Chapter 251 – Plasma Core Golem (1/2)
Chapter 251 – Plasma Core Golem
Nie Yan asked Tang Yao to buy 200 gold’s worth of Basic Magic Bombs over at Tasoyi Village as a safety precaution. Although this was a bit wasteful, it couldn’t be helped. Not long after Tang Yao departed, a crowd of players in plain clothing walked into the Asskickers United guild headquarters. Leading them was Aqua Smoke Stub with several familiar figures closely in tow—Cold Peak Absolute Sword, Wood Grace, and Samsara Lord. There were over 200 people in the group, consisting of almost all the core elites of Withered Leaf.
In stark contrast to the swaggering manner these players displayed when they first showed up at the Asskickers United guild headquarters, they looked rather sullen.
Smoke Stub immediately walked up to Nie Yan.
“What happened?” Nie Yan asked, concerned by the bedraggled figures before him. Smoke Stub was noticeably different from his normal self. His powerful equipment was gone, but so were many of the crease lines on his forehead. He seemed to give off an air of carefreeness and self-confidence.
“The Tuoba Family head ordered Withered Leaf to merge into Victorious Return. That didn’t sit well with me, so I quit and my brothers decided to leave with me. We had to return our equipment to the organization,” Smoke Stub replied, the forced smile on his face failing to hide the bitterness underneath.
Tuoba Time walked up, flabbergasted by Smoke Stub’s disheveled state.
“What happened to you?” Tuoba Time asked as well. He had just missed the story behind their departure, so he was rather puzzled.
Smoke Stub recounted the entire sequence of events in detail.
When Tuoba Time heard about Tuoba Hongye forcing Smoke Stub to pay the full early termination fee—despite the latter only quitting due to the unwelcome merger of Withered Leaf into Victorious Return—he grew infuriated. “He’s really gone too far this time! Smoke Stub, I’ll see what I can do for you!” Even though Smoke Stub had worked day and night over the past six years to earn the Tuoba Family a great profit, Tuoba Hongye was perfectly fine booting him out the door with nothing to his name? This was too cold-hearted!
“Forget it. No point crying over spilled milk. I’ve already cut all ties with Withered Leaf anyway,” Smoke Stub dissuaded. In the entire Tuoba Family, the only person he got along with was Tuoba Time. He turned to Nie Yan and asked,”We had to give up our equipment. You won’t turn us all away, right?”
“How could I possibly? There’s plenty of equipment in the guild treasury. You guys can take your pick. The silver lining to this is that you’ve regained your freedom. Money lost can still be earned back. And you all still have your skill, right? So what’s there to be afraid of? Asskickers United will always have your backs. We never mistreat our own,” Nie Yan replied in a sincere tone. Smoke Stub and the others withdrawing from Withered Leaf was proof that their hearts stood with Asskickers United. How could he not accept them?
“You have my gratitude, brother!” Smoke Stub exclaimed, sounding a little emotional. Any more words would be superfluous.
“Tuoba, what’s your family’s situation like?” Nie Yan asked. He noticed Tuoba Time wasn’t particularly fond of the Tuoba Family head.
Tuoba Time pondered for a moment. “The Tuoba Family is divided into many factions. Each one owns shares of the family business. Tuoba Hongye controls 26% of the shares, and Tuoba Fengyuan controls 22%. The two factions are like oil and water. The remaining shares are scattered among the various members of the family. For example, I control 15% while most don’t control more than 10%. Tuoba Hongye’s faction holds a majority of the shares and sits firmly on the seat of family head. I belong to a neutral faction.” He gave a brief summary. The internal affairs of a large influential family like his couldn’t be fully explained in just a few lines.
Nie Yan nodded. No wonder Tuoba Time could maintain such an aloof position, unencumbered by the disputes within his family, where he could wander around inside the game, hunting mobs and levelling up at his leisure. Otherwise, there was no way he could be so carefree.
“In short, I have nothing to do with this matter. So you guys can’t go putting it on my head, alright?” Tuoba Time laughed. Aside from speaking out on Smoke Stub’s behalf, he would rather not get involved in the internal struggles of his family.
Nie Yan observed Tuoba Time closely. Was he really the unambitious sort? This was hard to believe. His inaction was probably only temporary. With 15% of the shares, though nowhere close enough to compete for the position of family head, he could easily deal a fatal blow to one faction by joining the other. By remaining neutral, neither faction dared to actively provoke him. Instead, they would offer all sorts of generous terms to rope him in. It was clear this was the wisest decision.
Nie Yan wasn’t too clear on the circumstances of the Tuoba Family. However, based on the information he just received and his understanding of Tuoba Time’s character, his intuition told him that the final victor of this struggle wouldn’t necessarily be Tuoba Hongye or Tuoba Fengyuan, but rather Tuoba Time who had been silently gathering strength.
Nie Yan decided he would have to conduct a proper investigation before making a judgment on the matter. The Tuoba Family allying with the Cao Xu Century Financial Group posed an immense threat to him. It was imperative he found a way to prevent this from happening.
The combined power of the Cao Xu Century Financial Group and the Tuoba Family would create a terrifying colossus the like of which has never been seen before.
With Withered Leaf splitting up, Smoke Stub led his most loyal brothers to join Asskickers United. These players were the former elites of Withered Leaf! So long as they were given decent gear, they would return to their former strength. They would be a huge boon to the guild.
“You guys can feel at ease staying in Asskickers United. If there’s anything you need, just speak up,” Nie Yan said. He promised Smoke Stub’s group that they could still operate as professional players like before.
Smoke Stub nodded. “In ten days at most, I’ll be able to get the gear quality of these brothers back to what it used to be!”
Nie Yan added Smoke Stub and the others back to the guild, then left Guo Huai to deal with the rest. All the best items in the treasury were made available for them to select from. After all, without decent gear, how could they run dungeons to grind out better equipment?