"A one hundred million Combat Power increase?"
Unlike the game company's boss, who was letting his imagination run wild, some old-timers in the game remained perfectly calm and collected.
Taiyi Zhenren, who was on a business trip in the Divine Capital, logged back into *Tower Defense of Ten Thousand Realms* after a busy day. He then discovered that the number one player on the Combat Power ranking, "Skyrocketing," had increased his Combat Power by a hundred million in one go! This gave Taiyi Zhenren—who was usually leisurely and had already adjusted his mindset—quite a shock.
In the past, his own Combat Power increases were, at most, a few thousand or tens of thousands at a time. For ordinary players, each increase was only a few dozen or a few hundred. For Shen Fei to raise his by a hundred million in one fell swoop… Taiyi Zhenren, second on the Combat Power ranking and second on many other lists, was stunned.
Over ten days ago, Huang Yi, who went by the name "Taiyi Zhenren" in the game, had already become zen about it. After discovering that the number one player treated money like water and made mindless Krypton Gold purchases, he had given up on the idea of competing for first place. Huang Yi had participated in some of the new events and Krypton Gold promotions, but he didn't spend mindlessly, only using Krypton Gold on a few features he personally liked.
At this moment, seeing the number one player's one-hundred-million-point Combat Power boost, Huang Yi shook his head and started tinkering with his own homestead. Among the newly launched Krypton Gold features, the one he favored most was the "Homestead."
Leisurely development, no rush, no fuss. That's my plan from now on...
The Golden Orchid Ranking has been settled?
Not long after entering the game, Huang Yi quickly discovered that the Golden Orchid Ranking's rewards, which had been accumulating for three weeks, had finally been distributed. For the past three weeks, that number one player, "Skyrocketing," had sent his daily ten thousand Golden Orchids to him. In return, Huang Yi had sent his own ten thousand Golden Orchids to Skyrocketing. Now, seeing the Golden Orchid Ranking settled, Huang Yi was reminded of their daily exchange.
The two had added each other as friends but had never chatted. Although Huang Yi really wanted to talk, to find out why this person spent so much and who they were to afford it, the other party never initiated contact. Huang Yi felt it would be awkward for him to do so, so the matter was left as it was.
An Adaptable Gemstone? It can be socketed into equipment? No restrictions on equipment type? Greatly increases Combat Power and adaptability?
He opened the Golden Orchid Ranking to check the second-place reward—his reward. Huang Yi saw that his prize was called an "Adaptable Gemstone." While he was at it, he also saw that the first-place reward was a "Floating Island"...
BEEP!
BEEP!
BEEP!
Just as he was about to socket the newly acquired Adaptable Gemstone into a unique piece of equipment, Huang Yi's friend request tab started pinging.
Brother Kaipan? Wants to buy the pet collar I have? Offering a high price? With Skyrocketing as a guarantor?
He had been about to ignore the friend request, but then he saw that it was from the famous "Brother Kaipan" from the Forum. Moreover, Brother Kaipan had also mentioned the Krypton Gold whale, "Skyrocketing." This piqued Huang Yi's interest.
On the Forum, some people had claimed that Brother Kaipan and Skyrocketing knew each other and were colluding to fleece other players of their money. Huang Yi had heard about this but hadn't believed it. Like everyone else, he thought that someone who spent as much on Krypton Gold as Skyrocketing wouldn't bother with scamming people for such a paltry sum. But seeing Brother Kaipan's message now, Huang Yi suddenly felt he might have been wrong.
Not only do they know each other, they might even be the same person...
"Master Taiyi, I'm running an errand for Brother Chongtian. He wishes to purchase your pet collar. Would you be open to discussing it?"
After adding him as a friend, Huang Yi noted Brother Kaipan's respectful tone.
"A pet collar?" Huang Yi's brows furrowed upon hearing Brother Kaipan's inquiry.
A little over two weeks ago, the game had introduced many new Krypton Gold features, such as Tower Master equipment, pets, and homesteads. These were features available to all players. But there were also exclusive ones, reserved for veteran players. For the top ten veteran players on the old Combat Power ranking, the game company had issued exclusive compensation when the new events began. Each of them was compensated with a special item—a piece of pet equipment. Because he used to be number one on the Krypton Gold charts, the pet equipment he received was the best. It was an item called a "Pet Collar."
Huang Yi hadn't expected Brother Kaipan to contact him about this.
He wants to upgrade his one and only Holy Beast Black Tortoise again?
His main focus was on his homestead; he had barely touched the new pet system and didn't really care about the so-called pet collar. It was only after receiving the "Adaptable Gemstone" that he had even thought of it. Opening the pet ranking and looking at the Black Tortoise at the top with a Combat Power of twenty million, Huang Yi felt like he was starting to understand something.
