Volume 1, Chapter 57: The Madman; Let's Drink!

Qin Shang?
A beer mug, but there's no beer in this...
Didn't the Crimson Pope just go buy whiskey?
What the hell, drinking whiskey out of a beer mug?
He stared wide-eyed.
Both of those one-liter beer mugs were filled entirely with whiskey?
Qin Shang immediately and instinctively glanced down at his stomach, mentally calculating how long he would be vomiting once he chugged all of that down.

On the other hand, the Gentleman didn't seem afraid of the Crimson Pope either.
Even though he was merely an Order-tier [Teacher] class player, he still smiled broadly when facing the Chaos-tier Crimson Pope.
"Pope, everything I said is the truth, not made up or groundless. Cutting out my tongue is a bit unreasonable. Besides, women shouldn't go around throwing out words like hurting people; it's not very elegant."

After saying that, the 'Gentleman' leaned in closer.
"Speaking of which, I'll be entering my own instance tomorrow too. Does the Pope have any recommended instance guides you could give me for free..."

The Crimson Pope immediately shot him a faint, sidelong glance.
"Level 2 instances for the [Teacher] class are basically multiplayer instances; you can just coast along. Unless you're unlucky enough to run into a polluted instance or a multiplayer instance with a Trickster, and as long as there's no Godslayer, you'll basically make it back alive."

With that, the Crimson Pope glanced at Qin Shang and raised the beer mug in front of her as a toast.
"Drink. Why are you staring at me with those huge eyeballs? Am I that good-looking?"
"Pretty good-looking!" Qin Shang instinctively flattered her.
"If you're good-looking, drink."
"???"
"What if I say you're not good-looking?"
"Not good-looking, and you still drink. Anyway, whether I look good or not isn't for you to see, and whether I look bad or not isn't for you to see either. What the hell does my appearance have to do with you? Drink!"

Qin Shang's mouth twitched. What a psycho line.
He felt like he was gradually starting to adapt to the Crimson Pope's unpredictable mood swings.
To be honest, his alcohol tolerance wasn't actually very good.
At his and his wife's wedding, they hadn't even invited many tables of guests, but going around in rounds still nearly sent him spiraling into the heavens.
On the night of their wedding, people had to carry him into the room...

However, recalling that the Crimson Pope didn't seem to be in a good mood today either.
After all, punishing Chen Muchu had vented a lot of his pent-up anger, but 'Grandpa Niu' had also truly and completely died on the Divine Road...
At this thought, Qin Shang gave a bitter smile and followed suit by picking up his beer mug.

The next moment, the Crimson Pope beamed with a charming smile.
"Happy Tomb-Sweeping Day!"
Qin Shang: ? ? ?
Seriously, you didn't have to give a toast, you know.
Aren't we just drinking? Did you really have to drop a line like that?
However, it really was Tomb-Sweeping Day recently; Qin Shang had even had a lucid dream last night.
After leaving the [Death Train] yesterday, he had lain down on his bed and fallen asleep.
In the first half of the dream, Qin Shang saw his mother, who had passed away many years ago, and then he saw his father.
In the dream, his mother was as kind as ever, while his father was somewhat blurred, his facial features hardly recognizable...

Eventually, he woke up needing to pee. After relieving himself, in the second half of the night, he found himself dreaming of being next to a black hole, struggling desperately to break away, only to be finally swallowed by the massive and terrifying suction force of the black hole.
Strange...

"So, generally speaking, how often does a player without a massive financial backing have to enter an instance?" Qin Shang asked, looking at the Crimson Pope.
Hearing this, the Crimson Pope pointed at the beer mug in his hand.
"The information I have here has to be bought with money. But considering you made me feel good today..."

Felt good today?!
After these words dropped, the 'Gentleman' beside them instantly lit up, his eyes shining with teasing amusement as he looked back and forth between Qin Shang and the Crimson Pope, seemingly weaving a rather cheesy and ambiguous romance plot in his head.
"Good, where did it feel good? On a physiological level or a psychological level?"

