Author: ThisIsBanana

The words coming from the indifferent female voice also sounded cold and emotionless. Zhang Xue looked at Xiao Yu coldly, “What’s the use of crying? Who do you want to come and save you? Your friends or other people? No one can save you except for yourself. Don’t talk nonsense if you don’t want to die, and try your best to live.”

These are the longest words one ever heard Zhang Xue say.

Still crying, Xiao Yu shouted at Zhang Xue, “What do you know?! I have just started doing an internship. My life has just begun. I don’t even have a boyfriend yet! I miss my parents!”

Zhang Xue chuckled indifferently, “Who doesn’t have family or friends here? Who isn’t in their twilight years? Who wanted to stay in this gerdamned place? If you want to go out alive, you must strive to survive!”

The crying gradually diminished, and Lin Man Man comforted Xiao Yu in a low voice. Wen Lang shook his head and continued, “The mission world is also divided into 5 levels, from high to low are Level S, A, B, C, and D. Only the Level D world has newcomers[1].”

Wen Lang took a sip of water and continued, “There are actually many organizations in Lazuli, large and small. Black Scorpion is a medium-sized organization. They have about 60 people in it, and most ‘passengers’ are not happy with their cruel style.”

As for how cruel it is, Wen Lang didn’t elaborate, but said, “If you bumped into them, you must act soft. The harder you go against them, the more excited they are. They are a group of maniacs. They also like to pull people back as their ‘fall guy/scapegoat’.”

Wen Lang sounded irritable when he talked about the Black Scorpion, and he didn’t want to say it anymore. He smiled and said, “Isn’t there still 9 days left? Let’s talk about this slowly. How can I say it all at once?” Looking around, Wen Lang rubbed his knees and put his hood on. Next, he yawned, “I am getting a little sleepy. We will start to do the task tomorrow so let’s rest early today.”

“Wait.” Qin Tan said, his expression looked determined under the fire, “Let’s assign the vigil, and plans for tomorrow. You guys can say what you think about it.” After saying that, Qin Tan stopped and waited. No one spoke for a while. He nodded and continued, “Okay then, don’t waste time and just do as I arranged. Zhang Xue will be paired with Lin Man Man, Wen Lang with Xiao Yu, Chen Shuyang with Gong Yi, and I will be with Lou Fan. Now, let’s talk about the plan of tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow morning, we will enter the village. If we meet anyone from Black Scorpion, act like we don’t know them. Our main task is to investigate the situation of the ship, Shenzhou. At present, we only know that Shenzhou must be a sunken ship, but we don’t know the exact location and what exactly is the problem with this ship. We have to clarify these before we can go down and look for the ship. Also, everyone should be mentally prepared. This ship is definitely not an easy task. We may encounter unexpected things. The worst case is Shenzhou is a ghost ship. Apart from that, we don’t know whether it will appear during the day or at night. If we can inquire more about the situation, we have more assurance.”

Qin Tan says all this in advance, that even Lou Fan and Chen Shuyang, who had been discussing it a long time ago, are not confident in their hearts. Not to mention Wen Lang and Zhang Xue. Zhang Xue frowned and bit her lower lip unconsciously. Wen Lang took off his hood with a serious face.

The 3 newcomers did not dare to speak for a long time, and then asked for a while, “Then what shall we do?” Could it be we have to follow the group too to find the ghost ship?

Wen Lang sneered, “You guys? Just stay in the village and wait for us to come back. It’s best to pray that we will come back. Otherwise, I don’t think you know how to get back to the platform.”

The faces of the 3 newcomers turned pale in an instant – they really don’t know how to go back! In silence, everyone looked at Qin Tan, waiting for him to continue. Qin Tan simply uttered an ‘oh’, and then realized, “I have finished my words, let’s rest.”

Qin Tan speaks less, yet he said it calmly, confidently, and decisively. Wen Lang said with almost no hesitation, “I propose to let Qin Tan be the leader.”

Qin Tan is originally the leader of his 3-person team, Lou Fan is in charge of diplomacy, and Chen Shuyang is in charge of clerical work. Since Wen Lang’s proposal is not opposed by Zhang Xue, he happily decided, “Okay, then Qin Tan is our leader. Don’t worry, I will unconditionally obey the leader’s arrangement.”

The 3 people who are well prepared for this mission world each brought a portable tent. So, a tent is given to the girls, another for Qin Tan and Lou Fan, and the last one for the other three guys. Qin Tan is still writing things in his notebook. Lou Fan wiped his face briefly and laid down on the ground with his clothes as a pillow. He said goodnight to Qin Tan and fell asleep on his side. Qin Tan replied good night then put down the pen and notebook in his hand. He stood up and put his coat on Lou Fan.

The night turned darker, and it is Zhang Xue and Lin Man Man’s turn to keep vigil. Lin Man Man came out of the tent sleepily. The moment she got woken up, she suddenly didn’t know where she is at the moment. It’s as if she had a dream, dreaming that she had come to a terrible world. She thought it was a dream, but the moment she saw Zhang Xue, Lin Man Man became sober. What dream? It seems that the stable world in which she has been living is a dream instead.

Zhang Xue’s pale face seemed to be stained with a hint of crimson under the firelight, and her indifferent eyebrows are softened a lot. Lin Man Man felt a little cold, and the surroundings are so quiet that it made people panic. Right now, she is spending the night in the wild for the first time.

“Sister Zhang Xue, aren’t you afraid?” Lin Man Man’s voice trembled. Even though she tried to control it, Zhang Xue could hear it.

Zhang Xue looked at the fire without speaking and seemed to be distracted. After a long time, she muttered something. Her voice is so soft that one could hardly hear her, “What’s the use for fear?” As if to tell her herself that.

