Chapter Sixteen: Racing Against Time

"Ha, what's the trouble? Just a bunch of kids~" Lu Kuan grinned. With his current state of mind and experience, how could he possibly take Liu Xueliang seriously?

Regardless of the complicated feelings the two girls harbored, Lu Kuan led the team at a brisk pace, hurrying toward the Molten Fortress.

Meanwhile, inside Zero Distance Internet Café—

"Lu Kuan! Damn your ancestors!"

A sudden angry shout erupted from a VIP room on the second floor as Liu Xueliang stormed out, ignoring those around him. He thundered down the stairs, heading straight for Lu Kuan.

With such commotion, Liu Xueliang was intercepted by the café's security before he could reach Lu Kuan, stopped in the middle of the corridor.

"Get out of my way, all of you!" Liu Xueliang shouted as he tried to shove the guards aside, but how could a high schooler's build contend with burly security staff? He was quickly subdued.

Liu Xueliang had always carried himself with arrogance, thinking himself superior to others, so now his mind was filled with humiliation at having been bested by Lu Kuan. His eyes reddened with fury. "Let me go! Do you know who I am? I'll have my father come and lock every one of you up…"

"Who are you going to have locked up?"

No one knew when, but Xue Da had appeared on the first floor, fixing Liu Xueliang with an icy glare. "Shall I call Director Liu for you, see if he'll come fetch you himself?"

At the sight of Xue Da's dark expression, Liu Xueliang was startled, cold sweat breaking out across his back. He'd heard before that Xue Da had serious connections in the city—even Liu Xueliang's uncle couldn't figure out his background. The man was said to have ties on both sides of the law and had even served time for a homicide case years ago.

With that in mind, most of Liu Xueliang's impulsiveness drained away. He shot a venomous look at Lu Kuan, who sat not far off with his eyes closed and unmoving.

Xue Da approached and said, "Don't cause trouble in my place. And let me remind you, Young Master Liu—over a decade ago, laws were passed that anyone causing injury by damaging virtual devices is charged as an intentional assault. Surely you know that?"

Liu Xueliang couldn't suppress a shudder. Meeting Xue Da's penetrating gaze, he remained silent and left the hall with a blank expression.

Xue Da watched Liu Xueliang's retreating figure, then glanced in Lu Kuan's direction, a playful smile forming as if some idea had occurred to him.

In the game—

Half an hour after the incident, inside the alchemy hall of the Molten Fortress.

Lu Kuan held a small glass vial, rotating it in his hand. Inside was a thick, black liquid, glimmering with a metallic sheen beneath the sunlight, reflecting a spectrum of colors.

"Centipede Elixir (Excellent)

Alchemical Product

Quality: 8 (Scale: 1–10)

Description: This is a rare distillation extracted from several poisonous insects and herbs. It is said to react unpredictably when exposed to the aura of certain otherworldly beings."

Reading the description, Lu Kuan couldn't help showing his delight. Ha! An elixir of quality 8—what a remarkable find!

Player-brewed potions varied in quality depending on skill level, ingredient quality, and luck. Anything above quality 7 was considered excellent, far more effective than ordinary potions.

More importantly, the quality of the Centipede Elixir would directly affect the success of the entire quest. Lu Kuan hadn't expected Qingyi to craft something this good.

"A fine thing indeed~"

Lu Kuan grinned, stowing the potion in his backpack, then initiated a trade with Qingyi. "Thank you both for your help. Here's the payment we agreed on."

"No… that's not necessary." Qingyi quickly waved off the trade and took a step back.

Lu Kuan had seen this snake-avoiding demeanor from Qingyi before and could only turn to Akui, who picked up the conversation. "We can't accept this. Without your help, we'd have been sent back to town by now."

Lu Kuan shook his head. "Business is business. We're practically teammates now; helping each other is the right thing to do. This potion is well worth the price."

The two girls had never seen Lu Kuan so insistent. Akui hesitated, then took the coins from Lu Kuan, smiling readily, "Alright, I won't argue. If there's money to be made in the future, don't forget us!"

Lu Kuan nodded with a smile. "Count on it. I'll be off, then."

As Lu Kuan strode away, the two girls exchanged glances, each with an odd expression in her eyes.

"He really has presence~" Akui watched Lu Kuan's figure disappear through the doorway, then turned to Qingyi. "How could anyone mistake him for a high schooler? He feels more like an older man."

Qingyi giggled. "Alright, the 'uncle' is long gone. Let's get back to preparing for tomorrow's quest."

"Right, we can't forget about that…"

...

Lu Kuan didn't see the playful banter between the two beauties. He withdrew some money from the nearest mailbox, then headed to the appraiser's guild to find Old Blindeye, the chief appraiser.

Old Blindeye was a fishman—in a landlocked city like the Molten Fortress, that made him a rare species. His reputation was built on his unmatched appraisal skills.

"That old Lorre, always giving me trouble! Who dares appraise this thing?" Old Blindeye turned the ogre's tooth over in his hands, cursing with his wide mouth, looking thoroughly vexed.

Lu Kuan was used to this. No matter what item a player brought, the miserly Old Blindeye always pulled this dying act. Without a word, Lu Kuan tossed ten gold coins onto the table. "Enough talk. Get to work."

The coins rang crisply as they landed, and Old Blindeye instantly snatched them up, his usually slitted eyes opening wide with interest.

"Not enough, not enough~" Old Blindeye flicked out a crimson tongue to lick his sharp teeth and held up two webbed fingers.

Lu Kuan bristled. Twenty gold coins? In his previous life, this quest only required ten! Did he think earning money was easy?

He was about to explode with indignation, but as he caught Old Blindeye's calm expression, he paused. Wait—that's not right. NPCs with proper professions like Old Blindeye rarely overcharged.

"That's it! How could I have forgotten?"

Lu Kuan slapped his forehead as it came to him. In his past life, while exploring the game, he often took unconventional approaches—like putting all his free attribute points into Charisma before level 20. That's why the quest had cost less then.