Chapter 117

November 8, Earth time, Friday. The day of the auction for the coveted items that players had been eagerly anticipating.

After resting on the Earth plane for over 10 hours, Yang Qiu returned to the OtherWorld plane at four in the morning. As he stepped out of the spatial rift, he wasn't just greeted by brilliant sunlight filtering through the leaves of the forest but also by a foul-smelling and decaying monster.

This corrupted creature lay in the spot where Yang Qiu had previously made his breakthrough. It seemed completely startled by the sudden appearance of the spatial rift and was now staring blankly at Yang Qiu.

"Another fallen one." Yang Qiu observed, examining this monster that had already lost its human semblance. From its blood-red pupils where spirituality and madness intertwined, he deduced the true identity of this creature. With a shake of his head, he raised a hand and made a slight gesture.

The corrupted creature, the size of a small elephant, rapidly disintegrated into black dust, settling on the ground.

The agreed time frame with Inspector Lowell had been three days (OtherWorld time). However, it was now the fifth day since, and Yang Qiu wondered if Lowell had been driven insane by the relentless players.

After a moment's hesitation, Yang Qiu temporarily abandoned the idea of recruiting a few more usable characters from the Sorensen Mountains. Instead, he summoned an undead lizard and returned to Weisshem.

———

Upon seeing Lowell, Yang Qiu wasn't particularly surprised to see a face filled with numb bitterness.

"You're late," Lowell stated expressionlessly.

"Sorry, the recovery took longer than I expected," Yang Qiu apologized. "Have things been going smoothly these past few days?"

"Depends on how you define 'smooth,'" Lowell replied, his face still wooden. "Like Rex being questioned by a representative of the Bartalis family, or a mercenary group preparing to invade and plunder—"

"What did you say?" Yang Qiu's eyes lit up.

Lowell frowned. "The Bartalis family sent an arrogant steward to question Rex for disrespecting the Indahl city defense force…"

Yang Qiu waved his hand dismissively. "Let's ignore the trivial matters. What I meant was, there's a mercenary group planning mischief in Weisshem?"

"Trivial matters… Fine." Lowell's mouth twitched. "Three individuals claiming to be from a mercenary group scouting for a client infiltrated the town and were… apprehended by your undead and me. Currently, they are being detained by the militia."

"I'll take a look right away." Yang Qiu stood up with a spring in his step.

Lowell: "…"

For some reason, the Black-robed Inspector suddenly felt that being robbed by the undead wasn't the worst experience yet for those mercenaries.

"Oh, right." Yang Qiu retraced his steps and turned back, retrieving a small box from his spatial ring. "I promised to give you an interesting gift from the other plane as a token of appreciation. Please have this."

Lowell: "??"

Lowell watched Yang Qiu take out a rectangular object with one side made of glass and the other of metal from the small box, along with a white rubber-wrapped wire. Lowell saw Yang Qiu plug one end into the peculiar tablet and the other into a socket already prepared by the undead mayor for electricity.

Yang Qiu calmly turned on the tablet and provided Lowell with a brief tutorial on how to operate it. This mainly included instructions on how to open the app, a media player, how to select shows, pause and resume playback, shutdown, and reboot, as well as some of the other simple auxiliary functions.

After gifting Lowell the cheap tablet he had purchased from Pinshaoshao at a low price, Yang Qiu eagerly went to pick up some more tool characters…

Puzzled, Lowell watched Yang Qiu leave before his eyes returned to the small and exquisite mechanical device before him.

The images on the glass surface seemed similar to the new machine that the Kenyan Empire had promoted last year—a machine that could replace traditional light shadow stones that stored images and sounds. However, unlike the promotional pictures from the Kenyan Empire, the images here were in color.

The music was exceptionally beautiful. Even though Lowell couldn't understand the lyrics, he found himself captivated by the melody and the female voice singing along with the visual scenes of mountains and forests accompanied by lines of blocky characters.

Lowell would be lying if he said he wasn't curious about the "unprecedented alternate plane" that Yang Qiu had mentioned previously. Even though he still didn't get why Yang Qiu wanted him to watch this, Lowell quickly pressed the pause button and returned to his room to retrieve his cuckoo flower lapel badge.