Lin Man Man didn’t receive Zhang Xue’s reply and could only hug herself tightly. The night is a bit cold. She is wearing a shirt and a small coat, so those couldn’t resist the wind at night, especially they are staying by the lake which makes it even colder.

When everyone got up early the next morning, Lou Fan had already finished his daily training while Chen Shuyang is doing push-ups, and Qin Tan is also looking sweaty. The other 5 people stared at them silently. Wen Lang, who was yawning, is taken aback for a moment and stood on the spot with his mouth open.

“Good morning. Go and clean up, we are ready to go.” Lou Fan greeted them friendlily as if they are very familiar with each other. Unexpectedly, no one said anything for a long time after Lou Fan spoke, which made him wonder if he said the wrong thing.

A group of 8 people packed everything up and brought everything they could. Wen Lang and Chen Shuyang saw that the 2 newcomer girls are so cold that their lips turned purple so they lent them the clothes they had brought. Qin Tan took the lead to walk towards the village. In fact, they are not far from the village. After walking for 10 minutes, the entrance of the village is right in front of them. The simple plaque reads three skewed characters: Little Fishing Village.

Simple and crude.

The village looked very simple and most of the houses are made of wooden structures. Occasionally, the people passing by can be seen dressed in a humble dress giving people a feeling like they are in the 70s and 80s. This weird feeling made everyone uncomfortable.

Soon after they entered the village, more people can be seen walking around. Lights and festoons are hanging everywhere. The atmosphere felt joyful, it should be some kind of event that is going to happen soon. The villagers also all have smiles on their faces, but their smiles are a little weird. Lou Fan looked very uncomfortable and got goosebumps all over his body. He turned his head and looked around. From a distance, a pair of mother and daughter are hugging each other, their faces full of sadness but it’s more to fear. The girl who is held in her mother’s arms raised her small face upwards, with a look of fear on her face.

Lou Fan felt that the two are the key, and nudged the person next to him with his elbow, “Qin Tan, there is something wrong with those two.”

Not hearing any answer, Lou Fan turned his head and almost scream out in surprise. The person beside him is not Qin Tan, but a 40 or 50-years-old woman with a weird smile on her face. Her face is wrinkly and dark, and she gave people an uncomfortable look. Seeing that Lou Fan is looking at her, she smiled even wider. The tone in her voice made Lou Fan’s scalp feel numb, “Hehehe, this little brother. Our small fishing village will hold a grand sacrificial event soon, and there will be unexpected surprises.”

Lou Fan swiftly moved a little farther away. The corner of his mouth twitched and he nodded under the woman’s piercing gaze. Then, he ran towards Qin Tan quickly. When Lou Fan got to Qin Tan’s side, he couldn’t help but look back. The woman is still standing there, with a smile plastered on her face. The smile startled him and he turned back quickly.

“What’s the matter?” Qin Tan wanted to look behind Lou Fan, but Lou Fan grabbed him.

“Don’t look! Fck, she scared me to death. Why didn’t you guys call me when you leave? That old woman is terrifying, she smiled strangely that I felt uncomfortable all over my body. The girls in our team looked far better.” After saying that, Lou Fan smiled at the two young ladies in the team.

Lin Man Man moved to Lou Fan’s side in small steps, “B, Brother Lou, I think there is something wrong with this village. I’m a little scared.”

“It’s not right indeed. Don’t be afraid, we are still here.” Lou Fan nodded, and then comforted, “But more terrible things are yet to come. If you don’t complete the task, you will only die. Thinking of this, are you still scared?”

Lin Man Man shook her head, but tears are swirling in her eyes. Lou Fan felt that this little girl might not be able to hold it anymore, but he could only sigh. They couldn’t even protect themselves, what more to protect others?

Qin Tan blocked the old woman’s gaze at them with his body and said, “Don’t be afraid, I’m here.”

Lou Fan: “…”

Lou Fan really wants to scream, ‘Oh my god, Qin Tan! Can’t you stop being so manly?! I can’t stand it!’ It’s a pity that Lou Fan didn’t dare to say that, so he could only curve up the corners of his mouth secretly. Emboldened by Qin Tan, Lou Fan took a glance to the back. The strange woman is gone, and so is the mother and daughter pair.

They don’t see the people from Black Scorpion, not sure where they had left. Their team continued to move forward, and soon they reached a place similar to a small square. A neat fence is circled around it and there is a round platform in the middle that is a bit higher than the ground. The square is full of people, and it looks joyous like when it is Chinese New Year time. Lou Fan remembered what the strange woman had just said, and whispered to everyone, “They are going to hold a sacrificial event soon. I think this should be the key.”

Everyone felt the same and Wen Lang suggested, “Why don’t we split up and ask around?”

Their target is quite big if they walked around in a big group. Lou Fan nodded in agreement, and discussed with Qin Tan, “How about splitting in a group of 2 or 3? I’ll take Lin Man Man, and you take Gong Yi and Chen Shuyang with you. Then, Wen Lang and Zhang Xue will take Xiao Yu. Any questions with this arrangement?”

After confirming the group, they separated in 3 directions and left the square. They agreed to gather here after half an hour regardless of whether there is new information or not. Lou Fan took Lin Man Man straight in the direction of the mother and daughter pair he saw just now. He must find them!

Raw word count: 3017

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[1] The author probably didn’t check his/her draft when writing this explanation. I recalled the other worlds that they will go still have newcomers in it. And the level of difficulty is definitely higher than Level D. So, just ignore this author’s explanation lol

Even Qin Tan frowned, while Lou Fan ignored the woman altogether. They didn’t speak so no one bother with the woman. Only Wen Lang moved his lips at Lou Fan because he is facing the other group with his back, saying, “Don’t mess with them.” A terrible expression appeared on Wen Lang’s face and his tone sounded a little nervous. After that, he turned around and smiled at the other group, “Oh, we are from the Level 1 team. Our task is to find a ship.”

