Monster Paradise

Zhao San’s real name was actually Zhao Shan, but due to his mispronunciation, people started calling him Zhao San instead. As time went by, his real name did not matter anymore. Although Lin Huang had rejected his invitation to join the hunting team, Zhao San brought him to the hunting team’s gathering point. There were a total of six members in Zhao San’s team which consisted of five men and a lady. All of them were on either immortal-level rank-2 or rank-3. They were ranked on top of the 21st checkpoint as a team.

The teammates were excited as they saw Zhao San bringing Lin Huang with him. They had participated in the bet earlier and had witnessed how powerful Lin Huang was. None of them doubted his ability. The female member named Jiang Xin could not help but to pipe up, ”Brother San, is this handsome hunk joining our team?”

Before Zhao San could reply, the tall, skinny man, who looked like he was in his early 30s, smiled as he spoke, ”Since Zhao San brought him here, that definitely means that he’s joining us.”

The teammates were excited that they had a powerful addition to the team. After all, there was no conflict of interest in the team as everyone would get points for the monsters that they killed. All they wanted was to look after each other. Moreover, Lin Huang was a psychic who was skilled at long-range attacks. With him, their safety was upgraded to the next level.

”Erm… Mr. Lin Xie isn’t joining us,” Zhao San told the truth helplessly as he peeped at Lin Huang.

”I’m sorry. It’s my first time in this Genius Union virtual world. There are many things that I need to learn. I heard from Zhao San that you guys are hunting tonight, so I’ve decided to take a look. I’ll leave the 21st checkpoint tomorrow morning,” Lin Huang explained. Since everyone was friendly to him, he thought he owed them an explanation.

The teammates could not hide their disappointment. All of them thought that Lin Huang was joining their team when they saw Zhao San bringing him here.

”Mr. Lin, you mean you’ve gone through 21 checkpoints since your first day in the virtual world?” Jiang Xin was the first one to speak after a moment of silence.

”Mm-hmm.” Lin Huang nodded. He thought there was nothing to hide about.

”Incredibly powerful!” Jiang Xin exclaimed. The Genius Union was a competitive place where powerful people were respected regardless of one’s combat level.

”Not many people can pass through 21 checkpoints within a day. Most of them would take at least a week to get here from the first checkpoint on their first attempt.” Zhao San forced a smile, thinking how different they were.

”It took me eight days to get to the 21st checkpoint. I’ve been defeated twice, and I had to start from the bottom again. Getting here took me three days.”

”It took me five days to get here, but I was defeated a couple of times later on. It took me a few days to get here from the bottom,” the immortal-level rank-3 man said.

Although Lin Huang was not one of the teammates, they started talking as the topic was relatable.

”Mr. Lin you must be from a genius organization in one of the core zones. Didn’t your partner from the same organization tell you about the rules of this virtual world?” Zhao San was curious as Lin Huang had asked something quite fundamental about the virtual world.

”I come from Division 3. My partner only managed to guide me through roughly as her time was limited. I didn’t manage to ask about the details,” Lin Huang explained.

”She only told me that there are leaves at the 21st checkpoint and that’s the first gathering point for humans on the Stairway Tree. The leaves are safe as the isolation bubbles on the leaves will block out the monsters as well as humans…”

”No wonder you didn’t know about the hunting at night…” Zhao San thought Lin Huang’s partner was not reliable after hearing what he said.

”Mr. Lin, since you’re from Division 3, you must have the detailed strategy of the 30th checkpoint? Could you sell me a copy?” The tall, skinny man in his 30s asked.

”I’m sorry, I really don’t have the strategy.” Lin Huang shook his head.

”I rejected the strategies my partner sent before entering the Stairway Tree. Until now, I’ve no idea what’s at the 30th checkpoint, let alone the strategy.”

”So, you didn’t use any strategies to get to the 21st checkpoint today?” The tall, skinny man raised his eyebrow. He thought Lin Huang had come up with the excuse so that he did not have to sell him the strategy.

”No.” Lin Huang smiled as he shook his head.

”I figured it wouldn’t be fun if I knew what it’s going to be beforehand. I prefer surprises.”

The man did not speak further since Lin Huang was determined. Including Zhao San, everyone on the team was skeptical about what Lin Huang said. Even though he had shown how dominant he was in the battle, they did not believe that he managed to get to the 21st checkpoint without using any strategies. Lin Huang could tell from that they were doubtful from the way they looked at him. He did not bother to explain as he had already said what he was supposed to say. It was up to them to believe him.

Although the tall, skinny man did not pick a fight with Lin Huang for not selling him the strategy, he was now cold towards Lin Huang. The rest did not speak further about the strategies. After all, the selling of strategy had to go both ways. If Lin Huang was unwilling to sell, there was nothing that they could do. All of them actually had the strategy for the 30th checkpoint with them, but they failed to pass through with the strategy. That was the reason why the tall, skinny man had asked Lin Huang instead,

Although it was awkward, they had a sumptuous dinner together. The sky was dark by then. Hearing the monster roars from above, Lin Huang knew that it was time for the monsters on the Stairway Tree to hunt for food.

”Is the 21st checkpoint about killing the parasitical monsters?” Lin Huang asked Zhao San.

Zhao San thought it was an odd question, but he explained anyway, ”The 21st checkpoint isn’t about killing monsters. These monsters that are hunting for food at night come from the 23rd checkpoint while some of them are from the 29th checkpoint.”

The other teammates thought that Lin Huang was still going on with the lie that he had made up earlier and was pretending not to know. Lin Huang just learned from Zhao San that the 23rd and 29th checkpoints were going to be chockful of monsters.

”The monsters are here!”

Soon, there were shouts from not far away. Hearing the movement from the other teams, they headed towards the source of the sound.

”Let’s go!”

Zhao San nodded at Lin Huang and commanded the rest before dashing forward. Lin Huang and the other five members followed.