The Crimson Pope spat at him in annoyance.
"Don't make me beat you."
Having said that, the woman picked up the beer mug in her hand.
"I can give you an answer unconditionally, but the premise is that you drink half the glass!"

Half a glass?!
Big sis, this isn't beer, this is whiskey!
If I chug half a liter of whiskey, will I still be able to walk with a clear mind, dammit?
Qin Shang's mouth twitched, but he still picked up the beer mug and took a gulp.
Sitting opposite him, the Crimson Pope chuckled softly.
"I like men who bite the bullet and don't make excuses!"

With that, she stopped insisting that Qin Shang actually finish the entire half-glass and instead began to speak.
"Usually it's about ten days. Because the clearance reward for an ordinary standard instance is basically ten points, A-rank instances are around 10 to 15, and S-rank are 15 to 30."
"B-rank instances and below basically don't give much in terms of points and experience rewards, around 5 points... but their advantage is stability; the higher the difficulty, the higher the mortality rate."
"So ten days can be considered a relatively balanced number."
"What's more, the vast majority of players are not wealthy in reality; how could they casually pull out millions to trade for points?"
"You've used the official Divine Road player forum, so you know the conversion rate for points: one point can be exchanged for one million RMB, and vice versa."
"I suppose ordinary players don't have the family fortune to squander like that, exchanging it for points. On the contrary, low-level players generally like to use points to exchange for RMB to achieve financial freedom and enjoy everything in reality."

Qin Shang swallowed the burning whiskey, nodded along, and put down the beer mug.
With two gulps of whiskey in his stomach, Qin Shang already had a premonition.
Tonight he'd probably be hugging the toilet bowl and throwing up...

Meanwhile, the Crimson Pope continued.
"Just because ordinary players lack that financial strength doesn't mean high-level players do."
"It's like an internal circulation among players: low-level players exchange points for money, and high-level players exchange money for points."
The Crimson Pope took small sips of her whiskey.
"Don't underestimate the purchasing power of points. If you happen to encounter a high-level player who isn't fully prepared and is about to enter an instance immediately, they are even willing to pay a premium to buy points."
"After all, points at certain times equate to a life-saving method. It's no exaggeration to call it a 'Human Experience Card'!"

Having said that, the Crimson Pope glanced sideways at the Gentleman and Qin Shang.
"Drink! What are you staring for?"
"You come to a bar and don't drink? Are you here to look at chicks?"

Driven by necessity, Qin Shang had to suppress the churning in his stomach and raise his glass once more.
He silently sighed that this woman's alcohol tolerance was truly monstrous.
She downed a gulp of whiskey and came out completely unscathed, and the most crucial part was that she didn't seem to be eating anything in between either!
If Qin Shang didn't eat something to line his stomach, drinking usually gave him a stomachache the next day.
Especially with high-proof alcohol like whiskey.

Next, the Crimson Pope suggested playing dice.
During his vocational school days, Qin Shang had spent his time playing games as a surrogate for classmates and had basically never been to places like bars; he didn't know a single drinking game.
However, the Crimson Pope was quite patient. She first taught him the drinking game rules of 'bluffing' and then declared she wanted to let Qin Shang try a couple of rounds...

From then on, Qin Shang didn't take another single drink.
For the next half hour, Qin Shang was completely fine.
The 'Gentleman', on the other hand, was completely plastered.
At first, the Gentleman would still nitpick Qin Shang's dice-cup-shaking posture, saying his sweeping movements looked too much like someone eating skewers at an open-air food stall, and would occasionally offer a critique or two.
"Elegant, the action of opening the dice cup must be elegant!"
"«Cockroach Jade Feet», your movements are far too ungraceful."

However, after a few rounds, his catchphrase changed to:
"Don't, don't push drinks. Pushing drinks is very ungraceful!"
"Please, I don't want to be carried out lying down; that's not elegant at all!"

