Chapter 47
Lu Chuan and Lilus found the four players who had come with Mei Xue and Gu Quan’an.
Otherwise, it would’ve been difficult to lure the landlord couple away with just the two of them, not to mention returning the real smoke pipe—they’d definitely need help.
“You’re suddenly being this generous?” The four players eyed them with suspicion. Previously, these two had blocked them from helping. Now they suddenly showed up claiming they had discovered the pipe’s secret and wanted to help Mei Xue—of course that raised doubts.
How long had it been, and they already figured it out?
In the previous dungeon, even Mei Xue and Gu Quan’an hadn’t managed to uncover what was inside the pipe.
Especially the two players from the Noah Guild—they remembered clearly how Mei Xue had said that last time, to figure out what was inside, she’d tried dismantling the pipe. But the structure was peculiar—when she broke it apart, the contents inside ignited, and the smell drew the landlord couple. Her effort had gone up in smoke.
And now Lu Chuan was saying he’d cracked the secret so quickly—how could anyone not be suspicious?
“There’s something hidden in the pipe that the landlord couple fears. Of course they tampered with it—only with the right method can you extract it.” Lu Chuan smiled faintly. “You didn’t observe carefully, did you? If you had, you’d have noticed the couple’s use of the pipe followed a pattern, with time restrictions too.”
To tap with the pipe: three short knocks, one long, all within three seconds. Otherwise, it wouldn’t work.
Lu Chuan had a habit of keeping track of time anywhere, anytime, so he could naturally reconstruct the sequence.
If Mei Xue hadn’t dismantled the pipe in the last dungeon and instead tried to recall carefully, perhaps the outcome would’ve been different.
But that’s how dungeons went—sometimes one tiny misstep or wrong choice could mean the entire run failed.
“What exactly is the secret in the pipe?” the four players pressed.
Lilus sneered.
In his eyes, these four weren’t young anymore, but neither were they particularly capable. Ever since entering the dungeon, they’d done nothing but follow Mei Xue and Gu Quan’an’s lead. Hardly worth his time.
Lu Chuan had told him to act more arrogant anyway.
One would play good cop, the other bad cop—that way they could keep the four veterans in check.
“Hmph. Mei Xue and Gu Quan’an risked themselves to snatch the pipe. We racked our brains to discover its secret. And you expect us to hand it over just because you ask? Why don’t you go ask the landlords directly and see if they tell you?” Lilus snapped bluntly.
Lu Chuan didn’t stop him, but smoothly shifted the topic. “If it weren’t for our contract with Mei Xue and Gu Quan’an—to work together in this dungeon—we wouldn’t have come to you at all. Your suspicion is understandable, but if you keep hesitating, you’ll only waste time and jeopardize the rescue.”
“What contract?” the four asked with frowns.
“Just a simple agreement…” Lu Chuan exaggeratedly retold the contract between him and the two S-class players. “So it’s not that we don’t want to tell you—it’s that without a contract, we can’t fully trust you. After all, with the contract, any rewards from clearing the dungeon are to be split evenly.”
Lilus immediately sensed something off.
Why bring up the contract now? Wouldn’t it have been easier just to wait until night, when those four would definitely go help with the rescue anyway? Why volunteer the idea of sharing rewards…?
Suspicious.
Besides, their actual contract never said anything about splitting rewards evenly.
“In that case, we can sign a contract too.” The four exchanged glances, already calculating.
Clearing a rule-type dungeon promised plenty of rewards.
If Mei Xue and Gu Quan’an had signed, then why not them as well? And they could frame it as “helping with the rescue.” Perfect.
Of course, they had their own agenda too. They’d followed Mei Xue and Gu Quan’an into the dungeon, but the two never told them anything—claiming game restrictions. They’d had to figure out the rules on their own with great difficulty, only for Mei Xue and Gu Quan’an to then vanish, leaving them stewing.
Now these two newcomers were much easier to manipulate.
If they signed a contract, then should the dungeon be cleared, they’d get a share.
Lilus suddenly understood.
On the one hand, he marveled at Lu Chuan’s shameless cunning; on the other, at the four players’ self-delusion.
Why hadn’t Mei Xue and Gu Quan’an signed them in originally? Because they wanted a contingency plan!
But now, thanks to Lu Chuan’s rhetoric, greed had taken hold of them.
“Well, since you’ve put it that way, we should show some sincerity. If you agree to help us rescue Mei Xue and Gu Quan’an, then I’ll tell you the pipe’s secret.” Lu Chuan said casually. “If you don’t trust us, we can sign a contract—the same as ours with them. You’ll have the same rights and duties. How about it?”
“Deal.”
The four promptly signed a supplemental contract with Lu Chuan and Lilus.
Lilus was now absolutely certain—Lu Chuan was dangerous.
Of course he had sought these four out. He and Lilus couldn’t get loans large enough to monopolize the “Smoke of Transmutation.” By dragging these four fools in, he could make them sell their flesh and sanity points instead.
Originally, four people taking loans. Now, six.
And the four were gullible—if they bled themselves dry, Mei Xue and Gu Quan’an, seeing their own guild members sacrifice, would hardly stand by and do nothing.
So this was the “moral blackmail” Lu Chuan spoke of?
Utterly shameless.
After signing, Lu Chuan set the time with them—once night fell, they’d move. The rough plan was fixed.
Back in their room, Lilus turned to Lu Chuan.
“Lu Chuan, have you really never considered joining our Resurrection Guild instead?” he suddenly asked. “Whatever the Star Guild can offer, we can too. My sister is in need of talents like you—if you joined us, she would never shortchange you.”
