Star Abyss Walker

Chapter 250 Good things come in hard times
In the morning, in Huaining city, at the HGL building.

At the company's front desk, we met with the person in charge of HGL, who was said to be a senior executive named Guan Xiaochao. He was mainly responsible for external business negotiations and evaluations, and was said to have a lot of power within the company.

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Ding..."

The receptionist said apologetically, "Our manager is in a meeting right now, so... how about you come back another time?"

"No need, I'll wait for him."

"All right……"

She said, "Then I'll have someone take you to Mr. Guan's office. Just wait there. Mr. Guan said he'll come over as soon as the meeting is over."

"Ah."

I nodded, and then went upstairs with Zhao Yihang to Guan Xiaochao's office. The sweet-looking female secretary poured us two cups of tea, and then the long wait began.

……

Two hours passed in this wait, and soon it was 11:30.

Finally, a young man in a suit walked in. He looked to be under thirty, with a buzz cut and average looks. He quickly walked a few steps and said with a smile, "Manager Ding, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting!"

"Mr. Guan, you're too kind. It's my pleasure."

I introduced Zhao Yihang briefly, and then went straight to explaining my purpose.

"Huaining University's inter-departmental league..."

Guan Xiaochao looked serious and said, "Manager Ding, I think you know that... HGL is a leading live streaming platform in the industry. Currently, the content we stream has a lot of popularity, including the WCG Global Finals, as well as some StarCraft, King of Fighters, and Street Fighter competitions. If it's just the internal departmental league of Huaining University, I think the popularity might not be enough for our live streaming platform."

He then said apologetically, "I'm sorry, I was just telling the truth. Please forgive me if I offended you."

“General Manager Guan is straightforward and outspoken, which I think makes the conversation easier. After all, everyone is very honest and doesn’t beat around the bush,” I quickly chimed in.

Meanwhile, Zhao Yihang stared wide-eyed, listening intently, seemingly learning conversation skills.

"However, Mr. Guan."

I frowned and said, "I've been watching HGL's live streams, and I'm actually a die-hard fan of HGL. But they mainly stream large-scale events, and there are relatively few actual matches. This often fails to meet the needs of the audience. Many viewers watch the live stream recordings over and over again countless times, needlessly wasting a lot of their attention."

As I spoke, I looked at him with a sincere expression and said, "Currently, there is no formal Warcraft III league in China. Most of the major tournaments are hosted by foreign organizations. So I think that although WHL is a college league, it is the first of its kind in China. In addition, Feiyang Internet Cafe has flagship stores in Beihai, Jiangning, Huaining and other places. Moreover, it has the strong support of Huaining University. Once the league is really established, it will definitely add icing on the cake for HGL's popularity."

“This…” He hesitated.

I continued, “Recently, Gamefy Channel has officially risen to prominence, but their live streaming categories and competitions are quite limited. If HGL were to cooperate with us, wouldn’t that be like opening up a new track and completely crushing Gamefy in terms of live streaming content? After all, the WHL league may be irreplaceable.”

"Okay, I'll consider it carefully!"

Guan Xiaochao said, "Manager Ding, could you give me a little time?"

"can!"

I nodded and smiled. We exchanged business cards, and the other person invited us to stay for dinner, but we politely declined.

……

Feiyang Internet Cafe.

Zhao Yihang and I held our boxed lunches and ate heartily.

"Ding Han, why don't we stay at HGL for dinner?"

"Eat my ass..."

I said speechlessly, "You're accepting someone's invitation before even reaching a cooperation agreement. What kind of impression do you think that will leave on them? Besides, cooperation is for mutual benefit. Neither side has made any money for the other yet, so it's best not to accept this kind of invitation."

"That's right..."

He nodded in deep agreement.

In the events that followed, I was a little uneasy. Waiting for the other party's message is always quite agonizing, just like waiting for a reply after a job interview; it felt like an eternity.

"Beep beep~~~"

In the evening, a phone call came in, and the contact name was Guan Xiaochao!
"Hello, Mr. Guan!"

"Manager Ding, our senior management at HGL had a meeting this afternoon, and after discussion, we finally reached a consensus. I think you're right. Huaining University is the top university in Huaining City, and its departmental league deserves our attention. Therefore, HGL will create a separate section for the WHL league, and will provide professional live commentary and broadcasts. However, I have one request..."

"Please speak, Mr. Guan, please speak!"

