Chapter 10
“Wow, this female leader is the hardcore overachiever type. Pushes herself, pushes her subordinates too. Another type I hate,” Lu Chuan grumbled to System #888.
“Vivian, are you really trying to snatch people like this?” Brother Wang was displeased. Wasn’t this a slap in his face?
“How dare you talk to our captain like that?”
“A mere B-rank looking for death.”
“Apologize to the captain!”
Before Vivian even spoke, her followers had already exploded.
She only lifted her hand slightly, and they all fell silent again.
Well-trained indeed.
The thought that he might one day become one of those disciplined subordinates if he joined made Lu Chuan’s expression turn subtle.
Two tigers cannot share one mountain—even if one is male and the other female.
He wasn’t heterosexual, just purely moneysexual.
“Vivian, you’re still so domineering. But this isn’t your turf. A newcomer has the freedom to choose whichever guild he wants.”
As the words fell, another group appeared, led by a young man in his early twenties. Clearly Asian in appearance, but with hair dyed an outrageous red.
They didn’t wear uniforms at all—just gaudy, multicolored outfits, decked out with jingling trinkets that looked like a mishmash of religious symbols.
And Lu Chuan noticed—when they appeared, even Brother Wang and Vivian showed clear unease.
Resurrection Guild!
The name immediately flashed through Lu Chuan’s mind.
Only the strongest guild could afford such arrogance.
“You’re the super rookie who cleared a single dungeon and shot into the newcomer potential list?” The red-haired youth clearly knew more details than the others. “Our Resurrection Guild has a powerful guy too—you could compete with him. Want to come with us?”
As if suddenly remembering, he pointed at himself casually. “I’m Wu You, from Resurrection Guild.”
He was the first one not to mention conditions at all, simply expecting Lu Chuan to follow.
His aura carried a natural dominance, making newcomers like [Hunter 081] instinctively lean toward him—only to be held back by Brother Wang.
Tsk. These A-ranks were troublesome. Their power leaked out unconsciously.
Envy, plain and simple.
Brother Wang felt both helpless and jealous.
But the gap between B-rank and A-rank was like a mountain—not something that could be bridged by just grinding more dungeons. High evaluations were required, at a strict ratio, to advance.
He no longer had that chance.
But this young newcomer—so long as he didn’t die—was guaranteed to reach A-rank at the very least.
At that thought, Brother Wang looked at Lu Chuan, now being fought over by guilds, with undisguised envy.
“Here we go—the classic big-company narcissist. Thinks that standing under a big tree gives eternal shade, flaunts the attitude of ‘take it or leave it, plenty of others will.’ Another type of leader I hate.”
Lu Chuan kept venting to System #888.
System 888 fell silent.
[Host, you hate the smiling-tiger type, the elite overachiever type, and the narcissist type. Then what kind of leader do you like?]
“No matter what type, as long as they’re a leader, I hate them.” Lu Chuan answered without hesitation.
After speaking, he thought for a moment, then added, “Well, there’s only one case where I don’t hate a leader.”
[What’s that?] 888 was very curious.
“Of course, when I am that leader,” Lu Chuan replied.
#888 felt he couldn’t just casually respond anymore. The host’s answer really matched his personality—completely unexpected.
“Sigh, you all got here so fast? Looks like I’m still late.” When people from the Noah Guild arrived and saw so many familiar faces already gathered in this small house, they were shocked.
A single newcomer drawing out such a massive commotion—tomorrow’s player newspapers would definitely have him on the front page.
The last time a newcomer had stirred up this much attention…
Well, there hadn’t been one. This was the first time so many guilds had shown up at once to recruit the same person.
But then again, this newcomer was truly extraordinary.
Andre considered himself a veteran of the Noah Guild, strong enough that he wouldn’t fear fighting Vivian or Wu You—that was the foundation of being an A-rank player.
But this newcomer? Even if he was in the newcomer top ten, at best he was just a D-rank. Yet not only did he withstand the overwhelming pressure from so many A-rank players, he didn’t show a hint of arrogance in such an environment.
For someone so young, his psychological resilience was incredible.
No wonder, as a mere ordinary person, he had blasted straight into the newcomer rankings. He really had substance.
Maybe he could even wrestle against the Resurrection Guild for him.
“Abyss, Resurrection, Ocean Heart, plus our Noah… oh ho, only the Star Guild is missing. Then all five will be here. Tsk tsk, whether or not this newcomer survives long enough to become a god-tier player, he’s already destined to be remembered in history.” Noah Guild’s Andre deliberately spoke with a mocking tone, while also sneaking a glance at Lu Chuan’s reaction.
And Andre wasn’t the only one. With so many people gathered, aside from the leaders trading words, the rest were quietly observing and judging Lu Chuan—some even experts in microexpressions—trying to analyze his personality.
“They’re not missing anymore. They’re here.” Wu You turned his head toward the sky, pausing slightly.
Above, a group was descending in a spaceship.
“It’s Star Guild’s captain,” Andre couldn’t help but whistle. “One of Star’s big figures, already pushing for the God-tier ranking. Tsk, they’re really pulling out all the stops—even using a spaceship item earned from an A-rank dungeon just to recruit someone.”
