"I’m his boyfriend, who are you?"

Facing the slightly provocative Tian Ci, Liang City’s heart sank:

"Boyfriend?"

"I’ve never heard her mention a friend like you before."

Sure enough, Ai Wen suddenly said:

"Don’t listen to his nonsense."

"I’m not familiar with him."

This statement caused a stir among the crowd:

"Not familiar?"

Liang City looked at Ai Wen in surprise, then at Tian Ci:

"How do you explain this?"

Tian Ci acted indifferent and said:

"I ask who you are."

"Do I owe you an explanation? Pfft~"

Liang City was momentarily stunned:

"You!"

At this moment, Ai Wen stepped in before Tian Ci could speak and turned to Eiffel:

"Senior, let’s go."

"Don’t we still have a dungeon to run?"

The crowd was now utterly confused about the relationship between Ai Wen and Tian Ci.

Tian Ci stood to the side, shrugging helplessly:

"I just made her unhappy, you know how it is..."

Ai Wen’s face turned immediately, and she glared at Tian Ci:

"Say anything more, and I’ll log off."

Seeing that Ai Wen might really be upset, Tian Ci quickly raised his hands in surrender:

"Alright, alright."

"Why so serious? It was just a joke."

He thought bitterly: ’What kind of task did Boss Feng give me? Was this girl abandoned by Boss Feng before?’

Despite his inner thoughts, Tian Ci’s face remained cheerful and unserious.

Liang City suddenly moved to Ai Wen’s side, concerned:

"Are you alright?"

"If he’s bothering you, let me know, and I’ll handle it."

Ai Wen apathetically replied to Liang City’s concern:

"No."

Then Ai Wen continued to say to Eiffel:

"Senior, let’s go to the dungeon."

Eiffel, who had witnessed everything, noticed that Tian Ci and Ai Wen weren’t as close as imagined, and figured there’s no way to get him to help with the raid.

Even though it was a pity not to have someone of Tian Ci’s caliber, there was no choice.

Eiffel said:

"Alright, now that everyone’s here."

"Let’s head out."

The crowd echoed in agreement:

"Let’s go, let’s go, time for the dungeon."

"I have unfinished tasks to complete after the raid."

Someone curiously asked:

"Hey, isn’t Tian Ci coming with us?"

However, right after that, Divine Hall Beacon Fire chimed in:

"Do you need my help?"

The crowd paused in surprise and looked at Divine Hall Beacon Fire.

Eiffel was no different.

Though they couldn’t bring Tian Ci, having someone as advanced as Divine Hall Beacon Fire would certainly assist with clearing the dungeon.

Especially after Divine Hall Beacon Fire said:

"Don’t worry, I won’t share in the loot distribution."

This offer made Eiffel’s eyes light up:

"Really?"

Divine Hall Beacon Fire glanced at Tao Xin’Er and said:

"I’m here just to help Xiao Le."

"If possible, prioritize equipment for Xiao Le."

Eiffel readily agreed:

"No problem."

At this moment, the werewolf player Xia Bu Che Dan stood up and said:

"Senior, that’s not right, is it?"

"Our ten-person team is complete, and adding someone means..."

Though the sentence trailed off, everyone quickly understood.

Exactly!

This was a dungeon with a player limit.

The ten of them were already assembled.

Bringing Divine Hall Beacon Fire meant one of them would have to drop out.

Realizing this, everyone’s gaze instinctively fell on the two Shield Warriors in the team: Cold Star Lv54 and Reckless Brother Lv51.

Because Divine Hall Beacon Fire’s profession was a Winged Race Guard (Tank).

Replacing someone naturally meant choosing between the two of them.

Normally, you’d first choose to replace the lower-level player.

The Shield Warrior named Reckless Brother suddenly turned to Eiffel:

"Senior Eiffel."

"Though my level isn’t as high as Cold Star’s, my skills are no less than his."

"Keep me in the team."

"If you don’t believe me, we could have a match to see who’s better."

Eiffel didn’t immediately respond but looked at Cold Star:

"What do you think?"

As Cold Star was about to speak, Reckless Brother suddenly grabbed his arm, looking at him nervously.

The crowd noticed the situation, focusing their attention on Cold Star.

In truth, everyone knew that Cold Star’s skills weren’t as shabby as Reckless Brother claimed; he might even be superior.

However, facing Reckless Brother’s words, Cold Star unexpectedly fell silent.

This was a ten-person raid!

The dropped equipment wouldn’t be bad.

And since Divine Hall Beacon Fire had said he wouldn’t take any equipment, it meant...

The person staying would get all the loot for their profession.

Faced with such temptation, no one wanted to be replaced right now.

Including this Titan Warrior named Cold Star.

But much to everyone’s surprise, Cold Star spoke:

"Actually, I just remembered a task I haven’t done. I’ve been unsure how to bring it up."

"Now it’s a good time for Brother Beacon Fire to replace me."

Despite those words.

It was clear to any discerning ear that his tone was insincere.

Meanwhile, Reckless Brother, disregarding all else, beamed joyfully:

"Thanks, buddy."

"I’ll cover your meals for the week."

Cold Star said nothing more and turned to leave.

Watching this unfold, Ai Wen, at the back of the crowd, caught a glimpse of Reckless Brother and a trace of disgust flickered across her face:

"Just because they’re rich, they think they can bully honest people."

Liang City shook his head silently.

Everyone watched Cold Star leave, yet no one stepped out to say a word or offer comfort.

On the contrary, each person’s face showed an excited expression.

It seemed they were thrilled about Divine Hall Beacon Fire joining them, greatly increasing the chances of clearing the dungeon.

Eiffel directly sent a team invitation to Divine Hall Beacon Fire.

