Chapter 20: This Game Was Let to Teach Him a Lesson

The morning sun slowly rose, casting gentle rays of light into the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall.

Inside the hall’s resting lounge.

Before Lin Qi could even rise from his bed, ten perfectly aligned figures were already standing at the bedside. Ten heads surrounded the bed, and twenty eyes fixed intently on Lin Qi, silent yet filled with exhaustion and bloodshot veins, their gazes brimming with excitement and anticipation.

“Are you all playing some kind of doctor game?” Lin Qi looked at the ten heads in his field of vision and suddenly felt that all his sleepless nights had vanished.

“Master of the hall, the task you requested has been completed,” Fang Zhen said urgently as he looked at the now-awake Lin Qi. “We’re just waiting for your review.”

“Alright, the seven newcomers can report their numbers themselves,” Lin Qi got up, his gaze sweeping over the seven newcomers drenched in sweat. It was clear they were still not fully accustomed to such intense underground work.

“We report our numbers ourselves?” The Outland Gunslinger was somewhat surprised. “Is that okay?”

Though their actions were undoubtedly monitored by the system and normally would be tightly controlled by NPCs, he had heard from Ragnarok that this NPC was somewhat foolish.

If someone falsely reported the area they had developed and the NPC actually believed it, then all their efforts that night would have been for nothing.

The two martial arts manuals Lin Qi had presented were too tempting. Initially, the group had planned to just superficially comply with Lin Qi, but that idea was completely abandoned. The ten split into three teams, each with their own strategies.

Especially the four newcomers who formed a team. They were all ordinary players who had played various virtual games before. They bought into the High Martial Descent game purely because of its claim of being 100% virtual and had the luck to be selected.

Originally, these players thought they could easily outlast the professional players. But once the martial arts techniques appeared, their mindset shifted. They believed the Mecha Squad and Pilgrimage Squad, even if they obtained the martial arts, would find it difficult to teach them in the short term. Moreover, both squads had experts who were rapidly advancing in High Martial Descent, making it even harder to catch up.

So the four banded together, and with one extra person, they had a strong chance to seize first place and learn the techniques ahead of the other two squads.

Because of this, the competition among the three teams was fierce. They rested not at all for twelve hours. Whenever their stamina faltered, they simply died and resurrected, instantly refilling their stamina—a kind of exploit, though an expensive one.

That night, each member of the three squads died at least ten times, which was a significant burden even for professional players.

If they failed to obtain the martial arts in the end, their efforts—and their monthly rations—would have been wasted.

“There’s no problem with that. If the numbers are false, the worst outcome is expulsion from the martial arts hall,” Lin Qi said with a smile, looking at the worried Outland Gunslinger. “Alright, the seven newcomers can report their numbers.”

Verifying the exact energy land area developed by these players would waste too much time, and no one knew their own progress better than themselves.

He only needed to exercise his authority, confident that no player was foolish enough to miss this express route into the High Martial World.

As Lin Qi had anticipated, upon hearing the word “expulsion,” the expressions of the ten became much more serious, especially the seven newcomers.

Before entering High Martial Descent, they had thought it was just a virtual game with slightly higher realism. But once inside, they realized this was a masterpiece, destined to become a global sensation.

Currently, High Martial Descent was in its experience testing phase without data wipes—meaning all their progress would persist—an unparalleled opportunity to surpass other players. Only a fool would miss it.

The counting then began.

“73 square meters!”

“One square meter!”

“One square meter!”

“One square meter!”

The four team members proudly reported their figures. Especially the leader, a young man named Floating Leaf Cloud, who looked no older than eighteen and carried an undeniable noble aura, becoming the center of the four-person team.

“Only this much in one night?” Lin Qi was stunned.

Ignoring the underground energy map distribution for the moment, it was nearly impossible for four people to dig out 76 square meters in one night. Previously, even Fang Zhen’s team had only managed around twelve or thirteen square meters by digging furiously overnight. But these four newcomers, each digging nineteen square meters in a single night, defied belief.

