There are too many teammates who are complete losers.

Chapter 11 Listen to the Dragon's Roar

Name: Lu Ren.

Time: Day 3 of the journey.

Assets: Liabilities 198,000.

Creditor: Shen Yaoxing, the eldest daughter of the Shen family in Linjiang.

"..."

Lu Ren borrowed money and paid off the debt his father owed to the casino.

He could certainly run away, but his sister couldn't. If the loan sharks did something to Lu Youhe while he was away, he wouldn't mind destroying the world... He was so embarrassed.

He hadn't earned a single penny and was still heavily in debt. Lu Ren sighed, his face even more bitter.

Shen Yaoxing gave this guy a sneer, then looked down at her bank card, her expression probably like this: (ㅇㅅㅇ❀)

20 is not a lot, but it was her hard-won secret savings that she had carefully hidden away from the clan.

Her secret stash of money vanished in an instant!

To pay off this kid's gambling debts, he now only has two thousand yuan left.

Oh, I only have 500 left. I just went out for lunch and bought some supplies, which cost me 1,500.

Looking at his bank account balance, Shen Yaoxing couldn't help but fall into deep self-doubt.

Seeing Miss Shen's uncertain expression, Lu Ren asked somewhat guiltily, "Do we really still want to explore the Void Realm?"

Shen Yaoxing's eyes were unfriendly: "What do you think?"

Lu Ren said somewhat embarrassedly, "It seems we've run out of money. We only have enough to buy dry rations and sleeping bags, not even enough to buy a decent firearm..."

Shen Yaoxing is an astrologist, belonging to the category of divine cultivators.

Body cultivator, magic cultivator, and spirit cultivator are the standard warrior-mage-priest combination, or in game terms, front-line warrior, mage, and support, respectively.

Lu Ren is a newbie with no skills and terrible stats, while Shen Yaoxing is a support player who lacks offensive capabilities.

Without even a gun, a two-person team exploring the virtual world is a classic case of a mid-support combo where one dies and the other is sent to their death.

"money?"

Even though Lu Ren had nearly emptied her pockets, Miss Shen still didn't care about money: "Money? We can always earn more, right?"

"How do I make money?"

"You go beg on the street?"

"Is there a more respectable way?"

"Wearing a suit?"

Buying a suit will cost quite a bit of money... Lu Ren didn't dare to make that joke, and followed behind Shen Yaoxing with a big bag on his back.

After paying back the money he owed the casino, he followed Miss Shen to the Linjiang Void Realm.

"Is this the Linjiang Void Realm? It's more lively than I imagined; there are so many people here."

"Where there are people, there is demand. Eighty percent of the people here are ordinary people who make money off professionals."

"Isn't this place very dangerous? How dare ordinary people conduct business here?"

"If there's money to be made, people will go to even the most dangerous places. A meal here costs three or four times more than outside. People here risk their lives to make money, earning in the virtual world to spend in the outside world."

However, the main reason is that the Earth Forest Realm is very safe; dangerous virtual realms don't have human camps of this scale.

The entrance between the virtual world and reality is a thick fog, which is called the Fog of Time.

From the outside, the fog appears to be a fog zone several hundred meters in diameter, but what is inside the fog is completely invisible.

Entering the fog from any direction, after walking a few steps, you will find yourself passing through the thick fog and stepping into an unfamiliar world.

For example, this Earth Forest Realm is located in a semi-suburb of Linjiang City. After passing through the mist, you will find yourself in a quaint and charming Jiangnan town.

Looking back, there was the same thick fog; passing through it would allow one to leave the void.

This place has a history of over 300 years. The camp is called Linjiang Xuzhen, and it is just a temporary place for professionals to rest.

Besides restaurants and inns, there were many vendors hawking their wares on the street, most of whom were related to professionals and sold weapons, armor, spirit remains, precious materials, and alchemical products.

What's most eye-catching are the shops on both sides of the street, which are all well-known organizations in the country, or branches of various professional associations located here.

The so-called guild is probably similar in nature to a listed company in the previous life, a sect in fantasy novels, or a game guild in games.

The guild's main functions and resources are only available to its members, but it will also issue some quests to adventurers in the market.

Of course, others can also buy their services and products, which is also their main business.

Trading with these guilds is how most professionals make a living; even the most ordinary spirit remains can sell for several hundred dollars.

