Chapter 28: Slaying the Earth Giant Bear, Arrivals from the Western Alliance

Chapter 28 - 28: Slaying the Earth Giant Bear, Arrivals from the Western AlliancePuff! The sharp spear pierced Johnnie through. -777 His health points were instantly depleted. [Ding, you were instantly killed by the Earth Giant Bear. The Resurrection Ring has been triggered.] As the prompt message flashed, he was resurrected on the spot. The Earth Giant Bear let out an excited roar at the sight of Johnnie being killed in one hit and cancelled the Rock Armor. Hum! But in the next second, a cold light flashed. Johnnie was resurrected on the spot and quickly charged forward. The sharp long sword stabbed towards its eyes. Puff! -89 Blood spattered. A critical hit combined with a fatal blow quadrupled the damage. "Roar!" The Earth Giant Bear covered its severely injured left eye in pain and roared continuously. With a successful strike, Johnnie dodged the earth spikes emerging from the ground and cast Sword Shock again. -22 -43 -21 -39 With two critical hits, the Earth Giant Bear, which already had very little health left, had its health bar emptied. Its huge body crashed to the ground. [Killed Stage 2, Level 1 rare boss Earth Giant Bear, gained 40 experience points.] [Novice Village Announcement: Player Johnnie has killed the Earth Giant Bear, Reputation +10; The novice village is now open. Players who have advanced after reaching Stage 1, Level 10 can leave the novice village and head to higher-level areas.] As the prompt messages flashed, Johnnie finally let out a long sigh of relief. Since this wasn't the first kill of the novice village boss, he didn't receive any item rewards, only 10 reputation points. Fortunately, with the Resurrection Ring, he was resurrected on the spot and the Earth Giant Bear let its guard down. Otherwise, he might not have been a match for this beast. The 100% trigger probability event of Lucky Master wasn't necessarily a good thing either. The novice village was once again in an uproar, but he didn't pay attention. Instead, he looked at the items dropped by the Earth Giant Bear. Ten silver coins, a skill book, a yellowish-brown jade stone, and a suit of armor. [Rock Armor: Earth-element magic skill for Stage 2 mages; Can be learned by Stage 2 earth-element mages.] [Level 1 Earth Spirit Stone: Blue item; Can be inlaid into a staff, increasing the power of earth-element magic skills by 1% (Note: Three gems of the same attribute and level can be fused into a higher-level gem).] [Giant Bear War Armor: Stage 2 blue equipment; Can be equipped by warriors; Hit points +500, Physical defense +20, Magic defense +5, Constitution +10, Strength +5.] These were all great items! Johnnie was excited. The three items dropped by the Earth Giant Bear were all rare blue items. The Rock Armor, a skill book for Stage 2 earth-element magic, was worth at least tens of millions. The Level 1 Earth Spirit Stone was even more precious. It could only be obtained in some secret realms, and bosses rarely dropped it. As for the Giant Bear War Armor, it directly added 500 hit points and 20 physical defense. He could equip it now and replace his current gear. His hit points reached 1,100. If he were to encounter the Earth Giant Bear again now, he was confident he could kill it without triggering the Resurrection Ring. After confirming that there were no items left behind, he got up and left. [Ding, you have left the novice village.] As the prompt message flashed, a strange wave of power isolated him from the novice village behind him. In the open field ahead, a city appeared. This was a Level 1 city after leaving the novice village. Johnnie didn't plan to go to that city. He looked at the isolated novice village behind him and tried to go back. Hum! A strange wave of power tried to block his way. But in the next second, the Illusory Body skill was triggered, and he easily passed through the barrier. [Ding, you have entered Novice Village No. 103.] "Indeed, it works!" Johnnie couldn't help but feel relieved. He took out the map given to him by the old village chief, confirmed his location, and set off for Newbie Village 001 according to the map's directions. Ding! At this moment, his private chat notification rang. It was Crysic. Crysic: "Johnnie, someone is looking for you. They said they're from the Western Alliance." The Western Alliance? Johnnie frowned as he looked at the message from Crysic. With all the commotion he had caused in the novice village, he had long anticipated that some forces would keep an eye on him. However, he didn't expect that the Western Alliance would be the ones to show up. "I'm afraid this is the intention of Apocalypse Group Technology," he thought. He knew that the people behind the Western Alliance were from Apocalypse Group Group . These people were clearly up to no good. Crysic: "Johnnie, are they here to discuss some project with you?" Crysic sent another message. Johnnie had mentioned going to the Western Alliance earlier that