As for the other three newcomers each reporting one square meter, they were likely worried about failing the task and being punished, so they gave minimal figures to play it safe. Otherwise, all the credit would have gone to one person.

“Damn! How many times did they die?” Ragnarok stared at the four-person team in disbelief, thinking they must be rich.

The only way for newcomers to average nineteen square meters each overnight was repeated deaths. Their combined death toll must have been over a hundred, equivalent to spending hundreds of premium resurrection credits.

“Is this the power of money?” Lin Qi heard Ragnarok’s words and instantly comprehended, feeling deeply shocked.

These four were exploiting a system bug with money, making them in some ways even stronger than pro players like Fang Zhen.

“Not bad. With these results, no wonder you refuse to team up with us,” Luo Wushang smiled. “But unfortunately, we will win this competition!”

Zhang Qingwei nodded and straightforwardly declared, “78 square meters!”

“That’s impossible!” Floating Leaf Cloud looked at Zhang Qingwei incredulously.

He had made sure to have the four constantly resurrect to maximize their digging, which was already their limit.

The Pilgrimage Squad had only three members and even with an expert, couldn’t have surpassed them.

“You must have spent a lot of time transporting soil, right?” Ragnarok laughed.

“You... you mean...” Floating Leaf Cloud suddenly understood.

The biggest hassle in underground development was soil transportation, which required one or even two people constantly hauling soil; otherwise, the digging was wasted.

“Too bad you arrived late. I dug a tunnel and discovered a large fissure deep underground, so we barely needed to carry soil to the surface,” Ragnarok explained.

“I admit defeat,” Floating Leaf Cloud said with respect. “You truly are the man who can exploit the NPC Lin Qi’s bugs.”

“And you?” Lin Qi looked toward Fang Zhen’s trio.

Though the results were in, as an NPC it was his duty to ask.

“I only managed one square meter,” Gun Overlord shook his head with a smile.

“I got 84 square meters,” the Outland Gunslinger said proudly.

“84? How did you do that?” Ragnarok looked at the Gunslinger in surprise.

Though Fang Zhen, an experienced developer, led the three, they certainly couldn’t have dug faster than the others. He hadn’t even shared the secret of the large fissure with them.

“Nothing special, just luck. While digging, I accidentally found a small tunnel with no pollution and rich energy, about 42 square meters,” the Gunslinger said with a smile. “That tunnel doesn’t count as cheating since I discovered it myself. The rules only say to develop energy land, not that it must be dug by hand.”

“Damn! You actually got that lucky,” Ragnarok was speechless.

They hadn’t lost to money but to luck. No complaints; after all, the rules didn’t specify manual digging.

“Alright, the rankings are set. You can each choose one of these two martial arts manuals,” Lin Qi said happily. Over two hundred square meters developed overnight was far more efficient than outdoor planting.

“I’ll choose...” The Gunslinger reached out for the Stone Fist manual.

For a man, nothing was more tempting than increased strength.

“Gunslinger, don’t choose that one; pick Leopard Shadow Step!” Fang Zhen shouted urgently.

“Leopard Shadow Step?” The Gunslinger looked at Fang Zhen in confusion.

“Are you stupid?” Fang Zhen snapped. “What do you think was the hardest part of developing?”

After digging soil all night, the Gunslinger instinctively answered, “Transporting soil?”

“Exactly. If we learn Leopard Shadow Step, our speed will increase drastically, not only improving soil transport efficiency but also letting us train the technique. Two birds with one stone. Don’t be foolish,” Fang Zhen nodded with a look as if teaching a child.

“Right! Why didn’t I think of that?” The Gunslinger suddenly understood and chose Leopard Shadow Step without a second glance at Stone Fist.

Lin Qi stood by, stunned at Fang Zhen’s words.

They were like a thunderclap—clear and enlightening.

He had to admit, this game was truly mastered by Fang Zhen.