The notification was too spontaneous that it left my eyes open in shock. Here I was, listening in on some random guy's story about his daughter and a mysterious tree, and then the System suddenly gave me a quest?!
Unbelievable. What am I? An all-knowing savior now? This is insane.
"Can I step out for a bit?" I asked Luo Zehn who was keen on listening to the rest of the story. Well, maybe he was only listening out of respect to the one talking. If that were the case, then kudos to him. I can't do that.
"Ah, um, sure young man." Luo Zehn flashed a thumbs up towards me. It was obvious that he was forcing a smile on his face since his lips were shaking a little bit. Of course, after everything that happened and after hearing the man's pleas for us to save his daughter, no one would be able to smile.
To think that the world got so messed up in just five years, I'm just grateful that I slept the whole length of that time.
When I got out of that basement reeking of rotten bones and flesh, I inhaled a lungful of fresh air and sighed in relief. I still can't believe what I just did earlier but that's just at the back of my mind now.
For now, I have more questions for the System than I ever could have.
"Yes?" The System suddenly asked.
"Wh-?! Don't just speak like that all of a sudden. I almost got a heart attack." I said in exaggeration. "In any case, do you know anything about the forsaken tree? Why is it that I need to defeat it?"
"I am not too sure myself either. But I received the notification and I just relayed it." The System said, almost as if she was shrugging at me. "I'm sorry but I really don't know anything." She apologetically said with a sudden change to her tone.
"That's alright, it's not like I expected anything from you anyway," I responded. Even with the lackadaisical response I gave, I was still somewhat bothered that the System doesn't know anything about the majority of quests I received.
Well, it's not like I could complain. The quests do give awesome rewards.
After much contemplation and weighing out the pros and cons, I finally decided to comply with the System's request since everything that it did for me had been advantageous for now. It might decelerate my meeting with my precious disciples but I'm willing to go through it so I could be stronger. Right about now, I could tell that not only the cultivators are getting stronger, but even the rabid humans that lurk the aboveground are also mutating. It might be because of the ever-evolving virus present in their bodies, or rather, it's a given that the virus is ever-evolving. If the worst-case scenario happens— that the virus would mutate far stronger than the strongest cultivator, then the end of the world would be near. The whole world could be overridden with the virus and no one can stop it.
"Not like it would happen, but here's thinking." I shrugged as I returned to the basement. I instinctively covered my nose as the rotten smell of the place after around me once more.
"Oh, you're back, young man." Luo Zehn greeted.
"Young man, my foot. We have to get everyone out of here right now or else we'll smell more terrible than we already do." I pointed out. "You, can you walk?"
The dad turned to me and slowly nodded his head. Without further ado, I grabbed him by his armpits and prompted him to stand up. He limped, but he was able to maintain standing. Seeing that, the others also stood up, even the ones which were missing some legs, they all stood up with the help of someone.
Upon seeing the sights in front of me, I couldn't help but feel a sense of pity as I saw everyone raggedly dragged themselves towards the exit of the place. Out of impulse, I helped the dad on his feet when he almost fell face first while going up the stairs. As for Luo Zehn, he was helping all of them, encouraging them to take one step at a time.
"Say, what's your name?" I asked. "I mean, I wouldn't be able to find your daughter without knowing your name."
"Yang Chen, people call me the drunken fist but without my arm, I'm just drunken." He half-heartedly joked.
To be honest, I found his joke funny, that's why it gave me a hard time suppressing my laughter. "How about your daughter? What's her name?"
"Yang Mei Mei."
"What a cute name." I smiled. "Don't worry about it. I'll save your daughter."
Not because I wanted to, but because of the rewards from the System waiting for me. Had it not been for that, I would probably not risk my life doing this samaritan work.
"Thank you so much, young sir." Yang Chen tearfully said, wiping snot and tears off his face. "Really, even if it's just reassurance, I'm still thankful. And this might be late, but I'm really really grateful that you saved me, I mean, all of us. Had it not been for you, we would've died in the stomach of some crazy person."
"Don't worry about it. It's a good thing we happened to pass by here." I answered.
I didn't know how long they remained under that basement but when they finally reached the aboveground, they were especially elated. It's as if they haven't seen the sun in so many months, and I fear such was the case. I guess I don't want to think about the gruesome sights they saw and experienced down there, and asking them would just relive the trauma that they had to go through.
Well, hopefully, they get over it soon. They'll be traveling to Tang Shelter, after all. Meeting rabid humans is probably one of the last things they want to experience right now.
"Luo Zehn, I've decided." I declared, stepping in front of him. "You take care of these guys. I'll be heading to the Ziyou Shelter alone."
A bit of shock plagued Luo Zehn's face but after a split second, it was completely gone. Following that, a smile was plastered on his face. "If that's what you've decided then I'll leave everything to you. I've seen what you can do and I don't think you'd meet dangers that you cannot overcome. As much as I want to accompany you in subjugating that abomination of a tree, I have the duty of protecting these survivors. I would've asked you to lead them to Tang Shelter but I don't think you know the exact location of it."
I nodded.
"That's why I'm leaving everything to you. Once I led everyone to the shelter, I will come and help you."
"Thanks!" I saluted towards him before heading out.
As expected of Luo Zehn, reliable as ever!