Chapter 17

Group Mission

“So… what do we do now? Continue the mission? Or…” Cai Minghou had been left somewhat at a loss by the ambush, and he looked anxiously at Meng Jingtian.

The power of Godslayer Hall was enough to make the majority of players pale in fear.

“It’s fine. The next assassin shouldn’t appear so soon. Let’s continue with the mission!” Meng Jingtian’s heart was also pumping a little faster. After all, the attack just now had been far too fast.

But he quickly managed to calm himself down and soothe Cai Minghou.

He couldn’t log off for a few days just to avoid assassination from Godslayer Hall. If he really did that, Godslayer Hall would probably be ecstatic. In the early stages of the game, a few days was enough to create a huge gap.

“Brother Tian, how did you manage to piss off Godslayer Hall this time?” Cai Minghou asked as he led the way to the final NPC with a clue. The question of Godslayer Hall was no longer one that could be avoided.

“It’s probably because of Tian Xuance. Right after I entered the game, I ended up killing him twice,” Meng Jingtian casually replied with a shrug.

“Tian Xuance?” Cai Minghou murmured in shock. With a bitter smile, he said, “Brother Tian, oh Brother Tian, it’s not like you don’t understand that it’s better to provoke a gentleman than a petty man.”

“Then you should also know that I’m not someone who offends others, but what can I do if he tries to provoke me?” Meng Jingtian said, spreading apart his arms.

As they chatted, they gradually calmed down and went to the final NPC.

This was a night watchman, and from this night watchman, they learned the identity of the bandit boss the First Young Master of the Golden Goose Mercenary Company had colluded with.

The big boss of Cool Breeze Camp, ‘Howling Mountain Tiger’!

Cai Minghou turned Meng Jingtian and told him, “The mission has been updated! Let’s go over to Cool Breeze Camp and take back King Pingwu’s jeweled belt!”

“Then what are we waiting for?” Meng Jingtian was ready to leave the city with Cai Minghou.

But Cai Minghou’s expression turned strange as he bitterly smiled. “It’s a ten-man group mission, so it’s probably not that easy.”

“A group mission? What’s the reward?” Meng Jingtian couldn’t help but ask.

“Ten thousand gold coins, a random piece of purple equipment and one level,” Cai Minghou read out.

“The rewards aren’t bad! I’ll give you the lead, so gather a group!” Meng Jingtian raised an eyebrow and passed the lead over to Cai Minghou.

The only two pieces of decent equipment he had were Stupa and the Forgotten Ring. The rest of his equipment was low-grade equipment he had received from completing missions in Seaside City. For him, this mission’s rewards were pretty good.

With this mission, his time investment could be considered fruitful.

‘Bandit Suppression: Outside Black Tortoise City, on Qingming Mountain, is a den of mountain bandits that rob passersby and even take their lives. Now, they have colluded with the First Young Master of the Golden Goose Mercenary Company to steal the item King Pingwu had entrusted to Golden Goose. The Second Young Master of the Golden Goose Company is gathering brave and righteous souls to pacify these bandits!

‘Mission Target: Escort the Second Young Master of the Golden Goose Company to Cool Breeze Camp, pacify the bandits, and take back King Pingwu’s treasure!

‘Mission Reward: Ten thousand gold coins, a random piece of purple equipment, Level + 1.’

Cai Minghou posted the mission info on Black Tortoise City’s city chat channel and began to gather a group.

In the early stages of the game, a purple piece of equipment was very rare and was enough to draw a large number of people.

It took only a little while for Cai Minghou to gather his party of ten.

“Gather at the gate of Black Tortoise City!” Cai Minghou shouted in the group channel.

A player called Zhou Han noticed Cai Minghou’s level and complained, “Only Level 12? Where’s the group leader? How did such a low level get into this group?”

“Sorry, this old man is the group leader!” Cai Minghou replied, the corner of his mouth twitching.

Only now did Zhou Han realize that Cai Minghou really did have the group leader symbol after his name, and he awkwardly fell silent.

But he clearly had a rather thick skin. A little while later, as if nothing had happened, he said in the group chat, “Group leader, relax! You can depend on me for this mission!”

“Who the hell asked you along for the mission? Where’d this weirdo come from?” Cai Minghou muttered to himself as he kicked the guy out of the group.

“This temper of yours! There’s really no changing it!” Cai Minghou had kicked out a player over a very small slight, at which Meng Jingtian could only bitterly smile.

“Of course. I can’t accept this sort of injustice. If that First Young Master of the Golden Goose Company hadn’t also been a player who had me shut up in a little black room, would my level have been this low?” Cai Minghou replied without a hint of regret.

Meng Jingtian knew of his temperament and said no more. He simply took out the Tsunami Trident the Boar King had dropped and gave it to him.

“Wait, Brother Tian, what’s this?” Cai Minghou raised his head in shock.

“You know that I have a divine weapon, and ‘Tomorrow’ doesn’t let you equip two weapons.” Meng Jingtian patted Stupa on his back and smiled.

“…” After a few moments of silence, Cai Minghou accepted the trade. Rather than expressing his thanks with empty words, he silently noted this show of friendship in his heart.

Then he teased, “Brother Tian, you’re so generous! Gifting a purple weapon for a meeting—if I were a girl, I’d definitely marry you!”

“Screw you! Who the hell would take the hand of a woman who looked like you?” Meng Jingtian rolled his eyes, and the two of them continued to joke with each other as they made their way to the city gate.

Four or five members of the group had already arrived, and when they spotted the two of them, they called out.

“Oh my god! It’s Meng Jingtian! I didn’t realize you were in this group!” a player called Cheng Xiaojin sighed in wonder.

“Here, here, here! Boss, give me an autograph!” Cheng Xiaojin rushed over and barraged Meng Jingtian with questions. “Might I ask if Boss Meng played ‘Grand Desolation’ before? What was your ID? Aren’t you afraid of being ambushed by Godslayer Hall assassins after leaving the city?”

“It seems you missed out on your true calling as a reporter!” Meng Jingtian’s mouth twitched as he glanced at Cheng Xiaojin.

“Godslayer Hall’s nothing! An assassin of Godslayer Hall already made his move in the city, but his skills were lacking, and my Brother Tian needed just one skill to send him back to spawn!” Although Cai Minghou had been badly frightened at the time, he now bragged disdainfully about the encounter.

He was so proud that it almost seemed like he had been the one to deal the killing blow.

Cheng Xiaojin’s face froze as he suspiciously asked, “Is that true?”

“It’s true. Godslayer Hall has already updated its progress on the forum,” said another player in the group called Mo Hongyi, her eyes flashing as if she had just come back to the game after reading the forums.

“In addition, you might not have noticed, but Meng Jingtian isn’t just the Godslayer Hall’s first target in ‘Tomorrow’, but also the first player that they have ranked!”

Mo Hongyi wore a red robe bound by a clean cord of violet silk. She had black eyebrows and bright eyes, appearing like a female warrior who had stepped straight out of a wuxia novel.

At this moment, she walked over, placed a hand on Meng Jingtian’s shoulder, and then leaned over, her crimson lips parting as she asked, “Seven-foot-sword Immortal?”

“No!” Meng Jingtian’s lips formed a faint smile as he shook his head.

“You can’t be the Wandering Drunken Scholar, right?” Mo Hongyi frowned as she continued to speculate.

“Stop guessing! It’s none of them!” Meng Jingtian brushed off Mo Hongyi’s hand and smiled.