Orchid River Outpost

Seeing that the drops had been more or less cleaned up, Liu Xuan prepared to set out.

The village chief had previously mentioned that the outpost was located beside Orchid River, north of the Novice Village, while the quarry was just northeast of the village.

Liu Xuan looked around and discovered that, apart from the road he had used to arrive, the quarry had another, much wider road leading northwest.

That had to be the route used to transport stone to the outpost.

He walked over to the road and, sure enough, found a signpost with an arrow pointing toward the outpost.

He then hurried northwest along the road.

......

Meanwhile, the other players on Battlefield 2468 were all staring in stunned disbelief.

“Wait, wasn’t it less than an hour ago that the lumberyard announcement came out? The quarry’s already been cleared too?”

“How would you rate the ace’s strength?”

“Thanks for asking. I have no idea.”

“By the way, can we go leech off the outpost battle?”

“Brother, don’t even dream about it. When the lumberyard announcement came out, I wanted to camp out at the quarry. But after passing through the Bouncing Rabbit area, the whole place was crawling with level-seven bugs. They even have built-in sonic scans and chased me all the way down.”

“Forget about the outpost too. On the road from the village to the outpost, once you pass the rabbit area, there are monsters level eight and above. We can’t even make it through.”

“Damn it, what’s with this ace? Can’t he take us along for a few runs?”

“Is it possible that he wouldn’t be able to clear things this quickly if he brought people along?”

“Exactly. Can’t you people think about the bigger picture? How many people can the ace carry by himself? Even if he brought everyone on the battlefield along, so what? If the rewards were divided among everyone, how much would you actually get? On the other hand, by speed-running it alone, the bonus experience from the final reward can benefit all of China.”

“I’ve got money! I can pay him to carry me! Name your price—I’ll pay whatever it takes.”

“You have a lot of copper coins?”

“Copper coins? Of course I mean real-world money. My dad is XXX.”

“What good is real-world money? Can you even get out?”

“Stop arguing! The auction house just listed another huge batch of equipment!”

“Holy crap, there’s so much! And there’s blue gear! Skill books too!”

“Over forty stone clubs this thick? Who can possibly resist that?”

“I’m drooling over the stats on this Swallowing Stone Staff. Damn, my lousy staff only gives me three points of spell damage.”

“Wipe up your drool. That staff costs one gold coin.”

“To the guy above: The staff’s stats look great, huh? Now take a look at that Rolling Stone scroll. Don’t they look like a matching set? You can get both for only four gold coins!”

“That’s way too expensive! I don’t even have four silver coins on me.”

“Dear, you could start by buying some of the ace’s other equipment. Once you get stronger, work hard to earn money, then buy the staff and skill.”

“Exactly. Once you’ve bought the staff and an AoE skill, you’ll farm money even faster. Then you can start saving up to buy the ace’s new equipment in the future.”

“Damn, does that mean I’ll end up working for him?”

“So many people want to work for the ace and don’t even have the chance.”

“Work for him? I’d be happy to be the ace’s dog! Woof, woof, woof!”

.....

It took Liu Xuan half an hour to reach the banks of Orchid River, where he found a construction site that had been shut down.

Several carts for hauling stone and lumber were parked beside the site. A group of workers huddled behind them, their faces filled with fear.

A small squad of soldiers patrolled along the riverbank.

One of them, a man in silver armor who appeared to be the captain, was staring solemnly across the river.

Liu Xuan checked the man’s information. His name was Captain Finch.

Unlike the NPC Bell last time, Liu Xuan could also see this man’s attack power, health, and other statistics.

[Captain Finch (Elite)]

Level: 10

Attack: 270

Health: 5,000

Armor: 80

Liu Xuan stepped forward and asked, “Is there anything I can help with here?”

Finch turned around and sized Liu Xuan up. His eyes lit up at first.

“You’re a warrior from the village?”

But then he frowned.

“You’re alone?”

Before Liu Xuan could explain, Finch continued speaking to himself.

“Oh, I see. You’re a scout who got here quickly to notify us. The other warriors should still be on their way, right?”

Liu Xuan: ......

“No. It’s just me.”

The others weren’t high enough level to reach this place at all.

“What?!” Finch’s eyes widened. “How can one person possibly be enough? Damn it, if we fail, all those workers will leave and won’t be willing to come back for some time. We’ll have to wait three days before we can resume construction! I suggest you go back and bring more people before returning.”

Liu Xuan shrugged. “No. Once the hour is up, we’ll get started. Besides...”

He showed Finch his title.

“I’m not weak.”

Finch stared at his title in astonishment, but then shook his head vigorously.

“But one person is still...”

“No, it isn’t just one person!” A voice suddenly came from behind Liu Xuan. “There’s me too!”

What? Someone else had actually managed to make it here?

But why did that voice sound so familiar?

Liu Xuan turned around and discovered that it was Bell.

The man was still wearing that battered suit of armor and the square helmet made of wood.

This guy was still alive?

But how had he made it here?

Liu Xuan glanced at Bell’s stats.

[Bell]

Level: 8

Attack: 50

Health: 600

Armor: 20

All right. Although this guy was a little higher level than the last time Liu Xuan had seen him, his stats were still unbelievably terrible.

Liu Xuan felt that Bell might not even be able to beat a level-seven porcupine-man.

But his appearance here made Liu Xuan suspect that Bell was connected to a very long quest chain.

Bell himself looked extremely excited. He even smiled at Liu Xuan.

“Thanks to you saving me last time, I gained a new understanding of the warrior’s path after I returned. When I heard that help was needed here, I came all the way to lend a hand!”

The corner of Liu Xuan’s mouth twitched.

You haven’t gotten much stronger at all.

You’re level eight, and you’re still not as high level as me.

Judging from Captain Finch’s level, the monsters this time would be at least level ten.

With that frail body of yours, aren’t you just here to get yourself killed?

Thinking that Bell might have another quest for him and hoping the man wouldn’t die here, Liu Xuan said, “Be careful later. Stay behind me...”

Before he could finish, Bell patted him on the shoulder.

“Brother, you should stand behind me later. I’ll protect you!”

“......”

Forget it. There was no point arguing with an NPC.

They could talk about it after Bell proved he could run faster than Liu Xuan.

Liu Xuan turned his attention back to Finch.

“Could you tell us what we’ll be facing later?”

Finch sighed. With only these two people, he felt there was little hope of success. But since things had come this far, they could only grit their teeth and push ahead.

He explained to Liu Xuan, “A gigantic monster lies sleeping in the Orchid River. The moment we begin construction, it will be awakened and come out to cause trouble. That monster is incredibly ferocious. Our soldiers are no match for it.”

Got it. A holdout who refused to move—and one that protested whenever anyone disturbed the neighborhood!

So this is just a boss fight this time?

“Then why not simply build the outpost somewhere else?”

“The outpost is only part of it. More importantly, we need the bridge! The terrain here is flat, making this the best place nearby to build one.”

Fine. Whatever the NPCs said went. We players only had to worry about where to go, what to kill, and how many.

“Do we know what kind of monster it is?”

“No.”

“Hmm?”

“We’ve never seen its true form. Every time, all it does is extend its tentacles from the river, and our people are powerless to stop it.”

Well, guess we’ll just have to take it as it comes.