Chapter 17 Urgent Task
Resting on the Giant Stone, Yang Yu found it strange as he peeled the sugarcane, a worthless prize from yesterday's draw that he'd ended up with. Today, they had roamed the perimeter of the forest for an entire day, yet had not encountered a single goblin.
If it were the case that someone had cleaned them out, that would have been one thing, but they hadn't noticed any signs that suggested recent battles.
Everything was too strange, as if someone had known in advance about their clearance plan and had rallied the goblins deeper into the forest.
He split the peeled sugarcane into three, giving a piece to He Meng and Bai Jin. Yang Yu started chewing on the base portion.
The group of goblins yesterday had been well organized, just like wolves waiting for their prey to fall into a trap, true hunters.
Had it been any other team, the goblins would have likely succeeded in their ambush. Unfortunately for them, they had encountered him, and even without Sekamens' intervention, he was confident he could've ensured their complete annihilation.
Chewing on the sugarcane vigorously, Yang Yu formulated a new strategy.
"Let's call it a day for now, head back and prepare. Tomorrow we'll try to delve deeper into the forest."
Unable to find Experience Bags and therefore unable to level up, venturing deeper into the forest where high-level goblins roamed in packs was dangerous. For now, they could only return and look for other teams that wanted to hunt goblins and join forces with them.
He Meng swallowed down the sugarcane. Although it wasn't as delicious as Clover, it had a distinctive flavor. Bai Jin, on the other hand, seemed unsure about how to approach it.
"Have you never eaten sugarcane before?" Yang Yu asked.
Bai Jin nodded.
"I've been to many cities but have never seen such food."
"Then how do you get sugar?"
"It's extracted from a kind of brown fruit called sugar candy," she explained. "It grows under extremely harsh conditions, making sugar expensive and beyond the reach of ordinary people."
Damn, that's at least a billion in losses.
This game didn't even have sugarcane as a crop. If one could rely on farming and promote large-scale sugarcane cultivation, setting up a sugar factory, wouldn't I make a fortune?
Staring at the leftover sugarcane peels, Yang Yu's face cringed with regret; it was too late to do anything now. He certainly couldn't grow sugarcane from the peels; that was a miracle he couldn't perform.
Next time he won garbage prizes, he'd have to check them carefully. He'd also need to pay more attention to the market to see what was available and what wasn't, lest he miss out on another billion and be brought to tears.
"Take your time, it's very sweet. If it's too big, I can cut it into smaller pieces for you."
Having said that, Yang Yu took back the sugarcane and cut it into small sticks the size of chopsticks before handing it back to Bai Jin.
She took one and chewed lightly. Sweetness filled her heart.
"So sweet... Ahahaha, it's like cooking Bone Grinding Frogs, Hallucinogenic Mushrooms, and Kara Lizards together. Cool cool cool, a perfect Curse Potion, this exquisite sweetness could definitely make many girls fall head over heels."
"..."
"No, I mean... That's not what I was trying to say..."
Bai Jin was flustered, trying to explain but started to cough violently. Yang Yu patted her back to ease the coughing, and said, "Your sentiment is clear, you don't have to force yourself if you can't express it. Take care of your health."
While speaking, Yang Yu glanced at Bai Jin's Experience Bar, noticing it had shortened just a bit; it wasn't his imagination.
He Meng had originally thought that Bai Jin's frailty attribute would only affect her combat abilities, but he did not expect that the attribute would directly impact her growth.
Yesterday, He Meng had helped Bai Jin gain two levels, but upon waking up today, she had actually dropped a level. Even more tragically, the slight increase in attributes she gained from leveling up was pitiful to behold. Out of seven attributes, only Intelligence was at +2, while all the others were at +0. When she dropped a level, her attributes each fell by five points. By his calculations, Bai Jin was even weaker today than she was yesterday despite having gained a level.
He would have to find a way to lift her frailty; otherwise, it would be as if all the effort spent on leveling up was for naught.
Faced with a character who not only had a low appearance value but also grew weaker in the game, most players would avoid her at all costs, perhaps only using her as a temporary means to level up in the early stages.
But He Meng was different. His first impression was, "If her level and attributes drop every day, doesn't that mean she must have been incredibly strong in the past? Such a character must have some special storyline hidden behind her, worth digging into!"
Moreover, characters who start off frail might become unattainable in the later stages. If he could help her overcome her frailness and save her life, given this connection, she would certainly not exhibit treacherous behaviors without significant provocation. She would be the most reliable companion.
How could He Meng let such a teammate go?
Leaving the Goblin Forest, they returned to the Adventurer's Union. What should have been a noisy, lively tavern during the daytime was now eerily quiet. Everyone was drinking with their heads down, and the atmosphere differed from day to day.
It was not like this when he left in the morning, so why had it become so gloomy in just one morning?
He Meng was puzzled. The moment he stepped into the tavern, a string of task messages unfolded on his panel.
[Emergency Task: Rescue the missing adventurer Scass Team.
Emergency Task: Rescue the missing adventurer Tren Team.
Emergency Task: Rescue the missing adventurer Akai Team.
...
Emergency Task: Rescue the missing adventurer Silver Wind Team.
Investigation Task: Head to the depths of Goblin Forest to investigate.]
As so many messages suddenly popped up, He Meng had only one reaction: something had happened.
Just as he was about to inquire about what had occurred, the young lady at the front desk briskly walked up to him.
"Mr. He Meng, may I bother you for a moment? We would like to understand the situation with your goblin hunting yesterday. It might take a chunk of your time, but correspondingly, we will compensate you for it," she said.
The task chain "Witness Account" triggered, and without hesitation, He Meng detailed the events in the forest from the previous day.
To avoid the accusation of embellishment, He Meng slightly altered the end part where Sekamens stole the kills, stating that they were fortunate to have Sekamens come to their aid.
Having answered all the questions from the young lady at the front desk, she thanked him and returned to her station to write furiously. Then she disappeared somewhere, with a guard temporarily taking her place.
In a conversation with the guard, He Meng learned the ins and outs of the situation: yesterday, their team was the only one that returned from the Goblin Forest.
It was common for adventurers to rough it in the forest for the sake of livelihood, and the Adventurer's Union had no right to interfere with them. However, this morning a blood-soaked adventurer arrived, recounting everything he had encountered in the forest. His team had been attacked by a swarm of goblins and forced into the deeper part of the forest, where they encountered even more goblins. It took an enormous effort for his team to let him escape back.
The nature of the incident changed instantly. The Adventurer's Union speculated that the adventurers who had not returned were likely also attacked by goblins and had fallen in the Goblin Forest.
Adventurers were one of the pillars that operated and stabilized society. Though they worked for money, they undeniably solved many problems plaguing the populace.
Such a massive disappearance of adventurers at once could easily create panic, especially when the Silver Wind Team, which represented the young generation of the Adventurer's Union and was led by Sekamens, was also missing.