Heroes' Prison

Chapter 296 - 291: Python

At this moment, Huang Yi’s real body was in the treehouse at his stronghold.

Sunlight slanted through the gaps in the leaves, cicadas sang atop the trees, and the air was filled with tranquility, with not a soul around.

Xiao Chunzi wasn’t online. With school approaching, she had deactivated her Cold Storage mode, returned to her daily life, and wouldn’t spend 24 hours a day in The Second World.

As for Qin Shiyu, she was busy dealing with matters of the Hero Guild, sometimes not even visible for an entire day.

Huang Yi felt as though he’d returned to the solitary life he lived a few months back. Without Xiao Chunzi’s chatter, he suddenly found the world much quieter and somewhat unaccustomedly lonesome.

Huang Yi left the treehouse and crossed the suspended bridge in the forest to reach the Teleportation Circle.

The leaves in the surrounding forest began to yellow gradually, signaling the end of the summer. Two days past the start of autumn, and he had been incarcerated in Rose Prison for several years, unsure when he would be able to leave.

Fortunately, this summer had passed more quickly than expected. Thanks to The Second World, the oppressive feeling of his confinement had greatly eased. All plans were advancing along the expected trajectory. Apart from him and number 9, Qin Shiyu, numbers 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 10 had all developed quite formidable powers in other continents, especially number 2.

In addition, the criminals of Rose Prison were also striving vigorously, bearing Huang Yi’s hopes across every nation. If they could successfully strive these few years and achieve intercontinental connections, gathering together, they would become a global superpower, capable of influencing the entire Second World with every move.

Meanwhile, his Hero Guild was also developing at high speed. Since Qin Shiyu rented windows in guild halls across various cities and recruited members on a large scale, the number of guild members skyrocketed geometrically, soon reaching the cap of one million.

Currently, these one million members were mainly in Dragon City, contributing to the city’s prosperity, and their Guild Contribution Points were rapidly rising. It wouldn’t be long before they could advance to a Second Level Guild – then they could recruit another one million players, ushering in an even faster period of development.

Steadily, bathed in dappled sunlight, Huang Yi reached the Teleportation Circle and teleported to the 60th floor of the Tower of Pantheons.

Now, clearing this floor had become quite easy for him, taking about 39 minutes, just 3 minutes shy of the world record set by Heavenly Dao. Those 3 minutes were the gap in War Souls. Huang Yi’s Attack Spirit had only reached the 6th Stage, while Heavenly Dao had reached the 9th Stage and activated a mysterious attack.

Huang Yi was now level 63, and the Drop Rate on the 60th floor was very high; nearly every second attempt would yield an Earthwalking Dragon Reins. These reins could be gifted, so he could later equip high-ranking guild members with an Earthwalking Dragon.

Additionally, every run in the Tower of Pantheons resulted in Orange Gear drops, treasures that were only obtainable at this stage. Once Huang Yi leveled up further and the Drop Rate decreased, it would be harder to obtain such good items.

Proficiently, he pressed on, bosses fell before him, minions turned into his Experience Points, and piece after piece of Orange Gear was pocketed, his advancement almost a fixed, routine procedure.

While he was grinding, Huang Yi suddenly received a message – it was from Overlord:

"Instakill, I’m almost ready. We can set out to search for the 98 hearts of the Sand Thief King."

Huang Yi smiled slightly and replied, "Meet at the east gate of Dragon City."

Immediately after, he exited the Tower of Pantheons and teleported to Dragon City.

Suddenly, a cacophony of noises filled his ears as Huang Yi arrived at his own city – Dragon City.

Now, he was the master of this city.

Dragon City had already regained its previous prosperity. Teleport Plaza was buzzing with activity, with a range of characters coming and going: young men and women, the elderly and children, merchants and passersby, players and NPCs of all sorts. Whether or not they were members of the Hero Guild, anyone could come here; it was a city of freedom.

"Why are you touching my butt, you pervert!" Just then, a plump female player suddenly shouted at a male player beside her, immediately drawing the attention of everyone around.

The male player looked taken aback, then became furious: "It was just an accidental bump, does that count as touching? You, such a fatty... even if you offered, I wouldn’t touch you."

"So you think you have reason now? If I don’t teach you a lesson today, you’ll never learn!" At this point, the plump female player suddenly drew her weapon, ready to start a fight right in the street.

This commotion promptly drew an even larger crowd of onlookers, all set to enjoy the spectacle.

"What are you doing? No fighting is allowed in the territories of the Hero Guild!" Just at that moment, a group of players suddenly charged out from the crowd and positioned themselves between the two arguing players, establishing order as if they were some kind of enforcement squad.

