Chapter 45 Night Fishing
The night is silent and all things are asleep.
But night fishermen at Amber Mountain Reservoir can't fall asleep.
Xu Zhiyan and Jin Sheng followed Xiaoyi, circling around a place a little further away from the lake, and headed towards the opposite side.
Along the way, many players have been on the verge of collapse from hunger because they could not catch any fish or find other food to eat, and there have been occasional quarrels and bloody fights.
At least they shared a fish, so even though they weren't full, it wasn't that hard to endure.
The further he walked, the more curious Xu Zhiyan became.
Who is so strong that he can find food so quickly in such a crappy dungeon setting?
The reservoir is so big, and no player has entered the center of the lake until just now, so the only possibility is that this player has found suitable bait.
"This is the chosen one." Xu Zhiyan commented.
They finally arrived at the camp of this lucky son when they reached the opposite side of the lake which was corresponding to their camp.
The other side’s camp was built very well.
Jin Sheng made a rough estimate that this was at least two hundred times better than their simple doghouse.
Both have their backs against a big tree, but the tree of the Chosen One seems to have been struck by lightning, with only half of it remaining. The other half is connected to the surrounding ground to form a circle, with a bonfire in the middle, which is very comfortable both visually and practically.
There was a bunch of bamboo sticks stuck in the broken bucket next to the fire. Judging from the marks on them, this person must have eaten a lot of fish.
Near the water's edge of the camp, a man in a casual suit and slicked-back hair was sitting on a folding stool, facing the reservoir; his face could not be seen.
There were several fishing rods beside him, and water kept splashing out of the bucket containing the fish, indicating that there were a lot of fish in it.
The two did not dare to move forward and just huddled in the shadow of the woods.
After all, this is someone else's territory. Before the main quest mentions the situation of other people, most players will keep a distance from each other to avoid internal consumption, which may lead to mission failure and being discovered by others.
Just as Jin Sheng was marveling at the scene, he felt his teammates poking him twice in the arm.
Xu Zhiyan gestured to Jin Sheng to look at the shadows by the river.
Not far from the man, also near the river bank, a person was lying quietly, unknown whether dead or alive.
It was hard to tell whether it was a corpse or a living person who had fainted.
But they didn't have to wait long.
The man with the slicked-back hair seemed to have run out of bait.
The two people hiding behind the tree watched as the man with the slicked-back hair, after missing a catch, took a knife and cut off a piece of meat from the lying 'person', cut it into small pieces, and hung it on the hook.
Okay, it’s confirmed that the person lying next to him is a corpse.
Xu Zhiyan touched his chin and suddenly realized.
So the secret to getting food on the shore is to use human flesh to fish?
These delicious fish that originally only lived in the center of the lake would be attracted by the smell of blood and leave the center of the lake and come to the shore.
This is a ruthless person, he thought.
When the man turned sideways, Jin Sheng saw the man's face clearly and hurriedly pulled his teammates to retreat first.
The two of them retreated stealthily to a distance.
After making sure that no one would hear what they said here, Jin Sheng shook his head at Xu Zhiyan and said, "This man is called Jiang Huai Que. Let's retreat. It's too unsafe to get close to him. We might get implicated."
"Unsafe? How unsafe can it be?"
Xu Zhiyan narrowed his eyes. Although the other party looked a bit cruel, he should actually be a soft-hearted person. The camp was warm and comfortable. He also saw half a straw mat being woven.
Apart from the somewhat inconsistent behavior of cutting up the corpse, there doesn't seem to be any major problem?
At the first meeting, Xu Zhiyan had a good opinion of this person.
Especially these days, it is really kind of a person to actually exchange food for a snake brought by a puppy!
Jin Sheng shook his head, and led his teammates to retreat a distance before speaking nervously: "He's fine, but he offended someone. Have you heard of the potential list?"
Xu Zhiyan nodded.
“Yes.”
He remembered the towering ranking list in the shell. Players could also call it up and check it at any time on their own mobile phones after connecting to the live broadcast.
