Chapter 1: Violence, Rogue

“I’ve already told you, I don’t need your help. I can stand on my own two feet in the game!” Following that tender voice, was a 25-26 year old girl storming out the door and slamming it behind her.

“Lin Fan, we’re leaving!” After leaving the office, the girl looked at an average-looking youth who was sitting on a chair. Slowing nodding, the youth got up without a word and followed the girl out the building.

“Miss, please wait here for a moment. I will get the car!” After speaking, the youth turned around, walked towards the carpark and started the car.

The youth was called Lin Fan. He was the girl’s personal driver. As for this girl’s identity, it was simply extraordinary. Her name was Liu Mengxiao and she was the Liu Family Group’s young miss.

The Liu Family Group was extremely famous. Anyone who did not know of them must’ve spent their whole lives living under a rock. In the current era, online games had already become a living necessity. Even global colossuses had turned their eyes towards video games, many of them forming guilds. They entered the game world and fought over in-game resources. And the Liu Family, was the puppet master behind one of the top ten guilds in the game; Willowed Moon[1].

After driving the Phaeton to the entrance of the office building, Lin Fan got off and ushered a furious Liu Mengxiao into the car.

“Lin Fan, tell me, should I agree with that bastard’s request!?” Liu Mengxiao gnashed her teeth and glowered at Lin Fan.

Slightly furrowing his brow, Lin Fan murmured, “Actually Miss, you don’t have to lower yourself at all. He isn’t qualified enough.” The person Lin Fan was talking about, was the manager of the Liu Family Group’s tech department, Han Cheng! He was also the guildmaster of Willowed Moon. This was practically grasping more than half of the Liu Family’s income.

Han Cheng liked Liu Mengxiao. The whole company knew this. And the Liu Family’s head cum president of the Liu Family Group, Liu Hanfeng, supported Han Cheng’s efforts in chasing Liu Mengxiao. He wanted to rope in Han Cheng. After all, in the Net Gaming Expert Rankings, Han Cheng was 10th place. To be the top ten among billions of people…… that was practically a nuclear deterrent in-game.

As for Han Cheng, after chasing after Liu Mengxiao with no results to show for so long, he decided to coerce her. In exchange for his help, she had to marry him, thus resulting in the incident just now.

“You think so too?” Liu Mengxiao gave a bitter smile and softly said, “Even though he’s one of the top ten players, his behaviour disgusts me! Lin Fan, I want to found my own studio!”

Lin Fan was slightly stunned when he heard those words. He looked at the girl next to him and said , “Is that so?”

“Next week, The Strange World is being released. I’ve already talked it over with Meng Ru and Yun’er. When the time comes, we’ll leave Willowed Moon create a new guild!” Meng Xiaoran looked at Lin Fan and said, “When that happens, will you help me?”

“Me?” Lin Fan’s eyes had a trace of recollection, then, he softly said, “I absolutely suck at games!”

“Everyone sucks at first. Besides, look at how good your dexterity is! You’ll definitely be great at games! When The Strange World is released, come help me okay?” Meng Xiaoran’s voice carried a trace of anticipation.

“Games!” Struggle flashed by Lin Fan’s eyes. But seeing Meng Xiaoran’s hopeful expression, he unwittingly nodded his head.

“Then it’s settled. Over the next few days, go back and read up on the game. It’s a masterpiece made through the combined efforts of the biggest game companies around the world. It’ll be released everywhere at the same time. And the world map for The Strange World is going to be HUGE! Way bigger than any other game ever made!” Meng Xiaoran said to Lin Fan , “I’ve already sent people to get the helmets. We should get them in about three days, which is a day before The Strange World is released!”

Lin Fan slowly nodded, his eyes practically shining. A game made by the biggest companies around the world….. It’s definitely going to be amazing!

“I want to make my own studio. And I want the studio I found to make it big. Big enough to rival even Willowed Moon. This way… I’ll have the capital to clash with Han Cheng. There’s no way I’ll be a tool to rope in Han Cheng.” Liu Mengxiao’s eyes were shining as she muttered those words to herself.

Upon hearing those words, Lin Fan’s body trembled ever so slightly. Looking at Liu Mengxiao, Lin Fan subconsciously sighed. A big part of the reason he was willing to be a personal driver for Liu Mengxiao, was because of Liu Mengxiao herself.

