"Hmm?" Guarantor was slightly stunned. "You can go first."
God of Wealth arrived, nodded and asked, "Have you seen the promotional video for the Gate of the Lower Realm?"
"Seen it. It was really quite shocking."
"The first batch of beta testing will last for one month. After accelerating the thinking process, it corresponds to just 10 days in real life.
Based on the club's assessment of the game's potential, it's clear this is not one of those virtual online games that plan to burn brightly for a couple of years, satiate themselves, and then run off with the profits.
Thirty days of game time may seem long, but in this game, who knows how long it will take us to gain a foothold. You're a member of the TCK Club, so you should have undergone relevant training and have some understanding of this."
Human Soul nodded.
That was why he had just guided some people to go into the forest to hunt and level up.
But he wouldn't go.
Whether they could hunt monsters in the forest to help players advance was one thing, but he didn't want to end up becoming the Monster Hunted instead of becoming a Monster Hunter—it would be tragic.
Instead of focusing on leveling up or exploring ways to become a professional, Guarantor preferred to gather more information and build networking advantages.
He didn't need to guide everyone to hunt monsters. He just needed some people to be a little slower, one step after another, to gain a time advantage and exploit informational gaps.
That was why he had been a bit wary when God of Wealth called him Lao Liu just now.
God of Wealth clapped his hands and laughed, "Since you've seen the promotional video, that's much easier to talk about.
In the promotional video, you should know how large the game's map is. Instead of fighting with so many players over the limited resources in this small village, why not think differently...
For instance, the four of us pool our money and ask an experienced villager to take us to a town in the Lancaster Territory by some means of transport, where there will be more development opportunities."
"Then why not head straight for the central Royal Court of the Bell Federation?" Guarantor instinctively replied.
God of Wealth shook his head and sighed, "Given our current situation, what would we do in the central Royal Court?
The Royal Court is likely full of strong players and wealthy merchants. In that environment, how much of a chance do we have to stand out?
Moreover, there's a very crucial reason why we have to immediately give up on the idea of heading to the central Royal Court."
Guarantor was curious: "What is it?"
"We don't have enough money." When God of Wealth mentioned this, Guarantor seemed to hear him slightly grinding his teeth.
It seemed this sponsor, known for his Strange Power Chaos God, rarely experienced such frustration despite having money, and his mood was less than pleasant.
"So why choose me?" Guarantor asked.
"Do you need a reason?"
"Shouldn't I need one?"
"Then I can only tell you, I, God of Wealth, have always liked making friends, especially smart friends. Effective communication is the beginning of mutual benefit. I think we could get along well."
"Then I agree." Having received the final answer, Guarantor extended his hand. "So, boss, happy cooperation."
God of Wealth showed a broad smile and continued, "Then let's split up and gather information about the village."
The four nodded and quickly dispersed.
...
When they regrouped, their expressions became even more serious.
"Any impressions?" By then, God of Wealth no longer looked as relaxed and cheerful.
"It's a bit too realistic, in every sense. Very realistic..." Qing Ya crossed the cold pond and said seriously.
God of Wealth gave him a suspicious look. "Why did you run over my face with the wheel?"
"Huh?" Qing Ya was stunned, as if he didn't understand what that meant.
"It's nothing. I overthought it." God of Wealth skillfully changed the topic, then looked at the thoughtful Xiao You and asked, "Xiao You, did you hear anything?"
"The information about transferring military technology for civilian use should be true. My dad said I should play this game more if I have the time." Xiao You, deep in thought, briefly hesitated. Had military-to-civilian technology advanced to this extent?
But without any evidence, he could only keep this thought to himself.
God of Wealth paused, then continued, "Is there a reliable way to take us directly to a town in Lancaster Territory? I found a lead through the village head here; he's willing to provide a donkey cart."
Guarantor interjected, "There is, but it's probably not as reliable as yours."
After thinking for a half-second, he disclosed more information, "The blacksmith at the smithy here has a son who serves in a Ranger Squad in a border town. Their main task is to guard the Gate of the Lower Realm leading to the Dungeon."
