Chapter 85: Duo Queue

“As for these two stones... These are truly treasures.” Wang Dazui’s large, calloused hands caressed the two stones, and it was clear he was reluctant to part with them.

“But it doesn’t matter. I collected these stones in the hope that one day they would serve their purpose. Now, that time has come.”

“Ten thousand copper coins. I’ll let you have them for that,” Wang Dazui said.

Huang Yunshuo nodded. To him, the properties of these stones were a complete mystery—plainly far beyond the materials he could currently comprehend or use. Even if the price had been thirty thousand copper coins, he wouldn’t have found it excessive.

“Damn, are these stones really worth thirty thousand together? Not counting the memory metal, the cost of this alloy armor is almost fifty thousand copper coins. That’s insane.”

Terrifying, ruthless, almost unbearable to contemplate.

“Memory metal, what about the memory metal?” Huang Yunshuo hurriedly asked. At that moment, he had sixteen thousand and five hundred copper coins left—if Wang Dazui had this troublesome material, he should be able to afford it.

“I don’t know what so-called memory metal is, but there’s a material called nickel-titanium threaded frame that can substitute for it. You can look for it—it’s not expensive.”

Not expensive!

Not expensive!

Not expensive!

He repeated it three times for emphasis. Without another word, Huang Yunshuo dashed from the blacksmith’s shop to the materials store. A brief inquiry later, he saw a strange metal shaped in a spiraling thread with a base, labeled at 6,499 copper coins.

“Isn’t this some kind of artwork?” he wondered, but there was no time for doubt. Real or not, Wang Dazui would know at a glance.

With only ten thousand copper coins left, Huang Yunshuo hurried back to the blacksmith’s shop, placing the nickel-titanium threaded frame, which looked like a piece of art, before Wang Dazui.

“That’s right, this is it. Congratulations! You’ve gathered all the materials needed for your alloy armor,” Wang Dazui said with a smile, flexing his hands, already preparing to begin the forging.

“I’ll leave it to you, Brother Wang. Next time, I’ll take you to the Emerald Flower Pavilion and treat you to the company of two lovely ladies!”

Wang Dazui was startled, then quickly forced a smile and declined Huang Yunshuo’s offer. “Are you kidding? With a tigress at home, you think I’m free to do as I please?”

“Still, there’s a twenty percent chance of failure. Will it be alright?” Huang Yunshuo asked, a hint of worry in his voice.

“Don’t worry! Even if it does fail, these core materials are so durable you won’t need to buy them again.”

Only now did Huang Yunshuo feel reassured. Told he’d need to wait two hours before picking up his armor, he checked the time—and was shocked.

It was 11:55 PM! Midnight was just around the corner.

He hadn’t yet played the Timeless Odyssey instance!

Quickly, he opened the group chat “Nine Lovable Melon Heads” and asked, “Who’s up for Timeless Odyssey? I haven’t done it yet.”

Yu Shiyin: “I haven’t made it out yet...”

Chen Whirlwind: “+1.”

Li Nan: “+2.”

Zhao Shengsheng: “+3.”

Song Na sent a mischievous emoji: “Alright, to be honest, except for Piaoxue who was waiting for you earlier, the rest of us are still inside the instance.”

“Ye Piaoxue!!!” Huang Yunshuo called out to her in a private voice message.

Ye Piaoxue: “...I’m in a PK duel, can’t get away right now o(╯□╰)o.”

Huang Yunshuo almost coughed up blood—how could she be so unreliable?

But, to be fair, it was his own fault. She’d already waited for him on purpose; she was probably just passing the time dueling.

“Guess I’ll go solo then!”

Closing the chat with Ye Piaoxue, Huang Yunshuo sprinted toward the center of town, pushing past every player in his way, while privately messaging Morning Dew and Light Frost.

“Hey beauty, want to duo Timeless Odyssey?”

Morning Dew and Light Frost sent a smiley face: “I’m right here in town, just finished a round. Hurry up or you’ll miss today’s rewards.”

Frost really is dependable!

Arriving at the central square, Huang Yunshuo spotted Morning Dew and Light Frost in the distance—her name now glowing green, signaling she was already in a party.

From over ten meters away, he submitted his instance application to the NPC. At 11:59 PM, the scenery before Huang Yunshuo and Morning Dew and Light Frost suddenly changed—they had been teleported.

A flash of white light, and Huang Yunshuo found himself in an immense, spacious great hall.

The entire hall gleamed with brilliance, the construction materials faintly glowing, the lights glaringly bright—almost painfully so.

Hundreds of players were continuously teleported in. Seasoned veterans rushed toward the exits, while newcomers gazed around in confusion.

“Big Yellow!” Morning Dew and Light Frost, somehow knowing his name, waved to him as she made her way toward the exit. Huang Yunshuo hurried to catch up.

Seeing the growing number of players heading out, the rest soon followed.

Outside was a massive white stone plaza, its fan-shaped perimeter lined with ten tall towers. Each tower was manned by ten NPC soldiers clad in light armor.

Four of them operated enormous crossbows, while three on each side wielded hand-crossbows—formidable opponents by the look of them.

“Damn! This is intense.” Huang Yunshuo was startled. With so many ranged attackers perched up high, how were they ever supposed to storm the enemy’s resurrection hall? Were they supposed to use their heads to block the crossbow bolts?

“It can be done, but mainly with the help of NPC troops. On our own, it’s impossible,” Morning Dew and Light Frost explained.

“This instance map is symmetrical. Each side has a resurrection hall like this one, and spread out at increasing distances are eighteen supply points: twelve small ones that provide a little healing spray, four medium ones that offer more healing spray and some mana spray, and one large supply point with abundant healing spray and moderate mana spray.”

“At the resurrection point, those NPCs on either side of the hall provide a wide variety of supplies, including universal healing buff scrolls you can’t get on the market.”

“In the neutral zones between the two sides—Border River, Border Mountain, and Border Forest—as well as near each side’s supply points, there are lots of monsters. Defeating them grants stacking buffs to all attributes and various quest materials. If you’re lucky, they’ll even drop copper coins.”

“After the instance, players are rewarded based on victory and contribution. All items obtained from supply points are cleared out at the end. Also, for ranged classes like us, your rockets and my bolts are provided infinitely—replenished at a rate of one per second.”

Morning Dew and Light Frost carefully explained the rules of the instance to Huang Yunshuo.