FIMA Ch139: Don’t Be Afraid

Gu Siyuan controlled his wild long-haired warrior ‘alt’ and headed to the new dungeon entrance with Tao Xiangwen’s graceful white-robed swordsman ‘Only Towards Wu.’

The new Island of Shadows dungeon, although not a nightmare level, still had high requirements for players. At least level 75 was needed to qualify.

Therefore, there weren’t many people gathered at the entrance, but each one had flashy, golden equipment, especially in contrast to the ‘Smurf’ with just rags and a big sword.

Because of this peculiarity, they even attracted the attention of many waiting to form teams.

The ‘current’ map channel instantly became lively.

[Such a white account, with very low combat power, can they really get through the dungeon?]

[Are you blind? Can’t you see that ‘Only Towards Wu’ is with them? Probably relying on them to carry and win. Envious…]

[You’re the blind one. Who’s carrying whom? This character’s ID is ‘Smurf’?]

[No way, is this the ‘Smurf’ from yesterday? The one from Qianfan God’s livestream?]

[It must be. This style, this curly hair, these rags, this big sword, it’s our boss. The boss is going through the new dungeon with ‘Only Towards Wu’ today…]

[Damn, we’re in for a treat, haha…]

Tao Xiangwen unintentionally glanced at the ‘current’ channel chat and frowned, not quite understanding what they were talking about.

He’s skilled himself, so he rarely watched other gods’ livestreams.

Gu Siyuan directly ignored these comments.

Recalling Tao Xiangwen’s earlier remark about carrying, his slender fingers moved as he created a new team, appointing himself as the leader, and then sent an invitation to Tao Xiangwen.

Seeing the prompt on the screen, Tao Xiangwen quickly agreed to join but then turned and said with a laugh, “Siyuan, are you really going to command the dungeon?”

Gu Siyuan raised an eyebrow and coldly said, “Any problems?”

Tao Xiangwen, sitting just two meters away, felt the pressure of his aura and immediately said, “No problem.”

Well, if they couldn’t get through the dungeon, it would just waste a ticket and some time. It wouldn’t affect ranking and win rate, so the problem wasn’t big.

He looked up at the computer screen again and found that the team was already full.

What? That only took a few seconds…

Usually, the higher the level of the dungeon, the more cautious people are when choosing teammates.

Tao Xiangwen was secretly pleased, thinking it was because of him.

Although he wasn’t as famous as Xie Fengqing or Lu Qianfan, he was still ranked in the top hundred on the server’s PK arena, and old players would have some impression of him.

They must have come to rely on him.

Just as he was thinking this, the map scene flashed, and their team entered the dungeon.

The three latecomers were very lively, with multiple chat messages popping up over their heads.

[Really teamed up with the bosses, can’t believe it!]

[Boss, I’m here to rely on you.]

[Teaming up with the bosses, I’m going to start a livestream to record this.]

Tao Xiangwen felt a bit elated.

Gu Siyuan replied with two words: “Be quiet.”

The Island of Shadows map was indeed complicated, with forests, swamps, lakes, and valleys, all designed to confuse.

But the most important were the natives on the island, the monsters in the wooden houses and castles.

Gu Siyuan leaped up to the treetops, scanned the surroundings to confirm their location, and opened the mic for easier command: “Follow me.”

His voice was low and cold.

Everyone felt a chill in their hearts.

The three teammates were even more excited; the boss’s voice was also very boss-like!

Their team had entered at the island dock. To leave this area and reach the central island to fight the boss, they first had to cross a swamp.

The swamp was filled with numerous poisonous toads. If disturbed, their poison was incredibly difficult to deal with, and many had fallen there.

Seeing Gu Siyuan heading straight into the swamp without hesitation, Tao Xiangwen frowned, “Captain, are we really just charging through? No formation?”

Gu Siyuan’s cold voice rang out: “Step where I step, don’t miss.”

Tao Xiangwen wanted to say something, but the other three had already responded, “Okay.”

The next moment, Gu Siyuan’s long-haired warrior dashed out, landing on a broken wooden boat in the middle of the swamp, then leaping onto a stone ahead. His movements were so fast they were hard to see, and the map’s perspective shifts nearly caused dizziness.

The others followed his landing points without hesitation. Though not as fast, they were high-level players and their jumps were steady.

During this process, the demons in the swamp seemed to be asleep, not moving at all.

The final landing spot before the swamp’s edge was on top of a short pine tree. However, because the fourth person lagged a bit, the last person didn’t land steadily.

This commotion alerted a giant toad in the swamp.

“Oops!” The teammate panicked.

