Ten Thousand Ways To Eliminate Players
Chapter 30 - 030 Destiny from Above

Chapter 30: 030 Destiny from Above

That night.

Lin Bai’s viral marketing quietly spread throughout Jiamucheng. The children played a significant role in this. "You love me, I love you, Chef’s Divine Food Stall welcomes you." This captivating song was so catchy that it became deeply imprinted in their minds after only two repetitions. The children, not caring about much else, sang it over and over again, inadvertently amplifying the influence of Chef’s Divine Food Stall. Even adults, who had worked all day and knew nothing about the events on Qingyu Street, couldn’t help but become curious about Chef’s Divine Food Stall upon hearing these peculiar lyrics. This was especially true for the customers who had been ripped off at the restaurant during the day; they zealously promoted it among their friends and family.

Lin Bai’s business was growing. Meanwhile, the Players in the beta test hadn’t slowed their progress either. They were a group of smart and industrious people, undaunted by even the most challenging games, especially with the forum serving as a veritable cheat sheet for exchanging ideas.

Their methods included:

Exploiting a suicide bug to farm Copper Coins;

Deleting their accounts to fleece the game company of its resources;

Flaunting their real-world knowledge to win NPCs’ favor;

Teaming up in pairs to rob NPCs, fleeing immediately, then deleting their accounts after transferring the stolen goods.

In short, the Players, one by one, showcased their diverse talents in the game. Leveraging their intellect, they each earned their first pot of gold and subsequently joined martial arts academies, Blacksmith Shops, medical halls, and pharmacies, embarking on a fierce journey of Level grinding. For most Players, Levels were everything. If not now, when? they thought. Even if the academy masters didn’t require it, they would put in extra practice themselves. Before their Levels rose, Players were the ideal employees beloved by capitalists, capable enough to outcompete and overwhelm the native inhabitants of the game world.

Fortunately, there weren’t many Players in the beta test, so they hadn’t caused too severe an impact. This was especially true for the Players in Jiamucheng; as a group, they hadn’t caused nearly as much of a stir as Lin Bai had alone. Within Jiamucheng, the group least concerned with Chef’s Divine Food Stall was undoubtedly the Players, who were completely engrossed in the joys of leveling up and gaining experience. After all, this was a novel game, one that was one hundred percent hands-on. It was a unique experience, and everyone was completely immersed in it.

As Lin Bai had foreseen.

「The next day.」

The crowd in front of Chef’s Divine Food Stall was even more bustling than the day before. There were curious newcomers, as well as onlookers from yesterday who hadn’t had their fill and had come specifically to see if the restaurant’s owner had been killed by the ghost.

Lin Bai was still in bed, his eyes not yet open, but his Negative Emotion Value and Damage Value had already begun to skyrocket. By the time he arrived at the restaurant, Dumbelldore was already proactively singing the brainwashing song and dancing energetically in front of the establishment.

Last night, Dumbelldore had visited the forum after logging off and found that most Players had already settled into a routine. Outwardly, he scoffed at the various underhanded methods of grinding money using bugs, but when it came to the task of winning over Lin Bai, he didn’t dare relax his efforts. Indecisiveness, he knew, would lead to gaining nothing. Dumbelldore firmly believed that even if he had to spend more time now, as long as he could become Lin Bai’s disciple, he could make up for any lost time in the future. Currently, on the forum, most people were practicing Martial Arts like ’Basic Swordplay,’ ’Basic Boxing,’ or ’Basic Stick Play.’ Even when they advanced, it was to commonplace Cultivation Techniques like ’Five Tiger Sword Art’ or ’Mo Family Fist.’ But his Storekeeper Lin’s Martial Art, the ’Dragonfall Palm,’ was not only a skill tied to a plot NPC but also came with flashy special effects. The difference in quality was clear at a glance. Early achievements aren’t true achievements; it’s the later, greater success that truly counts. Dumbelldore was waiting for his chance to soar.

Zhang Bao and Zhang Dashan, who had been scared off by the ghost the previous night, also arrived as promised. When they learned that Dumbelldore had spent a night in the restaurant unharmed, they admired his bravery and, completely reassured, quickly settled into their roles as waiters. Only a fool wouldn’t take easy money, they thought. If the ghost didn’t harm Dumbelldore, it wouldn’t harm them either. Storekeeper Lin truly possessed Divine Skills!

Under Lin Bai’s powerful leadership, every employee at Chef’s Divine Food Stall, whether permanent or temporary, was filled with initiative. Each was more proactive than the last, so Lin Bai hardly needed to worry about them.

When half the city was discussing Chef’s Divine Food Stall, even the most oblivious Players started to catch wind of it.

「Mo’s Sword Gym.」

"Mad Man, what’s this Chef’s Divine Food Stall everyone’s talking about?" Bitter Melon Vine asked Mad Man, whom he found drenched in sweat from practicing his swordsmanship.

To accumulate enough registration fees, all four of them had resorted to exploiting bugs and farming money, each deleting and recreating their characters multiple times. As a result, ’Bitter Gourd’ had become Bitter Melon Vine, Crazy Man became Mad Man, Uncompromising became Just For Now, and Stage IV Laziness became Lazy Cancer Endless.

