**Chapter 90: Plantage Center Plaza**
By 1:00 p.m., Plantagenet City's central square was bustling. News had spread that Nemesis, the game's legendary figure, would soon release a new quest here, drawing countless players to gather in eager anticipation.
Many of them were streamers, setting up in-game cameras to capture the event as it unfolded.
"Hey, everyone! This is Maple Forest of Songdo, reporting live!"
Behind him, the crowded plaza buzzed with excitement. "We're here in Gorse City's central square. Nemesis is expected to give out a mission here in about thirty minutes," he continued, his voice brimming with enthusiasm.
As Maple scanned the plaza, he pointed out familiar figures. "Look! That's the Cloud-Morning Guild president, Mudi in the Clouds. He's a mage with a unique level 10 green wand, [Matchstick], from the [Little Annie Selling Matches] dungeon. Pretty cool, right?"
"And over there, that's Snow Leopard, a rare Druid and president of the Department Guild," he noted, his camera panning to the figure.
"Oh, wow!" he exclaimed, spotting another player. "It's 'Thousand Cups Not Drunk,' ranked second on the leaderboards. Hey, Thousand Cups, take a selfie with me!" he called out with a grin.
But Thousand Cups simply shot him a glare, making Maple Forest feign a dramatic pout. "Oh no, he's giving me the cold shoulder, everyone! Please send some biscuits to help heal my wounded pride!" he joked, earning a wave of laughs and sympathy from his audience.
With over two million followers, Maple Forest's chat was flooded with responses:
"Dude, you're in your thirties! Isn't this cringe?"
"All the biscuits for you, old man."
"Look around, man! This place is packed with leaderboard players."
"Hey, Maple! At 2 o'clock—there's an adorable little loli. Go check her out! I'll send you a 1,000-yuan gift if you do."
Maple grinned, the promise of a tip making his eyes sparkle. He scanned to his left and indeed spotted a petite girl dressed in light brown chainmail. With the lure of donations strong, Maple made his way over.
"Hey there, little miss! I'm Maple Forest of Songdo, a famous game anchor! Say hello to everyone watching the stream!" He beamed, aiming his camera at her.
The chatroom exploded in excitement:
"She's so cute!"
"I want a daughter like that!"
"That's a level 10 dungeon bow she's carrying—she must be pro."
"Come on, anyone who cleared a level 10 dungeon can't be weak!"
But the girl, unimpressed, stayed silent, raising her bow and arrow with a cool glare. She was flanked by three companions who merely watched with folded arms, smirking.
Maple chuckled. "Haha, little one, I'm level 10 with a defense build! No way you can break my defense."
As soon as he finished, the girl released an arrow with a sharp *whoosh!* A scarlet light shot across, and, in an instant, Maple was wiped out, his avatar dissolving in a flash of white light.
The chat erupted with laughter:
"Level 10 defense? Is that it?"
"Dude, your defense is made of paper?"
"This was the fastest slap in the face ever!"
"'You can't break my defense'—oh, you're dead! Haha, this is gold!"
The player who'd taken the shot was none other than Sky Dragon, a loli known for her fierce archery skills. She'd used her talent, [Heart Cone Arrow], which dealt a whopping 500% true damage, instantly taking Maple down.
A few NPC guards in the square merely glanced her way, unperturbed. They had orders to ignore battles between adventurers from other worlds, only intervening if natives were threatened.
Sky Dragon dismissed Maple's defeat with a shrug, turning to her friend Wing Shenlong. Hugging her arm, she looked up with wide, hopeful eyes. "Sister Wing Shen, let's join Nemesis's guild together later! We'll be able to look out for each other."
Wing Shenlong hesitated. "I'd love to, but I signed a contract with my guild. I can't pay the termination fees to leave."
"No worries! My brother can help us cancel it," Sky Dragon chirped. "And if you come with me, I'll give you triple your salary!"
"Triple my salary?!"
Before Wing Shenlong could respond, Red-Eyed Black Dragon, another high-level player, turned sharply, his gaze intense. "What about me? Can I join too? My skills are top-tier in this industry!"
The usually stoic Giant God Soldier also perked up, clearly interested.
Sky Dragon thought for a moment before sighing. "Hmm... I'd love to, Uncle Zhenhong, but if I pay Sister Wing Shen three times her salary, that would cut my pocket money by a quarter. If I brought in all of you, I'd have nothing left to spend!"
The three of them froze. As top players, each was under a high-tier contract with Emperor Blood, earning an impressive three million annually. Yet here was Sky Dragon, casually mentioning that paying triple their salary would only cost her a quarter of her pocket money.
The idea left them stunned.
---
On the other side of the plaza, Su Yu had arrived on his mare, Tima. He surveyed the gathered players and waved. "Hey, everyone's here!"
There were fewer than a thousand players in the square—around 700 or 800 at most. Many had headed to other cities following mission prompts, while others had joined the rebel camp. So, a smaller turnout made sense.
The ones who had gathered were elites from various guilds and top independent players. Except for a few eager streamers, most players watched him with respect from a distance, acknowledging him as the game's rising star.
"Before I assign the mission, I have a question—anyone interested in joining my new guild?" Su Yu's voice boomed across the plaza.
The [Yellow Turban Army] guild was established soon after his arrival in the city, but for now, he was its sole member. This seemed the perfect opportunity to recruit.
"Me, me, me!"
A little girl with bright red hair jumped out of the crowd, dragging a blond beauty with her.
"Hello, Nemesis! I'm Sky Dragon," she introduced herself with a grin. "Can I join your guild and maybe buy a Howling Moon Wolf egg from you afterward?"
Sky Dragon's main motive for joining was, of course, Su Yu's pet egg—the majestic, snow-white Howling Moon Wolf she'd seen him with.
"Absolutely!" Su Yu replied, pleased. "Not only the Howling Moon Wolf egg, but I'll also offer more rare pet eggs as the guild grows!"
He sent her an invitation to join and, after she accepted, promoted her to an official position so she could invite others.
Sky Dragon's eyes sparkled with excitement as she eagerly opened the guild exchange list, searching for the Howling Moon Wolf pet egg.
However, when she scrolled through the first row, her eyes went wide. "Wait—level 33 rare equipment?! You've got level 33 gear in the guild store already? Brother Nemesis, are you seriously able to handle level 33 monsters?"
(End of Chapter)