Chapter 27
Pei Sen stopped in his tracks. Eagle squinted into the mist and naturally spotted the two figures approaching.
“Put me down.”
Pei Sen set Eagle down. “Young master, don’t say anything for now.”
Before Eagle could respond, the two players had already quickly approached.
Yolked Rice: “Huh, seems like an NPC.”
Egg White Noodles: “Not a monster, then.” There was a hint of disappointment in this player’s tone.
Even if they’re just NPCs, in this foggy weather, two figures cloaked in black who clearly look unusual must be tied to a special quest!
Just as they were about to step forward in their excitement, a voice rang out, “The fog is thick tonight; it seems something is happening at the Golden Rose Manor.”
The two froze for a moment. Was this… a quest?
Eagle couldn’t help but glance at Pei Sen. What did this mean? They had sneaked out secretly, never intending to be exposed so soon.
Pei Sen’s mind raced, yet he had already formed another idea.
Even if he rushes as fast as possible, locating and clearing the dungeon will still take some time—at least a day or two. Those problematic maids and servants, no matter how hard they try to conceal the truth, likely won’t be able to keep it hidden for even a full day.
By tomorrow night at the latest, Sardin will definitely find out. Once that happens, the Golden Rose Manor will surely spring into action, searching everywhere for him and Eagle. Those intending to assassinate Eagle will most probably seize the chaos to blend in and strike.
Since turmoil is inevitable, might as well make it even more chaotic.
“Ding.”
“Chance Quest: Investigate the incident at Golden Rose Manor. (Quest is shareable)”
“There really is a quest, aaaaaah!”
“Shareable? That means it can be shared with other players.”
“Big brother, should we share it?”
“Let’s first see if the two of us can pull this off.”
Upon hearing their conversation, Pei Sen realized that the Bix Cube game system was quite considerate after all; it had indeed issued a quest following his words. At the same time, he himself received a quest, but to be honest, Pei Sen didn’t believe this quest could be completed, nor did he intend to help the players accomplish it.
Casually opening the quest panel, he read: “Chance Quest: Without disclosing specific information, assist in investigating the nighttime escape incident involving Count Yager of the Thorny Rose from the Golden Rose Manor and his personal butler, Pei Sen. Since this quest was triggered actively by a player, if other players complete the quest, they will receive +7000 experience points and 2 Chance Chests. If other players fail the quest, there will be no rewards.”
Pei Sen: “…”
Is the reward for this quest really this generous? Gazing at the massive 7,000 experience points and the two adventure chests, he momentarily felt tempted to abandon dungeon runs altogether and simply help the players complete this quest instead!
However, recalling the terrifying defenses of the estate and the potential consequences should he fall into Sardin’s sights, Pei Sen rationally abandoned such a tempting notion.
Oh well, since it’s an impossible quest anyway, let those players stir up trouble in the estate and muddy the waters even further.
Although Pei Sen didn’t believe anyone could actually complete this quest, he had full confidence in the players’ ability to cause chaos.
The two players happily accepted the quest and left, just as expected, without bothering them further.
Pei Sen knew exactly how to deal with players most effectively; they only pestered “NPCs” to get quests, and once given a task, they would be perfectly content.
“Big brother, didn’t you think that NPC who just spoke sounded a bit familiar?”
“Uh, really?” He couldn’t recall anything familiar about the voice.
“I feel like I’ve heard this voice somewhere before.” Saying this, Yellow Yolk Mixed Rice turned back to glance at the two NPCs who were nearly vanishing into the mist. At that sight, he froze. “Brother, look quickly! Isn’t there something by that NPC’s feet?”
“It looks like… a cat?”
“Are there cats that fat? I think it’s some kind of magical beast.”
Just then, Pecks also turned around and cast a glance at those two strange Bixians.
“It’s a cat.”
“Yes, just a bit too fat.”
Their conversation finally shifted from “that familiar NPC voice” to “this cat is way too chubby,” and they stopped trying to recall where they’d heard that voice before.
Pei Sen hurriedly led Eagle away. Finally unable to hold back, Eagle asked, “Are you sure it’s okay to talk to them like that?”
“Young Master, once they discover we’re missing tomorrow, chaos will surely ensue. I fear those who attempted to assassinate you may seize the opportunity to strike again,” Pei Sen said earnestly. “I am genuinely concerned that I alone cannot adequately protect you.”
After all, Eagle was different from him; he had a player interface and could resurrect upon death, whereas if anything happened to Eagle, it would mean true death.
