Chapter 41.2: Tricycle Expedition

Chapter 41.2: Tricycle Expedition

Soon, the group led by Unceasing Entropy had more than a dozen teams join, some fully filled, while others not yet fully formed. Unceasing Entropy glanced at the interface displaying the members of each team and then called out to the team leaders, "For teams that are not yet full, combine with other teams to fill up."

Some team leaders readily recruited strangers, while others shouted to Unceasing Entropy, "Group leader, my teammates logged out to call others. I'm reserving the few slots here!"

Unceasing Entropy didn't mind and responded, "Alright, just make sure to have a full team by the time the dynamic quest line starts."

She then shouted to the solo players who were anxiously seeking teams, "Those without teams, form groups among yourselves and have the team leaders join the group!"

The two big shots, Brother Lahong and Vanilla Pudding, were pretending to be lowkey since they arrived on the scene, and Zheng Qingyue knew exactly why they acted this way.

Her five-person team had the intention of clearing this quest on their own and reaping all the rewards for themselves at the start. Thus, it was only natural for Brother Lahong and Vanilla Pudding, who had been leading large groups in monster hunting, to have such thoughts as well.

Zheng Qingyue was genuinely unwilling to let either of them take control either... Just like how Give Me Medicine hadn't hesitated to take the dagger previously, how could she not prioritize her own, given that she held the position of leader for this quest?

While the players here were excitedly chattering and forming teams, the zombie general was completely unperturbed and slowly made his way into the Town Hall and engaged in a leisurely scripted conversation with "Lord Yang."

Illusion Lord Yang listened attentively to the zombie general's request and solemnly addressed him in front of the players who had crowded into the room to watch. "Lancelot, I can understand your desire to fulfill the wish of your former comrade. However, we cannot guarantee whether the people of Camore will be accepting of the friendship of the Undead race from Exile Town."

"Are zombies considered the same race as us skeletons?" a player muttered under his breath.

"I guess so, since zombies refer to us as compatriots," another player said.

"Why don't we get to choose zombies then? Zombies are much stronger than us skeletons," grumbled a player.

"Please no! I absolutely don't want a zombie among my teammates unless I wish to lose weight..."

The zombie general continued with the scripted dialogue, "Revered Yang, I understand that our appearance may result in our former compatriots misunderstanding us, but that cannot be an excuse for us to ignore the ongoing suffering of our former compatriots. My comrades and I are willing to take the risk of leaving the safety of Exile Town to meet the people of Camore. We should give our former compatriots a chance to choose."

"Ah, a holy light!" a player exclaimed dramatically. "This zombie is radiating with a holy light!"

Illusion Lord Yang fell silent for a moment, then sighed. "I understand, Lancelot. I respect your views. Let our undead prepare enough supplies and set out. If... your former compatriots are willing to accept your goodwill, then bring them back. Taranthan is a land of warmth; it will not refuse any new guests who come with kindness. If your goodwill cannot be accepted, then bestow them with a gift, at least making their lives a little better for a short period of time."

As Illusion Lord Yang finished speaking, Ji Tang's quest panel indicated the quest was completed. The zombie general turned to Unceasing Entropy's team and handed over a piece of equipment.

Unceasing Entropy accepted it without letting any others get a chance to see—she had made it clear when forming the group that her team was responsible for the subsequent dynamic plotline quest, and there was no reason to share the rewards for the preliminary quest.

At the same time, all the online players received a system prompt:

———

Dynamic plotline [Taranthan's Embrace] has been triggered.

Zombie general Lancelot Edgar hopes to fulfill the final wish of his deceased friend Jean and take care of the people of Camore.

Participation method 1: Heed General Edgar's call and join the expedition team. Under the leadership of General Edgar and the quest initiator Ji Tang, carry the supplies provided by Lord Yang, head to the desolate desert west of Taranthan, and establish a base to receive the people of Camore.

In truth, Yang Qiu realized that it was just absurd to have just one person handle so many supplies after obtaining them. Thus, he simply didn't let it bother him...

The zombie general, with extremely low intelligence and only capable of acting according to pre-set processes, paid no attention to the hanging jaws of players. He stepped forward, opened the container doors, and instructed the players to unload the contents.

The first container was filled with... a batch of cargo tricycles.

That's right. It was those pedal tricycles used by elderly workers to navigate through streets and alleys to collect garbage. These were produced by a renowned domestic bicycle manufacturer and were sturdy, durable, and had a large cargo capacity...

With frustrated expressions, the players pulled out the neatly stacked cargo tricycles from the container. The zombie general opened the second and third containers.

The contents of these two containers were supplies, all packed according to Yang Qiu's requests, with thick canvas wrapping them and secured by ropes. Once delivered to the destination, the thick canvas could be used to set up tents...

The players found this quest segment of the game incredibly frustrating, and they couldn't help venting as they helped move the packed supplies onto the tricycles.

"I can't for the life of me figure out whether the damn designers are aiming for realism and immersion or just trying to mess with us. Can't they make things easier for the players? Couldn't they have made this transport activity interactive with just the press of a button?"

"You are too naive, Brother. Don't forget, we players built the houses for NPCs to live in, brick by brick."

"I think the damn designers have a misconception about the sort of gaming experience us players want. Yeah, we like farming and whatnot, but not to the extent that we want to build our own houses!"

"If it weren't for the fact that accounts in this game are as precious as gold, I would seriously consider quitting!"

The players finally finished loading the supplies with great effort, and when they were asked to take turns pedaling the tricycles to transport the goods, the players didn't even have the strength to complain at all.

Of course, this highly flexible and frustrating method had its advantages. Players who had other commitments and couldn't stay online through the night could wrap their "remains" in clothing and pile them onto the tricycles and be pulled along together.

"Wait a minute. There's a giant rat blocking our road out of town, and it's all ruins there. How are we supposed to get our tricycle expedition team out?" murmured a player as the group set off in a grand procession.

And when the tricycle expedition team arrived at the ruins south of town, they saw Lord Yang waiting there.

"Is the Lord coming along with us? Should we test whether we can stab him in the way? This NPC surely drops some amazing equipment!"

There were some players that were always eager to court death, and one exclaimed excitedly while rubbing his palms in glee.

Illusion Lord Yang, without any expression, stared at the player who had spoken out of turn.

The other players were quick-witted and quickly distanced themselves from this troublemaker.

Fortunately, as the expedition was about to begin, Lord Yang didn't bother with this foul-mouthed individual. Instead, he turned to General Edgar and said solemnly, "Lancelot, let me pave the way out of town for you all."

Then, this NPC lord, who rarely interacted with players, raised both hands and began chanting an unknown incantation.

The ruined grounds that led to the outside of town started shaking. As the NPC lord chanted, the earth rose, pushing aside the debris that covered the ground, forming a dirt road wide enough for two tricycles to run side by side.

"Whoa, damn!"

Once again, the players' jaws dropped to the floor when they witnessed such large-scale magic in the game for the first time.

The player who had contemplated stabbing Lord Yang earlier tightly covered their mouth with both hands.