Chapter 74: Buddy! Do You Even Know What Harassment Is?

The three brothers set out once more for the Fragrant Stone Catacombs, determined not to let those guys off the hook today. Their packs were stuffed with potions—half red, half blue. Lin Jia even gritted his teeth and spent ten thousand gold coins on ten bottles of Sunwater as life-saving measures.

After sneaking into the first level of the catacombs, they found the same group still grinding away at monsters. The brothers extinguished their candles, relying on the faint glow around their avatars to check for approaching zombies. The fourth brother, a warrior, acted as Lin Jia's bodyguard, while the eldest, a Taoist, dashed out first, poisoning one of the enemy Taoists with both red and green toxins before launching a talisman assault. Lin Jia followed up instantly, hurling a bolt of lightning at the Taoist’s head. Caught off guard and trapped behind his teammates, the Taoist had nowhere to run. With a miserable scream, he dropped to the ground.

The team of players was stunned. Focused on slaying monsters, they hadn’t noticed enemies lurking in the darkness. Suddenly, one of their two Taoists was dead. Before they could react, the lower-level Taoist also fell with a shriek, scattering his belongings everywhere. Having just restocked, the Taoists carried plenty of potions, poisons, and talismans, filling the corner with loot. The pile was so high that hovering the mouse revealed item names stretching up to the top of the screen, like a browser’s scroll bar.

The three remaining warriors finally realized someone had come for revenge. Each used a random teleport to escape, but Lin Jia and his brothers cornered one and swarmed him with lightning, poison, talismans, and relentless attacks. The poor warrior, barely above level twenty, didn’t stand a chance against their onslaught—he was dead in less than five seconds, not even managing to teleport away. Lin Jia’s high magic, the fourth brother’s strong offense, and the eldest’s potent Taoist skills made their attacks truly formidable among players.

The other two warriors, sensing danger, immediately teleported away, likely to call reinforcements. Lin Jia’s group wasted no time in pursuit, charging straight into the second level. One of the young warriors stood dazed at the entrance, probably typing out a call for help. Head down, busy typing? Perfect.

Very soon, another pile of items and some gear exploded onto the ground. The brothers grabbed what they could and drank the rest, determined not to leave anything for the enemy. The fallen warrior, perhaps only just finishing his message, exploded in curses.

Such pointless words were automatically filtered out by the trio. From the passage in the second level, a group of heavily armored warriors charged in. The fourth brother, eyes wild with excitement, shouted, “Brothers, let’s bail! Fall back!”

Without resistance, the three slipped back to the first level and instantly used random teleports. Returning to the spot where the unlucky enemies had been grinding, they selectively picked up loot. Their packs were stuffed with potions and talismans, but they still gathered every piece of equipment—anything wearable was sure to be valuable.

When the high-level warriors and their only mage rushed in, Lin Jia’s group teleported again, circling behind the enemy. The three communicated silently, scanning their screens for any lone players. Suddenly, Lin Jia spotted the enemy’s only mage running toward the back, guarded loosely by a Taoist and a warrior. Excited, he growled, “Over here! That mage!”

The eldest and fourth brother glanced over and ran to his side. The eldest counted softly, “One, two, three... get him!”

Lin Jia’s lightning struck out first, but missed unexpectedly. The eldest’s poison, however, landed true, turning the mage green. The enemy reacted quickly—at the first sign of attack, he used a random teleport. Their position exposed, the three brothers were immediately surrounded from both sides.

“Run!” bellowed the fourth brother, using a teleport to escape the encirclement. Chaos erupted, with warriors bellowing, spells and talismans flying, and the constant whoosh of teleport scrolls filling the cramped catacomb with a flurry of sound effects.

In a moment of panic, Lin Jia’s random teleport landed him at the stairway leading to the secret passage. Seizing the opportunity, he ducked into the passage and tried to log out, but the system warned that he couldn’t log out during combat. He stood there for a dozen seconds before successfully logging out to the character selection screen.

Breathing a sigh of relief, he called to his still-fighting brothers, “Alright! Get to the secret passage and log out! They’ve got the numbers on us—we’ll wait a bit, then go back to harass them!” The eldest and fourth brother, catching on, broke away from their opponents and made for the passage.

They too encountered the ‘unable to logout during combat’ message, so they teleported away and hid in a quiet corner until the combat state ended.

The three brothers flexed their stiff fingers, grinning wickedly at each other. The fourth brother laughed, “Second brother, you really are the slyest!”

Lin Jia snorted in satisfaction. After a while, the trio logged back in together. Having killed several players, Lin Jia had become a red-named player, as had the eldest Taoist; only the fourth brother, who’d likely killed just one, still had a yellow name.

After a brief break in Sabac City, the three devious comrades sneaked back into the Fragrant Stone Catacombs. This time, no one was grinding on the first level—perhaps wary of another ambush, the enemies had all retreated to the second. The fourth brother snorted smugly, “Think hiding will save you from me?”

There were at least a dozen players grinding on the second level. The brothers, candleless, crept up and ambushed someone, then fled back the way they came. After repeating this a few times, the enemy leader—a heavily armored warrior—lost his temper. The fourth brother’s name was probably the most memorable, and the enemy leader sent him a furious message: “You idiots! Come out and fight one-on-one if you’ve got the guts! Sneak attacks don’t count! Cowards!”

The fourth brother replied with a cold laugh, “One-on-one? Idiot! It’s you guys ganging up on the three of us! I could kill you in a heartbeat—how about you try coming out by yourself?”

***

[Author’s note: Second chapter for today! Off to work now—let’s see if I can sneak back to write more tonight...]