Chapter 124 Mermaid Cruise

Unlike the young boy Bai Jin, who is the center of attention as soon as he gets on board and does not need to do anything but enjoy himself, players always have to face more difficulties and problems.

Time goes back to the morning.

The coal burning place on a steamship is at the very bottom of the hull.

The coal burns fiercely in the furnace, converting these cold, hard black lumps into power, which is then transmitted through thick pipes, driving cruise ships weighing thousands of tons forward in the vast ocean.

It was in stark contrast to the bright and beautiful interior of the cabin.

The dust here is piled up and the place is cramped and depressing, and even the air is extremely hot.

Jiang Huaique and Jin Sheng wore the initial clothes they wore when they first logged into the dungeon, and diligently dressed up as coal burners. After receiving their own shovels, they lined up with the others and were about to start their daily life as coal burners.

Worried that Xiaoyi would be discovered, Jinsheng stuffed the dog into a pile of coal on the side after getting on board.

At this moment, he was standing obediently, and accidentally caught a glimpse of the life-beast with a black dog head sticking out from the coal pile - the golden puppy rolled twice in the coal slag, and completely turned from a little golden-haired puppy into a little black-haired puppy.

Jin Sheng sighed secretly, hoping that washing the dog later wouldn't be too troublesome.

However, compared to the dog washing problem that troubled him, Jiang Huai Que kept looking left and right, as if looking for something.

The leader of the coal burners was called Gabby, a short but muscular man.

Dealing with coal burning in steam turbines all year round made his clothes always black, and from a distance they looked like oversized lumps of coal.

When the new workers just got on board, the person in charge, Gaby, said that they would start to form groups once everyone was gathered.

Because it is too hot here and working for a long time will cause dehydration, the six new coal burners on the ship work in groups of two and take turns.

"One, two, three... four... four, five... Eh? It seems like there's one missing?" Gabby glanced at the new coal burner on board, and his already not-so-good-looking facial features wrinkled together.

There is one less coal burner reporting here.

After taking a quick look at the five men of different heights, Gabby walked out of the door like a mobile turret, cursing: "He must have run away. I don't know where he ran off to. If I catch him, I will teach him a lesson!"

Next to the coal pile, the five people who were left there had different expressions.

Jiang Huaique glanced at the four people around him. Except for Jin Sheng and Chu Qing, the remaining two were laborers at the dock.

The two men stood there stiffly, looking excited.

Unlike the players, they were extremely grateful for being able to enter the Leviathan, and they stood up straight as if it was a blessing from heaven.

There was a man Jiang Huaique knew, Uncle Pi from Xu Zhiyan’s shed, the weird co-worker with gray hair on his temples.

Since the foreman was not around, the five people were more relaxed.

Uncle Pi stood at the very edge, nervously holding the bracelet on his hand. Perhaps it was because the bracelet was not obtained from the right place, he always felt that everyone around him was looking at him.

"My bracelet was... won by accident when I went to another shed."

He muttered softly and explained awkwardly how he got his bracelet, fearing that he would be misunderstood as having stolen someone else's bracelet.

Standing next to Uncle Pi was a square-faced, bald young man. After listening to Uncle Pi, he did not realize that there was anything wrong with him, but instead took over the topic enthusiastically.

"I can actually go to other people's sheds to get wristbands. I thought I could only get wristbands from my own shed."

Jiang Huaique listened to the bald man's sigh and glanced at Uncle Pi.

Uncle Pi, who had just tried to talk to the bald man, stood up straight instantly, not daring to move again for fear of being beaten. He still remembered the thin-looking man with slicked-back hair, who had beaten up several of his originally strong co-workers in his shed and knocked them into the ground.

"..." Jiang Huaique was confused by Uncle Pi's action.

He couldn't help but shake his head. He didn't seem that scary, right?

Seeing that Gabby hadn't come back yet, Jin Sheng asked anxiously, "Do we have to wait until everyone is gathered before issuing the mission?"

If that were the case, Xu Zhiyan, who failed to reach the mission launch location, would definitely be in trouble.

Jiang Huaique remained expressionless after hearing this and shook his head slightly.

"No, the departure signal has just been sent. If nothing goes wrong, we will go to burn coal soon. This person should not wait forever."

He has a lot of experience in dungeons and has encountered similar incidents several times, so he is not panicking now.

However, considering that he didn't know when his worrying teammates would arrive, Jiang Huaique thought for a while and pointed to the coal pile beside him: "Ask Xiaoyi to give Xu Badai some information and explain the news here."

