Absolute Death Game

The room fell silent for a moment, and after a while, Han Baiqiang suddenly typed, "Forget it, I'm not going on an adventure. This game doesn't come with respawns, and I neither have equipment nor levels. I'm staying out of it."

Sun Bin snorted coldly but clearly agreed with Han Baiqiang.

Li Baocheng glanced at Xiao Buli, who just shook his head apologetically. The four of them had roughly become friends over the last half a month, and if Sun Bin and Han Baiqiang were willing, Xiao Buli was actually ready to help out. After all, they couldn't stay in Newbie Village forever, and leaving one day earlier wasn't a big deal, especially since he was quite confident in his own skills. However, if it was just the two of them, he would reconsider; his confidence didn't stretch that far.

Just as everyone was about to leave, Li Baocheng grew anxious, "Wait a minute, if you go with me to the big city, I'll give you money and equipment?"

Han Baiqiang immediately paused, money and equipment? "You didn't mention it before, how are you going to split the equipment? And how much money do you even have?"

"I have one Gold Coin."

One Gold Coin! Everyone was shocked upon hearing this. After playing for so long, all of them knew how hard it was to earn money in this game. Xiao Buli didn't earn even 5 silver coins after a week of feeding pigs and cutting grass, and Sun Bin and Han Baiqiang weren't doing much better. One Gold Coin was a big deal—taking on entry-level jobs, it would take months to earn that much.

"One Gold Coin! How did you get it?"

"I found it in the house after killing those two people. If you help me out, I'll split it with you," Li Baocheng was no longer hiding the fact, "And it's not just money. I also found a few pieces of decent equipment. If you come with me, I'll share them with you as well."

He was speaking while already listing the equipment attributes on the screen.

Butcher's Bleeding Knife (One-handed Sword): This is a sharp and pointed steel dagger, with a blood groove on the blade, often used to bleed animals or peel their hides. Attack 3—17.

Weapon Special Effect—Bleeding: When an attack hits, there is a chance to cause a bleeding effect, making the target lose 2 health points per second for 10 seconds. This effect can stack up to three times, and each subsequent stack halves the effect.

Butcher's Bone Chopper (One-handed Axe): This chopper, made of fine steel, has a heavy blade and a sturdy edge, making it easy to chop through bones. Attack 5—15.

Weapon Special Effect—Bone Break: When an attack hits, there is a chance to cause a bone break effect, reducing the target's speed by 30% for 60 seconds. This effect can stack up to three times, and each subsequent stack halves the effect.

Fine Pigskin Jacket (Leather Armor—Chest Armor): This is a jacket made from tanned pigskin, offering good warmth and some degree of defense. Cold resistance +10%, Armor +6, Physique +1.

Fine Pigskin Bracers (Leather Armor—Bracers): These are bracers made from tanned pigskin, studded with a few copper nails, providing minimal defense and some enhancement to wrist strength. Armor +2, Strength +1.

Gold Ring (Accessory—Ring): This is a gold ring engraved with simple patterns. Although it has nothing special, it's still worth some money. Charm +1.

When he posted these items, Han Baiqiang, originally about to leave, stopped in his tracks. Apart from the ring, which was common quality, the rest were rare quality items. The game's equipment grading system was somewhat similar to Diablo but slightly different, ranging from gray (poor, crude, damaged), white (normal), light blue (fine), dark blue (very fine), silver (superior), gold (exquisite), dark gold (legendary level), and green (with growth potential).

Since entering the game, the best they had come across were white items, and most of what they got were gray items, such as Xiao Buli's iron sword and Sun Bin's wooden spear. Naturally, they were astonished to see several blue-quality items (even if they were just light blue).

"Holy moly, these are some sweet gears. Did you strip them off that guy?" Han Baiqiang pointed at the two corpses and asked. Once he got affirmation, his face instantly lit up with greed, "This NPC-killing business is really lucrative. How about we team up and take out the rest of the NPCs too?"

Yet Xiao Buli just smiled faintly. "Do as you please, but leave me out of it."

Han Baiqiang shot him a puzzled look. "What do you mean by that?"

Xiao Buli explained, "You only see the loot but what if we get caught? This pig farm owner was only unnoticed because no one saw. Even so, Little Li still got a bounty on his head in twenty-four hours. If we're spotted killing, we'll probably be captured and killed on the spot, right? Also, Little Li only managed to kill because the farm owner was weak. How do you know the other NPCs are just as feeble? What will we do if they call for reinforcements when we can't take them down quickly? Remember, even if we succeed, we just get some virtual items in the game. They're not of any real value, but if we fail, we could lose our jobs. For a matter with such a huge disparity between risk and reward, I'm not taking part."

After hearing Xiao Buli's words, Han Baiqiang immediately cooled off. Xiao Buli was right. Although slaying NPCs seemed highly rewarding, the risks involved were just as substantial. It's just like with Li Baocheng—if he had to go alone without help, no amount of gear or money would mean squat, and he'd likely die out in the wild.

"As long as you help me with this task, each of you can pick one piece of equipment, and we'll split this Gold Coin evenly amongst us. How about that?"

"Deal, I'm in!" Han Baiqiang agreed on the spot. "As for the gear, give me that Butcher's Bone Chopper."

As a blacksmith's apprentice, he knew the value of that weapon. Most weapons on sale at the blacksmith's shop were made of iron, and the only steel Longsword (light blue quality) wasn't for sale—it seemed to be attainable only through a hidden quest. Getting a blue weapon with special effects now was pretty thrilling.

Without any hesitation, Li Baocheng counted out twenty-five silver coins and handed them, along with the weapon, to Han Baiqiang.

Han Baiqiang took them but didn't rush off. He knew it was better to have more people when leaving the village. He glanced at Sun Bin, "What, you chickening out?"

"Hmph, as if I'm scared," Sun Bin seemed unable to stand being provoked, "Count me in as well, then. I'll take the Pigskin Jacket."

After dividing the loot, Li Baocheng looked towards Xiao Buli. Xiao's impression of Li Baocheng shifted slightly. This guy didn't offer up the gear and Gold Coin earlier; he only did so when he saw people leaving, probably hoping to benefit without contributing. Later, probably realizing it wasn't going to work, he reluctantly bled some riches, guessing he still had some things up his sleeve. Li Baocheng may seem naive, but he might also be a wolf in sheep's clothing.

However, Xiao wasn't the least bit surprised by such behavior and didn't intend to get upset over this small discovery. He simply sighed inwardly and nodded in agreement.

"Of course, I have no objections. Then, I'll take that One-handed Sword," he said.

With the weapon and twenty-five silver coins in hand, Xiao Buli was far from ecstatic. Having played so many games, his view of virtual items within games had become quite indifferent. No matter how great the current gains seemed, they would likely be inconsequential once his strength improved later.

He equipped the 'Butcher's Bleeding Knife' and examined it. The sword was very short, just two feet long, with a blood groove etched into the blade, giving it a deadly appearance. With this weapon, his strength had certainly improved.

"Let's go prepare separately then. It's half-past ten now. Tomorrow at ten, let's meet at the village entrance and set off on time. Remember to bring food and water. Any questions?"

Seeing no one speak up, Xiao Buli nodded. "Alright, that's it."