However, at this moment, the long-haired warrior on the shore seemed to have been prepared. The sound of the keyboard and mouse clattered intensely, and a series of powerful moves burst out instantly. The toad didn’t even have time to spit out its venom before it was killed.

The last person to land let out a sigh of relief, successfully crossing the swamp.

Tao Xiangwen was a bit surprised and turned to look at Gu Siyuan.

That final combo move wasn’t simple at all.

Moreover, they had traversed this route so smoothly; could it be that Siyuan had memorized the entire map and the positions of the monsters?

He had played it once yesterday but didn’t have much of an impression…

At this time, the three other teammates had messages popping up over their heads again.

[Thanks, boss, for the smooth landing.]

[The boss is like a living map, memorizing the entire dungeon scene!]

[Hey, yesterday’s Ice Snow Island run was even more thrilling. The boss used the map to ambush quite a few elite monsters!]

Gu Siyuan ignored these compliments and said indifferently, “Follow me.”

Under his command, the team passed through the swamp, forest, and canyon, only fighting three times, using an antidote and a healing potion once.

Other times, they either passed smoothly, or the monsters were taken out by Gu Siyuan’s combo moves before they had a chance to act.

Among them, the one with the deepest impression was Tao Xiangwen.

Once, they encountered a small boss with considerable strength. Facing it alone was challenging, and he was about to help.

However, Gu Siyuan, with superb positioning and familiarity with the map, managed to kill the small boss with his character that was dressed in rags and wielded a big sword.

Moreover, while most people doing such cunning things would appear somewhat sleazy, Gu Siyuan’s actions were incredibly elegant, making them feel like they were watching a tactical masterclass.

[The boss’s skill and combat awareness are incredible!]

[Seeing the boss’s fancy positioning again!]

[The boss is truly a tactical master and a living map!]

When they reached the final boss, Gu Siyuan’s character couldn’t deal significant damage to the boss, so he organized a team attack.

At this point, Tao Xiangwen finally had his moment. Being one of the top hundred players on the server, his combat experience and skills far surpassed the others.

Especially against such high-health bosses, he had long developed his own set of lethal moves and strategies, based on the system skills, which were very effective.

However, before he could feel proud for even a minute,

He noticed that Gu Siyuan immediately adopted these strategies, which seemed similar to his but were more precise and perfect.

Tao Xiangwen turned his head.

Looking at the fingers flying over the keyboard and mouse not far from him, he asked in disbelief, “You… you just learned that on the spot… you mastered it after seeing it once?”

Gu Siyuan glanced at him, said nothing, and continued to type on the keyboard and click the mouse rapidly, his fingers moving at extreme speed, as if playing a vigorous piano piece.

Finally, a floating chain stab hit the boss’s weak point.

A huge “Victory!” flashed on the screen.

Tao Xiangwen leaned back in his gaming chair, still processing everything that had happened earlier.

He turned to stare at Gu Siyuan, “Damn, with your awareness and skill, were you just pretending when you teamed up with Xie Fengqing before? What were you doing, are you addicted to being a freeloader?”

Gu Siyuan ignored him, picked up the materials and items that dropped, and clicked to disband the team.

After a moment of silence, Tao Xiangwen thought about the almost entirely effortless win and nodded, “It seems… freeloading really is quite enjoyable.”

Tao Xiangwen added, “You’re overdoing it though. With your skills, you could definitely break the new dungeon records. While your low-level character might pass through the dungeon, it won’t rank in the PK arena, and you can’t join the New Year’s welfare event either. The rewards are substantial, enough to fully equip your low-level character…”

Gu Siyuan said calmly, “When I checked the official site earlier, I saw that the welfare isn’t exclusive to the PK arena.”

Tao Xiangwen’s eyes widened, “The PK arena ranking is the easiest, and most populated. The other way is through forum contribution rankings, but there are only ten spots.”

Gu Siyuan remained calm, “As long as there is one, it’s mine.”

“……” Tao Xiangwen.

You’re the boss, you know how to show off.

……

After this week, their class’s specialized courses were over, and the next half month was for review and exams.

On Saturday evening, Gu Siyuan and Tao Xiangwen went out together to a restaurant not far from campus.

Today was December 31st.

Their class was relatively united, and it was an old tradition to organize a year-end dinner with the entire class on this day.

When Gu Siyuan arrived at the restaurant’s entrance, wearing a black down jacket and brown leather boots, a few classmates who were shivering with their hands in their pockets saw his tall and handsome figure and felt a pang of jealousy.

Why could some people look so good even in a down jacket and jeans, better than models on a runway?

