Chapter 25 Netherfiend Hellhounds
[YouMustBeStarving: Isn't that your own fault? Their prices weren't even that high to begin with — you just got greedy and wanted them to sell at cost. The nerve!]
[Qiyezhenzhen: I've blocked the few people calling me greedy. If you think it's too expensive, then don't buy it. Don't go around complaining about the price and then add me as a friend behind my back — isn't that right, @Zhengzhan Tianxia.]
[Zhengzhan Tianxia: You f***ing...]
Another torrent of foul language.
Qin Zhen blocked him without a second thought.
[Qiyezhenzhen: My prices are clearly listed. If you want to buy, buy. If you think it's too expensive, don't. It's that simple. Don't try to pull moral blackmail on me — I have no morals.]
[Loli Yin: The boss is absolutely right!]
[Wang Laoji: +1 to the above]
[HypeFire Warning: +2 to the above]
[Mousepad: +above]
[......]
Probably afraid that Qin Zhen would refuse to sell them Spike Fences, some Players began frantically agreeing with her in the Chat Channel.
Qin Zhen smiled indifferently. Human nature was just like that.
Earlier, when a few people said her prices were too high, everyone had piled on — trying to use the pressure of public opinion to force her to lower them.
But now that they saw she was holding firm, both in attitude and in action, they immediately switched sides, terrified she might block them too.
Qin Zhen, of course, had no intention of doing that. She couldn't expect everyone to have good values — because not everyone was actually a decent person.
She still needed these people to do business with. Free money was free money.
Before long, midnight arrived, and all sixty Spike Fences had been crafted.
Qin Zhen sent them out to the buyers one by one.
Once that was done, she opened all the Wooden Chests and Black Iron Chests she had been stockpiling and hadn't broken down yet.
Now that she could store everything in the warehouse, she had no use for the chests anymore.
She had Wooden Chest ×27 and Black Iron Chest ×9.
After breaking them down, she obtained Wood ×162 and Refined Iron ×54.
Qin Zhen took stock of her supplies.
Before all this, she had Refined Iron ×25, Stone ×1150, Common Monster Materials ×8, Wood ×450, and Glass ×355 left over.
Tonight's business with six buyers had netted her Refined Iron ×600 and Common Monster Materials ×440, but she had spent Stone ×525 of her own.
Adding in what she'd just gotten from breaking down the chests, her current total was: Refined Iron ×679, Stone ×625, Common Monster Materials ×448, Wood ×612, and Glass ×355.
With her inventory sorted, Qin Zhen went to sleep.
The next day, she didn't wake up until ten o'clock.
Through the glass window, she could see the sky outside was still dark. It was impossible to tell yet whether today would be a Polar Night.
Maybe I'll sleep in a little longer...
Qin Zhen drifted back off in a drowsy haze.
But she didn't stay asleep for long. A faint rustling sound jolted her awake.
What on earth was that?
Qin Zhen grabbed her Flashlight and opened the door — and immediately sucked in a sharp breath.
Seven or eight monsters were caught on her Spike Fence, and two more monster corpses lay on the ground.
She couldn't tell what species they were. They looked a bit like dogs, a bit like wolves, their entire bodies wreathed in black miasma, snarling ferociously.
[Netherfiend Hellhound: Tier 1 Monster. High Attack Power, possessing formidable vitality. Those struck may be infected with Netherfiend Miasma; if not cleared in time, death will follow. Attack Power: 50; Defense: 50; HP: 600]
Qin Zhen stared at those numbers and fell silent.
This was absolutely insane!
She had a feeling some Tier 2 Monsters might not even have stats this high.
"System, what exactly is this thing? It feels different from the monsters before."
Something felt off to Qin Zhen. These creatures were radiating black miasma from every inch of their bodies, and their stats were extraordinary.
Based on every TV drama she'd ever watched, nothing that looked like this could possibly be good news.
[Host, I don't remember either. All I know is that these things are extremely dangerous — you must eliminate them!]
Qin Zhen: "......"
I obviously know I need to eliminate them — because if they don't die, I do...
Six Common Netherfiend Hellhounds, two Tier 1 Netherfiend Hellhounds, plus the two Common ones already dead on the ground — ten monsters had shown up today!
Nearly double what she'd faced before!
Fortunately, the Netherfiend Hellhounds couldn't attack at range. With them held outside by the Spike Fence, she only needed to attack from inside.
Qin Zhen equipped her Lianyue Crossbow. Each arrow now dealt ninety-six points of damage — just seven shots to bring down a single Tier 1 Netherfiend Hellhound.
She burned through all thirty arrows in the Lianyue Crossbow, but two Common Netherfiend Hellhounds were still alive — she had missed a few shots along the way.
Qin Zhen swapped out the Lianyue Crossbow and equipped her Tang Dao. Combined with her own stats, each slash dealt over seventy points of damage.
She moved in quickly and brought the Tang Dao down on a Netherfiend Hellhound.
The moment the blade connected, she felt the force of the strike get absorbed by some strange, uncanny power — like hacking into a wad of cotton.
The Tang Dao nearly got stuck.
What in the world is this thing? Doesn't matter — kill them first, ask questions later!
Qin Zhen stopped overthinking.
Under the harsh beam of the Flashlight, the Tang Dao flashed with a cold, piercing silver light as she hacked away at the Netherfiend Hellhounds.
She finally cut down both Netherfiend Hellhounds, but in the process, one of them had raked her arm with its claws.
The bloody wound was seeping black miasma.
Qin Zhen's heart clenched. The System had said that being struck by a Netherfiend Hellhound could infect a person with Netherfiend Miasma, which had to be cleared quickly or it would be fatal. Had she been infected?
"System, how do I get rid of this stuff?"
[Host, the Netherfiend Hellhound has Dark Affinity. Both Light Affinity and Thunder Affinity are effective counters against Netherfiend Creatures.]
Understood.
Qin Zhen equipped the Starlight Staff and cast "Blessing of Light" on herself.
Sure enough, the wound healed completely, and the eerie black miasma dissipated.
[Two Netherfiend Hellhound corpses detected. Break them down?]
[Yes / No]
Qin Zhen selected Yes, and received: [Tier 1 Netherfiend Hellhound Meat 1kg ×20, Tier 1 Netherfiend Hellhound Fang ×4, Tier 1 Netherfiend Hellhound Hide ×2, Dark Spirit Bead ×6, Black Iron Chest ×2, EXP +100].
Breaking down the eight Common Netherfiend Hellhounds yielded: [Netherfiend Hellhound Meat 1kg ×40, Netherfiend Hellhound Fang ×16, Netherfiend Hellhound Hide ×8, Dark Spirit Bead ×6, Wooden Chest ×6, EXP +240].
"System, there are Dark Spirit Beads too? What are those for?"
[Host, if Light Affinity exists, then of course Dark Affinity does too.]
"You mean there are Players with Dark Affinity?"
Qin Zhen had always felt that anything tied to darkness was bad news — she hadn't expected there to actually be Players with Dark Affinity.
[Of course! Though they're quite rare — just like your Light Affinity, Host.]
Qin Zhen tugged at the corner of her mouth. So hers was a rare Affinity after all.