“——!”
When Fang Zheng regained consciousness, he was already in a dark and gloomy basement. In front of him stood several guys dressed like cultists. When they saw Fang Zheng appear, the leader immediately spoke.
"My dear hero, please save this world!"
"What?"
At this moment, Fang Zheng heard three voices coming from beside him. He turned around and saw three young men in school uniforms standing up from the ground holding various weapons... Hmm? What was this?
Wait, why do I feel like my hands are a little heavy?
Fang Zheng lowered his head and saw that a shield had appeared on his right arm at some point?
???
What the hell is a shield?
"Ahhh, my brave hero, please save this world!"
Soon, the leading priest, who was dressed like a cultist, spoke again, and another young man next to him asked.
"What on earth does this mean?"
"This... the situation is very complicated. Anyway, we used ancient rituals to summon the four legendary warriors... This world is facing the crisis of extinction. Sir Brave, please help us!"
This unfolds like the beginning of an RPG, but...
"I refuse."
"That's right. Can you let us go back to our original world? Otherwise, no deal."
"Don't you feel any guilt for forcibly summoning others?"
"To what extent will you consider our ideas?"
“…”
Fang Zheng did not participate in the conversation between these people at all. He just squinted his eyes and stared at the cultists in front of him. No kidding, Fang Zheng felt a dark and twisted aura from these guys, similar to the cultists in the main world and the cultists in the dark world. Although it was not very obvious, he could feel that something was wrong inside these people.
“…Save me…”
At this moment, Fang Zheng heard a sound again. This time, it was different from the previous one and was much clearer. But it was just this one sound and then it disappeared again.
Sure enough, is this the world?
"Anyway, please meet our King Melomag first..."
At this time, the leading man spoke again.
"We'll discuss the reward later... Please follow me."
As he spoke, he made a gesture, and the three men nodded and followed.
Fang Zheng didn't say much, but just followed behind, carefully sensing the atmosphere around him.
Each world has its own characteristics and different atmospheres. The Dark Souls world gave Fang Zheng an atmosphere of corruption and darkness, while the game world gave Fang Zheng an atmosphere full of some kind of electronic leaps. However, this world was shaky, and if I had to say it... it was like facing a tsunami, full of some kind of tension, chaos, and uneasiness.
And destruction.
Just like that, led by those guys who looked like cultists, Fang Zheng and the other four came to the palace and saw an old man sitting on the throne.
"Are you the four holy warriors in the ancient legend? I am the king of Megamalo, Ottocle Megamalo XXXII. Warriors, please tell me your names."
The old man sitting on the throne spoke in a low voice. At the same time, Fang Zheng noticed that he glanced at him imperceptibly, and then quickly looked away.
"Tian Mu Ren, sixteen years old, high school student."
"Kitamura Motoyasu, 21 years old, college student."
"Kawasumi Itsuki, 17 years old, high school student."
As expected, they are just a bunch of little brats who haven’t graduated yet.
Listening to the three people's introductions, Fang Zheng couldn't help but shake his head. No wonder these people spoke in such a chuunibyou way. It was obvious that they were students who didn't know the dangers of society and hadn't stepped out of the ivory tower. People like this would only realize how stupid they were if they were interviewed a dozen times and beaten to a pulp by the interviewers.
However, just as Fang Zheng was thinking, he heard the king's voice again in his ears.
"Well, Lian, does Yuankang still have trees?"
Deliberately ignoring my existence?
Hearing this, Fang Zheng raised his eyebrows, then glanced around and found that the other ministers and nobles standing around were also silent, and did not seem to think there was anything wrong.
How interesting.
Recalling the king's silent glance at him just now, and his subtle attitude of treating him differently from the other three, Fang Zheng's lips curled up slightly.
I want to see what kind of monkey show you are putting on.
Then, with the king's introduction, Fang Zheng also understood the current background of this world. In short, this world and this country are facing a disaster called "wave" that will lead to the destruction of the world. When the wave appears, countless monsters will emerge from it, killing and destroying everything.
This country has had a thing called the Dragon Hourglass since ancient times, which can be used to know the time of the disaster. Although they resisted the first wave, they found that their strength was not enough, so they wanted to summon the legendary four saints to help them.
