Chapter 38
Lu Chuan boarded Shen Li’s ridiculously flashy spaceship again.
Last time, Shen Li had flown it to recruit him into the Star Guild. This time, he was flying him off to another guild.
How time flies.
Since there was a chance he’d be sent straight into a dungeon upon arrival at Noah Guild, Lu Chuan urged #888 to upgrade as fast as possible—better to have another skill ready for his next Rules dungeon.
#888, knowing the urgency, immediately went into closed-door upgrading.
“Captain Shen, why don’t you rent this ship out? Such a huge spaceship, just the two of us riding it—what a waste,” Lu Chuan couldn’t help remarking. “Last time I sat here, I thought you were a cool, composed man. Didn’t expect that in no time at all, we’d be this familiar.”
It wasn’t that I wanted to be this familiar with you.
And I am cool and composed—just not when dealing with you.
Shen Li really wanted to complain.
Back then he had piloted this ship to bring Lu Chuan in. Now he was piloting it to deliver him to Noah Guild. A perfectly fine S-rank player, reduced to a chauffeur.
“Don’t worry about that. Let me brief you on the key players from Noah and Abyss Guilds.” Shen Li sighed, pulling Lu Chuan over and continuing his crash course.
This time, the challengers for the Rules dungeon included [Mephisto] from Noah Guild and [I Just Won’t Look] from Abyss Guild.
[Mephisto]’s real name was Mei Xue, an S-rank Noah Guild player who had risen around the same time as Shen Li. Back then, they had both made the Newcomer Rankings, though not too high—Shen Li had reached twentieth, while Mei Xue had made seventeenth.
“Mei Xue used to be quite cheerful, but after her brother, sister, and fiancé all died in dungeon runs, she grew increasingly cold.”
Shen Li sighed. “She was very popular once, and because her friends and family were players too, she enjoyed her time with them. When I met her in a dungeon, she didn’t care that I was from Star Guild—she even saved me once. But later, in one particular dungeon, her entire team suddenly encountered a mutation. Only she survived.”
“That dungeon had originally been orderly and regular, but something triggered it to mutate into a Rules dungeon. Rules dungeons are the type where, as long as you follow the rules and figure them out, you’re safe for the time being—but the rules keep piling up, and NPCs will deliberately lure you into breaking them. Break a rule, and you die. In that dungeon, one key rule was hidden by the system itself, forcing them to discover it on their own. Mei Xue only managed to survive because she found the correct rule at the very last moment—thanks in large part to her ability.”
Her ability was called [Absolute Stasis], a Cleric-type skill. When activated, a watch would appear on her wrist. Until the watch’s timer ran out, the entire scene would freeze in its current state, and NPCs would hardly notice the time gap. Players, though aware, would find it difficult to break through the ability without preparation.
“It sounds a bit like time stop,” Lu Chuan replied.
“Maybe later on, her ability could get infinitely close to a real time stop. But in fact, time still flows normally. It’s just that when she activates her power, all the NPCs in the dungeon can’t move. And her ability has limits. She can only use Absolute Stasis three times in a dungeon, and each time can’t exceed one minute. If she goes over one minute, she’ll suffer backlash, and the extra time will be deducted from her in the next dungeon.”
Shen Li added, “Her ability is really useful in dungeons. Back then, lots of guilds tried to recruit her.”
Lu Chuan nodded in understanding.
“The Abyss Guild’s player [I Just Won’t Look], real name Gu Quan’an, is the only son of an old veteran in the guild. But when he was a teenager, he had a huge falling out with his father. Their relationship is notoriously bad.”
Shen Li continued, “His ability is called Medusa’s Eye, a Demon-type ability. Any NPC or player he stares at turns to stone, so he always wears sunglasses. But I heard that because he’s overused his ability, his eyes are badly damaged now. He wants to quickly climb onto the God-Rank Player leaderboard, probably because he hopes to heal his eyes before he goes completely blind using the rewards.”
Damage caused by a player’s class ability can only be healed by the main system of the Evil World game. And after becoming a God-Rank Player, you get one free full treatment.
That’s because once you reach God-Rank, the dungeons you face are much stranger, and your sanity drains faster. The main system grants one complete restoration as compensation.
“I get that. But why did he fall out with his dad? I mean, from what I’ve seen, the second-generation players in our guild all listen to their parents.” Lu Chuan was still more interested in gossip.
Shen Li gave him a speechless look, but still answered, “The more inhuman traits advanced players gain, the harder it is to have children. That’s why most players have kids while they’re still at the lower levels. The guilds even encourage early marriage and childbirth.
But many players resist marriage because once you’re in the game, life and death are uncertain. And once you have a family, you get attached, which makes it harder to risk your life in dungeons. So for players, it’s not always a good thing. Gu Quan’an’s father was different though—an arrogant man who thought becoming a player was a divine gift. His ability was decent too, so he went around fathering children everywhere, with female players or even ordinary women—it didn’t matter to him.”
“And Gu Quan’an,” Shen Li lowered his voice, “was born from an affair between his father and his sister-in-law. That scandal made headlines back then, the papers reported on it for days. Because of his origins, Gu Quan’an was bullied constantly as a child and grew to despise his father. When he became a player, he completely broke off with him. Just one warning: never mention his parentage in front of him. Otherwise, he’ll kill you in the dungeon before clearing it.”
Lu Chuan nodded in understanding.
After that, Shen Li told him more about grudges between the guilds. In short, the Noah Guild had allied with the Abyss Guild to counter the Resurrection Guild. The Ocean Heart Guild, because of their eccentric guildmaster, refused all alliances. As for the Star Guild, since they had fallen behind badly, no one wanted to support them.
