I didn't even have time to turn in my quest; I directly used the Teleport to City scroll.
With a flash of light, I appeared in the long-unseen Hurricane City.
Murong Shanshan, clad in fiery red armor, was not far away.
I hurried over: "Shanshan, what's so urgent that you called me back?"
Murong Shanshan blinked: "Haven't you noticed that Hurricane City is very different today?"
I looked around and only then realized that it had started snowing in Hurricane City at some point.
Beautiful snowflakes drifted in every corner of the city.
Perhaps the developers didn't have time to modify the program, so the grass by the roadside hadn't been removed before it snowed, but it had a unique charm.
Compared to the weather outside, the game lacked some realism but gained a touch of romance.
European medieval architecture, and the East Gate Bridge, built entirely of stone, was covered in a flurry of snowflakes, with a beautiful girl with skin like ice and bones like jade beside me...
"So, this is all you wanted to tell me?" I couldn't help but murmur.
"What, isn't this important enough? Oh, right, did you see today's game announcement?"
"I was too rushed getting into the game, so I didn't see it.
What about it?"
Murong Shanshan looked at me in surprise and said, "You didn't even look at that, you're something else!
The system will undergo unified maintenance in three days.
After the maintenance, free friendly PK will be added, which means we can spar.
There's also something even more important: after the maintenance, there will be a new event—the Champion Challenge!
It's like a martial arts competition in other games.
The top twenty winners will receive appropriate rewards."
This piqued my interest, and I quickly asked, "Is it a worldwide selection?"
"Of course not.
Currently, it's just a competition among players from this town.
If players from all over the world competed together, the server would definitely crash.
There must be regional machines to handle the traffic~"
I thought she had a point, so I smiled and asked Murong Shanshan, "Do you have any plans? You're currently the second-best expert in this town.
Don't tell me you won't even make it into the top ten then; it would really affect your career!"
Murong Shanshan chided, "Oh, please.
With my current equipment and skills, I'm confident I can take care of Kuang Zhan in one minute.
Do you believe me?"
"Yes, of course, I believe you!
Oh, right, are there only individual competitions? Are there team competitions?"
"Of course there are!
It's a five-person team competition.
Oh, right, three of the top ten in town are from the Qing Cai Family.
How about I join your competition team?"
"Five people just need to form a team and register at the Imperial Palace."
It would certainly be great to have Murong Shanshan, a quasi-expert, join, but doesn't she have her own group of people?
"Shanshan, if you join our team, what about Ke Ke?"
"Oh, right, if I leave, what can Ke Ke and her group of idiots do? Never mind, I'll go back and lead my team!" Murong Shanshan suddenly realized.
"Beep~!"
Xin Yu sent me a message urging me to eat.
I glanced at Murong Shanshan and said, "I'm going to eat.
Have you finished your lunch?"
Murong Shanshan said indifferently, "You go ahead.
I'm on a diet.
Let's eat together tonight~!"
I smiled and logged off.
Murong Shanshan, with her moderate figure, still needed to lose weight?
Heaven forbid she loses her almost perfect chest, or she really would be overshadowed by Xin Yu's greatness.
With evil thoughts, I left the room.
Everyone was already seated at the table.
Today, Xin Yu was cooking, which had everyone looking forward to it.
Among the seven MM's, Xin Yu's cooking was the best, followed by Lu Xuehan.
The others, well, it's best not to mention them; anyway, the concept of just being able to eat until full was very necessary.
Xin Yu sat beside me and asked, "You know about the Champion Challenge, right?"
I nodded, and Xin Yu continued, "Xue Han and I are almost Level 25 now, so we should be able to join the five-person team.
Sister Lin is Level 24, but her equipment and skills are very good, so she should also be selected.
Adding you, we're just missing one person."
I thought about it.
The four already selected were a Swordsman, a Mage, a Priest, and an Archer.
We had ranged, melee, and healing roles covered.
There didn't seem to be any essential class left to add.
If we really had to add someone, Li Qing, the Summoner, would be good.
She would add attack power and provide a summoned pet that could tank monsters.
As it turned out, I didn't need to say anything; Xu Lin had already spoken first: "Let's add Li Qing.
The elemental creatures she summons are pretty good for PK, and their attack is similar to a Swordsman with white equipment."
After Xu Lin said that, everyone had no objections.
The meal was lively, with everyone discussing the Champion Challenge.
Although JOLY, Liu Yun, and Guo Zi would have to find others to team up with for the team competition, they could still participate in the individual competition.
"Lin Fan, what are you smiling about?" Xin Yu bumped me with her arm and poured me some soup.
I smiled and said, "Xin Yu, what kind of reward do you think we'll get if we win first place in this challenge?
Will it be a divine artifact or a top-tier skill book?"
Xin Yu glanced at me and said irritably, "Of course, it won't be a divine artifact.
If one came out in just a month, how would other players even play?
Besides, even if you got a top-tier skill book, you wouldn't be able to learn it.
I heard that top-tier skills can only be learned at Level 80 and above, and their power is astonishing!"
I nodded in agreement.
At this moment, Xu Lin looked at me and said, "Lin Fan, you are currently the highest level in this town, 3 levels higher than the second-place Murong Shanshan.
There shouldn't be any problem for you to win first place in the individual category, right?"
"Not necessarily.
As the saying goes, there's always someone better.
Who knows what kind of expert might suddenly emerge and instantly kill me..."
Xu Lin immediately glared and said, "Hmph, you must have at least 1200 HP by now.
Who could instantly kill you?
Let me tell you, yesterday I teamed up with a Level 22 Swordsman who only had two pieces of Level 12 green equipment.
I asked him about his stat distribution, which was 3 Strength, 1 Vitality, and 1 Agility for five points.
Guess how much HP he had?"
"How much?" Xin Yu's beautiful eyes widened, and her long, pale neck was exposed below her collar.
"624!" Xu Lin's words surprised everyone.
She continued, "His defense was 113, attack 72-104, and he was using a white two-handed sword with 9-18 attack.
Lin Fan, what are your stats?"
I was secretly shocked.
Without comparing, I really didn't know how abnormal I was.
Under everyone's eager gaze, I reported my stats: "HP 1530, attack 220-284, defense 302.
You... don't look at me like that..."
"Too abnormal!" Xin Yu whispered, then added, "The man I fancy is indeed extraordinary!"
Xu Lin smiled and said, "That Swordsman's stats are probably typical for most players right now.
Although our equipment isn't as good as Lin Fan's, it's still much stronger than other players'.
Everyone, let's try our best to get a good ranking in this team competition!"