"Pro offering to carry any Iron Skull Wilderness player through god-tier instances like S1 and S2! Males must pay 100k gold, and females, 10 gold! We welcome both old or new customers, and we guarantee that our service and technique will be to your satisfaction!"

I shouted on top of my lungs as I stood at an intersection of Bonecrush Forest feeling really pleased with myself.

Behind me, Hickey burst into a giggle. "Can you not not crack a joke, boss?"

Warscar followed behind us and laughed just as loudly. "It’s finally my turn, dammit! I can die without regrets if I truly can gather a full set of S1 equipment!"

I rolled my eyes at him. "Broaden your horizons, country bumpkin!"

Hickey chuckled good-naturedly. "Let’s go. With Boss Lu Chen in our party, we’ll definitely beat this in one try."

"Of course! Our boss has beaten even the S2 instance in one try! What could S1 possibly do to us?" Warscar declared confidently.

Reality was a cruel mistress for the simple-minded brute though.

Warscar disregarded orders, aggroed mobs like an idiot and lost 50% of his level. It was a heart-wrenching moment to say the least.

Thankfully, everything else about the instance went smoothly. Not only did we defeat the Slaughter Forest in one try, my super-high Luck allowed me to gather the legendary S1 equipment set, the Slaughter set in one try as well. Luck was absolutely the best stat in the game bar none. My item drop rate was at least 7 to 8 times better than a player with 0 Luck. In this case, it meant that what I could accomplish would take a normal player about ten runs, or two to three months, to gather in a single run.

……

It was 10:30 pm in real life and nighttime inside the game as well. The Godkiller players were resting, repairing, buying potions and more at the edge of Bonecrush Forest. Unfortunately, the potion merchant here only sold low-rank potions, and better potions Level 180 players would normally use weren’t available. To give an example, two days ago, after we killed the Beast King Cavalry scout party, I was almost overrun by these savages wanting my great potions, they were like hyenas running to a carcass. It was embarrassing.

"Now that I have a full S1 set, I can defeat any enemy on the continent, right guild leader?" Warscar asked with a grin. He was sitting on a stump and carrying a war axe as usual.

I replied while staring at the bonfire in front of me, "Of course not. Did you know that the S1 set is almost common in the China server? You still have a long way to go, so keep grinding!"

Warscar’s eyes turned as wide as saucers. "What? My S1 set is common in the China server? My god, just how lit are the players of China?"

Hickey laughed at his ignorance. "Boss is just playing with you, you idiot. There are only a total of 27 S1 sets in all the servers, and the details of every set can be found in the game’s database. How do you not know how to perform basic research? No wonder boss wants me to make the calls when he isn’t around! You only know how to fight and nothing else!"

Warscar curled his lips. "Guild leader, both Hickey and I are vice leaders, right? So why do I have to listen to her spittle when you aren’t around? It’s not hammer for a man like me to listen to a little girl like her…"

I shot him a look. "Warscar, you’re too impulsive, and you don’t know how to weigh the pros and cons. On the other hand, Hickey is the opposite, precisely because she’s a girl. It’s not that I don’t trust your abilities, there are just many, many things Godkiller needs to do to secure their future, and we cannot afford to be stalled by setbacks that we could’ve easily avoided. This is why I need you to listen to her whenever I’m not around."

Hickey’s eyes widened. "Can you elaborate what you mean by ‘we still have a lot of things to do’, boss?"

"Sure."

I nodded before starting, "First, we need to continuously expand our strength until we have an army at least 200k strong. Then, we need to expand our influence beyond Iron Skull Wilderness. This place may be our home, but no one should stay in their home forever, am I right? Therefore, I want everyone to grind hard and shorten the power gap between us and the first-rate guilds as much as possible. It shouldn’t be a difficult task to achieve with the Zephyr Ironbone Warhorse."

"And after that?" Hickey asked curiously.

I pondered for a moment before continuing, "First, we need to grow into a threat big enough for Breeze and Rain, God of War and Flowing Cloud not to underestimate. Then, we’ll march out of Iron Skull Wilderness, advance toward the center of the continent; to Thunder Mountain Range and Dragonbone Mountain Range to be exact, and establish a foothold somewhere. A man should always seek to expand their borders, be it physically or mentally. Why else are we born into this world?"

Warscar abruptly planted the eye of his axe to the ground and rose to his feet excitedly. "Well said, guild leader! You’ve said practically everything I wanted to say! The vikings have always been an adventurous clan, and it isn’t our destiny to hole up in a tiny Iron Skull Wilderness forever! That would be too boring!"

Hickey shot him a look before saying, "What are you getting so excited for? Without boss's instructions, the Viking Islands would be stuck in Iron Skull Wilderness forever…"

However, Warscar readily admitted his weakness with an honest smile. "You are completely right. That is why boss is the person I admire the most! And there are only a handful of people I’ve ever looked up to in my life!"

Hickey: "..."

……

I exhaled a bit before continuing, "Hickey, you are more familiar with the guilds and tribes of Iron Skull Wilderness than me. I trust you to find a way to recruit the reliable ones. In the near future, Breeze and Rain and God of War will return to Iron Skull Wilderness, and we are still nowhere strong enough to fight them. If we don’t resist with all our might, we will be conquered by the enemy. It’s all in our hands now."