"Understood. I will assist you."
"As long as you don't become my enemy."
Sure enough, after the king said he would reward them, the three little brats immediately changed their attitudes. Seeing this, Fang Zheng also laughed inwardly.
He is really a little brat... This reminded Fang Zheng of the scene when he was interviewing those college graduates. Hehehe, they are all like this. They act like God is first and themselves are second, thinking that they can get an annual salary of hundreds of thousands as soon as they graduate. They think they are great. Such people are naturally easy to deal with.
Give him a beating first to let him know how arrogant and ignorant he is, and then give him some salary.
Next...you'll understand once these guys enter the company.
996? It doesn’t exist.
Holidays? No.
Of course, you will definitely be paid overtime, after all, it cannot violate the labor law.
But you work seven days a week, and even if I give you money, where can you spend it?
If it weren't so difficult to open a hospital now, Founder would really like to build a hospital directly within the company, just like the state-owned enterprises in the 1970s and 1980s. That way, even if employees get sick from working overtime, they can get treatment in their own hospital, and then they can get the overtime pay back... recycling, how great.
Oh, it would be even better if we could build a crematorium and a cemetery. The bodies that cannot be cured could be directly taken to the crematorium for cremation, and then a cemetery could be provided at an internal price for employees. This way, maybe we can not only earn back the wages and overtime pay, but also make a profit.
After all, these days, cemeteries are more expensive than houses.
Where can I find a boss as good as myself? I believe that once this measure is introduced, employees will come to apply for the job in an endless stream.
So, it’s still easy to fool students.
Originally Fang Zheng thought that he would be the one to team up with the three little brats to fight, but what he didn't expect was that the minister told them that according to legend, the legendary weapons have the property of mutually repelling each other... Therefore, the four heroes need to recruit companions to go on the adventure.
Not only that, this world is actually the same as SAO, with its own system. Of course... for Fang Zheng, this is actually not a problem.
After that, led by the maid, the group went to have dinner and then went to their respective rooms to rest. Of course, during this process, the other three also had a conversation. Through their conversation, Fang Zheng discovered that these three people were actually from three different parallel worlds. Not only that, in their worlds, there seemed to be games with the same background as this world... Although some were console games, some were online games, and some were VR games...
No wonder these three little brats were so arrogant at the beginning.
After hearing this, Fang Zheng understood a little. This was like a group of people. If they were to travel to World of Warcraft together, after confirming the world they were in, their performance would probably not be much worse than those three little brats.
After all, these are games that I have played before, so I must be relatively familiar with them in every aspect.
Not only that, Fang Zheng also found that these three people were vaguely repulsive to him, but this was normal. Although they all came from different worlds, the three of them were Japanese, and Fang Zheng was not. Not only that, Fang Zheng was also older than them, and most importantly...
He is the most handsome.
Fang Zheng always ignores the ugly guy's envy, jealousy and hatred.
The next morning, the four came before the king again. This time, a group of adventurers in different costumes appeared before them.
"We have gathered a group of people who are willing to fight against the waves together with the legendary heroes."
The king sitting on the throne spoke lightly.
"Future heroes, set off!"
As the king spoke, the adventurers walked towards the crowd in unison.
Huh? Let them choose?
Seeing this, Fang Zheng was a little surprised, but it didn't matter. Then he saw these adventurers pass through him, walk to the back, and then... stand next to the other three heroes.
Is there such an operation?