And after that...
It turned into:
"If this kid isn't hiding his true skill, he must be born with a sacred constitution for drinking tables."
"Damn it, even a veteran drinking-table player like the Crimson Pope is no match for you in a single round. After all these rounds, you're the one who drank the least, and you're still being modest here... You two play, I'm done, this is too damn inhuman. Who can withstand drinking whiskey out of a beer mug?!"

After three rounds of drinks, the word 'elegant' disappeared from the Gentleman's vocabulary. He was the first to wave the white flag in distress, waved his hand with a flushed face, and collapsed straight onto the table.
Right before losing consciousness, he managed to blurt out:
"Damn it, sleeping in a bar is not elegant at all!"

Thud—
Seeing this, Qin Shang wore a quirky expression.
No wonder his Divine Road ID was 'Gentleman'...
He silently apologized to the 'Gentleman' in his heart.
Sorry, bro, better you than me. Given the Crimson Pope's attitude, one of us has to get drunk tonight, and I have important business later—I cannot black out.
Wait... I actually thought you Divine Road players all drank whiskey out of beer mugs!
Turns out your tolerance isn't all that great either, buddy!

Truth be told, ever since he was a kid, Qin Shang rarely stumbled when playing games.
When it came to summarizing experience, observing, and learning, Qin Shang possessed a talent far surpassing his peers.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to make living expenses in college by playing games for classmates and exploiting bugs.

The next moment, he turned his head to look at the Crimson Pope.
The woman's cheeks were flushed, glowing as if stained with evening clouds, and her delicate body half-leaned against the bar's sofa. Even in the dim lighting, it was hard to conceal such an alluring and charming woman.
Passing customers would basically glance over at this enchanting and moving scenery.
It seemed the Crimson Pope was also getting a bit buzzed from the alcohol.

Qin Shang didn't have any special feelings toward the Crimson Pope; he just always felt that while this woman looked charming and seductive, her eyes always gave off the feeling that she was hiding a story.
She was probably someone with a turbulent fate as well.

Noticing Qin Shang's gaze, the Crimson Pope propped up her upper body with a slender arm, leaning halfway against the sofa.
"I reckon the 'Eagle of Justice' is about to arrive. Have you figured out how to deal with him?"
"Just about. And I'm eighty percent sure he wouldn't dare to publicly confront me in broad daylight. Even if he shows up near the Cloister Bar, there's a high probability he'll find a way to lure me away from the bar and take me to a secluded place before making a move."

Hearing this, the Crimson Pope looked at Qin Shang with keen interest.
"So you plan to go one-on-one with him?"
"Aren't you afraid he might have used some method to ambush you beforehand?"

Qin Shang answered honestly: "Afraid!"
"But as you said, no players above Level 2 will make a move, so..."
The next moment, noticing that Qin Shang's eyes showed no trace of tension or panic, the Crimson Pope suspiciously arched a slender eyebrow.
This confident and soaring aura didn't look like a deranged gambler at all, but rather someone steering the situation with a meticulous and mature plan.

Thinking of this, the Crimson Pope stared at Qin Shang with growing interest.
"Do you have some other backup plan?"
"I was hoping to ask you for a favor. You don't need to fight, or rather, even if the Eagle of Justice has many Level 2 or even Level 1 companions, you don't need to intimidate them."
"Assuming I run into danger, you only need to..."

Qin Shang paused and beckoned to the Crimson Pope with his finger.
The woman instinctively leaned her ear closer, and Qin Shang whispered a few words softly in her ear.
Immediately after, a strange look surfaced on the Crimson Pope's pretty face.
"How is your brain wired?"
"I actually do have the thing you mentioned. However, regarding your plan, I have a suggestion..."

Having said that, the Crimson Pope leaned against Qin Shang's ear and smiled as she whispered a few more things.
Then, she turned her head and pointed at a figure busy behind the bar counter.
Qin Shang paused for a moment, then was overjoyed.
For the first time since the drinking session started, he proactively raised his wine glass.
"Then, I'm counting on you!"