Hickey clenched her fists and answered firmly, "Don’t worry, Lu Chen. I won’t disappoint you."

I smiled. "I know. You haven’t disappointed me even once so far!"

"Hehe!"

Warscar looked between me and Hickey. "Hey girl, is it just me, or does it look like you fancy our guild leader?"

Hickey unclenched her fists and smiled honestly. "Of course. Our boss is approachable, smart, strong and handsome. Why wouldn’t I feel attracted to him? Who knows, I may even fall for him for real in the future."

Warscar scratched his head. "But I heard that the guild leader already has a girlfriend in China."

Hickey giggled. "Yes, so? If I truly fall in love with him, I won’t care if he has a girlfriend or not. I don’t need to have sex with him to prove that I love him."

Both Warscar and I shivered at the same time. I already knew this, but European women were seriously no joke. This wasn’t something you would hear from many eastern women at all. Of course, Korean women didn’t fall under this category. Their famous quote was: Oppa, let’s have sex...

……

About a hundred Godkiller players were sitting around bonfires and chatting amiably with one another.

Hickey blinked before leaning against the redwood tree behind her and staring at the starry sky. "Boss, you helped the China server to defeat the combined force that was Purple Grape City, Cyan Earth City and Elephant City. Your achievements in the War of Purple Grape City stunned both the north and the south. However, all your hard work only resulted in your in-game nationality being stripped away from you. Do you really feel no hatred toward your wrongdoers at all?"

I clenched my fists and punched a rock next to me hard. "Of course I hate them!"

Warscar also gripped his axe and uttered angrily, "Guild leader, if you wish, we can attack Sky City with you and take revenge against those who wronged you after our army is ready!"

I shook my head smilingly. "No, no. Most of the players in Sky City are my friends. Those who wronged me are really the minority, so it makes no sense to vent my anger on the entire city. Plus, our true enemy has always been the India server, not the China server!"

Hickey giggled. "You let your impulse get to your head again, idiot…"

Warscar rubbed his head with a laugh. "Sorry. I just want to make life difficult for those who made our guild leader’s life difficult…"

Me: "..."

A moment of thoughtful silence later, I continued, "Frankly, the three main cities of the China server are in a precarious situation right now. Powerful enemies surround them from all sides, and everyone wants a piece of the pie that is the King of Cities. Therefore, there may be a day I will call upon your aid to save them. You are free to turn down the request, of course. After all, you have no obligation to rescue the China server. If there is no choice, I can and will enter the battlefield alone…"

Hickey pursed her lips, closed her eyes and said nothing in response.

However, Warscar abruptly rose to his feet and growled, "If one day we travel to China with an army, it will not be because we are there to help China, but because we are there to help Lu Chen, our brother! That is all!"

Hickey abruptly opened her eyes and bloomed into a wide smile. "Heh, the idiot finally said something right for once…"

I said gratefully, "Thank you!"

Hickey lay back down on the stump while waving me off. "Your thanks are unnecessary. You are our guild leader, our boss, and most of all, our family. Who needs a reason to help out a family member?"

I chuckled and accepted her feelings silently.

The clock ticked 11 pm, the time I said I would log out and get some much-needed rest. So I bade everyone goodbye and logged out.

……

A fragrant scent entered my nose the moment I took off my helmet.

I looked beside me and saw that Lin Yixin was lying next to me with her helmet already removed. In fact, judging from the fragrance and the towel wrapped around her person, she had just taken a bath. The girl was pretending to be asleep, but her shivering eyelashes had betrayed her wakefulness.

"Yiyi?" I called out to her softly.

She still pretended to be asleep and didn’t answer me.

I smiled wickedly and said, "Oh, you’re asleep? That means I can…"

I slipped my right hand into the blanket until I touched something soft and bouncy.

"Ah?!"

A surprised Lin Yixin abruptly opened her eyes and grabbed my eyes. She glared at me as she asked, "What are you doing?"

I pecked her once on the lips before replying, "Nothing? I’m just touching my girlfriend. Is there a problem?"

"I cannot believe you just said that with a straight face."

Lin Yixin shook her head before adding, "You should get a bath before you sleep, by the way. You stink…"

"Fine…"

……

After I finished bathing myself, I returned to the bed feeling a mix of anticipation and lust.

However, I quickly realized that Lin Yixin had actually fallen asleep while I was washing myself. I supposed the last couple days had really taken a toll on her.

I stared at her gorgeous face for a moment and felt a massive surge of love inside of me. Was there anything I wouldn’t do to protect her? She must’ve been very stressed out when she came all the way here alone only to find that her belongings had been stolen by a damned pickpocket. I couldn’t possibly wake her up right now.

So I suppressed my unholy thoughts, kissed her one more time on her lips before whispering to her, "Sleep well, my love…"

Lin Yixin let out a soft whine. It seemed like she was having a nightmare. She curled up a little, felt my warmth, and wrapped her arms around me tightly.

……

It was at this moment that my phone rang.