Chapter 197: Your friend “No Cilantro” is offline, “No Beef” is now online

【He’s panicking, he’s panicking. Someone’s clearly panicking.】

【What a pity, bro. If your actual rank could be as tough as your talk, you’d already be in the top bracket.】

Right after Dean Silver directly posted the stream room link, the other side’s responses poured in one after another.

After all, these days anyone arguing online was doing it for one thing: to win.

Watching this online fight heading toward a crushing victory, yet seeing that “Little Ferret Gummy” ID still acting like a stubborn dead duck, refusing to give in, of course Dean Silver wasn’t going to let it go so easily.

【There’s nothing to do while waiting for the event to settle. I really want to see what kind of “about to be number one” you’re talking about.】

【Hope when you’re being chased around like a dog by the Iron Cross Clan in front of tens of thousands of people in my stream room, you can still keep that cocky confidence.】

And it wasn’t just this streamer who was passionately arguing with Dean Silver. The beef between the person and the ferret on the game forum had also quickly drawn in a massive number of spectators.

No helping it—people have always loved to watch drama.

And Dean Silver’s tone really sounded exactly like one of those red-faced, triggered Cloud Players on the internet. A classic keyboard warrior, a C-language grandmaster.

Their actual rank might be garbage, but their mouth? Unmatched.

Especially that one line from Dean Silver: “Not number one because I don’t want to be. If I wanted to, I’d get it in minutes.” That line was practically a classic quote for Cloud Players.

That explosive sentence immediately got turned into a meme emoji, spreading through the forums and every kind of player group chat.

So in just a short while, netizens from all over the continent swarmed into the stream room Dean Silver opened, joining the ranks of the drama-loving crowd.

Normally, there wouldn’t be that many people bored enough to watch the stream of some mouthy punk.

But this time, the timing of Dean Silver opening the stream was perfect. The Deep Blue Port time-limited challenge event was nearing its end, and the remaining time—less than a day—wasn’t even enough for one full run.

Except for a few deadline warriors who only start grinding on the last day of the event, all the leaderboard climbers had finished their runs, and those grinding the event had also graduated from it. Many players had already entered a content drought phase.

In such a peaceful lull where everyone was chilling, a big juicy drama like this popping up was naturally impossible to ignore.

So just like that, the viewer count of Dean Silver’s stream shot up from zero to tens of thousands within less than half an hour, still climbing steadily.

And as soon as the crowd of spectators entered the stream with their popcorn ready, the chat exploded with commentary.

【No way, this guy’s ID is actually “Little Ferret Gummy”? I’m dying over here.】

【Only some newbie girl players would pick an ID like that. Last time I was in ranked, I ran into a “No Cilantro,” nearly cried from how bad they were.】

【Bro above, if you’re matching with people like that in ranked, shouldn’t you reflect on your own skill?】

【Honestly, you guys don’t get it. Haven’t you ever run into someone with an ID like this, saying nothing all game, yet completely dominating? Your friend “No Cilantro” is offline, “No Beef” is now online.】

【But whether it’s “Little Ferret Gummy” or “Big Ferret Hard Candy,” even if the real account owner found a pro to carry them, I still don’t believe they can climb to number one in the Deep Blue Port speedrun leaderboard in less than a day.】

【This time-limited event isn’t like before. The top player gets an invite to the Mechanical Research Institute to join the “Artificial Angel Project.” You know how many pro players and top-tier streamers from “Shoreguards’ Ballad” have been grinding nonstop for months to get where they are? There’s not even enough time left to plan a complete clear. How could anyone possibly get to first place now?】

【Bro above, why are you analyzing this seriously? Aren’t we all here just to watch the show? You actually think this mouthy guy can hit rank one?】

【I even looked up Little Ferret Gummy’s match history. It’s a brand-new account made two hours ago. This guy is pure Cloud Player, got exposed during an online fight and had to go all the way through with it, so they made a new account and opened a stream.】

【By the way, none of you noticed? Looks like “Little Ferret Gummy” got the Cultist Dungeon start this time. That’s considered one of the most difficult starting routes in this Deep Blue Port event.】

【All those leaderboard pro players and streamers just remake when they get Cultist Dungeon start. The restrictions at the start are too severe. No way to get a high score.】

The chat was a chaotic mess.