As for the grouping later...

"Let those two workers form a team, and you and Chu Qing will form a team. I'll see how the situation develops, and I might have to do Xu Ba Pi's part of the job."

Jin Sheng nodded without refutation.

No one can be perfect, and the same goes for the three of them.

Being able to share the burden with teammates and do things within your ability is also a very important part of team cohesion. After all, no one wants to be a useless person who always holds the team back, right?

After Jin Sheng called Xiaoyi over, Jiang Huaique took out the small pocket he had sewed for the puppy after mending his clothes that day, put it on Xiaoyi, and passed the message note to him.

While stuffing the note into his pocket, he cursed: "What a rubbish game! There's not even a way to pass information when forming a team."

Jin Sheng replied in a good-tempered manner: "I heard that after the guild system is opened, people from the same guild will be able to pass information to each other when they form a team."

As soon as he finished speaking, Xiaoyi shook his spiral tail and flew away without a trace.

Chu Qing did not hide their conversation from each other.

Xu Zhiyan's identity as a rookie with a million points was too well-known, and later he was also included in the list of potential rookies. With his anonymous existence, even the big guys on the points list knew of the existence of such a person.

As someone who started watching live broadcasts actively after suffering a loss, Chu Qing of course knew Xu Zhiyan's name.

She heard the coal-burning team assigned by Jiang Huaiqie and spoke hesitantly.

"I can lead a team by myself."

After losing the doctor's halo, she chose to follow her own characteristics and became a power player.

"I'm very strong. If you need to keep shoveling coal here, I can easily do the work of two people... Of course, I don't mean to say that you can't do it. I mean... I mean..."

This was Chu Qing’s second time going into a dungeon after the doctor incident.

She couldn't help but recall the time when she was disliked by other players in the previous dungeon. She was afraid of being disliked again, so she hesitated and made things worse.

Being resisted by other players means that she will continue to be isolated and helpless in this dungeon.

When Jiang Huaique heard this, his face darkened and he wanted to curse.

But seeing Chu Qing hanging her head and looking very scared, he held back and just said sarcastically: "...You are really good at talking, but you don't need it for now."

Even though he had communicated with Chu Qing before and knew that the other party was not a bad person, he was still worried that something might go wrong if they burned the coal in groups.

They are here, and if there are any problems with the coal burner's identity, they can deal with it at any time, but Xu Zhiyan is outside now.

As a good teammate, you must not let your identity in the rear become problematic.

However, things are often not as simple as we think.

When Gabby came back, he had a slap mark on his face, obviously he encountered something on his way to find the last coal burner.

As two steam whistles sounded, he angrily shouted at the five people who were still standing there: "The other steam turbines have already started working, and you five damn guys are still standing there stupidly?"

He pointed his stubby fingers at Uncle Pi and the bald man who were standing at the edge, and then at the pile of coal that had formed a small hill: "You two are the first group, go shovel the coal!"

The two people whose names were called immediately picked up shovels, ran to the huge furnace nearby, and began shoveling coal into it.

Soon, the flames in the stove were rising high, ready for departure.

Gaby looked unhappy as he had lost a newcomer.

Clearly, we had received the signal to blow the whistle to depart, which meant that the lower class people had finished boarding the ship and the number of people was correct.

There were three whistles immediately.

At that time, it means that all the guests have boarded the ship and it is about to set sail.

The three players who were left behind no longer had any intention of looking at Gabby. The task pop-up window kept popping up, attracting everyone's attention.

The three of them and Xu Zhiyan received the same task.

[Task 3: Gold in the Coal Pile [Shared by Coal Burners]]

[Progress: 0%]

[Note: You and your partner...]

Jiang Huaique glanced at the panel, then looked at Gabby who was furious, and finally his eyes fell on the prompt.

[Tip: Identity represents status, attacking the manager is not a good choice. ]

Not to mention what the hell this reward cafeteria buffet is, if they can't attack the BOSS, do they really have to collect the money?

The other two people obviously thought about this as well, and their expressions were not very good.

“Woo——”

“Woo——”

“…”

The cruise ship's whistle sounded, indicating that the distinguished guests had boarded the ship.

Gabby put aside the matter about the other coal burner for the moment and focused his attention on the two men and one woman standing in the back.

"You guys should also keep busy, go shovel the coal... Oh, I remember there is my gold in the coal pile, you guys better be careful to help me find it."