If Eagle, the faction leader, met with misfortune, all players’ main faction quests would automatically be judged as failed—a thought that was truly terrifying.
Besides, he genuinely did not want Eagle to die.
Humans are emotional creatures; even though he had inexplicably transmigrated into this game world, blurring the line between reality and the game, he couldn’t view himself as an ordinary player, yet he still felt a certain distance from the so-called “NPCs” of this world.
Only Eagle, perhaps due to their constant companionship, had initially wanted to strangle this brat but gradually began to feel pity for him.
Pei Sen would never describe himself as a soft-hearted person, yet he inexplicably suffered from a savior complex when it came to this particular child.
“Perhaps it’s because this kid is simply too good-looking; wherever you go, those with attractive appearances always seem to gain some advantage,” Pei Sen sighed.
Glancing at the deep night sky, Pei Sen knew this was likely the time with the fewest players online. However, since players logged in at irregular hours, they could encounter others at any moment; thus, it was best to hurry.
I hope we can pinpoint the dungeon’s location before dawn.
“Young master, let me carry you.”
Eagle shook his head. “It’s fine; I can walk on my own.”
Pei Sen tactfully replied, “Walking at this pace means I’ll have to wait for you, and we might not make it in time.” In other words: You’re walking too slowly; if I carry you, we’ll get there faster.
Eagle: “…”
Eagle lay on Pei Sen’s back. “So, what were you trying to achieve by saying that to those tribespeople?”
“I wanted to make things even more chaotic.”
Eagle was about to ask, “Are the Bix people even capable of that?” but then recalled their various deeds and strangely felt that they probably were.
Thus, Pei Sen carried Eagle on his back, walking deeper and deeper into the thickening mist.
In reality, Pei Sen had been closely monitoring the forums, waiting for those two players to post the quest online. Such chance encounters were usually shareable; some would reduce rewards based on the number of shares, while others wouldn’t.
These two players would soon realize that they couldn’t complete this quest on their own. Pei Sen estimated they would share it with at least dozens, if not hundreds, of other players, attempting to solve what appeared to be a puzzle-based mission.
However, they compromised faster than Pei Sen had anticipated. In less than five minutes, they posted the details of the chance encounter quest on the forum, emphasizing that it was “shareable.” Typically, such shared quests involved payment, and Pei Sen was quite accustomed to the various paid sharing mechanisms within Bix Cube.
He had forgotten that this was still the early days of Bix Cube’s launch. Those two players from earlier were among the most open-minded in the player base; they had explicitly stated on the forum, “Sharing chance encounter quests for free.” Even though it was late at night, the post immediately gained traction, with its popularity soaring in a short time!
“Egg yolk mixed rice… egg white mixed noodles? What kind of ridiculous names are these? If you keep this up, there might be quite a few players coming to share the quests.” Pei Sen suddenly felt uneasy, fearing the players might cause some major trouble.
Originally, he had estimated that if only dozens or even a hundred players shared the quest, it would be manageable, perhaps bringing some minor chaos to the manor. But if there were too many players… Pei Sen couldn’t even predict what they might do!
Thinking of this, Pei Sen felt somewhat guilty. Could it be that by the time he and the young master returned, the Golden Rose Manor would have been completely plundered by the players?
It shouldn’t come to that; the game system must have restrictions. Besides, the players currently belong to the Thorny Rose faction and can’t go too far.
Even so, it still doesn’t feel right…
We’d better hurry up, clear the dungeon, and return to the manor immediately!
Thinking of this, Pei Sen quickened his pace and broke into a light jog. With the stamina system granted to players, he wouldn’t run out of energy after just a short sprint; moreover, he still had some stamina-restoring potions in his backpack. If worst came to worst, he could simply gulp one down and push through.
Eagle felt the hem of his robe fluttering wildly as Pei Sen carried him steadily on his back. Amidst the swirling mist, Eagle clung tightly around Pei Sen’s neck, so intensely that for a moment, he could even hear his own heartbeat.
This feeling was so strange. Was it because they were outside? Or was it simply because the person carrying him was Pei Sen?
This fresh surge of excitement, accompanied by Pei Sen’s running, invaded Eagle’s heart.
He felt his heart racing, pounding faster and faster—thump-thump, thump-thump.
Soon, Pei Sen spotted the scavenger’s small shack; just as expected, it matched the screenshots from the forum exactly.
Even though this player had vowed to become a scavenger in the game, he couldn’t stay logged in forever; eventually, he would have to log off, which meant the items he collected often didn’t remain safe.