On the potential newcomer list, all players who have entered the game for less than a year are ranked according to the points earned from clearing dungeons. Basically, those who can reach the top are the good seedlings selected by the big guys on the points list, and they are just waiting for the opening of the guild system to ensure their entry into the big guilds.
Jin Sheng made a long story short.
"Jiang Huaiqie killed Zhuo Yong's teammate before. Zhuo Yong was the eighth on the potential list... He seems to have moved up to seventh now."
"Zhuo Yong said that he would kill him in the next instance, and anyone who tried to stop him would..."
Hearing this, Xu Zhiyan hurriedly raised his hand and gestured to interrupt the other party: "Okay, let's stop here. I don't know the rest."
Sometimes it's not good to know too much.
Especially when there is a live broadcast, the outcomes of doing something knowingly and doing it without knowingly are completely different.
"Someone wants to kill him, and our snake was stolen by him. So don't we have common interests with the person who wants to kill him? Besides, we are not interested in the love-hate relationship between him and other players. Our goal is to get some fish to eat." Xu Zhiyan spread his hands and got to the point briefly.
“…”
Jin Sheng tilted his head and thought about it. It seemed so?
Just as the two were whispering, a cold male voice sounded.
"Hey, you two haven't left yet?"
In the darkness, the voice was cold and sharp, almost piercing through the two men.
The next second, the bushes that had originally blocked the two people were cut off horizontally, and the light from the camp shone over them as expected.
Jiang Huai Que was holding a huge black sickle over two meters high, standing at the edge of the camp like the god of death. The fire was swaying behind him, and his expression could not be seen clearly.
He knew that he was probably the only player who had caught a fish so far, so he set up a lot of small devices around him to prevent anyone from spying on his prey and attacking him from behind.
The two players in front of him were not the first batch, nor would they be the last.
Xu Zhiyan looked at the opponent's silhouette outlined by flames and discovered for the first time that the weapons in this game were quite cool.
After the other person slightly turned sideways, he finally saw the other person's face clearly.
Jiang Huaiqiao is an adult male who looks to be around 28 or 29 years old. In addition to the slicked-back hair we just saw, he also wears a pair of thin-framed glasses. He looks like a social elite and a corporate slave, and he has a very imposing aura.
However, thinking that the other party's tone was not good and seemed to be on the verge of exploding, Xu Zhiyan did not want to anger the other party and quickly raised his hand to show friendship.
"Hello, we don't mean anything else, we..."
"Want fish? Get the hell out of here, you idiots. You won't trade it for anything! Get out!" Jiang Huaique interrupted the young man before he could finish speaking and drove him away while swearing.
Xu Zhiyan was a little confused. It was also the first time he encountered such a foul-mouthed player.
Jin Sheng would occasionally look elsewhere, fearing that Zhuo Yong, who had also entered the dungeon, would come out and implicate them.
But soon, Xu Zhiyan adjusted himself. He pointed at Xiaoyi, who was hanging obediently above Jinsheng's head, and said, "Well, Inugou was ignorant and used something very important to exchange for fish with you. That snake is our partner..."
As long as the other party didn't give them the snake, they could take the opportunity to ask for more fish. However, Xu Zhiyan had a very good plan, but it would not work without the cooperation of others.
Jiang Huai Partridge doesn't play by the rules.
He glanced at the two of them and said directly: "Come with me, what a broken snake, tsk."
Xu Zhiyan and Jin Sheng walked forward a few steps and came to the edge of the other camp. They watched Jiang Huaique untie a large white snake tied into a bow from a branch as thick as a wrist.
"Take your snakes and get out of here immediately. Are you crazy? Why are you raising both snakes and dogs?"
Jianghuai Partridge threw the snake on the ground beside him.
Xiaoyi landed quickly on the ground, holding the already desperate big white snake on his head, with a happy expression on his face.
Now even Xu Zhiyan felt that this person's brain circuit was indeed abnormal!
He thought the other party had heard some rumors about snakes and wanted to take the snake's tears or something, but it turned out that the other party really just hung the big white snake on a tree branch as a decoration... Who is crazy?
