenge him. Yan Qing and Shang Xinlei, that pair of scoundrels, used both methods and came up with many ingenious plans, but they couldn't hit Pharmacist Yuan even once. Pharmacist Yuan's eyes were like rulers, always keeping a thumb's distance from the feather duster. The scoundrels were completely convinced and willingly let Pharmacist Yuan whip them like spinning tops for the rest of the time.

After half an hour of training, Yan Qing and Shang Xinlei were like recent graduates who had undergone a transformation after being brutally beaten by society. Now, at least they wouldn't close their eyes when they were hit in the face. As for their sense of distance, they still needed to practice.

“This is just the most basic combat training,” the pharmacist said, feeling much better after giving them a beating. “Poison, blindness, crippling, smoke, gang fights… we have to train in all sorts of situations until we have the ability to deal with any unexpected events. Twenty days is only enough time to barely train a few of the most important ones.”

Shang Xinlei activated the Green Grass Bracelet to heal the red marks on her body. Hearing this, her face turned a little pale, and her eyes, which she had just wiped dry, seemed to be about to moisten again: "But, but I mainly practice the Flying Circle style, which is mostly mid-range combat. Is it necessary to train all of them?"

“Red Serpent, how could you think like that?” Yan Qing said very seriously, “This is a life-or-death skill. No matter how much you train, it’s never a loss. If you accidentally die in the next mission, then the Foundation Establishment Pills and Legendary Tokens that were supposed to be given to you will have to be given to White Fox or future teammates.”

Damn, this bandaged bastard has become much more arrogant since accepting the gift, but amidst her anger, Shang Xinlei was also a little touched, and snorted: "You really want to train with me that much?"

"Of course, if you don't come, Black Wolf will take all my cards."

Although he knew that these training sessions would greatly benefit his survival, no one is born willing to endure hardship. He was not a senior in high school, and if he hadn't dragged Shang Xinlei into this business, Yan Qing suspected that he would have given up after only a few days, just like how he had a gym membership that he had paid for for two years but hadn't been to the gym more than a few times before he transmigrated.

At least seeing Shang Xinlei shed tears can calm her down a bit.

Even though she couldn't hear Yan Qing's thoughts, just by looking at his malicious expression, she knew he was up to no good. Shang Xinlei glared at him angrily, took off the grass bracelet and handed it to him, "Fine, I only made two mistakes just now, but you made five. I come here every day to watch you embarrass yourself. I'll beat you up with Black Wolf then."

Yan Qing, unwilling to back down, said, "What if I improve even faster? I won't bully you. I don't need Black Wolf; I'll beat you up by myself."

"Alright, whoever makes zero mistakes first gets the right to pick someone. Are you willing to bet?"

"Just bet!"

Watching these two gamble like children, the Thieves' House Imperial Guard Instructor, Pharmacist Yuan, was very pleased: "Since you are so confident, then conduct a test before dinner tomorrow. The person who makes the most mistakes in the test will be punished."

"Punish him by not letting him eat?"

“No, the punishment is to tie him to a chair and blindfold him, and make him keep his mouth wide open no matter what anyone feeds him,” the pharmacist said calmly. “Even leftover bones, sucked meat, or food that has been spat on—though it could also be normal food, since the person being punished can’t see it anyway.”

Both Yan Qing and Shang Xinlei had a bead of cold sweat trickling down their foreheads.

Is this some serious stunt? Must the weak be so cruelly humiliated by the strong? The people of Zhou have such terrible taste.

but……

Yan Qing looked at Shang Xinlei and Yao Shiyuan, a slight smile playing on his lips, and couldn't help but laugh out loud. The two looked at Yan Qing, their eyes questioning, "Why do you laugh when you see us? You got slapped on the big head, not the small head! Even if it was the small head, this is still too much!"

"I was worried that the two of you wouldn't get along, but it seems I was overthinking it," Yan Qing said. "Perhaps this sounds a bit condescending, but you are both teammates that I respect."

He raised his fist and said earnestly, "I hope you can follow me along this path of the Thieves' House, building your foundation, ascending, until the end of the road."

Shang Xinlei and the pharmacist exchanged a subtle glance. After a while, Yan Qing began to feel insecure. He thought he had spoken very passionately, so why was there no response? Had they both become cold-hearted from killing too many fish?

Suddenly, they both burst out laughing and bumped their fists together.

"Such arrogance, talking as if you're already a bandit leader." Shang Xinlei snorted lightly.

"Don't fall behind," the pharmacist said calmly. "I don't have time to wait for you to catch up."

　Thanks to the new alliance leader 'Wu Mingshi'

　　
　
(End of this chapter)