There’s no response, just rustling footsteps sounded after that. When the other group walked away, Wen Lang heaved a sigh of relief. As if he had decided, he said to everyone, “Those people are from a mid-level team, belonging to the Black Scorpion organization. Their methods are cruel and very unfriendly to other people. Don’t provoke them, and it is best not to cooperate with them too.”

Unexpectedly, there are things like organization in Lazuli. Lou Fan feels that these people must have too much free time in hand and have nothing to do. Shouldn’t they just focus on completing their tasks well and surviving? Could it be they are tired of living?

Wen Lang added, “Let’s cooperate? The mission this time is not easy.” When Wen Lang saw the Black Scorpion’s team, he felt that his luck must be shitty recently. Not only he couldn’t count on relying on high-level people to complete his mission, but he also bumped into the same person who he tricked and got assigned as temporary team members. This is simply digging his own pit and jumping into it.

Lou Fan shrugged and turned to look at the short-haired woman, Zhang Xue. He greeted, “Hello, my name is Lou Fan, they are my teammates. Oh, that one (Wen Lang) doesn’t count. Would you like to cooperate with us?”

Zhang Xue stayed indifferent from the beginning. Her appearance is beautiful, but there is no emotion in those eyes. Lou Fan could even feel that she is always keeping a distance from everyone. After scanning around, Zhang Xue nodded. Her voice sounded cold and there is a hint of firm tone in it, “Okay, I listen to your instructions.”

So decisive!

Lou Fan turned his head to the newcomer, “Let me take a look at your mission. Okay, you can either go with us or stay by yourself. Let me say this first. We don’t guarantee your safety and don’t think of hiding away when encountering problems. Otherwise, you will die faster.”

After Lou Fan finished speaking, Qin Tan retracted his gaze from the map and pointed to a spot. He said, “The water area is wide and there is a village over there. Let’s go there first. Be careful on the road and don’t make too much noise.”

The direction that Qin Tan pointed in the same direction as where the Black Scorpion headed. Their group of 8 people put away their things and began to wade through the weeds.

…

With bubblegum in her mouth, Xiao Qian walked forward steadily on her high heels. As she walked, she complained, “Tsk, this time the other team is only a Level 1 team. Our mission is not the same so we can’t find someone as a stepping stone. So unlucky.”

A gloomy man with bangs covering his eyes said, “What unlucky? How many frickin times have I told you not to wear high heels?! You won’t be able to run fast during an escape like this. No one will save you this time.”

Another man who is tall and thin grabbed Xiao Qian, causing her expression to change from the bump but she didn’t dare to say anything. “Qian Qian should just follow me. I will definitely take you back safely.”

The man’s slippery hand caressed Xiao Qian’s arm, making her feel as if she got entangled by a snake. Enduring nausea in her heart, she tried to squeeze out a smile, “Then, I have to thank you, Brother Liu.”

A petite girl with a ponytail in the team smiled contemptuously at the pair and looked away from the eye-prickling scene. Regardless of the two, the man with long bangs checked their tasks again-

Task: Rescue Sun Hai and his group of 5 people from the small fishing village.
Task time limit: 10 days.

The column stating the team members’ information listed all of the Black Scorpion members in the group, and they are all at Level 7. The man with long bangs looked up at the sky and frowned. Then he said out loud, “Let’s go now, don’t waste time.”

The village is not too far, but the road is not easy to walk. After 2 hours of wading through the weeds, everyone can finally see the village. The Black Scorpion team that is walking in front stopped to rest and took out their food to eat. Qin Tan also spotted a clean place for everyone to rest which has a clear view of the village.

The newcomer could not help but want to rest earlier, but after experiencing the shock from the 2 deaths at the train station, they didn’t dare to say anything. Hence, they could only grit their teeth and follow the group. At this moment, the group finally stopped walking and the newcomers plopped down on the ground. The young man from the newcomer team laid on his back on the ground. The other 2 people are young girls. They sat down while holding onto each other, rubbing their sore feet.

The 5 people in the Level 1 team put down their backpacks and took out some food. Among them, Lou Fan’s group of 3 has the most abundant food. They took out biscuits, bread, and canned food. Wen Lang took out a compressed biscuit and Zhang Xue has a piece of bread. The rest of the newcomers had nothing and they tried to control their eyes, not looking at the 5 people. This 2-hours journey is really exhausting. Even if they try their best to control themselves, the growling of their stomachs is particularly loud in the quiet air.

Chen Shuyang was opening his mouth, preparing to bite onto the bread when he heard the growls. He glanced at the 2 red-faced girls over there and suddenly felt a little embarrassed to eat his food. His eyes then drifted towards Lou Fan unconsciously. Lou Fan ate what was in his hand and sighed secretly. Chen Shuyang’s heart is too soft. Although he also thinks those little girls are very pitiful, but if they did this right from the start, how are they going to hold on for the remaining 9 days? The amount of food they brought is just right for them only. However, Chen Shuyang’s gaze is too strong so Lou Fan hesitated a bit.

“Brother Lou, is it okay to split my food to them? I don’t eat much, so my portion can give away a bit.” Chen Shuyang whispered to Lou Fan.

Qin Tan looked over but did not speak. Chen Shuyang shrank his neck, feeling as if he had done something wrong. Lou Fan wiped the scraps on the corners of his mouth and did not deliberately lower his voice as he said, “Our food is prepared according to the number of days in the mission world, and there is no extra. But I also know that it is not easy for everyone. Let’s do it this way, we can provide just 3 meals for you guys. But after 3 meals, you have to figure out how to survive on your own. You guys just have to board the train after 9 days while we still have a task to complete.”

