Chapter 145: Shudao Mountain
[Zone 26, District 390, I Am a Thug, Who Do I Fear]: Shudao Mountain, you can go kowtow if you want to, but don’t drag us into it. Who gave you permission to represent us?
Seeing dissenting voices pop up in the chat, Lin Huai actually felt a wave of relief.
It was good to see some rebellious spirit. She was all too familiar with the process of breaking it.
[Zone 44, District 444, Bone Ashes Mixed with Rice]: Merging into Zone 444 means you will follow Zone 444’s rules from now on. No instigating trouble, and no infighting. These are the most basic rules. If you do not want to merge, type 1. Nobody is forcing you.
[Zone 26, District 390, I Am a Thug, Who Do I Fear]: 2
[Zone 26, District 390, Dragon Soul Young Master]: 2
[Zone 44, District 444, Bone Ashes Mixed with Rice]: …
[Zone 44, District 444, Sister Cai]: Weren’t you acting all tough just a second ago? Where is your backbone? Come on, use a Teleportation Talisman to find me and let’s fight. I promise I won’t kill you.
[Zone 26, District 390, I Am a Thug, Who Do I Fear]: This is called a wise man submitting to his circumstances!
[Zone 26, District 390, Dragon Soul Young Master]: I don’t have a Teleportation Talisman…
[Zone 26, District 390, Shudao Mountain]: …Please excuse them. Our Zone 390 is a bit of a disorganized mess, but everyone is actually quite nice, just a little poor… I’ll have to trouble Boss Bone Ash to take care of us from now on…
Lin Huai sighed, rubbing her forehead. Unsure of how to handle the circus, she simply handed the matter over to Brother He Ping.
[Zone 44, District 444, Bone Ashes Mixed with Rice]: @Peace and Violence, the recruitment and integration work is all yours. If anyone needs to be disciplined, just find Brother Long.
[Zone 44, District 444, Peace and Violence]: Understood!
[Zone 44, District 444, Dragon Emerging from the Sea]: Received!
[Zone 26, District 390, Pork Belly]: Um, may I timidly ask… what does ‘disciplined’ mean?
[Zone 44, District 444, Peace and Violence]: Disciplined means… using various methods to make uncooperative players leave Zone 444 permanently. These methods include, but are not limited to: a bullet to the head, execution, physical expulsion, etc…
[Zone 26, District 390, I Am a Thug, Who Do I Fear]: …Is it too late for me to change my username?
[Zone 26, District 390, Dragon Soul Young Master]: …He talks about killing people so casually and elegantly. Is everyone in Zone 444 this refined?
[Zone 44, District 444, Peace and Violence]: Now, I will briefly explain the rules of Zone 444 to everyone. Anything I miss will be added later. The final right of interpretation belongs to Boss Bone Ash. If you disagree, you can type 1 right now…
After passing the lobby management duties to Brother He Ping, Lin Huai stopped paying attention to the chat.
She messaged Shudao Mountain directly, and the two arranged to meet beneath the Bell Tower to finalize the server merger.
Shudao Mountain turned out to be a delicate-looking young woman with her hair tied in a neat bun. She stood quietly beneath the Bell Tower, her demeanor perfectly calm and completely unbothered by the wait.
Beside her stood several girls around her age, all chattering nervously about whether the famous Boss Bone Ash was easy to get along with and whether they should have prepared a gift.
As Lin Huai’s hearse slowly rolled into the square, the girls’ chatter abruptly stopped. They stared in awe at the massive, heavily armored vehicle and the glowing blood jade coffin floating above it.
A crowd of curious Zone 390 players who had gathered in the square were equally dumbfounded.
“Oh my god, what level is that vehicle? It’s too flashy!”
“Were you deaf during the last server-wide announcement? It’s Level 6. The first Level 6 vehicle on the entire server.”
“Bone Ashes Mixed with Rice is actually driving a hearse and pulling a coffin. That is so intimidating.”
“No wonder she’s ranked number one. Look at her setup; this survival game was practically tailor-made for her.”
Lin Huai parked the hearse directly in front of Shudao Mountain and the group of girls. Opening the heavy door, she jumped out.
Watching this cool, dashing woman step out of the massive vehicle in a full set of advanced tactical gear, her high ponytail swaying, Shudao Mountain and the other girls instantly had stars in their eyes.
The girl with the bun quickly stepped forward. Instead of reaching out for a handshake, she stopped a respectful distance away, gave a crisp nod, and clasped her hands together in a traditional Daoist greeting.
“Hello, Boss Bone Ash. I am Shudao Mountain.”
Seeing the formal gesture, Lin Huai raised an eyebrow, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes. “A colleague? Are you from the Daoist school?”
Shudao Mountain nodded, making no effort to hide her background. “Yes, I used to be an intern Daoist priest at the Qingcheng Daoist Temple. My university major was actually Daoist Studies.”
Lin Huai had heard of this obscure and highly specialized major in the old world. She used to think it was nonsense, but seeing Shudao Mountain today, she realized the program actually produced genuine talent.
Curious, she asked, “So, what exactly do you learn in that major? Do you happen to know Cloud Cliff Master?”
“Of course I’ve heard of the rank-two big shot, Cloud Cliff Master,” Shudao Mountain nodded.
She paused, then asked cautiously, “During the Arena event last time, I noticed that you and Cloud Cliff Master didn’t seem to get along. I wanted to ask… is there a serious conflict between you two? The answer is very important for deciding where I stand.”
Lin Huai didn’t sugarcoat it. “Yes, we have bad blood. So, if you want to follow Cloud Cliff Master because he is a fellow Daoist, you can leave right now.”
Hearing this, Shudao Mountain actually let out a sigh of relief. She smiled brightly. “I’m just a lowly intern priest. If I worked under a true master like him, I would never get a chance to show my own strength. I think I’m much better suited for a team led by Boss Bone Ash.”
Lin Huai didn’t waste any more time. Nodding her approval, she stepped past the young woman and walked straight toward the Bell Tower. “Then welcome to Zone 444, Shudao Mountain.”
“Let’s get this zone merger finished.”
Since Shudao Mountain was genuinely surrendering, the merging process went through without a hitch.
Old Hei, acting surprisingly generous, distributed a set of standard combat uniforms to every single player as a merger reward—a low-spec, mass-produced version of Lin Huai’s own tactical gear.
The original residents of Zone 444 didn’t react much; most of them thought heavy winter down jackets would have been more practical.
But the players from Zone 390, who were deeply accustomed to poverty, were absolutely ecstatic to suddenly receive high-quality combat suits for free.
“Oh my god, what kind of miserable life were we living before?!”
“Zone 444’s system assistant is so generous! No wonder they are the number one zone on the server!”
“I love Zone 444! I love Old Hei! I love Boss Bone Ash!”
“Honestly, with a system assistant this generous, I wouldn’t even care if he scolded me every day. I’d even let him hit me!”
Watching the chat flood with praise, the original Zone 444 players couldn’t sit still.
“Are you guys from Zone 390 really such massive bootlickers? You’re making the rest of us look bad!”
“Ah, no, they’re just too good at flattering! What if Old Hei starts thinking we don’t appreciate him? Old Hei! Old Hei, look at us! It’s the original Zone 444 players who love you the most!”
