Online Game: My Decay Drives the Entire Server Crazy

The fourth buff: Leave a backdoor to prevent future troubles.When Lin Ye received the notification for the transfer of fifty million gold coins, the wicked grin on his face didn’t fade for a second. He leaned back in his chair with his legs crossed, looking at Heavenly Temple Qin Wentian, who was standing stiffly opposite him, as if he were looking at a large tree he had just chopped down.

”Money received,” Lin Ye said.

Qin Wentian took a deep breath, his voice still a bit strained: ”Then my debuffs...”

”What’s the rush?” Lin Ye stood up, walked over to him, and patted him on the shoulder.

[System Notification: Player [Heavenly Temple Qin Wentian]’s [Blood Loss Debuff] has been cleared.]

[System Notification: Player [Heavenly Temple Qin Wentian]’s [Forced Equipment Removal] effect has been cleared.]

[System Notification: Player [Heavenly Temple Qin Wentian]’s [Automatic Voice Alteration] effect has been cleared.]

Qin Wentian touched his throat and tried to say something: ”Is it fixed?” His voice was deep and resonant, having returned to its original state. He was so excited that his eyes turned red, and he almost burst into tears on the spot.

”Thank you, Brother Ye! Thank you, Brother Ye!” He bowed repeatedly, looking as if he wanted to kowtow to Lin Ye.

Lin Ye raised a hand to stop him: ”Don’t be in such a hurry. It’s not over yet.”

Qin Wentian was stunned: ”What else is there?”

Lin Ye pointed at his status bar: ”See for yourself.”

Qin Wentian hurriedly opened his status bar and looked through it line by line—the Blood Loss Debuff was gone, the Forced Equipment Removal was gone, the voice alteration was gone, and the Character Model Pixelation was also gone. However, at the very bottom, two grey notifications remained, stuck there like thorns.

[Effect 1: 99% Drop Rate Nullification — Killing any monster or opening any chest reduces the drop rate by 99%; only white-grade items can be obtained. Current Status: Active.]

[Effect 2: 50% NPC Favorability Reduction — Favorability with all NPCs is reduced by 50%; some services may be restricted. Current Status: Active.]

Qin Wentian’s face turned pale: ”Brother Ye, why are these two still here?”

Lin Ye walked back to his chair and sat down, picking up a virtual teacup from the table and taking a slow sip: ”I said I’d only help you clear a portion. Blood loss, equipment removal, voice alteration, and pixelation—I cleared those because they affect your normal life. But the drop rate and NPC favorability—those are punishments. You have to bear them yourself.”

”Why?” Qin Wentian’s voice was filled with indignation, ”I’ve paid the money, fifty million!”

”Because the debt you owe isn’t something fifty million can pay off.” Lin Ye set down his teacup, his gaze becoming serious, ”The drop rate nullification is to make you remember—back when you were monopolizing materials, how many solo players couldn’t even get a single piece of Blue equipment? The NPC favorability reduction is to make you remember—back when you relied on your wealth to bribe NPCs, how many solo players couldn’t even buy a single potion?”

Qin Wentian fell silent. He opened his mouth to argue, but not a single word came out. Because everything Lin Ye said was the truth.

”I won’t clear these two debuffs for you.” Lin Ye stood up and walked to the window, his back to him, ”When you feel you deserve a normal drop rate, and when you feel NPCs should greet you with a smile, come find me again.”

Qin Wentian stood where he was, head bowed like a child who had done something wrong. After a long time, he spoke, his voice hoarse: ”Brother Ye, what can I do now? Monsters don’t drop items, NPCs won’t sell to me, I can’t even afford potions.”

Lin Ye turned around, that wicked smile curling his lips again: ”Who said NPCs won’t sell to you? It’s just a 50% favorability reduction, not zeroed out. Go try, maybe you can still buy something.”

