March 21, 5th year of the federal calendar

There was a question that came through my mind, and I vividly remember that whether it was a conversation to Cinta or a conversation with Yi Prayer afterwards, once I found the right topic, I could see an exclamation point above their heads as a hint for the mission. However, my agreement with the Bountiful Chamber of Commerce does not seem to be among them, and is merely treated as an ordinary transaction. So how are the tasks we publish in this world defined? Maybe it's some kind of fixed design, or maybe it's a set of evaluation criteria? After this mission is over, I might want to talk to the other players about this.

Since joining the ranks of the Rich Chamber of Commerce, my journey has been so much easier, and I don't even have to endure the disgusting dry food stored in my carry-on space that I've had enough of. They don't have any taste other than hunger.

Now, most of the time I just sit in the carriage and leisurely look at the scenery around me, or chat with mercenaries and merchants. These people are all veterans who have traveled all year round, not only knowledgeable, but also very talkative, and the different stories I heard from them have benefited me a lot as a rookie.

Honestly, their enthusiasm made me feel a little guilty. I understand that most of their actions are out of respect for the strong, or they also have the intention of getting closer. But there's nothing wrong with that, and it won't hurt me in any way. But what about myself? I have to admit that agreeing to Crumb's commission is not just for those starry night stones, but also for some selfishness that I am ashamed to talk about.

Based on the information I have obtained, I know that all the recent attacks have occurred in the southern section of the Black Pine Forest, and the attacks were all carried by chambers of commerce and mercenary teams carrying large quantities of supplies. I followed their team because I needed a decoy.

If it weren't so long ago, I probably wouldn't have felt the same sentiment that these natives started out as just procedural robots, and even if they became more and more anthropomorphic, I still couldn't help but think of them as nameless characters in the game that could be sacrificed at will.

But my mind is gradually changing, whether it is Wen Li from the Horn Tavern, Crumb Feng from the Rich Chamber of Commerce, or the captain of the mercenary team, after they chat, I find that everyone has their own families, dreams, and lives. Talking to them and learning about their stories is like being in front of a living human being.

I started to get lost, wondering if I was right in the first place, and at the same time wondering if I should make a change. Because I know that treating the world as a game will make my journey easier, but once I integrate myself into the world, when moral, ethical and other issues are involved, many simple things can become extremely complicated.

One of the simplest examples is how I think about killing.

"I'm too busy to think about these things."

"I was thrown into this world inexplicably, who cares about my life or death?"

I tried to comfort myself with such reasons, but the inner turmoil kept tormenting me.

Finally, the caravan arrived safely at the pre-agreed destination and entered the Xifeng Grassland smoothly. Bidding farewell to this group of strangers who I knew for a short time, my hanging heart was a little lost, but I also felt a lot more relaxed.

I laughed as I watched the caravan walk away, feeling my body as if I had lifted a thousand pounds of weight. I remember a long time ago, I would be moved by a small detail in the game, and sad about the death of a game character or pet. But then, I seemed to become more and more apathetic, and all my actions were just for higher stats, for faster clearance. When everything became utilitarian, I could no longer appreciate the simple joy of childhood games, and even brought anger and anxiety to myself.

Therefore, all the entanglements are just self-deception, and since you are here, you should enjoy it as a second life. There are no tool people here, and there are no pets that can be sacrificed and discarded at will. They, like me, are flesh and blood creatures.

After thinking about it all, I set out on my return journey again. Yes, I have already missed my destination for the sake of escorting the caravan.

Around the end of the evening, I found the site of the first attack in the southeast of the Black Pine Forest. It was a popular camping site in the northern part of the official road, and according to the mission log, the attack took place between March 7 and March 8, and the incident was reported by the Hayabusa riders of Eagle City.

It was a routine flight patrol, and a sharp-eyed warrior steered a flying eagle over the sky and stumbled upon something unusual at the scene. According to their descriptions, there was little left of the place, except for a few traces of blood and a few broken wooden carts.

More than ten days have passed since the incident, and now the scene is even more empty, I looked around blankly, and I could only start to investigate. But those professionals have not been able to find clues, so what can a layman like me do? Rely on luck and momentum? Don't be silly.

I suddenly had the feeling that I was a complete idiot, and I took on this inexplicable task, and then I fumbled in the grass for a long time, and finally fled back to the city in disgrace and with nothing. It's a real-world world, unlike games where you just have to walk the protagonist to a designated location on the spot, and then the intelligence gathering will be done automatically. This quest is suitable for the detectives whose IQ is close to that of the demon to come to leisure, not me.

"Are you kidding me? Survey? What do I take to investigate? I threw my head back and muttered to the sky in a bit of frenzy. Now I'm already thinking about whether or not to leave for home right away and end this stupid mission as soon as possible. What's the name of a word? Stop loss, yes, although the meaning is not very different, but the principle is probably the same.

