Chapter 121 God's Mother
44 was the limit for all players in the field—but not Xia Feng's limit.
In fact, Xia Feng had considered letting someone else bid for the B-level spiritual clothing and then stealing it from them afterward to save a significant number of life points. However, that approach wasn't safe.
Who knew if the winning bidder would turn out to be a fourth-level boss?
Securing the B-level spiritual clothing immediately was the safest and most reliable option.
Besides, for him, life points were easy to obtain. His current goal was to identify who had the most life points and then find a way to seize their identity.
So spending 44 didn't bother him at all.
After all, the purpose of earning money was to spend it.
When Xia Feng called out this price, the remaining twenty-plus players in the field were stunned.
Damn, was there really someone with that many life points right now?
Player No. 4 stared at the No. 17 platform diagonally across from him, his expression darkening. He had believed himself to be the highest bidder in the field, with no chance of being outmatched.
Yet unexpectedly, No. 17—who had remained silent the entire time—was the real powerhouse.
"Fine, you win," No. 4 said, taking a deep breath and conceding defeat.
Based on his calculations, No. 17's identity was that of a [Red Rat], while he himself was a [Yellow Rat].
According to the clockwise suppression cycle among the three colors—red, yellow, and blue—No. 17 could prey on him, but he couldn't prey on No. 17. Therefore, under the counterattack rule, if he killed No. 17, he would also die in retaliation.
But that didn't matter. He had previously used a skill card to assess No. 17's strength, and it hadn't seemed particularly high.
Meanwhile, his own strength was at the fourth level.
So if he could locate No. 17 in reality, he had a way to forcibly extract the "Rectification Order" from him without killing him.
"Tsk, tsk, interesting," Player No. 9's playful voice rang out. "No. 17, you'd better be careful. No. 4 is a fourth-level boss—he's definitely coming to settle the score with you~"
A fourth-level boss? Xia Feng blinked. But what did that have to do with him? If No. 4 wanted to trouble No. 17, that was No. 17's problem, not Xia Feng's.
A player's location could be tracked using the [Serial Number Position Card].
But he wasn't just No. 17—he was also No. 10.
The teleportation mark on the Forest Scepter still existed. Even though No. 10 had been declared dead, that didn't mean he couldn't continue acting under that identity.
He even suspected he could re-enter the Wheel of Life as No. 10, though he hadn't dared to test that theory yet.
Thus, when he left this space, he could immediately reconnect with No. 10's teleportation mark. As for No. 17's mark, it would be declared dead due to the temporary lack of a spiritual master connection.
According to the rules, the Serial Number Position Card couldn't locate a "serial number without a spiritual master connection."
No matter how powerful Player No. 4 was, he wouldn't be able to track Xia Feng in reality. So...
"I know many of you will try to cause trouble for me in reality," Xia Feng said flatly. "But unfortunately, you're all too weak."
He sighed, then added in the same indifferent tone, "No. 4, I'm not targeting you specifically. What I mean is—everyone here is trash!"
"..."
"!!!!"
"Arrogant bastard!"
"Fuck you—just wait, kid!"
"A tree that stands above the forest will be toppled by the wind, No. 17. You're being too ostentatious," Player No. 4 said calmly.
Xia Feng's words instantly ignited the fury of the other players, all of whom swore they would kill him. Xia Feng merely sneered in response, then declared that he lived in the central city of the First District. If they had the guts, they could come find him—just be sure to clean their backsides first.
The taunt was extremely effective, instantly escalating the tension in the room.
But Xia Feng didn't care. Under the envious and hateful gazes of the others, he received a notification that the "Rectification Order" had been delivered.
"Congratulations to Player No. 17—you have won the 'Order of Rectification.' The next item up for auction is..."
Xia Feng wasn't particularly interested in the next lot. He opened the gift package on his panel, and a purple glow radiated from it, as if he'd just unboxed an epic-tier weapon in a game.
A sheet of pale purple spiritual paper materialized in the air, and Xia Feng reached out to take it.
[Order of Rectification]
[Level: Rare B-grade]
It was covered in dense spiritual substructure lines. Xia Feng frowned as he examined it, feeling like he vaguely understood some of it—but also like he understood nothing at all.
Thanks to Mu Qingtong's talent, he had learned a great deal about spiritual clothing, and his comprehension of it had improved significantly.
But unfortunately, there was a vast difference between theory and practice.
He could use spiritual clothing with great proficiency, but when it came to the underlying principles, he was still clueless.
It was like using a computer: he was highly skilled with office software like Word, Excel, and Photoshop. But if someone asked him how those programs were built or how their underlying code functioned—
Sorry, but Boss Xia was only good at giving orders. Mu Qingtong was the programmer.
After storing the spiritual paper away, the auction phase soon concluded.
At the start of the fifth round of trading, eight pop-up windows instantly appeared—all from players seeking to trade with him.
"Man, I'm quite popular~" Xia Feng murmured as he slowly flipped through No. 17's notes, noticing that No. 17 had paid particular attention to No. 16.
After some consideration, he selected No. 16 from the eight trade requests.
As soon as No. 16's platform appeared, a woman's trembling, anxious voice came through:
"No. 17, I promise you! I agree to all the conditions you mentioned last time! As long as you're willing to come rescue me, you can do anything to me!"
