Chapter 125: Three Birds with One Stone
At that moment, XB silently watched from the side as the opportunity that had once belonged solely to him was now surrounded by others. The opportunity didn't even spare him a glance, which honestly made him feel quite bitter inside.
Weren't NPCs supposed to retain their memory of and affection for you? All lies!
His livestream chat was now flooded with mocking comments:
"LMAO, all that unrequited love went straight down the drain."
"Poor X-Baby, sob sob, Mommy feels bad for you!"
…
XB wallowed in discomfort for a while but eventually couldn't help edging closer, checking out Zhou Ning's personal shop just like the other players.
He quickly realized that the item list was a bit different from the first time he encountered it.
Most notably, there was now something called an "Arrow" available, priced the same as a Devil Fruit—800 Vecktas—but requiring 40 Affection Points. Its effect was a gamble: it could grant a special ability called "Stand" or lead to instant death.
XB was intrigued. He decided to save up to buy one.
After checking every item top to bottom, he eventually chose to purchase a revolver and a job change book. He was still debating which skill to learn next when Zhou Ning suddenly said, "It's been almost a month, XB. You're back?"
All the players nearby immediately turned to look at XB.
Caught off guard by Zhou Ning's sudden greeting, XB's mind went blank for a second. Then, overwhelmed with emotion, he nearly teared up on the spot.
Holy crap, the game wasn't lying! The protagonist really remembered him!
XB frantically nodded. "Yeah, I went back to my hometown for a bit. I'm back now."
"It was thanks to your help that we were able to save Darkland," Zhou Ning said with a smile. "Tell you what, as a token of appreciation, I have a clerk position open. Interested? Two hours of work per day. Employee discount—everything here is 10% off for you."
XB was dumbfounded: What? A discount? This kind of deal exists?
He hurriedly agreed. "Yes, I'd love to!"
The surrounding players now recognized who XB was—the unlucky player from episode three of the series. Their gazes toward him were tinged with jealousy.
Even that dork who looks like a washed-up actor got the protagonist's favor? Seriously?
Thanks to XB's example, the others looked at Zhou Ning with even more eagerness. Several players rushed forward, volunteering to become clerks, but Zhou Ning politely declined them all.
XB now felt completely vindicated, as though he'd just turned the tables. The gloom in his heart vanished, and his determination only grew stronger: he had to cling tightly to the protagonist's leg!
Without giving it too much thought, XB used the Wandering Gunslinger job change book. His stats skyrocketed, and he gained two new specialties: Quick Draw and Stylish Gunplay.
"Strong, seriously strong!"
After reading the effects of the two specialties, XB beamed with joy. He then spent 12,000 EXP to learn Mozambique Firing Style, a prerequisite for Rapid Pursuit, greatly boosting his strength.
He used the rest of his money to buy a stack of low-grade healing potions. His hard-earned savings and EXP were once again completely drained.
Encouraged by viewers in the livestream, XB eagerly headed into the wild and found a lone wolf to test out his new skills.
The result? With Mozambique Firing Style and C.A.R. Firing Style active, XB was not only powerful but stylish as hell. The 50% visual appeal boost from Stylish Gunplay made even his clumsy retreat and frantic potion-chugging look unbelievably cool.
Though he only narrowly won and nearly got killed by the wolf, both XB and his viewers were ecstatic. As far as they were concerned, being cool was all that mattered!
…
Over the next half hour, more players arrived. It wasn't just firearms—they even cleared out all the low-grade health and mana potions. With money and EXP pouring in, Zhou Ning saw no reason to leave just yet. Smiling, he continued to run his shop while casually browsing the forums.
At this point, players who had switched to Wandering Gunslinger were already flaunting it online. In Zhou Ning's opinion, aside from the lack of advanced classes for now, Wandering Gunslinger was genuinely strong—especially in terms of DPS. With access to firearms, it ranked solidly near the top of all professions. And when it came to style, it absolutely crushed the competition.
Many players even posted short combat clips. The common thread? Style over substance. In one post, a female player was getting mauled by a wolf but still managed to strike the signature C.A.R. Firing Style pose as she died, capturing screenshots, taking selfies, and posting to forums and social media in one smooth sequence.
Utterly ridiculous.
Seeing the flood of bragging posts, even players who hadn't cared much before now felt a pang of envy.
"Damn, that's slick! Kinda got that Wayne Sturwell vibe."
"How much is a ticket to Darkland? I'll crawl there if I have to!"
"Crap, I'm a walrus-person. What do I do?!"
As far as Zhou Ning was concerned, the more brainless flaunting, the better.
Sure, the class had a higher skill ceiling, but players wouldn't regret it in the early stages. As for the late game… even Zhou Ning wasn't too sure.
Compared to item sales, teaching skills was pure profit for Zhou Ning and far more lucrative. Around Darkland, including the newbie village, there were likely thousands of players. Even if he could only convince a third of them to switch to Wandering Gunslinger, he could easily rack up over a million EXP. There was a lot of room to maneuver.
And it wasn't just about money. Players who switched to Wandering Gunslinger were essentially tying themselves to Zhou Ning's boat. Since the game didn't allow learning two combat main classes at once (unless they started over), any player who wanted to keep progressing would make sure not to let their "trainer" die.
To him, this was a triple-guaranteed way to farm EXP.
He got experience, he got money, and once the players grew stronger, he'd have a whole bunch of muscle and bodyguards. Three birds with one stone.
By evening, the crowd around him finally began to thin out. Zhou Ning had sold all 700-odd Sunwatcher-model handguns and more than 2,000 low-grade healing potions. Counting the money from job changes, he'd earned nearly 5,000 Vecktas in one day, bringing his total to 6,500 Vecktas.
"That's it for today. I'll be back tomorrow at noon." He glanced at his pocket watch—it had just turned six—and smiled.
Ignoring the players' wails of disappointment, Zhou Ning turned and strolled off slowly, enjoying the evening's quiet and the cool breeze. He was in a great mood as he headed back to school.
When he returned to the dorm, the card sharks were still gathered, fiercely battling it out. Zhou Ning watched for a bit, and during the match, someone came to check the gas meter and collect coins.
Thanks to his growing wallet, Zhou Ning had been running the gas lamp and stove almost every day. When he saw the bill—about 30 Roshens—he was stunned. That was seriously extravagant.
Back in his room, he shut the door and isolated himself from the outside noise. Zhou Ning opened the game panel. After a wildly successful day of farming players, his EXP had soared to 620,000. He couldn't wait to splurge.
(Support me and read ahead on Patreøn: patreøn.com/craxxtranslations.
3 new chapters are released daily—thank you for your support!
Powerstone Event: For every 50 powerstones, 1 chapter will be unlocked.)