"Ah," Li Baocheng also helplessly nodded, and the three of them suddenly had their eyes wide open, stopped for a few seconds, then burst into laughter all at once, "Hey, how did it feel when you were doing it with her?" Han Baiqiang teased while laughing.
Li Jian had been standing behind Li Baocheng, and at this moment he also had a wry smile on his face.
Li Baocheng was asking for help, so naturally, he couldn't lose his temper, but he still felt somewhat angry and glared in Han Baiqiang's direction after hearing his words.
Xiao Buli smiled and glanced at Li Jian, "Team Leader Li, I didn't take it seriously when you said this game had high freedom, but now it seems this game's freedom is really fucking high." After saying that, the three of them laughed out loud again. Li Jian, having understood the situation beforehand and most concerned about the possibility of his recruits dying, didn't laugh as exaggeratedly, but nudged Li Baocheng to continue speaking. Seeing Li Jian's serious expression, they knew the matter was serious, so their laughter stopped after a while, and they listened to Li Baocheng's continuation.
"I was in the middle of it with the farmer's wife when suddenly the farmer came in, cursed me for adultery, and picked up a kitchen knife to chop me. Luckily, I had learned Dagger Mastery and Backstab in the process of studying dissection, and I also gained 'Emergency Dodge' while hunting. Plus, the farmer was pretty clumsy, not too formidable, so with my exquisite operation, I ended up killing the farmer," Li Baocheng continued, his voice filled with deep regret. "Alas," he sighed, then continued, "Who would have thought the farmer's wife would get so scared when she saw me kill her man? She started screaming, and in a moment of panic, it was either do or die, so I ended up stabbing her to death too." Having said that, Li Baocheng let out a heavy breath.
After hearing Li Baocheng's story, everyone in their respective compartments couldn't help but still feel like laughing, but no one made a sound. "Speaking of which, this NPC should still respawn, right?" Han Baiqiang suppressed his laughter and kindly began to analyze.
"Impossible," Li Baocheng's voice grew even heavier, "After I killed them, I received a system prompt saying I'd committed murder and would be discovered in twenty-four hours."
Li Baocheng had wanted to ask Li Jian if he could take him away from the village, but after checking, Li Jian told him that the two of them were tens of thousands of miles apart, too far for immediate help, and besides, the company had rules that Team Leaders of the newbie group are only responsible for explaining some game content and aren't allowed to directly help newbies.
So, it was down to seeing whether the other three were willing to leave with him; otherwise, in this world, with his skills, he'd likely become cannon fodder. After explaining this, Li Baocheng looked hopefully at Li Jian.
Li Jian immediately understood but, as someone who had been through it before, he wasn't planning to offer much help to Li Baocheng. He simply stated, "With Li Baocheng's current situation, your only choice is to use these 24 hours to leave the village as quickly as possible. While the world offers a high degree of freedom, transportation and communications between regions are underdeveloped. Once you leave the village, you should be able to avoid pursuit. The problem is, I can't come to take him away, as my character is too far from you guys, and the company doesn't have a policy to assist newbies like that, so he can only rely on himself. However, the survival rate of a single person in this world is extremely low, almost negligible, so his only hope is if you all band together and leave as a team."
Li Jian and everyone else discussed the current situation, and seeing everyone's expressions turn serious, after all, it was a decision that would affect their future development in the game. Everyone began weighing the pros and cons.
"Of course," Li Jian added, "you can also choose to ignore him, considering this is your probation period. As I've said before, the company won't assign you any missions, nor do you need to report your actions back to the company. You are facing a life and death situation, and if you choose not to care about a teammate, that's understandable. The company will only do a summary at the end of the month, basing your duties and compensation on your performance throughout the month."
Hearing Li Jian say this, Li Baocheng looked up at him in surprise, to which Li Jian simply shrugged helplessly. Although he sympathized with Li Baocheng's predicament, he had to maintain a neutral stance, informing everyone of their rights was also his duty.
