Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation
Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The camp fortress was bustling with noise as many players were starting to rush back in.
Upon entering the camp, Li Yuncheng had begun to look around. He searched for a familiar figure, but as he looked left to right, he could not find it.
“Is he not resurrected yet, or did he go off somewhere else?” Li Yuncheng was slightly confused.
“Adventurer, did you really defeat the gnolls?” A voice was heard in Li Yuncheng’s ears.
When Li Yuncheng looked down, he saw a small person staring at him with a big pair of eyes. There was even a glimpse of admiration glimmering inside it.
The little person was the little girl named Angie that Li Yuncheng had met when he first entered the game. He could feel the emotion in the little girl’s eyes, and Li Yuncheng immediately felt a bit of pride. He patted his chest and smiled before replying, “Of course, the gnolls were defeated.”
Afterward, he paused and continued with a mysterious tone. “And not only the gnolls, we’ve also chased off the saw-toothed tiger as well. If it wasn’t for its fast speed, I could’ve brought some meat from the saw-toothed tiger for you.”
“Woah!” The little girl exclaimed as she gently covered her mouth. The adoration and inconceivability in her eyes almost overflowed. The saw-toothed tiger was familiar to the people in this camp as it would often raid the camp for food.
Even if the people confined inside the camp had a sharpshooter like Phoenix, they often dared not anger the opponent too much. If it could not be killed on the spot, the people in the camp would probably suffer if a monster such as the saw-toothed tiger were to be enraged.
“Adventurer, you really are amazing!” The little girl clapped her hands excitedly, and then looked at Li Yuncheng again. “Then, adventurer, will you always be here to protect us?”
“Of course,” Li Yuncheng felt a soft spot in his heart was tugged on as he nodded firmly. He never imagined that an NPC would be able to move him in a game, but at this moment, he actually had thoughts of protecting the little girl’s feelings.
“That’s awesome! I’m gonna go tell Rian the news.”
The little girl exclaimed in excitement. Then, she turned her head and ran toward another place in the camp where several children were gathered.
Looking at the little girl’s back as she left, Li Yuncheng was filled with emotion. After exchanging a few words with the little girl, he felt as though he could actually sense the joy pouring out of the little girl when she found out if would survive due to them defeating the gnolls.
“We’re in trouble, Phoenix!”
Just as Li Yuncheng was contemplating this, he suddenly heard the camp leader next to him, the protagonist in the plot mission seemed to be talking to the female marksman NPC.
“Our supply of magic crystals is insufficient and we can no longer provide energy, so… In this case, the adventurers who came to help us will not be able to re-enter.”
The voice continued.
Li Yuncheng turned his head slightly and listened to the conversation between the two plot characters. At the same time, he also noticed that many players who had just experienced a big battle and were soothing their nerves were now also listening with their heads tilted.
“Is there another mission?” Li Yuncheng raised the question to himself. He was quite familiar with this kind of game routine. Games were always coming up with something one after another so that the players would not stay idle.
However, after hearing the words’ lack of energy supply’ and that the players could not enter again, he got the sense that something was wrong.
That Zhuang Dafa, who he had been suspicious of, was not present either. Could it be that he was really waiting for his resurrection?
“If the adventurers can’t pass through the summoning circle, their souls will drift in endless darkness and can no longer come to our world. I need you to provide me with some magic crystals,” Meng Yang said, mimicking a soulful aria tone once more as he spoke. “There are already a lot of adventurers trapped in nothingness.”
“Then, I’ll go and get you some magic crystals now,” The female marksman Phoenix replied.
“Where do you go to look for them? The outskirts of the city must be crawling with monsters now.” Meng Yang asked the question he cared about the most. When Phoenix gave him about 20 kilograms worth of magic crystals the last time out, he did not care to ask even though he was quite curious about this.
“I don’t leave the city,” Phoenix shook her head and looked at Meng Yang. She noticed that his tone was somewhat different from usual, but she still responded, “There are warehouses in the city, but not a lot of them. Moreover, the warehouses are occupied by groups of sharp beetles.”
“It’s not from mineral veins?” Meng Yang was slightly disappointed when he heard this. The original plan of letting the players go mining seemed to not be feasible for the time being. If he gave it further thought, he would realize that even if there were mineral veins in a place as big as the City of Despair, it would definitely not be in the city.
