In contrast to the tranquil environment where Liam was training, chaos had descended upon the entire Gresh Kingdom. The whole place, just like most of the rest of the world, was suddenly discussing one and only one thing, the overnight massacre of the Gu family.
Normally, news like this would have made the front pages of the different newspapers and magazines and would have created some amount of commotion, provided the government did not sweep the whole incident under the rug.
However, in the age of the internet and, more importantly, in the age of 'Evolution Online,' this incident became an even hotter topic.
More than the cold-blooded massacre of two hundred plus civilians and high-ranking government officials of one of the many prominent families in China, the news about one of the top guilds in the Gresh Kingdom completely collapsing overnight hit harder.
Jade Mountain, 9th in the Gresh Kingdom guilds' ranking, had disappeared with nothing but a poof! This completely changed the dynamics of the guilds in the kingdom.
Jade Mountain alone had about twelve thousand players, and all of them were now available for the other guilds to recruit.
One of the main reasons for the giant guild to collapse, the corporations backing the Jade Mountain guild, were also available now for the other guilds to fight over.
Though someone had destroyed the foundation altogether, these corporations had pulled out so fast that they were the key factor in the collapse of the guild.
And now they were available for the other guilds to vie for with their surplus funds.
In fact, many guilds were secretly surprised when this backing behind the Jade Mountain guild was revealed. They had been hiding a lot of things from the outsiders' eyes.
Not only corporations but the Jade Mountain guild was one of the few guilds being sponsored by the government!
And they were also in the process of swallowing several other smaller guilds. These key facts only came out after the guild was wiped out.
If the unfortunate massacre hadn't happened, it wouldn't have been an exaggeration to say that the Jade Mountain could have risen to become one of the top five, or heck, even one of the top three guilds in the Kingdom.
All of that, however, was now merely speculation and wishful thinking, as the once promising guild had been bulldozed to the ground with no one knowing which group was responsible for this.
Absolutely no evidence had been left behind, not one fingerprint or even shoe print, making the whole thing a complete mystery.
Meanwhile, one of the two people who actually knew everything about this incident, Shen Yue, returned back to the guild headquarters. She informed Rey and Alex that the problem regarding the people following them had been solved.
She didn't say anything in detail implicating Liam in the mess, but it wasn't difficult for the duo to guess and put two and two together. This made Shen Yue nervous, though the very instant all her anxiety was eased.
"Heh. Now, I wish it really had been that sleazebag uncle who had come knocking at our doorstep." Alex clicked her tongue without showing any other emotion.
On the other hand, Rey was worse and kept cursing his bad luck that he had not chosen to log out and missed the whole thing.
Shen Yue blinked at the sister and brother duo, wondering what kind of people were in her life right now. No wonder Liam had asked her to share it with the two of them without worrying about the consequences.
"Bye Alex. Bye Rey. I will return to the Rock Temple and join Mei Mei and the others."
Alex nodded, and Rey gave her a big smile. "Thanks, sis Yue! We were able to get twenty more players to the Master level with all the recipes and the raw materials from the dungeon!"
"Is it better now?" Shen Yue asked.
She didn't use much of the consumables because she didn't have to, but most of the other core members of the guild and the main team relied heavily on it, just like the rest of the world, to keep up with the top players and keep challenging elites and bosses above their level.
Unfortunately, this puts a burden on the guild. "Not yet, sis." Rey replied.
But Alex grinned silently. "Don't worry. I got this. I am almost done. We will soon not have to worry about this idiotic problem anymore."
Their guild's supplies were not matching the demands, but she knew exactly what she had to do about it. Liam had already laid the groundwork, so it would be humiliating if she did not even solve this small problem without his help.
"In fact, I am off to settle this right now once and for all. After this, there should be no shortage of supplies for us. Want to corner us? It won't be so easy."
"What is she talking about?" Rey was confused, but the three of them disbanded, each going their own way.
Shen Yue returned to the Rock Temple dungeon zone, which had now become a PVP hot spot with Crimson Abyss utterly monopolizing the area.
Rey ran to the Hunter Association as he had received a special class quest. Thanks to him snooping around the building day and night, trying to finish the task Liam had given him, he managed to stumble into another chain quest.
And lastly, Alex was headed to the divine city with a smile still hanging on her lips. Surprisingly, as soon as she entered the city gates, a priestess rushed over to her, making the few players on the street turn and look at the two of them.
Priestesses were the top NPCs in the divine city, and their status was no less than the status of the Kingdom's royal family. However, Alex still had a bold smile as she took something hideous from her inventory slot.
"Here. I have brought the thing that you asked me for."