The majority of comments were roasting the ID “Little Ferret Gummy” and Dean Silver’s legendary forum smack talk.

But among the massive audience, there were also players paying more attention to the gameplay. Judging from the dark, damp dungeon environment in the stream, they quickly identified the streamer’s randomized starting identity.

The time-limited challenge event for “Shoreguards’ Ballad” had been running for three months and was now nearing its end.

Players had been grinding the event for months. By now, the “Return to Deep Blue Port” challenge had been thoroughly explored, with all kinds of strategies and tips repeatedly tested and shared in forums.

Although the premise was for players to return to Deep Blue Port on the eve of the Iron Cross Plague outbreak and experience everything that the Shoreguard hero Rast had gone through—realistically, for the sake of gameplay, the players’ starting identities in Deep Blue Port were all restricted.

There were several dozen starting identities in total, and each time a player attempted the challenge event, one of these initial starts would be randomly drawn.

Among these, the player-recognized best starting identities were “Coachman” and “Fallen Aristocrat,” both of which granted high initial freedom and a fair amount of starting resources.

For instance, the Coachman start had superior physical attributes compared to other starts and came with both the “Riding” and “Equestrian” skills. After the Iron Cross Plague outbreak, as long as one could acquire a horse, those two skills provided a massive mobility advantage.

As for the “Fallen Aristocrat” start, although the character's attributes were lower than average, it granted a revolver from the beginning, which was a qualitative leap in combat capability compared to other identities.

Moreover, the aristocratic identity provided players with greater conversational leverage when interacting with other characters in Deep Blue Port.

Compared to these two widely accepted good starts, the “Cultist Dungeon” was undoubtedly one of the most difficult starting options recognized by the player base.

At the beginning of the game, player freedom would be restricted. Many items that could be easily obtained before the Iron Cross Plague would become inaccessible. Additionally, due to the proximity to the Evil God contamination worshipped by the Cult Group, players were constantly under corruption. Many couldn't last more than a few hours before their mental stability reached its limit, and the game’s headset forced them to log out via its protection mechanism.

Of course, for the sake of game balance, the “Cultist Dungeon Prisoner” start came with various compensations. For instance, surviving four hours under this identity would yield a higher score than surviving ten hours with other identities.

Yet even professional players and top streamers of “Shoreguards’ Ballad” avoided this start like the plague. Regular players naturally stayed away as well. If they encountered it, they’d rather forcibly exit and take the one-day cooldown than suffer through it.

But at this moment, “Little Ferret Gummy” clearly had no choice but to proceed. If he forcibly exited now, by the time the cooldown was over, the event would have already ended.

And in fact, from the main POV of the stream room, Rast indeed did not choose to remake.

He simply stood up quietly from the dungeon floor and looked toward the dungeon’s entrance, where a cultist—fully cloaked in pitch-black robes—was sweeping his gaze over the prisoners inside, illuminated by torchlight.

“Aize.”

His voice was calm as he spoke a name, momentarily confusing the viewers in the stream room.

But soon enough, at the dungeon’s exit, that cultist reacted.

He held up a torch and stepped into the dungeon, staring at Rast through the rusted iron bars, his raspy and indifferent tone now carrying a hint of confusion: “How do you know my name?”

【Aize is the name of the cultist guarding this dungeon?】

【Wait, wasn’t this Little Ferret Gummy account brand-new? Shouldn’t he be a total newbie? How would he know the true name of the cultist guarding the dungeon?】

【Probably hired a carry. Even though “Shoreguards’ Ballad” uses iris verification, with today’s advanced tech, there’s surely some way to bypass it. Didn’t a streamer get caught cheating when the server first opened? Before being exposed, he still insisted the backpack and magazine were fused, so he didn’t see clearly.】

【As for this cultist’s name... The Cult Group controls the Evil God contamination behind the Iron Cross Plague, which makes them a mid-game boss at least.】

【I remember someone previously compiled the identity info of the Cult Group members, so it’s not surprising that even this dungeon guard’s name would be included.】

In the stream room, the bullet comments went into a frenzy.