“System, this world is really a jumble of technology and theology, a whole mixed stew.” Seeing the futuristic spaceship, Lu Chuan couldn’t help but sigh.
[You can think of the dungeons in the Evil World game as parallel worlds. Each world develops along a different path. Players who can freely enter and exit dungeons are like travelers between parallel worlds—it’s only natural for them to bring back a few souvenirs.]
Star Guild’s captain had come personally.
But the spaceship was far too conspicuous, and couldn’t land among the houses.
So the captain stood at the bow, looking down at everyone from above.
The vice guild master had truly been farsighted.
A newcomer who had just entered the rankings was already causing such an uproar—it showed how fierce the competition between guilds had become.
Star was the weakest of the five guilds. To recruit someone, they had to use tricks and make a strong impression.
But they couldn’t appear too desperate either—otherwise, the other guilds would assume Star was running out of talent, which would damage their members’ confidence.
Thinking this through, the captain spoke gently to Lu Chuan:
“Newcomer, our vice guild master personally ordered this. If you’re willing to join Star Guild, we’ll train you by our highest standards for newcomers.
The other guilds already have homegrown prodigies. If you join them, you’ll have to compete—and you might die halfway. But in Star, you won’t have any competition. Our player [Lucky Star] is already applying for entry into the fifth dungeon, and will soon drop off the newcomer list.”
“Young man, Star isn’t a good place. It’s a mess in there—everyone inside is scheming to get out.” Vivian smiled sweetly, but her words were sharp. “A guild that can’t even keep its place among the top five… once their guild master drops off the rankings, Star will fall from its pedestal.”
Why were they fighting so fiercely over recruits this time?
At the core, it was because many guild leaders hardly appeared anymore.
A-rank players were one thing—they carried traces of the inhuman aura without realizing it.
But above A-rank were S-ranks, and above S-ranks were the god-tier players.
Nearly every god-tier player had founded their own guild.
Whether they wanted to or not, once they reached the god-tier rankings, crowds of admirers would gather around them. Many directly formalized these into their own guilds.
The five great guilds had endured the longest simply because of their heritage and strict organization.
But with Star falling behind, even these long-standing powers were shifting.
And in any struggle, what was most important?
Talent, of course!
Even if you couldn’t recruit the talent for yourself, you had to make sure they didn’t fall into the enemy’s hands.
“In the face of absolute strength, I believe you’ll keep the long view.” Wu You spoke firmly. He was from the strongest guild, with the deepest exploration of the game. And frankly, if this newcomer—who had no foundation—joined any guild other than Resurrection, it was doubtful they could even protect him in the dungeons.
Every year many made the newcomer list, but only those who survived to the end reached god-tier.
“Ahem, the offer I gave you earlier… it’s still negotiable.” Brother Wang felt awkward. Among this crowd of big shots, he was the lowest-ranked. But who could have guessed so many heavyweights would show up?
“Anything works for me. I can take whatever conditions they’re offering and help negotiate for you. You just have to choose.” Andre raised his hands. “But our guild is more free, not as strict with management as the others.”
Inside Lu Chuan’s mind, 888 was launching electronic fireworks.
[Amazing, host! Look—the five great guilds are all fighting over you. This is an opening I never even dared to imagine.]
[Too much prestige—I’ve got to record this moment to brag about with my colleagues later.]
[In the hundreds of years of player history in this world, you’re definitely one of the most dazzling figures ever!]
888 was in awe. In this situation, the host wasn’t fazed at all.
Everyone’s gaze now focused on Lu Chuan. And finally, breaking his earlier silence, he revealed a smile.
“Didn’t expect you all to value me so highly—it’s truly overwhelming.” He looked harmless and kind, using his natural good looks to their fullest. “But since you’ve all gathered here, you must want a definite answer.”
“Which one do you want to choose?” Vivian asked curiously. At this point, it wasn’t just about recruitment anymore—it was about face.
“Before I give my answer, I think I should first show you my strength.” Lu Chuan’s smile grew brighter. “I’ve only cleared one dungeon and earned this evaluation. Naturally, you must have doubts about my true ability. The offers you’ve made are purely based on me being tenth on the newcomer list.”
“System, just to confirm—the God of Wealth interface can only be seen by me, right? Everyone else only sees the swallowed system screen?” Lu Chuan asked in his mind.
[Of course, host. You’re the only person in this world who can see me.] 888 confirmed.
“Then, since you’re all here, let’s see for ourselves.” Lu Chuan steadied himself, and in front of everyone, said words they would never forget for the rest of their lives:
“In fact, I’m not satisfied with the promises and conditions you’ve offered.”
“So I’ll enter another dungeon right here, in front of all of you.”
“If my ranking rises again on the newcomer list, then surely you’ll offer me what I truly want.”
After all, the best time to negotiate was before signing a contract.
If you didn’t raise the bar now, once you entered, it might be years before you saw a raise.
The more outrageous your demands, the bigger the spectacle you created—the more attention you could attract.
There was no better gimmick than a super rookie bursting onto the scene, being fought over by the five great guilds, and then turning the tide in a moment of guild crisis.
If you wanted to be a guild master, you had to widen the gap between yourself and ordinary players from the very start.
Lu Chuan opened his game interface.
And under the astonished gazes of everyone present, he entered a dungeon.