Since Lou Fan wants to do good deeds, he must do it openly. Also, he has to have a bottom line. Lou Fan is not willing to be a secretive Holy Mother. After Lou Fan finished speaking, he glared at Chen Shuyang. Chen Shuyang probably also felt that he is not very thoughtful, so he buried his head in his arms; no one knows what he is thinking.

One can see at a glance that the 3 newcomers are someone from good family conditions. Being told like that by Lou Fan, they felt a little uncomfortable. But when they think that they have nothing in their possession and that they must eat to gain strength, they can only silently accept the food that Lou Fan pass over with a thank you.

Lou Fan is good-looking, and his attitude is not bad after saying heavy words, so the 3 newcomers still have a good feeling towards him. At least they can see that Lou Fan is a reasonable person. On the other hand, Wen Lang and Zhang Xue, who ate alone and did not speak to them, acted like they have nothing to do with them, the attitude made the 3 newcomers feel very unfavorable to them.

Lou Fan didn’t say anything else. This is the law of survival in this world. Other people are not obligated to help you. They struggled even to support their own, who has more time to take care of them?

Qin Tan silently opened his backpack and pulled things out, “What do you want to eat? Do you want this? Or this?”

Lou Fan: “…” En, he found a good teammate at least, who is always thinking of him.

Lou Fan squinted and smiled, “Either one is fine, I’m not a picky eater.” How can you be so caring and handsome at the same time?!

Chen Shuyang also opened his backpack. Taking out the food in the bag, he stuffed it into Lou Fan’s bag. Seeing that his bag almost couldn’t fit in, Lou Fan hurriedly stopped his team members, “Enough is enough. Are you guys trying to exhaust me by carrying all these for you?”

Those 3 people ignored the envy gaze from the other 5 people. Wen Lang looked at their bulging bags, then at his own. Next, he glanced at Zhang Xue’s bag and has the urge to shake hands with her. It’s like meeting paying players in a game, they only felt envy, jealousy, and hatred for them.

The sky is getting darker, and the Black Scorpion team sets out to the village after eating. Lou Fan didn’t know what is the other team’s mission and didn’t want to get together with them, so they stayed where they were. Qin Tan took out the map and after reconfirming their location, he said to everyone, “I suggest camping here tonight and not entering the village. Pay heed to Wen Lang’s advice. Do not provoke the Black Scorpion’s team, and don’t try to contact them.”

Wen Lang is the first one to nod, and then Zhang Xue nodded in agreement. Lou Fan and Chen Shuyang naturally listened to Qin Tan.

From afar, it can be seen that many people are walking around in the village and the Black Scorpion team entered smoothly. The person who walked at the end of the team seemed to look back at them for a moment. Seeing that the Black Scorpion team has disappeared into the village, Wen Lang finally breathed a sigh of relief.

“You seem to be afraid of them.”

Wen Lang is startled by the voice that suddenly sounded next to him. His earrings glowing with faint blue light are particularly eye-catching. Looking back at Lou Fan, his tense nerves immediately relaxed, “It’s you! I am not afraid of them, I just don’t want to deal with them.”

How stubborn!

Lou Fan did not point out the truth but said, “Since you are so well-informed in gossips, as a price for cheating us previously, you can tell us more about the basic common sense of Lazuli Town and the Black Scorpion organization for free.”

“Why must I…” Wen Lang is about to refute when a dagger that looked sharp is placed on the edge of his neck. If he moved even the slightest to the side, the sharp blade would cut his aorta.

Lou Fan’s beautiful peach blossom eyes are full of smiles as if he is holding a flower instead of a dagger. “Be careful, my hand is not very stable. I got tricked away a radish flower that can be exchanged for a lot of food so I’m a bit unhappy. I’m not a kind person.”

Wen Lang: “…” You can donate generously to the newcomers, so why are you being cruel to me?

Wen Lang looked at Qin Tan who is preparing to start a fire. The man in black looked powerful as if the powerful muscles inside can be seen through his clothes.

“Of course I am willing to share my gossip with you.” Wen Lang laughed instantly, changing his expression faster than the sky changing its weather. “Come on, come on, I will teach you some knowledge. Those 3 kids over there, don’t you want to introduce yourself first?”

The only male among the newcomers spoke first, “My name is Gong Yi. I just graduated from university and I am looking for a job.”

As for the other 2 girls, the one with straight black hair said, “My name is Lin Man Man and her name is Xiao Yu. We are university classmates and currently an intern in the same company.”

They are all so young, this is Lou Fan’s first thought. Qin Tan might be the oldest person here but he is only 26 years old; a strong, young, and energetic young man. Is this the target group for Lazuli’s selection? But why?

After the 3 newcomers introduced themselves, Wen Lang took over. “There is an unwritten rule in Lazuli. Every 5 levels are grouped into a category. At present, it is divided into beginner, intermediate, and high-level teams. As far as I know, no one has ever seen someone who survived Level 16 in Lazuli.”

The girl named Xiao Yu screamed out, and she could no longer suppress the fear in her heart, “I want to leave here! What is this place? Why did I get chosen?! Why?! I want to go home, wu wu wu…”

“Shut up.”

Raw word count: 3135

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Qin Tan and Lou Fan looked at each other, they had a bad feeling about this. This time, the task should be diving underwater to look for the sunken ship. The level of danger is much higher than that of Luoyang Ancient Village.

