Rex and Eugene were still injured and had no way to move on their own. Even if they could, Xia Yao was sure Rex wouldn't dare. She had given him so many instructions last night, could it be that he had turned a deaf ear to all her efforts?

No, most likely not.

Xia Yao denied it in her heart, then bent down and lowered her head to carefully identify the footprints on the ground. Although they had become blurred, judging from the shape and size, it was human who took the two little guys away.

Humans can be either players or NPCs.

She couldn't determine exactly where it was.

After observing for a while, Xia Yao stood up and stared at the footprints extending from the cave all the way to the lake, feeling that something was wrong.

Since the other party sneaked into the cave and tied someone up in the middle of the night, it means that they knew that this matter was not to be made public. Logically, they should have acted with caution. The footprints, which were so obvious, must have been dealt with immediately.

However, the other two had no intention of hiding. They almost tied up Rex and Eugene and went to the lake, not caring at all whether they left any evidence.

Anyone who can do this is either extremely stupid or confident enough in his own power and doesn't worry about being discovered.

Xia Yao tends to the latter.

The Giant Turtle Mountain Lake is quite special. Except for the direction where she is currently located, the other three directions are all displayed in gray on the map. Gray represents a dead end and the player cannot pass.

Since they can’t get across, why should players take a boat to the other side?

So the answer is clear at a glance - the person who kidnapped is not the player, but the NPC.

There may be no way to go on the map from the player's perspective, but what if it is an NPC?

"Eternity" is a game with a very high degree of freedom. The NPCs in it are as intelligent as real people. Who knows if the NPCs on the boat this time have other ways to transfer the orcs?

Xia Yao felt that this possibility was very high.

To verify her guess, she boarded a small wooden boat by the lake and rowed to the other side of the lake.

Just as she had expected, the players in the boat could not go any further after swimming to a certain point, as if there was an invisible wall blocking the way, which could only be viewed from a distance but not reached.

But it's enough to be able to watch.

Xia Yao used the player's camera function, stood on the boat, and took pictures of the scenery on the other side of the lake.

Drag the photo out of the album, and the former will float in front of your eyes like a holographic image.

She reached out and touched it, slowly enlarging the picture with two fingers...

Details that were originally invisible to the naked eye are gradually revealed as the picture is enlarged.

"A tunnel through the mountain..." Xia Yao stared at the picture that had been magnified countless times, as well as the small hole and freight tracks exposed at the bottom of the mountain range, and immediately understood something.

The other party is definitely an NPC, and he is a wealthy NPC who has the financial and material resources to dig and transport tunnels.

Xia Yao immediately rowed back on the boat, and after returning to the shore, she ran all the way to the other direction of the mountain.

The tunnel must have an exit, and there must be a small path or something near the exit, otherwise how to transport two heavy orcs?

Fortunately, it was not far from the Giant Turtle Lake to the other side of the mountain, and she reached the other side of the mountain in less than half an hour.

The foot of the mountain stretches for thousands of meters, and the tunnel exit may be in any corner.

Xia Yao clicked on the area map, frowned and thought for a moment, then marked a few points on the map that she thought were most likely, and started searching one by one.

The two points closest to her were quickly ruled out. Although there was a path here, the NPC did not place the exit here because the forest was not dense enough.

Immediately after the third location, the woods became dense, but there was no path in the woods. Obviously, vehicles such as carriages and trailers could not pass through, so it was ruled out.

At the fourth point, there are wild beasts gathering nearby, so it is unsafe. Continue passing.

It was not until she reached the fifth location that Xia Yao finally discovered the entrance to the cave hidden behind the lush plants.

A small track extends from the cave entrance. It is difficult to find the cave entrance and the track unless you walk closer and pull away the vegetation to take a closer look.

There is a stream next to the track. The gurgling sound of the stream can easily cover up the sound of the vehicle being dragged, and there is also a source of water to drink if you are thirsty along the way.

She didn't believe that the NPC was not an old hand and could think of such things so carefully!

Xia Yao smiled coldly and chased after the carriage following the wheel marks left on the mud.

