The Great Thief

From what Lu Li could remember, the Shadow Cup had produced many stars, especially in Dawn.

As Dawn’s popularity began to rise, it became more and more universally renowned. This gave its stars fame that could compare to that of real celebrities.

The experts of the game would receive many endorsements, as long as they weren’t too vulgar.

At first, these products were more aimed towards younger people, but gradually, other industries also made their way into the game.

Some players could make tens of thousands and others could make millions, but the top experts could make tens of millions with endorsements alone.

Those who were beautiful could also become rich beyond compare.

Lu Li first started doing Instance Dungeons with Northern Tang Dream, but if they wanted him to endorse them now, it would cost over ten million a year, as quickly killing opponents was one way to spike to stardom.

The title of ‘most expensive endorsement fee’ had to go to Dancing Flower Beauty, who was rumored to have been paid over $30 million.

Water Fairy had also endorsed products, but her fee was only $1 million. It was later exposed that the product was one from her own company; this was a typical model for tax evasion.

Lu Li didn’t know if anyone would ask him; he was actually quite curious about it.

If he could endorse a product, he would be able to pay for his sister’s treatment and have enough money left over to buy a house.

Staying with the landladies was good, but he still didn’t feel fully secure for Lu Xin. It still wasn’t a proper home.

After finishing the day’s matches, they all continued farming the Howling Caves.

The Heroic-Difficulty Serpentis was really overpowered; it was on a completely different level to the Elite-Difficulty. To a certain extent, defeating this Boss was based on pure luck. If they were unlucky, they would just end up dead.

As such, they could only remain patient and keep trying.

By nightfall, Lu Li and the others had fought this Boss 12 times.

Just as they thought that today’s efforts would be futile, Serpentis decided to target Azure Sea Breeze twice in a row. Azure Sea Breeze, who was equipped with three Silver level 25 equips, barely managed to tank the Boss’ attacks.

However, now that they had survived the most critical moment, they were finally able to defeat the Boss.

The items that were dropped were all quite powerful. Sesame Rice Ball and March Rain both took a LV25 Mold each, while Hachi Chan received a LV25 Fang Set equip.

Unfortunately, Serpentis didn’t drop any rare materials or give any skill points, which was to be expected. This wasn’t the First Clear.

After logging off, Lu Li washed up and discovered that the female landlords were waiting for him.

“Morning. Why are you all looking at me like that?” Lu Li greeted them and checked that he was wearing something. Everything seemed fine.

“Big bro, I saw you in the competition,” Lu Xin said cautiously.

“Oh.”

Lu Li sat down with a glass of water and took a sip. However, he spurted it out when he realized what had been said.

“What did you say? How did you see me in the competition?”

“Don’t scare her.” Dou Jing Jing protected Lu Xin like a mother hen and calmly said, “I gave her a helmet and brought her around to relax.

Lu Li was shocked that his sister was now playing the game as well.

This news was simply too much; it took him over half an hour to accept it.

“My sister isn’t even an adult yet,” he protested, breaking his silence.

“Tch, so what if she isn’t an adult? Dawn’s age requirement is 8 years old and the legal requirement for virtual gaming is 12 years old.”

“Fine, just play then. Playing some video games might be good for you.”

Lu Li saw that his sister felt like she was being punished unjustly, so he immediately softened his stance and started to comfort her.

“I just went in to have a look. It won’t affect my studies,” Lu Xin hurriedly explained.

She was the only family he had left and was most afraid of disappointing her brother.

“You… I believe you.”

Lu Li wanted to tell her that her studies didn’t really matter but he realized that it wasn’t appropriate. He then changed the subject and asked, “What profession did Lu Xin pick?”

“Oh, I chose a Hunter so I can have a pet. I want to catch a dog,” she replied, her eyes sparkling.

Lu Xin loved dogs. Whenever they went out for a walk and they saw a dog, she would always stop and play with it.

Previously, their living conditions had been quite poor, so it was unrealistic for them to own a pet.

However, despite knowing about Lu Xin’s love for dogs, Dou Jing Jing couldn’t do anything about it. Liu Yi Yi was allergic to small animals and that included dogs.

She then quickly came up with the idea of letting Lu Xin play the game.

The $3000 for a game helmet was simply a drop in a bucket for her; it was less than the bags she would readily buy.

The main obstacle was convincing Lu Li, as the little girl always wanted to be obedient to him.

To convince her, Dou Jing Jing came up with a few points. The first was that she could see her brother more often and the second was that she could raise her own animal.

These reasons were so convincing that she successfully dragged the little girl into the game.

“No problem. You can play after school. But don’t play for too long – you need your rest,” Lu Li said.

“Xin Xin saw you and the Imperial Secret Service in a match. It was very exciting but we didn’t buy any tickets,” Zhou Huan Huan said lazily. She was curled up on the couch.

“Yeah, we couldn’t get the tickets. Can you get them? Can we get backstage access?” Dou Jing Jing asked hopefully.

“I would like to, but I can’t,” Lu Li helplessly replied.

“Big bro, you’re so strong. When those players saw you, they were so scared.”

Lu Xin was always captivated when talking about her brother. Most of the time, she was a well behaved little girl.

“Of course, I’m your big brother.”

It was difficult to explain to her that Left and Right eye weren’t standing still because they were scared.

“Big bro, I hear your tickets are worth a lot!” Lu Xin exclaimed excitedly.

“When your big brother wins the championship, we’ll have even more money,” Lu Li said with a smile as he poked his sister’s nose.

This little money maniac.

Although the three landlords thought that Lu Li was a little arrogant, they couldn’t refute him. What he was saying almost seemed natural.

Lu Li was considered by many to be the number one player. He had taken three Instance Dungeon First Clears and had performed too many miracles. It wouldn’t even be a surprise if he took first place.

The only thing that could let him down was his teammates.

Dawn wasn’t a solo game and the Shadow Cup was a 3v3 tournament.

What decided each match was not the strongest player of each team, but the overall strength of each team.

However, after seeing Lu Li’s match today, these fears had been dispelled.

The tough March Rain and the sharp Moonlight were well-admired by the ordinary players.

“Did you guys make it into the competition?” Lu Li asked, turning his attention to the landladies.