When it was dark, Sibby returned to his room with Jonah, who was fluttering and his feet were not touching the ground, and Toba was overjoyed to see the astrologer returning, and immediately took out a large bag of water and poured it on him to prevent him from drying out the man-shaped jerky.

"What about the others?" asked Jonah, leaning on the bed with a rippling belly.

"A small task. The head of the room rubbed his hands guiltily, "I'm sorry, my lord, I forgot to explain ......."

"Toba, don't mention this to anyone in the future, is that okay?" Jonah looked helplessly at the big face of the Bazeral peasant.

Sibby had already turned his face away and didn't dare to look at him, and laughed when he saw it, "I'm about to laugh out of my abs." The girl in green said with her shoulders shrugged.

"Yes, my lord, I have forgotten about your diarrhea. Toba swore with the loyalty of a knight.

"You said they went...... Mission?" Jonah quickly changed the subject.

"Uncle, I'll enlighten Xinding. Sibi clapped his palms, "Listen, man, this is the second class of Cherry Du, you live in room A51, you must have signed an agreement with your father, I heard that it is a work agreement for night lighting." Most tenants, such as us, pay their monthly room fee in cash, and the 15th of each month is the rent payment day, and those who cannot afford to pay the rent must move out of Cherry Ferry before 12 noon on the 11th. ”

"What if you don't move?" Jonah interjected.

A small gentle hand pressed against Jonah's rippling belly, and the astrologer's apprentice almost spewed out a stream of arrows.

"Please don't interrupt the lady, thank you. Sibbi winked innocently with wide eyes. Jonah nodded vigorously.

"You know, there are only three kinds of residents in Cherry Ferry: first, the passengers waiting for the ferry, and second, the tenants looking for protection. Either way, you'll need to stay here for a long time, and the cheapest A-rated room rates are astronomical. So ......"

"Didn't you come from three kinds of people? What about the third ...... Wait, Class A rooms are the cheapest?" Jonah couldn't help but speak again.

This time Sibby only glanced at him, and he obediently shut up.

"So, if you want to live, you have to find a way to make money.

There are two ways to make money, first, robbery: outside the Cherry Crossing, that is, outside the No. 6 pit you saw just now, there are a large number of 'powerless people', the so-called powerless people are people who have no money to rent rooms, but for some reason must stay nearby, they will rob each other, kill people, gather wealth, buy room service, they will rob the guests of Class A and Class G rooms,—— note that in the agreement, Daddy does not protect the property safety of these guests,—— and the tenants will rob each other, and even rob the powerless.

The second method, missions: There are two kinds of tasks, one is a private task issued by a tenant with a task list, posted on the bulletin board on the back wall of Daddy's house, and Daddy takes 10% of the task remuneration as a guarantee fee to ensure the interests of the publisher and the undertaker; Dude, do you understand?"

Jonah was dizzy, "...... Mr. Hachime: Why sir?"

"It's a long story. Sibi stared at the ceiling with a look of fascination, "It's romantic. ”

"I didn't see you last night, did I go on a mission?"

"That's right, dear Xinding, when you were standing on the roof of the house with a stupid face and playing with fire, Sister Long Ji and I completed a super task with an S-level difficulty. Sibi said disdainfully.

"Respect the great, the great!" Toba sat beside him, looking helpless, and reminded from time to time.

Jonah's little mind was spinning, and since receiving the information that "A-class rooms are the cheapest", he was determined not to be fooled by the bad taste of the town administrator's unconventional cards, and cautiously asked, "So, how difficult is the S-class mission?"

"Second only to M, H, VH, VVH, VVVH classes. Sibi blinked.

"Then the s mean ......"

"Simple. ”

"M (medium), h (hard), vh (veryhard), vvh (veryveryhard), and vvvh (veryveryveryhard) are medium, hard, very hard, very, very, ver Jonah slapped his head.

"Dude, you're pretty smart. As the leader of the S-Class mission, the publisher of this mission, Mr. Dan, a V-Class Tenant, asked us to break the seventh vertebra of Harold, the A-Class Tenant in Room A77. The difficulty is not that Harold is a member of the 'sick dog' squad, but that he must complete the task accurately without letting him die within seventy-two hours, otherwise Daddy will wipe out the perpetrator from the world. We squatted outside room A77 all night, and finally Harold came out to urinate alone, and Sister Long Ji smashed his kneecap with the hilt of her sword, dragged him to a secluded place, crushed his spine with her fingers, and threw him back to the door of the room.