“Don’t worry! I won’t let you fall into Han Cheng’s hands! I’ll help you found a dynasty!” Lin Fan swore to himself as he looked at the beautiful woman next to him.

The car slowly entered villa grounds. Only after seeing Liu Mengxiao enter the house did Lin Fan walk towards his living quarters. Being Liu Mengxiao’s personal driver, Lin Fan was provided a small room to stay in. Even though the room was small, it had everything he ever needed and could be considered quite good.

Turning on his computer, Lin Fan looked up information on The Strange World, only to find that there was nothing much to see, Apart from a few playable classes, no other information was given. They didn’t even talk about the classes’ equipment or skills. The official website only had a single sentence: The Strange World is waiting for you to explore it.

After browsing the forums for a while, Lin Fan couldn’t find anything related to the game at all. All he found was some posts about how much the famous guilds were making.

“Hu…… The Strange World….. It’s making me feel curious!” Lin Fan said with a smile. No information at all. Just basic introductions to a few classes. Apart from that, nothing at all. It drove people mad with curiosity.

Afterwards, Lin Fan started looking for videos on Han Cheng. Before The Strange World, most people played a game called Myth. So, Lin Fan searched for videos of Han Cheng fighting in Myth.

“He’s nothing much!” In the video, a knight was using exquisite techniques to kill a boss. However, Lin Fan let out an expression of disdain. He softly murmured, “To be able to be top ten with this kind of skills…… Looks like the net gaming world has really fallen!”

If anyone else heard his words, they would think that there was something wrong with Lin Fan’s brain. The technique shown by the knight in that video was clearly that of a top-class expert and the skills were used at the perfect timing. And yet Lin Fan actually said that this kind of expert was “nothing much”.

“The Ten Great Experts! The top five could be considered quite good. But the bottom five? Clearly only there to fill in the ranks!” After watching a few videos on the Ten Great Experts, Lin Fan subconsciously smiled and said softly, “Even if I haven’t played any games in the past five years…… I’m still better than most of that top ten! For her, I’ll re-enter the world of games!”

“Don’t worry! I’ll help you achieve that dream of yours. Your guild, will surpass Willowed Moon!” Lin Fan laughed as he took out his phone to look at a picture of Liu Mengxiao he had secretly taken.

“Han Cheng! Looks like I’ll have to kill you a couple times to make sure you remember!” Lin Fan smiled. Then, he searched for a number on his phone and sighed before calling it.

“Hello?” When the call connected, a deep male voice was heard.

“Lao Luan, it’s me!” Hearing the voice, Lin Fan’s felt some excitement and replied in a hoarse voice.

“You… You’re Lao Guai?”The deep voice went silent for awhile before asking with excitement.

“Yup!” Lin Fan took a deep breath before continuing, “It’s been five years, how are you nowadays?”

“You fucking bastard! Disappearing for five years…… I thought you died!” The other party angrily cursed at Lin Fan without reserve.

=“Sorry about that Lao Luan! What happened that year hit me really hard!” Lin Fan said with a bitter laugh in response to the other party’s swearing.

“I don’t blame you for that!” The person on the other end sighed, “What I blame you for, is disappearing for five years without any news.”

“Lao Luan, I need your help right now!” Lin Fan replied.

“Spit it out. I’ll at least hear you out!” Lao Luan sighed.

“I want to enter The Strange World. I need your help!” Lin Fan said, “I want to start playing games again!”

“The Strange World? Well fuck me sideways! Say that sooner! I’ll go order a helmet and rush in!” Lao Luan’s voice carried traces of excitement, “Let us brothers trample over those guys once more! We’ll let everyone know that Blameless Violence[2] and Heaven Wrecking Rogue[3]  have started gaming again!”

Blameless Violence, Heaven Wrecking Rogue. Though these two names weren’t counted among the Ten Great Experts….. Even the current number one, Limitless War Saint, would sigh in amazement when mentioning them. Before Myth, was a game called Tyrant. In that game, Blameless and Heaven Wrecking were undisputed powerhouses. Heaven Wrecking Rogue Pked strong players. In one night, he managed to slaughter a large guild of over seven thousand players. The name Hidden Bandit was renowned throughout the country.

