Chapter 347: Comparing Yourself To Others Will Only Lead To Frustration (1)
[System Announcement] Player Quiet And Steadfast has opened 'Medium Exquisite Contribution Box'. A golden light burst forth from it, revealing a 'Great Sage's Gift Box', a 'Fallen Afterglow Robe', 5 Pang Gu's stones, and 6 strands of 'Ice Silkworm Heavenly Thread'. Such phenomenal luck is simply unheard of!
Shen Jingbin had only just sent a private message to Quiet And Steadfast when the system announcement appeared. It looked like his luck was pretty good too.
"The guild members and I are at Cherry Blossom Island getting ready to fight a world Boss. Do you want to come along?" asked Quiet And Steadfast in his reply.
After seeing his message, Shen Jingbin set aside her plans to drop by the shopping center for some wrapping paper. She summoned her mount and hurriedly made her way over to Cherry Blossom Island.
Cherry Blossom Island was a small island at the edge of Thunder Marsh. It was an island filled with cherry blossoms, and it had wonderful scenery. It was also one of the must-visit spots for lovers. But, due to the fact that a world Boss, the Cherry Blossom Man, could spawn here, most of the players that came by were all high levelled couples.
Shen Jingbin wasn't able to find anyone when she arrived, and only managed to spot the members of Jade Sea Pavilion standing around in twos and threes when she arrived at the Cherry Blossom Man's spawn point.
Quiet And Steadfast, who was the first to notice her arrival, quickly went over to greet her.
"You're here. We're waiting for the Cherry Blossom Man to spawn in a few minutes."
"There aren't many people here today," Shen Jingbin commented.
"To avoid any accidental injuries, Next Week Is Unlikely cleared out the area."
"Oh? You're being that overbearing?"
"Previously, the fight between good and evil had always been on our minds. We've finally managed to get through it, so we obviously have to let loose a little. The rest of the guild has come up with a competition to see who can get their hands on the Cherry Blossom Man's 'Cherry Blossom Hairpin'. Whoever gets it will be able to make one request of anyone else in the guild at the offline event."
The Cherry Blossom Hairpin is a drop that's exclusive to the Cherry Blossom Man. While its stats are nothing out of the ordinary, it looks great. Furthermore, it can add between 1-3 points of Luck. That being said, it has an astronomically low drop rate.
"Oh, you're here too, Nutty. It feels like it's been forever since we've last seen you. Sob sob sob, everyone's been thinking of you!" National Treasures happened to spot Shen Jingbin too as she was looking around, and sped over to greet her. "Our Leader told me that you’d be coming to the offline meetup too, right? Hahaha, it looks like I need to work hard today. Nutty, be sure to listen to what I say after I get the hairpin, alright?~"
Eternal Rest, who'd come over with National Treasures said, "Nutty isn't part of our guild, so she doesn't have to listen to what you say. Isn't that right, Nutty?"
Only then did she remember that Shen Jingbin had left the guild. "When are you planning to rejoin Jade Sea Pavilion?"
Shen Jingbin paused for a moment. "Uh, there's no rush, so I think staying in Bronze Tree, for the time being, is pretty good too."
Quiet And Steadfast's expression turned bitter. "You think staying in Bronze Tree is pretty good even if I'm not in it?"
National Treasures was thrown into a frenzy. "Oh my god! Was that person who was acting like a jealous young wife really our Leader?! How terrifying!"
Eternal Rest discreetly pulled National Treasures off to the side. "It's none of our business, and it's rude to stare at them…"
At this moment, a gigantic cherry blossom tree spawned behind Quiet And Steadfast, and a person's face appeared on its broad tree trunk. Its branches swayed wildly, littering the floor with cherry blossom petals.
"The Cherry Blossom Man's spawned!" someone shouted. Everyone present raised their weapons, pumped themselves up, and jumped straight into the fray. Their ferocity was so overwhelming that Shen Jingbin got a fright.
However, just as they were about to reach the Cherry Blossom Man, they suddenly felt the earth tremble beneath their feet. Countless boxes came crashing down from the sky and landed with a bang. Some of the boxes happened to land on the players, smashing into those who didn't notice them in time and taking off half their health. The players were so surprised; they began crying out in shock.
