Jiang Kai did not enter the login hall directly but instead looked around outside the hall.
Outside the hall, a few people were wandering around. Occasionally, someone would approach them and whisper a few words. Then, both parties would scan each other's wristwatches, seemingly engaged in some kind of transaction.
Jiang Kai walked toward one of them.
"How much does early login cost?"
The man glanced at Jiang Kai and said, "Three days early, ten thousand. Two days, five thousand. One day, two thousand. Logging in today costs an extra five thousand."
This kind of queue number exchange was permitted by the military. After all, players might have last-minute emergencies preventing them from logging in on time. In such cases, they could swap queue numbers with others. This ensured that they could still log in on time without wasting a login slot, and it also allowed those with urgent needs to get online sooner.
However, the military only allowed queue changes up to a maximum of three days in advance, and each time a player logged out, they only had one opportunity to change their queue number.
Over the years, this exchange system had even developed into a profession, providing number-swapping services for individuals with special needs.
"Why is logging in today more expensive?"
The man smirked slightly, "Haven't you seen the morning's video? That guy, Hochman, provoked the entire Huaxia by capturing two of its warriors. Now, a lot of people want to log in and head to the Connection Gate to see if anyone is going to rescue them."
Jiang Kai didn't respond further and simply asked, "Alliance coins?"
He needed to clarify that.
"This isn't Ghost Star. Of course, it's Alliance coins."
Jiang Kai nodded, "I'll log in today. Three days early—thirteen thousand. Otherwise, once today passes, your queue number will be worthless."
The man hesitated briefly before eventually nodding. He opened his wristwatch, searched for a suitable person under his team, and retrieved a queue number, "Pay first, then we exchange queue numbers."
Jiang Kai activated his wristwatch screen, swiftly made the payment, and swapped numbers.
After paying 13,000 Alliance coins, Jiang Kai's queue number jumped ahead by over 12,000 places, changing his login date to the 26th.
After completing the transaction, Jiang Kai walked straight into the login hall.
After waiting in line for nearly an hour, Jiang Kai finally approached the login gate.
At that moment, someone blocked his path.
Jiang Kai frowned slightly and looked up. It was Su Lanlan.
"Why are you logging in early?", Su Lanlan narrowed her eyes at him.
"Not your business," Jiang Kai frowned.
Su Lanlan was about to get angry but unexpectedly restrained herself this time. She stared at Jiang Kai, fell silent for a moment, and sighed, "The General said that if I saw you, I should tell you to think twice. We will find another way to deal with Zhuzi and Nuannuan's situation."
Jiang Kai smiled faintly, "Tell Old Wei, thanks for the reminder."
After saying that, Jiang Kai brushed past Su Lanlan and walked straight into the login gate.
"Jiang Kai!", By the time Su Lanlan turned around, she could only see his figure fading into the login portal...
"That guy... Is he really going to rescue them?", Su Lanlan stomped her foot angrily and cursed, but moments later, she just stared blankly at the login gate.
'If there's anyone who could possibly save Nuannuan and Zhuzi now... it might really be him.'
'Kai, can you really save them?'
———
At the Portal Plaza, those who had just logged in and the players passing by all received a system message.
[Bloodthirsty Slayer has logged in. Killing him will increase profession experience and grant double XP plunder eligibility.]
People turned to look in the direction of the login gate.
Before long, within a beam of white light, a figure gradually became clear.
"Jiang Kai…"
A member of the Black Tortoise Guild widened his eyes at Jiang Kaiz "H-He's the Bloodthirsty Slayer?"
In the crowd, a fully assembled squad halted their steps.
It was a team from the Sky Sword Guild. Their captain, Wu Gang, stared blankly at Jiang Kai, eyes wide open, "He logged in!"
Xu Shanshan's heart began to race the moment she saw Jiang Kai.
At the same time, as someone who had been secretly keeping tabs on him, Xu Shanshan immediately realized something—Jiang Kai logging in now was likely related to that other event.
"Could he be… heading to Taiping Mountain Path?"
The mere thought of it made her heart pound even faster.
Du Lei frowned and said in a deep voice, "Shanshan, you're overthinking it. Everyone knows that entering the public area right now is suicide."
After Jiang Kai logged in, a few people looked eager to make a move—after all, killing the Bloodthirsty Slayer had significant benefits.
But strangely, they quickly noticed that most people were only watching Jiang Kai in shock.
Even the high-level players among them showed no intent to attack. They simply observed Jiang Kai, and many even started following him as he walked out of the South Gate.
Jiang Kai moved toward the safe zone. The number of people following him not only failed to decrease, it actually increased.
Frowning slightly, Jiang Kai pretended to wander idly in the safe zone before suddenly sprinting out, vanishing into the dense forest.
Finally shaking off his followers, Jiang Kai made a beeline for Taiping Mountain Path.
Opening his map, he pinpointed an area along the route to the Connection Gate—territory belonging to the Howling Moon Wolf Demons.
At that moment, by an unknown lake near the Connection Portal, tens of thousands of players had gathered. Some had even traveled from other main cities to be there.
The military had sealed off the rift entrance in front of the Connection Gate.
Lu Jun checked the military defense lines when a soldier approached him, "Captain Lu, Jiang Kai is currently in Crying Moon Ridge, hunting Howling Moon Wolf Demons."
Lu Jun halted, frowning slightly. After a moment of thought, he exhaled deeply, "The General suspected Jiang Kai might do something reckless and told me to keep an eye on him."
"It seems that kid still has some sense. Good, let him take out his frustrations on the wolf demons. At least it'll make him feel a little better."
His subordinate hesitated before asking, "Captain, are we really just going to watch as Yuan Zhu and Su Nuannuan get tortured to death?"
Lu Jun's face darkened. After a long silence, he sighed, "I don't know. But right now, if we send anyone else in, it's just sending sheep to the slaughter. It'll only give them more leverage!"
"Our priority now is to keep the entrance sealed. We can't make things harder for the higher-ups."
"Understood!"
———
Jiang Kai checked the time—3 a.m.
Even though he had been rushing nonstop, it still took more than half a day to travel from the main city to Taiping Mountain Path.
He hadn't slept at all that night, continuously killing small wolf packs.
Moments ago, he had slain twelve regular Howling Moon Wolf Demons. Combined with the wolves he had killed when he met Dong Li last time, his level had finally risen to Tier 2, Level 1.
[Your level has increased to Tier 2, Level 1. You have unlocked a Tier 2 profession skill.]
[Gambler's Talent "Double Up" activated. You will receive an additional random profession skill.]
Sitting on a tree stump, Jiang Kai listened carefully to the system's explanations.
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