Waiting patiently for Guoguo to finish her apple, Ye Tianxie thought for a short while, then lifted his left wrist and placed a call to the outside world. This World of Fate communicator could not only make calls within the world, but connect directly to the real world as well. At the same time, while one was in the World of Fate, if someone came calling outside, or the phone rang, or the body grew excessively hungry from too long without logging out, or anything unexpected occurred, it would issue a prompt or warning on its own.

After two even rings, the call connected at once, and a somewhat gruff voice sounded, unable to wait: “Second Brother, you’ve finally decided to make some noise. You have no idea—”

“Third, let me ask you something.” Ye Tianxie cut him off without waiting for him to finish, going his own way.

“Uh? What is it… Listen, that damned freak—”

“When does currency exchange open?” Ye Tianxie cut him off again, sparing him no face at all, and asked outright.

There was a brief silence on the other end of the communicator, then a hesitant reply. “That… by my incomplete estimate, it’ll probably, possibly, or maybe ought to be about a month or so.”

“A month?” Though he’d used a whole string of qualifiers to stress the uncertainty of his words, Ye Tianxie knew that given his style and his intelligence network, if he dared give a figure that specific, there was surely some basis and reliability to it.

By what the village chief had said, once he left the novice village there was no possibility of returning. Was he really going to stay in this novice village for over a month just to buy those heaven-defying items?

“Oh! Second— ah, no! Slip of the tongue, slip of the tongue, Second Brother, don’t be angry. So, are you short on money?”

“I need two hundred million! And I have to use it in the novice village.” Ye Tianxie answered.

“Damn! Two hundred million! Second Brother, you, you, you, you, you… uh, but according to information I’ve got that isn’t necessarily reliable, currency exchange won’t be opening any time soon. And even if it does open, there’s no way to use it in a novice village. Because I got another piece of information: to carry out a currency exchange, you first have to process a special funds card in a city inside the game. I’m not clear on the specifics, but what’s certain is that without this funds card, there’s simply no way to exchange real currency into game coin. So the first thing you have to do is leave the novice village for a main city, and only then can you—”

Click!

Ye Tianxie cut off the call and looked at the scattered few gold coins in his backpack, choked into speechlessness.

If he could complete a currency exchange without obstacle, then even if he had to wait over a month in the novice village, he’d have accepted it. For those heaven-defying items, presumably anyone with sufficient funds — and a functioning brain — would make the same choice. Though it would set him back nearly a month compared to others, what he’d gain would make up for that trifling month of stagnation countless times over.

But the fact was that he wasn’t even given the chance to wait a month for nothing.

Slowly saving up in the novice village, all the way to two hundred million gold… Anyone who came up with that idea can go check into a mental hospital.

But though leaving the novice village would let him exchange for two hundred million game gold, he could never return here… Was there really no way at all?

Heaven-defying items don’t appear easily, and obtaining them is harder than ascending to heaven. But since they had appeared, there had to be some sliver of hope of getting them. The World of Fate had the most perfect intelligent system; it shouldn’t set up a maddening flower-in-the-mirror, moon-in-the-water like this.

Gritting his teeth, Ye Tianxie turned around and went back to the pharmacy.

From noon into the afternoon…

By the time Ye Tianxie came out, the hour already pointed to dusk. Game world though it was, he still felt his mouth go parched. For the better part of a day, no matter how he bombarded the man, no matter what methods he exhausted, that old man Yuan Que stayed as placid as a corpse, and time after time would unhurriedly speak three words:

“Bring money.”

Money!

Money isn’t everything — but without money, absolutely nothing is possible!

Ye Tianxie clutched his backpack. Apart from a heap of gear that could make a person green with envy, all it held were a scant few gold coins dropped in the Abyss trial. In this moment, Ye Tianxie profoundly experienced the importance of money… So, the fastest way to get money was… killing monsters? Mining? Gathering herbs…?

No — none of these were as fast as killing for loot. But given the wealth and level of novice players right now, killing for loot didn’t seem to have much of a future either.

Ye Tianxie suddenly found himself missing the Red Leaf Pact’s five fat sheep. In his current state, he really did urgently need some gold to pad his purse.

Ding-dong… Ye Tianxie’s eyes slowly lit up. He’d only just thought of those few money-delivering fat sheep, and here the fat sheep were, delivering themselves to his door.

The five Red Leaf Pact members, headed by Red Leaf Iron Wall, had plainly spotted him and were quickening their pace toward him. Ye Tianxie glanced around and, seeing no one paying attention, composed his manner and watched them approach at his leisure. These people had come to find him for one of two reasons: one was recruitment, and the other was…

Red Leaf Iron Wall stopped before Ye Tianxie, adjusted his manner, and worked hard to scrape together a mild expression. A mysterious player named “Xietian” had broken through the Abyss trial on the strength of one man, creating a myth-like miracle — and these five were among the very few who knew he was called Xietian. Right now, even with a hundred measures of nerve, they wouldn’t dare act arrogant before him… Had it not been for the Pact Master’s absolute order, they wouldn’t even have wanted to face this man again.

Standing before him now — whether from the aura he himself gave off, or because of the world-shaking legend he’d created — Red Leaf Iron Wall plainly felt a pressure that made it hard to breathe. He was just about to speak when Ye Tianxie beat him to it, saying with a face full of goodwill, “Ah, these few fat— oh, friends of the Red Leaf Pact, we meet again. Some time ago I didn’t control my emotions well and did some rather irrational things; I hope you gentlemen won’t take it too much to heart. And what brings you here?”

Those excessively gentle, courteous words left the five Red Leaf Pact members collectively dumbstruck, their minds failing to catch up for a moment. Red Leaf Iron Wall held it in for a long while before finally squeezing out a thread of a smile. “No, no, not at all. That day, the fault was ours to begin with… Brother Xietian, our Pact Master heard that you passed the Abyss trial alone and admires you utterly, prostrate with respect. He’s very eager to meet with you. I wonder whether you’d have any interest in joining our Red Leaf Pact? Our Pact Master has said that so long as you join our Red Leaf Pact…”

“I’m a man long accustomed to my freedom. I won’t be joining any power base or gang or anything of the sort. My apologies.” Ye Tianxie replied most politely. His expression, his tone, and that comfortable smile on his face — all of it as elegant as a gentleman’s… and by any measure, he seemed like a different person entirely from the Xietian they’d encountered before.

Red Leaf Iron Wall nodded and didn’t press further, instead saying directly, “It’s just as our Pact Master said — he told us that a peerless expert like you would surely be a proud, solitary lone wolf. Even so, he still hopes to become your friend… Brother Xietian, I won’t hide it from you: the truth is, we’ve come this time to shamelessly ask a favor of you…”

“Oh? Your Pact Master doesn’t seem to be an ordinary figure either. Given the chance, I’d rather like to make his acquaintance. As the saying goes, no fight, no friendship — we’ve made each other’s acquaintance after a fashion, and I really was in the wrong toward you back then. Whatever I can help you with, just say the word, and so long as I’m able, I’ll certainly help. Consider it a friendship struck up with your Pact Master.” Ye Tianxie still wore a mild, gentle smile.

For dandruff, Head & Shoulders is the professional. For acting, he’s the professional.

(End of Chapter 53)