Once they’d gathered enough money and were ready to learn more skills, the four-member account-deleting alliance split into three groups. Bitter Melon Vine and Mad Man took up swordsmanship; Just For Now went to the Zhang Family Punch Palace to learn boxing; and Lazy Cancer Endless entered the Wu Family Blade Academy to learn blade techniques. They agreed to share what they learned after completing their training, so each person could master three Martial Arts disciplines.

Of course, the foursome who had fleeced the company didn’t report this loophole to the game company. When they were creating their characters for the third time by deleting their old ones, the amount of money gifted by the System was suddenly halved. This made them realize that the company was already aware of the loophole. As long as the company kept reducing the initial amount of Copper Coins granted, deleting accounts would become meaningless except for changing one’s appearance.

Having saved enough for registration fees but not achieving their desired results, the four-member alliance, intending to annoy the game company, selflessly published their account-deletion money-farming process on the forum to benefit the majority of struggling beta test Players. The various money-farming methods Dumbelldore had seen on the forum were largely an explosion of creative strategies sparked by this initial sharing from Bitter Melon Vine and his group.

When it came to exploring gameplay, most Players—apart from those like Dragon Breath and Dumbelldore who had encountered exclusive hidden quests—were selfless and rather endearing. After all, most people play games for enjoyment.

"Chef’s Divine Food Stall? What’s that?" Mad Man stopped swinging his sword, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and asked, panting.

"It seems like someone in Jiamucheng opened a restaurant with that weird name," Bitter Melon Vine replied uncertainly. "I heard it’s located in a Dreadful Mansion. They sing something like ’You love me, I love you’ at the entrance, and you get a discount if you eat inside..."

"A Dreadful Mansion?" Mad Man’s interest was piqued. A dungeon?

"Doesn’t look like it. More like a publicity stunt," Bitter Melon Vine shook his head. "The lyrics ’You love me, I love you, Chef’s Divine Food Stall welcomes you’ are completely out of place in this city. It feels like something a Player came up with; it’s too modern. Lots of people from the martial arts academy have gone to check it out. Maybe we should go too, just in case it’s some game event we miss. This crappy game doesn’t even have announcements..."

"Let’s go." Mad Man decisively put away his wooden sword and informed the senior disciple who was coaching them on their basic techniques. The two then left the martial arts academy together, heading straight for Qingyu Street.

Since they weren’t inner-sect disciples, the martial arts academy didn’t restrict the freedom of these ordinary disciples who had paid registration fees to learn basic Cultivation Techniques.

「Meanwhile, at the entrance of the dilapidated City Temple in Jiamucheng.」

Daoist Priest Qingfeng, who had tossed and turned and slept poorly all night, had just opened the temple gate when he saw a young man standing ramrod straight before him.

Daoist Priest Qingfeng was taken aback. "What are you doing?"

"I am Dragon Breath, a prospective disciple! I implore you, Daoist Priest, to accept me!" Dragon Breath declared loudly, looking at Daoist Priest Qingfeng before kowtowing deeply.

While all the other Players were learning Martial Arts, Dragon Breath, having already encountered the ghost, had lost interest in basic Martial Arts. Even if one perfects Martial Arts, can they fight a ghost? If I’m to learn anything, it must be Daoist arts!

After wandering around Jiamucheng for a whole day and making inquiries, Dragon Breath had finally found this inconspicuous City Temple. Learning that a Taoist priest resided within, he had come to seek apprenticeship as a last resort. When it came to dealing with ghosts, a Taoist was surely more specialized than any martial arts academy. Every poison has an antidote nearby. Since the game has ghosts, there must be a way to counter them. Dragon Breath firmly believed this principle.

What a familiar scene! Seeing Dragon Breath kneeling before him, Daoist Priest Qingfeng was stunned. In a daze, he felt as if he had returned to that night of torment. The image of Dragon Breath kneeling before him gradually overlapped with the figure of Dumbelldore, who had knelt before Lin Bai. Daoist Priest Qingfeng took a deep breath and, mimicking Lin Bai, said, "Young man, stand up. The conditions for accepting disciples in this sect are harsh. You do not yet meet the requirements."

"Daoist Priest, you haven’t even asked. How would you know I don’t meet the requirements?" Dragon Breath asked, looking excitedly at Daoist Priest Qingfeng. He truly is a master!

Images of Lin Bai’s actions flashed through Daoist Priest Qingfeng’s mind. After a moment’s hesitation, he gritted his teeth and said, "To become a disciple of this sect, one must be utterly evil at heart yet not show it on the surface. One must ensure that every action benefits oneself, always take advantage and never suffer a loss. One must be greedy, fickle, and derive joy from the suffering of others... Can you do all this?"

Holy crap! An NPC from the Magic Gate! Dragon Breath was overjoyed. He scrambled to his feet and patted his chest, declaring enthusiastically, "Of course, I can! I’m adept at all those things! I can do even worse: betray my master for personal gain, acknowledge my enemy as my father, exploit public office for private enrichment, deceive my teachers and eliminate my ancestors! There’s nothing you can imagine that I can’t do. Master, I am your fated disciple!"

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