Chapter 66
"Master, this is bad, this is bad!"
The meal was interrupted three times, which made Heng Batong's mood fluctuate. He almost cried for the housekeeper.
Fortunately, the wife and daughter ate little and left the dining room early.
Heng Batong threw down the fruit fork: "What happened again?!"
The housekeeper was sweating profusely, not even bothering to wipe it off: "Everyone, sit down, everyone, sit down!"
"Everything is sitting down, and it can be explained clearly in one breath!"
"The Ouli Gang and the Yinlai Gang! I thought they were going to cause trouble, but over a hundred people are sitting down to eat! A large portion of pickled fish per person, 400 gold!"
100 copies, 400 gold, that's 40,000 gold. Heng Batong didn't understand, but he did the math in his head.
When I woke up in shock, I thought either I was hallucinating or the housekeeper was crazy.
"What do you mean?! How dare the gang eat in Yong'an?! Aren't they going to smash the store?!!!"
The housekeeper was also puzzled: "I don't know either. Xiao Ding said that as soon as Captain Li arrived, everyone sat down to eat. The entire three floors of the restaurant were packed, and the waiters were so busy that they were almost flying!"
Heng Batong slapped him.
"Do I want to hear how her business is doing?! I want to know why they dared to go in and eat after I explained everything to them!!!"
"Where's Captain Li? Tell him to come see me, right now!!!"
The butler covered his face and stood there without moving.
"...Master," he began tremblingly, "When Xiao Ding saw the gang sitting down, he went in to invite Captain Li. Captain Li said he would come after dinner..."
Bang!
A plate of fruit was smashed to pieces by Heng Ba Tong, and the juice splashed all over his face.
40,000 gold! 40,000 gold for one meal! He sold the restaurant for 140,000 gold, and An Rou earned back the money with just three meals?!
-
Three hours ago, offline.
Captain Li personally sent his two children to kindergarten and took a close look at the security guard before leaving.
The security guard bowed solemnly and assured him that he would protect his child.
Nowadays, it is not uncommon for rich people to hire family security guards at high salaries.
Captain Li returned home, sat in front of the computer, turned on the encrypted line, and entered the auction website.
This wasn't the official Soul Guiding Song website, but rather a dark web site with a reportedly complex backend. Props, clues, and even game qualifications could be auctioned there.
The auction item he had his eyes on today was even more special. There was no physical object, only a verbal address, so not many people participated in the bidding.
very good.
The auction was scheduled to start at 10:30, but when the time came, the page still hadn't opened the bidding stage. The clock kept ticking, and if it was an hour past the deadline, the auction would be void.
"Is this really fake news?" Captain Li muttered to himself.
There was a call from headquarters.
"...What a pity! I thought you guys would have more tasks in the dormitory." The logistics staff said on the phone.
While waiting, Captain Li had already gotten over his disappointment and said with a smile, "There's nothing to regret. I doubted its authenticity from the beginning. The probability of quest clues appearing at special addresses and special NPCs is abnormally high—this statement sounds unrealistic."
"That's not true, Minister Liming," the logistics officer lowered his voice. "Let me tell you a secret. This phenomenon is backed up by data. Just like destiny points, different players entering the game at the same time will have different destiny points assigned by the system. The probability of triggering quest clues also varies in different locations and NPCs within the game."
Captain Li sneered silently, it was the same as if he hadn't said anything.
Logistics: "I know Minister Liming doesn't believe it, but I can't go into too much detail. Otherwise, the various branches will have big opinions about the division of jurisdiction at headquarters. Um, I think Captain Li has suffered some losses in managing Zhongsu for so many years, so I say this."
Captain Li then began to smile bitterly.
His low status in the eyes of the headquarters was a fact that everyone could see. Otherwise, even if Chiqian Yiming was a great player, how could he dare to show off in front of the head of the department?
In front of the old man from the Huaiyin branch, that guy was still obedient.
Ultimately, it is because Zhongsu Town has a low frequency of tasks. For five consecutive years, the amount of tasks issued has been at the bottom among all departments, and the amount of tasks completed by the members is much lower than that of others.
In other words, everyone looked down on Zhongsu as a place, and thus looked down on him as the minister.
