Chapter 219 The Calm Before the Storm (Part 2)

Unedited. Edits will follow later.

“I-I-I did not say that I don’t want to level up my skills…” Zuo Xiaolan was briefly startled by her daughter’s anger before her courage returned. In her mind, she was not in the wrong, “I just don’t want to waste that money.”

“Is there a difference to that?” Ye Ci barely held back the urge to slam her hand down onto the table, “You’re only lvl10! Do you think that you’ll be able to survive a trip to the lvl20 or lvl30 areas scouring for leftovers? Even if you could, do you think you’ll be the only ones who thought of that?”

“It will work out somehow…” despite knowing the truth in Ye Ci’s words, Zuo Xiaolan could not resist the urge to talk back to her.

“Yeah, by the time things work out for you, the world would’ve ended.” Ye Ci slammed her fist onto the table, “Are you trying to make a fool out of me? You’re telling me that you’re trying your best to level up and avoid losses with that attitude of yours?”

Zuo Xiaolan and Ye Nantian remained silent. They sat quietly on their seats, listening to Ye Ci’s words like obedient school children.

“It’s normal for you to not be able to earn money at this time, but surely you’re capable of spending the money! Any Life Player in our guild would’ve been overjoyed to have such a benefit, but you’re telling me that you’re not willing to spend the money!” Ye Ci’s demeanor was like that of a veteran, passing down her experience to the newbies who were also her parents.

Players who walked past the shop were stunned. Were their eyes playing tricks on them? Wasn’t Gongzi You a person of few words? Wasn’t Gongzi You an arrogant person? So who was the Elven Huntress who was having an animated conversation with the newbies in the shop?

“But.. It’s your money… We wanted to save it up for you… For your dowry…” even after she was chided by Ye Ci, Zuo Xiaolan would still defend her standing when the need arose.

A pang of guilt gripped Ye Ci’s heart. She stared at her parents as tears blurred away her vision. Have I gone overboard? Thought Ye Ci to herself as she blinked away the tears. Ahh… Such is the love of parents. They would always place their children as their top priority in any situation. Ye Ci came to a realization that she was wrong to snap at her parents. She took a deep breath and sat beside her parents, “Dad, mom, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have snapped at you.” Ye Ci apologized to her parents while taking hold of their hands.

Zuo Xiaolan and Ye Nantian were baffled by Ye Ci’s action. They have always seen her as a person with strong personality. They did not know how to react to such a rare occurrence. “Aiya, Little Ci, it’s nothing. You know that I’m a stingy person. I don’t really like the idea of spending away the money, but if this is what you ask of me… I-I am still able to complete this mission.”

With the determined expression on Zuo Xiaolan’s face, one would have thought that she was asked to eat her own meat and drink her own blood.

Ye Nantian expressed his support to the words of his wife, who was the center of his world.

Ye Ci grimaced, and patted her parents’ hands, “If you’re worrying about my dowry, why don’t you start earning money now? I’m looking forward to the dowry.”

“But… The money…”

“Mom, everything has a price. There’s no free lunch in this world. You must learn to spend your money before you start earning them. If you’re trying to be successful just by saving up, it’s impossible.” Ye Ci smiled at her mother. She then bade her farewell, and left the shop. The final decision laid with her parents, and they needed time to think things through. If Ye Ci decided to stay in the shop, the argument will definitely continue.

Ye Ci immediately spotted Bai Mo upon leaving her parents’ shop. He was leaning on the wall of one of the shops, staring at the players who were passing by. “What’re you doing here?” asked Ye Ci as she walked up to Bai Mo.

“I came with the intention of showing some support, and overheard the lecture you were giving your parents before entering the shop.” said Bai Mo with a smile, “Say, are you finally extending your filthy claws to your family members now?”

“Pfftttt… What are you talking about?” Ye Ci paid no heed to Bai Mo’s words, “I’m done with my lecture. You can go show them your support now.”

“On second thoughts, maybe not. Your dad can cook very well in real life. But in game… I don’t even dare to think about it.” Bai Mo shook his head. He was not there to torture himself. Since the opportunity presented itself, Bai Mo would definitely grasp the chance to save himself the trouble.

“I’m growing to enjoy the second stage rewards of my Epic-tier quest.” said Ye Ci, who was very honest about her in-game progress with Bai Mo.

“And what’s the reward?” Bai Mo made a wild guess based on Ye Ci’s expression, “It must be very overpowered.”

“I’m not entirely sure yet.” said Ye Ci as she began filling Bai mo in on the details of her exploits. “My God! That’s insane! You can get loads of those items as long as you’re able to keep earning Spirit Emblems!” Bai Mo was shocked.

Ye Ci nodded. She was uncertain if she could exploit the special item shop. After all, it was very unlikely for the devs to overlook such a game breaking loophole.

After a brief conversation with Ye Ci, Bai Mo slapped himself on the forehead, “Oh yes, there’s something that I’ve almost forgot to tell you.”

“What is it?”

“Have you heard of a guild with the name ‘Golden Age’?”

“Golden Age?” Ye Ci furrowed her eyebrows. It was a name that she knew well. The Golden Age guild was one of the largest and strongest guild in the online gaming world that was backed by several large corporations. The guild would enter a game, and disrupt the in-game economy in a short period of time. The guild would then try its best to ruin the gaming experience of the game’s players and quit when they have made enough money off the game.

The guild was seen as locusts by players and developers alike, and was often employed by companies to sabotage the games of their competitors.

