Chapter 6: Early Instance - Outside Qingshui City

"Fuck, weren't we using teleport gates before? Why has it switched back, and this force seems a bit off."

With his eyes snapping open, Gu Shanhai always felt a slight chill at the back of his head. Indeed, teleportation in his previous life worked like this, but let's just say, at most, it felt like a karate chop, but this time it felt like using his head to ram something, the force at least ten times stronger.

Fortunately, the discomfort was just momentary, and he had already recovered upon entering.

As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw a row of words floating in the sky.

[Mission: Successfully escort Miss Wang, who is being pursued, into Qingshui City]

"An escort-type mission, a generic one that I have no recollection of."

There were countless missions in "The First Epoch," and he couldn't possibly remember every instance, especially since ones similar to this were as common as hairs on an ox.

He had even come up with a general strategy for this kind of instance: just follow the target and kill everyone that pops out along the way. Simple, no difficulty at all.

This time, he was paired with two players, a man and a woman, likely a couple, given that the guy was named Sturdy Little Pot and the girl was called Flapping Big White Goose.

Upon seeing their names for the first time, he wondered what the world was coming to.

Oh, his in-game name in a previous life was Super Invincible Tyrannosaurus Warrior, a top-tier... mage.

"Bro, hello, this is my wife," Sturdy Little Pot leaned in, while Flapping Big White Goose embraced him with open wings.

Gu Shanhai twitched at the sight of this scene; these two were probably teamed up.

Official players could not only team up but also had inventory slots, transaction logs, friends lists, and various other perks for convenience, none of which he had, but he didn't need them anyway.

"The mission is simple, we just need to protect that lady and move forward, any thoughts?" Gu Shanhai asked.

"None, everyone here came from the newbie tutorial, right? So we probably don't have any skills or equipment, we'll just have to see how things go," Flapping Big White Goose was clearly more experienced in the game than her husband.

"Okay."

The three reached a consensus and then headed toward Miss Wang.

"The three heroes, you've finally arrived." Miss Wang's voice carried urgency as she spoke to them, "This time, I'm pursued by Ghost-faced Vajra, who's good at brute force, Luo Xiake who wields the Heavenly Fragrance Three-Ring Sword, and Huang Huadiao, an expert in qinggong and hidden weapons."

"Once again, I must trouble the three heroes."

Miss Wang smoothly said this. After all, it was just a beginner instance, and sufficient information had to be provided to the players, it was not like a mid-level area.

'Looks like it's a wuxia setting, seems my affinity is on the eastern side, not quite the immortal side yet,' Gu Shanhai muttered to himself.

"Leave it to us, we'll ensure Miss Wang's safe return to the city," Flapping Big White Goose said robustly.

But Gu Shanhai felt different; he wasn't too interested in the mission itself. According to the information given, the biggest benefit aside from those three minions was Miss Wang herself.

As for entering Qingshui City, probably not going to happen because of the Air Wall.

He was contemplating whether he could strip them of their possessions, not their clothes, but milk them for all their worth, chop those three enemies but not Miss Wang—she was needed for mission completion and the reward points.

"Bro, what do you think?" Sturdy Little Pot moved closer to ask.

"Just stand and watch," Gu Shanhai said earnestly.

"Cough, I think Miss Wang feels a bit awkward under your gaze," Sturdy Little Pot added.

"Oh, then I won't look," Gu Shanhai withdrew his gaze. It was a normal occurrence; although it was a beginner instance in a projected world, it was a segment of time taken from "The First Epoch," which could be reused. Once someone died, they were dead, and it would reset.

That's why they couldn't enter Qingshui City; there was no city beyond the Air Wall, only the external projection world.

So, to fully plunder Miss Wang before completing the mission was the only way.

'I wonder what these two think of players from the evil camp.' Gu Shanhai's idea was roughly to take action by force, as Miss Wang had no means to resist and he could easily snatch any goodies she had.

The main uncertainty lay with the other two players.

'Maybe take those two out when the time comes?'

Official players could resurrect after death, but his death would be permanent.

"Let's go, don't delay any further," Gu Shanhai instantly said.

The other two were speechless but said nothing. They were amazed at Miss Wang's AI level.

Soon, the four of them set off, with Flapping Big White Goose chatting with Miss Wang, seemingly quite fascinated.

Meanwhile, Sturdy Little Pot walked alongside Gu Shanhai.

"Bro, why are you carrying a pot of grass? Doesn't it tire you?" he asked curiously.

"It's equipment, it gives me 10 defense points. I have to hold it to activate," Gu Shanhai casually fibbed, not worrying about being attacked for his items. Players knew before coming in that at this stage, killing a teammate wouldn't only lack loot but would also lower their rating.

Generally, nobody would do something so brain-dead.

And looking at them, they seemed just normal players, neither professional nor top-tier public players, so it was unlikely they'd do something so crazy as killing someone.

Most players were actually of good and lawful alignment, with only a few belonging to the evil or chaotic alignments.

There were bad people in the world, but there were more good ones, especially players who came to game purely for entertainment. Even in such a realistic world, not everyone would turn into chaotic, evil players obsessed with killing and looting.

This was true even in later stages.

"Oh, then later, how about you tank? My skill is beginner archery, picked up a bow. My wife's skill is Talisman Crafting: Red Flame Talisman, it's a lifestyle skill," hearing this, Sturdy Little Pot quickly said.

"No problem, you two just focus on output. I have two pieces of defense gear, I'll be able to handle it," Gu Shanhai was unconcerned naturally.

He alone could hack his way through, as long as the two didn't lag behind. At the very least, an A-grade evaluation score was guaranteed.

Any improvement from there was up to them.

"People are coming, get ready," Gu Shanhai said immediately, and the other three halted their footsteps.

Not far ahead stood a muscular man with large-scale tattoos on his face and a string of Buddha Beads around his neck.

It was Ghost-faced Vajra, the first one there to lay an ambush.