The logistics officer consoled him, "Minister Liming, didn't Zhongsu Town just release a few missions? Your branch also gained quite a bit from the T21 missions. This year's year-end assessment shouldn't put you at the bottom of the list. That's a huge improvement... Hey, it's time for the bidding process! Minister Liming!"
The auction actually started at the last minute of the bidding deadline.
Watching the countdown, Captain Li was momentarily lost in thought. Only at the urging of the logistics support staff did he hurriedly click the bid button. The starting price was 100,000 gold.
Perhaps it was because the bidder was too late, the dozen or so people who registered did not bid, and they must have given up the auction.
The countdown quickly entered 10 seconds.
100,000 gold wasn't a lot, but it wasn't a small sum either. With only him as the only bidder, Captain Li couldn't help but doubt the value of the item. Just as he was beginning to wonder, someone else actually bid.
110,000 gold - each bid will increase by 10,000 gold.
Captain Li was startled, but quicker than his mind, he immediately raised the price. The other party followed suit, and the price quickly soared to 150,000 gold.
Countdown 5, 4, 3...
Captain Li gritted his teeth and kept clicking his fingers to bid.
Three seconds later, the price stopped at "200,000 gold." He couldn't remember how many times he had bid. He opened his eyes wide and saw a firework animation explode on the page, and an English name appeared in the center of the page.
"Dawn".
That was his casual nickname for the bidder.
Captain Li breathed a sigh of relief and looked at the ID of the person competing with him - a pure Chinese name, which must be a pseudonym, but the other party's nationality was obvious.
Dragon Flame Guild?
Or other commercial gaming guilds in China?
Before Captain Li had time to think carefully, two messages popped up on his phone.
One is bank deduction.
The other one has the abbreviation of the auction website in front and an address at the end: [Yong'an Hotel, Wangliu 3rd Street, Zhongsu Town, District 8, Lengbing City].
Captain Li's eyelids twitched, and he continued to read. Below was a task detail.
[Task Name: Temporary Worker at a Hair Salon]
Mission Location: Hongjie Hair Salon, Wuyan Lane, Zhongsu Town
[Ghoul Level: C]
[Number of Ghouls: 0/2]
【Time limit: None】
Difficulty Rating: C
——It’s exactly the same mission data that Herring collected yesterday!
In other words, this mysterious bidder is the one who completed this task yesterday?!
No, that's not right.
Captain Li tried his best to remain rational.
The Zhongsu branch can buy mission data from the pawnshop data cabinet, and other guilds can also buy it. The rules of the game do not limit the data to a one-time sale.
In other words, there are two extreme possibilities for this auction item: one, it is a fake to cheat people out of money, which has been seen before; two, it is a genuine item, because it mentions the Wing On Hotel!
Captain Li thought he knew the relationship between the Yong'an Hotel and the hair salon better than anyone else. They were all An Rou's properties!
His intuition told him that the second possibility was more likely.
An Rou, An Rou, An Rou, this NPC who had no flaws but made him feel strange in every way, could it be that she was really the NPC with special "luck" as the logistics department said? Was her Yong'an Hotel the address with special luck?
If it was true, the doubts that had troubled him for so long, the feeling that the other person was hiding a secret, finally had a reasonable explanation.
Coincidence is no longer a coincidence, but a necessity under the control of the game system!
So, does this mean that his Zhongsu Town and Zhongsu Branch can reverse the current situation of the low-frequency mission area in one fell swoop?!
Captain Li was so excited that without hesitation, he immediately took off his clothes, entered the holographic cabin, and logged into the game. When he opened his eyes, he saw Herring sitting restlessly at the bedroom door.
He always activates his passive defense skills when he is offline, so Herring doesn't dare to get too close.
As Captain Li stood up, Herring trotted over: "Minister, there's an accident at the Yong'an Hotel!"
Captain Li's heart, which had been beating fast, suddenly stopped.
The items on auction are genuine, genuine products at a fair price!
-
The more polite a person is, the more frightening he is when he becomes serious.
Captain Li is a typical example.
No matter how arrogant Ku Shui was, he had to yield in front of the boss. But this time, he couldn't yield.
It’s okay to apologize to other people, but to the NPC?
Where is the face of a person with destiny?
