Shen Lu: I've Mutated into Multiple Game-Breaking Abilities

Chapter 46: A Chance Encounter

“Sigh, if only I could see her stats.” At that thought, Ling Yi recalled [Attribute Copy]. Previously, when he used [Attribute Copy], he had hoped to be able to view the stats of other units. That would have made it easier for him to use this skill. Now that he had the Ice Emperor, his desire for such an ability had grown even stronger. “Looks like I can’t put this off any longer. I’ll look into it as soon as I get back.” Ling Yi made up his mind: once he returned, he would definitely search for any relevant skills. Then, by mutating those skills, he’d see if he could achieve the effects he wanted. “Come to think of it.” As he walked through the crowd, he suddenly stopped in his tracks, rubbed his chin, and mused softly, “ “Could I replicate the Ice Emperor’s attributes!?” Just thinking about it made Ling Yi’s heart flutter with excitement. He knew full well that the Ice Emperor’s attributes were definitely replicable—unless she possessed a specific “anti-replication” ability. And once he succeeded in replicating them, his strength would undoubtedly skyrocket once again! ‘I’ll give it a try as soon as I get back!’ Suppressing the surging emotions within him, he couldn’t help but break into a happy smile. He continued walking forward. His steps grew even lighter. With less than five minutes left in the day, he needed to make the most of this time to collect as much emotional energy as possible. “You have absorbed 77 points of surprise from Zhang Tianba.” “You have absorbed 33 points of Melancholy from Luo Yao.” “You have absorbed...” Originally, he had planned to wait until all the monsters in the third stage were cleared before leaving. He just hadn’t expected players to show up halfway through. As they were climbing the mountain, he paused, summoned the Ice Emperor, and used the power of a teleportation talisman to blend silently into the group of players. That’s why, when the players arrived, they could still see over a hundred Fiery Skeletons. These remaining ones were the ones the Ice Emperor hadn’t had time to kill. Some of those skeletons were Level 15 or 16, while others were Level 17 or 18. For Ling Yi, who was now Level 17, they wouldn’t yield much experience. —Even if all 100 were Level 17, that would only amount to 100 experience points—not to mention that the lower-level ones made up the majority, so the actual amount would be even less. A measly hundred or so experience points—if he had to give them up, so be it; there was nothing to regret. Just as Ling Yi was wandering through the crowd, someone suddenly tapped him on the shoulder. “Hey, what are you doing?” A cheerful, clear female voice came from behind him. Ling Yi paused in surprise and turned around. There stood a youthful, beautiful girl with red eyes, looking at him with curiosity. She wore a pink cardigan over a pure white short-sleeved shirt. On her lower body were sky-blue denim shorts, with a belt fastened around her waist. Her legs were long and perfectly shaped. “I just saw you walking through the crowd—were you looking for something?” the girl asked, blinking her eyes. “... Oh, it’s you.” Ling Yi had wondered who it might be. It turned out to be Lin Qingyu, a fellow player from Qianjiang City. The day before yesterday, she’d dragged him several kilometers through the Grassland Wolf Camp, leaving him with a sore back and aching muscles when he woke up yesterday morning—and his legs still felt a little stiff even now. He still remembered it vividly. “No, I’m not looking for anything. Just wandering around.” Ling Yi crossed his arms and gave a half-hearted reply, then asked casually, “What about you?” “Me?” Lin Qingyu blinked, then let out a soft sigh. “I don’t have anything to do either, so I just came up here with everyone else to take a look.” “I was actually hoping to catch a glimpse of that mysterious big shot, but it turned out to be another dead end.” “Another one?” Ling Yi instinctively raised an eyebrow and asked, “Are you looking for him?” Lin Qingyu rolled her eyes at him, crossed her arms just like he had, and said, “Who wouldn’t want to find him?” “A mysterious big shot like that is right here in our server. Wouldn’t you be curious?” “Uh… of course I’m curious.” “…I get the feeling you’re just stringing me along.” Ling Yi: (￣ω￣;) Lin Qingyu didn’t let it bother her and continued, “I have no idea if that person is male or female, tall or short, fat or thin—or even if they’re a good person.” “What if they’re a major villain? Then all the players in our zone would be in big trouble.” “Killed by them?” “It’s not just that.” Lin Qingyu pouted her little lips and said earnestly, “Then we might be stuck going back and forth between these low-level zones for the rest of our lives, never able to level up.” As everyone knows in Shen Lu, players can fight each other freely. Killing other players not only grants experience but can also drop a random amount of gold coins from their bodies. The penalty for death isn’t too severe either. It’s just losing some gold and being demoted a level. “He can’t possibly hold back the progress of over 9,000 people all by himself, can he?” “But powerful players have a lot of followers—and those followers are even worse.” Lin Qingyu clenched her little fist and said with considerable indignation, “ It’s like the eunuch frets while the emperor remains calm—those followers are all vying to curry favor with their masters, and they’re incredibly ruthless toward the weak.” “Players in some servers start forming factions as soon as they become powerful, then oppress other players in their server. As soon as others gain strength, they’re immediately hunted down; they won’t stop until the victim’s level is reduced to single digits, ensuring no one can catch up to them.” “If you actually run into something like that, you’d really be out of luck.” Hearing Lin Qingyu’s words, Ling Yi was somewhat surprised. Originally, in his view, players from different servers should be working together since they shared a common goal. He had overlooked other factors. “It’s precisely to avoid ending up like that that everyone is striving so hard to level up and get stronger.” At this point, Lin Qingyu’s tone suddenly shifted, and she laughed, “But you know, what I just described are only a tiny minority of cases—the very, very worst-case scenarios.” “In most cases, it’s extremely rare for anyone to dominate completely. It’s usually a scene of diverse competition, with heroes from all sides vying for supremacy.” “And.” Lin Qingyu paused, turned her head to glance around the golden dome, and sighed softly, “Mysterious bigwigs like us in this district—who keep a low profile—have appeared in other districts before as well.” “When they finally revealed their identities, with very few exceptions, they were all people of good character.” Hearing this, Ling Yi smiled faintly. Yet a hint of contemplation flickered in his pitch-black eyes. ‘The strong oppressing the weak?’ ‘If this can happen even among just ten thousand people, isn’t it even more common in the real world?’ A series of imagined scenarios flashed rapidly through Ling Yi’s mind. Narrow-minded individuals jealous of others’ exceptional talents... Self-centered people who put themselves first and oppress others... Hotheads who resort to violence at the slightest disagreement... ‘It seems the old men next door were right after all—once one possesses extraordinary power, cultivating one’s character becomes especially important.’ He suddenly understood. Why some players would attract the praise of tens of thousands simply for doing a trivial good deed. It turned out that all of this stemmed from the expectations of the general public. They hoped every player would be a kind person. Therefore, every player who did a good deed would be showered with unreserved praise and all kinds of rewards. This was an era where being a “righteous player” was a source of pride!