SWNOVELXO Chapter 77: Chapter 76: Coincide
Master Liu, Old Geng, Ji Tang, along with the other members of the expert group camped out in the secluded mountains of G Province, shared a common understanding: within the game world of "OtherWorld," the true origins of players didn't have to be known, but they couldn't not know Lord Yang's!
In fact, Ji Tang and the two old men had obtained comprehensive close-up images of Lord Yang, which the expert task force had studied extensively. A half-body model of Lord Yang was even created.
Lord Yang in the "game" appeared to be in his thirties or forties, with long black hair that flowed past his shoulders. His face was lean and angular, with well-defined features displaying clear Eastern characteristics.
Professor Yin Zhengliang of the expert task force came up with a wild idea once and entered Yang's front and side profile images into the Public Security Bureau's national database. After running it through the system, several dozen Chinese faces with over 90% similarity emerged.
However, after individual investigations, it was discovered that these people were all leading normal lives and none were Lord Yang. Thus, all of them were eliminated from consideration.
There was also speculation that Lord Yang might be the same person as the "target" on Earth. Yet, after comparing images of both, Professor Yin Zhengliang himself discarded this possibility. The differences between their appearances were so pronounced, and even the positions of some facial features were dissimilar. On top of that, the language habits, intonations, body postures, and gaits of the two also differed greatly.
Of course, assuming that Lord Yang used some magical disguise to appear as the "target" on Earth, the theory wasn't entirely implausible. After all, players could indeed use attack skills similar to those in online games when they "logged in" to the "game world."
On top of that, there were items like the Orb of Deception that could grant an undead a human appearance. The idea of a complete transformation spell, changing one's entire identity, wasn't completely ruled out by the expert task force.
Just that, if so, the expert task force couldn't understand the logic behind this elusive course of activity…
Why had this magical being, who could reshape terrain with his own power (like the dirt path at Exile Town's southern exit) and was capable of transporting vast quantities of supplies across dimensions, run about Earth unrestricted without causing trouble yet put in so much effort to create a game for the youth of China to play…
What exactly was this person's intention?
A mage actually having the dream of being a game developer. Now that was a plot that would only appear in light novels…
Regardless, this "native NPC" Lord Yang definitely had significant ties to the "target" and was one of the masterminds behind the "game" for certain. There wasn't any shred of doubt.
Based on Master Liu's and Old Geng's casual inquiries, the "advanced NPCs" had confirmed that the undead characters controlled by players belonged to Lord Yang. The "advanced NPCs" even had the opinion that the undead (souls of the players) came from another world.
Well, the natives reckoned this other world was some sort of demon realm… With regard to this point, both Master Liu and Old Geng were bewildered and couldn't offer any explanation…
In any case, regarding the investigation revolving around the game "OtherWorld" and the "target," the focus inevitably shifted to the Lord of Taranthan, Black Mage Yang.
The expert task force had adopted a strictly non-contact strategy with regard to the "target." With a seemingly celestial-like magical being on the ground, the expert task force exercised even more caution. Even the two old men, who were partially "vacationing" in the game and partially cooperating with the organization, had received conservative instructions from the expert task force.
Master Liu, an engineer who had worked on the country's road and bridge construction his entire life, naturally wouldn't sabotage the expert task force's strategy. But within the confines of not disrupting their plans, he was still enthusiastic about using some subtle tactics.
"Liu, are you suggesting that we take the undead out of Taranthan?" Hal had a disapproving expression when he heard the suggestion.
"No way," Tuttle voiced his objection. "Perhaps you might not fully understand the world beyond Taranthan, Liu. Navalon is a realm protected by the gods. Even Lady Gold Coin wouldn't tolerate undead creatures from dark realms casually entering her territory."
Finley nodded at first, then realized something was off and glared at Tuttle, "Excuse me, old buddy, what did you mean by 'even Lady Gold Coin'?"
"No offense," Tuttle quickly raised his hand in apology toward Finley.
"Well, let me put it this way…" Master Liu smiled calmly, gesturing toward the four impaired helpers who were enjoying the same breakfast at a table near the kitchen entrance. "Are people like them exceptions?"
"Hmm?" None of the three natives quite understood.
"I mean, are people like the commoners of Camore's lower class exceptions in the outside world?" Master Liu gesticulated with his hands. "People like them, struggling to make ends meet and even securing their basic right to survival. Are such people relatively rare outside Taranthan, or is it quite a common occurrence?"
Upon hearing this, the former bandits revealed slightly strange looks on their faces.
Tuttle came from a middle-class family but fell in status after his father lost his job; Hal's family was well-off during his childhood but eventually experienced hardships; Finley from the beginning, was born into the lower class.
The three of them couldn't exactly say that the commoners of Camore were just a tiny minority.
However, the trio were humans after all. Admitting to an undead that there were many of their fellow humans who struggled and were willing to "bend" for the sake of survival, just like the townspeople of Camore, was difficult.
