Lin Tianhao's eyes flickered briefly towards the periphery, where the silenced streamer had collapsed and the assassin had vanished back into the shadows. But his focus never wavered. His hands moved with practiced precision, drawing arrow after arrow from his quiver and releasing them with a steady, rhythmic thrum. Each arrow flew true, embedding itself into the massive Weasel Spirit that was suspended in mid-air, its limbs flailing helplessly as it struggled to break free from the invisible bonds of Lin's skill.
Eight minutes ticked by, each second stretching out like an eternity. The forest around them seemed to hold its breath, the only sound the soft rustle of leaves and the occasional snap of a twig underfoot. Ying Sha, having dispatched the interloper, didn't vanish as he usually would. Instead, he leaned against a gnarled oak nearby, arms crossed over his chest, a silent and watchful sentinel guarding Lin Tianhao's flanks. His eyes were sharp, scanning the surroundings for any sign of further threats, but his presence was as unobtrusive as a shadow.
Then, the silence was shattered by the sharp, metallic ring of a system notification.
Ding!
You have slain the Hidden Newbie Village Boss: Raging Weasel Spirit! Experience +15,495!
Ding! First Kill achievement unlocked! Broadcast server-wide? Hide name?
Lin Tianhao's fingers hovered over the options for a moment, then he dismissed the prompt without hesitation. He had no need for the fleeting glory of server-wide recognition. His mind was already racing ahead, calculating the next steps in his journey. He knew there were more challenges to come, more bosses to defeat, and more secrets to uncover.
The server announcement echoed across the digital world, its golden text shimmering on every player's screen.
Congratulations to player Xue Di for achieving the First Kill of Hidden Boss: Raging Weasel Spirit! May this feat inspire all adventurers!
The message repeated twice, each time sending a ripple of excitement and awe through the player base. World Chat exploded into a cacophony of voices, each one more astonished than the last.
"Another First Kill?! What boss is this—some elite in Silvermoon City?!"
"Newbie village has hidden bosses?! Since when?!"
"Xue Di's not on Lv.10 Leaderboards! He's still HERE! What kind of monster solos a boss pre-level-cap?!"
Meanwhile, "HubeiStreamer" stumbled out of the Resurrection Altar, the server announcement still ringing in his ears. He scrambled for his stream replay, his fingers trembling with excitement as he scrolled through the footage. When he found the clip of Xue Di soloing the hidden boss, he froze, his eyes wide with disbelief.
"That's Xue Di?! I've got exclusive footage of him soloing a hidden boss!" Forgetting his own death, he feverishly edited and uploaded the clip to Gods' Twilight's official forums.
Title: BREAKING: Xue Di SOLOS Newbie Village Hidden Boss! Witness God-Tier Archery!
The video rocketed to #1 trending almost instantly. Casual players marveled at the spectacle—the boss pinned mid-air by arrows—like spectators gaping at a nuclear blast without grasping the science. But within five minutes, it played on holoscreens in the war rooms of every top Dragon Kingdom guild.
Chasing Dreams HQ | VR Conference Room
Zhumeng Yanxue materialized, her avatar dissolving as she stormed into the physical meeting space. Three analysts, GM Li Haitao, and four elite archers stood rigid before a paused frame: Xue Di's bowstring torqued mid-spiral shot.
"Well?" Her voice cut like ice, slicing through the tense silence.
Li Haitao blurted, "Boss—Cousin—it's obviously a rare knock-up skill! Luck!"
"Silence!" Zhumeng Yanxue's glare could frost steel. "Boss during meetings. Analysis. Now."
The Lead Analyst stepped forward, his fingers flying over the controls as he zoomed in on the paused frame. "No skill matches this effect. Observe—" He zoomed in further. "—string torque, arrow rotation. This is manual technique, not a system skill."
She turned to her archers. "Can you replicate this?"
Hawkeye, their top marksman, spoke gravely. "It's 'Spiral Shot.' I've seen it IRL. Requires predicting impact vectors three arrows ahead. One error breaks the chain." He exhaled, his breath visible in the cool air of the conference room. "I knew Gods' Twilight's physics could support it… but mastering it against a boss? This soon? It's… terrifying."
Zhumeng Yanxue's eyes narrowed, her knuckles turning white as she clenched her fists. "Training time for our roster?"
A heavy silence fell over the room. Hawkeye finally whispered, "Five years. Minimum. For fundamentals."
"Five YEARS?!"
"For proficiency," he clarified. "A one-in-ten-thousand prodigy might grasp basics in three months. But to juggle a boss like Xue Di?" He shook his head. "A decade. Or never. What he did… transcends skill. It's artistry."
Zhumeng Yanxue's knuckles whitened even further. "Dismissed." She spun toward her VR pod, her mind already racing with the implications. This changes everything.
Identical scenes erupted across Dragon Kingdom's elite guilds—Asura, Frenzy War, Celestial Dragons. All reached the same chilling consensus: Xue Di operated beyond human thresholds.
Server Announcement (Golden Scroll):
Chasing Dreams Club offers Xue Di: 100,000,000 CREDITS/YEAR + Core Franchise Player Status + Negotiable Bonuses!
(Repeated twice)
With Xue Di's friend adds and PMs locked, Server Announcements—costing 10 Gold each—were the only recourse. Before the echoes faded:
Server Announcement:
Asura Guild offers Xue Di: 110,000,000 CREDITS/YEAR + VICE GUILD LEADER + Profit Shares!
(Repeated twice)
Server Announcement:
Frenzy War offers Xue Di: 110,000,000 CREDITS/YEAR + VICE LEADER + NEO-SHANGHAI WATERFRONT VILLA!
(Repeated twice)
World Chat imploded:
"100 MILLION?! IS THIS REAL?!"
"HOW is a Lv.9 worth more than my lifetime earnings?!"
"STFU NOOBS! That aerial tech would take you 10,000 hours to fumble! Clubs have analysts—they KNOW he's LEGIT!"
As the digital world convulsed over billion-credit offers, the epicenter of the storm remained unnervingly calm. Xue Di knelt beside the Weasel Spirit's carcass, his fingertips already brushing over the pulsating loot orbs—oblivious to the war raging for his signature.