In Linjiang Xuzhen, there are three major organizations: Tianxing Guild, Professionals Association, and Qianhu Provincial Vocational School Education Department.

The former refers to local guilds, while the latter two are official institutions.

As Lu Ren walked on the bluestone path, he looked up at the clear blue sky, and smelled the earth and forest in his nostrils, which stirred a strange feeling in his heart.

It's like stepping into a Western fantasy world with a Chinese style, where all the elements are almost complete, such as professionals, monsters, and adventurer parties.

"What plans do we have now?" Lu Ren asked.

Shen Yaoxing also surveyed her surroundings and casually asked, "Do you think you could kill a 'Mud Eater' without skills or firearms?"

As a native of Linjiang, even though Lu Ren wasn't a professional in the past, he still knew some things about the Linjiang virtual world.

They are abundant in four types of ethereal beasts: the Mud Eater, the Yellow Mud Monster, the Sludge Monster, and the Swamp Mud Monster.

Shen Yaoxing was referring to a type of ethereal beast called the "Mud Eater," which was entirely black and had a physique similar to that of an underdeveloped young man.

The four types of "Mud Monsters" in the Linjiang Void Realm are local Void Beasts. Among them, the weakest "Mud-Eating Monster" is generally regarded as a small fry and has nothing to do with being powerful.

Lu Ren asked, "Can I?"

"...I'm the one asking you."

"I heard that mud monsters are weak, so I should be able to handle it?"

Lu Ren was a little uncertain, after all, knowing something is one thing, but encountering it in reality is another.

In fact, online, local forums occasionally have discussions like these: "Can five mud monsters defeat a Siberian tiger?", "Can a five-person armed squad deal with 20 mud monsters at the same time?", "If the prime minister were given 800 mud monsters, could the Han Dynasty be restored?"

If a mud monster is equivalent to one-fifth of a tiger, Lu Ren feels he still has a chance.

This isn't just him bragging. A normal adult male's physique attribute is around 1 to 2 points, while his is currently 4 points. So he actually has twice the physique of an average adult male. Just looking at the numbers, he could easily defeat 2% of the fitness instructors from his previous life.

"The Mud Eater isn't actually that strong. If you're carrying a melee weapon, you might get hurt, but you'll definitely win."

Shen Yaoxing changed the subject and continued:

"However, mud monsters always come in groups, sometimes several at a time, sometimes even more than a dozen, so you will be surrounded and killed very quickly."

Mud Eaters are similar to goblins or slimes in fantasy worlds; they are monsters that novice adventurers can handle, but there may still be risks involved.

"I have no offensive skills and no modern weapons. I can only fight them in close combat. I can handle a few mud monsters, but if there are more than ten, we will definitely be in danger."

"What should we do then?"

If they can't even handle the lowest-level Void Beasts, what are they doing here? On a picnic?

"Let's go and make some money first. There are official agencies stationed there that can rent guns. Once we've made some money, we can rent a couple of guns, and our situation will be much better."

"..."

Because even the weakest Mud Eater is difficult to deal with, you need to rent a gun; because renting a gun costs money, you need to hunt Mud Eaters to earn money; because Mud Eaters are very strong, you need to…

"Not all missions require killing enemies. Many guilds and academic alchemists need fresh herbs and will issue some gathering-related missions at the mission center. Go and take on those missions to get through the process."

"I see……"

However, at that moment, a conflict suddenly broke out on the street ahead.

"What do you mean there's something more important? Is there anything more important than Yaoxing? Yaoxing's whereabouts are currently unknown; I do not agree to continue the mission!"

"Shen Yaoxing has already left the team; her affairs are none of our business."

"Bai Lu! Yao Xing just left the team, how could you..."

"Besides, the Shen family has already sent people to look for her, right? If Yaoxing has already met with misfortune, then there's no need for us to go looking for her. If Yaoxing is still alive, then the Shen family will definitely be able to find her. If the Shen family can't find her, what's the point of us going?"

"You, Bai Lu, Yao Xing, usually treat us..."

The girl named Bai Lu was getting impatient. "That's why I said, can't you calm down? All you do is spout this kind of irrelevant nonsense all day long..."

"Alright, Little Fish, White Deer, say less."

A towering man interrupted the two girls' argument, speaking in a deep, gruff voice:

"Let's vote. I think we should go find Yaoxing. The vote is currently two to one. Longyou, what do you think? Should we go to Qingshan District to find that true-type Void Beast, or abandon the mission and leave the Void Realm to find Yaoxing?"

