With a series of actions from Proud Dragon Emperor, Xu Yi's character "Proud Little Wild" was completely erased from the game *Myriad Realms*!
Logging out of Xu Yi's now-empty account, Proud Dragon Emperor signed into his own account and entered the game. He opened the guild interface and kicked out all members of the Proud Guild involved in the "Golden Pine Ridge Incident."
After doing all this, Proud Dragon Emperor let out a long sigh of relief and happily started playing the game.
Meanwhile, in the capital of Cold River City, Upper Frost City, several members of the Cold River City alliance who had gathered for a party were huddled together, chattering about the attack at the restaurant.
"President, have you found out who ambushed us yet?"
In the meeting hall, Chuangshi Yongge asked Cangshu Buding with a furious expression.
"Tough. Have you heard? The night before last, several suspects locked up in the security bureau suddenly dropped dead for no reason!"
Cangshu Buding glanced at Chuangshi Yongge, shook his head, and said.
As soon as Cangshu Buding spoke, everyone present—except Jiang Yuan, who had been following the posts—was stunned!
"What? Dropped dead?"
Ding Ye jumped up at the news, his face full of shock.
At that moment, Jiang Yuan nodded and said solemnly, "Yeah, I saw the post. Six people, not a single survivor!"
"Damn! The mastermind behind this must have some serious backing!"
He Xinyuan, also known as Hua Qian Gu, the president of the Hundred Flowers Guild, rubbed his chin with his thumb and forefinger, muttering.
"I've already called the security bureau chief. He said the suspects' families flat-out refused an autopsy, so we can't determine the exact cause of death!"
After Hua Qian Gu finished, Cangshu Buding added.
"Buding, based on your guess, who do you think those guys are connected to?"
Jiang Yuan looked at Cangshu Buding and asked.
"What do you think?"
Cangshu Buding raised his head, giving Jiang Yuan a sly look, and countered.
Jiang Yuan's gaze swept over everyone in the room, and he slowly uttered four words: "Proud Dragon Emperor."
"Damn, I figured it was him too. Only he has that kind of pull to make those people die silently in the security bureau!"
After Jiang Yuan spoke, Ding Ye slapped his thigh with a loud "smack," agreeing with Jiang Yuan and addressing the group.
"Just suspicion without evidence won't expose Proud Dragon Emperor. But all the leads are dead now. The security bureau can't investigate, let alone us."
Hua Qian Gu, the law student and president of the Hundred Flowers Guild, rubbed his temples and said.
"So we just take this beating and move on?"
Ding Ye said irritably.
"You and Hua Qian Gu and Yong Ge got hit. What's it got to do with you?"
Jiang Yuan shot Ding Ye a glare. That guy hadn't even been hurt; in fact, he'd taken down two of them!
"Who says! At the start, I got slapped and had spit all over my face!"
Ding Ye shot back immediately.
"Give it a rest! What's a couple of hits you took? I got pinned down by several people and beaten—almost shattered my old bones! Ouch!"
Chuangshi Yongge walked over and shoved Ding Ye, laughing, but the movement aggravated his injuries, twisting his smile into a grimace.
"Yong Ge, President Hua, I'm really sorry about your injuries. Later, send me your card numbers, and I'll have finance transfer 10,000 in nutritional compensation. Oh, and Jiang Yuan, you too."
Cangshu Buding addressed Chuangshi Yongge and Hua Qian Gu, then remembered Jiang Yuan had also cracked his brow bone in the incident, so he quickly added.
"It's just a minor injury, no big deal."
"You're too kind, President. I'm fine—just took a few hits. No need!"
"Don't trouble yourself, President!"
As Cangshu Buding finished, Jiang Yuan, Chuangshi Yongge, and Hua Qian Gu all quickly declined.
But Cangshu Buding insisted firmly, refusing to budge, even threatening to resign as president of the Chuangshi Guild if they didn't accept. That scared the three into nodding and agreeing to send their card numbers after logging off.
After soothing Jiang Yuan and the others, Cangshu Buding turned his gaze to Zhang Ergou, the president of the Cloudrise Guild, and asked, "President Zhang, any interest in working at our Hengyun Group?"
Zhang Ergou was taken aback, scratched his head, and said, "President, what are you saying? Old Zhang here can only run a martial arts school and teach disciples—nothing else!"
Cangshu Buding smiled slightly and said, "What I value is your martial prowess, President Zhang. I'd like to hire you as my personal bodyguard to ensure my safety when I'm out. Room and board included, monthly salary of 50,000 Dragon Kingdom dollars!"
This announcement immediately made Ding Ye envious, and he shouted, "President, I'm tough too! Didn't you see me that day? I took down two of them by myself! Hire me as your bodyguard too, okay? I don't need as much as Old Zhang—20,000 will do!"
Cangshu Buding shot Ding Ye a glare and said, "I wouldn't dare hire a bodyguard who cries first and then fights!"
"Hahaha!"
After Cangshu Buding's remark, everyone present recalled Ding Ye's bawling that day and burst into laughter!
"President Zhang, what do you say?"
After the laughter died down, Cangshu Buding looked seriously at Zhang Ergou, the president of the Cloudrise Guild.
"Alright! Old Zhang may not have many skills, but keeping you safe is on me!"
Zhang Ergou patted his chest and assured Cangshu Buding.
Years later, Zhang Ergou would indeed fulfill his promise, saving Cangshu Buding's life at the cost of his own!
Just then, Wen Ding Cang Sheng from the Heavenly Wave Mansion Alliance hurried into the meeting hall, panting as he addressed the group, "Have you heard? Something seems to have gone wrong inside the Proud Guild!"
"What's wrong? We've been chatting here. If Brother Cangsheng knows, spill it for everyone."
Jiang Yuan immediately looked at Wen Ding Cang Sheng and said.
"About half an hour ago, the vice president position in the Proud Guild suddenly went vacant, and nearly a dozen high-ranking members were inexplicably kicked out. Those close to them asked Proud Dragon Emperor for an explanation and got booted too. Then it triggered a chain reaction—a bunch of former Proud Guild members are now on the world channel looking for new guilds!"
Wen Ding Cang Sheng quickly shared the news he'd gathered with the Cold River City group.
"What are we waiting for? Those high-ranking Proud Guild members are elite players—top-tier in levels and gear. If we recruit them, it'd be a big boost for our alliance!"
Chuangshi Yongge immediately proposed.
"Jiang Yuan, President Zhang, President Hua, Ding Ye, what do you all think of Yong Ge's suggestion?"
After Chuangshi Yongge spoke, Cangshu Buding didn't respond right away but instead asked for Jiang Yuan and the others' opinions.
"I think we can take them into President Zhang's and President Hua's guilds first. That way, we boost the Cloudrise and Hundred Flowers Guilds' surface strength, and we can also keep an eye on whether they're spies deliberately sent by the Proud Guild."
After Jiang Yuan finished, Ding Ye, Zhang Ergou, and Hua Qian Gu all nodded in agreement.
"Alright, let's do it Jiang Yuan's way. Presidents, here, I'll give you some server megaphones."
Cangshu Buding nodded, agreeing with Jiang Yuan's suggestion, and then initiated trade requests with Zhang Ergou and Hua Qian Gu.
Over a minute later, two red advertisement banners floated in the world channel of the chat box, lingering for a long time, their content strikingly identical!
"Cold River City Cloudrise Guild and Hundred Flowers Guild are now recruiting heartbroken Proud Guild players in bulk!"