Daddy thought it was a good job, and Mr. Harold was troubled by the little trouble of paralysis, but he lived a strong life.

At three o'clock in the morning, the A77 room sick dog team found out that Harold had been attacked, gathered all the team members to launch a retaliatory attack, and we took them around the river bank in a large circle, and waited for the twelve hours of recourse time to expire before returning to Cherry Crossing.

Mr. Dan was very satisfied, the reward for the task was six gold coins, six gold coins!" Sibi crossed his hands on his hips and proudly talked about the mission experience with his nose on the sky.

Jonah's eyes widened. Is this the rule of the outside world? The S-class mission is full of bloody killings, and money becomes the axiom of Cherry Crossing. He couldn't help but think of the corpses of the time when Redstone Castle fell.

What the hell is wrong with this world? He suddenly wished that he could close his eyes and open them again, so that he could return to the isolated tower of astrology, listen to the nagging of Mr. Koshavoy, indulge in the world of geometry and arithmetic, and leave the cruel world behind. He tried, and when he opened his eyes, he saw the dimming of the dark stone house, and the innocent eyes of Sibby. With blood on his hands, how can he be so pure?

Jonah didn't know what to say.

"Is that ...... 'sick dog' made up of the A77 tenants? Why didn't they attack me? Why didn't Daddy keep Harold safe and not keep us safe?"

Sibi turned around with a disappointed face: "You really don't understand anything, here is a copy of the "Cherry Ferry Survival Manual", which is a detailed explanation of the 'additional terms' behind the room agreement, you can take a closer look." Dude, if you hadn't had your uncle by your side to protect you last night, you wouldn't have survived half past three in the morning. ”

After speaking, the girl in green threw a thick book on Jonah's bed, walked over to Toba, stood on tiptoe and patted the head of the roommate, whispered a few words in Toba's ear, and then went out.

Toba stood up, bent over, lit the oil lamp on the wall, took off his little round hat, and said respectfully, "My lord, I have something to do, and if you have something to do, you can shout loudly, and we are all nearby." Without waiting for Jonah to return the salute, he squeezed out of the house with difficulty, carefully closed the wooden door, and the sound of footsteps went away.

Jonah felt a little guilty for some reason. What an empty ambition to follow prophecy and defeat demons, what you need to learn is how to survive first.

He steadied himself and unfolded the rough and slightly curled "Cherry Crossing Survival Manual", a thin piece of paper floated out, it was the A-class room lease agreement he had signed with his father, and he felt an indescribable awkwardness in his heart when he saw the crooked round characters of "J. Jonah II. Astrologer's Apprentice". That's not his handwriting. It was the handwriting of the devil. This is the first time he has perceived the presence of demons in real life.

After reading the agreement, and comparing it with the survival manual, Jonah read the 55 additional clauses on the back of the agreement one by one, and these words are the only rules for surviving in Cherry Crossing. Some of his questions were answered immediately.

"Additional Clause 33, Publication, Acceptance, Determination, Revocation, Termination of Private Assignments and Related:

1. M-level tenants will be given a task release sheet after settling the room fee on the 11th of each month, and V-level tenants will be given two task release sheets;

2. The task release sheet is used to post private tasks on the bulletin board, each release sheet corresponds to a task, the alteration is invalid, the defacement is invalid, and the forgery will be regarded as a direct challenge to the Cherry Ferry protector himself;

3. The task is limited to the content that does not conflict with the rights of the tenants at the above levels, if there is a conflict, it will be regarded as a failure to publish the task, and the release sheet will be invalid; the task commission can be cash or in kind, etc., and the task can be set with a penalty for failure, but the same shall not conflict with the rights of the tenant;

4. The task release sheet will be protected after it is posted, and any alteration, damage, or covering will be regarded as a direct challenge to the protector of Cherry Crossing;

5. An individual or a team (depending on the undertaker as one or more people) tears off the task release sheet is deemed to have undertaken the task, and cannot be given up after undertaking;

