Chapter 34: Bissel, the Future Goblin King

"Phew, that was close." Lu Yang broke into a cold sweat. Had he been caught under the collapsing house, he surely would have died.

The goblin beside him was also visibly shaken, yet he quickly composed himself, straightened his attire, and bowed to Lu Yang with great elegance. "Sir, I, Bissel the goblin, thank you for saving my life. Please, accept one gold coin as a token of my gratitude."

Lu Yang’s eyes lit up. Bissel? He knew that name all too well. Three years into the game in his previous life, the goblin race had founded their own nation, and the first king of that nation was named Bissel.

Lu Yang couldn't help but study the young goblin. Though his face was smudged with soot, it was undeniably the future King Bissel. He hadn't expected his luck to be so good—he had just saved the future king of the goblin race.

"I don't need your gold. Saving you was just a small favor," Lu Yang said. Compared to a friendship with a future king, what was a single gold coin?

A look of surprise appeared in the goblin's large eyes. "It must be that the gold I offered is too little. That is my fault. I am willing to pay five gold coins."

Even though the goblin didn't have a single coin on his person at the moment, as long as Lu Yang agreed, a letter from the Venture Company would arrive in his mailbox within five minutes, containing the five gold coins.

Lu Yang shook his head again. "No, as I said, saving you was just a small favor."

Bissel’s expression turned sour, and he said with some irritation, "Greedy human, at most, I will give you ten gold coins. If you still refuse, I won't give you a single copper."

Ten gold coins—that was a significant sum. Even a month from now, ten gold coins could easily purchase a complete set of Level 10 silver-tier gear. An average player, seeing Bissel’s display of annoyance, would likely believe he was serious, but Lu Yang knew better.

"Goblin, you are insulting my character," Lu Yang said firmly. "I told you, saving you was just a small favor. I do not want your money."

Bissel was stunned. In his experience, weren't all humans greedy and fond of petty gains? Weren't they people who would sell their services for a price? Why was this one different?

Lu Yang’s tone remained stern. "My purpose here was to kill the Troll Shaman Watkins. See for yourself, his body is right there. Running into you was just a coincidence. For you to try to bribe me with money—it disgusts me."

Bissel looked in the direction Lu Yang pointed. The Troll Shaman Watkins lay on the ground, his mouth agape, his face frozen in an expression of bitter resentment.

"Watkins is dead." Bissel cautiously approached the corpse, confirmed it multiple times, and then let out an excited shout.

Lu Yang ignored him, turned around with an indignant look, and began walking toward the edge of the troll camp. In truth, he was genuinely somewhat annoyed. In 2040, with highly advanced artificial intelligence, Bissel possessed a personality as complex as any real person, even if he was a virtual character.

Lu Yang was a man of fiery temperament, upright and principled. He valued loyalty and despised those who believed everything could be bought with money. He already possessed the Heart of the Demon God, so Bissel’s favor wasn't strictly necessary. If Bissel truly was the type of petty character who thought money settled everything, Lu Yang had no interest in being his friend, even if he was a virtual being.

Bissel, still overjoyed, hurried to catch up to Lu Yang. "Sir, please, wait a moment!"

"What is it?" Lu Yang asked.

This time, Bissel bowed deeply at a ninety-degree angle and held the position.

"Sir, please forgive my earlier rudeness. If you will not accept my gold, I beg you to accept my friendship. If you do not mind, Bissel the goblin would be honored to be your friend," Bissel said earnestly.

Lu Yang took a deep breath, thinking: *That’s more like it.* He couldn't believe that someone with such poor character as to think money could buy everything would ever become a king. A king required a certain depth of spirit and integrity to be elected.

"I, the human Lu Yang, accept your friendship. I believe we will become great friends," Lu Yang said, reaching out to help Bissel up.

Bissel’s large eyes shone with excitement. "Aha! That is wonderful! I, Bissel, finally have a human friend!"

Lu Yang asked curiously, "Have you never met a human before?"

"I have, I have," Bissel said with a sigh. "But your people's greed is no less than our own. You are the first human I have ever met who wasn't blinded by gold."

Lu Yang hadn't been a man blinded by gold in his previous life either; otherwise, how could a penniless youth have rallied a guild of five thousand people and established a fortress in the wilderness?

He smiled and asked, "How did you end up here?"

"Don't get me started," Bissel said, his expression turning angry as he pointed at Watkins's corpse. "My caravan was ambushed by this wretched creature while passing through the Orc Hills. Everyone else in the caravan died, and I was the only survivor. I thought Watkins wanted me to buy my life with money, but in reality, he intended to burn me alive as a sacrifice."

It was a custom among the trolls: anything they deemed worthy of being offered to their gods was burned alive.

"Perhaps Watkins thought you were a particularly handsome goblin and wanted you to serve as a messenger for their gods," Lu Yang teased.

Bissel laughed bashfully, like a child. Suddenly, a patrol of trolls passed the valley entrance, scaring Bissel into hiding behind Lu Yang.

"Let’s head back. This is no place to linger; we should be careful of other trolls," Lu Yang said.

Bissel nodded, looked around, and retrieved his clothes and backpack from near the collapsed house. Once dressed, he ran to Lu Yang’s side and pulled a round, metallic rod from his bag. Lu Yang recognized it—a Safety Teleporter, capable of transporting up to five players to a designated location.

"This is a masterpiece of our people. Get ready, I’ll take us out of here." Bissel pressed the button on the rod. With a flash of electric light, Lu Yang and Bissel vanished from the spot.

On the other side, at the teleporter in the Venture Company’s camp in the western trade district of Saint Gall, a flash of light signaled their arrival. Lu Yang and Bissel appeared.