As for Blameless Violence, he had the title of Divine Equipment Collector. Violence could be said to have a unique understanding in BOSS fighting, and his special positioning and cycling, was moreso the basis of the teaching material of all the caster-type classes. Half of the divine equipment in that game, resulted from him fighting bosses. His strength was obvious to all.

In Tyrant, the two of them were regarded the same as gods. Not even the strongest guild of that time, Dynasty, dared to pick a fight with them. But five years ago, Violence and Hidden Bandit suddenly disappeared without a trace. Some people said it was because Dynasty couldn’t stand their rampant behaviour and had them murdered in real life. While others thought that the two simply retired because there weren’t any worthy opponents to face. Basically, there were countless rumours behind their disappearance but Violence and Hidden Bandit never appeared again.

Hearing that familiar name, Lin Fan couldn’t resist giving an anticipatory smile. Blameless Violence…  The past’s glory, am I still able to bear it?

“Lao Luan, I’m gaming again for the sake of one person!” Lin Fan said with a slight sigh.

“Person? Who?’ Lao Luan asked with a hint of confusion.

“She…is very very similar to Tao’er. Even her personality is the same.” Lin Fan’s voice was gloomy.

The other end went silent once again. Then, Lao Luan softly sighed and replied, “You still can’t forget Tao’er! I’ll go order a game helmet! Let’s meet up in-game!”

Hearing the du du sound of a hung up phone, Lin Fan couldn’t resist letting out a soft sigh.

[1]The Liu in Liu Family Group also means Willow(the tree)

[2] 爆法无怪 same guai as Lao Guai.

[3]隐贼乱天 Same luan as Lao Luan

Chapter 2: A Guild Called Empire

The next day, Lin Fan was dragged to meet the other people leaving Willowed Moon by Liu Mengxiao. After all, Lin Fan agreed to Liu Mengxiao’s request and could be considered a new member.

The venue was a teahouse. Liu Mengxiao brought Lin Fan to a private room. Inside, was five people. Three girls and two guys.

“Big Sis Xiaoxiao!” Seeing Liu Mengxiao enter, the girl sitting nearest the entrance immediately stood up, grabbed her and laughed, “The Strange World’s trailer was amazing!”

“Yup!” Liu Mengxiao’s lips carried a faint smile. She sat down, looked at the people inside, and cheerily said, “This time, I’m leaving Willowed Moon and forming my own guild. If you guys regret your decision, you can still turn back.”

“Big Sis Mengxiao must be joking. Since we said we’d follow you, we’ll follow you. Even though Willowed Moon is good…… I just can’t stand Han Cheng’s rule!” A relatively good-looking man wearing gold rimmed glasses said.

“Hehe, losing an ace cleric like you will definitely be a big blow to Willowed Moon’s cleric unit!” Liu Mengxiao giggled. The person in front of her, was relatively famous back in Myth. He was called Divine Shepherd of the Moonset Wind and he was Willowed Moon’s number one cleric. During a quest, he had a spat with Han Cheng. And from then on, his decision to leave Willowed Moon was set in stone.

“Fort Holy Knight![1] Does such a big personage need a little priest like me?” Moonset Wind scoffed as he pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses. Fort Holy Knight was Han Cheng’s username.

“Come, let me introduce you guys. This is Lin Fan. From today onwards, he’ll be part of our guild too!” Liu Mengxiao pointed at Lin Fan with a giggle.

“Him? Are you sure?” The girl that was held onto Liu Mengxiao just now gazed at Lin Fan with eyes of doubt and whispered, “He looks like he’s never played a game in his life!”

“Sometimes, games and real life are connected. Lin Fan is quite agile, so he should be competent enough!” Liu Mengxiao smiled and said to the girl in front of her.

After hearing her words, the others didn’t have anymore objections. After all,it was just one extra person, and when they started playing, his skills would be clear for all to see. There was no point offending offending someone over this affair.

“Let me introduce you to everyone!” Liu Mengxiao said to Lin Fan. She pointed at the girl next to her and said, “This is Ye Mengru!”

“Hi!” The girl looked at the silent Lin Fan and smiled as she stretched out her hand.