"I hope that HGL can be a co-organizer, just like Feiyang Internet Cafe. Do you think this condition is acceptable? If you agree, then the cooperation is confirmed, and we can draft the contract and sign it at any time."

"can!"

Without hesitation, I thought that adding another organizer wouldn't do any harm to Feiyang Internet Cafe chain, especially since we were already doing something "free".

"it is good!"

Guan Xiaochao smiled and said, "I'll have them draft the contract right now. If it's convenient for you, come over tomorrow morning and we'll sign the cooperation agreement. How about that?"

"Okay, I'll arrive around nine o'clock tomorrow."

"Ok!"

……

In a great mood, I left work early in the evening, went to the supermarket to buy some groceries, and cooked a sumptuous meal.

"Squeak~~"

Lin Qingying pushed open the door and entered, taking off her trench coat and hanging it on the hanger. She smiled and asked, "The cooperation has been finalized?"

"Ok!"

I laughed, opened a bottle of red wine, and said, "Let's have a drink to celebrate!"

"Are you a good drinker?"

"One glass is still fine!"

"Ok."

Lin Qingying sat down, took a sip of red wine, and began to savor the food. She smiled and asked, "Ding Han, have you planned when the WHL league's opening match will start?"

"not yet……"

I thought for a moment and said, "We can only confirm it after Huaining University makes a decision. Otherwise, it's useless to have internet cafes providing the venue and HGL providing live streaming support. You can't cook without rice."

"Ah."

She smiled slightly: "When your opening match comes, I'll try to find some time to go and watch. After all, I'd like to be involved in it, right?"

"Of course!"

I nodded: "If it weren't for that Armani suit, I doubt Mr. Guan from HGL would have even given me a second glance."

Lin Qingying smiled faintly and began to focus on her meal.

……

The following morning, at Feiyang Internet Cafe.

I have prepared the league format, schedule, and live broadcast schedule in detail. The WHL rules are classic, just like the WC3L league: four 1V1 matches, one 2V2 match, best of five points system, and each team can have a maximum of five players, which is fair and just.

After finishing it, I sent it directly to Qin Siyao.

"okay!"

Qin Siyao sent a smiley face and said, "I'm also working on it intensively here. Wait for my good news!"

"Thank you for your hard work!"

I stood up, glanced at Zhao Yihang not far away, and said, "Hangzi, shall we go for a walk around the school?"

"Why go?"

"Play ball, relax."

"okay!"

The two infiltrated Huaining University again, and by sheer coincidence, they spotted "Rukawa Kaede" Gao Tianyu on the basketball court once more.

"Ding Han!"

He spotted me immediately and laughed, "Want to come on and have a go?"

"Okay!"

Perfect timing! I actually came here to play basketball with him anyway. You have to have a rich life outside of work, right? Besides, practicing basketball skills is definitely beneficial. I feel more agile now.

Zhao Yihang bought a cup of milk tea, held it in his arms, and watched the game silently from the sidelines, his eyes darting back and forth between the senior and junior students cheering for Gao Tianyu.

If this guy weren't so sleazy, he probably would have a girlfriend by now.

"Thump thump thump~~~ Swoosh!"

After three quick dribbles, he jumped back and made a three-point layup!

"Shh!"

Gao Tianyu leaped high, attempting to block the shot.

I quickly changed direction and threw the ball.

"Pap~~"

The ball hit the rim, rebound, missed!

Gao Tianyu quickly moved forward, received a pass from his teammate, and scored with a quick shot.

For a time, the scores of the two teams were neck and neck.

"Ding Han!"

Gao Tianyu dribbled the ball frantically, his eyes fixed on me, and laughed, "I've already discovered your weakness. As long as there's interference, your shooting accuracy will be affected, and you won't be able to hit the target 100% of the time!"

That's obvious. It doesn't matter who gets disturbed; I'm not a machine.

Of course, it's also possible that the throwing skill level is too low. If it were a level 10 legendary or masterful throwing skill, one might be able to throw the ball in despite interference!

This is similar to shooting levels. While lower-level shooting levels like Advanced Shooting and Shooting Expert are powerful and can get headshots at close range, that's only if the opponent isn't moving much. Once the opponent starts shaking their head wildly and enters an absurd "unselectable" state, you'll still miss.

Therefore, improving shooting level enhances the ability to react, lock on, and predict. Once the shooting level reaches the highest level, such as Legendary or Transcendent, even if the opponent's head is blurry or their brains are spilling out, it is still possible to achieve headshots every time.

