SS 39: Pheonix Arrival

Volume 3: Divine Assistance

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We’re going to brush equipment with Feng Lianzhu!

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Thinking of the gene evolution agent, Dolphin 66 immediately said, “Right, when I first awakened the ability to read brainwaves, besides hearing Dog 16 thinking ‘Lord Kirates is so strong and amazing,’ and you thinking ‘I must look cool, handsome, powerful, and imposing now,’ I also picked up someone else’s thoughts.”

After saying this, Dolphin 66 saw Lord Kirates reveal a warm, spring-like smile, and at the same time, felt Kirates’ hand gripping his neck, making it hard for him to breathe.

Dolphin 66: “…”

He thought he was about to be silenced! He knew he shouldn’t have revealed the more childish thoughts he heard in Lord Kirates’ mind, but he couldn’t help it. He didn’t want to hide what he had heard in Lord Kirates’ heart.

Through Feng Lianzhu’s arm, Dolphin 66 even sensed a bit of his thought: “No, stay calm, control your emotions. This one can’t respawn or revive if killed, hold back, hold back.”

Dolphin 66: “…”

Feng Lianzhu withdrew his hand, wrapping himself in spiritual energy, fearful of Dolphin 66 hearing even a snippet of his thoughts, and then asked, “Oh? Who else is thinking what?”

“Cough, cough, cough!” After coughing for a while, Dolphin 66 regained his composure, first mentally thanking Lord Kirates for sparing his life, then said, “It’s Major Laurie. He suspects you’re not the real Kirates dragon, thinks you’re bluffing, and wants to lure out the young dragon behind you to capture it with the empire’s military might.”

After speaking, he covered his neck and stepped back, looking guilty as he said, “I, I, I, I never doubted that you’re the real Kirates dragon! I don’t believe what he said. Only young dragons would hide inside their parents’ shells, and young dragons can’t transform into human form! I don’t believe it!”

Feng Lianzhu: “…”

Better to kill him, silencing him seemed more important.

Smiling at Dolphin 66’s terrified eyes, the smile was a basic setting given to Feng Lianzhu by the game. According to the game company’s official data, Feng Lianzhu was a smiling bamboo who could kill with a smile. Usually expressionless, he would smile when using powerful moves. The gentler the smile, the more ruthless the move.

Feng Lianzhu smiled, regaining composure, then smiled again, becoming cold and indifferent. His changing expressions frightened Dolphin 66, leaving him breathless.

Finally, with an expressionless face, he said, “From now on, you can call me Feng Lianzhu.”

Dolphin 66, who was pressed tightly against the wall, suddenly slid down to the floor, gasping for air, knowing he had narrowly escaped death.

After calming down, Dolphin 66 said earnestly, “Actually, for us, it doesn’t matter whether you are called Kirates or Feng Lianzhu. You saved us, and you gave us this life. If you are Kirates the dragon, we respect and love you; if you are Feng Lianzhu, we respect and love you just the same. Other than the name, nothing changes, Lord Feng Lianzhu.”

It seemed to be the first time someone had called his name so seriously, telling him he didn’t need to pretend to be anyone else; he was just himself.

When Dolphin 66 called out Feng Lianzhu’s name, he felt a lightness in his body, as if the world had changed.

The name, body, and abilities were all given by the game. Even after gaining self-awareness, he didn’t consider himself a complete person. The identity of “Feng Lianzhu” was just a set of data; the game could delete him at any time and recreate a Feng Lianzhu using backup data. He had no autonomy.

But now, things were different.

Someone had seen through his appearance, name, and power to his awakened soul.

The name “Feng Lianzhu” gained its true meaning at this moment. A name is meant to be called by others; a name that no one calls lacks meaning.

“Tell me in detail about Laurie’s thoughts,” Feng Lianzhu said seriously.

Brainwaves are a mysterious thing, conveying far more information in an instant than language can. Laurie’s mind was complex, filled with many thoughts, unlike Dog 16 and Feng Lianzhu, who were busy with worship and showing off power, respectively, with no other thoughts. Laurie had transmitted a multitude of ideas to Dolphin 66, who took a while to understand Laurie’s recent mental journey and told Feng Lianzhu everything.

“Lord Feng, according to his thoughts, Lord Kirates is really in danger,” Dolphin 66 said with concern.

