Starting with a little loli? How am I supposed to win? At the very least, give me a dog! Even a lame one would do! What? The Ruler’s Tower is respawning? We have to take down the tower? Get lost—stop bugging me! I was a perfectly good female hero—how did I end up as a secretary? No big deal—just wait for a rainy day when my master slips and dies, and we’ll be free! MVP? No way! What happened to the promised 1v5? What about the promised god-tier items right from the start? Don’t you know? There’s no way I’m jungling—I’ll never jungle in this lifetime. Just coasting along and waiting to die is so much better. Hey, you—Master—bring me that ice cream! And make sure to add an extra layer of whipped cream! You’re the first female hero I’ve ever met who’s this gullible—no, I mean, this innocent! The days when you could trick a female hero with a single hamburger are long gone. Now, even if you pile up a hundred hamburgers into a mountain, she won’t even glance your way. She wants Western cuisine—got it? A medium-rare steak paired with red wine, served at a high-end restaurant!
Chapter 32: The Scheming Bastard
Song Guo darted out from behind a nearby pile of rocks, stood beside Xia Ye, and looked as though they were united against a common enemy. “Come on, we’re all from the same tribe—what’s there to argue about?” Xia Qingyuan stepped in to mediate: “Want to join us?” Xia Ye hesitated. If he refused, he’d surely be driven away, and the Undead Hero would be killed by them. But to join this group? To be honest, he had no interest. “What use is a half-blind good-for-nothing like that?” Just as Xia Xiong was about to try to persuade Xia Qingyuan, he saw Xia Yang give him a meaningful look. “There’s another group of Cao clan members in the ruins. It’ll be safer if we stick together!” Xia Qingyuan wanted to take a closer look at Xia Ye. “All right!” Xia Ye agreed. “All right, then let me outline the plan!” Xia Qingyuan’s voice was calm: “I can see the Undead Hero’s body gradually becoming transparent—a sign that its life force is nearly depleted. So first, let’s try to take it down with a decisive strike. If we can’t kill it, we’ll wear it down. If we hold out a little longer, it’ll collapse on its own, and then we’ll ascend the tower.” “Brother Qingyuan, you’re so awesome!” Xia Li’s eyes were filled with admiration. Xia Qingyuan was calm, wise, bold, and meticulous—truly a worthy candidate for team captain. “Xia Ye, you’re a melee fighter—you and Xia Yang will lead the main assault!” Xia Qingyuan laid out the strategy: “Any questions?” “No problem!” Xia Yang and the other three looked at the half-blind man and couldn’t help but smile. You think you’re going to get an easy ride? Dream on. “Alright!” Xia Ye wasn’t surprised. Whenever a newcomer joined the team, they were bound to do some dangerous, dirty work to earn the others’ trust. “Don’t get me wrong—I’m not treating you as cannon fodder. Xia Li is a shaman, Xia Xiong is an archer in charge of long-range suppression, Qiu Feng usually handles scouting, and I’m the backup.” Xia Qingyuan explained patiently, “As for the loot distribution, we’ll set aside 20 percent for the team as a reserve fund. The rest will be divided based on contribution. Since you’re the main attacker, you’ll definitely get a bigger share.” “Hmph!” Xia Li snorted smugly; as a shaman, she had every right to be proud. “Mm-hmm!” Xia Ye nodded; he had no objections to this arrangement. “Song Guo, stay over there. Don’t come anywhere near us.” “Oh!” The little girl took Xia Ye’s backpack and crossbow—didn’t those words make her blush? “Qingyuan, Xia Yang’s right—let’s head up first!” Xia Qiufeng saw Xia Yang giving him a subtle nod. Although he didn’t know what they were planning, it was a good suggestion. “All right, you three, be careful!” Xia Qingyuan agreed. Although he was the team leader, since the three of them had spoken up, he had to listen—otherwise, morale would plummet. Xia Qiufeng immediately took the lead and entered the tower. “Xia Ye might be in for a bit of a rough time!” Xia Qingyuan pursed his lips. Still, this was the perfect opportunity to gauge Xia Ye’s true strength and push him a bit. Besides, he’d always tend to favor his old teammates like Xia Yang and the others. “Hey, don’t slack off—attack!” Xia Xiong shouted, “Put in a little more effort, and we’ll take him down.” As soon as he saw Xia Qingyuan’s figure disappear through the tower gate, Xia Ye immediately made a short dash, circled around behind the Undead Hero, and kicked it squarely in the lower back. Thud! The Undead Hero staggered from the kick, lunged toward Xia Yang, and swung a punch at him. “Trying to set me up?” Xia Ye sneered inwardly, circling three meters outside the fray but refusing to step forward. Xia Yang faced the Undead Hero head-on. With only one person left, the pressure on him had increased dramatically. It was only because the Undead Hero had lost its weapon and its combat effectiveness had been greatly reduced that it hadn’t been killed long ago. “Xia Ye, what are you doing?” Xia Yang urged. “Xia Ye, you’re slacking off!” Xia Xiong accused him, “I’m going to tell Brother Qingyuan—he’ll strip you of your right to share in the loot!” “Which of your dog eyes saw me slacking off? Did I run away?” Xia Ye fired back immediately. “Uh!” Xia Xiong was at a loss—after all, Xia Ye hadn’t run off—so he could only yell at Xia Yang, “What are you doing? Put some effort into it!” On the surface, this sounded like he was urging Xia Yang to fight harder, but in reality, he was pushing him to finish off Xia Ye as quickly as possible. “Stop yelling!” Xia Yang was frustrated. “You think I don’t want to?” The two had just discussed it: once the battle was nearly over, they’d have Xia Qingyuan and the other two leave first, keep Xia Ye tied up, and then hand the Undead Hero over to him. The plan was perfect, but reality was cruel. Xia Ye’s performance had completely exceeded their expectations.