"is it?"

I smiled slightly, suddenly shifted my body to the side, quickly executed a behind-the-back dribble, and used my superior agility to shake off Gao Tianyu. Then I leaped high and scored three points!

"Wow, Ding Han, that's amazing!!!"

Suddenly, a familiar voice came from the sidelines.

"what?"

I turned around and saw Lu Xiaomei sitting beautifully next to Zhao Yihang, holding a cup of milk tea in her hand, raising her hand and cheering me on enthusiastically.

Who is that girl?

In an instant, nine out of ten people from both teams looked over, and they were all instantly captivated by Lu Xiaobei's beauty.

"Do you know Ding Han?" Gao Tianyu asked.

"Yes, my friend."

"She's so good-looking..."

He couldn't help but sigh. The other students didn't recognize Lu Xiaobei either. Probably because they weren't fans of celebrities, they only knew that this woman was exceptionally beautiful, but they didn't know that she was the female lead in "No Makeup," which ranked number one on various music charts.

I called a pause, walked over, and asked, "What brings you here?"

"Can't you come?"

She asked a question in return, and then said, "I heard from Sister Xiaoman that you and Zhao Yihang are having an event at the internet cafe, and that you're going to organize a league in a big way. How could I miss such a moment? So I bought a plane ticket early this morning and flew over!"

"That's good. With the boss in charge, everyone feels more confident."

"Where are we at now?"

"We're waiting for news from the student council. As long as the school approves it, the league can begin."

"it is good!"

……

Just then, a familiar figure walked over. It was Qin Siyao, looking dejected. She stepped forward and said, "Ding Han, I just went to the principal's office... I was going to send you a message, but I didn't expect you to be at school. I have some bad news for you..."

My heart sank: "What bad news?"

"The principal said that students should prioritize their studies and not let frivolous pursuits distract them from their studies, so the school does not support proposals like the WHL league to organize large-scale esports competitions..."

……

My heart sank to the bottom.

Everything was ready except for the east wind, but then a howling northwest wind started to blow.

"I rely on..."

Zhao Yihang frowned and said, "What kind of old-fashioned principal is this? What era are we living in? He still promotes this idea of ​​indulging in frivolous pursuits and neglecting one's studies. Doesn't he know what it means to develop morally, intellectually, physically, aesthetically, and practically in an all-round way?"

"I guessed this would be the result."

Standing to the side, Gao Tianyu said, "A large-scale e-sports event on campus, no one has ever done this before. I guess the principal is afraid of taking responsibility, so he simply decided not to hold it."

"What kind of principal is this?"

Lu Xiaobei said angrily, "Shall we go and argue with him?"

"Don't make things worse, let's leave it at that."

I looked at Qin Siyao and said, "There might still be room for redemption. Let's not panic. Qin Siyao, keep compiling the statistics for the contestants from each department in the school. Don't give up. Let's work together and maybe things can turn around."

"Ok!"

Qin Siyao nodded and then left.

I continued playing for a while, using my agility to constantly move around and completely crush Gao Tianyu before returning to Feiyang Internet Cafe with Lu Xiaobei and Zhao Yihang.

……

evening.

"drop!"

A message came from Fatty: "Ding Han, let's have dinner together tonight. Husband and Wife Kitchen, get ready?"

"what happened?"

I sent a sly smiley face: "Are you having trouble at work?"

"Damn, you're like a mind reader..."

The fat guy replied: "Anyway, we'll meet after get off work, don't be late!"

"Ok!"

Shortly after, I clocked out of get off work, said goodbye to Lu Xiaobei and Zhao Yihang, and returned to my neighborhood.

"Ding Han, are you off work?"

The wife, who runs the small family-run restaurant, smiled and asked, "How many people are in your party?"

"two."

Just as I finished speaking, my phone rang. A WeChat message from Lin Qingying read: "I'm off work."

"Boss lady, three!"

I held up three fingers and then sent a message to Lin Qingying, saying, "Fatty and I have arranged to eat at the small family-run restaurant in the neighborhood. Why don't you come too, and bring an extra pair of chopsticks?"

"it is good."

Shortly after, the fat man arrived, looking travel-worn, and sat down opposite me, saying, "Want a drink?"

"Not urgent."

I shook my head: "Xiaoying will be here soon. Think about whether you want to talk about work now, or wait until she arrives?"