“What? They’re moving into Fate?” Ye Ci narrowed her eyes. She knew that the coming of Golden Age is inevitable. After all, Fate suffered from the arrival of the guild as well in her past life. Even a game as popular as Fate was almost brought down by Golden Age. This led to the resignation of some Fate’s main developers, paving the way for Wang Jiangnan to rise as the main developer of Fate. He was able to revive the dying game and brought Fate to a new height. This was why Wang Jiangnan was crowned as the Father of Fate.

This incident was not written into the history of Fate, and remained unknown to the players who joined the game later. However, as a player who has been playing the game since its beginning, Ye Ci not ignorant of such an incident.

Ye Ci was so used to her peaceful days that she had even forgotten about the coming of Golden Age guild. If she was unable to prepare for such a situation, disaster would surely follow.

Bai Mo, of course, did not know of that particular incident was he was not a reincarnator. Despite that, he knew that Golden Age would bring trouble to Fate.

“Yup. Rumors had it that they’re moving into Fate.” Bai Mo furrowed his eyebrows, “I wonder what will happen to Fate when those locusts arrive.”

Ye Ci pursed her lips and remained silent. If she did not change how things progress in Fate, things would still turn out as they did in her past life.

“By the way, do you know how many members does Golden Age have?”

“I don’t know their exact numbers, but I can tell you that there’s a lot of them. They’ve brought down quite a number of VRMMORPGs with their sheer numbers.” Ye Ci was telling the truth. She could not even remember the exact number of Golden Age’s members, but their numbers were vast.

“There’s about 10 million of them.” Bai Mo visibly gulped, “That’s like 1% of the current player population of Fate.”

“Wow… That’s quite a lot of them.”

“I wonder which continent will they join,” Bai Mo creased his eyebrows, “I sure hope they don’t come to the Eastern Continent. If they do, we’re screwed.”

Ye Ci narrowed her eyes and smiled, “If I have 10 million members, I’ll divide into four separate groups, which will join all four continents at once. With that, I can take all the continents out in one go.”

Bai Mo paled at the thought, “Hey, don’t jinx it!”

Ye Ci grimaced at Bai Mo. She was telling the truth. It was what Golden Age did to Fate in her past life. The guild sent its members to all four continents, and began destroying the economy and order in all the continents. Before long, the game began to collapse. She could still how the storm swept away the weaker groups, and many small investors went bankrupt, leading to many cases of suicide.

“Bai Mo, from now on, we have to divide a larger share of the earnings from our sponsored dungeon clearing to the guild.” said Ye Ci in a low voice.

“Huh?” Bai Mo was momentarily stunned, “A lot of our members will be dissatisfied with this arrangement.”

“They’ll have to bear with it. We need to be prepared for Golden Age.” Ye Ci’s heart sank. She was one of the victims of the incident stirred up by Golden Age. It was a painful memory that left a lasting mark in her heart even after her reincarnation.

Of course, it was impossible for her to take Golden Age on alone. However, she was confident in her strength to take care of the people the dearest to her. But… What can I do to to protect them?

Bai Mo’s heart sank when he heard Ye Ci’s words, “Are you telling me that they will definitely come to the Eastern Continent?”

“That’s what I said. If I’m the leader of Golden Age, I will never do something as stupid as pouring in all my manpower into a single continent. That will make me the enemy of the entire player population of Fate.” Ye Ci stared at Bai Mo. She was certain that Bai Mo could understand the meaning behind her words.

Bai Mo took in a sharp breath, “You’re telling me that…”

“I’m sure that all the major guilds have realised such a problem as well, and I’m sure that they’ve begun to prepare for the worst as well.” Ye Ci grimaced.

“But saving up on in-game currency will not help in this situation,” Bai Mo shook his head, “Golden Age will definitely bring in huge amounts of money when they enter the game. Our in-game currency will be rendered worthless.”

“Of course! We can’t rely on the in-game currency in this situation! Everybody knows that. However…” Ye Ci took in a deep breath, “We can stock up on items.”

“What sort of items?”

“We’ll just have to take our chances. There’s a lot of items and materials in the game. One of us would get lucky.” Ye Ci smiled at Bai Mo. It was not the time to reveal the key to weather the storm that was Golden Age, as doing so would reveal her identity as a reincarnator. Besides, Bai Mo was someone who was very close to her, and she did not wish to place him in danger.

Bai Mo’s worries were washed away by Ye Ci’s smile. Ever since they were young, as long as such a smile appeared on Ye Ci’s face, it meant that everything was under control.

Despite his occasional doubts, Bai Mo would still choose to trust in Ye Ci. This was his way of showing his support and understanding to Ye Ci.

Hiya minna-san! I actually forgot that I had like 2 exams last week. And that was why I've managed to post only 1 chapter... So uhh... I aim to make 3 releases this week, and I hope that I can achieve my goal xD Please cheer me on eh? Hehe...

How's everybody doing so far? You guys doing well? Hope y'all are enjoying life! I've got the opportunity to play this text-based game called Fatehaven, and lemme tell you.... That game is so f*cuking good I swear you guys should go try it out. Won't take long if you're a fast reader, but it's worth every single penny you pay for it.

If any of you plays Company of Heroes 2, add me on steam (Name: Jimminx) and we can play it together sometimes in the future xD

Also uhh... If y'all haven't done it yet, click that link and give the video a "like". Thank you! It's for an assignment!

Link: https://youtu.be/rDNbnR_th0k