Update Time: 2014-03-03
Lin Zheng is currently Level 59, almost 60. He already has the Level 60 Han Ling Set, and there's still a long way to go until Level 70! So Lin Zheng isn't in a hurry to prepare materials to upgrade his set, because by the time he reaches Level 70, there will likely be many scales for sale on the market. He can just spend some money to buy them then, which would be much more convenient!
As soon as he left the equipment shop, the communication prompt rang. It was Xiao Mo; everyone was online! Lin Zheng thought of the quests he and Yang Qi had received. It probably wasn't that simple to build Tear City, right? Rain Master Lei must still have some headaches, and for players, an NPC's headaches mean quests. So Lin Zheng told them to go to Rain Master Lei to find something to do, lest other players come and snatch up all the quests, which would be a pity! Xiao Mo and the others understood and immediately went to find Rain Master Lei. Just as Lin Zheng ended the call, the communication prompt rang again!
"Brother!" Lan Xiran's voice rang out, sounding a bit resentful. Lin Zheng figured as much; he hadn't taken this Xiao Jiahuo to level up for several days. Even though Xiran is 18, his mentality probably isn't much more mature than Xia Mo's! These past few days, Xiran had been leveling with Chun Feng and the others, and while he had a good time, friends are friends. He preferred to have a family member by his side, and his only family in the game was Lin Zheng!
Lin Zheng was also helpless. To be honest, taking a 'tag-along' was really tiring, but for a younger brother who wouldn't grow up, he couldn't just ignore him! So Lin Zheng said helplessly, "Join the team, I'll take you to level up!"
"Okay!" Hearing Lin Zheng's words, Lan Xiran's resentment immediately vanished. "He's really a child, so easy to coax!" Lin Zheng thought. With a "clang," Lan Xiran joined the team. To pick him up, Lin Zheng had to rush to the entrance of Bei Hui Valley. The outskirts of Tear City are still filled with many high-level monsters, and at Lan Xiran's level, he could be killed in two hits! However, on the way to the entrance, Lin Zheng unexpectedly discovered something surprising.
It turned out that the Doomed Dead on the outskirts of Tear City were gone, replaced by a new type of large bee called Killer Wasps. Similarly, these bees also had beehives from which honey could be collected, and they could be collected more times, with a larger amount collected each time! So, while Lan Xiran hadn't arrived yet, Lin Zheng took Xia Mo and searched for beehives throughout the forest. By the time Lan Xiran reached Bei Hui Valley, Lin Zheng's bag was already filled with hundreds of portions of honey!
"Brother!" Lan Xiran, clad in an Ice Ape set, happily rushed towards Yang Qi. Lan Xiran was incredibly cute, so much so that many players who came to Tear City mistook him for a girl. For a moment, Lin Zheng received several strong rays of light from eyes filled with jealousy, as if they wanted to pierce him! Lin Zheng simply rolled his eyes. Are these guys blind? Didn't they see that Lan Xiran's chest was as flat as an airport!?
"Daddy! Who is this Xiao BuDian sister!?" Xia Mo asked curiously from Lin Zheng's shoulder. Lin Zheng was thinking about how this Xiao Yatou had messed up the generations, but then he heard Lan Xiran angrily shout, "Don't call me Xiao BuDian! And! Your dad is my brother, you should call me auntie... no, that's not right! You should call me uncle!"
"No! You don't look much older than me, I'll just call you Xiao BuDian sister!" Xia Mo stubbornly glared at Lan Xiran, who immediately glared back and shouted, "I told you I'm an uncle!"
"I won't! Xiao BuDian sister!" And so, the two children glared at each other, neither willing to concede, as if trying to stare until one of them gave in! To outsiders, the behavior of these two cute Xiao Jiahuo was undoubtedly very loving, but Lin Zheng, as the person involved, felt incredibly headache-inducing! Fighting like this on their first meeting, what would it be like in the future!?
"Stop making a fuss, both of you!" Lin Zheng said with a stern face. This sternness finally resolved the situation of the two glaring at each other. They both snorted and turned their heads away. Lin Zheng sighed helplessly. Being a brother and a father is truly not easy!
"Let's go, time to level up! If anyone makes a fuss again, I'll spank their butt!" To ensure his peace, Lin Zheng had to resort to threats! The effect seemed good; both were so scared they protected their butts. Seeing this, Lin Zheng smiled. He finally had a way to deal with these two mischievous children!
Taking the two children, who were still at odds, Lin Zheng continued to collect honey, while also leveling up Lan Xiran. Two birds with one stone! By the time Lin Zheng had cleared out all the beehives on the outskirts of Tear City, his bag had an additional three thousand-plus portions of honey! Satisfied, Lin Zheng then took Xia Mo and Lan Xiran to the mine in the southern part of Tear City, ready to resolve the quest entrusted by Rain Master Lei.
