Chapter Forty-Eight: Prize Sweepstakes at the Horse Race

Animal Competition—Xie Jing instructed Earthen Pot to prepare diligently, for this event was closely tied to his third task.

As for the first two tasks, Xie Jing was about to initiate his plans on the streets of Hetonmar. However, when he boarded the floating airship and arrived at this land that was both familiar and strange, he realized things were far more complicated than he had imagined.

Firstly, the map had changed completely.

After the Great Shift, the city of Hetonmar had been destroyed, leaving only ruins behind. In its place now stood the streets of Dark City.

This troubled Xie Jing. When playing the game, he could simply use teleportation potions and click his mouse to reach his destination. But now, with the real streets before him, he suddenly discovered he truly didn’t know the way.

Fortunately, Xie Jing wasn’t directionally challenged. He looked around, judging that he must be at Dark City Port, not far from the main street.

On his way, Xie Jing noticed many people dressed in various costumes walking along the streets. Their faces were identical, their movements the same, only their attire varied. Above each of their heads hovered a level indicator and a nickname.

“These must be the players,” Xie Jing thought silently. The professions varied, but he could mostly recognize each one.

Suddenly, he noticed a few players slowly approaching him, stopping, their bodies twitching a few times, before walking away again.

“Are they trying to talk to me?”

He saw a Blue Fist and a Berserker approaching together, standing beside him, twitching their bodies.

The Blue Fist was entirely green, bare-chested, his chest hair thick and wild, shaved into the shape of a peach-heart. His hair was a green explosion of curls, and he wore green boxer shorts, carrying a huge club on his back.

Xie Jing glanced at his ID.

LV.85 Giant Boil!

Next to him, the Berserker was clad in black armor, a tiger’s head emblazoned on his chest, joints glowing with red light—a rare Abyss Knight Sky Set.

LV.85 Nine Suns Babe!

Xie Jing remembered them. They were famous high-level players in the national server. Nine Suns Babe was the number one Berserker, luck blessed and skilled, rumored to be able to calculate anything. Giant Boil was his disciple, learning immortality techniques, eager to inherit his legacy.

Xie Jing ignored them—he was an outsider and had nothing to say.

...

At nine in the morning, in a luxurious neighborhood somewhere in China, two men huddled together, cigarettes dangling from their lips, staring at their computer screens and speaking into the microphone.

“Hey, look what I found—a wild NPC! Is the official team launching a new event? Impossible, there’s been no update, and if there was, Pony would have told me beforehand!”

Giant Boil chimed in as well.

---

“Brother Bei, I can’t open this NPC’s info page!”

“Hm... Edward Shite! Damn, that name sounds like an insult!” Nine Suns Babe exclaimed, repeating his signature phrase while glancing at the barrage of comments on his other monitor.

[The official team must be launching some new event! Time to bleed us dry again!]
[When I think of Babe, I think of his monkey catchphrase, then think of Sun Wukong, then of Wukong and the latter half of this year... forget it, let’s just start blooming!]
[Brother Bei, hurry up and follow him, this must be an official Easter egg!]
[There are no Easter eggs in DNF, just money traps disguised as eggs, probably.]
...

Nine Suns Babe controlled his character, following Xie Jing, muttering, “This is the first time I’ve seen an NPC like this in the game. He seems able to walk freely on the streets. Let’s follow him and see.”

Nine Suns Babe and Giant Boil tailed Xie Jing. Many players in the game noticed these celebrities following an NPC and suspected a new event. They followed as well.

When Xie Jing reached the center of Dark City Street and turned around, he saw a dense crowd behind him.

Goodness! What’s going on?

Xie Jing was startled. Looking around, he spotted Miss Golantis, whom he’d cared for most in the past, and Miss Aisha, whom he’d barely interacted with, both staring at him.

Golantis was the woman in charge of Abyss Invitations—essential for those seeking epic weapons and greater strength. Aisha managed access to the PvP arenas, which Xie Jing, being clumsy, never used, so he rarely glanced her way.

Well, since you’re all so enthusiastic, I can hardly refuse.

Xie Jing stopped in place, took out the wooden boards and promotional posters he had long prepared from his inventory, hammered them together, and set up a brand-new display stand in the middle of the street.

At that moment, the system popped up.

[You have created an event. Allow players to participate?]

Of course!

[Event created successfully. Players may freely join!]

Xie Jing was overjoyed. The system was tricky, but reliable at critical moments!

With the event ready, Xie Jing looked at the surging crowd and announced loudly, “The Horse Racing Prize Guessing Event begins now! Grand prizes await!”

...

In the neighborhood, Nine Suns Babe and Giant Boil’s eyes lit up—this NPC really triggers a new event!

---

“Horse Racing Prize Guessing? What’s that? Hold on, let me investigate first!”

He clicked on the NPC, and an event image popped up.

“Grand Horse Guessing!”

“The thrilling horse race is underway, and the riders need your support!”

“Use coins to support your chosen rider. If he wins, you’ll receive generous rewards!”

Nine Suns Babe raised his brows, wearing his signature monkey grin, and glanced at the ever-flowing barrage of comments in his livestream.

“Folks, this event is interesting! Bet on a rider—if he comes first, your coins are doubled!”

[Brilliant planner!]
[Isn’t this just gambling? Isn’t the network police watching?]
[How can you call it gambling in DNF? Didn’t you see? It’s a horse race! The money is just to support the riders and help them perform better!]
[As expected, DNF never runs out of ways to drain money. Anyone who plays this event is a fool!]
[Look, a fool just moved!]
...

For this luck-based event, Nine Suns Babe, confident in his luck, was naturally interested. He opened another page.

There, a pyramid-shaped tournament bracket appeared, with eight riders’ photos at the bottom.

“Look, everyone, there are four groups of eight riders racing together. Each group decides one winner for the next round, then the final winner! Our guess should be for the ultimate champion!”

Nine Suns Babe clicked on a rider’s page.

The image showed blue armor gleaming with icy light, his steed draped in noble-looking leather. On both sides of the image were two skill slots.

“Hm... This rider is called Sien, with two skills: Rising Slash and Charge. The odds are 5.8, meaning if you bet one coin and Sien wins, your coin multiplies by 5.8!”

“What do these skills mean? Let me investigate.”

Xie Jing explained—the skill slots were purely made up, just for players to analyze aimlessly.