MMORPG: Crowd Control

Griselda didn't answer Lei Zhen right away because she felt something was amiss.

There wasn't a single time that Lei Zhen had ever requested her to join him at an event- not even when they were supposedly partners back in Yors Castle.

"What's the catch?" Griselda asked suspiciously, crossing her arms in the meantime.

"What do you mean by what's the catch?" Lei Zhen raised an eyebrow.

"Save your innocent act, Lei Zhen. If it was anyone else asking, then I wouldn't be thinking much, but you are different. Everything you do is calculated, so there must be a reason why you're inviting me."

"That's preposterous! I would never do that to my Vice Leader."

"Is it though?" Griselda squinted her eyes and leaned closer to him, giving him a dead stare.

Lei Zhen smiled awkwardly as he tried to lean backward, but Griselda would lean more forward whenever he retreated.

And seeing how Lei Zhen decided to remain silent, she clicked her tongue and shook her head.

"Whatever, I'm not going to join if you don't plan to answer me. I can always just grind some levels and explore some dungeons with Hilda and Melissa." She shrugged her shoulders and said sarcastically.

"Alright, you win." Lei Zhen raised his hands up in surrender form. He could not believe that so many people were able to detect that he was up to no good.

"I'm going back to Cinderton of the wasteland with the others to search for Smither Gary. And during that time, I'm concerned about Lingxin's safety because she was once targeted by an unknown group of people as well. Hence, I thought that if you joined us as well, then our safety would increase."

"That's it?"

Griselda raised an eyebrow in confusion, clearly not expecting his so-called scheme was just that simple.

"Well, the danger is quite high since we still have zero clues of the culprit. And it's not like you are obligated to assist us in any way even if you're a member of the Zero Fear guild." Lei Zhen said stiffly.

Bringing others into an unrelated matter to them wasn't something Lei Zhen was fond of. Not to mention, he could not afford the consequences if she was truly harmed because of his decision.

Meanwhile, Griselda merely shook her head and laughed bitterly.

"What the heck, man! Does it look like I'm some kind of heartless person? If your friend is a target of this crime, then I'll definitely assist you." She said angrily, giving a light punch to his chest for thinking that she had no compassion whatsoever.

"Anyway, when are we heading there?" She then asked, ready to make a move already.

"Right about now." Lei Zhen calmly replied.

"Time is of the essence and the faster we meet with Smither Gary, the faster we'll get things done." He added.

And with that said, Lei Zhen and Griselda quickly met up with the others to make their way to the dock.

Of course, everyone else in the group was astonished to see Lei Zhen was able to afford a ship of this caliber.

"Lei Zhen, are you sure you didn't rob a bank? Not even the top rankers can afford such a massive ship." Tang Qiaolian exclaimed in shock, unable to fathom his capability to gain so many great things.

Meanwhile, Lei Zhen was thoroughly confused since he never believed the things he obtained were anything great.

"Isn't it normal for players to own a ship to travel through the sea? I'm pretty sure you are just exaggerating and teasing me right now." Lei Zhen said, not believing Tang Qiaolian's words.

"It's the truth, Lei Zhen," Tang Qiaolian merely said and turned his face around, showing him the look of his two guild members, Hilda and Melissa.

"My goodness, this ship's capacity is enough to board 100 members and above," Hilda said in an astonished tone.

"Not just that, Hilda. Look at the ship's cannons. Each one of those firepower is enough to send a team to destruction." Melissa called out, feeling amazed by the ship's function.

As for Griselda, she had already gone inside to check the interior design of the ship. And of course, Howard and the crew mates were long notified by Lei Zhen, so they treated her as a VIP guest, not daring to stop her from touring the ship.

Lei Zhen's mouth was wide open, seemingly in disbelief that his ship could actually cause these veteran players to be in awe of him.

"You were being serious?" He turned to Tang Qiaolian and asked with an appalled expression.

Tang Qiaolian simply patted him on the back and said, "Tell me more about your so-called rewards next time. I swear you'll need to start learning the items you have are almost invaluable, to say the least."