Are people talking about his boss?

Lu Ren looked over there and saw a four-person team, two men and two women, all of whom looked to be under 20 years old.

The two girls who were arguing just now were one of them, who was wearing something that looked like a priest's robe and looked very anxious.

Another girl named Bai Lu dressed in a neutral style and carried an exaggerated sniper rifle-like weapon on her back.

Lu Ren discovered that the handsome guy who had treated him to dinner yesterday was among them.

He looked to the side and found that Shen Yaoxing had disappeared, but Shen Yaoxing's voice came from his right rear.

"Don't move, block the way."

At some point, Shen Yaoxing hid behind Lu Ren.

A large crowd of onlookers gathered around.

"It's the [Listen to the Dragon's Roar] team! We actually ran into them in Linjiang Xuzhen!"

"Is that [Listen to the Dragon's Roar] who finished fourth in this year's Linjiang Youth Professional League? I've watched their matches, and they're all incredibly cool!"

"What are they arguing about? And why are there only four of them?"

"Weren't they all at the Flame Reaper Realm? Why are they coming to the weakest town, Linjiang Xuzhen?"

The surrounding gazes toward the four were filled with envy and longing. Lu Ren learned from the discussions among the onlookers that the professional team that Shen Yaoxing had previously joined seemed to be very famous.

"See that mage? What's his name again? His robes are practically bursting out of shape..."

Of course, besides praise, there were also some comments that were vulgar and offensive.

That mage's name is Little Fish, isn't that...? He turned to look at Shen Yaoxing, but his face was turned back by a hand.

"Don't move."

Lu Ren could only look ahead and ask in a voice loud enough for the person behind him to hear, "Is that your squad?"

"In the past."

"Aren't they your important friends? Can't you even trust them?"

"...Don't ask unnecessary questions."

She seemed a little down, after all, he was someone she had a crush on.

Lu Ren took out a naan bread from his pocket, thought for a moment, broke it in half, and handed it to her: "Would you like some?"

"At this rate, our food won't last more than a few days."

Lu Ren felt guilty upon hearing this, and could only continue eating with a heavy heart.

"They seem to be discussing whether or not to come looking for you."

"Um."

Shen Yaoxing looked over there, and memories of her former team and the past surfaced before her eyes.

"Bai Lu, I'm sorry."

Long You looked at Bai Lu, his eyes filled with apology, his voice gentle yet firm:

"Something happened to Haruka. I'm very worried about her safety. It has nothing to do with whether she's a member of our team now or not. Haruka... is a very important partner to us."

Lu Ren secretly glanced at Shen Yaoxing. He could only see the lower half of the girl's face under the hood. He saw that the corners of her mouth were slightly upturned, and it seemed that she was in a much better mood.

Upon hearing this, Yu Zaowei hugged Long You tightly and said happily:

"Great! It's a 3-1 vote now, Ayou, let's go!"

The surging, turbulent mass constantly shifted and changed shape between the two, causing the handsome man who was enjoying the "benefits" to blush rapidly.

Lu Ren secretly sized up Shen Yaoxing and "saw" that black smoke was starting to rise from under his robe again, and that he was muttering something under his breath.

It sounds like someone is cursing someone to sag or explode? Anyway, it's something you should absolutely never say to an "important friend".

However, the public display of affection didn't stop there. The slightly ditzy, busty mage, probably too excited, even stood on tiptoe and gave the boy a kiss on the cheek.

"We don't need to worry about food for now. There's a big-breasted sow over there; I'll go kill her..."

Lu Ren struggled to stop her.

"What a hassle..." The girl carrying the sniper rifle looked impatient.

"If you want to find someone, go ahead. I'm not going. I'll just wait for you here in this virtual town. Besides, Shen Yaoxing has left the team, so they need to recruit new cultivators, right? I just happened to meet a promising young man recently, a young man who just dropped out of vocational school. I'll stay and test him."

"White Deer!"

Lu Ren noticed that the girl named Bai Lu seemed to have a very bad relationship with Shen Yaoxing. Just then, the girl with the gun on her back looked in their direction.

Those were hawk-like eyes, intensely aggressive. If the man's gaze last night was frightening, then the woman's gaze in front of him was unsettling. Lu Ren guiltily avoided her.