Chapter 22: Calm and peaceful, a bit like everyday life (added 1000 words). ...
Three uneventful days passed. Thanks to the magic crystals obtained by the players, Ister's injuries had healed a day ago, and today is the day when even more players will log in.
East stood in his usual spot and waited. After the light faded, even more round and chubby little firemen rolled out. East took a few steps back, and the colorful sea of little firemen was about to flow to his feet.
"Damn, I've never had such a terrible online experience. I'm about to be crushed. Someone, please save me!"
"Hey guys on my head, can you move so I can catch my breath?"
"What a terrible experience!"
...
The various IDs were mixed together, making people dizzy. East closed his eyes and said, "Everyone, calm down. Those who can move should come down first. If we act in an orderly manner, we can separate."
They were all people who listened to reason, and the chaotic situation was soon stabilized.
"Is this our king? He seems so gentle!"
"What good is gentleness? Can gentleness govern a country?"
“With us here, the king can simply be a quiet, handsome man.”
"Who doesn't love a vase? It looks nice just to display it."
...
Conversations and discussions arose in the sea of little firemen; with so many people speaking, the noise became noticeably louder and harder to understand.
[Ding! Welcome, little fire warriors! Please follow the guide fire spirit to familiarize yourself with the game process. Please abide by the game rules. Violators will be subject to penalties ranging from a short-term inability to log in to account suspension. Please do not knowingly do anything that is against the rules!]
The system issued a pre-prepared notification sound. It was a decision made after discussing with the host to have the players explain the rules. One hundred players is not a lot, but it is not a small number either. How could it be possible to appease them all if East could be in multiple places at once? Once the process is familiar, this can be taken on as an available task.
The next ten players stepped forward. The players, who were logging in for the first time, were either feeling curious or were generally more compliant with the rules, and none of them showed any sign of violating them.
The tasks for the ten players are simple in theory, but somewhat tedious and fragmented. They need to give new players a general overview of what needs to be done, what cannot be done, which places are dangerous, and the tasks they have done before. If possible, they can also do a daily task together.
East stood quietly to the side watching. His little players were all excellent, much better than him. Just then, his heart skipped a beat. He turned around to look at the mountain behind him and heard a faint, indistinct cracking sound.
"[Host, the seal has loosened again,]" the system announced. "[However, this time it's not as powerful as the first time it loosened.]" This was the reason it didn't rush to tell the host to run away and hide.
Easter turned around, and the little fire people huddled together, chattering excitedly. "Tell me, what's the rush for □□□ (representing an unknown entity)?"
The system remained silent. How was he supposed to answer that? He didn't know either.
East found it strange. How were they so sure he would act according to their wishes? Did they simply exploit his fear of death? Or did they think he might have some extra kindness?
The reason he accepted the system's task so readily was that he realized that, whether he liked it or not, his identity was a huge problem that he couldn't avoid. If he could simply hide in one place and escape, how could he possibly step into this inevitable chaos?
East tucked his wind-blown hair behind his ear, a faint smile appearing in his eyes. His little players were so cute, like a bunch of bouncy QQ toys. Instead of thinking about troubles that couldn't be solved in a short time, he'd rather look at his little players.
East gave the players a handsome smile, different from his usual gentleness. His pale pink eyes deepened slightly, becoming a deeper shade of pink, like a newly blossoming pink peach or a peach in full bloom, about to fade. It was hard to describe precisely; upon closer inspection, only the word "bewitching" could barely capture it.
Some players were drawn to the game because of Ist's good looks. If Ist had just been a regular NPC, everyone could have stayed focused on the game's flow. But Ist's irresponsible and deliberate seduction meant that the words she uttered didn't just go in one ear and out the other; they didn't even register.
Seeing those pairs of blank, beady eyes, Easter's smile deepened and widened, radiating his charm without restraint. At this moment, Easter was almost unlike himself.
"Your Majesty, could you please tone down your charm?" said Quack Quack Quack with a hint of resentment. "We're almost unable to complete our quests."
East was slightly taken aback, looking extremely innocent, as if he couldn't understand why Guagua would say that.
"You're everywhere! If you don't like something, just close your eyes. You have no aesthetic sense and you're disturbing others' enjoyment," Liang Jingjing said.
The quacks seemed to want to say something but stopped themselves. Were they playing a serious game? Was it a serious game?
“I’m sorry to have bothered you all,” Easter said apologetically. “I hope you all enjoy this world. I won’t stay any longer.”
Plump hands reached out, trying to stop him, but the cold-hearted person left so resolutely, leaving no room for anyone to try and hold him back.
The much-anticipated scene unfolded: Quack Quack was engulfed by a sea of little firemen, and a helpless, dark purple little hand stretched out...
Easter walked briskly, with a smug little thrill at his successful mischief. He realized that in this broken and chaotic world, he didn't need to suppress himself too much. After all, what was he anyway? Who cared what he looked like? Humans themselves embodied the concept of "species diversity."