"We in the Hero Guild welcome all those who love peace. Here, no matter what happens, fighting is not allowed—that’s the rule," the captain of the enforcement squad said to the two players.

"Hmph, consider yourself lucky!" The female player said resentfully to the male player, then stepped onto the Teleportation Circle and left the place.

Thus, the dispute was resolved with the intervention of the enforcement squad. Huang Yi couldn’t help nodding to himself. It seemed that Qin Shiyu was managing the guild well; the enforcement squad had arrived quickly as soon as the dispute started, and they had shown good qualities, not bullying others by throwing their weight around.

Next, Huang Yi controlled his avatar to also arrive at Dragon City, with both his bodies reaching the east gate of the city.

The area was sparsely populated; players mostly used the Teleportation Circle to enter or leave the city, and only those visiting for the first time would go through the city gate.

"I’m here." Soon, Overlord’s hoarse voice sounded beside Huang Yi.

Turning his head, Huang Yi saw Overlord walking towards him from inside the city, still leaning on that cane, but his equipment had been completely renewed. With Huang Yi’s help over this period, his strength had increased significantly, catching up to the current mainstream level of players.

"The heart of my avatar is one of the Hearts of the Sand Thief King. See if you can search for the remaining 98 hearts," Huang Yi said, pointing at his avatar.

"Alright!" Overlord nodded, extended his withered palm, and placed it on the heart of Huang Yi’s avatar. Then, he closed his eyes and began to chant a strange melody, just like when he had searched for the Black Wolf.

After finishing the song, Overlord opened his eyes and looked at Huang Yi, saying, "I have now sensed the two closest locations, one 73 kilometers to the north and the other 95 kilometers to the west. Which shall we head to first?"

"Let’s go to the closer location first. I’ll send my avatar to scout the other location," Huang Yi said. His original body and avatar each mounted a Raptor and Velociraptor, respectively, and sped off toward the north and west.

If this were a clone of Huang Yi rather than an avatar, he wouldn’t be able to ride two mounts simultaneously, as each player could only use one mount at a time. But an avatar was different, similar to having another character, and was not subject to this restriction.

Overlord’s mount was a Wind Dragon, smaller in form, like a downsized Velociraptor, but with somewhat smoother and finer skin. Possessing Wind Attribute powers, the Wind Dragon greatly enhanced Movement Speed and could run nearly as fast as Huang Yi’s Raptor. The two of them rode swiftly towards their destination, leaving trails of dust behind them.

"Overlord, how is your research on the Soul Prelude coming along?" asked Huang Yi, as he sped along, turning his head to look at Overlord.

"Not bad," Overlord nodded. "The Soul Prelude is obscure and difficult to understand, but it seems to be a treasure with a group effect that will have an extremely powerful impact within a team. I’ve deciphered the first melody, which has a group enhancement effect. I haven’t figured out the subsequent melodies yet."

"Next should come an effect that reduces the chances of Reincarnation," Huang Yi said to Overlord. He had heard from some players among the thirty thousand who followed Feng Zhi that after their elders had deciphered this Soul Prelude, their chances of Reincarnation had been greatly reduced. Once this ability was unearthed, it would be especially helpful for teams, particularly those who frequently skirted the edge of life and death on the battlefield.

...

Meanwhile, in an Underground Palace in the Desolate Sands, a black-cloaked, black headscarf-hooded elder was present.

A black serpent was coiled around his neck, flickering its tongue sinisterly and creating a chill-inducing atmosphere.

This elder was none other than the Black Serpent, one of the three Great Generals under the command of the Sand Thief King.

In his hands, he held a golden box containing a black heart that beat rhythmically as if it was a living entity.

"This heart is indeed powerful," Black Serpent licked his lips, staring greedily at the heart as his tone turned slightly somber, "Pity there’s not enough Extreme Heat Power. Last time at the Tiantai City Auction House, I was close to getting that treasure filled with Extreme Heat Power, but sadly, it was bought by someone else. It’s infuriating. But that treasure seemed only to be filled with Extreme Heat Power and had no other special features. I really don’t understand why that person spent as many as four Holy Crystal Stones to buy it."

As Black Serpent spoke, he stowed the golden box away, muttering, "This is the tenth heart now. As long as I get the other eighty-eight hearts, I shall become the second Sand Thief King. Then, I will definitely serve my master with all my heart." After saying this, he turned to glance at the python coiled around him.

"Serving me is the most correct decision you’ve made in your life," the serpent around his neck suddenly said in a deep voice.

As it spoke, the atmosphere in the Underground Palace seemed to grow even colder.