"I definitely need some more lessons now…"

Lei Zhen didn't disagree with Tang Qiaolian's advice that he needed more education regarding Magnolia. Despite playing for months, there are still too many things in the Magnolia world that he had not learned.

Sometime later, everyone boarded the ship with a lot of enthusiasm as they toured around the ship.

Howard was a clever man as well and had long ordered some of the crew mates to drop their work to serve Lei Zhen's fellow companions.

This was an important task for someone who's a bodyguard and assistant of Lei Zhen. He must cater not just to Lei Zhen, but also his companions as well. Otherwise, his job would have been in jeopardy considering how he was also a spy for Kate.

Time slowly passed by, and as they enjoyed a service similar to a five-star hotel, Lei Zhen was busy being lectured by Tang Qiaolian.

"What the hell have you been doing all this time, Lei Zhen? You got this rare equipment and even a title that could boost your stats and reputation?" Tang Qiaolian was alarmed to see that Lei Zhen's achievement was by any means ordinary.

All along, she merely thought he was struggling in the beginner town and embroiled in troubles because of Yors Castle. Yet, after some investigation, she realized he wasn't embroiled in troubles but embroiled in treasury.

"Lei Zhen, were you involved in the events of Yors Castle?" Tang Qiaolian finally asked, going to the most important question.

And at this point, Lei Zhen knew that he could no longer hide this matter since his being affiliated with Griselda revealed a lot already.

A few hours later, Tang Qiaolian finally digested the fact that Lei Zhen had enjoyed the privilege of a chancellor and practically gained the heart of all Yors Castle citizens- a feat that no players had ever achieved.

"Unbelievable… to think that while I was focusing on getting a first-clear achievement on a new dungeon, you were focusing on gaining the hearts of NPC." Tang Qiaolian muttered in disbelief.

She had been playing Magnolia far longer than Lei Zhen, yet his achievement accomplished in Magnolia had far surpassed her. In fact, some of the top rankers in Magnolia would be put to shame if they heard of Lei Zhen's feat.

Yors Castle might be a lower-level region, but it was still a capable city enough to trade with the middle-level region. Not to mention, the recent surge of popularity Yors Castle had because it somewhat triggered a Main Scenario quest- something that hasn't happened in the past.

"Wait a minute, if you are the one that triggered the Main Scenario, then where's the follow-up quest? Shouldn't there be another trilogy to the Main Scenario that could affect Magnolia's world?" Tang Qiaolain enquired.

Lei Zhen shrugged his shoulders in response.

"To be honest, ever since the crowning ceremony was over, I haven't received any follow-up quest of the Main Scenario. So I'm not even sure where to go and was just exploring as I wished." He answered honestly.

The Main Scenario quest was never something he had actively chased after nor cared about in the first place. What matters was the fact that he was having fun and earning some good money.

Tang Qiaolian also understood this part, so she didn't bother to bombard him with questions.

Though, it was clear that she was somewhat bitter about this news since she was never as lucky as Lei Zhen.

After she calmed down, Lei Zhen snapped his finger and a crew mate arrived with a beverage on the tray.

"Have some drinks to calm yourself. We should be arriving in Cinderton soon, so we'll need to be on guard by that time." Lei Zhen smiled, sipping on his own beverage.

Meanwhile, Tang Qiaolian twitched her mouth when she saw what kind of beverage she was served. It was a beverage that increased one stat temporarily and also offered a great flavor to your taste bud.

And naturally, such beverages are priced at around 10 silver coins, but Lei Zhen's ship seemed to have a stock of them.

"I guessed you are really prosperous in Magnolia to be able to afford these beverages." Tang Qiaolian chuckled and took a sip, tasting the flavor of the beverage on her tongue.

"Would you believe me if I say all these beverages are practically gifted to me?" Lei Zhen smirked wickedly.

"Gifted?"

"Yep, gifted to me as an apology and to mend the relationship."

Tang Qiaolian tilted her head slightly to the left, clearly unable to comprehend his meaning.

And it was a given because who would want to reveal a matter that almost caused a war?

"Let's just say I got most of these in stock because of two amazing brothers." Lei Zhen laughed, not bothering to reveal much.