"Holy shit, really?"

The fat man was somewhat flustered and said, "Well, I'd better tell you now, otherwise it'll look like I'm complaining about my colleague to the boss."

"Well, tell me."

"Damn it, I just joined the R&D department yesterday. My supervisor assigned me a project and three colleagues to assist me. But all three of them are certified software engineers, just one step away from becoming senior engineers. I can't give them any orders at all. What the hell am I supposed to do?"

"This..."

I frowned: "They definitely won't be interested in you if you don't have a certificate. Let me ask you first, can you complete this project on your own?"

"Not yet, as it involves quite a few categories of knowledge."

The fat man lowered his voice and said, "I've already maxed out my programming skills, but this project involves quite a few other skills, and I'm a little reluctant to use up my skill points and experience."

"Don't be reluctant..."

I whispered, "These kinds of mental skills basically all boost your spirit. Think about how low your spirit is. One burst of spiritual energy from someone and you'd be in deep trouble. If you don't fix it now, when will you? Besides, the main way to improve a gunner's strength is through combat skills, not attributes. Just keep learning them."

"Fine!"

The fat man said in a deep voice, "If I free up two more skill points to upgrade my skills, I should be able to handle this project on my own."

"That's good then." I smiled slightly: "You have to show them what you're capable of first, let them know your abilities, and learn to respect you. After that, you don't need me to teach you what to do, right? You're definitely better than me at this."

"Hahaha~~~"

The fat man grinned and said, "After we finish this project, I'll treat them to a meal, and then we'll share the credit to improve our working relationships, right?"

I nodded: "When the time is right, Xiaoying will naturally promote you and give you a raise. There's no need to rush, we have to take it slowly."

"Ok!"

The fat man nodded vigorously: "Your few simple words have given me a feeling of clarity, and I feel much better now."

"Get out!"

At this moment, Lin Qingying walked into the restaurant, and the proprietress was stunned. She never expected that the girl who usually drove a Bentley would come to eat here.

"Xiao Ying, sit down."

I moved the stool away from her.

"Haven't you touched your chopsticks yet?" she asked with a smile.

"Waiting for you."

"Then let's get started."

After eating for a while, the fat man asked, "Ding Han, how's it going on your end? I heard you're collaborating with Huaining University to organize a Warcraft III departmental league?"

"Ah."

I smiled and said, "It's a bit frustrating to say, maybe it's just that good things come to those who wait."

"What's wrong?" Lin Qingying asked in surprise.

"It's still about the league."

I frowned and said, "The contract with HGL was already signed, but then something went wrong at the school. Qin Siyao, the student union president of Huaining University who was in contact with me, submitted the competition rules and league specifications to the principal's office today, but it was rejected. The principal said that students shouldn't be distracted by frivolous pursuits, so he refused to sign it. I'm speechless..."

"this is normal."

Lin Qingying pointed out incisively, "After all, there has never been a precedent for a school to hold a league before, so the president of Huaining University is probably afraid of public criticism and therefore unwilling to take responsibility. But don't worry, I'll make a phone call, maybe I can solve this problem."

"what?"

The fat man and I were surprised.

Lin Qingying stood up, walked to the side, and dialed a number: "Uncle Li, yes, this is Xiaoying... Yes, yes, I'm back in Yuening now, everything is fine... By the way, I called you today because of something, about my friend..."

She recounted what had happened at Huaining University.

Shortly after, he hung up the phone and walked back to continue eating.

As the fat man ate, he was sweating profusely; he had already realized just how vast the gap between social classes truly was.

"Xiaoying, who did you call?" I couldn't help but ask.

"A leader from the Provincial Department of Education."

She said, "He's my dad's friend, but we haven't been in touch for a long time, so I used that favor. Don't worry... If he asks, this matter can most likely be resolved. Besides, organizing a league to enrich university life is not a bad thing in itself. Whether it succeeds or not is just a matter of a word."

The fat man gave a thumbs up: "As expected of our CEO Lin."

Lin Qingying smiled slightly: "Are you getting used to your work in Yuening?"

"pretty good."

"That's good……"

The three continued eating and chatting, but not long after, Qin Siyao called directly with a voice message: "Ding Han! Ding Han! The secretary from the principal's office just called me and said that the principal has changed his mind. He thinks that holding a league to enrich university life is a good thing and can make our Huaining University students more energetic, so he is willing to sign this document. I'll go over and sign it right now!"