But it's here anyway.
It would be unacceptable not to bring back some fish.
Just as Xu Zhiyan was thinking about how to trick the fish, Jiang Huaique also saw the faces of the two people clearly in the light of the fire.
He knew this young man with the red marks on his face.
A newcomer with a million points, who only passed one copy, has become extremely popular.
However, seeing the other party's current miserable state, Jiang Huaique felt that he was probably jealous of the rich, and his bad habit of speaking foul language came back again, and he couldn't help but mock him.
"Oh? Xu Baiwan? Who did I think he was?"
"Don't you have the support of a big boss? Didn't you earn 9 million points for the big boss behind you in the first instance? You should have received a lot, right? Why are you so hungry now?"
The more he spoke, the more he felt that the other party was a waste. He touched the handle of the sickle in his hand and continued.
"They say you have a good brain, but it seems like your brain is useless. You're still going to starve to death, right? I want to know how that big shot who invested in you would react if you died here."
Speaking of the leaderboard boss, Jiang Huai said bitterly: "Those who can climb to the front row are not good people, they are very cruel and ruthless. Do you think you are great? You are just a pawn!"
Looking at Jiang Huaique who was talking nonsense, Xu Zhiyan vaguely understood why Zhuo Yong wanted to kill him. This ability to attract hatred is something that ordinary people cannot do.
On the other side, Jiang Huai Partridge continued to sing.
"And I hate liars the most. They are so stupid. They think they are smart and fool the other party."
As he spoke, he pointed at the corpse next to him and snorted, "Did you see that? This is what happens when you deceive me... How dare this fucking mentally retarded NPC deceive me?"
Lying nearby was the body of a fellow fisherman.
It turned out that in the previous task, Jiang Huai Que randomly met a group of □□ fishing friends who specialized in killing children.
One of the men said that he was wronged, so he rescued the person. However, after arriving at the lake, when he was tidying up the camp, he found evidence that this NPC had abused and killed a child.
The knife rose and fell without any hesitation.
Jiang Huai Que directly executed the NPC on the spot, and later by chance discovered that the other party's meat could be used to catch delicious fish.
"I've said so much just to tell you that I hate liars the most in my life, especially useless liars like you..." He stared at Xu Zhiyan viciously.
Faced with Jiang Huaique's undisguised malice, Jin Sheng felt a little angry.
Although they did need fish, and the opponent seemed to be very powerful, they were still two people after all. How high was the attack power of this Jianghuai Partridge to be so fearless?
But the situation is not good now. He knows very well that hunger makes him and his teammates a little weak. It is best not to have a conflict unless it is absolutely necessary.
“We are all players…”
Jin Sheng had just started to persuade someone when he was unexpectedly interrupted by his teammates.
"You're right." Xu Zhiyan replied calmly.
He looked at Jiang Huaique, the expression on his face was no longer as relaxed as before, but lonely instead.
"I am indeed a waste."
After saying that, Xu Zhiyan sighed and said with a wry smile: "In the last instance, I was out of breath even climbing the stairs back to the dormitory. I am nothing but a loser."
It is just a few steps away from the bonfire of the Jianghuai Partridge.
Seeing the other party's face full of confusion, Xu Zhiyan shook his head and slowly sat down next to the campfire. He did not sit on the stool the other party had placed, but sat directly on the ground. He lowered his head and even his shoulders hunched, as if he had thought of something bad.
"Do you think I want to play this game?" He stared at the campfire with lifeless eyes, and his tone gradually became angry.
"If it weren't for...if it weren't for that person using my family to force..."
Xu Zhiyan tilted his neck back and closed his eyes in pain, as if he had made sufficient mental preparation before he finally made up his mind to speak out about this matter.
"Before I entered the game, I knew it was full of monsters, death, and despair, but I had no choice but to enter the dungeon. If I hadn't come, I really couldn't imagine what would have happened to my family."
The warm firelight enveloped the young man.
At this moment, he seemed particularly vulnerable.