"..."
Though Xia Feng didn't fully grasp the situation, he quickly picked up on the key point: "Anything?"
"Yes," No. 16 replied. Her voice sounded like that of a married woman in her thirties—soft, shaky, and on the verge of tears. "Anything, absolutely anything, as long as you save me! Please... My husband is useless, and I can't rely on him to escape this disaster."
The amount of information was overwhelming, so Xia Feng took it step by step.
It seemed No. 16 and her husband were trapped in some catastrophe with no way out, forcing her to seek help through the Wheel of Life.
She must have approached No. 17 before, but perhaps his demands had been too outrageous, leading to a failed negotiation.
Now, however, No. 16 appeared truly desperate—hence her return to No. 17. After all, the way Xia Feng had recklessly spent life points earlier did make him seem like a formidable spiritual master.
Seeing No. 17 remain silent for so long, as if hesitating, No. 16 quickly lowered her head to operate something, biting her lip before whispering:
"Brother~ I've transferred all my life points to you! You have to come~"
[Ding~ Player No. 16 has transferred 24 life points to you. The transfer has been completed.]
Xia Feng stared in astonishment at the notification that suddenly popped up on his panel.
[Life points: (21 + 24) 45]
Just moments ago, he'd spent 44 points, leaving him with 21. But No. 16's move left him utterly baffled. What was going on?
He had always been the one giving life points to others—this was the first time someone had given them to him. Was she trying to steal his business?
"Brother, I've given you everything. As for your other demand... that you want to *me... I'll do it when you arrive." No. 16 seemed to muster immense courage to utter these words, her voice laced with shyness.
Xia Feng rolled his eyes internally. He didn't believe a single word.
Logically, once life points were deposited into his account, even if No. 16 plotted to kill him, she couldn't inherit them. At most, she'd earn the predator reward—nothing more.
Unless, of course, she had a cheat like Xia Feng's.
So he couldn't quite figure out No. 16's angle.
But it didn't matter. The life points were already his, and he had no obligation to seek her out. Whatever scheme this woman had, it was doomed to fail.
"As for your third condition... I can agree, but the Injection Fruit is with my dead husband. I don't know where he hid it. Brother, if you come, you can ask him for it."
The Injection Fruit was indeed rare, but Xia Feng currently had the No. 2 Experience Pack in his possession. Compared to that, the Injection Fruit hardly impressed him.
He had a tendency to favor the new over the old—one of his few virtues.
"Brother, I know you still have doubts, but the life points are just a deposit." The woman spoke considerately, her voice breaking into a whisper. "If you don't want to come... that's alright too."
For a moment, Xia Feng almost felt sympathy—almost believed her.
But as everyone knew, behind every thousand beautiful women in online chats, there were a thousand and one fools.
After all, in pig-butchering scams, a single "beauty" account was often managed by two or three men. Even fraud syndicates needed sleep, so shift work was common in such operations.
Finally, No. 16—standing on the distant platform—bowed deeply to him before ending the trade.
Her sincerity made Xia Feng wonder: Was she genuinely pleading for help?
He flipped through No. 17's notes again, which mentioned that No. 16 was trapped in a disaster called "Children's Paradise."
She lived in a house surrounded by jasmine flowers—an easy place to find.
The trade phase and basic predation stage ended swiftly. No one initiated basic predation against Xia Feng, likely because his hostility level was too high. They probably preferred hunting him in reality.
Unfortunately for them, their efforts would be futile.
The moment Xia Feng left the Wheel of Life, he immediately disconnected from No. 17's mark and reconnected with No. 10.
Just then, his phone vibrated.
He checked his phone—it was a message from Mu Qingtong.
[Experience Pack No. 1: Come over if you need me.]
[Xia Feng: Just "come over when asked"? Who do you think you are?]
After sending his reply, Xia Feng waited... and waited. Mu Qingtong ignored him completely, as if certain he would come regardless.
Damn it, who's the boss here? Xia Feng suddenly realized a fundamental truth: when a company has only one employee, that employee effectively becomes the boss.
He couldn't even fire the guy.
Grumbling, Xia Feng got out of bed.
Coincidentally, he had just obtained a B-level spiritual garment—a perfect excuse to visit Mu Qingtong and hand it over.
Soon, he arrived at Mu Qingtong's villa again.
The moment he stepped inside, singing floated from the living room. Xia Feng's expression changed instantly as he clapped his hands over his ears.
"Oh hell! Poisonous vocals!"
He quickly sealed his hearing with spiritual pressure before cautiously proceeding into the living room.
Documents were scattered across the coffee table. Xia Feng glanced at them—they were all photographs of a woman bearing about 60% resemblance to Mu Qingtong, though noticeably older.
[Name: He Jianzhu]
[Age: Unknown]
[Official records state she committed suicide and was cremated. However, based on my understanding of her character, she would never die so easily.]
He Jianzhu? Could this be Miss Mu's mother? Xia Feng blinked and reached to uncover more documents beneath the stack.
"Mr. Xia," a soft voice interrupted, "peeking isn't proper behavior."
Xia Feng looked up.
(End of this chapter)