看着自己身后空****的没有一人，方正略微愣了一下，随后皱起了眉头。
这已经不是单纯可以用搞笑或者玩笑来带过的话题了，昨天他就察觉到，相对于其他三个勇者来说，国王和大臣似乎对自己有种莫名其妙的敌视，现在连这些冒险者都表现的这么明显，难道说盾之勇者在这个世界有什么问题吗？
不过这样也好。
对于自己无人跟随，方正毫不介意。毕竟从来到这个世界，他就感觉到了一股和漆黑世界颇为相似的气息。
也就是说，如果这个世界的人和漆黑那个世界一样的话，那么搞不好方正还会成为这个国家的敌人。
既然如此，自然就没有必要和这些人一起瞎混了。
“连我也没有想到居然会是这样……”
或许是这一幕太过诧异，以至于连国王都显得有些惊讶，不过很快，他就咳嗽了一声。
“既然如此，那么盾之勇者，我们会多给你一倍的报酬，你可以自行招募一起战斗的同伴……”
“没有这个必要。”
然而，国王的话还没有说完，就被方正打断了。
“和那三个小屁孩不同，我可没有说会协助你们，接下来，我会亲自对这个国家进行调查，看看这个国家有没有被我拯救的价值。如果有的话，那么我才会帮忙，如果没有的话……”
说到这里，方正冷笑一声。
“……到那时候再说吧。”
说完这句话，方正转身便打算离开，然而就在这个时候，忽然，一个扎着红色马尾，腰间悬挂着长剑的女子跑了出来。
“请等一下，盾之勇者大人，我愿意和你一起冒险……”
“不需要。”
方正扫了一下那个姿色相当一般的女子，迅速收回了目光，接着直接转身离开了王城。
对于方正来说，拯救这个国家并不是他的“任务”，他来这个世界，最重要的还是寻找那个出现在自己耳边的声音。
然而，哪怕方正在王城里赚了整整一天，也没有再听到那个声音。
“今天一天都毫无收获吗？”
坐在旅馆的沙发上，望着外面的夜色，方正皱起眉头。他当然没有这个世界的金币，但是方正多的是各种宝石之类的玩意儿，王之财宝里也有足够的金银财宝，随便拿一些去商店里就可以换到不少钱了。
而在这一天里，方正也发现整个王城的人似乎都已经知道自己是盾之勇者，而对于他的态度，大部分人都是不愿多谈，一副唯恐避之不及的样子。另外也有一部分人没什么所谓，但是也就是这样了。
看来，盾之勇者虽然也有勇者之名，但是在这个国家，似乎并不怎么受欢迎啊。
“咚咚咚。”
就在这个时候，忽然，门外有人敲门，听到敲门声，方正转过头去，望向门口。
“是谁？”
很快，门外传来了一个温柔的女性声音。
“是我，盾之勇者大人。”
“？”
听到这个声音，方正站起身打开了门，很快，他就看见一个有着红色头发的女子站在门外，记得她好像是……
“你是谁？”
“我叫麦茵·史菲亚……我们曾经在王城见过……”
“找我有事吗？”
“是这样的……”
面对方正的询问，名为麦茵的女子紧握双手，接着抬起头来。
“我……想要成为勇者大人的同伴。”
“我已经说了，不需要同伴了吧。”
“请不要这么说！”
然而，方正的话音还没有落下，就看见那个女子猛然扑到了他的怀里，再次抬起头来，眼泪汪汪的注视着方正。
“我知道，这个国家的很多人对盾之勇者大人有误会，但是我希望勇者大人能够帮助我们，拯救这个国家！我愿意跟随勇者大人！我相信勇者大人！”
不得不承认，名为麦茵的女子倒是很会卖萌，配合她眼泪汪汪的双眼，足以让一般的男人动心，然而……
开玩笑，方正是什么人？当初应聘的时候有多少女人想要走后门进公司，用的招数不比这多？当然了，如果是漂亮的女人也就罢了，一个五分女，还浓妆艳抹，强行想要把自己提升到七分……
“我说了，不需要。”
方正直接按住肩膀，将其推开。虽然他不知道这个女人想要干什么，但是他可以看出这个女人明显就是在演戏。
如果是自家后宫演戏那叫可爱，但是一个不认识的女人在自己面前演戏就很恶心了。
“我对像你这样的女人一点儿兴趣都没有，走吧。”
“唔……太过分了！”
听到这里，麦茵倒退一步，捂住双眼，接着直接转身跑了出去。
“太过分了！”
“神经病。”
看着转身跑路走人的麦茵，方正冷哼一声，随后转身进入了房间。
就这样，一夜过去。
“咚咚咚！！！”
第二天一早，方正才刚刚醒来没多久，一连串急促的敲门声响起，方正皱了下眉头，再次打开门——这次出现在方正面前的，不是那个烦人的女人，而是一群全副武装的士兵。
“你就是盾之勇者吗？国王召见！”
“国王？”
听到这里，方正挑了下眉头。
那个老头子，找自己又有什么事？
