Chapter 371
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Chapter 371: Light of the Chives
At the outermost defense line of the Steel Wall, a group of special puppets was clearing the beast race attacking the defenses.
A puppet wielding a giant knife plunged it directly into the heart of a beast, pulled back the knife, turned around, and sliced off the head of a Golden Core Stage beast with a clean, agile motion, not a trace of hesitation in sight.
“These beasts just keep coming,” the middle-aged butcher observed as he looked back at the beasts pressing forward.
“Why think so much? Just kill them," replied a nearby puppet wielding a Blood Spirit Great Knife, cutting even more fiercely than the middle-aged butcher.
“Be careful,” the middle-aged butcher warned upon seeing a black shadow attacking the puppet with the Blood Spirit Great Knife.
With a flash of lightning, like a bolt from the blue, he severed the massive claw of the ambushing beast.
“Blood Spirit, watch out; damaging a puppet requires quite a bit of spirit stones for compensation,” the middle-aged butcher laughed heartily.
This puppet wielding the Blood Spirit Great Knife was one he had encountered some time ago; the two got along well and often took on tasks together.
“Thanks,” the Spirit Cut controller said, surprised; although the lightning was faint, it had unexpectedly stirred his spirit.
“Thanks, when we’re back in the game, I’ll buy you a drink,” Spirit Cut said with a smile. He found it enjoyable to make friends in the virtual world, sparking his desire to explore the entire game.
“Alright, you provide the drinks, and I’ll bring the food,” the middle-aged butcher laughed while continuing to slay beasts, exuding a sense of camaraderie.
“Great,” Spirit Cut laughed.
Just then, the beasts charging toward the Steel Wall began transforming into Nascent Soul Stage beasts, making it difficult for the numerous Golden Core Stage puppets to hold the line.
“Fourth tier and below Tian Puppet Masters, retreat,” Grape’s voice echoed in the ears of all the battling puppets.
“Let’s pull back; it’s time for the official sect puppets to take the stage,” the middle-aged butcher said.
“Okay,” Spirit Cut replied, feeling a hint of pressure as he looked at the newly emerged Nascent Soul Stage beasts; the techniques he had honed in the Void Realm were barely adequate against the overwhelming wave of Nascent Soul Stage beasts.
In the virtual game world, the middle-aged butcher exited from the dedicated operation room.
Stepping out, he found himself at the mission center of the game.
The middle-aged butcher looked at the tasks displayed on the light curtain and chuckled; now, besides the elite Tian Puppet Masters being assigned lower-level tasks, the rest were basic beginner tasks.
“Use Spirit Rain Technique to water the farmland, five spirit stones per hundred acres.”
“Assist Tian Pool City No. 4, the one hundred sixty-ninth farming team, in making fertilizer.”
“Recruit battlefield logistics personnel.”
“Recruit a Qi Refinement practitioner skilled in Earth Spirit Technique, one spirit stone per day.”
After browsing for a while and finding no suitable tasks, the middle-aged butcher went to the task settlement area to claim a mission first.
“Settle the tasks,” the middle-aged butcher said to the virtual staff at the counter.
“For two guard missions, you killed twelve Golden Core Stage beasts and one Nascent Soul Stage beast in four battles. After deducting the puppet rental and loss costs, you earned a total of 179 spirit stones,” the counter staff said with a smile, their admiring expression making the middle-aged butcher feel quite pleased.
“Take out nine spirit stones; deposit the rest in the bank,” the middle-aged butcher instructed.
“Understood.”
With nine spirit stones in hand, the middle-aged butcher exited the task hall and unconsciously found himself at a Puppet Center that linked to the real world.
Passing by the entrance, he was once again drawn aside by a Young Salesperson from the Puppet Center.
“I only have nine spirit stones; can you recommend something for me?” the middle-aged butcher asked the salesperson.
"Big shot, your reputation has spread far and wide; you kill Golden Core Stage beast race like they’re dogs, and you’ve even taken down Nascent Soul Stage beast race."
The Young Salesperson said this while pulling the middle-aged butcher toward a Nascent Soul Stage puppet.
"This top-tier Knife-wielding Puppet is made entirely of Golden Source Iron alloy, with a power core output of 1.8 spiritual energy. It’s modularly assembled, so you don’t have to worry about full repairs if one part gets damaged."
"The Black Yuan Broadsword, a premium Tier Three precious artifact, can cut down Nascent Soul Stage beast race as easily as slicing through melons and vegetables."
"With your exceptional knife skills, controlling this puppet will be like killing gods and buddhas who stand in your way," the Young Salesperson eagerly flattered.
"Alright, stop with the flattery and just tell me how much this costs," the middle-aged butcher said, unable to suppress a gulp as he looked at the two-meter tall dark golden Knife-wielding Puppet.
Just imagining himself wielding this puppet on the battlefield made his heart race.
"The original price is nine hundred ninety thousand spirit stones, but it’s on sale now for seven hundred ninety thousand spirit stones."
"With a down payment of two hundred thousand spirit stones and monthly payments of three thousand spirit stones, you can take this puppet home," the Young Salesperson said, his tone dripping with temptation.
"Alright, I need to head back now and rest up for my next task," the middle-aged butcher replied, his voice showing fatigue from the earlier battle.
"Okay, next time I’ll introduce another model from the Knife-wielding series; I promise you’ll like it," the Young Salesperson said as he bid farewell to the middle-aged butcher.
"Got it; you’re a clever one," the middle-aged butcher laughed.
When he had just completed a mission and planned to log off for a break, he had stumbled into this Puppet Center. Although he felt shy about going in, the Young Salesperson had pulled him inside, launching into a practiced sales pitch.
At that time, the middle-aged butcher was just an entry-level Tian Puppet Master, and the Young Salesperson had just become the center’s first player salesperson.
Walking down the street, the middle-aged butcher opened his inventory, glancing at the over four thousand spirit stones he had saved for quite a while, and murmured, "Sharpening the knife doesn’t waste effort cutting wood; I need to save up enough for the down payment on a Nascent Soul Stage puppet."
In the game, the puppets controlled by Tian Puppet Masters were all rental puppets. Completing tasks with these puppets only earned them thirty percent of the task rewards.
This was also why the middle-aged butcher wanted to buy a puppet of his own; only that way could he receive full task rewards.
"It’ll take six years, not too long. Once I become a fourth-tier Tian Puppet Master, I’ll be able to rent fourth-tier puppets, and then earning spirit stones will be quicker."
"Maybe it won’t even take five years," the middle-aged butcher licked his lips and said.
Little did he know that at that moment, a shrewd capitalist was discussing a serious matter with Grape.
"Grape, are you making the puppet prices too cheap in the game?" Xu Fan frowned.
"A Nascent Soul Stage puppet is worth at least three million spirit stones in the cultivation world."
"Did you consider the cost issues, Master?" Grape asked.
"Even if the alloy isn’t valuable, it’s still a Nascent Soul Stage puppet. Your pricing isn’t favorable for harvesting," Xu Fan stroked his chin, pondering.
The spirit stones in the game were linked to reality, and they were truly not planning to harvest something valuable. They were worried that the financial system in the virtual game would become unstable down the line.