With the badge in hand, Lowell returned to his seat in the hall. With a mixture of excitement, solemness, and curiosity, he clicked on the resume button.

This time, he understood the line of peculiar block characters that appeared near the bottom of the screen—"Dream of the Red Chamber."

The mournful male voice with an exotic tone began to sing, "Ink stains the entire scroll, with a touch of bitterness…"

Then, Lowell sat unmoving in the living room for a very long time. Even when Wagner returned from the branch canteen with lunch, Lowell wouldn't budge.

Yang Qiu didn't concern himself with how Lowell, an otherworldly elder with a penchant for highbrow literature, would react to his ultimate literary weapon, "Dream of the Red Chamber." While he kept Lowell occupied, Yang Qiu gleefully went to meet the captured mercenary scouts.

The militia headquarters, which housed over a thousand people now, had not seen any trouble so far, and Yang Qiu never paid much attention to this place until now. As he personally visited the militia headquarters, he realized how adept Hal and his former bandit brothers were at being prison wardens.

It was lunchtime, and the prisoners were divided into three groups, queuing up separately at different meal stations.

The inmates, with their clothes covered with dirt and their faces sweaty, had been working and were eating the standard work meals provided by the young orc maiden, Lyka.

Those who hadn't done labor and were being held in custody obediently consumed the instant noodle stew that players, who were diligently building their reputation with the Undead Merchant Association, had prepared punctually.

The less ruly prisoners were stuck with having boiled potatoes…

Upon entering the compound, Yang Qiu happened to witness a prisoner in the boiled potato line try sneaking into the model inmate group receiving work meals. This fella's clothes were smelly and dirty, and his head was full of sweat and could easily pass off as having been laboring away. However, he was spotted by the keen-eyed Hal and promptly booted (literally) out of the queue.

"So violent," Yang Qiu commented, with apparent sympathy upon hearing the unfortunate guy's wails. He then gave a thumbs-up to Hal.

Hal, who was still kicking the guy, was momentarily taken aback but begrudgingly allowed that to pass.

Hal was arrogant, Tuttle Joe cared about his image, Finley was a sly fox, and among the four former bandits, only the knight Jerome, who was the most obsequious, ran over to greet Yang Qiu enthusiastically, "Good day, Yang. Anything I can help you with?"

On learning that Yang Qiu was looking for the newly captured mercenaries, Jerome promptly called out three unlucky fellows in the boiled potato line.

Yang Qiu examined these three dispirited individuals and was somewhat surprised.

Mercenary groups didn't have a much better reputation than bandit gangs. Individuals who could register as legal mercenaries in an official city and accept jobs across the continent were not known for their honesty when far from home. Occasionally, they even moonlighted as bandit gangs themselves if they found a place with lax security. Rumors circulated of certain remote towns being taken over by mercenary groups, who wiped out local nobles and turned themselves into local lords.

To put it simply, people working as mercenaries usually deal with either monstrous creatures or ruthless bandits and highwaymen. Those who enlisted the services of these mercenaries were typically nobles, affluent elites, or wealthy merchants; these three categories were essentially related to banditry. Innocent and harmless people would hardly survive long in such lucrative but morally gray industries.

So, why had these haughty mercenaries become so docile after such a short time in captivity?

Jerome, seeing Yang Qiu's confusion, explained with an innocent smile, "These three did misbehave quite a bit when they first arrived, making a ruckus that disturbed the peace. We dug a hole in the backyard, buried them with only their heads above ground, and made them miss two meals. After that, they became much better behaved."

Yang Qiu gave another thumbs-up. Even villains needed to be molded, and compared to the former bandits, these mercenaries fell a little short.

The three scouts, who hadn't eaten or even received their boiled potatoes, weren't paying much attention to Yang Qiu. Instead, they stared eagerly at the crowd receiving their meals.

Yang Qiu stroked his chin and instructed Jerome to bring over a bowl of fragrant instant noodle stew, which he placed in front of the eldest of the three men.

"Tell me your origins. Whoever is willing to speak can have this," said Yang Qiu, pointing to the bowl of piping hot noodle stew.