But even the follow-up explanations in the comments began to show signs of unease.

After all, what normal player would bother remembering the name of a random enemy NPC in the game?

This Little Ferret Gummy seemed unusually well-prepared.

“Of course I know your name.”

Rast gazed through the iron cage at the confused cultist outside and said with a calm voice, “Not only that, I know you grew up in the slums, a street orphan from a young age.”

“When you were nine, an apothecary from the west district took you in, letting you stay as an apprentice in his shop.”

“That apothecary came from a small village in a neighboring province called Aize. He moved here, and since he had no wife or children... he raised you like his own son.”

“Two years ago, that apothecary died from illness. To honor the man who was like a father to you, you changed your name to Aize—”

“And the reason you joined this place, was because you heard that the statue of that Lord held the power to bring the dead back to life... You wanted to try using the statue’s divine effects to resurrect that apothecary, your benefactor.”

“You...”

The cultist in the black robe trembled, his pupils quivering.

It wasn’t strange for someone to know his name—maybe this sacrifice, already chosen to be used in a soon-to-come ritual, had overheard his name from fellow cultists at some point.

However, the other party had actually recounted not only the origin of his name but also his past with that apothecary whom he regarded as a benefactor...

These were the deepest secrets buried in Aize’s heart. Not even his fellow members of the Cult Group knew, let alone the leader himself—he had never confided these matters to anyone.

He was merely a sacrificial offering selected by the Cult Group for the upcoming ritual. How could this person possibly know such things?

【Hey, the guy upstairs—are you sure that kind of information was actually included in that strategy guide summary by that so-called pro?】

【Now that you mention it...】

【Don’t let him fool you. I think this Little Ferret Gummy really has something going for him.】

【I remember watching other professional players and streamers attempting the “Cultist Dungeon” start. They all waited for the third hour after the beginning, using the chaotic meal delivery time to attempt an escape with brute force. Although they’d inevitably get surrounded and worn down by cultists wielding firearms, as long as they managed to kill a few of them during the breakout, the final composite score wouldn’t be too low.】

【Just watch. He’s probably using this information he uniquely gathered to distract the dungeon guard, likely planning to make a move once the guard opens the door.】

【The Cultist Dungeon start is indeed tough, but the score bonuses are just as high. I’ll give it to him—even if getting first place is nonsense, this Little Ferret Gummy might actually pull off a high score.】

One line after another of bullet comments rapidly scrolled across the stream room.

Meanwhile, Dean Silver crouched beside the computer desk, smugly glanced at the stream room, and then looked over at Rast.

Tricking the cultist guard into opening the cell door, then grabbing the gun and going on a rampage... That was indeed a solid strategy to clear the scenario. Given Rast’s familiarity with the entire Cult Group and his combat skills, it shouldn't be an issue.

However—

Dean Silver popped open a bag of potato chips with her little paw and began munching contentedly.

Based on what she knew of Rast, Dean Silver couldn’t shake the feeling that this guy wouldn’t do things by the book.

“How do you know...”

The cultist named Aize raised his voice slightly, but quickly cut himself off, clearly afraid that his companions might overhear.

He unlocked the cell door and lowered his voice: “Who are you, and how do you know these things?”

【Is Little Ferret Gummy finally going to make a move? Is it now, right here?】

However, under the watchful eyes of the bullet comment audience, Rast never once acted as they had expected.

“In fact, the answer is already in your heart, isn’t it?”

Rast looked calmly at the cultist standing mere steps away and spoke with a quiet voice:

“Other than the supreme Lord, who else could possibly know those secrets you’ve never spoken aloud?”

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