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Ku Shui's teeth ground again and again, and with a flick of his arm, gold coins fell from his palm. He laughed angrily and glared at An Rou who was standing on the stairs.
An Rou lowered her eyelashes and watched the gold coins fall to the ground and roll into the gaps between the players' feet.
Captain Li obviously didn't expect Ku Shui to do this. In anger, he slapped him hard: "What are you doing? I want you to apologize!"
Blood seeped from the corners of Ku Shui's lips, but he remained stubborn: "She's an NPC. Is there any apology more effective than money?!"
Captain Li was startled and hesitated. NPCs all loved money, and Ku Shui's actions, while seemingly disrespectful, were not without reason. The other players nodded silently, their gazes fixed on An Rou, waiting to see how she would react.
However, before the players could see An Rou's expression change, they first saw a notification on the light screen.
Everyone present had their favorability ratings lowered.
Captain Li was shocked. An Rou was a special NPC and Yong'an Hotel was a special address. He rushed here to improve her favorability!
"Boss An..."
An Rou sneered and interrupted him with her actions.
She raised her hand, drew a semicircle in the air, and scattered gold coins all over the players' heads and faces. Compared to the money Ku Shui had pulled out, the difference between a trickle of water and a mighty river was like the difference between a trickle of water and a mighty river.
Not worth mentioning.
Captain Li was dumbfounded. An Rou's clear and cold voice rang out, "Do I look like someone who needs your money?"
She stared at the dry water.
Ku Shui was also dumbfounded. He didn't look at the gold coins on the ground, nor did he look at An Rou. Instead, he stared blankly at the air in front of him.
40%, 35%, 30%...
An Rou's favorability towards him is decreasing!
Captain Li, with his vast experience, could already guess his reaction. If the favorability dropped below 10%, the NPC and player would enter a "direct attack" state, a fierce battle between them. Furthermore, the favorability of a single member could affect the entire team's "luck"!
If it was any other NPC, it would be fine and insignificant, but it had to be An Rou!
An Rou took a step down the stairs.
The high heels made a teeth-grinding sound as they stepped on the wooden boards and gold coins, and this sound made Captain Li shudder suddenly.
Step 2.
Step 3.
An Rou grabbed the handrail of the stairs with increasing force.
Captain Li suddenly shifted his gaze from the back of her hand, which was bulging with faint blue veins. Without hesitation, he took out a Tang sword and cut towards Ku Shui's abdomen.
The knife was obviously of a high level. The armor on Ku Shui's clothes only lit up for a moment and then dimmed. The knife cut from front to back, right to his spine.
"Minister..." Ku Shui looked at him in disbelief, blood gushing out of his mouth, and his white intestines slipped out from the horrific incision.
"Minister!" The other members of Orli had never expected that the boss would take action, and be so ruthless.
The destiny points that I worked so hard to accumulate were cut in half in an instant. How many tasks would Ku Shui have to complete to accumulate them back?
Captain Li's face turned pale as he looked around: "Shut up!"
Then he turned to An Rou and forced a flattering smile: "Boss An, it's my fault for not being able to manage my subordinates. Cleaning up the mess is my apology to Boss An!"
As he spoke, his eyes were fixed on An Rou's hand, and the blue veins disappeared, which made him breathe a sigh of relief.
The fight will not stop until death. As long as the drought ends, the problem will naturally be solved.
As expected, the anger on An Rou's face disappeared, and she covered her mouth with one hand, looking frightened.
Captain Li glanced at the ground. Ku Shui's eyes were wide open, his skin was pale, and he had already breathed his last. To An Rou and other NPCs, he had become invisible.
He hurriedly soothed her softly, "Don't be afraid, Boss An. Han Shui has only suffered a serious injury, not a true death. He will wake up. After learning his lesson, he will surely learn his lesson. I will then bring him here to personally apologize to Boss An."
As he finished speaking, a notification popped up on the screen, announcing that An Rou's favorability towards him had increased by 20%. However, due to his repeated embarrassment to An Rou, his favorability had already been greatly reduced, and now it was only at 60% - friendly.
An Rou seemed to be looking at him, but in fact her eyes were fixed on Ku Shui's body.