"Haha, this is great news!"

"Yes!"

Qin Siyao said, "Is this what they mean by having a benefactor in the dark? That's wonderful, it seems we're quite lucky!"

I glanced at Lin Qingying beside me and thought to myself, there's no such thing as a benefactor in the dark; the benefactor is sitting right next to me.

Afterwards, I announced the good news in the work group of me, Lu Xiaobei, Zhao Yihang, and Chen Xiaoman. Everyone was very happy. Even Lu Xiaobei, who was so angry that she couldn't eat, asked Zhao Yihang to order her a boxed lunch!
……

The following morning, at Feiyang Internet Cafe.

Qin Siyao has already sent over all the information about the departments and players of the sixteen teams, so I spent the whole morning making a software for updating and entering league data. After that, I started to push forward the league's progress in full swing, striving to start the opening match as soon as possible!

"Ding Han~~"

In the morning, Zhao Yihang, dressed in a formal suit, came in carrying four cups of milk tea and gave one to each of us.

"Hangzi..."

I looked at him with a skeptical gaze: "Is there some good news? Knowing you as I do, you're such a tightwad, you wouldn't treat everyone to milk tea if it wasn't for a good reason, would you?"

"It's true!"

Chen Xiaoman said, "Our Manager Ding has a really good eye for people!"

"This one……"

Zhao Yihang was a little shy and looked at Lu Xiaobei: "Boss, why don't you announce it?"

So, Lu Xiaobei cleared his throat, put down his milk tea, and said, "I hereby officially announce that, starting today, Zhao Yihang is being promoted to deputy manager of our Feiyang Chain Internet Cafe Huaining flagship store, responsible for customer liaison, event operations, ordering food and running errands, buying milk tea, handling counter payments, and all other tasks. Does everyone have any objections?"

"No!" Chen Xiaoman shook her head and smiled.

"Great job, Hangzi!"

I laughed and patted Zhao Yihang on the shoulder: "You've accidentally made it into management!"

"Hahaha, it's all thanks to the boss's guidance and my brother Ding Han's tireless teaching!"

Zhao Yihang has also learned about social etiquette: "I will continue to work hard!"

"Did you give Hangzi a raise?" I asked.

“Yes, a monthly salary of ten thousand,” Lu Xiaobei said.

"That's OK!"

I congratulated Zhao Yihang again: "Remember to save up some money for your future wedding, Hangzi. You're so ugly, if the bride price isn't enough, what girl will want to marry you..."

"Thank you so much, my dear brother!" Zhao Yihang was speechless.

Lu Xiaobei pursed her lips: "Ding Han, you're such a jerk!"

Chen Xiaoman covered her mouth and laughed.

"Let's go, since I'm free this morning, I'll go play some ball on campus."

"Let's go, let's go watch the game!"

So the three of them sneaked into Huaining University, this time not for work, but purely for leisure, and lured Gao Tianyu and his school team out, giving them a brutal beating.

Qin Siyao, having somehow gotten wind of the situation, also came to watch the match. She and Lu Xiaobei somehow hit it off, added each other as friends, and quickly became good acquaintances.

Two days later, everything was ready, and the three parties confirmed the match time. The first opening match of the WHL will begin at 7 p.m. on Friday, three days later!
……

It was late at night, and I was half asleep.

"Ding dong!"

Suddenly, a voice message rang in my ear: "Boss... are you asleep? This is Faye Chaochen, help me, boss..."

……

In the middle of the night, a courtier from Faye sent me a distress message, which instantly jolted me awake. All sleepiness vanished, and I asked, "Faye, what's wrong?"

"Boss, Bingzi and I have been captured in the wilderness!" His voice was urgent.

"What exactly happened? Calm down and tell me slowly!"

"it is good……"

Faye Chaochen's emotions finally calmed down a bit, and he said, "This evening, Bingzi and I set off from the Rising Wind Tundra, originally intending to go to that area where level 40 demons roam to gain some experience, but we didn't expect to be ambushed and hit with a nerve toxin tranquilizer dart. We were both tied up and then dragged to a settlement of wanderers!"

"What is the name of that settlement?"

"Stonecastle".

Faye Chaochen said, "Currently, Bingzi and I are both imprisoned in a high-voltage electric prison. We have no chance to escape and we don't have any phase teleportation cores. If we fight, we will lose two Resurrection Scriptures. Bingzi and I discussed it and neither of us is willing to use the Resurrection Scriptures. So we are hoping that you, boss, can find a way to rescue us."

