When a large group of people approached, not only Xie Feng stood up; Yue Kai, Hu Chen, and Xiao Luo also stood up and stood in front of Xie Yao and Gu Qianxue.
Because practically the whole world knew that Xie Feng was a kind of sworn enemy to the two strongest guilds of China, it was natural for many players to hate him or see him as an abomination. Of course, there were also many male and female players who idolized him or saw him as the representative player of the country.
But as Xie Feng carefully observed the faces of the people walking in front of the group of players, a strange expression appeared on his face.
The first person Xie Feng noticed was Yao Zenyu. It was simply impossible to overlook him as he was not only one of the few players walking at the front, leading the rest; that confident smile, the aura of a person who was used to giving orders from being born into a superior family, the luxurious equipment, everything was simply too eye-catching.
The second person Xie Feng saw was Nangong Lei and precisely because the two people Xie Feng saw at first were people he had fought against not long ago, he assumed that they had come back for revenge. However, Xie Feng soon noticed that there was something wrong.
Among the few players walking in front were also Mu Wuying, and Yang Tian. Seeing the two of them, Xie Feng relaxed slightly and realized that his thoughts might be wrong.
"Yo, Shiva."
Yang Tian, straightforward as always, was the first to greet Xie Feng when they arrived in front of him. After greeting Xie Feng, Yang Tian also greeted Gu Qianxue and Xie Yao, then looked at the Xiao Luo trio and nodded casually since he didn't know them. However, considering Yang Tian's status in both the real and virtual world, it was considerate of him to make such a simple gesture.
"Hey..." Xie Feng nodded in greeting, then looked at Mu Wuying and nodded towards her as well, to which she responded with a beautiful smile.
After greeting Yang Tian and Mu Wuying, Xie Feng narrowed his eyes slightly and while looking at the other players.
Apart from Yao Zenyu, Nangong Lei, Mu Wuying, and Yang Tian, there were also other people beside the four; a cultured-looking middle-aged man with a silver staff, a curvy woman who had part of her face covered by a scarf and a dagger in her right hand, and an old man carrying a giant shield behind his back.
However, Xie Feng did not know them, so after thinking for a moment, he simply asked:
"Then what is the honor of the visit from such important people as you?"
Nangong Lei did not care about Xie Feng's question and simply ignored him. On the other hand, Yao Zenyu naturally smiled as if he was in front of a lifelong friend, and replied:
"As you probably heard, the system's three special mission event was finally launched about an hour ago, right?"
Xie Feng nodded and patiently waited for the explanation.
"Great. Then, you should also know that NPCs can't defend themselves, right?" Seeing Xie Feng simply nod, Yao Zenyu continued, "Since NPCs can't defend themselves, then the entirety of defending Eminentis City as well as its residents falls into the hands of us players."
After seeing that not only Xie Feng, but also everyone present was looking at him attentively, Yao Zenyu frowned, and with a serious look, he explained:
"Since NPCs can't defend, think carefully about the consequences.... For example, if the warehouse manager is killed by some monster, what would happen?"
"Players who have items stored in their private storage would lose everything." Yang Tian answered simply and concisely.
Although Yang Tian gave a short answer, the faces of everyone present changed, including Xie Feng's group.
"Correct. Everything would be lost." The frown on Yao Zenyu's face deepened even more the more he talked, "The same goes if the owner of the potion store was killed, the same for the owner of the store of mounts, scrolls, weapons and armor.... "
Then, while looking at everyone one by one, Yao Zenyu concluded:
"If any of those NPCs who are important to the players were to be killed by the monster wave attack, then it would be a fatal shock to China's overall strength in the virtual world. We don't know yet if any NPC will replace and take the place of the one who was killed. If players from our country cannot buy supplies, then when players from other countries can cross the ocean and reach the Adastreia Continent, what they will find is a country considerably weaker because of the loss of supplies in the early stage of the game."
After concluding his explanation, Yao Zenyu fell silent and looked at everyone present.
