The white light faded.
A few fangs and several Fortune Gold Coins lay quietly on the ground.
Ximen Wangcai stepped forward to gather the spoils and said, "Exactly five gold coins. A Whirlwind Cross Ball Python is a standard Level 20 monster, and its coin drop is always between five and ten gold coins."
"Let's not jump to conclusions just yet. We need to run a few more tests first," Yu Xian said after listening.
Ximen Wangcai nodded in agreement. After all, this single kill could have just been a coincidence. More trials were necessary to confirm whether the Mengmeng Fortune Cat's passive was genuinely taking effect or if he had simply gotten lucky on the drop.
Ximen Wangcai proceeded to dispatch several more Whirlwind Cross Ball Pythons in one blow each.
The second drop yielded five Fortune Gold Coins. The third gave eight coins, the fourth gave five, the fifth gave ten, the sixth gave five, the seventh gave five... All the way to the tenth kill, every single monster dropped gold coins without exception.
Under normal circumstances, a class-holder could earn around fifty to three hundred gold coins a day from hunting monsters.
However, food alone cost roughly a hundred coins each day. For anyone who didn't want to sleep on the streets, lodging cost another fifty coins a night, not to mention additional expenses like equipment enhancement, repairs, or health potions.
In general, most class-holders could save somewhere between one hundred and five thousand gold coins a month.
The reason for such a massive variance was the sheer disparity in strength and combat prowess among class-holders.
Some, like Ximen Wangcai, could take down monsters without suffering a scratch, thereby saving a fortune on healing potions. Others fought entirely with their bare fists, requiring no weapons or armor whatsoever, which cut out another massive expenditure.
One could even take it to greater extremes—for instance, skipping three meals over three days by eating only two meals a day to scrape together a bit more savings.
If one followed Little Nora's earlier example and slept on the streets instead of staying at an inn, it was entirely feasible to save up five thousand gold coins in a month.
Of course, doing that was far too extreme.
In all likelihood, there were hardly any class-holders like that across the entire Zhen Realm. Most lived much like ordinary people: eating when they should, drinking when they should, spending when they should, and enjoying the present while they could.
Once he confirmed that Mengmeng Fortune Cat's passive worked on him, a flame called ambition ignited in Ximen Wangcai's eyes.
"Looks like the Fortune Cat's passive really does take effect on me," he said to Yu Xian, his tone laced with delight.
Yu Xian nodded. "We still need to run more tests—like a range test, or having you bring over another member who's never met Mengmeng to see if they can benefit from the passive as well."
If the entire troupe could share Mengmeng Fortune Cat's passive, it would be terrifying.
In the past, killing ten monsters didn't even guarantee a single gold coin drop. Now, every single kill was a guaranteed payout. Over the course of a day, a person could easily farm several thousand, if not tens of thousands, of Fortune Gold Coins.
By the end of a month, every member would likely have hundreds of thousands of Fortune Gold Coins tucked away in their pockets.
Yu Xian and Ximen Wangcai continued their experiments. In one test, Yu Xian returned to the city while Ximen Wangcai kept grinding out in the wilds; the results showed that Ximen Wangcai still enjoyed the buff from Mengmeng Fortune Cat's skill.
Afterward, Ximen Wangcai brought a completely bewildered Situ Xingye along to hunt monsters, and Situ Xingye benefited from the buff just the same.
"Holy crap, big bro, what's going on here?" Situ Xingye asked, staring at Ximen Wangcai in utter shock after confirming that every single monster he killed dropped gold coins.
Well then.
Their names alone made it obvious that the two knew each other, and they had likely entered the Zhen Realm together.
Ximen Wangcai clearly trusted Situ Xingye implicitly and explained the situation outright. Situ Xingye was stunned at first, but soon broke into wide laughter.
He laughed excitedly. "Big bro, looks like changing our names really did work! You're Wangcai, I'm Xingye, and now we've run straight into the God of Wealth!
"One can supply unlimited food, and the other guarantees a hundred percent gold drop rate for allies!
"With the backing of these two powerhouses, we can just run wild and slaughter everything! Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west—this time, it's our turn to wipe the floor with that bastard Shenshang Chai!"
During their first run in the Zhen Realm, back when they had reached Level 100, they had crossed paths with a class-holder whose fist techniques were utterly terrifying.
That person was named Shenshang Chai. Both sides had been of similar levels when they clashed, but the two of them had been utterly humiliated and thrashed. After entering the Zhen Realm for the second time, they had wanted revenge, but couldn't find him anywhere—and ended up dying to monsters instead.
Naturally, they harbored no grudge against the monsters of the Zhen Realm, but they still remembered Shenshang Chai, who had ruthlessly demolished them that first time.
"Let's focus on leveling up first. Shenshang Chai was already over Level 100 back then; who knows what level he's at now," Ximen Wangcai sighed.
Given Shenshang Chai's strength, he conservatively estimated that the man was likely above Level 150 by now.
In the Zhen Realm, every fifty levels marked a major threshold, and the experience required spiked exponentially higher up. At their current low levels, reaching Level 50 might take only three to five years, but going from Level 50 to Level 100 took upwards of fifty years, and climbing from Level 100 to Level 150 took even longer.
As for class-holders above Level 150, they were exceedingly rare. Because they inhabited different leveling zones altogether, Ximen Wangcai had no idea what the situation was like over there.
Their conversation concluded, the two walked back toward the city. There were still several more tests to conduct—such as whether a person who left the Sparkle Troupe could still enjoy the passive as long as they remained on Yu Xian's friend list.
If the passive still functioned under those conditions, they could exploit it to cultivate spies.
For example, after leaving the Sparkle Troupe, a spy could add Yu Xian as a friend and infiltrate another team. The spy's loyalty and material gains would both be guaranteed, allowing them to gather full intelligence and easily crush opposing groups in future team battles.
Chatting through their team channel, the two strolled to the city gates. Then, both abruptly halted, their eyes falling upon a tattered, disheveled young man walking out from the city.
The young man spotted Ximen Wangcai and Situ Xingye at the same time. He stopped in his tracks, instinctively taking a step backward and retreating into the city's safe zone.
"Shenshang Chai!"
Ximen Wangcai and Situ Xingye broke into broad grins at the exact same moment.
Their opponent was only Level 10, whereas the two of them were both Level 25. They were fully capable of completely obliterating him.
Still, both were somewhat surprised in their hearts. Shenshang Chai had died too? Was the difficulty of the Zhen Realm truly that unforgiving?
"Looking to bully the weak?" Shenshang Chai asked, looking at Ximen Wangcai and Situ Xingye.
The two shamelessly nodded in unison, practically rubbing their fists together. After all, when Shenshang Chai had attacked them back then, he hadn't wasted words either—and his only motive had been to steal their monster.
"Go on, then. Make your move," Shenshang Chai scoffed, taunting them.
Shenshang Chai had an exceptional memory. He remembered every single face, especially those of people he had offended; forgetting them made it all too easy to get blindsided and killed.
He hadn't anticipated running into old enemies who out-leveled him at a time like this.
Not that it mattered. It wasn't as if they could keep watch over him forever.
Chapter 454