Chen Shuyang is still talking about the mysterious events he knew that happened in the waters of Lao Ye Temple: how many ships have disappeared, what lake monsters are there, or the current vortex and underground magnetic field. As he said it, he wrote down everything he could think of. When Chen Shuyang first saw this place (in real life), he only felt that the place is strange and interesting. But now, when he thought of the fact that he is about to go there to deal with monsters and ghosts, his calves trembled.

“Why aren’t there any temples in Lazuli Town? I want to pray and ask for a safety amulet!” Chen Shuyang murmured, trying to calm himself down. “Dear gods in the sky, please bless us a lot. I will definitely worship you every day and offer sacrifices to you. Don’t worry, next time I will bring your statues back for daily prayers!”

Lou Fan got a headache from Chen Shuyang’s muttering, and interrupted him, “Alright, alright, I’m getting dizzy by your mutterings. Let’s see what we need to prepare. Also, should we go and meet our random teammates?”

The trading hall in South Square will announce the team information and also release the task 3 days before the departure date. For those who got randomly assigned to a team, those people can go there (trading hall) to meet up if they wanted to. After swiping their watch with each other, one can only view the location information of their team members according to their watch’s level of authority. One can’t see information regarding other teams, not even other teams in the same mission world. But if the random team members did not come to meet up, they could not contact the other party one-sidedly.

Qin Tan agreed with Lou Fan’s suggestion, “Let’s go and see. It’s best if we could reach a consensus (to work together).”

However, their luck is obviously bad. The other 2 random team members with the same task did not come to meet at all, and the three returned without any result. Lou Fan is a little irritable. He doesn’t understand why people in the same team cannot work together on the same task. Wouldn’t the chances of survival be higher? What are those people thinking?

Qin Tan doesn’t care too much for the random teammates and said, “We have done our best and are fully prepared. Even if there are only three of us left, I believe there will be a way to complete the task.” At most, their task gets a little more difficult to complete with just them.

After surviving 2 missions worlds, Qin Tan’s thinking has changed significantly. Now that he has 2 teammates, Lou Fan and Chen Shuyang, he is more willing to focus his energy on his team. On the other hand, they really have to find a way to recruit 2 more team members to their team. Otherwise, there will be random team members assigned to their team every time, which is very passive and is not conducive to the formulation and completion of the mission plan.

After a discussion, Chen Shuyang began to draw a map of the Lao Ye Temple and its surrounding. Lou Fan checked if there is anything useful in the exchange machine. Qin Tan walked into the kitchen and no one knows what he is doing.

“Okay.” Chen Shuyang stretched out and drew a very detailed map on a large white paper, marking the key locations and buildings. This is what Chen Shuyang saw countless times during his previous research trip. Fortunately, he still has some drawing skills and can draw complete maps.

Lou Fan walked over from the exchange machine and looked at Chen Shuyang. Then he gave him a big praise, “Not bad, Shuyang, your drawing is great. It’s amazing that you could remember it so clearly, your memory is superb.”

Feeling embarrassed to be praised by Lou Fan, Chen Shuyang touched his head, “Brother Lou, you also know that I’m a nerd.”

Qin Tan came out of the kitchen carrying a tray of food and stunned Lou Fan and Chen Shuyang.

“Oh my God, Brother Qin! What did you cook for us? It smells good!”

“Qin Tan, why didn’t you cook previously?! I was about to vomit from eating dry food every day.”

For the 3 people who haven’t eaten hot staple food for a long time, this meal of stir-fried potato shreds and steamed sweet potatoes is very fragrant. As they are eating, Lou Fan suddenly slapped his forehead. He ran to the exchange machine and started to tap on various buttons. A minute later, several ingredients appeared on the tray of the exchange machine.

Qin Tan: “…” Why doesn’t he know that the exchange machine can also exchange food (ingredients)? Indeed, technically speaking, there’s nothing wrong with the exchange. Ingredients are also a type of food.

Lou Fan: “I saw these on the last page that day. But since no one is cooking, I didn’t mention it. But it’s decided now, I assign you as the chef.”

After a good meal, Qin Tan as the main force tried to work out a basic plan. But right now, they don’t know anything about their task, and they don’t know the specifics. They can only try to be familiar with the terrain and area distribution, as well as the points where most incidents are highlighted.

On the morning of November 1, after Lou Fan got up as usual and finished his basic training, he saw Chen Shuyang rushing over from afar like a gust of wind, yelling at him with a look of excitement.

“Brother Lou, Brother Lou!!! Brother Qin, Brother Qin!!!” Chen Shuyang couldn’t restrain his excitement, “I figured out! I figured out!!!”

Lou Fan felt speechless and asked, “Can you finish the whole sentence? What did you figure out?”

Qin Tan poked his head out from the balcony upstairs and leaned on the railing. Then he heard Chen Shuyang say, “I finally know how to use my book!”

Hearing that, Lou Fan pff-ed and sprayed out the water he was drinking. Qin Tan is also taken aback and immediately disappeared from the balcony. The next moment, Lou Fan went to the living room and saw Qin Tan bringing Chen Shuyang in.

Chen Shuyang has never given up on studying his spirit weapon book. Every day, even if he is tired from training, he will try various methods. The book cannot be torn, but yesterday he had a whim and grabbed at the picture of the radish flower with his hand. Unexpectedly, he managed to take the radish flower out but the flower disappeared after a while. He put one in again, close the book, and waited for a while. When he opened the book again, that flower has turned into a picture. He took it out again and timed the disappearance. Chen Shuyang found that the flower will disappear after 10 minutes. So, his finding is things can be inserted into the pages of his book. Then it can be taken for use and the limit is it will disappear after 10 minutes, a one-time usage item.

