Chapter 57: The Bandits and Their Not-So-Evil Hearts
Fiery Conflict Across the Sky was being escorted forward.
Well, “escorted” might be a stretch, because no one was really paying attention to him. Everyone was just minding their own business and chatting casually.
Sometimes, he lagged behind by five or six meters, and no one noticed. He had to hastily quicken his pace to keep up.
“Hey, Bushigomen! You guys kidnapped me!”
If he had voiced his thoughts, the bandits would have retorted, “What are you talking about? We invited you over; it was a mutual agreement! How’s that kidnapping?”
In less than ten minutes, they arrived at a cave. It twisted and turned, and even with the torches on the walls, it was tough to see what lay inside.
The bandits went in first, and Fiery Conflict Across the Sky had no choice but to follow obediently.
Once inside, he realized it was laughably simple. There were hardly any decorations, just a large wooden cage that looked suspiciously new.
And in the corner of that cage sat a young girl.
Looking closer, the girl’s name was Joyce!
Yup! That’s her! The mission target!
In addition to her, the cave housed three guards along with the original six, making a total of nine bandits.
Fiery Conflict Across the Sky mentally calculated the odds of him fighting nine bandits in such cramped quarters. If they all grouped up to attack, escaping would be tricky, but he could certainly make a run for it.
But the catch was: he had to protect that girl.
Now that was a bit of a pickle…
“Get in!” shouted a bandit with a terrifying scar on his face.
Fiery Conflict Across the Sky thought for a moment and planned to first make contact with Joyce before anything else.
But just as he stepped forward, another bandit blocked his path. “Wait, leave your stuff behind.”
Are they going to make me strip?
He started having second thoughts.
His weapon was already taken away, but that was whatever; he didn’t plan on causing harm anyway. After all, the mission had rules!
But if they stripped him of his armor too, that would be risky. A few extra scratches, and he might really be in trouble.
“What are you standing there for?”
The bandit stepped forward, reaching out to grab him.
Fiery Conflict Across the Sky instinctively clamped down on his armor. Making a direct move didn’t sit right with him; it could jeopardize the whole mission. But if they kept pressing, he might have to make a run for it first.
As the world’s number one… okay, maybe second player, the cost of him dying just once was enormous.
While he was frantically thinking, he suddenly noticed something odd about the bandit’s hand.
“Huh?”
In his moment of confusion, his money pouch had already been swiped…
Wait, I still had a money pouch?
From the player’s perspective, their money was just in the backpack, and it was always deducted directly. But for an NPC, there was actually a physical pocket involved.
“Boss! This pouch is heavy! How much do you think is in here?” one bandit exclaimed.
“Come on, come on, help me check.”
The bandits were getting all excited. One of them noticed Fiery Conflict Across the Sky gawking and barked, “What are you staring at? Got a problem?!”
“Uh, no. No problem at all!”
No way he’d raise an objection!
As long as his armor wasn’t taken, he was as safe as a rock! As for the money pouch? He remembered he had barely ten thousand gold coins on him.
Throwing that away would be a shame, but if it was for a critical mission, that would totally be worth it!
“Then get in!”
“Yes, sir!”
Fiery Conflict Across the Sky complied like a good little adventurer and bounded into the cage, watching as the door slammed shut and was tied up.
Yep, once again it felt like those ropes would snap if he tugged on them hard enough.
His attention turned to the girl in the corner as he pondered how to communicate.
But before he could formulate a plan, the girl burst into tears.
“Waaah… my poor sister… waaaah…”
Uh… sisters, huh? Even their crying styles are the same?
Fiery Conflict Across the Sky almost wondered if they’d rehearsed this. But that train of thought was quickly dismissed.
How could that even be possible?
“Girl, please don’t cry. Is your sister named…”
What was her name? I totally don’t know!
“Is your sister the one with golden hair, wearing a red and white outfit, around ten years old?”
“Yes! How did you know?”
He glanced at the bandits, who were still counting coins, completely oblivious to what was happening.
“Actually, I accepted your sister’s request to check on her.”
“But you got caught too…”
“No worries! I have a plan. We can make a run for it at the right moment.”
“No, no! I can’t run,” Joyce whispered, her tone a mix of joy, sadness, and a sprinkle of melancholy.
“Adventurer, please give this to my sister. Just tell her I’m okay.”
At that, Fiery Conflict Across the Sky was over the moon.
He’d been scratching his head trying to think of ways to rescue her.
Now, all he had to do was deliver something!
Looking over the mission requirements again, they merely asked for information; there was no stipulation to rescue anyone.
Sweet! That’s like free rapport points right there!
“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure she gets it!”
After their exchange, they both settled in their corners, pretending nothing was going on.
Meanwhile, the bandits finally finished counting up the gold.
“Boss! Over eight thousand gold coins!”
“Eight thousand how much?”
“A lot! I didn’t count it all clearly.”
“You really need to learn how to count better.”
The leader, Morey, pondered the gold for a moment.
“Let’s take half… four thousand.”
“Why not take it all?”
“No, no! Even though the gold was given willingly, we shouldn’t be greedy. Miss Wind said something about sustainable development.”
“Isn’t that what Miss Wind was talking about?”
“Do you honestly think we understand those things? Anyway, keeping some aside can’t hurt!”
Another bandit chimed in, “I get it! It’s like when we plant leeks, right? Leave some roots so they can grow back next time.”
“What are you talking about leeks? Miss Wind’s business isn’t the same as ours!”
If Xu Xiaofeng had heard any of this, she would’ve given them a thumbs up. Wasn’t this just the essence of farming leeks?
And the stuff she’d sent was all carefully selected leeks, too, deeply rooted—no worries about harvesting them.
Once they secured the gold, the scar-faced bandit and two others opened the cage and shouted to Fiery Conflict Across the Sky, “You! Come here!”
Fiery Conflict Across the Sky obediently walked over, following them out to the cave entrance.
Then, he felt a tap on his back and the ropes were loosened.
The scar-faced man said, “You’re free to go.”
“Uh?”
“Yeah, uh what? Get out of here!”
After that, something was tossed over to him.
He caught it and looked—a weapon!
And checking his backpack, he found 4642 gold coins.
What the heck? They gave back his weapon and returned half the gold?
These bandits weren’t as heartless as they seemed.
Meanwhile, in the cave, Joyce was being released by Morey.
“Wow, big sis, your acting skills are top-notch! I was so worried for you!”
“Of course! You guys need to step up your game too. Didn’t Miss Wind say our service should be top-notch and professional?”
“Yes, yes! We gotta learn! All of us!”