“Hello!” Lin Fan nodded his head and shook her hand. Than, he once again fell into absolute silence.

“Weirdo!” Seeing Lin Fan’s actions, Ye Mengru couldn’t resist muttering that under her breath.

Afterwards, Liu Mengxiao briefly introduced the others to Lin Fan. The shy Ye Yun, the cute Xia You, the steadfast Liu Gang, and the Hua Feng, the person wearing gold-rimmed glasses.

“Have we met before?” Hua Feng asked as he shook Lin Fan’s hand. His eyes shone with curiosity. Lin Fan seemed extremely familiar to him.

“You’ve got the wrong guy!” Lin Fan said as he smiled and shook his head.

“Maybe.” Hua Feng didn’t continue. Just nodded his head and sat down. However, his thoughts were on a different vector. His memory was extremely good, there was no way he remembered wrong. He had definitely seen Lin Fan before. In truth, Hua Feng wasn’t wrong. He had seen Lin Fan before, and not just once either. Blameless Violence’s videos were a treasure to all caster type classes, and even Hua Feng had one on hand. A big part of the reason Hua Feng was Willowed Moon’s best priest, was the time spent studying Blameless Violence’s positioning.

“I’ve already arranged for a villa in Chengxi’s suburbs. Let’s move there tomorrow!” Liu Mengxiao gazed at everyone and said, “Right now, we should think of a name for the guild!”

Thinking of this, everyone creased their brows. The guild’s name was a problem. For a guild to develop well, a good name was a necessity.

“Empire,” Lin Fan suddenly said while everyone was thinking hard. Hearing it, their eyes started glowing.

“Empire… It’s a really good name, very domineering!”  Thinking of that name, Liu Gang subconsciously smiled. It was obviously that he liked it.

“It’s really good!” Hua Feng too smiled and praised the name. Hua Feng may be a priest[2], but he was a man. Men had their dreams, and a name like Empire, got his blood boiling.

“Then that’s that. The guild will be called Empire!” Liu Mengxiao said cheerfully.

Hearing that, everyone nodded in agreement. And thus, a guild called Empire was born. Up next, was the class allocation. Apart from Lin Fan, the people seated were all former aces of Willowed Moon. Their roles were all but decided, so there was no problem on that end. Except of course, for Lin Fan. Everyone looked at him and asked what class he wants to play.

“Priest!” Seeing the way everyone looked at him, Lin Fan couldn’t resist smiling. Actually, it didn’t matter to him which class he played. However, he was a bit biased towards the priest, so he chose that.

“Priest!” Everyone else was slightly stunned. They already had a priest called Ye Mengru. Even if they added in Lin Fan, it wouldn’t matter much. However, the loot distribution at the start would be a tad problematic. In actual fact, the others hoped that Lin Fan would be a knight. After all, the only frontliner they had was Liu Gang who played warrior. So, hunting wasn’t completely risk free.

“Priest you say?” Hua Feng gazed at Lin Fan and suddenly felt as if he had grasped something. He stated at Lin Fan even more intently. However, he couldn’t place him in the end.

Seeing the crowd’s expressions, Lin Fan understood their thoughts, and laughed, “It’ll probably be better if I train by myself for now. You guys don’t need to care about me!”

Upon hearing that, the others wrinkled their brows. We’re all in the same group aren’t we? How can this guy be so lazy? Even though they had enough people to go clear dungeons, and they weren’t sure of Lin Fan’s skills, to the point where they thought it wouldn’t matter if he didn’t come, Lin Fan’s tone sounded like he was unwilling to work with them.

Actually, it wasn’t that he was unwilling. But rather, that in the past, Blameless Violence was a solo player. Having to suddenly join such a big party, it was natural that Lin Fan wasn’t used to it.

“Alright. Then check things out by yourself for now.” Liu Mengxiao didn’t have too much to say and just nodded her head after saying that. She invited Lin Fan because he was quite nimble. This was just giving things a shot and seeing if she could develop an expert. But towards Lin Fan who didn’t know anything about games, she felt that perhaps having him learn things on his own would be the better option.

But little did she know, that the uninteresting and taciturn youth in front of her, was actually a legend in the past – the king of all caster-type classes.