Chapter 56: How Weird, Just One More Look
Xu Xiaofeng was glued to the leaderboard and forum, refreshing like it was her personal mission.
Fiery Conflict Across the Sky had already hit level 10 and seemed to be napping in the Imperial Capital—probably catching up on those essential Z’s.
There were still about ten players from Falling Leaf City who were expected to reach level 10 today, so after hashing out a master plan with Morey and the gang, she zipped back to Emerald City.
Then, she stood at the teleportation point, ready to block the door! This spot was the only teleportation area for everyone coming from Falling Leaf City.
Meanwhile, she posted on the forum with her ID “Wind” about breakthrough materials for Bronze Level.
The post clearly stated there were two ways to acquire them: outdoor gathering or direct purchase. They barely mentioned gathering and only dropped the name of the Qingfeng Chamber of Commerce, which was the sole supplier for the goods right now.
As the first player to enter the royal city, she figured sharing tips and tricks would just be her good deed for the day—nobody could pin anything shady on her!
However, if she started spilling too many details about prices and effects, people might suspect she was skimming off the chamber’s profits! Of course, she wasn’t pocketing anything; it was more likely the merchants were the ones grifting her!
Once the post went live, a flood of fanboy comments poured in, showering her with compliments and friend requests, but thankfully, not much trolling from the “water army.”
All thanks to her good buddy Fiery Conflict Across the Sky, whose news of hitting level 10 at the crack of dawn stole most of the spotlight.
Xu Xiaofeng ignored the other comments and promptly shut down friend requests on the forum.
On the other side, she also informed Harry of the pricing.
When Harry saw it, his scalp went tingly, and his body started to tremble, covered in cold sweat, feeling as if winter had come in summer.
Selling one for five gold coins? Who did she think she was? Greed was one thing, but this was beyond!
And seriously, was anyone actually going to buy that?
Harry didn’t dare to think or ask. He was just the guy who took the cut; all he could do was follow orders. Anyway, he’d received the funds, so any subsequent losses were on her.
Xu Xiaofeng didn’t need to worry about the chamber’s affairs; she trusted that plenty of naïve players would swarm in like bees to honey—what a sight!
Her real concern was blocking the entrance for Morey and the others, hence her strategic spot.
She was scanning information while waiting.
A few locals blinked in and out of the teleportation array, but she paid them no mind.
After waiting for over an hour, the teleportation array lit up, and out popped none other than Fiery Conflict Across the Sky!
Finally! The big golden pig has arrived!
Such a lazy bum, rolling in this late. Without hacks, how did he expect to catch up?!
Of course, even with hacks, he wouldn’t stand a chance against her.
“Big Brother! Help me, please!”
Just as Fiery Conflict Across the Sky was about to check out his new surroundings, a sweet-and-sour cry broke through his thoughts.
Expecting trouble? Perhaps a quest?
It’s only his luck to be handed a quest right upon arrival!
He felt a surge of excitement and replied eagerly, “Don’t worry, little sister! I’m here to help! Whatever trouble you’re in, just tell big bro, I’ll sort it out!”
“B-Big Brother, sniff sniff, my sister… she was taken by bandits, sniff sniff…”
“Bandits? How outrageous! Where are they? I’ll wipe them out!”
At the same moment, a quest panel popped up in front of Fiery Conflict Across the Sky.
[Daily Quest: Rescue Joyce]
Quest Level: Ordinary
Quest Background: vsjddnxvjnx (garbled text)
Quest Requirements: Enter the bandit camp and gather intelligence on Joyce without harming anyone, then report back to the little girl.
Quest Rewards: Little girl’s affection increases by 10 points.
Fiery Conflict Across the Sky did a double-take—Daily quest? Rescue Joyce? How many Joyces were there?
Third look—ordinary level? Yawn…
Fourth look—garbled text? What’s that all about? Oddness abounds!
Fifth look—hold the phone! Little girl’s affection points!?
Even though this mission was riddled with strange and illogical bits, who cared?
The most important thing was that last line! If he followed the rules, how could they possibly deny him those affection points?
Daily quest meant at least ten affection points every day! Whee, let’s go!
His heart raced, and his hands trembled as he thought about clicking accept, worried he might mess it up.
After a moment, he realized he had already automatically accepted the quest with his silent mantra.
Fiery Conflict Across the Sky accepted the quest, then listened as the little girl spilled the coordinates, bolting out like a hare on caffeine.
Watching him fade into the distance, Xu Xiaofeng couldn’t help but smirk.
Oh my, he truly was the right one. A smart person knows the score; he didn’t ask too many questions and just zoomed off.
Xu Xiaofeng continued to crouch and wait for the next lucky customer.
Meanwhile, Fiery Conflict Across the Sky spent over half an hour racing to his destination.
Just halfway there, it hit him: he hadn’t even gone for a breakthrough.
Ah well, better to assess the situation—if the enemies were too strong, then he could break through later.
He arrived at a valley entrance surrounded by small hills—definitely a prime smuggler hideout!
Morey had picked a great spot.
He scanned the surroundings but only saw trees and bushes.
Now how the heck was he supposed to find the bandit camp?
Just then, a few burly men appeared from a nearby fork in the path, heading straight for him.
They stared intently at Fiery Conflict Across the Sky whilst he kept a watchful eye on them.
Dressed in ragged clothing, with stocky builds, rough skin, and headscarves, these guys looked like trouble.
And they were holding what looked like weapons—each one exuded an aura of menace.
No doubt about it, these were bandits.
But why weren’t they red names? Why did they show up as villagers?
Were bandits in this game not marked as red names? Have villagers really sunk so low?
Well, it was plausible—this game was so quirky.
All his previous encounters involved monsters; he’d never seen these human-shaped guys.
Looking closer at their weapons and gear, Fiery Conflict Across the Sky could tell they were weak.
Even combined, six of them probably didn’t stand a chance against him.
With that thought, he relaxed a bit.
As the bandits closed in, seeing him stay put, one whipped out a rope and declared, “Cooperate and come with us.”
For a moment, he hesitated, but then nodded, deciding to comply.
That was the fastest way to enter the bandit camp without causing a ruckus.
As for danger? With a rope that thin, he could break free at any moment. Even with more bandits inside, he could always escape.
Seeing this, the bandits exchanged glances.
Translated, that was one thing: Whoa! He really is just going along with it! What a peculiar guy!