“I know,” Feng Lianzhu nodded, “you go back first, I have my ways. Your tasks are two: first, monitor if any new spaceships come to the primitive star; second, watch Laurie and the pirates, and make sure no one, not even the Atavists, know about your mind-reading ability.”

Dolphin 66 was worried, but this was indeed not something he could intervene in. Getting the enemy’s plan in advance was already the limit.

After receiving his orders, he left the lair. The moment he stepped out of the cave, the enveloping, comforting power on him disappeared.

Turning back, Dolphin 66 thought, even though Lord Feng was not Kirates, he had some unique powers.

Left in the cave, Feng Lianzhu’s brow was furrowed. Laurie was indeed too clever; it was difficult for him, an AI learning how to be human, to deal with Laurie. He had originally planned to let the fat dragon return during the three-way battle to display its might and intimidate the enemy with absolute power. Little did he know, the enemy had already seen through the weakened state of the molting fat dragon and even devised a clear plan to capture it. In such a situation, what should he do?

“System, is the gene evolution agent related to the Kirates species? Is Dolphin 66’s evolution related to being near the lair? Is the extinction of the Kirates related to humans?” Feng Lianzhu asked.

Previously, the system hadn’t answered his questions, saying his authority wasn’t sufficient. But now, he was much deeper into the truth, and the system should be able to reveal something.

[Life energy surpasses genetic evolution agents. Using the words of the Host Feng Lianzhu’s world, genetic evolution agents are merely imitating Dongshi. With human power, it’s still insufficient to cause the extinction of a cosmic heavyweight species. Indeed, there have been incidents where juvenile Kirates dragons were captured by humans in history. However, that dragon was a failed molt, already abandoned by its species as an evolutionary failure. By the time humans captured it, it was already at the end of its strength, leaving only one specimen for human research.]

“Is this the only case?” Feng Lianzhu felt he found key information, “When did it happen? Did humans find any other Kirates bodies after capturing that young dragon?”

[Only one case, which occurred 1764 years ago. Adult Kirates dragons are very hard to die, and their bodies naturally decompose and release a huge amount of energy after death if there are no juveniles. Before dying, young Kirates dragons choose a primitive star with a developed ecosystem. Their bodies, if found and consumed by a fortunate species, can give birth to intelligent life on that planet.]

This information was so vast that it took Feng Lianzhu a long time to digest. The power of this species had already surpassed the furthest reaches of human imagination. After a long thought, he said, “The method of capturing young dragons known by Major Laurie is actually incomplete. Pang Kirates is a healthy young dragon, not a failed molt. He wouldn’t be caught by that method, would he?”

[Major Laurie’s plan has a 60% success rate.]

No, the success rate is too high; we can’t risk the fat Dragon. Feng Lianzhu hit the wall hard, feeling too weak.

It was his overconfidence in the fat dragon’s power, never considering someone could harm it, that led him to confidently cooperate with the Imperial Army, and now he’s let the wolf into the house. Fortunately, Dolphin 66’s evolution timing was very good, giving them time to prepare.

“Do I need to complete many tasks for Pang Kirates to reach adulthood?” asked Feng Lianzhu, “Can’t it be quicker?”

[Not enough energy for adulthood.]

As he was anxious, the system suddenly popped up a message.

[Congratulations to Host Feng Lianzhu for completing the third-stage task. Spiritual energy value and health bar reached the 70th level peak, appearance value increased by 20%, gained the Earth attribute, and received the ‘Memory Doubling’ reward, becoming a 70th level boss; received ‘Nuwa People’ skin, equipping this skin allows the host to gain the power of the Earth, as long as the host’s body touches the ground, they can obtain endless spiritual energy supply; gained 70th level skills ‘Clay Creation’ and ‘Earth-shattering’, which can change the terrain within a certain range.]

[Due to Feng Lianzhu completing three tasks, the fourth-stage task can be issued immediately to the host, defeating the 90th level boss Golden Winged Dapeng, gaining the Gold attribute, and upgrading to a 90th level boss, perfecting the Five Elements attribute.]

Golden Winged… Dapeng?

Feng Lianzhu could already imagine how happy the fat dragon would be to know about this task.

“Has Pang Kirates been informed yet?” asked Feng Lianzhu.

[Pang Kirates and the host are simultaneously aware of this matter.]