Silver player, I really want to steal the body and take it to the farm. Unfortunately, there are too many people here, so I don't have the chance to do it.
"Thank you, Captain Li, for upholding justice for An Rou." In a short time, An Rou's complexion returned to normal, as if she had completely forgotten the bloody and tragic scene. "Captain Li, are you really here for dinner? Please take a seat."
She turned her head and looked around, finally finding Shopkeeper Jin huddled against the wall in a corner behind the crowd. She called out, "Shopkeeper Jin, please quickly invite the guests to their seats!"
Shopkeeper Jin was already frightened to the point of being stunned. His legs were weak and he couldn't even stand up by holding onto the wall.
Captain Li glanced at the Ouli members again: "What are you standing there for? Didn't you hear what Boss An said? Find a seat!"
The crowd finally dispersed. However, the minister's behavior was so unusual that the members of Ouli kept looking at Anrou from time to time.
"Captain Li, there are so many of you. I'm afraid the first floor won't be able to accommodate you. Feel free to sit on the second or third floor."
An Rou walked down the stairs and saw Captain Li using his movement skills. His figure was so fast that he could not be seen clearly. In a short while, he picked up all the gold coins on the ground and handed them to her personally.
He didn't even ask his subordinates to do such a small thing, but did it himself.
An Rou deposited the gold coins into her account, 100,000 gold. She had just spent 50,000 gold, so the extra double must have come from the money she had spent on the dry water and the explosion, as well as from Captain Li's own pocket.
An Rou asked in surprise, "What is Captain Li doing?"
"My subordinates were ignorant and ruined Boss An's restaurant business, so naturally they have to compensate." The crisis was resolved, and Captain Li turned back into the elegant and gentle gentleman.
An Rou naturally accepted it with a smile, and at the same time very considerately increased his favorability by 5%.
65% favorability, only one step away from 70% "friendly", Captain Li finally felt relieved.
His performance not only stunned the members of Ouli, but also surprised An Rou.
Unexpectedly, the effect of the items deliberately released for auction far exceeded expectations.
Captain Li, I really want more missions in Zhongsu Town.
The shop already had over thirty strangers, led by the Governor, and with the arrival of a hundred or so guild players, all three floors were instantly packed. Shopkeeper Jin and his staff were so busy that An Rou simply went to the counter to help.
The strange thing was that even though every table was occupied, the entire restaurant was silent, with only the people sitting next to each other whispering. This was true for the players, and the strangers were no exception.
A pair of eyes was circling over her, and An Rou walked up to them with confidence, giving the Governor a faint smile.
In order to please an NPC, Captain Li killed one of his subordinates - this probably shocked him and he couldn't figure it out for a while.
Knowing there must be something fishy going on, he, a man of great skill and courage, decided to stay and see what was going on. Some of the visitors, impatient to sit still, came forward to ask for their leave, but he persuaded them to stay, and none of them left.
After all, there are still tasks that have not yet appeared in the world.
A man walked into the door stealthily, saw An Rou standing at the counter, turned around and wanted to leave, but was stopped by An Rou.
"Ding Liang, are you looking for Captain Li? He's in the private room on the second floor. Come up."
Ding Liang was in a dilemma, so he went up with his head down and without saying a word. After a while, he came down again in shame. He didn't dare to go through the front door, so he went out through the back door.
In the "Qingshan" private room on the second floor, the tea in Tang Lang's hand overflowed from the edge of the cup and spilled onto the table.
"Minister Li, this is impossible! The Soul-Guiding Song quests and clues all appear randomly. Any place, any NPC could reveal clues about a character. All players know this! How could there be a special NPC?"
Captain Li looked at him quietly. "Oh? Then tell me, if everything is random, why are there different high-frequency mission areas and low-frequency mission areas?"
"...Then, isn't it just luck? Some people have good luck, and some have bad luck, right? The same principle applies to different regions."
Captain Li chuckled and didn't explain any further.
Only large guilds with national backgrounds like Longyan, Garr, and Ouli have the strength and resources to collect and analyze data on a large scale. It's normal for small guilds like Yinlai to not believe the analysis reports without seeing them.
Besides, he himself didn't believe it before the auction results came out.
