It was completely dark now.
While I was taking care of my personal hygiene, everyone else had already logged off to eat.
Today's meal was prepared by Lu Xuehan, and a tempting aroma wafted from the kitchen.
"Lin Fan, I'm already level 22 today!" Lu Xuehan said, carrying plates out of the kitchen, not forgetting to report her leveling progress.
A small floral apron was tied around her slender waist, making her look very cute.
Yes, cute.
If it were tied around Xin Yu's waist, I wouldn't have said that.
Based on my observation and probing, Xu Lin and Lu Xuehan might be the last two pure women in our studio...
I replied, "Oh, level 22, not bad, Xue Han, what are you serving? It smells so good?"
"Chicken stew with mushrooms~!"
At this moment, Xin Yu and Xu Lin also walked out of their rooms, smiling, looking like they had a fruitful day.
Upon asking, it turned out to be true...
In just one afternoon, the trio of Xu Lin, Lu Xuehan, and Xin Yu had found three green equipment items above level 15.
One of them Lu Xuehan could use, and the other two were sold for over 500 each.
It was a pity that those equipment items weren't melee weapons; otherwise, they would have made a fortune.
"Lin Fan, what did you get last night?" Xin Yu asked, grinning.
I thought for a moment and said, "A level 26 blue cloak, and a level 24 green boots.
I can use both.
Oh, and a skill book for Battle Axe Warrior; I've already put it up for sale on the Exchange.
I don't know if anyone will buy it.
Also, my level went straight up to 27."
"Quite a haul, isn't it?" Xu Lin smiled, then looked at me ambiguously and said, "Last night, the top two players on the city's leaderboard both gained several levels.
There's no special connection, is there?"
Xin Yu chimed in, adding insult to injury, "In the middle of the night, a lone man and a lone woman.
Hmm, besides leveling, there were no other activities, right?"
I immediately explained awkwardly, "Yesterday, I was just doing a quest with Murong Shanshan.
Her equipment is good, and we work together to complete quests more easily.
If I were alone, many quests would be very difficult."
Xu Lin pursed her lips and smiled, "Don't rush, we're not forbidding you from interacting with her.
Besides, I heard from Xin Yu that Murong Shanshan is also a university student, pretty and rich.
If you can win her over, that wouldn't be bad."
"What are you all talking about? I have nothing with her.
She's so rich, would she look at a poor boy like me?"
"Protesting too much, are we~?"
"Hmph, forget it, I'm not talking about it anymore!"
I quickly picked up a piece of chicken stew with mushrooms and put it in my mouth, savoring it.
The taste was excellent.
I remembered the mushrooms I picked in the wild after the rain when I was a child, and the chicken stew with mushrooms my mother made probably tasted like this.
Lu Xuehan was indeed a gentle, virtuous, beautiful, and generous top-tier girl!
"Xue Han, the taste is really good~ I wish I could eat this every meal!" I praised as I ate.
Lu Xuehan's pretty face flushed slightly, and she said softly, "If you like it, I'll make it every day from now on."
"But, he has Murong Shanshan now, Xue Han, shouldn't you snatch our Lin Fan back?" Xin Yu's tone was sour.
Lu Xuehan smiled faintly and said nothing more, just quietly eating.
Xu Lin suddenly remembered something and said with a smile, "Lin Fan, at seven o'clock, our guild accepted a player's mercenary quest.
That person is a merchant from Shanghai, and he wants us to help their leader complete a class advancement quest.
Regardless of the difficulty, the commission is 2000 RMB."
I smiled, "No need to think, the quest's difficulty won't be low.
He must have failed it before hiring us."
Xin Yu nodded and said, "Exactly, there's no such thing as a free lunch.
Our class advancement quests were very simple, and the monsters we had to kill weren't high level.
We easily completed them.
I wonder why that person's difficulty is so high.
Is everyone's different?"
Lu Xuehan put down her chopsticks, blinked her eyes, and said, "It should be like that.
I heard that someone in another city had an advancement quest that required hiring 10 players above level 20 to barely get through it."
I suddenly looked up and asked, "After you completed your advancement quests, did the class trainer reward you with any skills?"
"No, it was still the same few skills we could learn before.
The new skills aren't that powerful either.
What, did you get a rewarded skill?"
I nodded and said, "Yes, because I was the first player in the world to advance, I was rewarded with a skill book, Ice Seal Slash.
It can stun a person for 3 seconds and reduce their movement speed by 50% for 60 seconds!
It's a super PK skill.
Yesterday, I used this skill to take down a level 17 warrior."
Lu Xuehan looked envious, Xin Yu's mouth was practically watering, and Xu Lin also had a look of joy.
The other girls all looked at me with adoring eyes.
"But there's something..." Xu Lin's expression dimmed, then she continued, "About you making an enemy of Kuang Zhan, I didn't want to interfere, but our group is here to make money, so we can't provoke people like Kuang Zhan.
If Lin Fan has no objections, I'd like to not acknowledge you as a member of our guild in public.
This will be good for everyone, and Lin Fan can be free to do as he pleases, kill whoever he wants, and be a lone wolf.
But when the guild needs help, he still has to lend a hand."
I nodded silently, saying nothing.
Although Xu Lin's words were reasonable, I couldn't help but feel like I was being abandoned by everyone, and it left a bitter taste in my mouth.
Xu Lin glanced at me, then said softly, "Actually, I also want to live a life of reckless revenge with you, killing everyone we dislike, but reality doesn't allow me to do that.
Our electricity bills, water bills, and all expenses here require economic income.
If everyone is busy with PK, it will be inconvenient for both farming equipment and taking quests in the future."
I smiled and said, "It's fine, I like being alone anyway.
Besides, if I ever stumble upon a team with many girls, maybe I can blend in and win some beauties~"
Xu Lin knew I was joking, gave a dry laugh, and began to eat her food.
Lu Xuehan's eyes were like water, she looked at Xu Lin, as if she wanted to say something but hesitated, then softly said to me, "Hurry up and eat.
We have half an hour until we gather to help with that quest.
Being late will affect our studio's reputation."
Everyone stopped talking.
For a moment, there was only the sound of chopsticks clashing against plates.