After completing a task, he could communicate with shared teammates, and Feng Lianzhu immediately said, “I want to talk to Pang Kirates!”

【Awaiting call, please wait.】

【Pang·Kilates has declined the call, stating he is currently engaged in combat with the Golden Winged Dapeng and will contact the host after the battle.】

Feng Lianzhu: “…”

That fast? It’s only been 30 seconds since he received the task, and he’s already battling the Golden Winged Great Peng?

As it turned out, it was indeed that fast.

The fat dragon, now the divine guardian beast of the Phoenix Arrival faction, was living even more comfortably. Upon arriving at the Phoenix Arrival faction’s base, he first visited the treasury, recalling how Panlong’s treasury was plundered, which almost brought tears to the Phoenix Arrival faction leader.

Fortunately, Phoenix Among Birds, a meticulous young woman, quickly realized that Yuan Cunfeng was not interested in god-tier weapons but was simply fond of shiny things. She decisively ordered the faction members to replace all god-tier equipment with dull cloth and nondescript wooden sticks, drastically lowering the visual appeal of their 56 female members by 60%.

Phoenix Among Birds also exchanged a bunch of gold coins. In the game, the exchange rate between game gold and real-world currency was 100:1. Game currency wasn’t valuable, so players rarely carried gold coins but instead converted money into banknotes.

Phoenix Among Birds, a decisive young woman, sold all the items looted from Panlong’s faction. As a large faction, Panlong had many market-scarce materials, and coupled with previous compensation from the game company, they had plenty of stock. After selling everything, Phoenix Among Birds received over a billion game coins.

She didn’t embezzle the game coins; they belonged to Yuan Cunfeng, the one who looted them. She exchanged them for over a billion gold coins and piled them up in the faction hall. When Yuan Cunfeng saw the huge pile of gold coins, he was so happy that he transformed into a fat, round dragon with a belly almost as big as the pile of coins, lying on the gold and rolling around.

Phoenix Arrival members: “…”

Tu Qinyuanhua whispered, “Leader, I read on the forum that Feng Lianzhu became self-aware due to AI abuse by Panlong – Xiao Nie, which skyrocketed his intelligence and abilities. But looking at him now, he doesn’t seem that smart.”

The members, hearing his comment, all thought of a popular saying, “Look, he laughs like an innocent child.”

The fat dragon in front of them, rubbing his back against the gold coins and clutching a pile of them with his front claws, opened his mouth wide, revealing teeth as sharp as the legendary Xuanyuan Sword.

Phoenix Among Birds commented, “Even if he’s not that smart, he still has the strength of a top-level boss. And he saved us. In Phoenix Arrival, we repay grudges tenfold and kindness a hundredfold. Everyone, take a handful of gold and toss it onto the ferocious dragon.”

After the leader’s command, the members obediently complied. Phoenix Among Birds was a strong-willed woman. The Panlong leader had privately complained that she was too domineering, making him feel less manly, which led him to cheat on her. Men often need a strong partner during hard times, but once they achieve success, they tend to seek a more submissive partner. The moral standards in the game weren’t as strict as in reality, so Panlong – Xiao Nie didn’t think there was anything wrong with his actions.

Phoenix Arrival had been established for a month. Though not large, it was managed tightly by Phoenix Among Birds, and the members were very united, willing to follow her orders even to their deaths.

A group of people held up gold pieces and tossed them onto the joyful dragon. This small dragon, measuring a whopping twenty meters in length (far smaller compared to the one that flattened the Lake of Wicked Love), first looked surprised, then burst into happy laughter.

The laughter of a Kirates dragon wasn’t much different from its roar, resembling a sonic attack. Fortunately, the members of the Phoenix Arrival faction had the foresight to block their hearing, minimizing the impact.

It was a blissful day for the fat dragon, who nestled in the pile of gold and didn’t want to wake up. Rubbing his back against the gold, he shed two black scales.

Phoenix Among Birds, who was keeping a close eye on the fat dragon, noticed that its health bar dropped slightly when the scales fell off.

She recalled the day at the Drum Plains. When Yuan Cunfeng rubbed against the Net of Heaven and Earth, his health also dropped slightly, leading players to believe their attacks were effective.

Could it be that it wasn’t their attacks that were effective, but rather the dragon losing scales while rubbing against the golden net?