"Boss, I've brought the goods back to you."

In the backyard, the head of the household glanced at the guys in the two cages. They looked very young and should be young orcs who had just reached adulthood.

"Not bad." He grinned and smiled with satisfaction.

The servant next to him took out a few gold coins from his purse and threw them in front of the deliveryman.

After sending the two away, the head of the household began to look at the orc carefully.

"Tsk, they're all injured." The smile on his face froze, and was replaced by a layer of coldness. He ordered his servants to hand him a pair of pliers, and holding the pliers, he poked the male orc in the cage.

Rex was awake the whole time, baring his teeth at the man and growling threateningly.

Unexpectedly, the man was not frightened by him. Instead, he sneered and said, "Not bad, you can still scream."

"Yes, Mr. Gray, I think the male orc is of good quality and can be sold for a good price~" The servant flattered ingratiatingly.

The man named Gray smiled coldly, took out the pliers, and reached into the cage of the female orc next door.

As soon as his pincers touched the female orc, she opened her eyes weakly and let out a low groan of pain.

Gray frowned and suddenly exerted force with the hand holding the pliers!

"Ah...!" Eugene gritted his teeth and tears welled up in his eyes.

It hurts, it hurts so much...

The wound that had not yet healed was suddenly stabbed by a cold, hard object, and she felt as if warm blood was flowing out again...

Rex was furious and grabbed the cage bars, repeatedly warning the man.

The man completely ignored the orc and examined the place where the pliers were pressed with a cold expression: "The wound is a bit deep. This one won't be easy to sell."

He paused, then suddenly moved the pliers to the orc's face and gently brushed aside the hair on her cheeks and forehead. His eyes suddenly lit up. "I didn't expect her face to be so pretty. After washing and packaging, she could fetch a good price. Come on, strip her clothes and scrub her clean. Make sure you deliver her to Ares City today."

"yes!"

Pack...Sell...

No matter how naive Eugene was, he could still hear the deep malice in the man in front of him.

She retreated into the cage in fear, holding on to the iron bars tightly and refusing to let go!

But she was injured, so how could she be a match for the healthy male human? The latter dragged her out like cargo, sealed her mouth with tape, and carried her all the way out of the backyard.

Rex pounded the iron cage frantically, letting his broken ribs poke his flesh again and again!

Eugene is his childhood friend and is like a family member in his heart. He can't just watch her being sold by the damn humans!

He didn't know where or what the "City of Ares" the man was talking about was, but his intuition told him that it was not a good place!

He roared desperately and tried to break free, but was held down by several other adult men.

"Stop yelling, it's a waste of energy!"

"If you have time to care about her, you might as well take more care of yourself!"

"When we get there, you'll have to endure some hardship!"

A black blindfold covered his eyes and someone hit him on the head with a stick. Rex felt his vision go dark.

"Human, please save Eugene..." He muttered subconsciously before fainting.

Xia Yao's brain made a ding sound, and a new side quest suddenly refreshed.

[Side Quest 3: Find the missing orcs Rex and Eugene (time limit: 24 hours)]

Sure enough, all the plots related to Rex and Eugene belong to this branch.

The first side quest was triggered when she received a letter from Rex, requiring her to rescue the orc Eugene; the second one was refreshed after she rescued the two, and the quest required her to treat their injuries.

Now, the third one has popped up before the second one is completed.

At this moment, Xia Yao suddenly wondered in her mind, what would happen if she just ignored this side quest?

It's probably just like what the world players discussed, it will automatically disappear after a few days, right?

There are a lot of side quests in "Eternity", and sometimes they may be triggered while walking.

A lucky player once said that he had triggered many side quests. He completed some of them easily, but gave up on some that looked difficult. He originally thought that the quest would be stuck if he couldn't complete it, but he didn't expect the quest to disappear automatically after a while.

After the mission disappeared, he was not affected at all. He ate and drank as usual and lived a happy life.

After this discussion, the players all agreed that side quests are actually not important. If you have the spare time, you can do them as a way to experience the game plot. If you don’t have time, you can give them up without delaying other tasks.