At that moment.

Divine Hall Beacon Fire, standing next to Tao Xin’Er, suddenly spoke:

"That Cold Star, right?"

"Hold on a second."

Everyone turned to look at Divine Hall Beacon Fire, puzzled.

Suddenly, someone worriedly exclaimed:

"Oh my."

"Is this big shot going to change his mind?"

Tao Xin’Er quickly held onto Divine Hall Beacon Fire:

"What are you doing?"

Divine Hall Beacon Fire gave Tao Xin’Er a smile and walked to Cold Star, who was looking bewildered, took out a large shield from his inventory, and offered it to Cold Star:

"I replaced this earlier, and it’s not really useful to me now, so I’ll give it to you."

"Check the attributes and see if you like it."

Intentionally or not, Divine Hall Beacon Fire posted the equipment attributes directly on the public chat:

Divine Hall Beacon Fire (region channel): "[Cold Iron Large Shield Lv51 Epic]"

The others exclaimed in surprise:

"Lv50 Epic shield, oh my."

It’s known that shields are the most valuable and crucial equipment for Shield Warriors!

Everyone, upon seeing the equipment attributes, even those who weren’t Shield Warriors, showed shock and envy:

"30% Double Defense and 50% Life Value, plus 10% damage reduction, what superb equipment."

Someone sighed in awe:

"Selling this would easily fetch thousands."

Someone nearby sneered:

"Thousands? Meh~"

"If you auction this in Floating City, it’ll be at least fifty thousand, maybe even a hundred thousand if a wealthy person is interested."

"Whoa, that high?!"

"Ha! And I’m being conservative."

"With billions of players worldwide, how many top-tier items can appear? You’re underestimating the rich in this world."

Even the guy called Unyielding couldn’t help but swallow hard.

His guts were now churned with regret.

If he had been the one to leave earlier, how great it would be.

In that case, the shield would have been his, oh the regret!

Only Shield Warriors know the true value of this shield; it’s simply immeasurable!

With a shield like this, saying it could double one’s strength wouldn’t be exaggerated at all.

Cold Star turned red from excitement upon seeing the shield’s attributes, saying:

"Is this for me?"

Divine Hall Beacon Fire shrugged, saying:

"I caused you to miss a chance to run the dungeon."

"Consider this my compensation to you."

Upon hearing this, Cold Star excitedly took the shield, and the gloom in his heart dissipated, repeatedly thanking Divine Hall Beacon Fire:

"Thank you, thank you!"

"Thank you so much!"

Watching Cold Star equip the glimmering large shield, everyone couldn’t help but show their envy.

No matter how you look at it.

Although Cold Star missed the dungeon, acquiring this equipment meant this trip was absolutely worth it.

However, in the next moment, when everyone thought it was over.

Heavenly Bestowment abruptly spoke to Divine Hall Beacon Fire:

"I see he’s quite a decent person and doesn’t have a guild, why not recruit him as well?"

As soon as the words came out, there was an uproar.

What did Heavenly Bestowment just say?

Let him join the New Divine Hall Guild?

That’s the top guild in the Hua Country War Zone, New Divine Hall!

A super guild that countless people wish to join.

Being part of a guild equates to having a stable ’profession’ and income.

Because members who join the guild are signed with stable contracts, their benefits are comparable to ordinary white-collar workers in real life.

Besides being able to play games while making money, it’s a dream opportunity for many!

Cold Star, even more excited, looked at Heavenly Bestowment and stuttered:

"Can, can, can I?"

Divine Hall Beacon Fire glanced at Heavenly Bestowment, taken aback.

Even as a vice clan leader, he couldn’t just recruit anyone.

Now, entering a guild requires passing multiple selections.

Moreover, he only had a few recruitment spots.

Typically, he wouldn’t use these exclusive recruitment slots easily.

But with Heavenly Bestowment’s word, he had no choice but to oblige.

Even if Divine Hall Madman personally came, he likely wouldn’t refuse.

Thus, he straightforwardly replied:

"Since Heavenly Bestowment has spoken, there’s no choice but to agree!"

Then Divine Hall Beacon Fire sent a guild invitation to Cold Star.

"Player ’Divine Hall Beacon Fire’ has sent you an invitation from the New Divine Hall Guild, please choose:"

[Accept][Reject]

Cold Star, incredulous at the system prompt, suddenly felt like crying aloud.

But thinking about soon becoming a New Divine Hall guild member, Cold Star wiped away the tears and clicked: [Accept].

System: "Congratulations on becoming a member of the New Divine Hall guild."

Upon accepting the invitation, Cold Star’s ID changed to:

Cold Star Lv52

Titan Race

[New Divine Hall Guild Member]

And at that moment, the most notable was the distinct title above Cold Star’s name, every New Divine Hall Guild member had, representing their unique identity:

[New Divine Hall · Contend with the World]

Feeling the envious gazes, Cold Star couldn’t contain his joy anymore and burst into tears.

He quickly thanked Divine Hall Beacon Fire again:

"Thank you, thank you!"

Feeling Tao Xin’Er’s strange gaze, Divine Hall Beacon Fire, in a righteous manner, said:

"You’re one of us now, no need for thanks."

"Let’s add each other as friends, and I’ll tell you about our guild rules later."

...

As the mastermind behind this, Heavenly Bestowment winked at Ai Wen:

"How was this, I did a good job, right?"

This time, Ai Wen didn’t roll her eyes at Heavenly Bestowment but looked straight at him, seriously:

"Do me a favor."

"If you can, I’ll agree to help Feng, him."

Seeing Ai Wen finally relent, Heavenly Bestowment didn’t hesitate:

"No problem!"