Chapter 315: What a Coincidence~ Are You Also Here to Pilot a Mech?
About seven days ago, someone from the Starlight Guild screenshotted an item and threw it into the group chat, much like showing off a pay stub.
The group chat, which had been mostly dominated by discussions about the Twin Black and White Towers challenge facility, instantly erupted with enthusiasm because of this screenshot—
The item was called the "Twin Fierce Tiger Contract," a contract item that allowed two players to team up.
The blueprint originated from the "Hot-Blooded Fighting" instance, a fighting-type instance that differed from conventional instances focused on killing enemies.
Players had to form a two-person team and engage in 2v2 bare-handed combat. After a series of elimination rounds, they would secure the single available spot to finally face the Hot-Blooded Fighting champion duo, "Tiger One and Tiger Two." If they still emerged victorious, they would receive a "Fierce Tiger Treasure Chest," which had a chance of containing the "Twin Fierce Tiger Contract."
The contract's attributes were somewhat similar to the "Twin Dragon Contract" from "Double Dragon", with overall attribute bonuses significantly higher than the "Dead or Alive Duo" contract of Luo Meiling and Eve.
Of course, attribute bonuses were the least important aspect; the most crucial feature was allowing the two contracted players to enter the same main quest and remain in a teamed state.
The sense of security provided by a teammate one could absolutely trust to watch their back was incomparable to that of a random teammate.
Encounters like Cheng Tian's first main instance with those three reliable guys were almost once-in-a-lifetime; this was already top-tier for a pick-up group, and the probability of encountering it again was genuinely low.
During his sparring PK with Cheng Tian, Irene realized that Cheng Tian had completely surpassed her in overall strength, whether in offense, defense, or summoning.
While she also possessed close-combat abilities, she was still too far behind true close-combat guards like Bazett. If she and Mina, as a dual-archer combination, wanted a better output environment, then the presence of someone like Cheng Tian, with his defensive barriers, numerous summoned units, and powerful close-combat guard, was currently Irene's best choice, bar none.
Yes, she absolutely had no intention of using the team contract to declare ownership over Fina, absolutely none!
However, legitimate team contracts rarely appeared on the market, and this guy who posted the screenshot in the group was the only team contract seen outside of an auction house during this period.
So, after a flurry of chatter in the group, the guy who posted the screenshot was undoubtedly bombarded with private messages.
Birds of a feather flock together; while players admitted into Starlight might certainly have some eccentric or crazy ones, they definitely wouldn't mess with people's minds for no reason.
Since he threw the screenshot into the group, it meant he definitely had an inclination to sell.
And not putting it up for auction likely had two possibilities.
One was that he urgently needed money and couldn't wait for the auction house at the beginning of next month.
The other was that he wasn't short on money; he was just testing the waters to see what good items he could get from other players who urgently needed a team contract.
Irene tried sending a private message to inquire, and at first, it was met with silence. But perhaps knowing he had piqued the interest of others in the group, and that not replying would certainly lead to resentment, he "tactfully" rejected Irene's buying intention and offer.
And at this moment, Cheng Tian joined in.
For him, who had already obtained the Oni Gauntlet, the non-critical levels of equipment items could now be enhanced with red souls. Theoretically, as long as he killed enough enemies, all the money for non-critical levels could be saved for other things.
He also really wanted the Twin Fierce Tiger Contract.
From the perspective of ability composition, Cheng Tian's long-range attacks and suppression abilities largely relied on instance modifiers; he would be very limited if it wasn't a tech-side instance.
As for magic-side abilities, among the sunfire mask and Demonic Nightmare Form skills, the former was still biased towards defense and damage against dark units, while the latter was a high-damage move that couldn't be used frequently. Irene's archery ability, unrestricted by both sides, could clearly fill the gap in between.
As for Phantom Sword... Cheng Tian planned to hide the ability attached to these shorts beneath Irene's archer abilities.
As a cunning old fox, how could he not keep a trick up his sleeve?
"What's wrong? Not enough money? Eight hundred thousand doesn't tempt him? This guy has quite the appetite~"
Cheng Tian replied, frowning.
"...A seller's market is just that unreasonable. Who told us we're the ones in demand?"
This time, it was Irene's turn to comfort Cheng Tian.
"Can't you really find it anywhere else?"
"No, this thing doesn't circulate much. Besides these crazy guys, you can only rely on newbies who don't know anything.
Just like when you sold the Knight Armor back then."
"That was due to lack of experience~"
Cheng Tian said nonchalantly, then directly changed the subject.
"By the way, what's your instance modifier?"
"Damn it!"
Seeing Cheng Tian's question, Irene instantly cursed. She didn't answer directly in the private message, only throwing out a "Wait for me to get there!" before quickly arriving.
The woman's general explanation was that the Space was targeting her. She had just completed her bloodline purification and perfected her professional abilities, capable of excellent performance in both magic and tech-side instances. Yet, the Space assigned her an instance modifier called "Mech Combat."
"You tell me, isn't this targeting me?!"
Irene was seething with anger, her gaze also wandering towards the various intelligence merchants nearby, who were already surrounded by other players.
Whether she liked it or not, she was definitely entering this main instance. If she didn't want to die, she could only try to gather some potentially useful information and items beforehand.
But soon, Cheng Tian displayed the same modifier he had received.
Irene immediately showed an expression that first conveyed pleasant surprise, then fell into distress.
Although this wasn't a general-purpose modifier, it wasn't a rare one either. The number of players it might involve was unknown, and even if two people's modifier descriptions were exactly the same, it didn't necessarily mean they would be assigned to the same instance. And even if it was the same instance, it didn't mean they would be on the same faction; there were too many variables.
Just imagining Cheng Tian as an opposing faction, Irene felt a wave of despair.
Moreover, even if Cheng Tian's Heart Priest skills were sealed, Irene clearly knew that Cheng Tian possessed relevant abilities highly compatible with mechs.
"Don't you say, if the assigned instance is truly as I imagine, and you and I are in different factions, it might actually be a better situation."
Cheng Tian said mysteriously... As the light of teleportation enveloped them, a large number of players also disappeared from the plaza.
[Instance Importing—]
[In 2281, with national borders abolished and Earth unified globally, it finally reached a reconciliation with the neighboring planet Leia, inhabited by aliens, after half a century of mech warfare... However, in 2282, war reignited.]