Volume One, Chapter 20: Retribution from Wang Duojin

Xiao Xiao, like Xiahou Qingqing, chose not to hide her nickname. Not for any other reason, but because behind them stood two of the top ten families in China. Therefore, there was no need to be as cautious and reserved as Lin Yu.

Of course, there was another reason. They needed to demonstrate their strength early in the game to attract individual players like Lin Yu—those without an organization but with talent. After all, the more power they amassed before the great catastrophe, the better off they would be. Talent was clearly a crucial part of this.

...

“Senior Xiao, congratulations on reaching level ten. You are the second player to attain this milestone,” Lin Yu stopped his actions and stepped forward to offer his congratulations.

Having helped Xiao Xiao reach level ten, Lin Yu felt he had completed the first stage of his task.

“Junior, don’t tease me. Without you, I probably wouldn’t have leveled up so quickly,” Xiao Xiao replied with a slight smile, genuinely grateful to Lin Yu. As she said, without his help, she would not have reached level ten so fast.

Lin Yu shrugged indifferently. Then, as if recalling something, he looked at Xiao Xiao and asked, “Senior, what are your plans? Will you head straight to the primary city, or do you have other arrangements?”

According to the game rules of Divine Demon Continent, once a player surpasses level ten in the newbie village, they no longer gain experience there. So unless Xiao Xiao had pressing business, moving to the main city to level up was undoubtedly the best choice.

“Are you just eager for me to go to the city so you can have all the experience points?” Xiao Xiao feigned a pout.

“You misunderstood, senior. That’s not what I meant.” Although Lin Yu secretly entertained that thought, he quickly clarified his stance. After all, Xiao Xiao held some leverage over him, so he dared not make things awkward.

“All right, I’m just joking,” Xiao Xiao smiled gently upon seeing Lin Yu’s rare defeat.

She then looked at him earnestly. “I’ve already reached level ten, and staying in the newbie village isn’t very useful anymore. It’s time to head to the main city.”

Since she had hit the newbie village’s level cap and had nearly completed all the hidden quests she knew of there, lingering made little sense. It was better to explore the opportunities awaiting in the city.

“Well then, I wish senior great success and brilliance in the main city,” Lin Yu said with a courteous bow and a smile.

“You scoundrel!” Xiao Xiao playfully glared at Lin Yu, surprised by his lack of romantic subtlety. She knew countless players begged to team up with her, yet Lin Yu seemed rather disdainful of such attentions.

...

Shaking her head, she dismissed the matter. Then, seemingly recalling something, she looked at Lin Yu seriously and asked, “By the way, are you free tomorrow morning?”

Tomorrow was Monday, and she wasn’t sure if Lin Yu had classes, given their current identities as students.

“I’m free. My classes start in the afternoon,” Lin Yu nodded, then looked at her curiously. “Why? Do you have something planned?”

“Since we are going to cooperate, we need to sign a contract. We can’t just rely on verbal promises. Also, regarding your mother’s situation, it’s best to meet in person to arrange everything properly,” Xiao Xiao said, rolling her eyes in mild exasperation before continuing, “If you’re free tomorrow morning, let’s meet at the Prosperity Tavern at ten o’clock. How does that sound?”

“Sounds good,” Lin Yu agreed without hesitation. This concerned his mother’s treatment, so the sooner they arranged things, the better.

After exchanging contact information, Xiao Xiao logged off, returning to the newbie village. She still had many matters to attend to in real life.

As for heading to the main city, there was no rush. She had already claimed the leaderboard rewards for entering the city, so leveling up was no longer urgent.

Lin Yu continued to grind, defeating over a dozen wild monsters and reaching level eight with 35% progress. Then he returned to the newbie village and logged off. He had been online for nearly five hours and was feeling hungry.

...

When Lin Yu logged off, Lin Xin—his close friend—surprisingly was not playing the game, which puzzled Lin Yu. Lin Xin usually stayed online until the game session ended; today’s behavior was unusual.

More importantly, Lin Xin looked gloomy, clearly troubled by something.

“Could it be something at home?” Lin Yu frowned.

But soon he dismissed the thought. From his memory, Lin Xin’s family troubles would not arise for at least another two months.

“Could it be the game?” Lin Yu whispered to himself, glancing at Lin Xin.

Lin Xin had been deeply immersed in the game lately, so this was a strong possibility.

Shaking his head, Lin Yu decided not to linger on the thought and approached him. “Lin Xin, what’s wrong? Did something happen?”

Though Lin Yu disliked trouble, Lin Xin was his closest friend. If something was bothering him, Lin Yu would not stand by idly.

“Oh, nothing. Yu, why are you offline too?” Lin Xin forced a smile, though it was strained.

“Come on, Lin Xin, tell me what’s going on. You’re terrible at hiding things,” Lin Yu frowned at his friend’s obvious discomfort.

“I’m not—” Lin Xin tried to brush it off, but seeing Lin Yu’s unwavering gaze, he reluctantly confessed, “That bastard Wang Duojin has been camping my corpse.”

Lin Xin then forced another smile. “But, Yu, don’t worry. I’m just going to wait him out. I don’t believe he has the guts to keep it up. At worst, I’ll log in again tonight—I don’t have much class lately anyway.”

“Camping your corpse? That bastard,” Lin Yu’s expression darkened.

In Divine Demon Continent, if a player is killed in the wild, they respawn on the spot. This gave rise to the practice known as corpse camping—killing a player repeatedly as they revive until they lose three levels and are sent back to the resurrection altar.

Usually, corpse camping was rare, especially in the early game, because it wasted the camper’s own time and was ultimately self-defeating. Unless there was deep hatred, few would resort to such tactics.

As for why Wang Duojin targeted Lin Xin, Lin Yu didn’t need to ask. Probably because Wang couldn’t find him and, knowing Lin Xin’s nickname, took out his anger on him instead. After all, Lin Yu had embarrassed Wang earlier that morning, and Lin Xin had no connection to him.

What surprised Lin Yu was how petty Wang Duojin was—he had acted against Lin Xin in such a short time.

“Wang Duojin, huh? I’ll make sure you pay for what you did today,” Lin Yu’s eyes grew cold.

He did not like to stir up trouble, but he was no pushover. Especially since Lin Xin was suffering because of him, Lin Yu would never let Wang Duojin go unpunished—even if he was the wealthiest son in Qing City.

In his previous life, Lin Yu might have swallowed his pride. But now, with the backing of the Xiao family, he would not choose to let things slide.

If he couldn’t protect those close to him, then all his efforts so far would be meaningless.