CHAPTER 35: THE STAGED FALL
The wild zone was quiet at midnight.
I'd chosen the location carefully: a transitional area between mid-level and high-level content, the kind of place where random encounters were plausible and guild patrols were routine. Herb Garden's regular patrol schedule put a six-person squad in this zone between midnight and 2 AM—enough players to make the encounter look dangerous, not so many that the staged loss would seem implausible.
Lord Grim materialized at the zone's eastern entrance and started moving toward the predetermined coordinates.
The PRD tracked everything—player positions, patrol routes, the moment-by-moment data that would create a convincing narrative for anyone who reviewed the logs later. Wang Chen had been clear about the requirements: the fight had to look real. A staged loss that was too obvious would raise questions that neither of us wanted to answer.
Performance time.
Lose convincingly, but not suspiciously.
Put up enough of a fight that the victory looks earned.
The Herb Garden patrol appeared on my minimap seven minutes into the zone. Six players, standard composition—two tanks, three DPS, one healer. Their positioning showed professional coordination, the kind of discipline that came from weeks of coalition operations.
They spotted Lord Grim at the same moment I spotted them.
[HealingRain (Herb Garden): Lord Grim. You're in the wrong zone.]
HealingRain.
The frontline captain I messaged during the Blood Gunner fight.
She doesn't know about the deal—Wang Chen kept the negotiation limited to himself.
From her perspective, this is a legitimate encounter.
"Every zone is the wrong zone lately," I typed back.
The patrol advanced.
The fight was real enough that I almost forgot it was staged.
Herb Garden's squad knew their business. Their tanks rotated aggro with smooth efficiency while their DPS focused fire on Lord Grim's position. I countered with terrain exploitation and weapon-switching, the same tactics that had won me fights against larger groups before.
But this time, I was holding back.
Not too much. Wang Chen was clear—the fight needs to look competitive.
But enough that the outcome goes their way.
I let the Berserker's charge catch me mid-transition. The stagger opened a window for the Elementalist's ice spell, which locked Lord Grim in place for two critical seconds. The damage stacked.
[Lord Grim HP: 100% → 71%.]
Good. Convincing.
Now make the recovery look plausible but insufficient.
I broke the freeze and started a retreat, kiting the squad through terrain that should have given me advantages. The PRD showed the optimal escape route—a narrow canyon that would force single-file pursuit.
I took the suboptimal route instead.
The squad caught me in an open clearing. Six on one, no terrain advantages, no escape paths. Lord Grim's weapon cycling bought time but not victory.
[Lord Grim HP: 71% → 34%.]
The final push came from HealingRain herself—not healing, but a well-timed crowd control that locked Lord Grim in place while the DPS finished the job.
[Lord Grim has been killed by HealingRain (Herb Garden).]
The death notification appeared. XP loss—minimal at my current level, barely noticeable. Equipment durability damage—a few repairs, nothing significant.
Performance complete.
Now we see if the political payoff is worth the cost.
The coalition chat exploded within minutes.
I couldn't see it directly—coalition communications were private—but Su Mucheng's intelligence feed showed the aftermath in real-time.
[Cleansing Mist (Encrypted): Herb Garden posted the kill notification. They're claiming credit for "decisive action against the Lord Grim threat." Chen Yehui is furious—he wanted the kill for Excellent Dynasty.]
Perfect.
Wang Chen is playing his part exactly as planned.
[Cleansing Mist (Encrypted): Wait. Something's happening. Herb Garden just announced withdrawal from the coalition.]
Here it comes.
[Cleansing Mist (Encrypted): The official statement: "Herb Garden has demonstrated our commitment to server stability through direct action. Our guild's resources are now better allocated to core operations rather than ongoing coalition activities. We wish our former partners continued success." Chen Yehui is absolutely losing his mind.]
I allowed myself a small smile at my station.
"Demonstrated our commitment through direct action."
Translation: we got our PR win, now we're out.
Exactly what Wang Chen wanted.
The cascade started three hours later.
Blue Brook Guild—the barely-participating fourth member of the coalition—announced their withdrawal at 3 AM. Their statement was shorter: "Blue Brook Guild thanks our coalition partners for the collaborative effort and will return to regular guild operations effective immediately."
Translation: we were never really committed, and now we have an excuse to leave.
Two guilds down.
Coalition reduced to Excellent Dynasty and Tyrannical Ambition.
Half the resources. None of the material supply chain.
[PRD Alert: Coalition status updated. Participating guilds: 2 (reduced from 4). Resource pooling: Collapsed (Herb Garden materials withdrawn). Bounty support: Unsustained (coordination infrastructure degraded).]
The alliance map on my PRD display shifted—four connected nodes becoming two isolated points, the coalition's structure dissolving in real-time. Chen Yehui's carefully constructed suppression apparatus was crumbling, and there was nothing he could do to stop it.
Chen Guo caught me doing a quiet fist-pump at my desk.
She grinned.
"Good news?"
"The best kind." I pulled up the alliance status and showed her the map. "Two guilds withdrew from the coalition against Lord Grim. The hunting infrastructure is collapsing."
"So the bounty...?"
"Still technically active, but unsupported. Without Herb Garden's materials and Blue Brook's... well, Blue Brook's minimal contribution... Excellent Dynasty and Tyrannical Ambition can't sustain coordinated operations."
Chen Guo studied the map with the focused attention she brought to everything related to Team Happy. "Tyrannical Ambition is still in. That's Han Wenqing's guild."
She knows the pro scene.
Of course she does—she was a Ye Qiu fan before I walked through her door.
"They're in, but their participation has shifted. They're watching more than hunting now. Han Wenqing is more interested in assessing Lord Grim than suppressing him."
"That's... good?"
Maybe.
Or maybe it's worse.
Bounty hunters want to kill me for money.
Han Wenqing wants to understand me.
And understanding is more dangerous than hostility when you're pretending to be someone you're not.
"It's complicated."
Chen Guo nodded and made a note in her Team Happy notebook—something about "professional attention" and "exposure management." She'd started keeping track of variables I hadn't even considered.
Partnership.
She handles the business angles while I handle the gameplay.
It's starting to feel like a real team.
[Cleansing Mist (Encrypted): Update: Chen Yehui just submitted a request to Excellent Era management. He's asking for reinforcements—pro team guild members from the Heavenly Domain transferring to the 10th Server.]
The satisfaction curdled into concern.
Heavenly Domain transfers.
Elite players from the established servers, bringing their skills to the 10th Server's lower-level environment.
That's an escalation I knew was coming eventually.
But not this soon.
"What's wrong?" Chen Guo asked, reading my expression.
"Chen Yehui is calling in reinforcements. Professional-level players from the main servers."
"Can they do that?"
"Technically, anyone can create a new account on any server. The transfers will start at Level 1, but their mechanical skill will be far above normal 10th Server players." I pulled up the PRD and started modeling scenarios. "If Excellent Era approves the request, we'll have a narrow window before they reach competitive level."
"How narrow?"
"Maybe three days. Possibly less."
Chen Guo was quiet for a moment. Then she pulled out her notebook and flipped to a fresh page.
"Then we have three days to finish what we started."
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