That's indeed the case, but it's a pity that it was she who took on the task this time, and not someone else.

She doesn't like to give up halfway, and she doesn't want to see her two "living" descendants disappear.

Perhaps it was influenced by the plot, or perhaps it was Bazel's will in her mind that was hinting at her, but in any case, she couldn't give up like other players.

Rex trusted her so much, she couldn't let him down!

Her thoughts drifted away for a brief moment, and soon Xia Yao came to her senses and stood in front of the Gray Hotel.

Just like the last time I came, the hotel entrance was bustling with people, players coming in and out. Some paid to stay in the hotel so they could log off, while others came to send and receive packages.

As soon as I walked in, the hotel owner Gray immediately greeted me with a cheerful face: "Miss Yinyao, you're here again? What do you want to send this time?"

Xia Yao had a blank expression on her face. After looking around, she asked, "Can I use the restroom?"

Players don't need to go to the toilet in the game, but the NPC doesn't know. Gray was stunned at first, but then he saw that she was an old customer and asked the waiter to take her to the backyard.

"Miss Yinyao, it's behind that door." The waiter pointed.

"OK, thanks."

After the waiter left, Xia Yao narrowed her eyes and immediately noticed something unusual on the ground.

Blood.

But the color was very light, obviously it had been wiped by someone.

Unfortunately, no matter how hard you rub it, it will leave a faint mark on the natural stone slab.

It was hard for Xia Yao not to doubt Gray.

A few minutes ago, she followed the wheel tracks all the way to the gate of the royal city. After entering the royal city, she followed the mud that fell from the wheels all the way and finally found that the place where the mud disappeared was at the side door of Gray's Hotel.

And now there was a pool of blood in the backyard that had been wiped away by someone.

Xia Yao sneered, turned around and walked back to the front of the hotel like the wind.

"Ms. Yinyao, please take care~" Gray greeted her at the front desk with a smile when he saw her coming out after using the toilet.

Xia Yao didn't leave. Instead, she placed one hand on the front desk and said with a half-smile, "I need to send something."

Gray was naturally very happy when business came up: "Okay, what do you want to send? Who do you want to send it to? Do you need it expedited?"

Xia Yao loosened her palm: "I want to send this piece of mud to Rex, urgently."

The mud was scraped off from the wheel tracks.

The moment he saw the mud, the smile on Gray's face suddenly stopped, and a cold and cruel look instantly rose in his eyes: "I advise you not to meddle in other people's business."

Xia Yao: "Why should I care?"

Gray narrowed his eyes, his expression becoming increasingly ferocious: "Then there's only one way out, and that's death!"

The player who was still sending a package in the store was suddenly kicked out!

They were all confused and angry, and they all criticized Gray in the world for being ungrateful and taking advantage of his good business to ignore the players.

A few players were so angry that they wanted to go in and argue.

Unexpectedly, the waiter who usually looked kind suddenly turned as gloomy as a ghost and stood in front of them, scaring them so much that they felt a chill on the back of their necks.

"Holy crap, how can an NPC have an aura more terrifying than a real person? This doesn't make sense!"

"Looking at the box cutter in his hand, I seemed to see the image of a machete."

"Are these NPCs going to fight? What's going on?"

"Holy shit, look! Number one is in there!"

"She's been surrounded by the NPCs in the inn! Oh no, she's starting to attack! Oh my god, she's knocked down an NPC! Wow, she shot another one!"

Onlookers: ???

"This is the royal city, she must be crazy!"

It's more than just crazy. If they remembered correctly, the NPC levels in the Gray Inn were very high, none of them were below level 50!

She is only level 36. Although it is the highest in the entire server and far exceeds the ordinary players, she is still a challenge to the group!

The key point is that they really kill one by one! Every move is fatal!

Oh my god, how high is this attack power?

It's simply beyond their reach!

The author has something to say:

PS: Rex and Eugene are side quests. I actually forgot to mention this when I was writing. I added a few sentences in the previous article and also explained it in this chapter. It won’t affect your viewing experience. Thank you~