Absolute Death Game-Chapter 225 - 15 Do you want to understand the meaning of life?

Gao Bainame tossed and turned in bed, and when he saw Xiao Buli, he immediately scrambled to his feet: "Ah, Master has arrived, Master, you finally came, they don’t treat me like a human at all, ordering me around all day, please save me and get me out of here."

This NPC was crying and shouting loudly, and Xiao Buli said anxiously, "Keep your voice down, I’ll get you out of here right now, but first you need to help me identify these two pieces of equipment."

Despite being a crooked merchant who lived off counterfeiting, Gao Bainame knew his Appraisal Skills, which he had upgraded to LV10 during the time he worked for the Qilin Group, making ordinary items a piece of cake for him to appraise.

He took the two pistols and looked them over, "Let me see, huh, these are pretty good." Gao Bainame’s hands flickered with white light twice and quickly finished the appraisal. Xiao Buli took them back and couldn’t help but feel flustered.

Five Thunder God Machine (appraised by Gao Bainame): This is a powerful and magical weapon, capable of firing deadly metal bullets to attack enemies, Attack 30-30.

Weapon Special Effect: Fixed Damage, none of the user’s attributes can enhance this weapon’s damage.

In other words, no matter who the user is and regardless of their Attributes, the damage caused is always the same. This feature of fixed damage is also shared by crossbows and can be said to be more valuable to the weaker individuals and less valuable to the stronger ones.

However, the name Five Thunder God Machine must be Gao Bainame’s masterpiece, quite melodramatic indeed. Xiao Buli glanced at Gao Bainame, who was eagerly looking at him. The chances of smuggling him out under such heavy guard were nearly impossible, but luckily he had come prepared.

The remaining 260 Reward Points plus his original 30, nearly 300 points in total, were exchanged for two Mystic Hollow Palace Teleportation Talismans, one of which was prepared for Xiao Ge’s class change, and the other could now be used to get Gao Bainame out.

"Take this, use this Teleportation Talisman to transport yourself to a safe place. Once you’re there, just say you are my follower, and they won’t give you a hard time."

Gao Bainame nodded, crushed the talisman, and with a flash of white light, he disappeared.

Xiao Buli watched as Gao Bainame teleported away and left the manor.

Utilizing Qinggong to leave the manor, Xiao Buli revealed himself, but he did not leave right away. Instead, he went straight out of the city to Si Hai Martial Arts Hall. He spent a Gold Coin to learn a skill called ’Harmonizing Breath’ which speeds up the recovery of Internal Energy during meditation. He planned to combine it with meditation to see if he could integrate a very useful recovery skill.

Then he went straight to the Longquan Sword Pavilion. Now with more money, it was necessary to learn a few more sword techniques, although he did not rely that much on Swordsmanship itself. Yet he was very much interested in the Ultimate Skills one could comprehend after reaching Swordsmanship level 10.

Real-life combat had already proved that when facing an expert, big moves like Ultimate Skills were indeed more threatening.

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If he could possess several more Souls of Mystic Arts, his combat abilities would naturally improve, and besides, he wasn’t worried about lacking experience points with his method of grinding experience. So once he entered the Sword Pavilion, he found a Swordsmanship master and learned three sword techniques in one go.

Cold Moon Sword Skills: Can imbue the weapon with Cold Ice Inner Strength, slowing down enemy’s speed upon hitting. Requirements: Spiritual Power 14, Internal Energy LV1.

Green Abyss Sword Technique: Imbues Internal Energy onto the weapon, ignoring some of the target’s Armor Value upon hitting and dealing direct damage with deep Sword Qi. Requirements: Strength 20, any Inner Strength LV5 or above.

Xiaoyao Sword Skills: Using this Sword Technique improves your evasion and Movement Speed. Requirements: Agility 20, Speed 20.

All three sword techniques were not top-tier, but each had its unique features, and he thought it probable to comprehend different Ultimate Skills from them.

The three sword techniques together cost Xiao Buli twenty Gold Coins, and he saw the Proud Heaven Sword Skills still listed at the top of the price chart for five hundred Gold Coins, with another Martial Arts called Longquan Sword Technique ranking second, needing only fifty Gold.

Looking at this sword technique, Xiao Buli hesitated for a moment. He had witnessed the power of the Proud Heaven Sword Skills. If the Longquan Sword Technique could offer half the power of the Proud Heaven Sword Skills, it would be worthwhile to learn.

At that moment, he suddenly heard someone behind him speak, "I’d advise you not to learn that. I’ve learned it, and it’s trash compared to the Art of the Sword Heart."

Xiao Buli turned around and recognized the person behind him—it was He Suoju. "It’s you!" Xiao Buli couldn’t help but be surprised.

He Suoju was clothed in a moon-white Sword Robe with flowing long hair and carried a sheathed Longsword, looking far more dashing than the shabbily dressed fellow he used to be. Just by looking at his gear, it was evident that he had upgraded more than just a notch.