However, most players had little interest in the junk he gathered. Finding something truly useful amid that mountain of miscellaneous杂物 was no easy task.
The game system thoughtfully filtered out most of the foul odors for the players. Achieving this was no simple feat, as Bix Cube had never completely blocked players’ sense of smell. For instance, during Eagle’s birthday banquet that invited players, many female attendees were far more excited than the males. After all, what could be better than being able to eat endlessly without gaining weight?
The aroma of food offered a unique pleasure within the game.
In Bix Cube, pleasant scents and ordinary smells remained intact, whereas foul stenches and the scent of blood were significantly dampened.
Thus, Pei Sen could now stand before this small pile of garbage without batting an eye, as the odor was not particularly strong. Eagle, however, dared only to stand at a distance; for this pampered young master, even approaching slightly closer would be a torturous ordeal.
He had never seen so much trash before, nor smelled such a foul odor.
“I have to admit, this scavenger player is truly something else. Even though most of the stench has been sanitized, it still reeks, yet he manages to do this every single day.”
While marveling at this, Pei Sen hurriedly searched for what he needed.
Based on his analysis, after Kui Lang was captured by the designer and the others that day, the entire street was bulldozed flat. All the nearby “trash” had been collected by this scavenger player. Since most items were of gray quality, regular players couldn’t be bothered to pick them up and waste inventory slots, but this scavenger accepted everything without discrimination, gathering it all.
The dungeon clues obtained by the designer were related to Kui Lang, and since Pei Sen had nearly been sold off earlier, he suspected that one particular item might be heavily connected to the dungeon.
“It’s here.” Even with a clear objective in mind, it still took Pei Sen some time to locate a small wooden seal box. The seal itself was carved rather crudely, looking almost like a child’s toy, and its patterns were so brutally ugly that it was no wonder no other players had appreciated it.
He turned around. “Young Master, I found it.”
Eagle nodded hastily. As Pei Sen walked toward him, Eagle subtly stepped back two paces.
Pei Sen: “???”
He stepped forward again, and this time Eagle reluctantly retreated just one step.
Pei Sen: “…”
After a moment of stunned silence, Pei Sen suddenly realized, “Does it smell bad?”
Eagle nodded obediently, while even Pex, standing farther away than Eagle, wore an expression of disgust.
Don’t look at the cat like that; cats love cleanliness too.
Besides, it doesn’t rummage through trash heaps—it’s a noble’s pet cat.
Pei Sen was speechless. He cast Dust Removal and Cleanse on himself. “How about now?”
“Much better.”
Saying this, Eagle firmly refused to let Pei Sen carry him any longer. Instead, he trotted alongside him, gradually moving away from the manor and Kaixi City, venturing further down a road unfamiliar even to Eagle himself.
After some time, the wind finally dispersed all traces of their scent. Only then did Eagle exhale deeply in relief. Meanwhile, Peks had fallen far behind, panting so heavily that his tongue was nearly hanging out.
The cat could go no further.
Why is the cat so miserable? It shouldn’t be here; it should be sleeping in the manor. If it woke up now, it could still enjoy some fresh steamed fish with the bones carefully removed.
The cat is too miserable; it doesn’t want to go on any further.
Even when it could no longer walk, it refused to enter Pei Sen’s pet slot; that dark, gloomy place was something only those who had been there could understand, and cats certainly wouldn’t go there.
Pei Sen had no choice but to turn back, lifting the chubby cat into his arms. “Pex, why are you so useless?” Despite being a divine pet with five skills, why couldn’t it even manage to walk?
Pex felt deeply wronged. Why didn’t Master Eagle get called useless when he couldn’t walk? Pei Sen had carried him for such a long distance. The cat had run alongside them for so long, only becoming exhausted now, yet it was still the one being scolded.
The cat felt utterly aggrieved.
“How much farther?” Eagle asked.
Pei Sen glanced over. “Young master, have you ever been to Archi Town?”
Eagle paused for a moment. “Once.” It was when he had been cast out to this barren territory; he had passed through Archi Town back then. To be honest, he retained not a single memory of that place.
“This year, on your birthday, the mayor of Archi Town did not come.”
“Hmm, I haven’t seen him in several years. It’s said he’s very old now and has difficulty moving due to poor health.”
Pei Sen sneered. “If he’s too old and inconvenient, why not replace the mayor?”
Eagle thought seriously for a moment. “You’re right. I’ll replace him as soon as we return.”
Pei Sen: “…” So straightforward?
