Chapter 36: Slay the God, Moon!

Too lazy to go downstairs for a meal.

Therefore, Lu Ming had already ordered delivery by the time he exited the Tower of Specters. By the time he returned to the city and logged off, the food had already arrived at his door.

"Just a quick lunch for today; I'll go out for something better tonight!"

With that, Lu Ming opened the containers, revealing an order of grilled fish, charcoal-grilled chicken, and pickled pepper bullfrog, along with a spread of snacks: burgers, meat rolls, fried chicken, french fries, grilled wings, and cola.

After eating his fill, Lu Ming logged back into the game at 12:55 PM.

The agreed-upon meeting time was approaching, but there was no sign of Lin Youwei. Past 1:00 PM, Lu Ming sent her a message: "Are you not ready yet?"

However, she did not reply. After waiting another ten minutes without her logging on, Lu Ming sent another message: "Once you're online, come straight to the Tower of Specters to find me."

With that, Lu Ming decided not to wait any longer and headed toward the Tower of Specters alone. After all, time was money. Right now, Lu Ming’s most urgent goal was to trade up for a comfortable, spacious home in the city center and live a life far better than his current one. In his previous life, he had suffered far too much! In this life, he refused to shortchange himself ever again.

Little did he know, the moment he stepped out of Starlight City, several pairs of eyes immediately locked onto him.

"Follow him!"
"Yes!"

Lu Ming pressed on toward the Tower of Specters. Simultaneously, ten necromancer warriors were dispersed hundreds of yards ahead, clearing the path. Through shared vision, Lu Ming kept a close watch on his surroundings to prevent any sudden danger. The prerequisite to living a good life was knowing how to protect oneself at all times.

Yet, Lu Ming never expected the crisis to descend silently from behind him. He hadn't gone far from Starlight City when a group of players suddenly rushed over and surrounded him.

Looking closely, Lu Ming realized they were all players from the "God-Slayer" guild, and they were all uniformly between levels 30 and 35. A dozen of them stared at Lu Ming like hungry wolves.

"Is it him?"
"He's wearing a mask, can't see his face. His ID is hidden, too."
"Look at his level, build, and class—it has to be him!"

Lu Ming didn't know what they were talking about. The man leading them, a level 34 fourth-tier Summoner named [God-Slayer Dragon], pointed at Lu Ming and demanded, "Are you 'Dawn'?"

Dawn? Wasn't that his alt character's ID?

In that instant, Lu Ming understood the purpose of these players. If he wasn't mistaken, they were here to avenge Ye Chen. Ye Chen was a member of the God-Slayer guild, and Lu Ming had entered the "Blood-Stained Forbidden Zone" dungeon with him using his alt, "Dawn." Since Ye Chen had died in the dungeon, as his companion, Lu Ming was naturally a target for their retaliation.

Lu Ming remained perfectly calm. He spoke to the surrounding God-Slayer players: "You’re looking for 'Dawn'; what does that have to do with me, 'Netherworld'?"

As he spoke, he revealed the previously hidden ID above his head. When the words [Lv13 Second-Tier Array Trickster · Netherworld] appeared before them, the surrounding God-Slayer players were stunned.

"Damn it! We’ve been tailing him for ages, and it’s not him!"
"What now? Should we retreat?"
"Retreat, my ass! The boss only gave us one day. Where else are we supposed to find 'Dawn'?"
"It’s rare to find someone who looks this much like him. Even if he isn't 'Dawn,' he has to be! Let's kill him, record a video, have someone edit his ID to say 'Dawn,' then destroy the body. We turn in the video, and the job is done!"

Hearing their discussion, Lu Ming thought, *Well, well! So that’s how you want to play it?*

Fine. Lu Ming stopped pretending. He immediately summoned all of his necromancer warriors within the hidden range of about a hundred yards. He wasn't certain he could kill this group of God-Slayer players—the level gap was simply too vast. He was only a level 13 second-tier player, while they were all level 30+ fourth-tier players.

However, Lu Ming’s third talent, "Rebirth from the Ashes," allowed him to sacrifice one of his weakest necromancer warriors to resurrect himself upon death. With 260 necromancer warriors, that meant he could resurrect 260 times! Even if he couldn't win, it wouldn't be easy for them to kill him.

The God-Slayer players brandished their weapons, their faces twisted with malice. Just as the two sides were on the verge of a clash, a voice suddenly rang out from the periphery.