"You're right, I'm a waste." Xu Zhiyan repeated Jiang Huaique's words.
"But I also want to live..."
"Don't waste have the right to live?"
After he opened his eyes, the other two discovered that the other's eyes had turned red without them noticing.
"One million points. I have to get No. 1. Otherwise, I can't imagine what kind of cruel things he, he...he will do to me."
The desperate young man, who seemed to be lost in his memories, hugged his knees and curled up.
Xu Zhiyan stopped talking.
No one spoke, and the campfire became quiet, with only the sound of burning wood.
Jiang Huaique stood there in a daze.
His expression changed from disdain to shock to annoyance.
Yes! Xu Zhiyan is right.
Who the hell would enter this game knowing that it is dangerous? Who would do this if they were not forced to do so? They are not really crazy!
And even though he was sharp-tongued and mean, he had to admit that the young man sitting in front of the fire did have outstanding looks. He looked much better in person than during the live broadcast. The remaining red marks on his face did not detract from his appearance, but made people feel even more distressed.
Beauty is a scarce resource. To be able to throw such a beautiful person into the game, the boss behind the other party must not be a person who sympathizes with women...
In an instant, Jiang Huaique imagined a lot.
He already had a grudge against the big guys at the top of the standings due to some personal matters, and felt that those people were no good. Now considering Xu Zhiyan's past, he was very sure that that group of shameless idiots could have done this!
Glancing at Jin Sheng next to him, Jiang Huaique found that the other party also looked shocked, and it didn't seem fake.
...It seems that this is the first time that Xu Baiwan has told this matter to the public.
This realization made Jiang Huaique a little uneasy.
Oh my god, what had he done?
Not only did he stab a person who was already suffering, he also tore open the person's scar, forcing this fragile person to show his bloody past in front of everyone.
“…I deserve to die.”
Jiang Huai Partridge said.
He regretted so much why he had said such mean words just now.
Just like the scene at the reservoir, the live broadcast room was also filled with indignation.
[What?!]
[My whole family was shocked! So Xiao Baiwan was forced?! ]
[Yes! He brought a million points with him as soon as he entered the dungeon. Now think about it, if it wasn't for someone forcing him, how could an ordinary person enter the game? ]
[Wow, wow, wow, my little millionaire, so miserable.]
[Hey, guys, is it possible that this is made up? ]
[I don't think so! His eyes are really red! Can the people above have a little empathy? ]
[The reason is very reasonable. When I first saw him, I really felt that he was not suitable for the game. He was too weak and his physical fitness was not good. ]
Some players at the top of the leaderboard who were at a higher level and were already working on forming a union began to think about other things.
[This kind of talent should not be forced by oppression. ]
[If the anonymous boss is willing to give up, I am willing to offer 10 million. ]
[I think 10 million is hard to come by. If Xiao Millionaire is mine, I won’t sell him at this price. Of course, if the anonymous guy is willing, I’m willing to pay a higher price.]
[Hey, I think we can just give the money to Xiao Baiwan directly. Since the union contract hasn’t been issued yet anyway…]
[Is the anonymous boss here? Come out and say a few words. I know you are definitely here. ]
【[anonymous]……】
However, in response to everyone's calls, the rumored anonymous boss just typed an ellipsis and didn't say anything more.
Next to the cozy campsite at Amber Mountain Reservoir.
After hearing Jiang Huaique's words, Xu Zhiyan seemed to be awakened. He lowered his head to wipe his eyes, then turned around and smiled awkwardly.
"I'm sorry, I accidentally thought of something bad..."
He stood up shakily and explained, "Maybe I'm too hungry and my mind isn't very clear. Just pretend I didn't say anything. I'm sorry for causing you trouble."
After brushing off the dust on his body, Xu Zhiyan sighed, glanced at Jin Sheng, and asked him to leave.
Jin Sheng, who was still in shock, received the look from his teammates and subconsciously frowned and said, "Are we going back like this? Will we starve to death?"