Pei Sen actually meant something else: their destination was Archi Town. Eagle had no memory of the place, and he would likely be in for quite a shock upon arrival.
Unlike Kacey City, which was essentially a complete border fortress, both Adrian City and Archi Town were not particularly close to neighboring countries. Moreover, compared to Adrian City, which was dominated by mages, Archi Town had originally been nothing more than a tiny settlement.
However, it had now transformed beyond recognition.
In terms of scale, it was long past being merely a small town; in fact, it was now even larger than Kacey City.
Archy Town has become so prosperous that Eagle would hardly recognize it. Yet, to this day, no one has told Eagle that this place is no longer a mere town. It still pays only a meager sum annually to its lord, Eagle, assuming the young master, confined within his estate, would never discover the truth.
“Look, that’s Archy Town already.”
The sky was gradually brightening; the morning mist had largely dissipated. From afar, Eagle gazed at the city, which still appeared bustling even at this early hour. Turning to Pei Sen in astonishment, he exclaimed, “What did you say? That place is Archy?”
Yes, that is the Archy Town of today.
Caravans and adventurers abound, making this place both bustling and dangerous, no longer resembling its former self.
Though the border town is barren, it is not without profit; certain goods from neighboring countries are hard to obtain elsewhere. With Wallis turning a blind eye, secretly transporting them from Kexi City to Archi poses little trouble.
Kexi City lies too close to the Golden Rose Manor, whereas Archi is some distance away.
They blatantly evade taxes, paying not a single coin to Eagle, their liege lord, yet manage to transport goods inland into the Kingdom of Esmya for sale.
At the same time, this place is also teeming with adventurers.
Few adventurers bother with the barren Starfall Plains, while the depths of the Agins Mountains are far too dangerous. Yet, along the border between the Starfall Plains and the Poison Mist Swamp lies the Moon Tree Forest, which connects to the Agins Mountains; this forest, however, is a frequent destination for many adventurers.
After all, this region is nothing like the interior lands; the cities here are too small. The two nearest cities to the Moon Tree Forest are one located within a nearby viscount’s territory and the other being Archi itself.
In the past, Archi was merely a poor little town; these adventurers would rather head to the other side than come here, even though that viscount was notoriously greedy.
Archy Town is no longer what it once was, and naturally, the adventurers have shifted their grounds.
Eagle had always believed his territory to be a dull and desolate countryside, unaware of what this audacious group was actually up to.
For so long, he had been confined within that manor, where layers of so-called “protection” blinded his eyes and muffled his ears, rendering him, in a sense, both blind and deaf.
“Pei Sen, have you been here before?”
“I’ve been here before.” The last time he was brought to this place, he was nearly sold off and could only escape by faking his death; no matter how much time passes, the memory remains vivid.
Eagle knew that blisters had likely formed on the soles of his feet, then burst, causing piercing pain. He had been forcibly enduring it all along, but now he had completely forgotten the agony.
Overcome with rage, he didn’t even show an angry expression or throw a tantrum as he would have back at the manor; instead, he appeared increasingly calm.
“Let’s go check out Archi.”
“Sure, but first we need to head near that small hill beside Archi.”
“Is that the place you mentioned where we can get stronger?”
“Yes.”
“Good.”
Pei Sen looked at Eagle, who stubbornly insisted on walking by himself, and sighed. The young master’s personality was truly obstinate and strong-willed.
Then he glanced down at Pex, who had already fallen asleep in his arms.
Useless cat, so disappointing!
Peks was drooling in his sleep, and his obese body was dead weight. Pei Sen woke him up without any mercy, saying, “Alright, you can walk on your own now.” Then he turned to Eagle, “Or should I carry you instead?”
Eagle still shook his head; as the pain in his feet lingered, he gradually got used to it.
The cat felt deeply wronged.
The young master doesn’t need to be carried, so why not continue holding the cat instead of making it walk on its own?
The cat truly didn’t want a new master; this one was not good at all.
The two humans and the cat gradually drew closer to the hillside, encountering several wounded adventurers along the way who were heading toward Archi.
In a place like Archi, black cloaks were hardly uncommon. Whether among merchant caravans or adventurers, there were always those who favored such robes that concealed their features entirely, even obscuring their faces. Thus, while encountering someone in a black cloak might seem unusual elsewhere, here it was perfectly normal.
However, the further they headed toward the hillside, the fewer people there were; the bustle of Archi Town seemed to have no connection to this place. Even the wind blowing through carried a hint of chill.