As soon as he reached the mine entrance, Lin Zheng received a message from Yang Qi. Opening it, he found it was a pet illustration! It was a small blue bird with long tail feathers and a slender figure, constantly emitting shimmering ice flowers. It looked particularly beautiful! Lin Zheng checked the bird's growth:
Ice Bird (Magic Attack Type)
Attack Growth: 6.5
Defense Growth: 4
Health Growth: 100
Dodge/Accuracy Growth: 0.9
Mana Growth: 150
Compared to Xia Mo, this Ice Bird's growth wasn't exceptional, but for an average player, its growth was already quite good! Plus, this Ice Bird's initial attributes were also decent!
Strength: 18
Intelligence: 20
Stamina: 16
Agility: 17
Spirit: 15
...
The Ice Bird was also a magic attack type, which was very suitable for Yang Qi, a physical damage dealer, to have a magic attack pet! Just then, Lin Zheng received a communication from Yang Qi. As soon as he connected, he heard Yang Qi say, "Hehe! This is the first one I caught, not bad, right!"
"It's not bad!" Lin Zheng said, "However, this is only good for average players. For a high-end player like you, it's a bit rotten!"
"No choice, it's only been small monsters so far. I'd love to catch a boss, but I just haven't encountered one!" Yang Qi said somewhat helplessly.
"This Ice Bird is very good, magic attack type, very suitable for you! Keep trying to catch one, see if you can catch an Ice Bird boss. As for this one, I think we can give it to Xiao Meng and the others! Such a beautiful pet, I'm sure they'll love it!"
"Mm! That's what I was planning too. Well then, I'll continue!"
"Go get busy!"
...
After hanging up, Lin Zheng pondered for a moment. He also needed to catch another pet. Xia Mo, this Xiao Yatou, had become his darling, and he couldn't bear to let Xia Mo fight monsters herself, so much so that he was practically like someone without a pet! With this thought, Lin Zheng entered the mine.
"You have entered the map 'Cold Crystal Mine'. The monsters in this map are of a higher level, please be careful!"
Listening to the prompt, Lin Zheng and the two others were already inside the mine. Looking up, the entire mine was enveloped in a faint blue glow, which looked like a dreamlike beauty! Uh—it would be even more perfect if there weren't those groups of very fierce-looking monsters!
Appearing in Lin Zheng's field of vision was a monster that looked very much like a crocodile, over three meters long, with a body like glistening dark jade, and a mouth full of sharp teeth, which looked very good!
These monsters fed on the minerals here; with a crunch, a piece of ore would be bitten into powder, which made Lin Zheng's teeth ache!
Gold-Eating Crocodile: Level 65 (Elite), Physical Attack 3150-3540, Physical Defense 1680, Magic Defense 1550, Health 25750.
The unmined Cold Crystal Mine attracted a group of unique crocodiles that fed on metal minerals; these were the Gold-Eating Crocodiles.
Gold-Eating Crocodiles possess powerful jaws and tough scales, making them a big problem for the Tear Clan miners.
They really are crocodiles!
But, crocodiles that eat ore, just as the description says, are indeed very unique!
“Stay close behind me, don’t run off!” Lin Zheng instructed Xia Mo and Lan Xiran, then took his assembled Sword Blade Bow and charged towards a Gold-Eating Crocodile.
His arrows had long run out, so Lin Zheng became an unreliable Sword Dancer again, only able to fight the Gold-Eating Crocodile in close combat!
Lin Zheng rushed forward and stomped down on a Gold-Eating Crocodile, dealing -5840 damage.
Lin Zheng immediately frowned; these Gold-Eating Crocodiles seemed to be more complex than what the data suggested, as if they had a damage reduction racial trait!
Otherwise, a Stomp attack should have dealt at least 7000 damage!
The attacked Gold-Eating Crocodile immediately opened its mouth wide and bit down on Lin Zheng.
Lin Zheng was momentarily puzzled and was bitten squarely, taking -1320 damage.
Good heavens, it bit off nearly a tenth of his health in one go!
Coming back to his senses, Lin Zheng kicked the Gold-Eating Crocodile up.
The Gold-Eating Crocodile stood upright, its big mouth facing upwards, but it couldn't bite Lin Zheng.
Seizing this opportunity, Lin Zheng delivered a series of kicks, each dealing over 2500 damage to the Gold-Eating Crocodile.
The Gold-Eating Crocodile was kicked back repeatedly.
As soon as its front paws landed, it instantly lunged forward like lightning and bit Lin Zheng, only to be kicked to death by Lin Zheng.
With his charge points full, Lin Zheng immediately circled around, pulling a large group of Gold-Eating Crocodiles.
An Explosion landed, turning them all into experience!
At this moment, a golden light flashed on Lin Zheng's body, and he finally reached Level 60!
Hearing the level-up sound, Lin Zheng couldn't help but smile happily; he could finally switch to more powerful equipment!
In his joy, Lin Zheng took out the Han Ling Set and replaced all the Night Raid Set he was wearing.