"Stop right there!"

They looked in the direction of the voice to see a female assassin walking toward them. Clad in a tight black combat suit, her slender waist and graceful figure were perfectly accentuated. Her crisp, chin-length hair and cold, deep eyes exuded confidence and poise.

When Lu Ming saw the ID above her head, he was startled.

"God-Slayer Moon?!"

Lu Ming felt a slight surprise. Wasn't this the person Qingyan had told him about? The younger sister of the God-Slayer guild leader, the highest-ranking manager of the Starlight City branch, and his own prime target for revenge. She was quite beautiful, he noted—though it did nothing to diminish the killing intent he held for her.

He didn't act rashly, however. He had killed Ye Chen as "Dawn" within the cover of a dungeon; the truth was obscured, and he could reasonably claim innocence. But if he killed her now, openly and as his main character "Netherworld," it would inevitably trigger a server-wide hunt by the entire God-Slayer guild. He would have no place left to stand in the Abyss World.

While Lu Ming was deep in thought, the God-Slayer players showed great respect toward her. "Miss Qin, we are carrying out the boss's orders to execute 'Dawn'!"

God-Slayer Moon crossed her arms, her gaze sharp and overbearing. "If my brother ordered you to kill 'Dawn,' what is the meaning of targeting this 'Netherworld'?"

"This..." The God-Slayer players were rendered speechless.

"Miss Qin, the boss gave orders. We must provide an explanation for his brother-in-law Ye Chen's death by the end of the day. The boss said a seamless kill video would suffice... Miss, please don't make it difficult for us..."

God-Slayer Moon ignored their pleas and turned to Lu Ming. "I know you’re with Tianxuan. But it doesn't matter. Come join the God-Slayer guild. Whatever salary Tianxuan pays you, I’ll give you ten times that! A monthly salary of one million—how does that sound?"

The surrounding high-level God-Slayer players were stunned. They couldn't understand why she would value a mere level 13 Array Trickster so highly.

A million a month—it sounded incredibly tempting. Yet, based on his current capabilities, Lu Ming could make more than a million a month on his own; why would he want to be at someone's beck and call? Once he joined God-Slayer and took their money, he would lose his current freedom. He was nominally with Tianxuan, but he wasn't under their thumb—he was still as free as he would be on his own.

Furthermore, this was God-Slayer! The very guild led by the man who had stolen Ye Ling'er from him and ordered her to betray him!

Lu Ming refused decisively. "No, thank you. If there's nothing else, I'll be leaving."

He turned and walked away. The God-Slayer players, desperate to finish their task, prepared to intercept him, but were stopped by a sharp command from God-Slayer Moon: "Whoever dares to touch him will be permanently banned from the Abyss World by my word!"

The dozen level 30+ players froze in terror. Finally, the Summoner, God-Slayer Dragon, couldn't help but ask, "Miss Qin, I know you see something special in him, but he’s being so ungrateful—why are you still..."

Watching Lu Ming’s retreating figure, a look of admiration flickered in her cold, beautiful eyes. "If he had agreed to join us without any resistance, I would have thought I’d overestimated him. But looking at it now, he’s worth far more than a million. This Array Trickster—I must have him."

Confidence radiated from her gaze.

Meanwhile, in the shadows, seeing that the God-Slayer members had backed off, Tianxuan Shadow immediately signaled the dozen level 40+ Tianxuan players to stand down. He sent a private message to Tianxuan Eternal: "God-Slayer Moon just tried to poach Netherworld from us, offering him a million a month, but he refused."

As he spoke, Tianxuan Shadow rolled up his sleeves. "Captain, should I go give that woman a piece of my mind? Daring to poach our people in broad daylight!"

"Don't move for now. If anyone is going to break the laws of the jungle, it has to be them. The infamy of breaking rules and acting in bad faith must be pinned on God-Slayer," Tianxuan Eternal replied. "Keep protecting Netherworld from the shadows, and have people keep an eye on God-Slayer Moon. Her style is to never stop until she gets what she wants; she will definitely make another move on him."

"Understood!"

On the other side, although Lu Ming had missed his chance for revenge, he had at least locked onto his target. He was now certain that the God-Slayer guild leader was the man who had conspired with Ye Ling'er to kill him.

"If I can't kill you yet, killing your sister should drain plenty of your blood, shouldn't it?"

In his mind, Lu Ming began to map out his next plan for revenge.