Seeing Xiao Buli, He Suoju smiled and said, "It’s been a while, Xiao. It feels like only yesterday that we parted, and today, by fate, we meet again."

Xiao Buli thought to himself how this fellow’s speech had taken on a martial arts flair; he wasn’t playing so hard he went daft, was he?

"How come you’re here?" he asked, puzzled.

"I regretted parting last time. When I descended the mountain a few days ago after completing my training, I heard that there was trouble at the Qilin Hall and that the Demon Clan was invading in force. Therefore, I came to witness the event, incidentally to eliminate demons in the name of righteousness and join forces with heroes from all over."

Xiao Buli felt awkward hearing this and typed: "Can you not use such bombastic wording? Just speak normally."

He Suoju: "..........."

"I’m used to it, but if you insist on doing so, I can certainly talk about it. What exactly happened to Qilin Hall? The rumors in the mortal world say that your group was annihilated. What’s going on?"

Xiao Buli sighed, "It’s a long story."

He Suoju said, "Since we have plenty of time, there’s a tavern outside the Sword Pavilion; how about the two of us go have a drink together and catch up? What do you think?"

Xiao Buli replied, "I see no harm in that." He didn’t want to be as stressed as he had been back in the company, and now he had plenty of free time. Most importantly, he had always been curious about He Suoju’s identity as a solo player.

Leaving the Sword Pavilion, sure enough, they found a tavern outside that looked quite deserted, which wasn’t surprising given that the Demon Clan’s army was pressing close, and there were fewer and fewer people around Nine Dragons City.

They both took a seat at the tavern table, where He Suoju seemed to be playing a role-playing game. He asked the server for a pot of wine, and sipping his drink, he finally asked, "Speaking of which, I haven’t had a chance to thank you for last time. Thanks to you, I was able to become an apprentice to the Sword God Bi Huaxuan and learn the legendary Art of the Sword Heart."

Xiao Buli just chuckled. At that time, he had merely been acting on an opportunity to explore the rules of the game.

He Suoju asked again, "I’ve heard that a lot has happened at Qilin Hall. What exactly is going on?"

Not wanting to say much, Xiao Buli briefly summarized the situation in a few words, naturally concealing and embellishing many details. However, he still laid out the gist of the story, which left He Suoju dumbfounded. "Monsters from the game can run into the real world? I knew there was something odd about this game, but I never imagined it to be this strange."

Xiao Buli had long past his time for shock. Information was meant to be exchanged, so after telling his story, he then asked, "You said you are a solo player, so how did you get into the game?"

"Well, of course, someone sent it to me."

"Who?"

He Suoju shook his head, "I don’t know. One day I was playing on my computer, and suddenly a conversation popped up on the screen. Have you read ’Infinite Horror’? It began with that dialogue from the book."

"Do you want to understand the meaning of life? Do you want to truly live?" Xiao Buli recited casually.

He Suoju quickly said, "Exactly, that’s the one. I thought it was some kind of prank at the time and just clicked YES. Then, suddenly, an avatar popped up on the screen, looking like a hacker. He asked me why I clicked YES, wasn’t I afraid of really entering the world of Infinite Horror.

I just said casually that I wasn’t afraid to die in the pursuit of power or something like that, and then he told me there was a game in which you could gain power, somewhat like Infinite Horror, but it might be deadly, and he asked if I dared to play it. I said I dared, and he sent me the game client, and then I entered the game."

"Did he take your blood?" Xiao Buli interrupted him and asked.

"Blood? No." He Suoju was a bit puzzled, "What does the game have to do with drawing blood?"

Xiao Buli found it hard to believe and pondered for a moment. If they didn’t draw blood, then how was the account created? His mind raced, "Then have you ever donated blood before?"

"Of course, I’ve donated several times."

Xiao Buli instantly understood; it was very likely that the other party used that channel to obtain He Suoju’s blood.

"Did he say anything else?" he asked then.

He Suoju shook his head, "No, he disappeared after sending the game. It wasn’t until seven days later that he contacted me again. By that time, I had already noticed the unusual aspects of the game."

"And then?"

"Then he told me the trial period of the game was over. If I wanted to keep playing, I had to agree to a condition he had."

"What condition?" Xiao Buli asked curiously.

He Suoju said, "He mentioned that he would summon us in the game in the future. By then, I must complete a mission for him, but he didn’t specify what the mission was. Of course, I agreed, and since then, there has been no more contact from him.

That’s how I’ve kept going in the game, and later, I met other solo players who, like me, were given their accounts by that hacker, and they all agreed to the same requirement."

Xiao Buli felt a serious weight in his heart. Whatever this hacker was, he must know the secrets of the game, at least things that Xiao himself didn’t know, "What’s the name of that hacker?" he finally asked.

"He said his name was Xuan Zhenzi." (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to visit Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your vote of recommendation and monthly ticket. Your support is my greatest motivation.)