Qin Wentian gave a bitter smile, turned, and walked out of the office to the Main City Square to try the NPCs. Blacksmith Old Zhang glanced at him and said coldly: ”Guild Leader Qin? Long time no see. Buying something? Fine. But the price is double. Take it or leave it.”

Apothecary Old Wang was even harsher, waving him away: ”Qin Wentian? Not selling. I haven’t forgotten about the time you bribed me to block Brother Ye.”

General Store Owner Old Li was willing to sell, but only white-grade items; he wouldn’t even give him green ones.

Qin Wentian stood in the center of the square, looking at the low-quality health potion in his hand that cost double the price, wanting to cry but having no tears. Monsters dropped nothing, and items cost double. As the ’former leader of the server’s number one guild,’ he was now worse off than a novice.

He returned to the Commoner Supermarket, where Fatty Wang was busy behind the counter. Seeing Qin Wentian’s dejected appearance, he couldn’t help but laugh: ”Guild Leader Qin, what’s wrong? Got snubbed by NPCs again?”

Qin Wentian smiled bitterly: ”Fatty, do you think I’m really beyond saving?”

Fatty Wang put down his ledger and looked at him seriously: ”Guild Leader Qin, I’ll tell you the truth. What you did before was indeed not something a decent person would do. But I’ve seen what you’re doing now. Helping novices grind, apologizing to everyone, selling off your assets to pay debts—not everyone can do those things.”

”Then why won’t Brother Ye let me off the hook?”

Fatty Wang thought for a moment and said: ”It’s not that he won’t let you off. He’s helping you. Think about it, if he cleared all your debuffs right now and you went back to being the old Qin Wentian, what would you become?”

Qin Wentian was stunned. He had never considered this question. If all the debuffs were cleared and he regained his former level, equipment, and wealth—what would he become? Would he go back to monopolizing materials? Would he go back to suppressing solo players? Would he go back to bullying novices?

He didn’t know. He really didn’t know.

”That’s why Brother Ye kept those two debuffs.” Fatty Wang patted his shoulder, ”It’s not to torture you, but to remind you—don’t forget who you were, and don’t forget who you want to be.”

Qin Wentian stood there, his eyes reddening. He remembered what Lin Ye had said—’Some debts aren’t paid with money. They take a lifetime to repay.’

”I understand,” he whispered, turning to walk out of the Commoner Supermarket.

He was going to the Novice Village to continue helping novices grind. Monsters dropped nothing? That was fine. He didn’t need drops. He was helping people, not for equipment. NPCs wouldn’t sell to him? That was also fine. Fatty Wang would bring him potions every day; that was enough. He didn’t need to buy them.

He squatted in the Novice Village’s mob area, helping a few newbies with their quest mobs. A wild wolf charged over, and he killed it with one strike—white-grade, not even a single hair dropped. The newbies crowded around, scrambling to pick up the quest items, shouting, ”Thank you, Big Brother Qin.” Qin Wentian saw their happy faces and smiled.

He didn’t need equipment, gold, or NPC favorability. He only needed—to be needed.

Meanwhile, Lin Ye was standing on the roof of the Commoner Supermarket, watching Qin Wentian’s retreating figure with a wicked smile on his lips.

Su Qinghan walked up and stood beside him: ”You really left those two debuffs on him?”

”Of course,” Lin Ye shrugged, ”The drop rate nullification is to make him remember how tyrannical he used to be. The NPC favorability reduction is to make him remember how arrogant he used to be. These two things are more effective than any lecture.”

”Aren’t you afraid he won’t be able to take it and will run away?”

Lin Ye laughed: ”Run? Where could he run to? His account is tied to a backdoor; I can drag him back from the ends of the earth. Besides—” He pointed toward the distant Novice Village, ”Look at him, has he run?”

Su Qinghan followed his finger. Qin Wentian was squatting among a group of newbies, gesturing and explaining something, the smile on his face ten times brighter than when he was a guild leader.

