Frank’s in-game ID was “Handsome Only Three Seconds,” and his girlfriend Caitlin’s was “Hunting Queen.”
Seeing a stranger under the name “Mr. F” join their party list, Caitlin immediately asked Frank, “Who’s this?”
Frank replied, “Found me through the leaderboard. Said he wants to join our team for high-difficulty instances.”
Caitlin chuckled lightly. “Our team’s ranking was so high last week, people are drawn by our reputation every day. I wonder how long this one will last.”
Frank said, “He mentioned his combat skill passed the highest-level examination. Let’s bring him along and see. If he’s really that good, we’ll make him our fifth member. We should assemble the full team before the semester starts. Once Mo Han arrives, we can dive straight into Nightmare Mode.”
Caitlin nodded approval. “Alright, invite him then. The three of us will run one round first.”
A system prompt popped up before Luo Fei’s eyes—Team leader invites you to enter the Secret Realm Expedition: Misty Forest (Hard Mode). Confirm entry?
Luo Fei selected confirm.
After a ten-second countdown, the scenery before him abruptly transformed.
He quickly spotted his teammates beside him: Frank, dressed in green camouflage, and Caitlin, in a sleek athletic outfit. As for Luo Fei himself, he still wore the system’s default “Face No. 1” and had chosen a relatively simple outfit: black trousers with a light brown sleeveless vest top that emphasized his lean, capable build.
Frank greeted him. “Hey.”
Luo Fei politely returned the greeting. “Hello to you two experts.”
Frank got straight to the point. “You know the rules, right? For our team expedition, the three of us are a single unit. As long as even one person from our team survives to the end, we win this round. When necessary, you can abandon teammates to save yourself.”
The implication was crystal clear—meaning, if you prove too weak, the two of us will ditch you, the dead weight, and play on our own.
Luo Fei smiled slightly. “I understand. Let’s try our best for all three of us to make it to the end.”
Frank walked over and clapped him on the shoulder. “Good, get ready to move out.”
The tactile feedback in the holographic game was incredibly realistic. The moment Frank clapped his shoulder, Luo Fei genuinely felt the pressure on that spot. He wondered curiously—did this game allow for even closer contact? Like embraces… or kisses?
Seeing Frank and Caitlin already setting off, Luo Fei hastily followed behind them.
The Misty Forest scenario somewhat resembled a primeval jungle from the movies. Towering trees with intertwining branches and lush green leaves made the entire environment dim and shadowy. Only a few stray rays of light pierced through the gaps in the foliage. The sounds of insects and birdsong surrounded them, punctuated by the occasional roar of some unidentified beast.
The three proceeded swiftly, one after another. Just as they passed a large tree, Luo Fei suddenly halted, lowering his voice. “People incoming.”
Though unsure of his claim’s truth, Frank immediately stopped and concealed himself behind the tree, gesturing with his chin towards his girlfriend. Understanding his signal, Caitlin joined him in the tree’s shadow. Luo Fei’s gaze swept the surroundings, then he slipped silently into a nearby thicket.
Moments later, footsteps grew distinct. Incoming was another three-person squad. The one leading held a weapon—a submachine gun.
In a direct confrontation, having a weapon in hand gave them a clear advantage—they couldn’t win that. An ambush was the only option.
However, upon receiving the system notification “Nearby players detected,” the opposing trio also grew highly vigilant, moving with extreme caution every step of the way.
Hidden within the bushes, Luo Fei waited patiently for his chance.
The instant the three passed directly before him, Luo Fei suddenly sprang from the shrubbery. With one hand, he brought a swift hand-blade chop down onto the back of the leader’s neck!
The leader lurched forward onto the ground. Luo Fei’s other hand simultaneously and smoothly snatched the submachine gun away.
Seeing their captain attacked, the two companions tried to flank Luo Fei from left and right. With a flick of his wrist, Luo Fei slammed the heavy gun barrel into the chest of the one on the left. Then, sweeping his right leg around, he tripped the one on the right, sending him sprawling.
Holding the gun, Luo Fei smiled. “Thanks for the weapon delivery. Goodbye.”
Before the trio could even process what had happened, Luo Fei had cleanly and efficiently booted them out of the game.
Frank: “…”
Caitlin: “…”
The two exchanged a look, momentarily speechless.
Wasn’t that reaction speed a bit terrifyingly fast?
Frank couldn’t help but throw an arm around Luo Fei’s shoulder. “Impressive moves! You’ve been specially trained?”
Kneeling down to search the three eliminated players’ backpacks, Luo Fei answered nonchalantly, “I’ve learned combat skills since I was a child. That’s why I’m more sensitive to environmental sounds.”
Frank said, “So that means… when you said you passed the highest-level combat examination, you were telling the truth?”
Finding the three backpacks completely empty, Luo Fei stood up and looked at Frank. “Of course it’s true. Otherwise, I wouldn’t dare casually apply to team up with you. Your leaderboard ranking is in the top ten, after all.”
Frank nodded approvingly. “Let’s move.”
Caitlin cautioned, “The jungle is teeming with wild beasts. And the gunshots just now likely alerted other nearby players. We need to leave quickly.”