Xie Feng's face was extremely serious at this point. He had never thought too deeply about it since he was confident in fulfilling the system's mission. However, Yao Zenyu's words made Xie Feng realize how difficult the incoming mission really was.
If players could not buy potions, then the number of deaths would skyrocket to terrifying heights, the number of levels players would lose would be astronomical and the amount of time wasted immeasurable.
If the items in the players' private store disappear, then the monetary loss would be too great to count.
If the NPC in charge of creating the return scrolls were to be killed, then players would no longer be able to obtain return scrolls to Eminentis City and could only return by traveling or being killed and then forcibly teleported to the Resurrection Crystal.
In general, China would be far behind the other countries if any of the important NPCs were killed by the monster wave.
After about a minute of overwhelmingly heavy silence, Xie Feng looked at Yao Zenyu and asked:
"So? Do you have any ideas? I don't think you all came all the way here just to tell me this, did you?"
Yao Zenyu looked at all five players who came with him before finally looking at Xie Feng and said with a serious tone of voice:
"I think it's best if we put aside any kind of trouble we've had in the past and may have in the future, at least for now. You are a smart man too, you should know the consequences of a small mistake on our part. Therefore, not only me, all of us present here want to form a group of the strongest players available to organize a plan and overcome this mission without losses. How about it? Are you in?"
Xie Feng was very surprised at Yao Zenyu's invitation, and although he looked annoyed, Nangong Lei did not object to the idea either. He never expected that people he had killed and humiliated in front of everyone not long ago would actually invite him to form a hunting and defense group.
Not only Xie Feng was surprised, even Mu Wuying who must have already known what the original idea was in coming to this place was surprised at the ease with which Yao Zenyu said those words.
However, all this was also a clear proof of how difficult the situation they were in was.
After thinking for a moment, Xie Feng finally looked at Yao Zenyu and nodded, "Alright, tell me what they have in mind."
Now was not the time for a moment of immaturity to take over rationality. Xie Feng might be only 20 years old, but he was not a young man who did not know how to see things on a greater plane. After all, if an important NPC died, he would be harmed too.
"Great, you really didn't disappoint me." Yao Zenyu nodded and seemed to miss the look of ridicule on Xie Feng's face as he continued, "Before I continue, let me introduce you to the people beside me. Nangong Lei, Yang Tian, and Mu Wuying probably need no introduction, you already know them don't you?"
Xie Feng nodded and looked at the other three strangers.
"Very well then. The man with the staff over here is actually quite famous. His name is One Man Army, he currently ranks tenth on the level table and was never kicked out of the top 10. At the same time, he is currently the leader of the Stardust guild. You probably know the Stardust guild, don't you?"
Xie Feng nodded and looked at the middle-aged man with a bit of surprise. He did not expect that the man who looked quite inconspicuous was actually not only the current top 10 of the level table, he was also the leader of the Stardust guild.
The Stardust Guild, although it could not compare to giant guilds like God of Heaven, Sacred Wings, or King's Land, its strength could not be underestimated either. Xie Feng heard that at its peak, the Stardust guild had approximately 2 million players!
"This man over here with the giant shield is also known. His name is Unsurpassed Defense, he appeared for a brief moment on the level table however he was pushed down slightly after being killed along with his group after failing to hunt a KING grade monster. In addition, he is also the leader of the Golden Era guild, which has approximately 500,000 players at its disposal."
Yao Zenyu paused for a moment and looked at the woman dressed as an assassin before continuing:
"This lady's name is Red Snow, she ranks 9th in the table of beautiful women in China. Besides, she is also the leader of the Assassin's Association..."
When he heard that the lady with sexy body was the woman who ranked 9th in the ranking of beautiful women, Xie Feng didn't think too much of it although he was somewhat surprised. After all, Mu Wuying ranked 2nd while Xie Yao and Gu Qianxue ranked 3rd.
However, when he heard Yao Zenyu's last words, Xie Feng could not help but shudder slightly.