But Li Baocheng knew that Li Jian's words might have just extinguished the thoughts they had just started to form. After all, he was the old-timer here, and his words held guidance and hints for everyone. Sure enough, upon hearing this, Han Baiqiang looked somewhat relieved. It seemed he wasn't eager to leave Newbie Village and venture out, even though a setback might be a blessing in disguise. However, in this game, you only have one life, so it's better to be safe.
Sun Bin's eyes flashed with a sharp light, and Li Jian's words, "The company will determine everyone's position and treatment based on performance during the probationary period," caused a stir in his heart. Could it be that the process of interacting with teammates also affects the final evaluation? Would helping Li Baocheng through this ordeal perhaps earn him some points? Maybe because of his willingness to help a teammate, he could even be considered for a team leader role.
"But how are we going to leave the village?" Sun Bin thought of this and suddenly asked aloud.
Upon hearing his words, hope appeared in Li Baocheng's eyes, while Xiao Buli felt a wave of surprise. This guy had always seemed aloof from the group, so why was he suddenly showing such Righteousness? Could it have been that he had misjudged him?
Li Jian looked at Sun Bin with a half-smile and responded loudly, "Oh, even the closest town is very far from this village, and there are many monsters along the way. Even if all four of you left together, with your current strength as newcomers, it would be very difficult to reach it safely." Li Jian's words plunged Li Baocheng's heart into the abyss. If the difficulty had not been so high, perhaps everyone would have been possibly willing to make a dash with him, but in a life and death situation like this, it looked like he truly had no hope at all.
As expected, upon hearing Li Jian's words, Sun Bin's gaze flickered uncertainly, and he began to have second thoughts.
"However," Li Jian's tone shifted, "every so often, a merchant convoy passes through this village. The convoy has its own guards for protection, and because they are NPCs, as long as you follow them, there is basically no danger. Judging by the amount of time you have been playing, it should be about three or four days until the next one arrives." Having stoked the suspense, Li Jian revealed another shortcut. Xiao Buli, who had just been frightened, also breathed a sigh of relief.
Upon hearing this, Li Baocheng immediately became flustered. Three to five days, even if everyone was willing to accompany him, it would still be too late.
"Is there really no other way? What kind of monsters are along the road?" Thinking of this, Li Baocheng hurriedly asked.
"As for the monsters, they're not really that strong; after all, it's just a beginner area. If you go from the village to the nearest big city, on the first day, you should not be able to get out of the Black Wasteland. Therefore, you'll only encounter low-level monsters such as wild dogs, Corpse-eating Dogs, Walking Corpses, and the like. Once you get past this Black Wasteland, you'll enter the outskirts of the Misty Forest. Then, the strength of the monsters will increase - you might encounter wild wolves, wild boars, bandits, and robbers. If you're lucky, you might even come across Demon Beasts. With your current strength, there shouldn't be too much danger in the Black Wasteland, but once you enter the Misty Forest, it's hard to say. I'm afraid it would be difficult for one person to take on a bandit alone, but if the four of you work together seamlessly, dealing with two or three bandits shouldn't be a problem. However, bandits typically move in groups, and with your strength, encountering them would likely lead to annihilation," he concluded.
Xiao Buli felt a surge of thought upon hearing this, "When exactly will that merchant convoy arrive, in three days or four? And from which direction do they come?"
Li Jian was taken aback by the question, wondering why he asked, but still replied, "They generally come from the nearest big city, and let me calculate the time—yes, it should be three days from now."
"So you're saying, if we start heading towards the big city tomorrow, we should be able to meet them after about a day's journey, right?"
After doing some quick mental calculations, Li Jian nodded slightly, "You're correct. If nothing unexpected happens, if you leave at this time tomorrow, indeed, you should meet the convoy halfway before it gets dark."
"Is that so?" A fresh hope sprang up in Li Baocheng, "Brothers, how about we all head to the big city together?" Although he knew the hope was slim, this was Li Baocheng's only lifeline at the moment.