The oldest one among the three remained silent, his face dark. However, his two companions couldn't help but swallow nervously.

Yang Qiu grinned and turned to the two wavering scouts. "Don't worry; you won't be betraying your comrades. You're just choosing to switch sides early. I assume none of you think you will be able to leave Weisshem, do you?"

The faces of the three men turned pale.

"Weisshem isn't the kind of place where you can come and go as you please," Yang Qiu said. "Now that you're here, you have two choices. One is to live a normal life and work hard, and if you have the ability, you might have a future better than that of a wandering mercenary with no fixed abode. Two, you can become materials for undead resurrection."

Of the three, the youngest started to tremble…

Clearly, the intimidation factor of this black mage was much greater than that of the ascetic who had arrested them. People who could bravely sacrifice themselves when a knife was at their throats were few and far between. These three men, at least, were primary mercenaries who occasionally dabbled in robbery. They weren't brave warriors and quickly confessed their origins in quivering voices.

Previously, these three had mentioned they were "scouting for an employer." It wasn't all a lie; they were part of a legit mercenary group from the south, and the reason they had appeared in Weisshem was to undertake a job for their employer to escort a caravan through the Sorensen Mountains to trade with Eastern and Northern merchants in Indahl.

During Yang Qiu's advancement in the Sorensen Mountains, this caravan had entered Weisshem territory. They had originally planned to rest and resupply in the town as usual and enjoy some "entertainment." However, as they passed a small village to the southwest, an observant member of the caravan discovered that the villagers possessed fabric that was of better quality and more exquisite than the Kenyan cloth brought by Northern merchants.

In this continent, merchants who dared to do business across multiple nations often had ties to banditry. They would conduct business honestly in big cities, but in the defenseless countryside, they tended not to adhere to the norms of civilized people.

Upon discovering that every household had this fabric that was superior to Kenyan cloth, the caravan's owner didn't waste any time. He seized control of the village, looted all the fabric, and declare

d that he would send the villagers to Indahl on charges of collective theft. Of course, the purpose of taking over the village was not related to "righting wrongs," and the caravan owner only wanted to find out how the villagers had acquired the fabric.

The terrified villagers couldn't resist the aggression of the merchant caravan and honestly divulged the source of the fabric…

Just that villagers had their own smarts. They who resented the caravan's pillaging didn't provide a clear picture of Weisshem's situation, omitting the presence of the undead and the black magician who supported the new lord, Rex.

Without the black magician and lively undead, the new lord, Rex, who hailed from elsewhere and had no local support, would find that his abundant stash of exquisite fabrics to be easy pickings for the taking.

Of course, the merchant caravan boss wasn't foolish enough to believe the villager's words entirely. Before taking action, he sent these unfortunate trio to scout out the situation.

If Weisshem was truly vacant, and the new lord, Rex, didn't have a proper defense force, there was no reason not to reach out and take this free windfall; on the other hand, if the ignorant villagers were unaware of the new lord's strength, they could claim that they were simply exploring ahead before the arrival of their caravan.

Upon understanding the situation, a quest titled [Save the Village] appeared in Yang Qiu's mind.

The mercenary group, along with the merchant caravan that employed them, consisted of over two hundred, nearly three hundred individuals. These professional mercenaries didn't possess any equipment as exquisite as the city defense force of Indahl, but their combat capabilities were nothing to scoff at. Additionally, the caravan itself had a decent fighting force. Reliably taking down the entire group and rescuing the "hostages" required more than just the current two-hundred-over players online at the moment.

Yang Qiu cast a glance at Hal and his comrades and contemplated, but these few had to serve as NPCs on the town's main street in the future. Meanwhile, the ten or so at Exile Town were already swamped with dealing players and the routine maintenance of old houses.

Thus, he asked Jerome, "How is the training of those city defense soldiers going?"

Jerome immediately pointed to the model prisoner team having standard work meals—they were all there.

Yang Qiu was very satisfied. "Good. Bring half of them out for me. I would like to use them for two days."

