Online Game Era: Hundred Times Reward
Chapter 17 - It’s Terrifying to Think About It

Chapter 17: It’s Terrifying to Think About It

Although many players had already reached Level 9, Jiang Chen was in no rush to log in.

His body was weak and malnourished, making him look rather frail. Despite standing at 1.8 meters tall, he was as thin as a bamboo pole.

A body like that couldn’t handle too much exertion. He had to rest properly and couldn’t afford to overburden himself.

…

After a short nap.

At midnight sharp, Jiang Chen was awakened by the alarm on his bracelet.

He had already slept for three hours. In such a long span, it was entirely possible that some players had reached Level 10 by now.

So he needed to make good use of his time and get into the main city as early as possible.

He put on his gaming helmet and once again entered Hope World.

Jiang Chen appeared in a cave—the same place where he had logged off.

At that moment, the Demonic Giant Lizard in the cave had respawned, and the moment Jiang Chen showed up, he drew the monster’s aggro.

“Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!”

He summoned the Wind Spirit Longbow, and immediately fired a Volley Arrow at the [Demonic Giant Lizard].

“Ding! Congratulations on killing a Demonic Giant Lizard…”

Earned 1,300 copper coins and 100 experience points.

“Yep, Hope World really suits me,” Jiang Chen stretched lazily with satisfaction.

He stepped out of the cave, ready to continue grinding monsters on the way back—but what he saw made him pause.

In front of him was a huge crowd of players clearing out Demonic Giant Lizards.

In the next second, Jiang Chen realized—he had been offline for three hours, which meant this was the peak time for players rushing to hit Level 10.

“Attention solo players, the Waterfall Cliff Valley is now under the exclusive control of [Hero’s Tomb Guild]!”

“Heads up, the southern forest of Waterfall Cliff is the leveling ground for [Jiutian Galaxy Guild]. Please be mindful of your positioning to avoid unnecessary conflict.”

“Apologies, but the northern forest of Waterfall Cliff is where the [Red Veil Guild] ladies are leveling.”

“Attention! The Waterfall Cliff Cave Cluster has been claimed by [Chaoge Guild]!”

“Reminder…”

Even in the wild, the newbie chat channel was buzzing with activity.

In order to avoid fights over monster spawns, the various guild leaders had taken it upon themselves to divide up territories.

Chaoge Guild?

Cave Cluster?

Weren’t they referring to the exact area Jiang Chen was currently in?

“Truly, enemies are destined to meet…”

A grin formed at the corner of Jiang Chen’s mouth. Today wasn’t just about farming monsters—it was also a day for player-killing.

…

Before long, the Chaoge Guild players in the Cave Cluster started exploding with rage.

“F**k! That bastard solo player ambushed me!”

“Wait, he needs to ambush to kill you?”

“I don’t care, call everyone—we’re going to butcher that cheating prick!”

“A single cloud-piercing arrow, and the whole army assembles…”1

“Boss, it’s that solo bastard, he’s over there.”

“Goddamn it, all of you, charge! Crush that guy into the dirt!”

“Brothers, kill him!”

…

Fifteen minutes later.

Jiang Chen stood in front of a river named Ten Thousand Treasures River, his feet surrounded by corpses and a name tag above his head so red it was nearly black.

Just moments ago, a thousand Level 9 players had swarmed at him like a tidal wave, and then…

They respawned back in the Novice Village.

Even though the Chaoge Guild players had reached Level 9, they were as flimsy as paper against Jiang Chen. Cloth armor classes were one-shot, and even shield warriors only took two arrows. No one even managed to land a hit on him.

“What a waste.”

Jiang Chen frowned as he looked at the mountain of loot he couldn’t pick up. Then he spent a huge sum to broadcast on the Novice Village’s loudspeaker.

“@All guild leaders in the Waterfall Cliff area. I’m currently at the Cave Cluster (*/**), and there are about six to seven thousand pieces of equipment here. If you’re interested, come quickly—ten-minute window.”

With a loud buzz, the Novice Village’s chat instantly blew up.

“Pfft~ I’m dying of laughter! Bro, you added an extra ‘thousand’ there, right?”

“That few items worth paying for an ad?”

“Solo player? Holy crap, this guy’s got guts! Actually revealing his location? Blood Hunt Order players, gather at Novice Village—someone’s cashing in!!!”

“LMAO, when I respawned at the village just now, suddenly hundreds of half-naked Chaoge Guild players showed up—I nearly choked from laughing.”

“Hahaha, I saw them too! A whole bunch of Level 8s looking like boiled chicken!”

“Didn’t the Chaoge Guild claim the Cave Cluster? What kind of boss could kill a thousand high-level players?”

“Wait, wasn’t that solo player in the Cave Cluster too? Don’t tell me… This is terrifying—I don’t even want to imagine it.”

All the players from Novice Village 9527 were now having chilling realizations upon reflection. The solo player had just claimed to have thousands of equipment drops, and the entire Chaoge Guild’s elite squad had returned to town… stark naked. That—no one dared to imagine the implications.

…

Waterfall Cliff Valley.

A middle-aged man with a dark face cleaved down a giant lizard, glanced at the chat, and his eyes widened in disbelief.

“No way… How could such a player exist…”

Then he remembered the 500,000 bounty offered by Chaoge’s Wang Zhou.

His heart trembled even more. He looked at the name [Lone Ranger], eyes filled with curiosity.

“Hua Qiang, come with me. Let’s pay him a visit.”

…

Waterfall Cliff – Southern Forest.

A shiny, fully armored warrior finished off a monster with one last strike. Seeing the chat, a smile curled on his lips.

“Liu Jiannan actually got flattened? Interesting… [Lone Ranger], huh? Let’s see what you’re made of.”

…

Waterfall Cliff – Northern Forest.

A valiant female warrior clutched a fiery red sword. She stared at the chat in utter disbelief.

“How could something like this happen?”

“There’s no way a player could be this strong! No, I have to go see for myself…”

…

Novice Village.

At that moment, a strange sight unfolded—like the server launch all over again.

Hundreds of people stood in the village square, all dressed in only white boxer shorts.

“F**k me, all I have left is a pair of shoes.”

“You have shoes? Damn, I don’t even have a single piece of gear left.”

“Son of a b****! That bastard must be hacking! I don’t even have a copper coin in my backpack!”

“Waaahhh~ anyone still got gear? I don’t want to stand around like this—can’t even cover myself…”

“Someone tell me where I can report this f**king cheater? I’ll report him ten thousand times!”

“Forget it. This game world doesn’t even have GMs. Who you gonna report to?”

All these were players from Chaoge Guild, mercilessly slaughtered by Jiang Chen. Now, in the Novice Village, they were venting their rage and humiliation.

Even Wang Zhou of Chaoge, now clad only in a pair of white boxer shorts, blended into the crowd of fellow underwear warriors—completely unremarkable.

His eyes were full of shame and rage. In all his life, he had never suffered such humiliation—it was utterly unforgivable!

“Lone Ranger! You damned bastard! I will never share the same sky as you!”