"Stonecastle..."

I quickly accessed the dark web and opened a version map of the Frostwind Tundra drawn by a player. Sure enough, I found the small words "Giant Stone Fortress" in the corner of the large map. There are more than a hundred wanderer settlements of varying sizes in the Frostwind Tundra, and Giant Stone Fortress can only be considered of medium size.

"How strong is their armed force?" I asked.

"so so."

Hōya Chōshō said, "If Bingzi and I weren't tied up, the two of us should be able to fight our way out. The problem is that we can't use our weapons because we're tied up, and there are high-voltage electric fences all around us, so we can't break out at all."

"Understood. Stay in touch. I'll go gather the men!"

"Yeah, boss, you guys need to be careful too!"

"Don't worry, you and Bingzi take care. We'll be there soon if we delay a bit."

……

After ending the call, I spoke directly in the squad group chat: "Wake up, everyone! Wake up! Don't sleep! Faye and Bingzi are in trouble. We need to launch a nighttime attack!"

"What's wrong?" came the fat man's groggy voice.

"What happened to Faye and Bingzi?" Cai Cai woke up too.

Soon, Ruolin and Koumei's voices also appeared in the group chat.

I briefly explained the situation between Faye Chaochen and Huobing Zhiri, and then said, "Don't ask any more questions. Let's head to the player black market to meet up, and then we can talk about it on the way."

"OK, everyone gather!"

With no objections, everyone set off without hesitation.

Twenty minutes later, the player black market.

Once all five of us were together, I glanced at everyone and said, "Let's check if we have enough gasoline in our interdimensional storage space. We'll be driving through the wilderness for a long time this time, so let's not run out of gas halfway through."

"That's enough." Everyone nodded in unison.

"Teleport to the Frosty Tundra, let's go!"

Everyone took out their money, and immediately the teleportation point ahead emitted a "buzzing" sound, having changed the teleportation anchor point to the Frosty Tundra. After taking a step, they found themselves in a desolate wasteland, surrounded by endless cold.

With a quick pull, I took the off-road motorcycle out of the storage compartment, started it, and turned to look at everyone: "Are you all ready? If you're ready, let's go!"

"Okay, let's go!"

The next moment, five off-road motorcycles sped through the wilderness, led by me. We locked onto the coordinates of the Giant Stone Fortress and quickly sped off along a road almost completely overgrown with weeds.

The night wind was icy, and soon a layer of frost covered my eyelashes and eyebrows.

"Holy crap, it's so cold..."

The fat man complained, "What are Faye and Bingzi doing on the Rinnegan Tundra in the middle of the night?"

"Brother, stop talking, we're here..."

Huo Bingzhi said weakly, "Faye and I were thinking of giving each other some extra help to catch up on our levels, but who would have thought that the low-level areas of the Rising Wind Tundra would be so dangerous? When we were fighting a blue spirit, we were attacked by a wanderer with a tranquilizer dart and fell asleep for several hours. When we woke up, we were tied up like fat pigs for the New Year."

“That’s terrible…” Zhang Ruolin laughed.

"Cough cough..."

I reminded them, "Faye and Bingzi, don't turn off the group chat. Keep in touch and try to talk as little as possible so as not to affect the actions of the five of us."

"Understand!"

The two people on the other end fell silent and listened.

"Ding Han".

Zhang Ruolin squinted, speeding along on her off-road motorcycle, and said in the team chat, "Judging from this situation, it should be almost dawn when we get to Giant Stone Fortress. Have you figured out how to sneak in?"

"Ah."

I nodded: "When we get to Stonehold, take off any high-level equipment you need and put on low-level equipment. We'll also pretend to be wanderers going into town to trade, hunt some animals along the way as cargo, and hide the motorcycles as soon as we get close to Stonehold. In short, we'll play it by ear."

"learn!"

Kou Mei said, "Boss, look at the one o'clock position ahead, there's an Icefield Deer!"

"Wow, home delivery!"

I laughed and said, "Fatty, here's your chance to show off!"

"okay!"

The group immediately stopped moving. The fat man mounted the gun on his arm on the motorcycle, and with a soft "thud" from the sniper rifle equipped with a silencer, the ice deer was instantly blown in the head and fell to the ground!

"go!"

