Chapter 97: You Steal My Pig, I'll Steal Your Girl

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The leader and the fourth brother, upon hearing this, abandoned the large group of monsters they had been pulling and hurried back. Lin Jia quickly gulped down several Sun Waters, restoring his health, but the red and green poisons coursing through his body continued to drain his vitality.

The Azure Skeleton’s attack and movement speed far surpassed that of the leader’s White Skeleton. Although Lin Jia had consumed several Sun Waters, the skeleton’s axe whistled through the air, striking him relentlessly. After each hit, Lin Jia’s speed plummeted, leaving the little mage unable to escape. It seemed he was about to be slain beneath the axe.

In desperation, Lin Jia pressed the seldom-used F8 key, activating the Fire Ring of Resistance. A circle of spreading flames pushed the skeleton far away, granting Lin Jia a moment to breathe. Having just exhausted the Sun Waters and Medium Red Potions in his quick-access bar, Lin Jia hurriedly opened his bag to take an HP potion to save himself.

But the pushed-back skeleton soon charged again. Lin Jia had no time to strike back; running would only expose him to continuous attacks from Nangong Cangma and his skeletons, while standing and fighting meant he couldn’t withstand the Azure Skeleton’s blows. He was trapped in an awkward predicament.

Young Feng Xi, seeing the inexplicable fight breaking out, anxiously ran out from behind the tank’s wall, circling them. She banged her “Harpoon” Sea Spirit on Nangong Cangma, who was relentlessly chasing Lin Jia, yelling, “No fighting! Guys, no fighting!”

Lin Jia was furious. That Taoist was pushing his luck. Originally, when he stole the monsters, the three brothers had barely been rude. Yet this Taoist even attacked him by surprise. Although the fire wall on the ground had burned him first, Lin Jia hadn’t done it intentionally. Capturing that pet shouldn't have been difficult, right? Now Lin Jia didn’t even have time to type out a question.

Using the Fire Ring of Resistance once again to push the skeleton away, Lin Jia dragged his inventory window to the upper right corner of the screen so he could quickly use potions directly from the bag. Then he quickly threw down several fire walls. When the skeleton charged again, Lin Jia ran in and out of the burning area, causing the level 5 Azure Skeleton to be repeatedly scorched by the flames.

The level 0 fire walls lasted too briefly, and with the skeleton’s rapid attacks, Lin Jia nearly died several times. Were it not for his micro-manipulation skills and lightning-fast reflexes honed from playing StarCraft, he might have been disgracefully killed by a chasing pile of bones.

Nangong Cangma, who had been standing to the side attacking remotely with poison talismans, grew anxious seeing Lin Jia use this tactic to kill his skeleton. Forgetting to look cool, he gripped his Demon-Slaying weapon and lunged in, joining the skeleton in cutting off Lin Jia’s escape. Unlike the skeleton, he was smart enough not to chase Lin Jia into the flames. Instead, the Taoist circled the fire’s edge, posing an even greater threat. Every time he struck or blocked Lin Jia, the skeleton behind would land another axe blow. Fortunately, Lin Jia’s defense was higher than that of a typical mage, and his newly equipped silver bracelet, granting +3 Agility and 0-3 Magic, gave him three extra Agility points, helping him survive these close calls.

Lin Jia could hold on, but with a sharp, pitiful scream, the adorable little mage Feng Xi could not. Seeing the screen display “You have committed murder” and “Your weapon is cursed,” Lin Jia was stunned. Feng Xi seemed to have wanted to prevent the fight between Nangong Cangma and Lin Jia, running behind them to stop the conflict, but unaware that the fire walls could kill, the little girl ran across the flames twice, then cried out “Ah~!” and dropped a chaotic assortment of junk gear and some small potions before collapsing.

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Lin Jia felt wronged. What was going on? Was this accidental killing or suicide???

The bizarre and angry Lin Jia, likely provoked by the young girl’s death, used the Fire Ring of Resistance to push Nangong Cangma and the skeleton away, then threw a lightning bolt at Nangong Cangma, sending him sprawling. Seizing the opportunity, Lin Jia bolted. Meanwhile, the leader and the fourth brother, having run far to pull monsters, finally arrived. Lin Jia shouted, “Red!!!”

The fourth brother tossed down two bundles of Super Red Potions and rushed past Lin Jia to attack the pursuing skeletons. The leader returned from the northern part of the map, marking Nangong Cangma from afar. His flying talisman arrived first, freezing the skeleton trapped at the tank’s wall corner. The skeletons clashed fiercely, their colors contrasting sharply.

Receiving aid, Lin Jia picked up the two bundles of super golden wound healing potions, tore one open, and swallowed a pill immediately. Watching the three retreating figures battling in the distance, he remained standing, waiting for the red and green poisons to dissipate.

Feng Xi’s little body lay lifeless on the ground but did not immediately log out. She muttered irritably, “Bad Taoist guy! Bullying! The mage guy didn’t even provoke him! Why fight?” Lin Jia was curious. Wasn’t this little girl allied with Nangong Cangma? Why was she siding with him instead?

Lin Jia asked, “Little miss, is that Taoist your friend?”

Feng Xi replied from the ground, “Yes! I got lost in this dark place, and when my candle ran out, that Taoist guy gave me one, saying he’d help me level up. So I followed him here! I’m afraid of the dark!” Lin Jia was baffled. So this little miss wasn’t really close to that Taoist; she just blindly followed a glowing player because she ran out of candles in the pig cave.

For some reason, female players in the game Legend always spoke with a “naïve and innocent” tone, using affectionate nicknames like “gg,” “jj,” “dd,” and “mm.” This wasn’t them pretending to be cute but rather a cultural trait within the game. Given this little miss was only claiming to be sixteen and spoke with a coquettish lilt, it was hardly strange. Anyone who’s seen girls chatting on QQ with those “baby voices” knows it can drive normal people nuts.

Lin Jia took a few steps toward where the leader and others were fighting, glanced at the fierce battle, then returned with a wicked smile, thinking: “Damn! You steal my pigs, I’ll steal your girl! That’ll get under your skin!” Female players are rare in online games, treated like precious creatures by the predominantly male player base. As soon as one appears, the men fawn over them, hoping to gain their favor. This has become a hallmark of online gaming culture.

“Little miss, that Taoist is really annoying! Why did he try to kill me?” Lin Jia began to tease.

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Feng Xi snapped back angrily, “Yeah! That Taoist guy’s so bad! He even killed me! I don’t want to play with him anymore!”

Lin Jia quickly softened his tone: “Yeah, we can’t beat him. Let’s switch locations, okay? I’ll take you somewhere else to level up.”

Feng Xi brightened, “Okay! No more fighting!”

“Yeah! Yeah! No fighting!” Lin Jia chuckled. “Little miss, tell your Taoist friend we’re moving to a different spot. You head back to town first; I’ll call my friends, and we’ll all go level up in the Centipede Cave!”

“Oh! Okay! Mage guy, I’ll wait for you in town! Hurry! Or tell Taoist guy not to fight and come with us!”

“All right, all right! You buy some potions first; we’ll be back soon!” Lin Jia watched Feng Xi’s corpse vanish and wiped the cold sweat from his brow. Chatting with these coquettish little misses was exhausting.

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[Trouble: Shit! What’s going on? These past two days have been unlucky! How did my Jiangmin antivirus get wiped out by a virus? Pop-up notifications keep appearing! I can’t even upload files on Qidian now! Damn! I’ve been working since 2 a.m., and had to reinstall Rising Antivirus! Shit~ shit!!]

Update preview: Around noon today!