Regardless of his original world, the world he is in now doesn't even have a complete legal system. It's somewhat like following the "law of the jungle." He's not a good person to begin with, so why pretend to be a saint?
He wanted to learn to be a little bad. Only by being bad could one live well, and only then would no one dare to bully or scheme against him. He wanted to be the worst kind of bad person, the one who bullied others.
Her steps grew lighter and lighter as she ran against the wind, a bright, unbridled smile on her face, like a bird breaking free from its cage and soaring high, free and unrestrained.
"I want to be a bad guy," Easter declared firmly.
——
After playing around together, everyone's relationship was noticeably better. When playing games, the most important thing is to relax and have fun.
Groups of two or three young men, arms around each other's shoulders, were discussing how to complete the quest, talking about what they had just seen in Ister, and also chatting about the most important thing: player levels.
Ambitious players followed experienced players to do monster-killing quests; those who weren't ambitious or were afraid of holding others back followed the two little firemen who stayed behind to cook for Ist to do gathering quests. Today, it was Cai Cai and Cai Die who stayed behind.
Both sides decided to venture deeper into the forest that day, probably because more people would give them more courage; with more people, some frightening things would seem less of a problem.
First, let's talk about the monster-slaying team. Guagua is sharing his experience with the newbies, "Listen to me, monsters are not easy to mess with. We usually use a siege strategy. Let me tell you in advance, going one-on-one is suicide." He showed a pained expression, "This is our hard-earned experience from being wiped out twice."
Upon hearing this, some players who had been dismissive became serious. The ID under the guguagua avatar had already been exposed. The guguagua avatar was indeed a bit of a scoundrel and unreliable, but it was not shameful enough to make fun of people with such embarrassing things.
Guagua and Meimei exchanged a glance. There was nothing they could do about it. The main quest could start at any time, and they didn't want anyone causing trouble or holding them back. It wasn't that they were arrogant or condescending; it was just that this was a game, and games are bound to have people who enjoy watching the drama unfold. If they were to fail at the last minute, they would be furious. After all, this game didn't have a save/load function, and things could turn out in any way. Besides, after spending these few days with the king, they hadn't treated this as a simple game quest. They had built up a strong bond with the king, and they didn't even want to think about failing. It was understandable that they were taking it seriously.
After Guagua's advance warning, everyone took it more seriously than before.
Led by veteran players, this pair embarked on a monster-hunting adventure that wasn't without its challenges.
On the other side was the gathering team led by Cai Cai and Cai Die, a total of twenty little firemen, who split into two pairs. They followed the explored route into the unexplored area, going in two directions. Each pair was assigned two baskets and collected non-poisonous plants according to the mini-map. Everything was going very smoothly.
Cai Cai parted the withered grass blocking his view and saw a small swamp. His gaze didn't linger on the swamp for long before being drawn to a large tree behind it. The tree was so large that it would take at least two or three people to encircle it. Fist-sized black fruits adorned the trunk. Seeing the non-toxic mark on the map, Cai Cai felt a sudden urge. He had a feeling that it might be something good. He decided to take it as a chef's intuition.
Cai Cai walked along the edge of the swamp, trying to get around it to the other side. During this time, he sent a message in the team's message board, saying that he would not do something as foolish as going it alone without telling his companions.
As it turns out, good things are always surrounded by dangers. After walking along the edge for twenty or thirty meters, I used a branch to probe in that direction, but it was still a swamp.
Cai Cai and the other nine little firemen scratched their heads and ears, "Do we really have to get that fruit? Is it a very precious fruit?" The firemen who spoke had very distinctive features: black and white vertical stripes, somewhat resembling a barcode, and the ID on their heads was [Erha] (male).
"I'm not sure," Cai Cai replied. "If there's no way, then forget it. I won't force it." Just as Cai Cai was about to give up, the ground where the branch touched stopped sinking. "I'll go try it by myself. If it works, then you can come with me." Without waiting for anyone's reply, she took off on her short legs.
After circling around to the tree, I got closer and realized that it was covered with vines that were wrapped around it. The tree and the vines were surrounded by swamp.
Cai Cai reached out and picked a black fruit, popping it into her mouth. The juice burst forth, the sweet liquid sliding down her throat. She ate the fruit in a few bites, her eyes shining with unparalleled brilliance as she stared at the tree full of black berries. In the nearly ten days since they'd been online, they hadn't been without edible fruit, but the taste was subjective. Nothing could compare to this tree! Sweet as honey, yet not purely sweet, not cloying at all, refreshing and cool—there was no more wonderful taste.
Cai Cai scanned them up and down. Judging by their blackness, there were about twenty truly ripe ones, more of them were lighter in color, and some were completely emerald green at the top.