Lou Fan felt happy for Chen Shuyang. He finally knew the function of his spirit weapon and added a life-saving option for himself. Thinking about it, Lou Fan thinks Chen Shuyang’s book is a bit like cheating, even if the items are for one-time use and last only 10 minutes.

After the excitement, the team packed up their things. They ate a hearty breakfast, put on their backpacks, and set off to go to the station platform. They arrived at the platform 10 minutes earlier. As usual, the trains leave every 5 minutes, just like the countless trains waiting for them, not knowing where they are coming from or where they are going to be sent. Seeing those people getting in the trains looking despaired, Chen Shuyang suddenly became a little nervous. He looked from left to right and saw a man in a red sweater running in a hurry. He should be coming for the next train.

“Hey, Brother Lou, is that Lang Wen?”

Lou Fan turned to where Chen Shuyang pointed and looked over. He saw someone in a red sweater running towards them. Seeming to recognize them, the person suddenly stopped moving about 10 meters away; froze in place.

Lou Fan chuckled softly, “Hehe, so it’s true that enemies will meet each other somehow?”

Wen Lang stopped running, the expression on his face froze. Frick, is he so unlucky that he actually met those 3 again? It’s not a car-flipping (lies being exposed) situation, right?! And most importantly… He looked at those people incredulously, and asked with a voice that seemed to be squeezed out of his mouth, “You guys won’t be getting on the 11.00 am train… right?”

Lou Fan crossed his hands and stared at the person. His eyes filled with narrow smiles, “What a coincidence, you are also getting on the 11.00 am train huh, Lang Wen.”

Wen Lang: “…”

Damn, this is not a car-flipping situation, it is simply a car accident straight away! It’s too frickin bad luck!

‘Woo…’

The familiar train whistle sounded, and the train appeared punctually from the thick fog and stopped in front of them. Qin Tan got into the car first and Lou Fan followed closely, Chen Shuyang glanced around before getting in. Wen Lang rubbed his hair, cursed inwardly, and stepped onto the train compartment. A short-haired woman who was leaning on the pillar not far away straightened up. She lifted the backpack by her feet indifferently and got into the train. At 11.00 am, the train started to leave.

Lou Fan looked around in the train and saw Wen Lang shrinking in his seat, looking out the window. The woman with shoulder-length hair came up last has a cold expression and she has closed her eyes to rest. The atmosphere in the car is kind of awkward and quiet. Chen Shuyang is so absorbed with his book that he didn’t pay attention to the atmosphere in the car. He lifted his glasses and wrote and drew in his small notebook. Lou Fan shrugged and followed Qin Tan to close his eyes to rest.

Soon, the whistle sounded again to remind them 5 that they are about to arrive. Lou Fan glanced at the time, the journey is about 15 minutes; so fast. Everyone is prepared and slung their bags on their backs. When the train stops, they still get off the train in the same order as before. They are in the compartment on the left, while the middle compartment carries the newcomers, as usual. The other team is in the right compartment. After they got out of the train, the other team came down one by one on the right and saw Qin Tan’s team. The 6 people team looked at their team contemptuously, as if they are looking at something that is going to die soon. Lou Fan felt uncomfortable from their gaze. Then, he heard Wen Lang behind him mutter something softly – ‘such bad luck’.

“Who are you and why are we here?! Who are you guys seriously? Hurry and let us go!”

The newcomers are still a terrified bunch and they came out of the carriage yelling. The 6 people team over there is obviously not interested in taking care of the newcomers, and they walked out of the platform one after another. Lou Fan sighed and could only take up the matter himself.

“The standby time is only 5 minutes. Take your flyers, yes, it’s the black one. Then follow us out of the station first. If not, after 5 minutes, it’s death for you.”

There is only so much that can be said. After Lou Fan finished his words, his team of 5 also stepped out of the station. Looking at those newcomers with disbelief in their eyes, Chen Shuyang couldn’t bear it, as if he had seen himself from that time. “Come out quickly, or you will really die. Come out first and talk later.”

Chen Shuyang looked like an honest child with his neat appearance and glasses. The newcomer inside the station did not hesitate anymore and immediately rushed out with their flyer. Unfortunately, there is still someone who has torn their own flyer. The 5 people didn’t look back anymore. They turned their heads and heard the newcomers scream and cry with extreme horror around them. Then, they lifted their feet and left. This time, there are only 5 newcomers. 2 did not come out, and only 3 are left. The other team stopped not far away. It should be they determined that there is no danger around, and are planning what to do.

Qin Tan also led everyone to stop. It seems desolate around them. There are half-human-tall weeds everywhere, and one can’t see anything from afar. Qin Tan said calmly, “Stay where you are, and eat something to replenish your energy first.” After that, Qin Tan took out a small telescope from his bag. He choose a direction and walked across the weeds alone.

Lou Fan is a little worried. He reminded the rest a bit before following Qin Tan with his bag on his back. After walking several tens of meters, passing through a cluster of bushes taller than a person, a calm lake appeared in front of them. Lou Fan didn’t speak, he just looked into the distance and saw nothing. Qin Tan looked around with the telescope before putting it away.

“Let’s go back.” Qin Tan stretched out his hand to support Lou Fan’s arm. Their backpacks are not light so with this support, Lou Fan suddenly felt his footing is much easier.

They returned to the gathering place and heard a beautiful-looking woman in the other team over there speak out. That woman is actually wearing a pair of high heels.

“Hey, what is your team’s level? And what is your mission?” Her words sounded a little unclear as she is chewing gum in her mouth, but everyone present could hear her undisguised contemptuous tone.