"Death, for me, may also be a relief." Xu Zhiyan sighed softly with his back to the fire, his voice full of relief, as if he had become indifferent to life and death.
At this moment, Jiang Huaique, who had been silent just now, suddenly put away his weapon, strode towards the lake with a cold face, scooped up the bucket full of fish, and brought it to Xu Zhiyan.
"Take these."
"Even if life isn't going your way, you can't just die like that."
After saying that, he stuffed the fish bucket into the hands of the young man with wide eyes, turned around, and waved his hand with his back to the two of them.
"Go away, I have a lot to do here, don't come to me, or you will be implicated."
As if to make up for something, Jiang Huaique added a patch with a little discomfort: "You are very smart, not a waste, don't belittle yourself."
"Thank you, you are such a nice person."
After Xu Zhiyan finished speaking sincerely, he quickly picked up the fish bucket, took his teammates, a snake and a dog, and disappeared without a trace.
…
On the way back, the two walked much faster.
Jin Sheng took the heavy bucket of fish, his expression a little tense, and asked, "You are so ashamed of him, aren't you afraid that he will react and chase us?"
"How do you know I'm donkeying him?"
Xu Zhiyan's face was full of curiosity.
"Fuck? You figured it out? I thought I just performed beyond my expectations. The people in the live broadcast room should be crying over me. I didn't expect you to understand me so well."
He gave himself a score of 90 for his performance, believing that hunger can indeed stimulate human potential to a certain extent.
But it was still discovered. Damn, do dog-type players really have some special abilities?
"Well, because when you walked to the campfire, you looked at his fish bucket first, and it seemed that you started acting only after you were sure there were fish in it." Jin Sheng explained.
"..."Xu Zhiyan didn't expect the flaw to be here.
Jinsheng's observation skills are as strong as ever today.
In the live broadcast room, the deceived audience cried out loudly.
【Woo woo woo this little liar】
[My tears are worthless! This stinky millionaire! 】
[Pfft——I want to know what the anonymous guy thought when he saw this paragraph, hahahahahaha]
[He should be completely confused, hahaha! ]
[No wonder there are so many ellipsis marks. I think he must have been more shocked than us just now! ]
Xu Zhiyan and Jin Sheng did not return to the camp with any fish.
The two found a downwind location far away from the camp, lit a small fire, quickly grilled a few fish, and finally filled their stomachs.
Considering that fish and special items can only be caught in the center of the reservoir, building a boat is only a matter of time.
"Chopping down trees? Building ships?"
"Okay, let's start now. The sooner we finish, the sooner we can get into the water."
The two hit it off immediately and started looking for wood suitable for shipbuilding under the cover of night.
On the other side, next to the cozy campsite.
Jiang Huai Que, who started fishing again, held the fishing rod for twenty minutes, but no fish appeared.
"This shouldn't be..." He said with a frown.
The bait is fine. In theory, it should be able to attract delicious fish as soon as it enters the water.
Putting down the fishing rod, Jiang Huai Que stood up. Just as he was about to change to a new bait, he saw a huge and long black shadow passing by under the water.
The water was too dark for him to see clearly, and he had no idea what the shadow was or how long it had been there.
That shadow looks so much like a snake.
He inexplicably thought of the rumors he had heard from the guide.
"The body of the snake god is buried under the water. Could it be that this snake god is not dead?"
Under the water.
The half-snake god, whose body had not yet been fully integrated, swam along the edge of the lake. It could not leave the water, but could smell the scent of that person.
After discovering that its body could move, it couldn't wait to follow the scent to find that person.
When it learned that the other party wanted to take a boat and enter the center of the reservoir, it originally planned to wait for the handsome guy to go into the water and then drag him into the water.
But when it followed the young man to another area of water and heard those stories, it suddenly felt a pain in its heart.
Anyway, it was forced.
Why can't it be the one that forces the other party?
Moreover, the more tragic a person's past is, the easier it is to be moved. As long as it treats this human being nicer, the other party will not resist.
Thinking of this, the half-snake god's huge tail twisted together underwater, and he couldn't help but get excited.
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