Noah Guild’s headquarters was built opposite the Star Guild’s base, one north and one south, forming a massive base in a pure mechanical, sci-fi style.
So it was fitting that Shen Li took Lu Chuan there by spaceship. Before they even reached the headquarters, Noah Guild members came out to greet them.
Leading them was an old acquaintance—Andre, who had once tried to recruit Lu Chuan.
“Welcome, welcome, Captain Shen, Mr. Lu.” Andre was all smiles. “When Miss Mei said I’d be meeting you two, I made sure to be ready here. I didn’t expect we’d meet again so soon.” As he spoke, Andre sized up Lu Chuan, feeling endless regret.
If he’d known how strong Lu Chuan would become, he would have signed him no matter what.
But for now, Lu Chuan still looked perfectly human from the outside, with no visible “non-human” traits. His class ability was still a mystery. In this, he was similar to Hand of Rebirth. Who would’ve thought that both of them were already heading into rule-based dungeons? Truly terrifying young talents.
Andre struck up conversation with Shen Li, but with a glance signaled his subordinates to chat up Lu Chuan.
Soon, Lu Chuan was surrounded by a group of beautiful boys and girls.
“So you’reArrival of the God of Wealth? Amazing! Everyone’s been talking about you.”
“It’s such a pity—you were this close to becoming one of us islanders.”
“Mr. Lu, do you have any hobbies in daily life?”
From a human perspective, these boys and girls were strikingly attractive, and adorned with luxurious jewelry. To Lu Chuan, they looked even more dazzling.
Noah Guild was really wealthy. They wore huge flawless rubies around their necks as if they were nothing.
In Lu Chuan’s original world, a ruby that size and purity would’ve gone straight to auction.
Seeing Andre use such a blatant honey trap, Shen Li’s face darkened. “Andre, you’re not young anymore. Doesn’t using tricks like this embarrass you?”
“Lu Chuan’s only twenty-two, the perfect age. It’s natural if he wants to fall in love. Unlike you—so old now, can’t even have kids anymore, what a waste.” Andre laughed. “Besides, what if Lu Chuan decides he likes our guild better? No harm in trying, right? Worst case, when our Messiah visits your guild, you can try poaching him too.”
Shen Li ignored him.
Lu Chuan would never leave the Star Guild. The vice guildmaster had already hinted that he could even aim for the next guildmaster seat. Only a fool would jump ship now.
No other guild could possibly offer him more.
Meanwhile, Lu Chuan casually chatted with the boys and girls. They weren’t players yet—naïve and innocent. He didn’t mind the conversation, and they even told him quite a lot about Noah Guild.
Honestly, living in such a mechanical city looked cool, but was troublesome too. With pure mechanization, growing crops was difficult—they relied mostly on hydroponics or imports. But because of this, Noah Guild had a good relationship with ordinary civilians, sharing tools and resources with them. Ordinary people took on jobs players avoided, keeping relations relatively harmonious.
From them, Lu Chuan also heard plenty about Messiah.
Noah Guild’s Messiah had defeated Hand of Rebirth to take second place on the Newcomer Rankings, and was now their most popular player. But outside of dungeon runs, Messiah lived in seclusion. Few ever saw him. Even when Hand of Rebirth visited Noah Guild, he couldn’t get a meeting.
So Lu Chuan asked if they’d ever seen Hand of Rebirth.
“We did. He doesn’t look at all like an NPC’s child.”
“He’s really sunny, playful, even mischievous.”
“Pretty ordinary, nothing like Lord Messiah, who’s so cold and distant you don’t dare approach.”
…
Lu Chuan remembered the players he’d captured in the Li Family Village dungeon—how they’d cursed Hand of Rebirth through gritted teeth. Could such a person really be sunny and playful?
It had to be an act.
“We’re here,” Andre said, stopping. “Miss Mei and the others are waiting inside. Members of Abyss Guild and Resurrection Guild are also present. The Resurrection Guild’s here just to send [Hand of Rebirth]. They won’t be entering the rule-based dungeon.”
Shen Li subtly shielded Lu Chuan and stepped in first.
The moment they entered the meeting room, Lu Chuan’s eyes were drawn to a boy playing on a handheld console.
His right hand looked nothing like a normal human’s—his fingers were long and sharp, more like claws. Yet that hand moved deftly across the controls.
That was definitely Hand of Rebirth.
But those boys and girls earlier had said he looked normal. Clearly, some kind of power was disguising him.
While Shen Li and Lu Chuan were observing the crowd, the crowd was also observing them.
Shen Li was already a familiar face, so most eyes were on the newcomer hiding behind him—Lu Chuan.
At that moment, Hand of Rebirth sensed Lu Chuan’s gaze. He lifted his head, locking eyes with him.
Noticing Lu Chuan’s attention linger on his right hand, Hand of Rebirth gave a bright smile, saying nothing.
To notice the flaw in his hand right away—this had to be Arrival of the God of Wealth.
Everyone said that after just one more dungeon, Arrival of the God of Wealth could break into the top three, maybe even take first place.
The threat he posed was real.
Being stared back at, Lu Chuan pretended to blush shyly, looking simple and harmless.
If Hand of Rebirth was acting, why shouldn’t he?
He was a master at playing a role.
“Our newbie’s a bit shy, sorry,” Shen Li instantly slipped into his best acting voice. “I heard Hand of Rebirth will also be entering a rule-based dungeon this time, just to gain some experience. Well, if one extra person can join, then two can too. Since we’ve known each other for years, why not let our guild’s kid tag along and learn something? Sigh, Star Guild’s short on people lately. If he weren’t so shy, I wouldn’t have brought him along to build some courage.”
——
Author’s Note:
Shen Li: The peak of my acting career in this life was right at that moment!