Cai Cai hurriedly walked out of the swamp and went to find the player carrying a basket on his back. He was afraid that something might happen to him, so he didn't take the basket with him.
It was a small, light yellow fire-faced creature, ID [Mingzhu] (female), saying, "Brother Cai, let me go with you, I can lend a hand."
Cai Cai didn't refuse. He planned to pick all the ripe ones and come over to check on them whenever he had time. Food is the most important thing for people. If you want to eat something delicious, why waste it? He wouldn't allow that to happen.
Perhaps it was a stroke of luck today; nothing could stop it. Cai Cai, who had just finished picking black berries, was dragged to a nearby spot to check on the situation. There was a small patch of thorny bushes with clusters of purplish-red berries growing on them.
“It tastes a lot like wild grapes,” said a little fire-man in starry purple, ID [Wang Xian] (female).
Cai Cai picked one and tasted it. Dou Dou's eyes lit up. It did taste very much like wild grapes, a little sour and slightly astringent. An idea popped into her mind, but due to the limited conditions, it would be difficult to realize. But that didn't stop her from giving it a try.
This is just the beginning of the harvest; there are delicious foods, unique flavors, animals that run on the road, animals that swim in the water... and so on.
...
The saying "many hands make light work" has its truth. East looked at the harvest that was almost overflowing the room, blinked twice slowly, and turned his head to see the magic crystals in a small wicker basket, sparkling and shining, there were at least twenty of them. You have to know that this is just the beginning, and there are only 110 players at this time.
East suddenly understood the origin of the term "Fourth Calamity." It is a force that is fearless of death and injury, courageous and relentless, and has an exceptionally strong execution ability. One can imagine how enormous and terrifying it must be.
"Haha, is the little king stunned?" Guagua said smugly.
Easter smiled and nodded, "Indeed, you are all extremely brave and outstanding warriors, and I am honored to have the opportunity to be associated with you."
“That’s a rather cheesy thing to say,” said the husky, “but it sounds nice coming from you. If you like it, say it more.”
Easter responded with a smile; he couldn't bring himself to say anything too mushy.
"Make way, Your Majesty, come and try this fruit." Cai Cai presented the black fruit like a precious treasure.
Easter's eyes widened. This is good stuff!
Cai Cai offered the fruit forward, saying, "Your Majesty, this fruit is so sweet and delicious, come and try it."
East took the fruit, examined it carefully, and said with a smile, "This is a beauty and health product that is priceless. To eat it as just an ordinary fruit is too extravagant, far too extravagant." His actions of eating the fruit showed no sign that he thought it was extravagant; his eyes were even squinting as he ate.
As Esther savored the taste between his lips and teeth, he thought to himself that even without the added benefits, this fruit could fetch a high price just for its taste.
“My little king, there are still many more here.” Cai Cai brought over all the black berries she had picked.
East shook his head. "Don't just think about me. It's delicious. If you can, everyone should share some."
“You are our king, and it is only right that we think of you,” said the one who spoke, not as good as roasted sweet potato. “King, you don’t need to think about being perfect in every aspect all the time; that would be exhausting.”
East tilted his head in confusion. "No, it's just that I think it tastes good. These were picked by you guys. It would be too selfish of me to keep them all to myself. Besides, I can't eat that many by myself."
Ru Mei didn't say anything more, and only he himself probably knew what he was thinking.
The delightful time for sharing the fruit arrived. There weren't many black fruits, and each little fireman only got to taste one.
"Where did you pick this? Please don't miss it, enjoy it!"
"This perception system is amazing! It's just like eating in real life."
"Does that mean we won't have to worry about gaining weight when we eat delicious food in the future?"
"The premise is that the raw materials are good enough to make delicious food. As far as I know, there is no gourmet food in this game's background; everything can be described as culinary disaster."
...
It's only natural that a single fruit could spark countless conversations and discussions. For a nation known as a "food empire," indulging in a little gluttony is perfectly normal.
East found a suitable place to sit and quietly appreciate this dynamic and stress-relieving scene. If he had the chance, he would like to mark this piece of land; it has too many special meanings to give up.
It's not too difficult to claim this piece of land. Such desolate, dangerous, and worthless land won't attract much attention. As long as you have the ability to occupy it, it's yours. There won't be any legal or regulatory constraints. However, the various troubles that will arise after you occupy it are another matter. There will always be some self-righteous people who will think that you would go to great lengths and effort to occupy such a piece of land, and then they will wonder if there is any hidden value that has not been discovered. Naturally, trouble will come knocking.
East flicked his fingertips. What was the big deal? Wouldn't he be in trouble if he didn't show himself? Besides, the players would definitely want this historically significant site.
East's idea was not wrong. In the future, this piece of land will have a name that belongs to it, be given special value, and become a must-visit spot for players after entering the game. It will always be at the top of the list when the most popular location is voted.
Life briefly returned to peace and tranquility until the arrival of the outsiders once again.
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