"F*ck, f*ck! What the hell is this?!"
"F*ck! Does that bastard have concealed weapons?!"
In the midst of this chaos, a system announcement suddenly appeared in the sky. The members of Jade Sea Pavilion were stunned stupid by it, while the couples who had just left Cherry Blossom Island were left cursing and swearing.
[System Announcement] Blessings descend from the heavens. Her flower basket in hand, Xuan Nu who was elegantly drifting by has been mesmerised by Cherry Blossom Island's beauty. With a wave of her hand, the 'Exquisite Lucky Gift Boxes' in her basket descend to Cherry Blossom Island. Make haste, young heroes, now is the time to test your luck!What the f*ck, what the f*ck?! The Lucky Gift Boxes had been delivered to them on a silver platter!
Several moments of lifelessness passed before the members of Jade Sea Pavilion excitedly made a mad rush for the Lucky Gift Boxes, all thoughts of fighting the Cherry Blossom Man having been forgotten. Quite a number of Lucky Gift Boxes had dropped this time around, but the odds of obtaining anything good from them were incredibly small. Unless players were ridiculously lucky, it was impossible for them to get anything good by opening just one or two boxes. With things as they were, the only solution was to go for quantity over quality. After all, all they needed to do was open more boxes, and they'd be able to improve their chances.
The other players were quick on their feet too. In just a few minutes, Shen Jingbin witnessed countless flying mounts closing in from afar. Shortly after, they landed and got straight to grabbing a box for themselves.
The Cherry Blossom Man had just respawned, so no one dared to unleash any skills in an attempt to fight for a box. Everyone was worried that a poorly aimed skill would not only result in them losing out on the box, it'd also draw the Boss' ire and give them a free ticket back to their respawn point.
And so, this was the very first time no intense conflict for the boxes occurred since the event had started.
Chapter 348: Comparing Yourself To Others Will Only Lead To Frustration (2)
Shen Jingbin stood by the Cherry Blossom Man's side. There were some players who were so afraid of the Boss, they didn't even dare to go near it to pick up the boxes. As a result, this one little box was snatched up by her.
The Lucky Gift Boxes would only be active for 15 minutes. Any unclaimed boxes after this would be despawned by the system. But, there was no need to worry about that happening. The speed at which the players moved was nothing to scoff at.
At the end of it, Shen Jingbin had managed to get her hands on 8 boxes. During this time, Quiet And Steadfast hadn't bent over a single time to pick up a box. Instead, he chose to stand vigil beside Shen Jingbin, giving off the impression that he wasn't the least bit interested in the boxes.
"Why didn't you grab a few for yourself?" Shen Jingbin asked.
"I was feeling lazy, and I don't have much faith in my luck," Quiet And Steadfast said with a shrug.
Shen Jingbin's lips curled. She fished out the mount she'd previously gotten and said, "Since you don't have any faith in your own luck, then you should trust in mine instead. Here, this is for you. Think of it as repayment for your New Year's gift."
Quiet And Steadfast's eyes widened after receiving the item from her. "A Ninth Heaven Phoenix Cry? That's a huge sum of money, beautiful. Are you trying to keep me as your mistress?"
"Mhmm. Is that enough? If it isn't, can I pay by installment instead?"
Quiet And Steadfast chuckled and tried to return it to Shen Jingbin. When she refused to accept it, he said, "You're better off keeping it. I appreciate the gesture, and it's a great mount, but it doesn't suit me. Besides, I have lots of mounts already, so I have no need for it."
Shen Jingbin remained resolute. "No, this was meant for you. I'll toss it if you don't want it."
The moment she said that a number of people crowded around her. On closer inspection, they all turned out to be members of Jade Sea Pavilion.
I'm Not A Monster scratched his head. "Leader, Nutty, hurry up and get rid of it. We can pick it up if you toss it! The two of you are brimming with heroism, so you should keep to what you said and toss out something as insignificant as the Ninth Heaven Phoenix Cry. Spare a thought for how losers like us feel."