”He really hasn’t run,” Su Qinghan also smiled.

”Because he’s found what he wants to do.” Lin Ye turned to go downstairs, leaving behind a sentence: ”Keep an eye on him. Don’t let him stray again.”

Su Qinghan watched his back and shook her head with a smile. This man claimed to be wicked, but his heart was softer than anyone’s.

At that moment, Qin Wentian was squatting in the Novice Village’s mob area, helping some newbies fight an elite mob. He shouted as he slashed: ”Mages, DPS! Priests, heal! Warriors, hold the aggro!” The newbies cooperated frantically, and though it was a mess, the smiles on their faces never stopped.

When the elite mob fell, the newbies cheered. Qin Wentian also laughed, laughing like a child. He picked up the white-grade equipment from the ground and put it in his bag. This was the thirty-seventh white item he had looted today, with not a single green one. But he didn’t care. What he cared about was the way those newbies looked at him—not with fear or disgust, but with gratitude.

”Big Brother Qin, are you coming back tomorrow?” a newbie asked.

Qin Wentian nodded: ”Yes. I’ll come every day.”

The newbies cheered and dispersed. Qin Wentian stood up, patted the dust off himself, and walked toward the sunset. The sunlight shone on him, and the white-grade equipment glittered in the light; though worthless, he felt it looked better than his old Epic sets.

When he returned to the Commoner Supermarket, it was already dark. Fatty Wang was doing the accounts behind the counter and greeted him when he saw him enter: ”Guild Leader Qin, how was today?”

Qin Wentian walked to the counter and pulled out the white-grade equipment from his bag one by one, piling them on the table: ”Got thirty-seven white items. Not a single green one.”

Fatty Wang looked at the pile of whites and couldn’t help laughing: ”You really are... unlucky to the core.”

Qin Wentian also laughed: ”Can’t be helped, 99% Drop Rate Nullification. Getting whites is already pretty good.”

Fatty Wang put the pile of whites into the warehouse and handed him a cup of milk tea: ”Brother Ye said he’ll take you to grind a dungeon tomorrow. Even if your drop rate is low, you can still leach a bit by following him.”

Qin Wentian took the milk tea, took a sip, and shook his head: ”No need. I’m fine staying in the Novice Village. Helping new people, looting white items. Life feels solid this way.”

Fatty Wang looked at him, stunned for a moment, then smiled: ”Guild Leader Qin, you’ve really changed.”

Qin Wentian also smiled: ”Yeah. Changed a lot.”

He turned and went upstairs to his small room, lying on the bed and looking at the ceiling. There was a crack on the ceiling, as if something had hit it before. He stared at that crack, his mind filled with the day’s events—the newbies’ smiling faces, the things Lin Ye said, the milk tea Fatty Wang handed him.

He suddenly felt that this kind of life was actually quite good. Even though his level was low, his equipment was poor, and his drop rate was abysmal—he had never felt this relaxed. No more calculating, no more suppressing others, no more fighting with the market. He only needed to do one thing—help people.

He closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep with a smile on his face.

Meanwhile, Lin Ye was standing on the roof of the Commoner Supermarket, looking at the distant night sky. Su Qinghan walked up and stood beside him.

”Do you really plan to let him carry those two debuffs for the rest of his life?” she asked.

Lin Ye thought for a moment and said: ”Depends on his performance. When I feel he’s truly turned over a new leaf, I’ll clear them for him.”

”You think he can change?”

Lin Ye nodded: ”He can. He already has. He just needs more time.”

Su Qinghan looked at him and couldn’t help smiling: ”You really... always keep a trick up your sleeve for everyone.”

Lin Ye shrugged: ”It’s my profession.”

He turned to go downstairs, leaving behind a sentence: ”Keep an eye on him. Don’t let him stray again.”

Su Qinghan watched his back and shook her head with a smile. This man claimed to be wicked, but his heart was softer than anyone’s.