Master Liu was quite savvy when it came to dealing with people. He could notice these three young men struggling with their pride, so he proactively changed the subject.
Chuckling, he said, "Old Geng and I often go out of town and head to the foot of the mountain to move stuff. This valley is quite large, huh? Besides the town's boundaries, there's still a lot of uncultivated land. I estimate that just the two areas near the river in the north and west amount to several hundred acres.
"With Taranthan's climate and sunshine, even if only half of those several hundred acres are used for farming, producing several thousand kilograms of grain in a year or so would be as easy as pie, don't you think?
"And also, there's the land beyond the valley. I haven't had a chance to see for myself, but some of those young ones we all know have. It's more forest and swamp, but there are some abandoned plains too. Even if those aren't used for cultivation, just scattering some grass seeds would garner several hundred acres of pasture. Who knows how many cattle and sheep it could support!"
Having left the former bandit trio somewhat muddled, Master Liu lamented, "What a pity that Taranthan is mostly populated by the undead. Even if there were mountains of food and meat here, it would be meaningless to them."
After blanking out for a moment, Tuttle's and Finley's eyes lit up.
These two astute minds excitedly look toward their fellow companion… only to see Hal giving Master Liu an all-too-familiar sideways glance as if he was disdainfully comparing the old undead to the incoherent drunkards on the docks.
"Mountains of food and meat? Do undead get drunk too?" Hal didn't only show disdain in his gaze but was even voicing it out loud.
Hal continued to ridicule while chuckling, "Calm down, old man. There's only a wasteland outside of Exile Town. The grasslands and pastures you're dreaming of are nothing but beast bones and dung. If we were to let these women from the town go out and plant pasture grass, the only result would be more chewed-up bones scattered across the wasteland."
Master Liu smiled but didn't say more, and looked toward Tuttle and Finley.
Before Hal could continue with his impolite words, Tuttle quickly interjected, "I understand what Yang wants now. Thank you, Liu."
While Hal found himself totally confused, Finley immediately signaled to him using his eyes.
Master Liu chuckled and excused himself, giving the trio space for their conversation. As the former walked away, Tuttle grabbed Hal, trying his best to suppress his excitement as he said, "Hal, do you remember our initial analysis of Yang's ambitions?"
Hal was momentarily stunned.
He wasn't slow-witted, just that he had been caught off guard. Tuttle's reminder triggered his memory, and his mouth slowly gaped open.
"Discuss it after we get back," Finley glanced at the leaving Master Liu and lowered his voice.
The trio rapidly devoured their remaining food, then collected the rations for the five female workers under their care before leaving hurriedly.
Upon returning to the Wanderer Guild, Tuttle shut the door before turning to his two companions and exclaiming enthusiastically, "Here's our opportunity!"
"That's right. This time, Yang has given us some authority. We must make the most of this chance," Finley, who had been suppressing his excitement earlier, said excitedly. "Doesn't Yang hope for his undead to become more combative and more eager to challenge the strong? Doesn't he want more subjects? Let's fulfill his wishes!"
Hal: "Uh…"
"War makes the undead stronger, and those that are stolen over can supplement Taranthan's citizenry. Regardless of how you look at it, it all aligns with Yang's expectations, so he can't say anything." Tuttle gesticulated excitedly with his hands. "As for the consequences of initiating territorial warfare and how to sustain the population that's plundered over, that's Yang's problem. In any case, we were just doing what was asked."
Hal: "…"
He thought his two buddies had been swayed by Liu and had suddenly become loyal to Yang… Fortunately, they didn't disappoint him.
The former bandit trio couldn't care less about "starting working" for the day and handling players. Instead, they rushed out immediately to contact knight instructor Jerome and warrior instructor Charlie Rex.
Of course, it was Charlie Rex that was the focus.
Before being tricked by Yang into coming to Taranthan, the former bandit gang had spent several years camped out in the Sorensen Mountains committing highway robbery and exacting tolls. They didn't care about the local issues of the surrounding areas and only concerned themselves with which caravans were passing through Sorensen.
When it came to understanding the areas suitable for their "activities" in the relatively nearby southeastern border of the Rhine Kingdom, the former bandits relied on Charlie Rex, the warrior who had only recently taken refuge in the Sorenson Mountains.
The reason for choosing the Rhine Kingdom for "activities'' over the Duchy of Shiga was rather understandable. Yang had only just recently swaggered through the border town of Camore in the Duchy of Shiga, so leading the undead that way could easily backfire…
Rex certainly didn't feel at ease when he saw the enthusiastic smiles of the former bandits for the first time since coming to Taranthan…
"So, you want to know where along the southeastern border of the Rhine Kingdom is especially barren, rural, and where people struggle to survive?" Rex asked with a weird look on his face.
"That's right!" Hal chuckled and, while rubbing his hands gleefully, eagerly awaited Rex's answer.
Rex stared at Hal for a while, then sneaked a glance at the two strategists beside Hal.
