Chapter 12: The Soldier Instance Isn't That Simple, Either!

"The Di People had blocked the river under the city, causing the officials and soldiers to suffer from intense thirst. They had to drink horse dung juice.

"In the city, Geng Zhong dug six wells without finding water and couldn't help but sigh, 'Has Heaven abandoned us?' The soldiers were parched and the Di People were on the verge of an assault, so Geng Zhong ordered them to prepare for a fight to the death.

"The Deputy General advised, 'Our late emperor once faced hardship, drew his sword, and stabbed it into a mountain, and a spring gushed forth. Great Chu is the chosen of Heaven, how could it be at its end?'

"At the seventh location, a fountain of water burst forth, and everyone shouted 'Long live!'

"Geng Zhong then commanded the soldiers to splash the water so the enemies could see. Caught off-guard, the enemies thought it was divine intervention and withdrew."

This was the original text recorded in the historical documents.

Although Zhao Haiping could not remember the specific words of these original texts, he could still recall the general plot, as he had specifically looked up the translations at that time.

He began to consider the situation in the instance.

"According to the historical records, at the time, the Di People had cut off the water supply to the city, and the soldiers of Great Chu had to drink horse dung juice. This matches what I observed.

"General Geng Zhong ordered people to dig wells within the city. After six unsuccessful attempts, and fearing 'Heaven has abandoned us,' Geng Zhong prepared his men for a desperate fight as the Di People geared up to attack.

"Then a Deputy General gave counsel, and Geng Zhong dug at a seventh spot where a 'fountain gushed forth.' Geng Zhong had his men splash the water to deceive the enemies, who thought Chu's soldiers had divine aid and thus refrained from attacking fiercely and retreated.

"But these plot points don't seem to be reflected in the instance?"

Suddenly, Zhao Haiping realized that if he excluded the subplot related to the Deputy General, it seemed to align with the situation he encountered in the instance.

If, indeed, Geng Zhong had no water in the city and still fought to the death, a miracle was unlikely. After all, the barbarian soldiers of Beidi were full of fervor, believing the conquest of the city was inevitable due to the Great Chu soldiers' lack of water.

But after water was found, Geng Zhong had it spilled out of the city, executing a psychological warfare tactic that made the barbarian soldiers reconsider their attack.

"Could it be... that Deputy General is actually me?

"But that's not right, I seem to be role-playing as just a basic archer, not any Deputy General."

Zhao Haiping was certain that he actually held no real authority; he couldn't even speak to the General, let alone be a Deputy General.

Yet, at this juncture, trying was the only option.

Before the battle, there was one whole day. His only chance was to try to persuade General Geng Zhong during this time.

Restart.

Zhao Haiping found himself back on the familiar battlements, but this time he didn't just wait for the Beidi barbarians to attack. He stood up and walked toward where General Geng Zhong was.

"What's the matter!"

Two guards immediately stopped him.

Zhao HaiPing hastily said, "I have urgent news for the General!"

The guards looked him up and down, "The General is busy and has no time to see you. The enemy is about to invade, get back to your post!"

Of course, Zhao Haiping could not walk away: "But I really have something important to report! It could solve an urgent need!"

The guards were evidently becoming impatient, "Whatever you have to say, you can tell us."

Zhao Haiping was frustrated, but he knew his low status as a mere foot soldier meant he did not have the privilege to simply demand an audience with the General.

So, he had no choice but to tell the guards.

"If the General continues to dig the seventh well, water will surely be found!"

The guards exchanged glances and said dismissively, "Alright, we got it, go back to your post."

Clearly, they didn't believe him.

Zhao Haiping knew he couldn't just leave, "Then you must report to the General at once!"

One of the guards looked at him, "Brother, we are as thirsty as you, and as anxious, but that's no reason to disturb the General.

"You say that the seventh well will surely have water, but what if the General asks where to dig the seventh well, how should I answer that?"

Zhao Haiping was at a loss, "Well, this..."

How the hell would I know where to dig the seventh well! Isn't that for the General to decide?

But the guard had a point. You're just a low-ranking soldier. With such a significant enemy threat looming, you can't just see the General whenever you wish.

If they were to allow just anyone to see the General on some random claim, they might as well not be guards.

Moreover, even if by some miracle they let him see the General, what if the General asked the same question? Where should the seventh well be dug?

```

If Zhao Haiping randomly pointed out a spot and failed to find water, wouldn't that have been the same gamble?

Great Chu faced a formidable enemy, and all six wells had run dry; why should the General waste precious manpower to dig a seventh well based on a mere foot soldier's word?

All were issues.

At that thought, Zhao Haiping silently sighed and immediately turned around to jump off the city wall.

"Hey!"

Two guards were shocked and ran over to try to stop him, but it was too late.

"What's gotten into this brother... Why seek such a swift end?"

"Maybe he was delirious with thirst..."

The two guards looked at each other, bewildered.

...

He was back to the initial state of the instance.

Zhao Haiping couldn't wait for the barbarians to reach the city walls; he knew that under such circumstances, no matter how hard he tried, victory was impossible—death was inevitable, so better to die swiftly.

After dying countless times in this instance, he had largely lost his fear of death.

After all, he had been thrown off the wall and killed by the siege of barbarians several times before.

"So now there are two problems. First, my status is too low, and no one listens to me. A low-ranking soldier abandoning his post to tell the General about digging a well certainly doesn't make sense.

"If I were really a Deputy General, with a reasonably solid relationship with the General, then I could speak to him directly.

"The second is that I don't know the specific location of the well; letting the General dig randomly? That's obviously not reliable.

"The second problem is easy to solve; it seems that the ruins of the city are still there. A quick internet search should reveal the approximate location of the well, and if not, a visit to the site should suffice to pinpoint it.

"The first problem is trickier; can I change my identity in this instance? It seems there isn't an option for that.

"Could it be related to the first stage?

"The better I perform in the first stage, the more likely I am to be noticed by the General and become a Deputy General?"

After a round of reasoning, Zhao Haiping realized this instance was definitely not as simple as he had thought.

Who says you can just bluntly play the role of a foot soldier? Clearly, that's not the case!

Even in such a purely combative role, you still have to use your brain, and acting skills are needed too.

What should he say when he reports to the General, and what expression should he use? All these needed careful planning.

"Quit the game first."

As Zhao Haiping came to this firm decision, his vision was covered by a white mist, and soon after, he woke up from the reality.

He glanced at the time and was shocked.

"It's only a little after three in the morning?

"That can't be right, I've died many times in the game already!

"This game seems a bit eerie, not only allowing one to ignore time while immersed in the game, focusing solely on the gameplay, but also, and most importantly, it seems that the time flow in-game is even faster than in reality?"

For Zhao Haiping, this was obviously good news, as it meant he still had plenty of joyous opportunities tonight.

He went online to search for information about the ruins of the city.

Although there was some content on Wikipedia, it was clearly insufficient, not even mentioning the specific location of the well.

Zhao Haiping then found photos of the city's ruins.

"West city wall... northern rampart... western cloister... channel...

"Got it!

"This looks like a well!"

Zhao Haiping scrutinized the heavily magnified, high-definition aerial photo. Although the well was not marked on the map, he could still make out what looked like a well-like pit near the southern rampart, with a ring of stones clearly raised above ground level.

"The stream seems to flow from the northwest, and this well is on the south side; no wonder, ordinary people would definitely dig in the direction of the stream, and it's quite normal not to think of this location.

"If the location of this well is correct, then the next issue is, I need to perform as well as possible in the first stage of the instance, to make sure I get more face time in front of the General.

"Who knows, maybe my status will change by the second stage?"

```