day, and she never expected someone to arrive so soon. She assumed it was related to a new project of Johnnie's. Johnnie: "Let's talk after I log off." He closed the private chat window and logged off the game directly. In the living room, a young man in a sharp suit was sitting on the sofa. When he saw Johnnie, he quickly stood up, extended his right hand, and smiled, "You must be Mr. Cloud. My name is Sylas, the person in charge of the Western Alliance in Sunset City." Johnnie was on guard. He shook hands with Sylas and motioned for Crysic to prepare some tea. Then he got straight to the point, "The person in charge of the Western Alliance? What brings you to me, Mr. Sylas?" "Mr. Cloud, you're a straightforward person." Sylas took out a contract from his briefcase and pushed it in front of Johnnie. "We'd like to invite you to join the Western Alliance. These are the terms we offer. Take a look and see if you're satisfied." Johnnie merely glanced at the contract but didn't reach out to take it. He shook his head and said, "Sorry, I'm not interested." Sylas still wore a smile and said calmly, "Mr. Cloud, don't be too hasty to refuse. We're showing our full sincerity. You can directly enter the upper echelons of our alliance. If that doesn't interest you, you can also join the upper echelons of Apocalypse Group Group. As for the salary, you name it. Money is just a number to us." There was a strong sense of confidence on his face. "Hehe. Money is just a number to me too," Johnnie replied indifferently. Seeing that Crysic had brought the tea, he said, "If there's nothing else,Mr. Sylas, I won't be able to entertain you any longer." As he spoke, he stood up and was about to leave. "Wait a minute." Sylas stopped him and said, "Mr. Cloud, I think you should think this through. Money is just an external thing. We can also offer you supreme status and power." Johnnie frowned and looked at him suspiciously. He said calmly, "I'm just an ordinary person. Although I once ran a technology company, I'm sure the Western Alliance and Apocalypse Group don't think much of it." "Mr. Cloud, you're joking. Was that even a real company? It was just child's play," Sylas couldn't help but laugh, his tone filled with undisguised mockery. In the eyes of people like him, the company Johnnie had previously founded was indeed just a small-scale venture. Next to them, Crysic frowned and looked displeased when she heard his arrogant words. Johnnie wasn't annoyed at all. He continued to ask, "Since you don't think much of my abilities, why do you want to recruit me?" Sylas explained, "Mr. Cloud, we're interested in your abilities in the game. Horizon was developed by Apocalypse Group Technology, and it's no ordinary game." "Oh? What's so special about it?" Johnnie asked, pretending not to understand. Sylas pointed at the contract on the table and said, "That's classified information. Only core members are eligible to know. Mr. Cloud, do you want to think about it?" "No, in my view, no matter how popular a game is, it shouldn't affect reality. Crysic, see him out." He waved his hand dismissively. "Right this way!" Crysic extended his hand and said coldly. Sylas stood up but didn't pick up the contract on the table. He said, "Mr. Cloud, I hope you'll think this through. My contact information is on the contract. If you're not satisfied with the terms, we can negotiate further. But if you refuse, the next time we come, our attitude might not be so friendly." After saying that, he turned and left directly. Johnnie frowned, and a flash of murderous intent passed through his eyes. He knew the methods of Apocalypse Group Group. This person was clearly threatening him. "Johnnie, who is this guy..." Crysic was annoyed and was about to speak when Johnnie raised his hand to stop her. He walked to the seat where Sylas had been sitting and examined it carefully. Sure enough, he found a bug in a hidden spot under the coffee table. It was impossible to detect without a thorough search. Crysic's eyes widened when she saw the bug he took out. Bang! Johnnie smashed it with his palm, his face icy cold. "The Western Alliance, huh? They really think highly of me," he sneered and said, "Crysic, go and get Joseph." "Okay." Crysic nodded, still a bit shocked. She never expected to encounter such a bugging incident in real life. ... After leaving the villa, the smile disappeared from Sylas's face. "Hmm?" He frowned as a buzzing sound came from his ear. He quickly took out a bug from his ear. "So he found it. This guy is really something," he couldn't help but look back at the villa. "Hmm?" Then, he was drawn to another villa not far away and frowned. The large floor-to-ceiling window on the third floor of the villa was one-way glass. He couldn't see the scene inside clearly, but he could sense that someone inside was eyeing him menacingly. "This place really hides many powerful people," he sneered, gave the person inside a provocative look through the window, then turned and left. ...