On the other side, Lan Xi caught up with Su Mo as he walked towards the center of the stadium, which served as a safe zone and was bustling with many surviving players.
Everywhere, players were laughing and bragging about their experiences.
Su Mo glanced at Lan Xi. Even in the safe zone, she still subconsciously followed him.
In fact, Lan Xi herself hadn't realized that they had already reached their destination.
Just then, a burst of shouting came from afar.
"Lan Xi!"
Lan Xi paused slightly, stopped walking, and turned her head toward the direction of the shout.
She saw a woman with short brown hair dressed in professional attire, accompanied by several girls, walking towards her.
"Sister Wu."
Lan Xi hurriedly greeted her.
"Lan Xi, you're alright; that's wonderful. I heard from someone earlier that your squad was wiped out. I thought you had died too."
Sister Wu sighed in relief.
"I'm sorry to disappoint you, it was my mistake that led to the whole team…"
"Don't say that. As a casual player, you're lucky to have made it out alive."
Sister Wu consoled her.
Suddenly, a jarring voice rang out.
"Yo! Isn't this Lan Xi? You actually survived. Seems like the rumors were true."
Three very stylishly dressed girls approached, the leader being a very shapely woman with large wavy hair, but her words weren't as pleasant as her appearance.
"Tang Zhi, what are you trying to say?"
Lan Xi looked at her, biting her lip.
"I'm not trying to say anything, really; I just feel heartbroken! Some people, in order to survive, even mingle with those who betrayed their own teammates. Talking about integrity? That's putting it mildly. What's worse, doesn't this count as betraying the team for glory, recognizing the thief as the father? I genuinely feel immense pain for your deceased teammates. Ah~ how could our Dream Guild have such people, Sister Wu, am I right?"
Tang Zhi spoke with a sigh of helplessness.
"This isn't what it seems, Sister Wu. This was my mistake. There was a misunderstanding. I attacked Su Mo first and locked him up. He was merely defending himself, and caused the squad to be wiped out. It's my fault and I am willing to take responsibility and accept the guild's punishment."
Lan Xi explained, sounding somewhat despondent.
"Wow, this sounds like a desperate explanation for someone you're close to. How skillfully you twist the facts."
Tang Zhi poked mercilessly, unconcerned.
"You…"
"What's wrong, can't argue with words so you want to get physical?"
The smug look on Tang Zhi's face was completely unmasked. She had always disliked Lan Xi—how could she be more popular than herself? She was determined to ruin her reputation this time.
"You're very noisy."
Suddenly, a cold voice interrupted Tang Zhi's tirade.
"Getting impatient so quickly, ready to speak up for her? You must have fallen for her beauty tricks quite a bit, haven't you? Don't forget, she can sell out her teammates to win your favor; who knows, one day she might stab you in the back too, and then your regrets won't matter."
Tang Zhi provoked Su Mo, sensing he might have some skills.
"Even if she has many flaws, she's far better than someone like you, who only knows how to hurt others with words, twisted inside, yet possessing a pretty exterior. Also, I'm very clear about who can be trusted and who cannot, without needing your reminder."
Su Mo replied indifferently. Though he really disliked socializing, it didn't mean he couldn't judge people.
"Oh, looks like the two of you are quite an item. I must admit, Lan Xi, your ability to seduce people is quite impressive."
Tang Zhi said, suppressing her anger.
"Jealousy disfigures the face. All I see is a crazy dog barking wildly."
Su Mo responded coolly.
After hearing this, Tang Zhi's blood pressure skyrocketed, anger rose, and her delicate face even twisted a bit.
"Who are you calling names!"
As she spoke, Tang Zhi and the girl behind her drew their pistols, ready to make a move.
"Thinking of starting a fight? I think you should abandon such a foolish idea, or do you think you have more people?"
Su Mo showed no fear at all; instead, his cold eyes revealed a hint of danger.
Tang Zhi instinctively took a step back.
"Enough, let's stop this. The guild will handle this matter; as for you, we don't welcome you here, please leave."
Sister Wu spoke up at this point.
Su Mo did not reply to Sister Wu but turned his head and muttered to Lan Xi,
"I'm leaving."
Before Lan Xi could react, Su Mo turned around and left. She wanted to say something, but in the end, she didn't. After all, they had agreed earlier, and it was time to part ways at the safe zone. She watched Su Mo's departing figure, feeling somewhat dazed.
----------------------------------------
After leaving, Su Mo began to stroll through the safe zone.
It was bustling with players everywhere. Su Mo estimated that the stadium held at least five thousand players. Thankfully, the venue was large enough; otherwise, it would have been very crowded.
A large portion of the players were grouped together, likely belonging to various small groups or guilds.
Of course, there were also Independent Travelers who all seemed very cautious.
After all, in such a situation, individuals were at a disadvantage. If targeted by a group, they were likely to be unlucky.
It was a good thing this was just a game; otherwise, order would have collapsed long ago.
At that moment, Su Mo saw a bustling crowd at the center of the stadium. There were even people queuing up, and many Independent Travelers were running over with various items.
Su Mo became intrigued and decided to go have a look.
At the center of the stadium, a young man with dyed blonde hair, wearing a luxury watch from this world, and very handsome in appearance, was reclining in a chair, with a beautiful woman in his arms.
A few tall girls surrounded him, either massaging his feet, kneading his shoulders, or feeding him canned fruits.
Around him stood men in black suits holding weapons and an elderly butler.
At that moment, a young male player, holding a first aid kit and a sycophantic smile, asked,
"Mr. Ye Jing, what do you think of this?"
Ye Jing glanced at it and lazily said, "A first aid kit for 100 bucks."
"Could you give more?"
"Hmm? Don't know the rules? Young Master Ye quotes only once; if you're not satisfied, you can leave,"
one of his subordinates warned.
"Okay, okay!"
"Next."
"Young Master, look at this, a high-quality bulletproof vest."
"30 bucks! Next."
"And this can of gasoline?"
"10 bucks, next, bring out whatever good stuff you have, I have plenty of money."
"Also, let everyone listen well. The point of entering the game is to make money. Keeping items on you, you might just die any day, and end up with nothing. Better to just sell everything to me, and then go out and try again. I'm buying anything valuable. Also paying high prices for Gold, Silver, gold points, and silver points. The current official exchange rate is 1 gold point for 10 grams of real gold, 200 per gram, which is 2000 bucks. 1 silver point is equal to 10 grams of silver, 2 bucks per gram, which is 20 bucks, and I'm offering 1.1 times that, unlimited buying!"
Ye Jing shouted with great generosity.
...