Lu Chuan hadn’t expected him to start poaching.
“What’s this? Weren’t you just saying I’d become your sister’s enemy?” He didn’t answer directly, instead throwing the question back.
“In this dungeon, I can’t touch you. But in a combat dungeon—you wouldn’t stand a chance.” Lilus said seriously. “I still haven’t seen you use your skills. I assume your class abilities are support-type, not suitable for this scenario. In our Resurrection Guild, plenty of people would rather kill you. If you switched to us, that would be your only chance at long-term safety.”
There were quite a few so-called “ambitious” players in the Resurrection Guild. They hoped the guild could swallow up the other four guilds in one go and become the most powerful guild in this world. And since the Star Guild was the weakest among them, many had long regarded it as prey in their pocket. Now that Lu Chuan had appeared, many felt threatened and wanted to get rid of him directly.
Lu Chuan’s only way to avoid such a fate was to join them.
Otherwise, even if he escaped once, he could never escape every time.
“Hm, I can consider it.” Lu Chuan rubbed his chin, thought it over seriously, and replied.
[Host, you’re not really thinking of joining the Resurrection Guild, are you?] #888 sounded shocked. They had already made quite a lot of money inside the Star Guild. If they switched guilds now, what would happen to all that money?
“I’ll ask first. I don’t mind being the guildmaster of the Resurrection Guild either.” Lu Chuan said without hesitation. “Worst case, once I become guildmaster, I’ll swallow the Star Guild afterward. By then, we’ll all be one family—what’s the point of drawing lines between us?”
Lu Chuan was genuinely tempted. His greatest strength was that he wasn’t stubborn.
Since it was all just building an empire from scratch anyway, if there was a better option, he didn’t mind changing course.
He had no loyalty to any guild—only to himself.
“What’s your guild’s financial situation like?” Lu Chuan asked next.
Lilus hadn’t expected Lu Chuan to actually agree to consider it, and before he could even react, Lu Chuan’s question left him dumbfounded.
“What situation?”
“The finances.” Lu Chuan said earnestly. “Right now in the Star Guild, I’m the financial director. Every coin passes through my hands. So, what’s the setup in your guild?”
“Don’t worry about that.” Lilus laughed. “Our guild has built up an elite accounting team, the best of the best. And our guildmaster once found an AI assistant in a dungeon from a futuristic world—it helps us manage the finances and greatly reduces the workload. You won’t have much trouble at all.”
“Well, then I’m sorry, but I don’t want to join your guild.” Lu Chuan rejected him without a trace of politeness.
What a joke—your rules and systems are already so precise, you even use AI. Where’s the room for me to show my skills?
Lu Chuan had actually been tempted at first. Lilus was clever, but not beyond control—with time, Lu Chuan could get a handle on him. Once he had Lilus in hand, controlling his sister wouldn’t be difficult either. With the two of them helping, becoming guildmaster wouldn’t be too hard.
But with such a perfect financial system in place already, Lu Chuan lost interest.
If it’s that airtight, how am I supposed to make money in the early stages?
“Don’t be so hasty—think it over some more.” Lilus didn’t understand.
After all, in this dungeon, money wasn’t of much use, so Lu Chuan’s greedy nature hadn’t really shown.
But since Lu Chuan hadn’t rejected him outright, Lilus still thought there was hope.
Daylight passed quickly.
As night fell, the remaining players didn’t dare show themselves anymore.
Because once night arrived, they would once again be wracked by hunger, forced to sell off their flesh and sanity.
Lu Chuan and Lilus endured their hunger, but they weren’t worried.
Once they rescued the people, wouldn’t food be guaranteed?
As the fog outside slowly cleared, Mei Xue and Gu Quan’an could already hear the sound of street vendors.
But had Lu Chuan and Lilus managed to solve the mystery of the pipe?
“Time’s up. Shouldn’t you be returning our item now?” The landlord couple arrived punctually outside the apartment building, smiling at Mei Xue and Gu Quan’an.
With the fog gone, the two were already like turtles in a jar.
“So impatient.” Gu Quan’an held the pipe. “It’s not that we don’t want to return it, but…”
Before he could finish, four players who had been waiting inside the building rushed at the landlord couple.
Meanwhile, Lilus used [Transfer], instantly vanishing from sight and heading toward Mei Xue with the real pipe.
The landlord couple was tied up by the four players and had no time to care about Lilus.
“Don’t think you’ll escape!” the landlady suddenly pulled out a fishing net and threw it high, faintly blocking their path of retreat.
“It’s done.” Lilus reached Gu Quan’an and swapped the real pipe back. “Stop fighting.”
Gu Quan’an nodded, then took off his sunglasses, petrifying everyone’s legs on the spot.
“All right, landlord, here’s your pipe.” He tossed the real pipe over. The landlord caught it immediately.
“It’s real.” After a brief check, he confirmed it.
But instead of letting them go, the landlord couple grew harsher. “Did you think we’d let you off as easily as last time? To make sure there’s no third time, we’ll give you a proper lesson today.”
Lu Chuan, however, had already slipped away to the street stalls outside, searching for someone selling “Smoke of Transmutation.”
First find a vendor, then ask the price.
He once again approached the moneylender.
“Hey, I’m back.” Lu Chuan grinned. “This time I’ve brought a contract. I can put up the flesh and sanity of six people as collateral. If you want this deal, can you tell me where I can buy Smoke of Transmutation?”