"Anyway, from now on, you and I will work together to protect the Yong'an Hotel."
Tang Lang rarely insisted on his own opinion: "Are we going to offend the mayor just for a baseless guess? Minister Li, I don't agree."
"No sign of him?" Captain Li stood up and looked down at him. "You're the guild leader, after all. Do you have the intelligence of a low-level person? Come with me."
Tang Lang was confused and followed him downstairs, only to see Captain Li sitting down directly in front of the Governor's desk.
One was gentle and refined, the other reserved and reserved. Neither of them said a word to the other, but neither felt uncomfortable. Only Tang Lang, who had nearly come to blows with the Governor not long ago, felt awkward sitting at the same table.
Such a great god actually felt a little embarrassed in front of two golds.
Captain Li got straight to the point: "The Governor has summoned so many visitors here because of clues to the mission, right?"
He didn't deliberately whisper, but as soon as he spoke, the surroundings fell silent. The wanderers and guild members all looked over.
"Clues? Minister Li, what clues?" Tang Lang asked the question on behalf of many guild players.
Before Captain Li could answer, he suddenly realized what was happening.
Who is the Governor? Why does he enjoy such high prestige among the Yeke? Isn't it because he often spreads mission clues to the Yeke?!
In other words, today's conflict is not just a matter of personal feelings, but also involves mission interests?
The Governor said nothing, and Captain Li was too lazy to pay attention to his stupid head.
There was a bowl of pickled fish on the table, but it had barely been touched. Captain Li didn't hesitate and just picked up his chopsticks and started eating.
"There's no area in Lengbing City that restricts the movement of wild travelers, and the same is true in Zhongsu Town. Similarly, no matter what the quest clue is, and no matter which player here it falls upon, Ouli and Yinlai will not forcefully seize it. However, since the Governor hasn't left, he probably hasn't gotten the clue yet, right?"
Captain Li said with a firm tone, smiling, "You always like to give Ye Ke opportunities, and Tang Lang and I also hope to give our men more missions. In this case, let's make a gentleman's agreement - no matter who wins, you, Tang Lang, and I will not interfere.
"How about sitting here until the mission is over?"
Tang Lang couldn't sit still. Was there really a clue to the mission hidden in this restaurant? If so, the mission appeared on his own territory, of course he had to grab it! How could he give it to a stranger?
He might not be able to do anything to the Governor alone, but if he joins forces with Captain Li, what can the Governor do? After all, the Golden Wild Guest is just a gold!
However, Captain Li had anticipated this and pressed down on his shoulder with one hand, his eyes fixed on the Governor's face.
The Governor narrowed his eyes slightly and said decisively: "Okay."
The two raised their teacups and clinked them together in the air.
The whole hotel suddenly became lively.
For wild guests, although there are many more competitors, they no longer have to worry about guild players bullying the minority, and can boldly dig for clues and complete tasks.
For guild players, there were too few quests in Zhongsu Town. Most people took their own time to travel with their team to other places to find quests, often spending money on travel expenses but returning empty-handed. Now that there are quests in their own territory, it's almost like a free gift!
In the corner, not to mention Lujiao's three-man team, even Paopao was bewildered by the wave after wave of large-scale attacks. Concerned with his plan, he repeatedly signaled Lujiao to flee, but as soon as Pitou lifted his butt from his chair, the Governor would always glance over at him in a precise and timely manner.
Several people felt disappointed. Judging from the Governor's intention, the half-hour agreement was definitely invalid.
Fortunately, things finally took a turn for the better at this moment!
Paopao gave Lujiao a look. Lujiao nodded slightly, and the four people at the table raised their buttocks at the same time, their eyes fixed on the Governor's back.
After waiting for a few seconds, the Governor did not turn around, and his straight back did not move at all.
This shows that the "gentleman's agreement" between him and Captain Li is really effective, and he will no longer interfere with their actions!
However, it is too early to draw conclusions now. Let's wait until we leave the hotel.
Paopao gestured towards the back door of the hotel.
Just as the four of them straightened up, a familiar voice passed through the entire living room and reached their ears.
"Hey, Three Bars, why haven't you left yet?"
My neck was stiff from running, and I was almost crying.
Hey boss! I'm leaving soon, what did you call me for?
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