The Han Ling Set consisted of 6 pieces: in addition to the helmet and battle armor, there were also bracers, leg guards, boots, and gloves.
Han Ling Wristguard: Physical Defense 200, Magic Defense 200: Agility +40, Strength +42, Attack Speed +5%, Damage Reduction +5%.
Han Ling Gloves: Physical Defense 220, Magic Defense 220, Attack Speed +5%, Strength +38, Agility +40, Stun Resistance +20.
Han Ling Bracer: Physical Defense 180, Magic Defense 180, Physical Defense +200, Magic Defense +200, Agility +42, All Resistance +20.
Han Ling Leather Boots: Physical Defense 250, Magic Defense 250, Strength +42, Constitution +38, All Basic Attributes +15, Movement Speed +8%.
Set Effect: Two pieces, Physical Defense +250, Magic Defense +250; Three pieces, Agility +60, Critical Rate +5%; Four pieces, Minimum Physical Attack +1000, Maximum Physical Attack +500; Five pieces, Damage Reduction 10%, Damage Reflection 10% when attacked; Six pieces, All Combat Skill Levels +1.
With the Han Ling Set equipped, Lin Zheng's attributes soared once again!
Yi Ping (Sword Dancer)
Level 60
Strength: 449
Intelligence: 76
Constitution: 274
Agility: 458
Spirit: 76
Physical Attack: 5068-6099
Magic Attack: 2735-3308
Physical Defense: 3902
Magic Defense: 3050
Health: 18906
Mana: 15200
...
With the Han Ling Set, Lin Zheng's defense reached a high of 3902 points, and the Gold-Eating Crocodiles could no longer break his defense.
Lin Zheng, full of vigor, immediately charged fearlessly towards the Gold-Eating Crocodiles, slaughtering them without regard for their attacks!
Bringing Xia Mo and Lan Xiran along, Lin Zheng bravely fought his way to the middle section of the Cold Crystal Mine.
However, when Lin Zheng and the others arrived, they unexpectedly discovered that there was a Tear Clan NPC here!
This NPC was wearing a Cold Spirit Battle Armor similar to Lin Zheng's, and he kept shaking his head and sighing at the Gold-Eating Crocodiles filling the mine.
Lin Zheng's eyes lit up; it seemed there was an additional quest.
He immediately walked over and patted the shoulder of this NPC named Yu Shi Yong, “Hey! Buddy! What’s bothering you so much?”
“It’s you! Great Tear Clan hero, Mister Yi Ping!” Yu Shi Yong said, looking at Lin Zheng happily, “It’s truly wonderful to see you!”
“No problem, no problem!” Being called a hero didn't make Lin Zheng blush at all; he said to Yu Shi Yong with an air of nonchalance, “What’s bothering you so much? Tell me about it!”
“It’s like this: our mine has become difficult to excavate because of these Gold-Eating Crocodiles.
As soon as we start mining, they will attack us frantically!
However, after observing these Gold-Eating Crocodiles for the past few days, I’ve found that these seemingly fierce creatures are actually very docile.
They attack the miners only to protect their food, and look!”
Saying that, Yu Shi Yong took out a huge piece of leather.
Lin Zheng looked at it and realized it was indeed Gold-Eating Crocodile skin!
He immediately broke into a cold sweat.
You call them docile, yet you peel their skin off in a blink of an eye!
However, Lin Zheng soon realized he had misunderstood Yu Shi Yong.
Yu Shi Yong pointed at the leather and said, “Gold-Eating Crocodiles are very interesting crocodiles.
When they grow to a certain stage, they shed their skin like snakes.
This is the skin shed by a Gold-Eating Crocodile, and it’s extremely tough!”
Saying that, Yu Shi Yong tapped the leather, and it actually made a metallic sound!
“After our Tear Clan’s special treatment, this can definitely be made into armor tougher than the Cold Spirit Battle Armor!
So I thought, if we could raise these Gold-Eating Crocodiles, our Tear Clan would become even stronger in the future!
But the mine’s ore is also indispensable to our Tear Clan.
I tried to lead these Gold-Eating Crocodiles out, but they would always run back shortly after leaving!
Later, I went deep into the bottom of the mine and discovered the reason!”
Yu Shi Yong showed a helpless expression, “It turns out there’s a Gold-Eating Crocodile leader at the bottom of this mine.
It’s the one that gathered all the Gold-Eating Crocodiles in this mine.
If it’s not taken away, these Gold-Eating Crocodiles will stay in the mine and won’t leave!
I tried to take this leader away, but this leader Gold-Eating Crocodile is different from ordinary Gold-Eating Crocodiles; it’s very strong and extremely ferocious.
It attacked me as soon as we met, and if I hadn’t run fast, I probably wouldn’t have made it out alive!
So I would like to ask you to help our Tear Clan eliminate this Gold-Eating Crocodile leader, so we can take these Gold-Eating Crocodiles and raise them elsewhere!”