He was talking nonsense, pointing at the pile of coal that had formed a small hill, and he started laughing.

"Of course, if you can't find my gold, you'll have to find a way to make up for my loss."

The three players took a step back and looked at Gabby with ill intentions.

There aren't many NPCs who would make up stories to use their status to bully others, but when they thought of the hint, they didn't dare to act rashly.

At the same time.

Xu Zhiyan, who had just changed into new clothes, also encountered a problem that was difficult to solve.

"Hello, sir, you can't go any further."

A man dressed as a waiter stood in front of the cabin door and stopped Xu Zhiyan from pushing it.

"Huh? Why? I just want to have a drink. There's a bar downstairs..." Xu Zhiyan smiled awkwardly, his voice a little frustrated: "I'm not used to drinking with those rich people in the high-end bar upstairs."

He just wandered around the upper cabin and asked a few waiters to get a general idea of the structure of the cruise ship.

This cruise ship is so huge that only when you stand on it do you realize how small you are.

Just as imagined.

It is roughly divided into two large areas, upper and lower.

The buildings on the deck are luxuriously decorated, and the views from the windows are beautiful. They are all for serving the guests and other people of status. Only the guests can live in the luxurious rooms on the top floor.

Below the deck are ordinary cabins, which are used by people who are neither guests nor service staff.

Below that is where the service personnel live.

The coal burners also worked down there.

Unexpectedly, the waiter didn't buy it, and just explained politely and distantly: "No, sir, your range of activities is above this, the place below is not suitable for you to go."

Glancing at the waiter's gray-green bracelet, Xu Zhiyan was a little puzzled.

My blue bracelet looks more advanced than the other party's gray-green one. How is it possible that I can't go to the cabin below?

But now that he had just boarded the boat, he didn't want to have any conflict.

Xu Zhiyan nodded to indicate yes, frowned, picked up his cane and walked away leisurely.

He hid in the shadow of the corner and waited until the waiter left before he tiptoed over again.

This is the door leading to the lower level. As long as we go down here, we should be able to find the steam turbine and the other two teammates soon.

However, the moment my fingertips grasped the door handle, severe pain came.

Xu Zhiyan gritted his teeth and didn't scream out. He quickly withdrew his hand, but he was still a step too late. The fingertips that had just touched the door handle felt like they had been burned by a soldering iron and were almost cooked.

"……Grass."

Hearing the footsteps getting closer, he endured the severe pain and returned to the shadow as if nothing had happened. He took out the healing item and started to heal the wound on his hand.

The panel that popped out when being attacked was also pulled out.

[Cruise rules tips: Everyone has a different identity. Players are requested to follow their own identities and do their own part. ]

Part of my job?

Xu Zhiyan almost laughed out loud.

His identity is a tutor. Could it be that he is going to find Bai Jin to give him extra lessons? It seems that he needs to get a waiter identity that can enter and exit various cabins at any time.

As if sensing someone's disdain, the system popped up a second prompt.

[Cruise rules reminder: Identity must be recognized. ]

In other words, a bracelet that is snatched at random cannot be used.

Xu Zhiyan's mouth twitched, and he closed the panel. He couldn't help but curse: "Every time I think the main system is shameless enough, you always refresh my cognition."

The comments were amused by his gloomy face and started to make fun of him.

[The main system is really Xiao Baiwan’s lifelong enemy, hahahaha. ]

[When it comes to shamelessness, I can’t tell who is better between Xiao Baiwan and the main system! ]

[It must be the main system! Xiao Baiwan is always in a mess. ]

[In fact, I think it is Xiao Baiwan, because the main system has such a big advantage after all, and it is a 50-50 match with Xiao Baiwan.]

[Indeed, but judging from the final result, Xiao Baiwan always fights with the main system in the dungeon. He is really shameless hahahaha]

[Hahahaha, what's wrong with you guys? Why are you so shameless and want to compete! ]

【Little Millionaire: Are you polite? 】

[But it was so painful that Xiao Baiwan's fingers were smoking. ]

[After all, it’s a four-star dungeon, so the difficulty is definitely getting higher and higher, and the restrictions on players are also getting more and more difficult. ]

Xu Zhiyan, who has already developed the safe house, is no longer the poor guy he was at the beginning. Although he is sometimes stingy with himself, he is still willing to use some high-end props on himself at times like this.

In less than a minute, the red and swollen fingers were repaired and back to normal.