Luo Fei suggested, “You two go this way. I’ll cover the rear.”
Initially, Frank and Caitlin had harbored some doubts about him. But after witnessing him effortlessly take down three opponents in a blink, completely overwhelming them without giving them a chance to fight back, the two had internally acknowledged his strength. They raised no objections to his suggestion.
The trio skirted past the large tree ahead and headed deeper into the dense jungle on the left.
According to the game rules, during an instance adventure, killing environmental creatures like wild beasts or zombies could yield equipment. Killing other players also allowed directly seizing their equipment. Conversely, being killed by an environmental creature or another player meant immediate elimination from the instance.
With over a hundred players entering each Secret Realm challenge, plus the interference of various powerful creatures scattered throughout, surviving to the very end and reaching the instance’s finish line was no easy feat.
Before long, the three encountered an attack by a wild beast.
It was a mutated Flame Wolf. Its entire body was a fiery red, standing nearly two meters tall, imposing and majestic. It charged straight at the three of them! Its sprinting speed was like a flash of lightning! A terrifying, ear-splitting roar erupted from its mouth, its gaping jaw revealing rows of razor-sharp, clearly visible fangs.
With such rapid movement speed, unless one could accurately target its vitals and shoot instantly, the risk of being pounced on and having one’s neck bitten through in a single snap was immense.
Truly worthy of Hard Mode. The environmental creatures were so exaggeratedly fearsome that any player with a faint heart might wet their pants at this sight.
Frank and Caitlin had cleared many Hard Mode instances and were long accustomed to such giant creatures.
Even as a first-timer in such a scenario, Luo Fei remained completely unflustered. Seeing the Flame Wolf pouncing towards him, he executed a smooth roll, nimbly evading its sharp claws. Immediately after, he reached out, seized a vine hanging from a nearby tree, and swung up into the air with agile grace.
The Flame Wolf’s initial charge having missed, it whirled around and pursued Luo Fei!
Using the momentum of the vine, Luo Fei darted swiftly through the jungle canopy. Enraged, the Flame Wolf’s eyes blazed crimson. It crouched, then leaped abruptly high into the air, seemingly about to claw him down from the tree. But at that moment, decisively, Luo Fei raised the submachine gun. Aiming precisely at its head— “Bang! Bang!” —two crisp shots rang out.
A world-shaking, furious roar echoed in his ears. The massive, fiery-red creature crashed down with an earth-shaking “BOOM,” sending up a cloud of dust.
Frank and Caitlin stared at each other, speechless.
In a scenario where you’re being chased by a gigantic mutated beast, most people’s legs would turn to jelly from fear.
Yet this person could maintain absolute composure and blow the beast’s head off with pinpoint accuracy.
Damn, that was cool.
Even Caitlin couldn’t help but feel impressed. “Have you gone through some kind of special forces training?! Both your combat skills and marksmanship are incredible!”
Frank added, “Don’t tell me you’re special forces or SWAT or something?”
Jumping down from the tree, Luo Fei began searching the Flame Wolf’s corpse. He casually offered an explanation, “My father was a soldier. He was strict with me since I was young and taught me a lot of combat techniques and shooting skills.”
The Imperial Military provided specialized training to all its soldiers, teaching combat skills, precision marksmanship, and the control of combat mechas. Children born into military families often received early training in these areas as well, to prepare them for entering military academies later.
Luo Fei claiming a military family background was a perfectly reasonable explanation. And he wasn’t lying either. His Royal Father and Dad were both graduates of a military academy. Dad’s parents were even high-ranking generals in the Empire. Luo Fei’s family was inextricably linked to the military.
“So that’s it! You come from a military family! No wonder your skills are so amazing!” Frank, having no reason to doubt this explanation, was thrilled to have found such a strong teammate. He walked over and thumped Luo Fei’s shoulder again vigorously. “From now on, you’ll team up with us regularly! Mo Han will definitely be thrilled when he finds out!”
“…” ‘Probably not.’ If Mo Han finds out who I really am, his face will likely freeze up so badly he won’t be able to speak, just like the day he heard my confession. Luo Fei was inwardly imagining Mo Han’s expression upon discovering him, but outwardly, he feigned innocent curiosity and asked, “Who’s Mo Han?”
Caitlin answered, “Mo Han is our team captain.”
Frank added, “He’s also incredibly agile and sharp, not much less than you. With two strong teammates like you, I feel like clearing Nightmare Mode won’t be a problem at all.”
Caitlin suggested, “Let’s familiarize ourselves with our teamwork first. When Mo Han arrives next week, we can tackle Nightmare Mode then.”
Frank agreed, “No problem!”
Luo Fei, having successfully infiltrated the group, was ecstatic inside. He was eagerly looking forward to meeting Mo Han in the game. He wanted to demonstrate his true abilities before Mo Han. Then, perhaps… Mo Han might just realize that the First Prince, aside from being a bit naive and single-minded at times, could actually be pretty cool too.
At this thought, Luo Fei was so excited he lost any desire to sleep.
And so, he spent that evening playing “Jungle Adventure” with Frank and Caitlin for an hour, finally falling asleep well past midnight.