Taking advantage of the moment when the fat dragon turned over, Phoenix Among Birds noticed a patch on his back where several scales had fallen off, revealing soft, light blue smaller scales underneath. These smaller scales seemed tender and probably offered lower defense.

The fat dragon picked up his fallen scales and, seeing Phoenix Among Birds staring, handed them to her.

This was his way of paying for the gold. Pang·Kirates wouldn’t take advantage of others. Previously, when he looted the interstellar pirates, he left behind claw marks. In the future, if the pirates were in trouble, they could bring the door with his claw marks to seek help from Pang·Kirates.

This was him, Pang·Kirates, a righteous and fair Kirates dragon.

“Roar~” The fat dragon roared at Phoenix Among Birds.

“For me?” Phoenix Among Birds hesitantly took the two scales.

The moment the scales touched her palm, Phoenix Among Birds, who had been killed down to level 78 by Panlong, started leveling up rapidly. The colorful light of leveling up shone continuously on her, turning her into a human-shaped firework.

The faction members watched as their leader’s level rose incessantly: 90, 100, 110, 120… Even reaching the max level wasn’t enough; she kept leveling up!

Only at level 140 did Phoenix Among Birds’s leveling stop. She looked at her experience bar, almost in shock. What was happening?

Tu Qinyuanhua adjusted his dislocated jaw: “Leader, this must be a bug, right? The game company won’t accuse you of using cheats, will they?”

Phoenix Among Birds didn’t respond. Looking at her palm, she said to her followers, “There’s one scale left.”

Just one scale had boosted Phoenix Among Birds from level 78 to the breakthrough level of 140!

She didn’t use the other scale indiscriminately. To Tu Qinyuanhua, she said, “Give me that halberd you have, the one that can lower someone’s level by 20 and convert that power entirely into attack strength.”

That was Tu Qinyuanhua’s failed attempt at crafting, a weapon that reduced the user’s level by 20 in exchange for increased attack power, but the trade-off was hardly worth it. After crafting it, he had tossed it into his inventory, never to be used again. Apart from a few close acquaintances, no other players knew of such a meaningless weapon in the game.

Handing the halberd to Phoenix Among Birds, she immediately dropped to level 120 and breathed a sigh of relief: “I hope this will temporarily deceive the game company and other players.”

“Feng Lianzhu, can I call you that?” Phoenix Among Birds asked the fat dragon. “Can I give the other scale to our members? I really can’t level up anymore.”

“Roar~” The fat dragon, understanding that the others had also thrown gold at him, nodded in agreement.

As soon as he agreed, the scale in Phoenix Among Birds’s hand disintegrated into the air, and the faction members began to level up frantically, each reaching the max level of 120.

While other players were still leveling up, the highest level on the leaderboard was 109. Suddenly, the top fifty-seven spots were dominated by Phoenix Arrival members.

Players watching the leaderboard: “???!”

“This isn’t a bug,” Tu Qinyuanhua said, staring at the fat dragon in disbelief, then knelt down, “You are a dragon deity, the guardian deity of our faction!”

The fat dragon seemed pleased with this title.

Then, he paused, noticing a new task from the system, instructing him to kill Nüwa.

Transforming into Yuan Cunfeng, he said to Phoenix Among Birds, “Nüwa… person…”

His command of the Chinese language wasn’t great, but the fat dragon had been secretly learning.

“You want to find Nüwa?” Phoenix Among Birds asked. “I’ll take you there.”

While the world channel was buzzing with debates about whether Phoenix Arrival was cheating, the faction, now completely rejuvenated, brought out their leader’s vehicle, the Nine Phoenix Chariot. They invited Yuan Cunfeng aboard, and two members controlled the chariot as they flew towards the map where Nüwa was located.

The fat dragon was quite satisfied. He took a nap in the Nine Phoenix Chariot and woke up to a notification from the system about an increase in points.

【Pang·Kirates gains 57 die-hard supporters, points increased by 5700, current points -1257.】

“Roar~” Seeing this score, the fat dragon roared in satisfaction, knowing he could quickly repay his debt. Feng Lianzhu had worried for nothing, even transferring his own points to pay off the fat dragon’s debt.

