Huang Yi had swapped out the 3 pieces of purple gear he had looted, including the level 30 purple bracer from the Wind Forest Stronghold Barbaric Hammer, with all the remaining gear components also upgraded to blue gear above level 25.
The previous Man-Eating Flower Set was completely replaced by a mix-matched set of equipment, yet Huang Yi’s attributes had not diminished but risen instead. The extent of attribute enhancement from these higher-level gear had far surpassed the set he had before.
As his equipment improved, Huang Yi defeated more and more Bosses, and piece by piece, blue gear kept falling into his storage ring!
The effort from the previous 24 hours was now bearing fruit.
In this way, Huang Yi tirelessly grinded on. Apart from logging off to eat, he spent most of his time in combat.
The second night was upon him.
By now, his inventory was stuffed with 53 pieces of blue gear and 6 pieces of purple gear, something an ordinary person could only hope to achieve in a year. Meanwhile, his level had also risen impressively to 28, and he had uniformly switched all his equipment to purple gear. No one else in Thornbush City had as many purple pieces as he did.
He visited the auction house, sold all the equipment, and bagged himself forty thousand gold coins.
Now he was unprecedentedly powerful, having undergone a transformation since his arrival in Thornbush City just over a week ago. He decided to leave and continue his journey to Dragon City, his true destination.
However, before that, he had one more thing to do. He visited a printing shop and had a batch of his name cards printed.
These name cards were an essential item, a necessary tool for making friends; only with a person’s name card could one send them messages. Huang Yi only had four name cards so far, the first belonging to Blood Song, also known as Mr. Huang Sha from Era of Corporation, and the other three were players: Poet, Biyue Qingkong, and her younger brother, Little Fatty.
The content on Huang Yi’s name card was simple, featuring his gamer tag "Instakill" printed in blood-red on a black card, with no other information, not even his race or class.
At this time, Biyue Qingkong and Little Fatty were not online. Huang Yi sent them each two name cards via the postal service. Afterwards, he went to the Warrior Hall to bid farewell to Luo’an.
Having done all this, he proceeded to the city gate.
The city gate was just as it was over a week ago when he had arrived; no changes were visible. The same guards were stationed there, destined to spend their lives watching countless travelers arrive and just as many passersby leave. Huang Yi was just one of them.
He walked towards the outside of the city, step by step, everything seemingly normal.
"Swoosh!" Just as he was about to step out of the city gate, a whistling sound suddenly rang by his ear!
Almost instantly, Huang Yi retreated back, his speed as fast as a streak of lightning.
The next moment, a rock shot towards the city gate at high velocity, carrying the force of great momentum, and when it struck the ground, it exploded into a large crater!
The surrounding guards jumped in shock. Although their levels were higher than Huang Yi’s, they did not have the habit of remaining on high alert at all times and had not anticipated this sudden turn of events.
Huang Yi had been trained since childhood to be in a state of high alert subconsciously. Just as he was about to step out of the city gate, he acutely sensed the danger and hastily retreated. Had he been even slightly slower, he would have been struck by that rock and lost his life to Huang Quan.
"Somebody’s got some nerve, who dares to ambush Thornbush City? Do they have a death wish?" The Guard Captain cursed angrily, looking in the direction from which the stone had been hurled!
At a distance outside the city gate, a bloodied Half-Beastman was glaring furiously in this direction with an expression of regret, as if he was sorry for not hitting his target.
This Half-Beastman was none other than the Fort Chief of Wind Forest Stronghold—Man Lie!
All these days, he had been hiding outside the city gate, constantly surveilling the comings and goings at this entrance. The moment Huang Yi appeared, he struck!
The hatred for killing his son was indeed profound. Over a week ago, he had been severely injured by the guards, an injury that would take years to heal, and yet here he was, intent on revenge, stalking the gate despite his grievous wounds, in a quest that seemed to end only with death.
By now, Huang Yi had transformed into his Half-Beastman form, which was vastly different from when Man Lie had chased him, and he shouldn’t have been recognizable to the other party. However, his scent hadn’t changed, and as a Leader-level Boss, Man Lie’s sense of smell was naturally far superior to that of an ordinary Half-Beastman.
At that moment, Man Lie turned and broke into a run, disappearing into the distance shortly after, clearly fearing the pursuit of the guards.
The area outside the gate was now safe, but Huang Yi did not venture out. Under these circumstances, he could no longer leave Thornbush City; if he did, he would be quickly caught up by Man Lie. He had no choice but to stay and plan for the long term.
Huang Yi returned to Thornbush City and walked the nighttime streets, lost in thought. After a while, he decided to wait in Thornbush City for another week. If Man Lie still hadn’t left by then, Huang Yi would have to find a way to eliminate him. But such a plan would take a long time to prepare. Although Man Lie was gravely injured, it was no problem to deal with him.
Looking out into the vast night, staring at the bustling night scene of Thornbush City, Huang Yi aimlessly strolled about. He had used up all his solo Tower of Pantheons runs for the day, and with Biyue Qingkong and Little Fatty offline, he had not a soul to talk to.
The night in Thornbush City was alive with excitement. Young couples strolled sweetly hand-in-hand along the streets, the shops on both sides hung with the dim glow of Magic Lamps as shopkeepers shouted energetically, with customers walking in and out. Watching those couples, Huang Yi suddenly envied such a life. He could be an assassin who tried to kill the Federal President, but he couldn’t hold a girl’s hand.
Passing through the streets, Huang Yi arrived at a noisy square.
The square was filled with spraying fountains and teeming with people; painted Clowns tumbled about to the laughter of those around them, while top-hatted magicians performed tricks, drawing gasps of wonder from the children.
If there were no battles, he might have stayed in Thornbush City to live a peaceful life, taking in the nightscapes every day, watching Clowns and magicians, gazing at the twinkling lights of homes, and watching couples share lovey-dovey moments by the fountains...
As the night grew deeper, the crowds in the square slowly dispersed, leaving it empty and silent. The night breeze gently blew, scattering a few leaves, signaling the eventual quiet of the city’s night.
The Clown, now without an audience, also dropped his smile, glancing at the deserted square with a sigh. Then, he packed up his act and, treading on his lonely shadow, slowly walked into the deepening night, leaving only his ethereal singing voice behind—
I am just a humble Clown, a few somersaults for your clapping hands, after the crowd disperses, the night becomes more blurred, and even the moonlight will follow me.
I am not a lonely Clown, after you smile, there’s no need to remember me, when the lights go out, in the vast Starry Sky, the brightest is loneliness.