I immediately sped off on my motorcycle, only to find that it was a male deer that was nearly two meters long, quite magnificent, and looked to weigh at least 500 pounds. I immediately got off the motorcycle, picked it up, and threw it into my storage space.

"Keep going, hunt one or two more wild boars or pheasants later. Just one deer looks too fake."

"OK!"

So, our group continued onward, shooting a wild boar, a few pheasants, and rabbits along the way, storing them all in our storage space before speeding towards the settlement.

Obtaining food in the wilderness of "Star Abyss" is quite difficult, but players are an exception. The accuracy of players' shooting is a game-changer compared to that of ordinary wanderers. Not to mention that many people have reached the maximum level of shooting proficiency or even expert level, even those with the maximum level of advanced shooting or basic shooting still have shooting accuracy far superior to that of wanderers.

Those wanderers struggled to eat, let alone afford bullets to train their shooting skills.

Therefore, food is the "hard currency" in the wilderness. We don't need to bring anything else. As long as we have these prey, we can enter any wilderness settlement without any hindrance!

……

Three hours later, the five-person team sped more than 200 kilometers through the wilderness and finally arrived at their destination at dawn.

In the distance, a stone fortress stands in a wasteland. The walls are crudely made, but they are enough to hold off low-level alien species and beasts. From a distance, two young men carrying automatic rifles stand on the five-meter-high walls. They are obviously the guards of this settlement.

"get ready."

The group drove the motorcycles into the nearby woods, put all the off-road motorcycles into the storage space, took out the prey, cut down trees, made a sturdy frame, tied the deer carcass to it, and had the other four people lift it together. I had two rabbits tied around my waist, carried the not-too-big wild boar on my shoulder with my right hand, and held a few pheasants swaying back and forth in my left hand.

To make it look more realistic, they even smeared some animal blood on their bodies.

"Let's go, don't be nervous."

I glanced at everyone and laughed, "If things get really bad, just equip all your gear with one click, grab the shotgun and fight them. We can force a rescue and maybe even give out a few resurrection scrolls, but we'll definitely have to clean up the leaders of this settlement."

The group nodded slightly, offering no objections.

So, the group, carrying their prey, slowly made their way toward the Stone Fortress.

In front of the fortress, a stone bridge spanned a nearly dried-up moat. Before we even got close, the fortress gate opened, and a group of people emerged, carrying weapons.

"What do you do?"

One of the middle-aged men, who was carrying an automatic rifle, frowned and asked.

"It's on our side, don't shoot..."

I instinctively raised the pheasant and said, "We are also wanderers. We hunted some game and wanted to exchange it for some supplies at Stone Keep. We have no hostility towards you."

"Oh?"

The middle-aged man immediately laughed: "I thought it was some bastards from another settlement attacking... Young man, you've come at the perfect time. The morning market will open in a bit, and with your goods... goodness!"

He walked closer, touched the stag's pelt, and said, "Such a big guy can definitely be traded for a lot of supplies. What do you want to trade for? Food, oil, sugar? Or weapons and bullets?"

"Let's sell it first, we still need to get cash."

"also."

He laughed heartily: "Come in, come in."

……

The group successfully entered the Stone Fortress.

Inside the fortress, we saw the inhabitants, most of them emaciated with lifeless eyes. Some children were playing, but the adults were mostly silent, their faces showing signs of hunger.

Life is hard for the wanderers, and it's just as hard for these settled people; making a living in the wilderness is incredibly difficult.

In comparison, the world behind the towering Wall of Life in the Crimson Dragon Kingdom is like a completely different world, creating an extremely strong sense of rift between them.

It's no wonder that those wanderers living in the wilderness so desperately wanted a Red Dragon Kingdom ID card, and many even paid with their lives for it, ultimately failing to get what they wanted.

The morning market was bustling with activity.

Wanderers kept gathering, some carrying prey, some carrying weapons like hunting rifles, and others leading disheveled, emaciated women. Here, everything seemed to be traded as a resource.

"Ding Han..."

Zhang Ruolin suddenly tugged at my sleeve and said, "Look over there, Faye and Bingzi..."

"what?"

I quickly looked over and was immediately shocked. On a tall platform in the morning market, Fa Ye Chaochen and Huo Bing Zhi Ri were tied up like pretzel ropes, with cotton cloth stuffed in their mouths. They were lined up with several black slaves waiting to be sold, and they were looking at us with embarrassed expressions.

(End of this chapter)