Is this the capital of a cheating scumbag…

Looking up, they saw Xie Fengqing arriving as well.

Xie Fengqing was wearing a puffy white short down jacket with an orange turtleneck sweater inside, looking fresh and delicate, like a custard bun.

Damn, fashion really depends on the face.

The two, one in black and one in white, looked like they were wearing couple’s outfits.

However, the atmosphere around them was strangely intimidating, like the Black and White Impermanence, as they walked towards the banquet hall.

At the dinner, seating was arranged by dormitory groups. Gu Siyuan was in a mixed dormitory, and Xie Fengqing was a day student, so they were placed at the same table again.

Not knowing if it was intentional or not, the others at the table had already taken their seats early. They were the last to arrive, so their seats were next to each other.

Gu Siyuan’s expression remained unchanged as he calmly took his seat.

Xie Fengqing bit his lip. He couldn’t lose his composure, so he sat down boldly beside him.

Everyone at the table stared at the two of them.

If they said something wrong later, the two might start fighting on the spot, flipping the table and hacking at each other.

How exciting that would be…

But, of course, these were just fantasies.

As students of the 21st century, nothing couldn’t be solved with a smartphone. As soon as they sat down, both Gu Siyuan and Xie Fengqing eagerly took out their phones, becoming internet-addicted teens, with no sparks flying as rumored.

The internet brought everyone peace and calm.

Their dining companions sighed, seemingly a bit disappointed at the defused conflict.

Ahem…

Gu Siyuan opened his phone and checked the official forum of “Great Wilderness.” The dungeon guide he had posted a few days ago had nearly a million views.

At this rate, his forum points would undoubtedly stay in the top three, and the New Year’s event rewards would be within reach.

Who says only the heroes of the PK arena are victorious?

A classmate next to him glanced at his phone and immediately laughed, “Siyuan, you’re also reading that ‘Smurf’ guide? I wonder which big shot’s alt account that is. I tried it yesterday, and it was amazing. I suspect the author is practically the game creator.”

Gu Siyuan casually replied, “No need to exaggerate, it’s just a regular guide.”

Xie Fengqing, who never had a tolerance for alcohol, was sipping coconut juice. Hearing “Smurf” and “guide,” he knew exactly what they were talking about.

Although his interactions with the “Smurf” in the game had been unpleasant, and he even thought the person might be delusional,

After reading the guide, he confirmed that the person had real talent. Even if he wrote it himself, it wouldn’t be better than this.

Thinking of this, he couldn’t help but glance at Gu Siyuan, secretly thinking: Just you, a game noob who only knows how to scam money and mooch off others, dare to call someone else’s guide ordinary?

Gu Siyuan, ever so keen, immediately turned to look at him, and coldly said, “What’s wrong?”

Xie Fengqing pursed his lips, “You think this guide is ordinary?”

Gu Siyuan nodded without hesitation, “Yes.”

“So, if it were you, the guide would be better?” Xie Fengqing’s face was full of smiles.

Gu Siyuan raised an eyebrow and said, “There are indeed some issues with the guide that can be improved.”

“Cough…” Xie Fengqing nearly choked on his coconut juice.

Back when they were dating, he hadn’t noticed this guy was so shameless!

Gu Siyuan handed him a tissue, averting his gaze, “Keep your emotions in check.”

Xie Fengqing couldn’t help but glare, “You have the nerve to say that?”

At the front of the banquet hall, the counselor was giving the customary pre-meal speech, in high spirits. He immediately noticed Xie Fengqing whispering to the person beside him instead of paying attention.

The counselor pointed at Xie Fengqing, “You there, the one talking so much, what’s so interesting? Stand up and share with everyone.”

“…” Xie Fengqing hung his head.

What a curse.

Why is it that whenever he interacts with Gu Siyuan, nothing good ever happens?

Seeing this, the counselor laughed, “Why hide? You there, the one with the coconut juice in front of you, stand up and tell us what’s so funny that you can’t stop laughing?”

Xie Fengqing, cheeks puffed in anger, glared at Gu Siyuan, ready to stand up.

Gu Siyuan met his gaze and whispered, “Don’t be afraid.”

“…” Xie Fengqing.

Such empty words.

But in the next moment, he saw a slender hand suddenly reach out, grab his coconut juice, open the lid, and take a sip.

Xie Fengqing’s eyes widened.

Gu Siyuan placed the coconut juice in front of him, stood up, and said coldly, “It’s nothing funny, I just have a low laugh threshold.”

“…” The counselor blinked in confusion.

What kind of maneuver was this?

What nonsense is he talking about?