"Have him contact me himself!"
Being interested in Skyrocketing himself, Huang Yi thought for a moment and replied. Of course, the main reason was that he didn't enjoy the new pet system. He still preferred the classic gameplay of using Defense Towers to sweep through waves of monsters. After some thought, Huang Yi agreed to meet Skyrocketing.
"You got it~~, please wait a moment!" Brother Kaipan replied instantly...
.
.
"Bro!"
"Bro!"
"Bro! I found it!"
Having finished synthesizing the Gemstones and with only a little over ten million of his money left, Shen Fei received an excited message from Sun Yu.
That fast? Shen Fei knew what Sun Yu was talking about. He knew Sun Yu was well-connected, but he hadn't expected him to be *this* well-connected. To get a lead on an item that could merge the Black Tortoise and the Floating Island so quickly was impressive.
Two minutes later, as Sun Yu explained, Shen Fei learned the details.
"What a coincidence?" After hearing Sun Yu's explanation, Shen Fei was surprised that things had come full circle. He still had to go through "Taiyi Zhenren." And he needed Taiyi Zhenren's Golden Orchid Ranking reward—the Adaptable Gemstone.
The difference was, he also had to trade for another one of Taiyi Zhenren's items—the Pet Collar. The Adaptable Gemstone could only be socketed into a piece of equipment. The Pet Collar was a piece of equipment that could only be used by a pet. If his Black Tortoise wore the Pet Collar, it would be the perfect way to utilize the effect of the Adaptable Gemstone...
Among the new features in *Tower Defense of Ten Thousand Realms*, there was only Tower Master equipment. Shen Fei never expected that there was a secret equipment system hidden in the background, revolving around items like the "Pet Collar." It was something the game company had secretly given to the previous Krypton Gold big shots as compensation. There were only ten such items in the entire game. In order to maintain game balance, the company had intentionally kept this a secret, and very few people knew about it. But Sun Yu had still managed to dig up the information.
"Alright, then..." It was common for game companies to offer some compensation to veteran players; Shen Fei understood that.
Knowing the situation and having a clear goal, Shen Fei opened his friends list. On his friends list, besides Sun Yu, the only other person was "Taiyi Zhenren."
"Hello, Master Taiyi. I'm Skyrocketing. You can just call me Fei!"
"You probably already know, but I'd like to trade for your Pet Collar and Adaptable Gemstone!"
"Would it be convenient for you to name your price?"
Needing a favor, Shen Fei sent a series of polite messages. In his past life, Taiyi Zhenren had saved him. It wasn't intentional, but it still counted as a rescue. In this life, it was because of Taiyi Zhenren's existence that he had been so determined to pour money into *Tower Defense of Ten Thousand Realms*. This was, for all intents and purposes, the first time the two had ever spoken.
"I wouldn't dare call myself a master in front of you. You're the real big shot!"
"Are you trying to give that big turtle of yours with 20 million Combat Power another boost?" Taiyi Zhenren's reply came back quickly, teasing Shen Fei about wanting to increase his Combat Power further.
"Yeah, that's right! I was wondering if you'd be willing to part with them. Just name your price!" Shen Fei replied very politely.
"Sure. It's a reward from the Golden Orchid Ranking, after all, and you're the one who sent me most of my Golden Orchids!"
"Besides, I don't really like the pet system..."
To Shen Fei's surprise, Taiyi Zhenren agreed to his request immediately, without any hesitation. Seeing that he had not only agreed but also mailed the two items over instantly, all Shen Fei could do was express his gratitude. The transaction was too easy, completely exceeding his expectations. Taiyi Zhenren was way too easygoing!
"I'm sending you a Divine Beast pet, a Black Phoenix!" Not wanting to take advantage of him, Shen Fei sent over a "Black Phoenix," a Divine Beast he had acquired earlier, to Taiyi Zhenren.
"You owe me dinner for this!" Paying little mind to the Black Phoenix, Taiyi Zhenren added a joking remark.
"Definitely, definitely. You..." Shen Fei took this opportunity to start a conversation with Taiyi Zhenren.
Soon, he learned that Taiyi Zhenren's real name was Huang Yi. He was from Hujian and was currently on a business trip in the Divine Capital of Xia Country. The two exchanged phone numbers.
Afterward, Taiyi Zhenren asked about Shen Fei's relationship with "Brother Kaipan." Worried about causing trouble, Shen Fei casually said, "Brother Kaipan is my alt account," before ending the conversation with Huang Yi.
As for the future game invasion, Shen Fei, of course, did not tell Huang Yi about it. He wouldn't tell anyone about this matter... Still, now that they had each other's numbers, contacting each other in the future would be very convenient.