Tuttle and Finley were also looking toward him with especially bright smiles on their faces.
"I'm sorry…? I'm not quite sure what you guys mean." Rex wasn't warmed by their smiles and instead became more cautious.
"It's like this, Rex," Tuttle stepped forward and said matter-of-factly. "Yang is the Lord of Taranthan, and Taranthan is lacking citizens. This time, Yang hopes we can come up with class quests to allow the undead to receive sufficient training. So, is there really anything more appropriate than rescuing more impoverished people?"
Rex: "…"
He might still have believed this if these words were said by anyone else. But he could only take it with a pinch of salt when it came from these thuggish mountain bandits.
Seeing Rex's reaction, Tuttle knew this guy was being cautious around them. Thus, he immediately opened up and spoke with utmost sincerity, "Rex, I know you look down on us, but I must also tell you that none of us willingly became thieves.
"I once dreamed of being a member of the Rhine Kingdom's Royal Guards. Before… before adversity struck my family, I never imagined that even walking openly about in daylight was a luxury. Who would willingly choose a life on the edge of a blade, shrouded in constant uncertainty?
"People like us, when pushed to the brink, can at least rely on force to survive. But others, like those female workers Yang asked us to care for, have no other choice but to wait for death when on the verge of desperation.
"If there's a chance to lend a hand to these unfortunate souls who have no options, isn't it normal for even bandits and thieves like us to lend a helping hand?
"We are human too, Rex."
Rex: "…"
"…Very well." Rex reluctantly nodded and awkwardly took two steps backward. "I understand… But before we proceed, I must make it clear to Yang where we are taking the undead to."
"Of course, brother," Tuttle said in delight.
Rex left hurriedly, and both Hal and Finley looked toward Tuttle with raised eyebrows.
"Um… Can we trust this guy?" Finley tilted his chin slightly in the direction Rex was heading.
Tuttle smiled confidently. "Don't worry, Finley. Young Charlie is around the same age as Manan. When we first saw him, he was already so broken that he hardly had any sense of self-awareness left. People with such heightened sensitivity are most easily swayed by emotional words. Getting him to persuade Yang is more logical than us doing so."
Finley and Hal nodded in unison.
Indeed, these bunch of former bandits that had once camped in the Sorensen didn't really understand the livelihoods of people in the Rhine Kingdom's southeastern border. But there actually wasn't any need for them to do so. Destitute people were everywhere, and there was simply no need to specially go looking for them.
In other words, they were merely finding a reasonable pretext to interact with Rex and goad the latter into probing Yang…
October 28, Monday, 10 a.m., Earth time.
Logging in during normal working hours on a weekday, the first thing Ji Tang did was… check the notifications on the player panel.
Ji Tang, who had never paid attention to the notification announcements, had received quite a significant lesson from the weekend event that had recently concluded.
It seemed like the damned developers were finally being human and declaring that the events were only on the weekends. Now that it was a workday, everything was finally back to normal.
Ji Tang breathed a sigh of relief, then headed straight to the Warrior Guild.
Unceasing Entropy and Tang Jia had morning classes, so they weren't logged in. Yang Ying, who had already resigned from her job, had come online even earlier than Ji Tang and took advantage of in-game daytime to work on grinding reputation. When she saw Ji Tang, she waved him over.
Even though players hadn't been able to defeat the inner demon instance during the weekend event, the notion that warriors were sought after for this instance dungeon spread like wildfire among players. The usually rather deserted Warrior Guild was now occupied by a few casual players who hadn't yet changed classes, doing reputation quests.
"Xiao Tang doesn't have classes in the afternoon, so she'll be online in a few hours. Qingyue seems to have joined some project group, so she might be online less these couple of days," Yang Ying chatted with Ji Tang as they did their quests. "But I think she's probably feeling frustrated due to the failure to complete the event and is just hiding to adjust rather than admitting it to us."
"Is that so… Studies should be a priority for students, so being busy is a good thing." Ji Tang seemed slightly distracted and kept glancing in the direction of the Warrior Guild's hall every once in a while.
The two elder comrades at the Merchant Association canteen have already reported to the expert task force about the idea suggested to the "advanced NPCs" yesterday. How is it that nothing is happening even though it's been more than a day already?!
As the sun gradually set in the game world, Yang Ying, who didn't plan to grind reputation overnight, dragged Ji Tang along to turn in their quests. As they entered the Warrior Guild's hall, Ji Tang immediately noticed… a large backpack beside the warrior instructor's desk!
And there was even a rolled-up blanket on top of the backpack!
It's here! Ji Tang was instantly invigorated.
During the previous tricycle expedition quest, players had only been active within Taranthan and hadn't truly witnessed any human settlements or towns.
The former bandit's ulterior motives of bringing the undead out to cause trouble coincided perfectly with what the expert task force hoped for: they were just too eager to gather intelligence about the world beyond Taranthan!