Chapter 38: The Shamatte’s Serene Interruption

‘!!!’A sudden jolt of alarm shot through Xue Hu.Hank had just blurted out the truth; had her secrecy mission failed just like that?

Fearing her expression might betray her, Xue Hu kept her head down, sketching and writing on the wooden board, thus preventing anyone from seeing her true feelings at that moment.

Yet, after a long wait, Xue Hu still didn’t receive a system notification indicating her secrecy mission had failed.

Unless the system had overlooked it or deliberately remained silent, it seemed mere words weren’t enough; proper evidence was required to count.

As for what constituted ‘proper evidence,’ that would depend entirely on the system’s own definition.

However, since she couldn’t let Hank realize he was right, Xue Hu decided it would be better to write something.

She pondered for a moment, then penned on the wooden board, “Hank, I know why you’re targeting me so much.

“It’s because your mission involves me, isn’t it?”

“You’re trying to force that ‘person Xingxing knows’ onto me right now, just to provoke me and trick me into talking, right?”

“But I won’t fall for it so easily, and don’t you dare neglect other potential dangers just for your side quest!”

The current situation had devolved into a peculiar love triangle, reminding Xue Hu of playing *Three Kingdoms Kill* (TL Note: A popular Chinese card game based on the Three Kingdoms period) with friends during her university days.

Back then, they couldn’t always gather enough players for *Three Kingdoms Kill*, so when only three people were available, they devised a ‘kill the next, protect the previous’ rule.

The objective for each player was to kill the player immediately ‘below’ them in the turn order; whoever’s ‘lower’ player died would win.

This created a bizarre dynamic: one person desperately tried to kill the player ‘below’ them, while their ‘lower’ player fought tooth and nail to protect them, for if the ‘upper’ player died, the ‘lower’ player would also lose, and the victor would be the ‘upper’ player’s ‘upper’ player.

While not entirely identical, the stakes involved bore a striking resemblance to ‘kill the next, protect the previous.’

Hank wanted to extract information from Xue Hu, so he relentlessly targeted her, selectively ignoring Kabasiji.

It wasn’t that he didn’t suspect Kabasiji, but rather that he had something he desired even more.

Xue Hu, despite being constantly targeted by Hank, was certain that Hank was not ‘that person,’ while Kabasiji was almost certainly ‘that person.’

To ensure her plans wouldn’t be jeopardized by this unpredictable element, her focus was firmly directed at Kabasiji.

Kabasiji, in an effort to balance the situation, found himself compelled to speak up for Xue Hu, making Hank his primary target.

If he were to join Hank in targeting Xue Hu, there was a strong possibility Xue Hu would reveal ‘that matter,’ resulting in a massive loss for him.

“Hmph hmph hmph hmph, hmph hmph…” Just as the three were locked in a stalemate, a clear voice drifted over.

The owner of the voice had no intention of greeting them; instead, they hummed a tune as they casually walked past the trio, then began conversing with an NPC nearby.

“What’s that guy… doing?” Kabasiji frowned, gazing at the receding back of the Shamatte-styled individual who had just passed.

He spoke with clear dissatisfaction, “That guy isn’t dead yet; he’s incredibly lucky.

“I wonder what level he’s at now.

“He’d better not still be below level 200 after seven days.”

“He seems quite happy, humming a tune as he walks,” Xue Hu wrote mischievously on the wooden board.

“Perhaps he’s already reached level 200.

“Maybe he’s got victory in his grasp and is about to go ‘subdue the dragon’ (TL Note: A common term in Chinese RPGs for defeating a powerful boss), while we’re still squabbling amongst ourselves here.”

“Er, you’re right.

“We can’t waste any more time dilly-dallying over these minor issues,” Hank nodded.

“If we haven’t reached level 200 after seven days, we might as well dig our own graves!” He then pulled out a pile of blue equipment from his inventory.

“Come on, come on, these are all my spoils from tonight.

“Accept the trade requests; I’m giving them all to you.”

“Ah, yes, you’re right, we can’t delay any longer!”

“These are the ores I mined last night; take them all!” Following Hank’s lead, Kabasiji also pulled out a large stack of items from his own inventory and handed them all to Hank.

“We can put them all in one trade, so we don’t have to do it twice!”

“Mhm, yesterday, while fishing, I also organized our monster-grinding routes,” Xue Hu wrote on the wooden board.

“We just need to follow the places I’ve marked.

“Oh, and I made a few dishes too; take them.

“They’re not super useful, but they’re better than nothing!”

It was truly strange.

Just minutes before, the atmosphere had been tense and fraught with animosity, yet the mere passing of an unnamed ‘Shamatte Noble’ (TL Note: ‘Shamatte’ refers to a subculture in China similar to emo or scene kids, often characterized by flamboyant, non-mainstream fashion and hairstyles. ‘Noble’ is used ironically here), humming a folksy, off-key tune, had somehow transformed it into a scene of harmonious joy and camaraderie.

Everyone seemed to revert to their usual selves, with no difference other than Xingxing’s absence.

Yet, beneath their smiling faces, how many were genuinely laughing, and how many were merely wearing false masks?

All three had changed their classes to “Warrior” at the class-change NPC, then donned blue level 150 equipment sets.

Their physical defense instantly soared to 150, and their magic defense reached 75.

Hank carefully stored the various rare ores Kabasiji had given him.

Xue Hu then led everyone into the forest, following her meticulously pre-planned leveling route, and they resumed grinding monsters.

The mundane continued, but the extraordinary was also fast approaching.

“Hoho, they’ve all left!”

“It seems they’ve been busy with both leveling up and their crafting professions these past few days!” Not long after the trio entered the forest, a clear voice echoed from above the village.

“But is doing all that useful?”

“Doesn’t it just waste time that could be spent grinding monsters?”

“In another two days, I’ll go challenge the Azure Dragon.

“I’m confident I can solo it by then!”

The Shamatte-styled individual lowered his gaze to his character information panel, where three Arabic numerals gleamed next to his level: “200”.