"We really do know Nirvana Flame!" Li Rui tried to argue. However, since he was no good at speaking and lacked proof, he ended up blustering.
"Well, we know Nirvana Flame too! Who doesn't know him? But guess what? He doesn't know us!" Mo An scoffed. "If you guys are really that close to him, why don't you call him over here? Have him carry you through Dark Marsh, should be easy enough, right?
Li Rui's face flushed bright red. He wanted to refute, but Zhai Hao cut him off, "Enough, stop it already."
Despite having a bellyful of anger, Li Rui could only drop it. Unless they really called Nie Yan over, there was no way Mo An, Mo Tao, and Mo Yan would believe them. Nie Yan treated them as genuine friends. They didn't want to request his help for this matter and have him look down on them. What kind of people would they be if they abused their association with him just to settle some petty dispute?
Li Rui could clearly see the mockery in Mo An's eyes. However, he could only swallow his anger.
"Until you can show us some solid proof, don't bother mentioning it again. You'll just end up making fools out of yourselves," Mo Tao chuckled. "We're still missing a few people. Go find us some Mages, ones with high enough magic power. If you really can't find any, I'll call some of my friends over. They're all top players in Dark Hero. We'll probably have to give them something for their troubles, though."
Zhai Hao understood that if they really called these people over, they might get screwed over and end up with nothing. Finding random players to fill up the missing spots was their best bet.
"Let's keep waiting a little longer. I'll see if anyone in our guild is up for joining us," Zhai Hao said.
"Keep waiting? We've already waited for over half an hour. I don't have all fucking day here, you know?" Mo An said.
Zhai Hao was also getting annoyed. It wasn't easy for him to gather 15 people. All they had to do was find a few decent Mages, and they could start running Dark Marsh. Were they really going to give in just like that? He felt aggrieved and reluctant. He turned to the others in the groups with an apologetic look. "Sorry guys, I've made you waste your time."
"Don't worry about it, Zhai Hao. We're all friends here. You can keep looking. We don't mind waiting a bit longer," a person called Jiang Fan said. He was a student from Class 5. Everyone knew how difficult it was gathering 20 people to run a dungeon, the process usually taking up to an hour or longer. Even with a set team, members were often absent because they were preoccupied questing or doing something else.
The others echoed Jiang Fan's sentiments. They were all sympathetic with Zhai Hao's troubles, unlike the Mo trio.
"You guys…" Zhai Hao gritted his teeth. Even if he had to suffer a loss, he was determined to get this team up and running. He would ask Mo An to call those friends from Dark Hero over. This was the only option. He wasn't willing to let these brothers wait all this time for nothing.
Nie Yan approached Zhai Hao, Li Rui, and the others. He had been eavesdropping on their conversation and roughly understood the gist of the situation. The Mo trio were being their usual loathsome selves.
Seeing a cloaked stranger walking over, Zhai Hao's group grew wary.
Nie Yan lifted his hood and turned to Zhai Hao with a faint smile. "Seems like you guys need my help?"
"Nie Yan!?" Li Rui exclaimed in shock.
Zhai Hao also never expected Nie Yan to show up. The others were rubbing their eyes in disbelief. Nirvana Flame had taken the initiative to come over and greet them! This sounded like something straight out of a dream, but it was actually happening right in front of them.
After a while, Zhai Hao finally regained his wits. He patted Nie Yan on the shoulder. "Yo, what are you doing here?" He suddenly recalled something and hesitantly pulled back his hand. The two of them lived in different worlds. Nie Yan was the guild leader of Asskickers United, a legendary figure, while he was a nobody. If he was thrown into an ocean of people, no one would find him. Nie Yan going out of his way to greet them was giving Zhai Hao a great deal of face.
"I was just passing by when I happened to spot you guys. I decided to come over and say hi. You running dungeons?" Nie Yan glanced at Zhai Hao's group and asked.
"E-er, we're planning to head out to Dark Marsh," Zhai Hao replied. He couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed. Low tier dungeons like Dark Marsh probably weren't anything in Nie Yan's eyes. After all, the Mad Rogue was a heaven defying figure. Meanwhile, they couldn't find enough people to run some easy dungeon.
Seeing Zhai Hao and Nie Yan chatting so casually, Mo An's jaws practically fell out of his mouth. His face was ripe green with envy. He turned to Mo Tao and Mo An. "Holy fucking shit! That twit Zhai Hao really does know Nirvana Flame! The two aren't even on the same plane! How did they meet?"
