The global chat window was still flooding with messages, but elsewhere in the 518 Starter Zone, the ripples of Dark Night's boss kill had already reached two other islands.
Two connected territories floated side by side on the open sea—the joined domains of Sophia and Sarah. Just like in Ling Ye's previous life, these two women had found each other barely thirty minutes after entering this world. A public announcement in the chat, a quick friend request exchange, and coordinates are shared. Sophia, blessed with an S-rank talent allowing three territory teleports a day, had simply warped her entire island next to Sarah's.
Now, the sisters stood together under the protection of their low-tier troops, staring at the global chat feed with uneasy expressions. Sophia's sharp, beautiful face was twisted with confusion and something darker.
"Dark Night? Who the hell is that supposed to be?" she muttered, scrolling through the announcements. "He killed a boss already? Are we seriously stuck in some game world now?"
Even as she spoke, disbelief lingered in her tone. A few hours ago, she'd been a superstar idol, adored by millions, her face plastered on billboards across the city. Her future had been limitless. Then, with one blinding flash, she'd been dragged into this alien nightmare. The thought of it made her stomach churn.
Sarah, pale-faced, glanced nervously at the corpses of unrefreshed monsters littering the shore. Her voice trembled. "It's not just a game, Sophia. People can die here…"
"Maybe we should find Ling Ye," Sarah added hesitantly. "If we stick with him, he might protect us."
Sophia's eyes turned icy, venom glinting beneath her lashes. "Find him? After what he did to us before we got pulled in here?" Her lip curled in disdain. "I'd rather throw myself into the sea and let the sharks have me than beg that bastard for help."
Sarah bit her lip. "But… we're just two girls. This place is dangerous. Without someone to watch our backs, how do we survive?"
Sophia's gaze flickered back to the scrolling feed, lingering on Dark Night's name—the one who had just claimed the first-ever E-rank Boss kill. Her voice dripped with ambition and malice. "If we need protection, we don't go crawling to Ling Ye. We go to someone like him. A real powerhouse. Someone who can keep us alive."
She flicked her hair over her shoulder, the same way she had on red carpets and sold-out stages. "If it comes to it, I'll add him as a friend. Once he knows who I am, there's no way he'd refuse me. Men like him would be thrilled to guard someone like me."
"And don't forget, Ethan must've been pulled in too," Sophia added. "Worst-case scenario, we get Ethan to pay for Dark Night's help. Easy."
Sarah relaxed slightly, nodding eagerly. "You're right, Sis. You're a star, someone untouchable to normal people. A guy like Dark Night would be lucky to have you ask him for anything."
While the two schemers plotted, far across the waters, Ling Ye was happily counting his spoils.
"Damn, I almost forgot about boss first-kill rewards," he muttered with a grin. "Double jackpot today."
He had expected the Demon King's Trial to give him plenty. What he hadn't anticipated was the exclusive reward for being the first player in the entire 518 Starter Zone to slay a boss. Each boss rank had its milestone—E, D, C, and beyond—and every first kill promised absurdly rich rewards that could rocket a lord's growth ahead of the pack.
He was about to inspect the loot from the Demon King Avatar when the constant ding-ding-ding of notifications interrupted him.
Opening his interface, Ling Ye blinked at the sheer chaos. His name had been tagged hundreds of times in the world chat, and his friend requests had surged past 999+, most of them from people begging for carries, offering alliances, or—he smirked at the ridiculousness of it—even nightclub queens, so-called "headliners," promising all sorts of dubious perks if he'd just accept their invites.
Ling Ye's expression stayed indifferent. He toggled his friend settings to "No new requests", slammed the chat window shut, and cut off the endless pings.
"Sophia used to be my wife," he thought with a dry chuckle. "She betrayed me, stabbed me in the back, drained me dry. If that's how my wife treated me, why would I give a damn about a bunch of strangers?"
He wasn't here to make friends. The lone wolf path suited him just fine.
With peace restored to his interface, Ling Ye finally stooped to gather the spoils scattered around the massive corpse of the Demon King Avatar.
Mana Crystals: 1236
Food: 1125
Wood: 352
Stone: 255
Item: A-grade Livestock – Pine Resin Boar x1
Item: C-grade Equipment – Mithril Plate Armor
Time Scroll: 10 hours
Item: Demon's Roulette x1
The haul was impressive enough, but it wasn't everything. The first-kill bonus was still waiting in his system inbox, and more importantly, he had just leveled up, gaining another Infinite Golden Trait draw.
Excitement surged through him. The traits were game-changers, more valuable than anything else in this world. Without hesitation, he activated the draw.
Ding!
[You have obtained Infinite Golden Trait: Golden Legend.]
Ling Ye's eyebrows shot up. "Golden Legend, huh? Let's see what you do."
[Golden Legend]
Effect: Every loot source—treasure chest, lottery, dungeon, or boss kill—will always yield the rarest, highest-value reward possible.
For a long second, Ling Ye just stared at the trait description before breaking into a wide, satisfied grin. "Oh, now this… this is beautiful."
Normally, loot was bound by probability. The rarer the reward, the worse your chances of pulling it. Bad luck could haunt a player for days or weeks, turning every chest into trash. But with this trait? Luck wasn't even a factor anymore. Every roll, every pull, every drop would be legendary. Every single time.
He couldn't help laughing under his breath. "Damn right, Golden Legend."
The only pity was that the boss fight was already over, and no treasure chests were lying around—he couldn't test it out immediately. But just as that thought crossed his mind, his gaze fell to the bottom corner of his inventory.
Nestled among the new loot sat a small, ominous wheel, its face divided into countless sections marked with rewards, curses, and question marks.
[Demon's Roulette]
Description: Dropped from a slain Demon King Avatar. Spin to win a random reward. Beware—possible outcomes include severe debuffs or penalties. Use with caution.
Ling Ye's grin turned feral. "A roulette spin counts as a draw, doesn't it? Which means with Golden Legend active… this little wheel has no choice but to give me its best prize."
He cracked his knuckles, eyes gleaming with anticipation. "Alright then, Demon King. Let's see what secrets you're hiding from me."