———

In Exile Town, Qin Guan, who had sacrificed everything to obtain the Book of the Undead, clutched the item like a treasure and was about to deliver an uplifting speech to his comrades, who had collectively gathered funds, when several lines of yellow text appeared on the player panel—

[System Announcement] Weisshem Local Defense: An illegal armed force has entered Weisshem territory, seizing Lakeside Village and holding 321 villages captive. Players, please quickly head to Weisshem Town Hall to receive the defense quest.

"A use for the divine treasure I just acquired!" Qin Guan rejoiced, nearly jumping for joy. He raised an arm and shouted, "Brothers, follow me! Let's go do something big!"

Those in Qin Guan's faction teleported to Weisshem. When they got there, many scattered players were already present in the town hall courtyard.

Blossoming Strokes spotted Unceasing Entropy and waved to her. "Qingyue, you are online early today!"

"Mm, I didn't have classes this morning." Unceasing Entropy returned a smile. "I got lucky seeing this defense quest the moment I logged in. I heard Boss Vanilla won the Book of the Undead auction?"

Qin Guan was elated, but he maintained a modest tone. "Don't mention it anymore. Obtaining this item bankrupted me, and I'm buried in debt and need to work my *ss off to repay it."

"What do you think of the quest this time?" Blossoming Strokes asked Unceasing Entropy.

"I read the mission description, and it seems to be more challenging than the previous defense quest—" Unceasing Entropy replied.

Before long, Brother Lahong and his companions, who had come to Weisshem early for the fire god sword auction, also arrived.

When Qin Guan saw Brother Lahong and, more importantly, the three fire god swords that Brother Lahong's companions were holding jubilantly, his expression immediately darkened.

Brother Lahong also didn't seem pleased seeing Qin Guan and his gang.

During this auction event, whales weren't able to stir up much of a commotion compared to previously. There wasn't a chance like last where casual whales could snatch the Orb of Deceptions.

This time around, competition for the auction items mainly occurred between two cohesive player blood alliances. It had, after all, been over a month since the server opened, and players had developed relationships. Even the gold farmers preferred selling their coins to familiar acquaintances. Also, the casual whale players themselves had no way of competing against a whole blood alliance.

This direct confrontation over who could spend more money turned the originally minor friction between the two factions much more hostile…

Brother Lahong despised the fact that he didn't have as good a reputation as Qin Guan had with regular players. He hadn't managed to raise enough funds to get the Book of the Undead. On the other hand, Qin Guan was infuriated that Brother Lahong's group had driven up the Book of the Undead's price so high, causing his side to go broke and not even be able to get a whiff of those fire god's swords.

Were it not because there was a significant quest in front of them, the two large factions would have settled the score on the spot.

Sensing the tense air between these two factions, Unceasing Entropy stepped in as a mediator. "Vanilla, Lahong, this quest involves capturing targets and rescuing villagers, so there should be a considerable potential profit. Do you guys think it would be better to pool our resources and form a larger force?"

Brother Lahong readily agreed, saying, "Sure, you can create a raid group and invite our side's players."

His intention was quite clear—he didn't want Qin Guan, who had just deepened their enmity, to be the leader.

Qin Guan didn't show any emotion. He also didn't waste the Book of the Undead's cooldown on Brother Lahong's people. If anyone from his side perished, Qin Guan could leave the raid group and invite his comrades to use it.

Unceasing Entropy sighed. "You two, please take a look at the quest details. The enemies this time are quite formidable. Their numbers are several times more than the elite cavalry monster we faced during the last quest. We really might end up failing if we don't cooperate wholeheartedly."

Brother Lahong and Qin Guan were both silent…

Unceasing Entropy had a sharp intellect and a good track record. She surely wouldn't be trying to deceive them if she said the mission was challenging. However, neither of them were willing to back down.

As the standoff continued, Wagner entered the courtyard with more than 20 soldiers. Due to their equipment being plundered clean by the undead, Wagner and his soldiers of the city defense force were all wearing the same steel plate leather armor as the players and carrying player-exclusive steel knives.

"Ehhh? Aren't these the elite monsters we've encountered before? Are they on our side now?" one player exclaimed in surprise.

Another player, out of habit, used Identify. "Wow, they really are friendly. Their names are in green!"

"Whoa, NPCs who know they can't beat us join us? Are they that intelligent?"

"Awesome!"