Raw word count: 3234

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They don’t know that it is called a spirit weapon? Wen Lang’s thoughts turned, and he thought to himself. These people must be newcomers who have just passed their first world. The seniors didn’t even provide this information to them, indicating that their strength is not good and they are not favored by the seniors. Moreover, these people said they urgently need the information…

Wen Lang squinted his eyes, and his mind turned. He said to himself, since the business delivered itself to his door, there is no reason not to do it. Sticking to his principle of not suffering a loss, he won’t waste any chances. Letting go of any possible benefits is not in line with the principles that Wen Lang always does. Wen Lang smiled brighter and said, “Yes, I do. But do you have anything to pay for the information? By the way, my name is Lang Wen, and I often do business here.”

Lou Fan turned his head to look at Qin Tan. Qin Tan’s face is expressionless, but there is a smile in his eyes when he(QT) looked at him(LF). It seems that Qin Tan didn’t intend to speak. As for Chen Shuyang, he only looked around in fascination and still hasn’t figured out what they are talking about.

Lou Fan: “Of course, if you have the information, we will exchange things or pay for it.”

Hmm, not fooled huh?

Wen Lang is not discouraged at all and continued his efforts. “You know, this kind of information requires high compensation. Even though I am well informed, Lazuli has nearly 5,000 people, which is difficult to find.” He shook his head, looking like the matter is difficult to handle.

Lou Fan didn’t answer and a smile could be seen from the corner of his mouth.

Wen Lang touched his nose and had to go on with the conversation by himself, “If you can pay for the information, you can show it to me first. Then, I will be able to inform the other party, isn’t that right?”

Lou Fan didn’t waste time and took out a radish flower. He handed it over and said, “This is called a radish flower.”

Wen Lang took the flower and looked quite surprised. He didn’t expect them to actually take out something for real. He glanced at the flower a few times and asked, “What does it do?”

Lou Fan: “It can make people unconscious.”

“What about the restrictions?” Wen Lang asked again. He didn’t notice that their conversation did not conform to the normal state of how newcomers would be.

Lou Fan crossed his hands and smiled. “I can’t tell you this, obviously but you can keep it first. If you can inquire about the information we want, I have some more to offer.”

Wen Lang’s eyes lit up, he didn’t expect Lou Fan to be so tactful, “Okay. But since it is a troublesome task to inquire about the purpose of spirit weapon, how about we agree that I will give you the detailed information in 1 month, and I want to be paid for my effort too.”

Lou Fan frowned, “You’re a bit too much.” He naturally knows about Wen Lang’s calculations, but right now, they don’t have the conditions to be picky. This is just a bargain between the one who needs something and the one who can give something.

Wen Lang smiled, not at all embarrassed, “Well, based on my experience, I have several guesses about the function. You go back and try it. Consider it a little gift from me.”

Under Lou Fan’s skeptical gaze, Wen Lang mentioned several guesses. With an attitude to try anything possible, Lou Fan accepted the suggestion and stopped going on with the conversation. Leaving his contact information behind, Lou Fan left with Qin Tan and Chen Shuyang. In Lazuli, their watches can be used to connect to each other, but unfortunately, they can only be used as watches in the mission world.

Wen Lang took the radish flower and smelled it. He can smell a faint scent from it. He put the flower into the bag and said, “These newcomers, they are too naive. They don’t even know whether they can return alive from their task next time. To be so easily giving away things to strangers, their vigilance is too weak.” After speaking, Wen Lang shook his head with a look of pity. He packed his bag and casually left, regardless of the stuff on the stall. When passing by a crowd gathered at a stall next to him, he shouted to the people inside, “Old Jiang, I’m leaving first, watch the stall yourself.” Someone uttered a response from the inside.

On the way back, the three didn’t ride their bikes but went into the South Square for a stroll. They took a look around and then walked back to the house slowly. Chen Shuyang finally couldn’t help it, and asked puzzledly, “Brother Lou, that person looks a little unreliable. Can he really find the information about my spirit weapon?” After listening for a long time, he finally understood that Lou Fan is inquiring about his spirit weapon.

Lou Fan glanced at Chen Shuyang and said with a little disdain, “That person is not ‘a little unreliable’, he is a cheater, obviously. As for whether we can find any information, well, we can only cast the net out and wait. There is no other way, who asks us to be poor? Else, we could have just helped you to send a message on the electronic screen. That will definitely get twice the result with half the effort.”

An extra usable spirit weapon means more help. Lou Fan likes Chen Shuyang quite a bit and wants to try his best to help Chen Shuyang survive. But if they have to explore this thing themselves, it’s a bit frustrating.

When it comes to his book, Chen Shuyang is also helpless. Then he heard Lou Fan say, “Let’s try the methods Lang Wen said first. Then we’ll brainstorm and diversify our thinking. Who knows, we might be able to figure it out.”

Chen Shuyang nodded and took out his book from his backpack. The book is a normal A4 size, but it is quite thick and a bit heavy. Chen Shuyang opened the book, preparing to immerse himself in the brainstorming. As soon as he opened it, he found that his bookmark is missing.

“Brother, brother Lou…” Chen Shuyang stammered at the book, his voice trembling violently, “My bo, book, bookmark is gone.”

“Your bookmark is missing? What bookmark?”

Lou Fan leaned in front of Chen Shuyang suspiciously, and Qin Tan walked over. The radish flower that Chen Shuyang used as a bookmark in the book is gone. In its place, a picture of a radish flower appeared on that page, which looked as lifelike as it is real. The radish flower has turned into a picture.

…

The book with a dark cover and blank pages is spread out in front of the three of them. One of the pages had a picture of a radish flower. They have been facing this book for the whole afternoon, and they are still at a loss. Drowsiness struck and Lou Fan yawned. Qin Tan closed the book with a snap and said, “Sleep first, we’ll start training tomorrow.”

