Absolute Death Game-Chapter 295 - 67 Strategizing and Planning

"Boss, when did he learn that move?" Zhang Biao looked at the dissipating smoke in surprise, then turned to Yan Zhong with a hint of confusion in his eyes. Yan Zhong also seemed taken aback with suspicion, finding this Dugu Han gave him a very different impression, elusive and oppressive. But before, Dugu Han had seemed to him nothing more than a foolish boss. Why had the gap widened so much in just a few days?

(What exactly is the issue here? Regardless, it seems killing Xiao Buli has become a must-do task.) With that thought, Yan Zhong said, "Don’t bother with the details. We act tomorrow and finish this task as quickly as possible."

Just as Qilin Group was preparing to make a deadly move against Xiao Buli, Xiao Buli himself was still battling away in the game.

Cloud Thunder Leap! A bolt of lightning shot into the sky, with Xiao Buli swiftly navigating through the air. Suddenly, he slapped his forehead—how had he forgotten about establishing a guild?

Their current loose alliance clearly wasn’t enough to bring the solo players under better control. To do this, he had to create his own organization. He had been so busy selling magical treasures to make money that he’d neglected to establish a guild. Realizing this, Xiao Buli changed the direction of the lightning and flew toward Nine Dragons City once again.

Upon arriving at Nine Dragons City’s guild management center, Xiao Buli paid ten Gold Coins and chose to establish a guild.

There were many types of guilds. He chose to establish a Mercenary Corps, which, while focused on combat with a strict organizational structure, couldn’t acquire shops or hire NPCs for business operations. Nevertheless, since Xiao Buli’s current priority was not making money but feeding pigs, the Mercenary Corps was suitable. Moreover, it could better lay the foundations for creating a nation.

The name of the Mercenary Corps was Qingyang Mercenary Group. After its establishment, a new ’Guild Management’ tab had appeared next to the territory management interface. Xiao Buli familiarized himself with the management of the Mercenary Corps before setting off once again.

By the time he returned to Black Mountain Stronghold, it was already midnight. Apart from the NPCs, there was nobody online within the stronghold—everyone likely had logged off. Without lingering further, Xiao Buli also went offline to sleep.

Early the next morning, after a hasty breakfast, Xiao Buli logged back into the game. To his surprise, the stronghold bustled with activity, significantly livelier than when he had left. The number of players had at least doubled—a substantial increase even if they only totaled thirty or forty people. Considering that even the Great Guilds consisted of only a hundred-odd members, thirty to forty players was not a small number.

And all of these players were combatants. Solo players strong enough to leave the Newbie Village generally had some abilities. The weak wouldn’t last.

As soon as Xiao Buli entered the Hall of Righteousness, he saw several core members already gathered there, seemingly discussing something.

Seeing Xiao Buli walk in, He Suoju excitedly said, "Hey, Old Xiao, you’re up! Look how many players we’ve attracted. Our strength is about to grow significantly."

"You recruited these solo players?"

"Yes," He Suoju replied proudly, "I spread the word about Black Mountain, and suddenly a bunch of solo players showed up. I knew many of them from before. Now our strength should be enough."

However, Han Wenhuan appeared a bit worried, and when he found a chance to speak with Xiao Buli alone, he said, "Boss, something doesn’t feel quite right. I think it’s time we start recruiting our own player base."

Xiao Buli immediately understood the implication. "You mean we have too many solo players?"

Han Wenhuan replied, "Exactly. We should be happy with so many new players, and it wouldn’t be an issue if they didn’t know each other. But many are acquainted with He Suoju, and with his reputation among solo players and his current increase in power, they all look up to him with admiration. He’s now an unofficial faction leader, which is not good for power distribution."

Xiao Buli nodded in agreement, understanding Han Wenhuan’s concerns. While He Suoju had seemed humble and friendly so far, such matters couldn’t be ignored with mere modesty and friendliness. If He Suoju became the preferred leader, he might not even harbor malicious intentions, but those around him could incite him to seize power.

He had encountered numerous instances where illustrious Great Guilds had disintegrated due to internal discord and improper management of factions within.

Even Qingyang Studio had nearly disbanded due to internal splits.

Those instances involved merely virtual interests, whereas now, tangible powers of life and death were at stake. If they weren’t careful with the tiger they were dealing with, regret might come too late for any missteps.