"Who knows… I really can't understand it myself. If Zhai Hao and Li Rui were friends with Nirvana Flame, why didn't they try and prove us wrong earlier?" Mo Tao replied. If he were in their shoes, he would brag to everyone he knew. He definitely wouldn't be like Zhai Hao and Li Rui and silently suffer humiliation. This was the difference in character, and precisely why Nie Yan was friends with Zhai Hao and Li Rui but wouldn't give the Mo trio the time of day.
"Zhai Hao and Li Rui really have some dogshit luck," Mo An muttered. With a backer like Nirvana Flame, they wouldn't lack anything. Any random piece of equipment in Asskickers United's treasury was better than theirs.
"Lets go greet Nirvana Flame. Who knows? Maybe we'll get something good from him." Mo Tao's eyes sparkled. "Mo Yan, this is your time to shine."
"I can try… But will he even notice me? I bet he's met all kinds of beauties," Mo Yan said.
"You don't know for sure. Give it a try."
After learning Zhai Hao and Li Rui were having trouble doing something as simple as gathering a team to run Dark Marsh, Nie Yan's heart ached. He really was too busy with other things to join them. He didn't expect his old friends to suffer such grievances.
"If you ever need my help, don't hesitate to ask at all. I'll send a message to my executive lead. His ID is Watchful Snail. If you need something, contact him. You guys are already Level 62. Head to one of our guild offices. If you pass the test, you can join Asskickers United. I'll find a few people to help carry you guys through Dark Marsh."
Nie Yan popped into the Asskickers United guild chat.「I need 5 Mages to carry my friends through a dungeon. Must be Level 60–65. If you're interested, let me know!」
「Sure!」
「I'm down!」
…
The guild chat was instantly flooded with several hundred replies. With Nie Yan's prestige, this was only to be expected. Many of the Mages were eager to volunteer, and since this was the guild leader's personal request, who would dare not give it their all? Nie Yan had Guo Huai select five suitable and skilled Mages.
Roughly 30 minutes later, five Mages rushed over and reported to Nie Yan. They were all wearing Dark Gold-grade equipment. Their expressions were filled with excitement.
"Boss!"
"Boss. we're here! These guys, right?"
...
The gear of the Mo trio was fairly good for the average player at their level, with most of their equipment being Gold-grade. However, the equipment they so loved to show off seemed like garbage now, downright shameful even. Those Asskickers United players couldn't be bothered to spare them so much as a glance.
Of the five that arrived, Nie Yan recognized a couple by name.
"Sesame Cake, these guys are my friends. You should introduce yourselves and get to know each other. Carry them through Dark Marsh and help them improve the quality of their gear. Afterwards, you can bring them to Dream Ravine," Nie Yan said. With these five here, carrying Zhai Hao, Li Rui, and the others through Dark Marsh would be a piece of cake.
Asskickers United's treasury was full of equipment that Zhai Hao, Li Rui, and the others could use. However, Nie Yan knew they weren't the sort of people who would accept handouts.
"You put your trust in us, Boss! Your friends are our friends! I can guarantee we'll make it through 30 runs before the day ends! They won't miss out on any equipment!" Sesame Cake declared.
Zhai Hao, Mo Tao, and the others were stunned. 30 runs before the day ended? This was too frightening! It usually took them around three to four hours per run, and many times they would end up wiping. Yet Sesame Cake was talking like it was a stroll in the park. Thinking about it, Sesame Cake and the other four were all Level 65 with Dark Gold-grade equipment. Even if Zhai Hao and the others did nothing, they could probably still clear Dark Marsh with ease.
Nie Yan was treating Zhai Hao and Li Rui so well. He didn't have any air of arrogance around him. Seeing this, the others drummed up the courage to chat with him.
Mo Tao and Mo An tried hard to cozy up to Nie Yan. However, he simply brushed them off from beginning to end. Even though he had suffered no small amount of abuse from those two in his past life, he already long since put that behind him. In this life, they were nobodies, not even fit to breathe the same air as him. He had no need to pay them any heed.
Sesame Cake and the other four naturally took notice of Nie Yan giving Mo Tan and Mo An the cold shoulder. Since the guild leader didn't seem to care for these two, simply dying during the run would be the least of their worries.
As the old proverb goes, "Yama might be easy to provoke, but his demon underlings are much less forgiving."
After briefly intermingling with each other, Sesame Cake and the other four were chatting with Zhai Hao and the rest like they were old pals. Li Rui finally felt vindicated. He held his head up high with a proud smile on his face; the previous sullenness was nowhere to be seen. From now on, they would no longer have to suffer the humiliation of Mo Tao, Mo An, and Mo Yan.