Chapter 90: System Upgrade

Countless miscellaneous items erupted wildly from the Ashes Ring in an instant. Li Ren didn’t think about anything; he simply kept the last egg he had acquired and the crimson equipment, releasing all the other items at once just as he intended.

The entire side hall was instantly flooded by this avalanche of equipment. Li Ren himself was buried under the sudden tide, while Shadow, Landis, and Lania, standing closer to the doorway, had already dashed outside at the first sign of trouble. Unfortunately, Shadow was at the very end; Lania had just passed through the door when the wave of equipment crashed down, violently knocking Shadow to the ground.

In that moment of collapse, even Shadow felt a surge of resentment toward Li Ren. Yet, after Lania rescued him from the pile, seeing Li Ren’s current state, that displeasure vanished utterly.

More accurately, it wasn’t merely dissatisfaction—it was wild joy! Anyone could see that such a staggering quantity of equipment appearing suddenly in Cloudfall City, with at least half of it usable by players, would bring about a tremendous transformation for the city.

Shadow seemed to envision the endless stream of souls converging upon the Death Wishing Grounds as players flocked from all corners, frantically snatching up these low-level items that, while meaningless to them, would become the most sought-after treasures.

Of course, at this moment, his gaze naturally overlooked Li Ren, whose entire body was still buried beneath the equipment, with only a solitary arm stretched out desperately, trembling as if pleading for rescue.

But such a situation was clearly inappropriate. Queen Landis could not stand it any longer. She said, “Can’t you be smarter? Why don’t you reverse what you’ve done? Can’t you return the items the same way you released them? Do I really need to teach you such trivial matters?”

Indeed, the Queen’s words were always so incisive, striking directly at the heart of the matter with brutal precision.

The trembling arm suddenly paused; all the equipment in the room vanished at once, leaving behind a skeleton still holding one arm aloft in a bizarre pose.

“Hey, I just wanted to—well, to have a little fun with you all,” Li Ren awkwardly withdrew his arm, trying to act natural by scratching the back of his head as if it really itched.

Landis and Shadow, already accustomed to such antics, weren’t fooled for a moment. Lania, though less experienced, could nonetheless sense what was truly happening in these circumstances.

Could a skeleton really have an itchy head? Was this some kind of joke?

After a round of eye rolls, Li Ren couldn’t help but grow angry out of embarrassment.

“Hey! What’s with your attitudes? I honestly was just messing around a little!”

“Hmm? Messing around how?” Landis’s aura grew even stronger; the Queen’s gaze from above was suffocating, and Li Ren found himself thoroughly overwhelmed.

“Alright, alright, let’s not talk about this anymore. Step aside so I can release the rest of the items,” Li Ren said, a little dejected.

Shadow shrugged, offering Li Ren a gesture of comfort, indicating he too felt the Queen’s oppressive presence.

Li Ren returned his “ally” a smile, one that perhaps only Shadow could truly decipher, reading the subtle shifts on Li Ren’s almost eternally unchanged skeletal face.

Could this be the legendary power of “Great Friendship”?

No one knew for sure.

But everyone obediently retreated from the hall.

This time, Li Ren was much more cautious. He released only half of the items at once, and when the others were already outside, he stretched his hand through the doorway from a safe distance, and the rest of the equipment spilled out again.

“Alright, the rest is up to you. Oh, Landis, you take charge this time along with Shadow, and Lania, give them a hand. I’m off to check on Chief Dongfang and his group,” Li Ren clapped his hands, as if he had accomplished something remarkable.

“And make sure you don’t sell them short on price—you know the drill. These are spoils from nearly thirty thousand players, so those thirty thousand are bound to feel the sting. Hahaha!” Li Ren laughed as he departed.

Shadow and the others looked at the equipment piled high in the hall, feeling genuinely troubled.

Li Ren put on the Ring of Deceit once more. For this task, he needed the disguise to leave the city—otherwise, a skeleton wandering the streets would be far too conspicuous.

Moreover, his skeletal visage had surely spread throughout the player world by now. The equipment from thirty thousand players was nothing compared to the crimson item dropped by the only deceased lord, the Voodoo Lord.

Players at the front lines had witnessed it, and some even recorded the scene, including his taunting gesture—his middle finger pointed skyward.

If those crazed players uncovered his identity now, it would undoubtedly impact Cloudfall City’s development.

So, he slipped quietly out the door.

Just as he stepped outside, the system issued three consecutive notifications: “Player Solon has acquired the mount Azure Dragon Horse and activated the mount system. The system will undergo a thirty-minute maintenance update. All players, please prepare to log off. All players will be logged out in thirty seconds.”

“Mount system? System update?” Li Ren murmured outside the Lord’s Castle, pondering the system message.

Thirty seconds passed swiftly. All players in Cloudfall City vanished, forcibly logged out by the system. The town was left with only Li Ren, the guards, and NPCs.

At that moment, countless streaks of light began to rain down from the boundless sky. Li Ren couldn’t help but look up, as Shadow and the others appeared beside him.

They watched as the brightest points of light descended in different directions. Shadow smiled confidently.

“The legendary best mounts from this update have arrived—they’re those brightest points.”

“Hmm? But what I’m really wondering is, what exactly is this system? Why are we still here? It no longer feels like a routine upgrade, but as if… as if someone is manipulating this entire world from behind the scenes,” Li Ren voiced his suspicions.

Shadow didn’t reply, though he silently agreed with Li Ren’s words. He couldn’t answer—not now, not under these circumstances. “If there are questions, then let the master grow step by step and uncover the truth himself,” he thought.