The biggest advantage now was that NPC power remained in his own hands. As long as he was cautious, he should be able to avert the crisis altogether.

"You’re right, we do need to start recruiting our own players. That metallic disc should be able to create accounts for a few dozen people. Do you have any suitable candidates in mind?"

Han Wenhuan suggested, "Qian Duoduo would be a good choice. He’s capable and bold, and most importantly, we’ve interacted with him, so we’ve got a good grasp of his character. Of course, one Qian Duoduo isn’t enough—we need to recruit at least a dozen or so. We can’t have too many, though, otherwise, they’ll be too difficult to control. After integrating the first batch of players, we can recruit more, assuming our strength is sufficient. In a game where it’s survival of the fittest, we won’t stand a chance if we can’t hold our own."

Xiao Buli nodded, acknowledging that the biggest problem in recruiting new players was how to control them, how to ensure they kept secrets, and how to judge whether they were trustworthy or not. After all, the stakes in this game were huge, and exposure was no laughing matter.

Li Shuren suddenly said, "I do have an idea that we might experiment with."

"What idea?"

Li Shuren suggested, "Perhaps we could replicate the advanced experience of the Qilin Group by not letting the players know the secrets of this game, hiring them with money to work for us. That way, it would be less expensive and much easier to control."

When Xiao Buli heard this, his heart grew cold, "No, we absolutely can’t do that."

"Why not?"

Instead of answering directly, Xiao Buli counter-asked, "Do you know why I rebelled against the Qilin Group?"

"Because they sent you to your death?"

"Because they sent me to my death without knowing the truth," Xiao Buli emphasized. "If they had told me the secrets of this game and that dying in the game meant death in reality, I would still play it, but at least I wouldn’t have rebelled. I would know what could lead to death, what the risks were. Lack of trust means not sharing the fruits of success. If we also conceal the truth, what would those solo players think? They would feel we are just like the Great Guilds, disregarding the lives of players."

"And if those we recruit discover the truth, what makes you think they won’t rebel? What then, kill them all? I, for one, can’t do that. It’s better to tell them the truth upfront and let them choose whether to play this game or not. Of course, we don’t need to let them see the metal disk; as long as they don’t know how the game operates, they should still be controllable."

Xiao Buli said, "We could conduct an experiment, a trial phase, where only those who pass the trial can truly join us."

"An experiment? What kind of experiment?"

Xiao Buli said, "Of course it’s a reliability test. I only have a rough idea for now. Additionally, we need a base, an isolated base, so we can accommodate a large number of players without exposing our whereabouts."

Gu Shaobang interjected, "An isolated base? A trial to test reliability? This sounds a bit too sci-fi. Where are we supposed to get this stuff?"

Visit frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓ for the b𝘦st novel reading experience.

Han Wenhuan said, "Indeed, it’s a bit tricky, but these are steps we must take unless we few don’t plan to expand our power and just rely on ourselves to compete."

Xiao Buli said, "For the short term, let’s not think too much about it. You all better hurry up and improve your strength. Now that we’ve taken over the Black Mountain Stronghold, you should go and learn the Taoist Heart from Jingci. As long as you have spells, progress will come more quickly."

Xiao Buli was very confident about the help spells could provide to players; after all, he himself had only been playing for a few months, yet he could compete against veterans who had played for a year or two. This alone showed how powerful the spells were compared to ordinary professional skills.

Li Shuren said, "Exactly, exactly, I’ve been going crazy wanting to learn spells. I just can’t figure out those explosives. If I can learn spells and combine them with my Mechanical Techniques, that’d be awesome."

Gu Shaobang and Xiao Ge echoed in agreement—the allure of spells for modern people was undeniably strong.

The group decided to first learn spells and then recruit more players once all four of them had improved their strength.

Han Wenhuan asked again, "What about those solo players? Should we establish some rules for them or something?"

Xiao Buli said, "No, setting rules directly will only lead to resistance. We should influence them subtly. Let’s issue a few tasks and let them get used to our pace. By the way, how is the training of those Black Mountain Lackeys going?"

Han Wenhuan replied, "The training is very successful, I’ve fully incorporated them into our ranks, but all the Gold Coins have been spent."

Stay tuned to novelbuddy

PS: Today, there will definitely be a burst of activity, at least three chapters. (The story continues. If you like this work, you are welcome to go to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation votes and monthly tickets; your support is my biggest motivation.)