Everyone's eyes lit up, and they spoke in unison:
"Dungeon?" ×3
"If not a dungeon, it should involve many related tasks." Guarantor gave a positive response.
"Is the initial system-provided money enough if we split it?" Xiao You asked.
"Enough. Are you willing to bet?" God of Wealth replied without needing to do the math.
"Why not?"
"Then hurry up!"
...
Three days later, the group was riding the village head's donkey cart from Oby Village, steadily heading towards the Lancaster Territory town.
"Finally arrived at the destination..." After three days of riding, passing through five villages, they finally saw the outline of the town.
Half-starved and sleepless along the way, three days later, even though they could relieve mental fatigue by logging out, they were still thoroughly exhausted.
It's funny; this game always put extra effort into unnecessary details, making them both hungry and tired along the way.
Fortunately, the suffering was about to end.
[Hint: You have entered a new area, unlocking the exploration achievement "Titan Town"]
When they entered the town gate, the sentry questioned them.
Seeing they had no proof of residence, the sentry had them wait at the gate while he fetched a temporary entry permit.
While the players were waiting at the checkpoint, the sentry turned and reported the suspicious activity:
"Suspicious individuals spotted. Quickly report this to Mr. White. The Lord is currently inspecting suspicious individuals. Do not delay."
Then he turned back, grabbed a few temporary permits from the sentry window, and mumbled, "Since yesterday, why do these strange-acting people seem to be appearing more often?"
An old soldier processing residence permits nearby chimed in, "I heard from Mr. White. These people seem to be citizens of Shangtiya's domain, you know, those living in the Divine Kingdom. Their customs might be different from ours?"
The sentry was taken aback and said, "The citizens of the Mother Earth and Harvest Goddess? No wonder several priests and nuns from the Earth Mother Goddess Church showed up recently."
"Watch your words! Don't speak too much, hurry on, don't let those foreigners harbor suspicions."
"Oh!"
...
On the other side, those who finally made it into the town sighed in relief.
They had successfully entered.
If they couldn't get in, all the time and effort they had spent would have been wasted, and they might have been livid.
"What's the plan now?" God of Wealth asked.
"Find quests?"
"Gather intelligence?"
"I heard there are Incubi in this game..."
Everyone's eyes turned to Qing Ya who crossed the cold pond. He seemed a little embarrassed by the attention and stammered:
"I saw in the promotional video, the mage with the incubus tail looked different from others. He's probably an NPC with many hidden tasks...
Exploring hidden quests, right! Player questing for hidden tasks can't be considered inappropriate!"
"You sneaky crow. You crave the incubus body, how low." Xiao You scolded, then added approvingly, "I crave it too; at least I'm honest. I just want a few quests. Just not sure about the NPC's name. I don't want to do anything, just grab some tasks."
God of Wealth nudged Xiao You.
Xiao You looked at him in confusion, "God of Wealth, what's up?"
God of Wealth looked awkward, opened his mouth as if to say something, but finally uttered, "Check private chat."
Xiao You blinked, instinctively opened his private messages, and saw a message from God of Wealth:
「Don't turn around yet. The NPC you crave is behind you. Find an excuse to bluff. Once you turn around, don't use any detection skills... looks like my detection skill alerted him」
God of Wealth sweated as he looked at the smiling youth who was observing them.
The youth looked young but struck overwhelming calmness at first sight.
He curiously sized up their group.
Had he not immediately seen the [HIGH DANGER] tag after using a detection skill, this might have been a memorable first meeting?
[Hint: You have used detection. Based on the target's comprehensive evaluation, you received the following basic information.]
「Name: Kael.D.Helois」
「Gender: Male」
「Race: Human⅓,Incubus⅓,Unknown Bloodline⅓」
「Identity: Lancaster Lord」
「Other: The gap is too large to view more information」
「Warning! Warning! Your detection has been noticed by the opponent! Since you are within the territory of the detected person, the town safety-zone restrictions are lifted」