Maybe my words activated some kind of magical function, or maybe some other reason, a small circular window suddenly appeared in the lower right of my field of vision. The shape of the window looks very familiar, and within the grid-filled window, a bright white pillar of light is constantly rotating, like the radar scanning interface often seen in movies.

"This ...... Is that the answer? "I looked up at the sky, and there was a little more worry in my heart.

Putting aside all the negativity and uneasy speculation, I decided to move on to the matter at hand. With the help of this new ability, things are much simpler, just walk around the field and find something based on a flashing red dot in the radar interface.

The first thing I found in the grass was some scales, about the size of a thumb nail, with a dark blue outer layer and a very hard texture, and I didn't see anything special about it. I can't tell what kind of creature the scales come from, and if it falls from the body of the attacker, then it may be some kind of monster with high intelligence; But if it's just a bandit's pet, it doesn't have much reference value.

The only thing I can be sure of now is that based on where I was standing when the red dot appeared, I could roughly tell that the radar scan was about a meter in radius. With this in mind, I began to patiently walk back and forth around the site, scanning the entire site as much as I could, until the mission prompted me to complete my survey of the area.

Summing up the harvest, I found some dried blood, a few small fragments from a broken weapon, and more cyan scales.

My mind was still mushy and the clues obviously didn't inspire me much. But in any case, the gears that had been stationary finally began to spin.

I had a lot of energy from a day spent in the carriage before, and the appearance of novelties was a bit exciting. At this moment, I felt like an energetic detective and decided to set out overnight to check all the remaining three attack sites.

……

When the first rays of the morning sun swept across the earth, Duqi, who was resting against a boulder, opened his eyes. He was busy until four a.m., when he was able to survey the last attack site with the help of radar. It was also after that that the narrative of the operation in the mission window changed, from investigating the location of the attack to patrolling and tracking.

Rubbing his eyes, Du Qi felt the difference in his body more and more. His spirit seemed to be adapting to his strengthened body, and not so long ago he had to sleep six hours a day, but now it only took a short light nap to regain his spirit.

"Tracking mode activated." He lifted his hands and stretched his body as he muttered something under his breath.

The window in Duzi's field of vision has changed slightly, and the circular radar is still there, but there are a few more pairs of red footprints inside, extending all the way to the northeast.

Looking at the map, Duzi determined that his current location was to the southwest of the Black Pine Forest, and that according to what had been revealed on the map, the forest had taken the shape of an inward depression in this area. This meant that if he had followed the instructions and entered the forest, he would most likely have entered the depths of the forest shortly after.

Thinking of the monster named "Nightmare Weaving" that he had witnessed not long ago, Du Qi subconsciously touched the leather armor on his body. He wasn't a coward, and the new equipment gave him a lot of confidence, but it was a forest with a reputation for danger, and now that there had been several attacks, fear and worry were inevitable.

"It's a big deal to be chased and killed by those sacred guns, and now I'm not a rookie who just came here, so I don't believe they can still lay a net for just one person." Du Qi gritted his teeth and raised his legs and walked in the direction of the forest.

The Black Pine Forest is a truly vast primeval jungle, like the difference between the sea and the lake compared to the grove where Duqi exercised himself and the green forest that nightmares weave. It's bigger here, and naturally there are more dangers lurking. In just one hour, Duzi had already encountered two spotted helmets and a pack of red-maned wolves.

Now, Dozi is in trouble.

In this world, the red-maned wolf is a beast that is only classified as a beast, and their individual strength is far inferior to that of creatures called inferior demons such as the spotted helmet. However, the Spotted Helm itself is not as strong as the player, and it is a lone creature, so killing it will solve the problem. But the red-maned wolf is a social animal, and it is very calm and intelligent, and once there is a conflict, it is even more difficult to deal with.

The wolves are very cooperative, and the individuals are never greedy, they know when to back off, and they know how to cooperate with each other to constantly harass their prey from all directions. In the face of such an enemy, Rao relied on the advantages of his physique and equipment, and Du Qi also paid the price of several wounds after a hard battle, forcibly killed three wild wolves, and finally dispersed the wolves.

Duqi did not expect that the wolves would be so vindictive, and they did not retreat with their tails between their legs after the defeat, but persevered in the rear after opening a safe distance. Whenever Duzi turned around impatiently to teach the krafts a lesson, they scattered and quickly disappeared into the forest. They then gather again and rely on their keen sense of smell to find their prey.

"Damn brute...... The situation inside the Black Pine Forest is complicated, and I can't go after them. But if I don't find a way to solve these troubles now, once I encounter other strong enemies in the future, I will become a praying mantis for cicadas. Thinking of this, Du Qi simply stopped, quickly climbed a big tree, and sat on the thick branches to look down on the surrounding situation. He bit the nail of his thumb and frowned.

"I have to find a way to kill them."