Just as Xu Zhiyan was hesitating whether to put on the coal burner's bracelet and try to open the door again, or find another way out, a black ball of fluff barked at him from the vent at the back.

"Woof!"

It was a voice that Xiaoyi was familiar with.

Xu Zhiyan was delighted and turned around. The moment he saw the black ball of hair, his expression froze.

"Xiaoyi?" he tried to ask.

"Woof! Woof!"

The one who responded to him was Xiaoyi's happy voice.

Xu Zhiyan couldn't believe it: "How did you become like this?"

What kind of trouble did this dog have? How come this dog was golden before it boarded the ship, and it was dyed the moment it turned around!

Xiaoyi wanted to explain, but unfortunately he couldn't speak, so he could only pull out the note from his master's pocket, fly out from the vent, and deliver the note.

As expected of a coal-burner, the note is almost black.

Xu Zhiyan took the note and his fingers were also stained black.

[Everything went well, but there seems to be a mission here, remember to come over when you have time. ]

He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the words on the note.

It seems that everything should be fine for now. How about going back to look for Bai Jin? After all, exploring above would definitely give him more information than exploring below. He didn't think other players could get a better identity than a coal burner. If he got the news earlier, he would have an advantage if there were overlapping tasks later.

...Huh? Why is the system panel jumping again?

Xu Zhiyan was grumbling in his heart, thinking that there was some new task coming. He clicked on the panel with doubt, and his expression gradually became unhappy.

[Task 3: Gold in the Coal Pile [Shared by Coal Burners]]

[Progress: -20%]

[Note: You and your partner...]

"Negative... negative number?"

What? The task progress can be negative?

Xu Zhiyan couldn't believe his eyes.

A new prompt then popped up, as if mocking him.

【Tip: The attacker must pay more money to make up for the loss. 】

Xu Zhiyan could almost imagine the scene of his teammates beating up the person in charge. He took a deep breath, put away the panel, and called Xiaoyi.

"I can't pass through here. Do you have any other way to get to your master?"

The little one nodded, then shook his head, and stretched out his dog paws as if trying to grab something.

Xu Zhiyan guessed for a moment and asked, "Is there another way, but I can't get through?"

"Woof woof!" Xiaoyi nodded.

As expected, it seems unlikely to use the small drill bug to open the door. Xu Zhiyan put away his unrealistic fantasy, took out the black bracelet belonging to the coal burner from his pocket and put it on his wrist. After confirming that there was a bracelet on his wrist, he took off the blue bracelet.

He prepared his healing items and put his hand on the door again.

“Ka——”

This time, he opened the door without any hindrance.

After entering, Xu Zhiyan closed the door and reached for the door handle again. When he felt the heat when he got close, he withdrew his hand.

So the stokers couldn't come on deck.

After getting the new information, Xu Zhiyan no longer hesitated and followed Xiaoyi down the narrow stairs to the lower level of the cruise ship.

The data on the panel continued to jump wildly.

[Progress: -38%]

[Progress: -45%]

…

[Progress: -52%]

With Xiaoyi leading the way, Xu Zhiyan's speed increased a lot. When the progress just reached negative sixty, he arrived at steam turbine No. 1.

Before entering the door, Xu Zhiyan looked down at his clean and tidy clothes through the glass, then looked at the flying coal dust inside, and silently let go of his hand that was touching the door.

While no one was around, he quickly changed into the initial coal burner suit.

After making sure that his outfit was flawless, Xu Zhiyan grabbed the key on the door and turned hard to the right.

The black dust seemed to have found an exit and rushed out of the door.

By the time Xu Zhiyan could see clearly, his face was already covered in coal dust, and he looked completely dirty.

Before he could get angry, the scene in front of him made him want to close the door and just let these teammates rot inside!

Inside the steam turbine, Uncle Pi and the bald man were burning coal cautiously, not daring to stop for a moment.

Gabby, who had just been yelling at a few people, was tied up with a rope and lying on the ashes. His face was covered with bruises, and it was obvious that he had been beaten.

The other three players were either standing or squatting, looking confused.

Everyone was scratching their heads anxiously as the numbers kept dropping wildly, not knowing how to complete the task. This wasn't a side quest, so it couldn't be left alone. If the main quest wasn't completed, it would likely affect the issuance of the next task.

When Xu Zhiyan came in, he saw Jiang Huaique and Chu Qing lowering their heads, and even the usually honest Jin Sheng didn't dare to look at him.