当方正再次来到国王面前时，发现这里除了国王之外，还有不少贵族和大臣，包括那三个小屁孩以及……麦茵？
“找我有什么事？”
看着眼前的国王，方正开口询问道。而国王则叹了口气，接着开口说道。
“可怜的冒险者麦茵，请你再作证一次吧。”
“是，是的。”
听到国王的说话，方正看见那个叫麦茵的女人躲在其中一个勇者身后，一面抹着眼泪，一面开口说道。
“昨天晚上，我去找盾之勇者大人，希望能够加入他的队伍，我愿意帮助盾之勇者大人，和他一起冒险。但是，盾之勇者大人却说……却说……如果想要博得他的信任，我就必须以身相许，还试图把我拉进房间……我，我好不容易才挣脱，向在同一旅馆的元康大人求救……”
哦喝？
听到这里，方正嘴角微翘。
有意思啊。
而就在这个时候，国王也开口说道。
“盾之勇者犯下了我国最不可饶恕的禁忌，在梅格马洛，试图强暴女性的人，会被处以极刑！”
一时间，所有人都望向方正，然而……
“猴戏演得不错。”
方正拍了拍手。
“我倒是有另外一个版本的故事要说，不知道你们有没有兴趣听听？”
“什么？”
听到这里，其中一个勇者疑惑的望向方正，而方正则耸耸肩膀。
“昨天晚上我一个人在房间里考虑事情，然后这个女人就找上门来，说要成为我的同伴。然而可惜的是，我对这种五分女没有丝毫兴趣，直接就拒绝了她，然后这女人就哭着跑掉了。”
“这……”
听到这里，众人都是一愣，随后，只见那个挡在麦茵面前的枪之勇者大声怒吼道。
“你有证据证明说的是真的吗？”
“没有啊。”
方正摊开双手。
“反倒是我想问，这个女人有证据吗？”
“国王大人！！”
就在这个时候，一个士兵急匆匆的跑了过来。
“在盾之勇者的房间里，我们发现了这个！”
一面说着，他一面拿出了一件内衣。
而看见这件内衣，国王也是冷声怒喝。
“看，这就是确凿无误的证据了。”
“嗯，的确有意思。”
方正再次点了点头。
“都被我把内衣脱掉了，这女人居然还能跑掉……我还真想知道她是怎么跑的。”
“唔……”
面对方正的嘲弄，国王顿时语塞，不过很快，他再次猛然一挥手。
“再怎么说你也是盾之勇者，我们不会对于你处以极刑，但是我们已经把你的罪行告知了所有国民，这是对你的惩罚！今后不要想好好在这个国家生存！”
听到这里，其他三个勇者也纷纷开口。
“真是太过分了，没想到你居然是这种人！”
“你不会以为自己是勇者，就可以为所欲为了吧！”
“你可不是这个异世界的主角，给我搞清楚自己的斤两！”
而与此同时，四周的贵族和大臣们也纷纷开口。
“真是的……”
“所以为什么要召唤盾之勇者……”
然而，就在议论纷纷之中，被士兵包围下的方正，忽然笑了起来。
“呵呵……真有意思。”
“你笑什么？！”
听到方正的笑声，国王面色一变，冷声喝道，而方正则是轻蔑的注视着他。
“你们演了这么一场猴戏，就是为了让盾之勇者身败名裂是吧，的确很有趣，但是……”
说到这里，方正神色一变。
“你以为我会无动于衷吗？！”
“——！！”
这一刻，一股惊人的气势骤然从方正身上爆发，强大的龙威肆虐扩散，笼罩了整个王宫。而那些原本还在窃窃私语或者大声怒吼的人，在这一刻，全部都好像被捏住了脖子的鸭子一样闭上了嘴巴。
"I have no interest in, and I don't care about, any connection between you and the Shield Hero."
Fang Zheng walked forward slowly. At this moment, under the strong pressure of the dragon's might, the soldiers beside him were trembling and kneeling down one after another, and the king also sat back on the chair, sweating profusely.
Fang Zheng just walked in front of him, staring at him with a pair of cold eyes.
"But who gave you the courage to provoke me? Do you think I'm the same as those three weaklings?"