Arriving at the designated location, they effortlessly defeated the pitiful Nüwa, with Phoenix Arrival clearing the area. This group of max-level women warriors turned into bullies, driving away onlookers and protecting the fat dragon as he fought the boss.

Some worried that the fat dragon was an alien civilization’s self-aware AI, recalling movies about AI destroying humanity. But then, the image of the fat dragon rolling in gold coins replaced these thoughts.

“The ferocious dragon Feng Lianzhu is actually… quite adorable,” a girl suddenly said. “I really want to touch his big belly. Those white scales seem soft and must feel nice to touch.”

“What are you thinking about? That’s a dragon with a really bad temper!” another girl replied. “But he is kind of cute, in an ugly-cute way.”

Tu Qinyuanhua objected, “Cute? He’s all about dominance, awe-inspiring presence, and terrifying power. He’s not a symbol of strength; he is strength itself. How did you get ‘cute’ from that? Right, Leader? Leader?”

Beside him, Phoenix Among Birds, with a thoughtful look, pursed her lips before asking, “Can we apply to the game to make the ferocious dragon Feng Lianzhu our faction’s mascot?”

Tu Qinyuanhua: “…”

After the leader spoke, a group of girls excitedly discussed, “The game company definitely won’t agree, but we can still adore him privately! I learned painting in the game and have a background in real-life drawing too. I can paint two pictures: one of a powerful and ruthless black dragon stepping on Panlong, and another cute Q-version of a dragon. We can hang them in our faction hall. A guardian beast and a mascot aren’t contradictory.”

“I can make badges. How about we print these two images on either side of a badge to wear?” another member suggested.

“That’s a good idea,” agreed Phoenix Among Birds.

“Awesome!”

While the girls were discussing, the fat dragon had already completed his task and was peacefully sleeping on the Nine Phoenix Chariot, comfortably nestled on the soft cushions, snoring away.

Phoenix Among Birds, realizing that the dragon scales fell off when the fat dragon was in contact with gold, guessed that metal weapons or metal-based techniques might be his weakness. If players like Sword to the Sky discovered this vulnerability and started attacking to knock off scales for leveling, it could become problematic.

Phoenix Among Birds, with her sharp intuition, suspected that after dying, Feng Lianzhu might respawn in the Bamboo Valley, but the Feng Lianzhu that would return might not be the same as Yuan Cunfeng. Such a flexible and human-like NPC might never appear again.

“We’re already at level 120,” Phoenix Among Birds said, “and I remember that pets can be equipped with weapons.”

“That’s correct,” a summoner member confirmed. “Does the leader want to craft a top-tier set of equipment for Yuan Cunfeng?”

“Yes. We leveled up using his dragon scales; it’s only right to give something back. Ideally, armor that can counteract metal.” Phoenix Among Birds suggested.

“Fire overcomes metal, and earth generates metal. It’s best to find a boss with these two attributes. The equipment dropped can be forged to suit Yuan Cunfeng,” Tu Qinyuanhua, the blacksmith, added.

“In the Netherworld Hell, there’s a Tiger-Scale Beast, probably designed based on Di Ting, which is a level 120 boss. Additionally, in the Dragon Slaying Platform dungeon in Wushan, there’s a level 120 dual-attribute Fire-Metal Jiao Dragon. These two monsters should do,” the summoner girl said.

“Two maps each need how many people?” Phoenix Among Birds asked.

“The Tiger-Scale Beast requires a six-person team, while the Dragon Slaying Platform is a 12-person large dungeon.”

“We have enough people,” Phoenix Among Birds declared, “and since no one has reached level 120 yet, no one has attempted these dungeons. Let’s go get equipment for Feng Lianzhu!”

“Okay!” the members of Phoenix Arrival exclaimed in unison.

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Author’s Note:

Feng Lianzhu: The fat dragon might be in danger, it’s all my fault!

Fat Dragon (unable to resist wagging its tail): Hehe, A-Zhu, look, aren’t the gold scale armor my servants offered me beautiful? Roar~

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My dear little angels, the nutrient solution has reached 17,000, so there will be an extra chapter before 8 PM tonight!

This chapter is already 6,000 words long~

The nutrient solution, well, is kind of a process where I squeeze out everyone’s white liquid, and everyone squeezes out my brain juice (eh, also white!). Let’s enjoy this pain and joy together. Seeking nutrient solution! Seeking to be squeezed and to squeeze!