12: Thank you for the freebie!

The quest to help A Niu rescue his companions in the game had no time limit, so Bai Tian was in no hurry.

After logging off, he finished two large bowls of instant noodles in a row, not even leaving a drop of soup behind. After all, waste is a disgrace!

After eating and taking a short break, Bai Tian stepped out of the apartment and went downstairs to exercise for half an hour, returning only after he was drenched in sweat.

He took a shower and changed into clean clothes, feeling refreshed. Picking up his phone, he saw it was already 12:00 AM.

Seeing his roommates still grinding in the game, Bai Tian felt a sense of kinship. Young people don't need sleep—time to log in and grind.

—

The moment Bai Tian logged in, a sudden, fierce attack lunged toward him.

— "(Ding-dong!)"

“(You have been maliciously attacked by player [Kiss Kiss Little White] and have gained the right to legitimate retaliation.)”

“(You have been maliciously attacked by player [Kiss Kiss Little Yellow]...)”

Damage: -99, -108, -188, -88, -111, -101!

The six players who had been lying in ambush to sneak-attack Bai Tian were all dumbfounded after their first round of attacks. Then, their health bars dropped to zero instantly, they lost two levels each, and a pile of items exploded out of them.

All six were killed by the unreasonable 20x Rebound.

The game mechanics of [Nine Heavens], while encouraging PK battles between players, did not have a 'Red Name' system.

However, players who initiated attacks on others would face doubled penalties if they were counter-killed.

These six were in a miserable state now, suffering heavy losses.

Although Bai Tian had lost 695 health points from the six-person ambush, his vitality was still at two-thirds.

Before logging off earlier, Bai Tian had kept his state of converting 2,300 Mana points into Vitality, giving him an incredibly thick health bar.

“What's going on?”

“Ambushed the moment I log in?”

Though a bit dazed, Bai Tian didn't forget to sweep up the loot on the ground.

The six players dropped a total of 6 Low-grade Health Potions, 8 Low-grade Mana Potions, 5 pairs of Novice Straw Sandals, one piece of White-grade Leather Boots, and one piece of White-grade Cloth Bracers.

Bai Tian put them all into his bag.

He planned to sell the 5 pairs of Novice Straw Sandals to a shop later for a few copper coins.

The White-grade Leather Boots were placed on the trading platform, waiting for a fated buyer to take them away.

As for the White-grade Cloth Bracers with +2 Defense, Bai Tian equipped them himself.

“These guys are truly good people, sending me benefits the moment I log in.”

The corners of Bai Tian's mouth curled up, revealing a mocking smile.

As he spoke, he marked all six of their IDs as—'Blood Feud'.

From now on, every time he saw them in the game, he would kill them once to avenge today's ambush.

Bai Tian stayed in place for a while, intentionally not filling his health bar.

He seemed to be waiting for something, but two minutes passed and nothing happened.

At this, Bai Tian gave a soft snort and mocked the empty air: “Vantis, you called people here to camp me as cannon fodder, yet you don't dare to make a move yourself. Are you really that cowardly?”

“I'm giving you a chance right now, and you're still useless?”

Bai Tian pointed at his health bar, which was only at two-thirds, continuing to provoke Vantis.

In fact, the moment he was attacked, Bai Tian guessed that it was that shady bastard Vantis who had found people to deal with him.

Bai Tian was leveling up in such a dangerous map; at this stage, it was hard for average players to appear here.

Someone who could run into him here without being noticed by Bai Tian had to be a high-level Assassin.

A high-level Assassin who had a grudge against him was naturally Vantis.

After being attacked just now, Bai Tian had been acting dazed and intentionally didn't heal, precisely to lure Vantis into acting.

As it turned out, he had underestimated that shady bastard.

After suffering once, the guy had clearly learned his lesson.

Although there was no response from the surroundings, Bai Tian was certain the guy was still lurking nearby in Stealth.

“If you don't dare to touch me, then I'm leaving!”

“By the way, thanks for the benefits from those six 'innocent' idiots you brought.”

Bai Tian deliberately antagonized the hidden Vantis.

“Damned bastard...”

At this moment, Vantis, who was hiding in the bushes ten meters away in Stealth, turned pale with rage.

But he still suppressed his anger and didn't dare to attack Bai Tian.

The six people he had paid to ambush Bai Tian had unleashed a round of attacks, dealing over 600 damage, yet Bai Tian still had two-thirds of his health left.

From this, it was clear that Bai Tian, a Priest, possessed an utterly unreasonable and terrifying health bar that would make even a Tank blush with shame.

Vantis wasn't stupid; he naturally knew he couldn't one-shot Bai Tian.

Moreover, he was now even more certain that the bastard Brilliant had rolled a talent even more impressive than his own: high-value damage reflection.

Whoever hit him would die.

Vantis could only swallow his anger and wait for a future opportunity for revenge.

Just then, Vantis received complaints and grievances from the six people he had hired to ambush Bai Tian.

All six unlucky souls had lost two levels and dropped the few pieces of equipment they had. They were now demanding compensation from Vantis in a very unpleasant tone.

“Dammit!”

“These six useless trash—six people couldn't even one-shot a Priest, and they have the nerve to ask me for double pay.”

Vantis had a dark expression, but after hesitating, he still doubled the originally promised reward and transferred it to them.

—

After seeing that Vantis wouldn't be provoked, Bai Tian began heading toward the quest location—the [Demon Cave Mine].

Speaking of which, the Assassin Class was truly disgusting. It would be great if he could get a skill or equipment that broke Stealth.

Otherwise, with how patient a shady bastard like Vantis was, Bai Tian really couldn't do much to him.

Half an hour later, Bai Tian finally approached the quest location.

A demonic mountain shrouded in rolling black mist appeared ahead, with a cave over ten meters high at its base.

At the cave entrance, six dwarf monsters with dark skin, triangular eyes, and standing less than a meter tall were patrolling.

Bai Tian observed their attributes from a distance.

—[Demon Cave Dwarf - Swordsman]!

—[Demon Cave Dwarf - Warlock]!

—[Demon Cave Dwarf - Archer]... They were all Level 10 Elite monsters, consisting of two Archers, one Warlock, one Priest, and two Swordsmen.

Their attributes were ten percent lower than the Master-grade Black Xiao, but their Class distribution was very balanced.

Bai Tian received a quest prompt indicating that the people he needed to rescue were inside this Demon Cave.

Bai Tian checked his bag: 143 Low-grade Mana Potions, 2 intermediate mana potions, and 41 Low-grade Health Potions. Plentiful supplies. Let's do this!

Relying on his thick health bar, Bai Tian charged recklessly into the Demon Cave.

He led with a powerful basic attack toward the Dwarf Priest.

The strike was like a thunderbolt, accurately hitting the Dwarf Priest's weak point and dealing critical damage: -600!

In truth, this hit was a total stroke of luck, instantly reducing the Dwarf Priest's health by a quarter.

The Dwarf Priest let out a terrified scream, like a startled wild rabbit...