"Didn't you see the mission prompt?"

He didn't think his teammates were idiots. They couldn't even see the obvious mission instructions that said they couldn't beat up the NPC.

"Look, I've seen it."

The other two didn't say anything, only Jin Sheng answered with his head down.

Xiaoyi probably saw that his master was feeling humiliated, so he rushed into his master's arms and rubbed his face against his, adding another piece of dust to Jinsheng's face.

Xu Zhiyan was a little overwhelmed, but things had come to this point and he had to find a way to solve the problem.

The good news is that the negative progress of the mission has stopped, and it seems that after the players stop, the fees will no longer be increased.

"Come on, tell me the whole story."

A few minutes later, Xu Zhiyan learned everything that had happened.

It turned out that when Gaby was making things difficult for the three men, the three men pretended to come to the coal pile, shoveling coal while thinking about how to solve the task without using any material resources.

However, before they could come up with a solution, Gabby came over.

He first teased Chu Qing, the only woman here, in an obscene tone and with dirty words, then said that he had not seen a woman for so many years and he had no interest in Chu Qing for the time being, and then he slapped Jiang Huaique on the butt... The result can be imagined.

Jin Sheng spread his hands as he explained to Xu Zhiyan, looking apologetic.

"Well, Brother Xu, that's about it."

Jiang Huaique regained his senses at this time, with an apologetic look on his face. He didn't dare to look at Xu Zhiyan and whispered: "...I'm sorry, I shouldn't be so reckless."

The first time he experienced sexual harassment, he could hardly control his hands.

On the contrary, Chu Qing, who was being teased, was a little angry at first, but then when she thought about how those dirty words were eventually pinned on Jiang Huaique, she felt a little sympathy for him.

When the three saw Xu Zhiyan’s cold face, they thought he was going to say something, saying that they had to endure it in order to complete the mission.

Unexpectedly, Xu Zhiyan just waved his hand nonchalantly, pointed at Gabby who was still lying on the ground wailing, and said: "Beat him again, progress -95, don't beat him to death."

"What..." Jiang Huaique was confused and wondered if his teammates were angry enough.

Chu Qing was obedient. When she heard that they were going to continue beating, her eyes lit up. She punched Gabby, who had just stopped screaming, twice, making the person in charge who had been bullying the coal burners for years howl again.

A few minutes later, Xu Zhiyan called Chu Qing.

"Okay, that's enough."

He asked Jinsheng to untie the rope on Gabby, listened to the other party's trembling tongue and curse words, walked over with a smile, and patted Gabby on the shoulder.

"These three are really outrageous. They have caused you trouble."

Gaby didn't hear the conversation between Xu Zhiyan and the others just now. He saw that this late coal burner seemed different from the others. He almost jumped up instantly, as if he had regained strength.

"If you three can't find the gold, you'll have to pay me with your lives!"

After Gabby finished speaking, the task panel jumped to -99%.

New tips arrived as promised.

[Tip: If you cannot satisfy the person in charge, the next task will not be issued. ]

The other three people turned pale. Even Chu Qing, who had just been playing happily, stood still, fearing that Gabi would ask for too much and Xu Zhiyan could not afford it.

"How much money would you need to be satisfied?"

Xu Zhiyan asked with narrowed eyes, seemingly not caring about the hint at all.

Seeing that this new guy was so reliable, Gabby rolled his eyes and said with a grin, "Gold! Unless you give me gold!"

He didn't believe that this group of people could really come up with the gold.

But the next second, Gabi was stunned.

The smiling newcomer placed a heavy solid gold pocket watch on his palm.

"This is the gold you dropped, Mr. Gaby."

Xu Zhiyan put the gold pocket watch he got from Bai Jin into Gaby's hand, but the other end of the chain was still connected to his hand.

He asked quietly, as if the watch was not something important.

"I dare you."

"Do you dare to ask for it?"

“Pah—”

The pocket watch was opened, and inside it was a photo of the most distinguished guest on the ship.

Xu Zhiyan looked at Gaby, who suddenly let go of his hand and took a few steps back almost because of the burns of the pocket watch, and laughed softly.

There are clear classes here, so he has the best weapon to suppress NPCs.

Thinking of the appearance of the young Bai Jin in his mind, Xu Zhiyan suddenly realized that he seemed to have broken his promise. Tsk, he might have to coax him later, but that child was very easy to coax.

He didn't take this stand-up to heart, and he didn't know the hidden danger he had planted...