The rest of the people surrounding them nodded in unison before fixing their gaze onto the gift box in Quiet And Steadfast's hands.
Left with no other choice, Quiet And Steadfast could only accept it. If he didn't, Shen Jingbin might have really gotten rid of it.
Satisfied with the outcome, Shen Jingbin said, "All I need is the Great Sage. I'm afraid Mascot might feel jealous if I got a few more mounts."
Mascot: Hey, don't turn me into a scapegoat!
Feeling somewhat disappointed that the Ninth Heaven Phoenix Cry had ended up in the hands of their Leader, everyone shook their heads.
Sigh, why couldn't you have been a little more stubborn, Leader? Give us a chance!
In an attempt to console their broken hearts, the members of Jade Sea Pavilion decided to open a few Lucky Gift Boxes.
After fighting for the Lucky Gift Boxes, many of the players weren't in a hurry to leave, so they sat down and began opening their boxes as well. They firmly believed that the area the Lucky Gift Boxes dropped in would bring them good luck.
But alas, it was not to be. The unlucky ones would still remain unlucky regardless of the location they were at. Take for instance Next Week Is Unlikely; he'd managed to get over 50 boxes, but all that got him was some health and mana potions along with several small experience pills.
Shen Jingbin decided to join in on the fun and opened up a gift box. The moment she opened the box, she was enveloped in a ray of golden light.
[System Announcement] Player Nutjob has opened an Exquisite Lucky Gift Box. A ray of golden light rises to the heavens, and a gale wind blows. Suddenly, all is calm once again. Within the box lies a 'Ninth Heaven Phoenix Cry Gift Box'. Such luck is truly second to none.
F*ck!
What the f*ck!
F*ck, f*ck, f*ck, f*ck, f*ck!
The players near Shen Jingbin were nearly blinded by the golden light. But, when the system announcement appeared, they almost had a mind to stab out their own eyes.
If memory served them right, this was the second Ninth Heaven Phoenix Cry Gift Box this woman had obtained today! F*ck, what kind of luck did she have? GMs, are you sure this woman isn't your relative or something?!
Next Week Is Unlikely scowled miserably at his bro's wife. It felt as if his heart was crumbling to pieces. "Hey, Nutty… I mean, Big Sis! Can I have a chat with you? If you happen to get another Ninth Heaven Phoenix Cry, could you lower your price a little and sell it to me?!"
"Nutty, I'll hand over all of my boxes to you in the future. Just think of it as you helping me to open them. How's about it?"
"Sob sob sob. I wanna go for a sex change so that I can marry Nutty. She's a walking hack! Leader, I'm going to fight you for her!"
Everyone else started to kick up a fuss.
Quiet And Steadfast could only stare helplessly at his wife, while the latter also stared helplessly back at him.
In the end, Shen Jingbin didn't manage to get another Ninth Heaven Phoenix Cry, but she did get a pretty good mount which she gave to Next Week Is Unlikely. The Cherry Blossom Man was also defeated, and they even managed to get the Cherry Blossom Hairpin, which went to National Treasures.
When she was logging off, she remembered how National Treasures had clutched the Cherry Blossom Hairpin in her hands while laughing evilly at her.
Shen Jingbin suddenly didn't feel like going to the offline meetup anymore. She was feeling a little troubled.
Unfortunately for her, time passed in the blink of an eye, and it was already Saturday. On Wednesday, Yiju gave out more information about where and when the offline meetup would be held. It would be held over a two day period on Saturday and Sunday, at B City's Panlong Kaiyuan Intercontinental Hotel.
Truth be told, Shen Jingbin had received an SMS from Xiangpeng on Wednesday when the information was released.
Yiju's higher-ups had attached a great deal of importance to the offline meetup. As such, they wanted to invite Shen Jingbin to attend, which also served as a perk for the other players.
When Shen Jingbin thought of how she'd be with Zhao Chengning and the rest of the members of Jade Sea Pavilion, and how she probably wouldn't have the time, she decided to reject their offer.
Shen Jingbin's rejection caused Xiangpeng to fall into a slump for some time. That is until he saw Shen Jingbin at the hotel's entrance on Saturday, and he felt even worse.