Chen Shuyang put away his book, “Yeah, Brother Lou, quickly go to bed. We are starting our training tomorrow so don’t waste time. I’ll think about the matter with the book myself, maybe I’ll just try to examine it more.”

“I believe you can do it.” Lou Fan stood up and patted Chen Shuyang on the shoulder. Rubbing his sleepy head, he walked to the bedroom. “When you guys go out, remember to close the door for me. I’m going to sleep now.”

The next morning, when Lou Fan woke up, Qin Tan and Chen Shuyang have already arrived. Neither of them looked very good. Lou Fan asked strangely, “What’s the matter with you two?”

“Make a training plan.”

“Researching the book.”

Lou Fan: “…” Why does he feel like he is the only one who didn’t make progress?

Qin Tan made different training plans based on the different physical qualities of the two. Chen Shuyang has no foundation so he can only start with basic physical training. The biggest expectation Qin Tan has for him is to run faster than others when encountering danger. Lou Fan’s training content, however, is much stricter. It is not just basic physical fitness and strength training, but also combat fighting.

The house has basic fitness equipment in the room. At first, Chen Shuyang struggled a lot with his training. Asking a nerd who runs no more than 10 times a year to run for an hour each day, Chen Shuyang felt like he is dying. But he also understands that Qin Tan has no obligation to take care of him. Even if he takes him with him, it is probably out of sympathy for his weakness, so Chen Shuyang must work hard to make himself valuable. This is not only his own life-saving skills but also an advantage to remain in the team in the future. Otherwise, what is the reason for others to let him stay?

Lou Fan usually has his own daily training. Back in Luoyang Ancient Village, he also insisted on doing push-ups every morning. In terms of physical fitness, he has no problem. But in terms of his fighting skills, Lou Fan’s knowledge is almost blank. On the first day, Qin Tan used only one move to throw him to the ground.

Time passes in day-to-day training. Excluding training time, Chen Shuyang has been studying his book, while Qin Tan and Lou Fan are studying the exchange machines and calculating things to be brought along in the next world. After several days of research, they came to the following conclusions:

Every time they put something in, a number will be displayed in the lower right corner of the exchange machine. After they exchange for an item, the number will decrease. Lou Fan calls the number as ‘points’. A radish flower is equivalent to 25 points. A pack of compressed biscuit costs 5 points, and a piece of white bread only cost 3 points. Next, they put sweet potatoes and potatoes on the tray. Each sweet potato can only be exchanged for 2 points, and each potato can be exchanged for 1 point.

Lou Fan was speechless when he saw the number. If he knew earlier, he would pull out a few more flowers. For what reason did he tiringly bring the sweet potatoes and potatoes back?

Medicine is very expensive. A bottle of hemostatic agent requires 30 points to be exchanged. An anti-inflammatory pill costs 40 points. Even the calm Qin Tan sighed helplessly when he saw the required points. Medicines are too expensive. Although they have a bit more radish flowers in hand, they still have to spend them in many more places so they can’t exchange the flowers all out at once. Besides, the radish flower has the ability to cause fainting, so they have to keep some with them to use it in the next world.

After understanding the basic exchange rules, they began to calculate. Daily necessities are very cheap; they can exchange enough food to last them in the mission world. The necessary hemostatic and anti-inflammatory pill, they need to bring one each for everyone. As for weapons, Lou Fan exchanged a short sword for Chen Shuyang and exchanged a dagger for himself as a weapon. A total of 600 points were spent.

In this way, they used half of the radish flowers they picked. Lou Fan sighed silently as he looked at the few radish flowers left. He can only look forward to bringing more equipment back from the next world. Lou Fan also exchanged a waterproof backpack for each of them. The backpack is light and durable. Qin Tan has to cut it a few times with a knife to make a small hole in it. The weapon is packed in a special weapon bag.

At this point, all the preparations that can be done are ready. Chen Shuyang’s physical fitness has been greatly improved under Qin Tan’s devilish training. Lou Fan’s fighting skills have also improved, and he can hold on for 3 minutes in a fight with Qin Tan.

On October 28th, as the three is eating breakfast, their watches made a long ‘beep’ sound at the same time. Lou Fan and Chen Shuyang are taken aback.

Qin Tan: “The task is here.”

The two of them realized what happened and uttered an ‘oh’ before checking their task.

2 days ago, they went to Lazuli’s trading hall in South Square to bind their team. Once bound, they will be together for the incoming missions. If they didn’t bind in a group, they will be separated (randomly picked into random mission worlds). Once a team of 5 to 7 people is bound together, it will be their default team and they will not be randomly assigned. Otherwise, the system will randomly add people to the team temporarily until they have at least 5 people to enter the mission world.

The information in Lou Fan’s watch shows:
Task content: Find the ancient ship, Shenzhou that has disappeared in the waters of the Lao Ye Temple. Please board the train at 11:00 on November 1st.
Task time limit: 15 days.
Team members: Lou Fan [Level 1], Chen Shuyang [Level 1], Qin Tan [Level 2], Wen Lang [Level 2], Zhang Xue [Level 2].

“Lao Ye Temple waters!” Chen Shuyang called out, and said excitedly, “I know this. I have studied it before. It is located in Jiujiang City, JX Province. It was formerly known as Dingjiang Temple and has a long history. That body of water nearby is called Lao Ye Temple Waters. It’s a very mysterious and strange body of water, and also known as the Bermuda of China; the Devil’s Waters. “

When Chen Shuyang finished talking, he got shocked by what he said. Then he stared at his watch in disbelief, “Wait… we are going to the Devil’s Waters to look for a sunken ship? Oh my God!”

Raw word count: 3181

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