However, there was no point in thinking too much about it now. Since they had reached this point, the only thing to do was continue forward. “No. It’s getting dark out. It’s too dangerous for you to go alone.”
Meng Yang showed his acting skills once more. After he uttered those words, he paused as his eyes swept across the players. Then, he slowly continued, “How about letting some brave adventurers go with you.”
Once Meng Yang finished his sentence, all the players present received a mission notification at the same time:
[The summoning circle energy used for summoning adventurers from the other world has run dry. The adventurers will no longer be able to resurrect after death. Please report to Phoenix, aid her in obtaining the magic crystal, and replenish the summoning circle energy as soon as possible.]
[Mission: Energy Crisis]
[Rewards: The increase in the protagonist’s favorability and the increase in the City of Despair’s prestige. Explanation: The five players with the highest prestige and favorability will have the opportunity of receiving potion rewards.]
At the same time, several people, including Xu Zhe and Sun Shuai, also noticed the absence of Zhuang Dafa and some other players. Everyone had no clue whether Zhuang Dafa and those people were restricted from quitting the game, or had entered into a state of waiting for resurrection.
What excited many players the most was the final explanation. Before this, many knew that prestige and favorability had no real content to it, but it did play a role in the NPCs’ attitude toward them.
However, now, there was an opportunity to obtain potions that would activate the Extraordinary Seed. This… this had completely turned the game around.
“We could change jobs!”
“And it’s the kind with limited positions!”
“What in the world is the magic potion?”
“I’m joining! I’m joining!”
“Fricks. Playing the game this way will cause an imbalance.”
“Tsk! So, did you think making in-app purchases was fair?”
“What’s with the registration? Isn’t it a mandatory task?” Someone noticed the description behind the mission.
“Make it a free-styled mission!”
The voices in the player group sounded one after another.
The moment Li Yuncheng heard the mission announcement, he was immediately ready to sign up with Phoenix. He was not in it merely for the reward in the game. He was also aware that these sorts of things were refreshing in the early stages of the game, but might become repetitive later on.
He was now wholly rushing to find the magic crystal to power the summoning circle. After Zhuang Dafa disappeared, he started to feel a little uneasy. If someone else quit the game, he knew that the vague feeling in his heart might never be confirmed.
“I’ll fight for you, my lady!”
Just as Li Yuncheng was about to run up to Phoenix to sign up, a high-pitched and passionate voice sounded for the first time.
Liu Chuanfeng, who was carrying a bone cleaver, knelt next to Phoenix on one knee. He looked like a complete lackey as he uttered out this melodramatic script, and he could not help but fling his hair around.
“What a cheap sl*t!”
“Dog…” Some people were about to utter out more curses. Once they laid their eyes on Phoenix, they swallowed their words abruptly.
“It would be an honor! In order to save our companions, we are willing to follow you on adventures!”
Li Yuncheng was the first to react. He also ran up to Phoenix and made a cheap lackey gesture. As he said these words, he did not forget to squeeze himself next to Liu Chuanfeng.
“D*mn, this is no good. Dear goddess, please accept my worship!”
A spearman player who had almost pierced Zhuang Dafa’s bosom before rushed forward and immediately knelt after the other two. He looked like a faithful official kowtowing to Her Highness.
“I’m here to prostrate myself in admiration!”
…
Fenix looked at the strange and weird actions of the players and glanced at Meng Yang somewhat confusedly. It appeared as if these adventurers from another world who were so capable of striving and struggling had suddenly become dimwitted.
Meng Yang slapped his forehead as he was utterly speechless at the players’ excessive acting and lack of integrity.
It was as if they were forcing him to show off his whirlwind acting skills as well!
He coughed once more and said to Phoenix. “Time is of the essence, Phoenix. Please choose your team and leave quickly!”
Afterward, Meng Yang no longer cared about these full of sh*t players. It was now entirely up to them on how they wanted to torment themselves. He had been busy the whole day, and he should have sat down and rested long ago. Wait, no, it was about time to think carefully about the camp’s future and development strategy.
Once he left, Meng Yang suddenly stopped dead in his tracks. He seemed to have thought of something else.
“It seems like I’ve forgotten about the situation of the players who haven’t been resurrected…”
“Forget it. They can always quit the game. Just let them wait a while longer! I’m so tired, and I should go and eat some sweet potatoes now! I really miss eating crayfish!”