Chapter 75: Flexing

"I will not talk to you about my sister until I talk to her," Liu Ye decided after a moment. 

If Zhenzhen really wanted something, he couldn't just deny her without even talking to her beforehand. Even though Zhenzhen looked happy in the images, Liu Ye didn't have all the details on hand. 

"That's fair," Katherine nodded in approval. "She will be busy for the rest of the day but you can talk to her in real life. I am not worried that you will reject me since I know you are going to keep her by your side anyway. It would be better if she is trained to defend herself if you want her to follow you." 

Liu Ye only looked at her from under his hood and warned, "I don't mind if you are helping her in-game but if I hear you trying to brainwash her to your advantage, you won't see her again."

"Aren't you too overprotective?" Katherine questioned with a roll of her eyes and finished the topic. "Alright, let's not talk about it anymore. Avi, let's go somewhere else to discuss our matters. You helped him enough." 

"Sure, I can't stay long anyway," Avi agreed as she leaned over to Liu Ye's ear. "See you later~" 

Liu Ye couldn't help but sense an incoming headache once she met him in real life but it was unavoidable. He would rather have someone to assist them and simply ignore her advances afterward. If his enemies had the power of the Elements, he wouldn't be able to fight them alone. 

Katherine seemed to be used to Avi's behavior as she didn't comment and instead grabbed her wrist, disappearing on the spot. The Robo Taxi was still driving him back to the Master District while Liu Ye was in trance, analyzing his options. 

[The Player you are trying to contact is currently in the Restricted Zone. Please try again later.] 

Liu Ye tried to message Zhenzhen but it failed once again, leaving him with no choice but to focus on the game instead. He had to wait till the morning to dispel his doubts.

'I can't grind anymore today so might as well just finish the quests…' Liu Ye wondered as he recalled the Quest Items he found in the Newbie Village. Without Avi, he couldn't even enter into high-level zones so it was best to get out of the Emerald City for now.

He drove away with some sort of a plan while Avi watched his Robo Taxi from the top of the building. She smiled playfully and returned to Katherine who was kept waiting. 

"Isn't he handsome? I wanna play with him," Avi informed but seeing no reaction from Katherine, she got to the topic. "What is it that you wanted to discuss? Is he close to awakening?" 

"He is close but he is irrelevant for now. I want to talk about his sister instead," Katherine revealed. "I suspect that she has a talent for healing and I'm not talking about the Beginner Mastery." 

Avi's eyes immediately widened as her smirk vanished. "Really? How far do you think she can advance?" 

"I'm not sure yet but when I asked her to try it on me, she advanced to the Intermediate Mastery after just a second try," Katherine explained, looking like she was still in shock. "This is the first time I saw it after a long time, so I want you to be careful. Once they are safe, give her a big Water Stone to strengthen her Waterbending and then test her skills." 

Avi seemed surprised by the request but she nodded right after. "What about Grind God? He is also very talented." 

"Those two are closely connected with each other. If we can convince one, we will get the other too," Katherine muttered in wonder. "He already knows too much so make sure you don't ever threaten him. If his sister turns out to be a healer, we need her." 

"Oh, don't worry," Avi assured as she pursed her lips. "I will make sure to treat him well..." 

———

"Who is that? How can he afford that scam teleports? He must be one of the top rankers."

"Look at his outfit. So cool. I didn't see such an outfit in the store so it must be unique."

As soon as Liu Ye reached the Earth Land Capital, he momentarily gathered the attention of other players. His face was covered with a bandana while his head was hidden by the hood. No one else could rival his Level for a while so he could enjoy being anonymous.

Although the Teleportation Station was convenient, it cost him 10 gold each time he teleported so it wasn't for everyone at this stage of the game. 

The Earth Land Capital turned out to be more normal than he thought. He couldn't see many tall buildings like in the Emerald City and all of them were two to three floors instead. All of them were made from a yellow stone, giving him an ancient vibe. 

"Hey man, are you maybe Grind God?"

A few players approached him as Liu Ye set off in a random direction but he didn't stop to entertain them. He was currently the most wanted man in the game so it was best to stay low-key for as long as he could. Even though Liu Ye could probably one-shot them all, he would only waste Mana at this point. 

Too bad, it was much harder than he thought. The longer he walked, the more players he met who joined others who followed him. He suddenly recalled how annoying it was to walk in a city full of players while being a celebrity. Emerald City seemed like heaven when it came to this aspect. 

"Anyone knows where I can find the Mazamut's Smith Store?" Liu Ye asked in a deep voice, thinking of at least making use of them before he runs away. The Capital was just too big for him to search every smith in the city. 

"Did you also get that Quest Item? You won't find him easily," a random player explained while approaching him closely. "All NPCs say you can find him in the Expert District but one needs a permit to get inside. One needs 200 gold to even make one so no one can get it for now." 

"Oh, thanks," Liu Ye acknowledged casually as he opened his map. To his surprise, it wasn't that far from their location so he thought of an idea. 

He withdrew some gold in a small linen bag and threw it to the helper in front of everyone. "Maybe one day you can afford it. Just continue grinding."

Liu Ye then slowly walked away in the direction of the Expert District and waited for the drama to unfold. If he couldn't get rid of them, he might as well gather even more of them and use them to his own advantage. 

The crowd exploded with chatter a second later. 

"Holy shit! He just gave me 4 gold, 79 silver, and 25 bronze!" 

Liu Ye wanted to give him 5 gold but it felt nice to even his total money to 1100 gold. He didn't use silver or bronze anymore so it didn't matter to him anymore. 

Just as he thought, once the helper yelled out the number, all the players in the group ran after him and new ones joined out of curiosity. If one saw a huge crowd moving after someone, they would naturally join as well to learn what was going on. 

"Boss! Is there something we can do for you?!"

"Do you need a dog? I can bark!" 

Liu Ye remained quiet all the way to the gates of the Expect District protected by a group of guards. 

"Alright everyone, this is the moment we will have to part ways," Liu Ye called out as he silenced everyone with a raise of his arm. "I'm sure all of you want to know who I am and where I got so much money. I'm here to tell you exactly that." 

He paused to make sure everyone gathered and announced, "I'm one of the top experts of the future Red Dragon Guild and the outfit I'm wearing was gifted to me by Grind God who you all know very well. I'm the first of the top 100 experts that will receive a unique set like this. If you want one as well, make sure to join the Red Dragon Guild as well." 

The whole crowd exploded in chatter but Liu Ye wasn't done. "To make it exclusive, this outfit will be unique to our guild and only the top 100 of our best players will receive it. Each of the outfits cost 2000 gold so there is something to fight for. Good luck everyone!" 

Liu Ye turned around right after and walked up to the guards with the Light Green Permit in his hand. Their eyes opened wide and they let him pass while strengthening their backs out of respect. 

'I guess we will need two guilds to fit so many players...'