Eagle suddenly stopped in his tracks, frowning as he looked at Pei Sen.
Pei Sen, however, noticed nothing unusual and continued leading him forward. After hesitating for a moment, Eagle finally followed.
The closer they got, the stronger the nauseating odor became. Eagle couldn’t quite identify what it smelled like, but having eaten almost nothing since last night, his stomach was now churning violently. He felt like vomiting, yet knew there was probably nothing left to bring up.
After a while, Pei Sen finally noticed Eagle’s discomfort. “Young master, did you smell something?”
“Yeah, it smells like something burnt mixed with other foul odors.” Eagle couldn’t accurately describe the scent either.
“We’re almost there, just ahead.”
He tossed a rough seal to Eagle. “Take this.”
Eagle caught it, and the two of them, each holding a seal, approached the hill.
Just as Eagle was about to reach his limit, he suddenly felt a gentle breeze pass by. Then, he seemed to float upward; the pain beneath his feet and the foul odor vanished instantly. Before his eyes lay a veil of mist, which quickly dispersed.
“Are we really going to dispose of all of it? This batch is worth quite a lot.”
“Sell whatever can be sold, and get rid of the rest for now. Let’s keep a low profile for a few days.”
“Forget it. They’re just the leftover dregs anyway. Damn it, how did that kid escape last time? Logically, no cargo has ever managed to flee from Old John’s caravan…”
“Let’s not talk about that. Things are too hot right now. The young master seems determined to make things difficult for Lord Wallis; nearly half of Kai West City has already been destroyed. It’s best to keep a low profile.”
“So when do we resume this business?”
“Let’s observe the situation for a while.”
Of the two speakers, Eagle recognized only one: the already deceased Kui Lang. The other was a stranger to him, likely one of Kui Lang’s underlings.
What puzzled him was why he was seeing this here.
Just then, another merchant clad in tattered robes rushed over, pulling out a crude seal identical to the ones held by Eagle and Pei Sen. It seemed to be some sort of voucher granting access to make purchases. “I heard there are cheap goods available now.”
“That’s right; everything is being sold off at low prices.”
“Let me see.”
Eagle felt as though he were viewing these scenes through a demon’s eye. Soon, he spotted wooden cages hidden inside the cave. The light was dim, barely revealing numerous ragged figures huddled within the cages.
In the end, the merchant selected only three girls, even though they were not particularly good-looking.
Kui Lang looked somewhat disappointed. He waved his hand and said, “Kill them first, then burn this place to the ground.”
Screams erupted, and the cave floor was quickly stained red with blood. Then, someone set fire to the piled wooden cages.
Mist coalesced until Eagle could see nothing at all. When his vision finally returned, he found himself still standing in the same spot, that foul odor once again filling his nostrils.
Pei Sen also witnessed that unskippable CG sequence. In Bix Cube, a game boasting extremely high freedom, such unskippable scenes occur only during a player’s first run of any dungeon; at all other times, players are free to act as they wish.
His judgment had indeed been correct: the first dungeon was located right here, in this place he had visited before.
“Ding, congratulations player for discovering the dungeon ‘Slave Trader’s Cave’.”
Near the deliberately concealed cave entrance glowed a shimmering light visible only to players, resembling countless dancing fireflies, utterly beautiful.
Pei Sen stepped forward and gently caught one; this was naturally no firefly, but a thin chip no larger than a fingernail.
“Hold on tight,” Pei Sen said, grasping Eagle’s hand before crushing the chip.
In the blink of an eye, the two of them stood at the entrance of a pitch-black cave. Torches on either side illuminated the immediate area, but the distance remained shrouded in darkness.
“Entering dungeon: Slave Trader’s Cave.”
“Dungeon mission: Rescue the enslaved Balster people.”
Rescue? Pei Sen forced a bitter smile. He knew that while this world was real, the dungeons constructed by the game were entirely fictitious.
There was never any so-called rescue; the CG made it perfectly clear that these Balster people had already been wiped out.
Ahead, a figure was walking toward this place—it was none other than a member of the Kui Wolf gang, who had also died in reality.
Villains who should already be dead were falsely reborn within the dungeon, killed over and over by players, while those same players repeatedly attempted to save victims who had long since perished for good.
The game seemed to have extracted a scene from just before these Balster people were killed, as if cutting out that moment alone to craft it into a “dungeon,” assigning players the ironically impossible task of accomplishing something that could never happen in reality.
This is the first dungeon of the Bix Cube.
The Slave-Trading Cave.