6. After completing the task, the individual or team will return the release form to the protector, and the protector will make a judgment of success or failure, and the rights of the tenants at the above levels shall not be violated in the process of completing the task, otherwise it will be regarded as a direct challenge to the protector of Cherry Ferry himself;

7. If the task is successful, the publisher will pay the commission (or in kind), and the protector will pay 10% (or equivalent) to the undertaker, and the task process will be completed;

8. If the task fails, if there is a corresponding failure penalty on the release sheet, it will be enforced, if there is no penalty, the task process will end;

9. The publisher can revoke the task after the task list is posted and before it is undertaken, and the release order will be invalid;

The "Survival Manual" takes great pains to find various loopholes in clause 33, such as the clause does not impose any restrictions on the transfer of task lists, so the task list has become hard currency to some extent, but it is a crime to be guilty, as a tenant without property preservation treatment, it is extremely dangerous to have a task list, and for example, if the task reward is cash or in kind, it will be taken by the father, but not services, rights, information, etc., so the manual recommends that the task publisher try to use these methods to pay the honorarium,—— to avoid taxes reasonably. Jonah didn't look closely. Clause 40 caught his attention.

"Additional Clause 40: Formation, Existence, Rights and Obligations of the Team:

1. Each room can set up a team. The team size is between 3-6 people;

2. Sign the application form and submit it to the protector according to your own will, and the team will be declared;

3. The team can undertake the task, and any more than 2 people in the team can undertake the task, which is regarded as the whole team undertaking the task;

4. The task rewards of the team are distributed internally, and the task punishment of the team is evenly distributed;

5. The team can apply to update the list of members due to personnel changes caused by tenants checking out, missing, dying, changing rooms, and new occupancy;

6. If any member of the team is attacked by a person (physically or mentally injured), the team can freely counterattack against that person within the time limit of recourse, and is not bound by the rights and interests of the tenant within the time limit of recourse;

7. Time limit for recourse: 12 hours for grade A, 24 hours for grade G, 48 hours for grade M, and 168 hours for grade V;

8. The team must undertake a task of M level or above every month from the date of establishment, otherwise it will be automatically disbanded, and a new team shall not be established within three months of the room;

9. If the number of team members is less than 3, it will be disbanded. ”

The Cherry Ferry Survival Handbook is marked in bold red text with clause 40-6: "Extremely important!" "This is the only entry in the rider that makes an 'exception' to the rider's rights." ”

"The first rule of survival: comprehend 40-6, make reasonable use of 40-6, and avoid 40-6 from appearing to you. ”

"Classic example: Deceive the opponent, induce the opponent to attack your own teammates, and start a massacre within the time limit (with a battlefield situation map). ”

"Knock knock," there was a knock on the door, and Jonah, who was looking at it in a daze, looked up, and the head of the chamber reached in and said, "Great, my lord, the sun has gone down completely, and you should go to work." ”

Oh, and there's the lighting task for four hours a day. Looking at the signatures on the agreement, Jonah shook his head, picked up his staff, and limped out of the room. On the way to the center of town, he raised his head and asked Toba, "Is it hard to live?"

"The secret to health is to exercise every day, adult. Maintaining your physical activity is the key to longevity. The Bazeral farmer flexed his arms to show off his biceps, which were thicker than Jonah's waist.

"Forget it. ”

Jonah didn't see the legendary Daddy. As if omniscient and omnipresent, this mysterious figure was incomparably tall in his mind. But his dwelling was unremarkable, and although the surrounding stone houses were awe-struck in a circle, leaving a wide circular square five hundred feet in diameter, the low, low and dilapidated wooden houses in the center of the square could hardly be connected with the glorious image of the protector of Cherry Crossing.

Apologetically, Toba lifted him gently by the neck of the astrologer's apprentice with two fingers, and placed it carefully on the roof, and Jonah staggered and stood on the thin tin roof, riddled with holes, lest he stole through the palace of the King of Cherry Crossing.

It was already dark all around, and the lifeless Cherry Ferry looked like a grave. The other side of the holy river roared in a place where it could not be seen clearly. Jonah took a deep breath, clenched his staff, and looked up at the stars.

The stars are so bright that they are "always in awe", he remembered the famous words of the astrology teacher Gilbert Nayon, an epigram engraved on all astrological towers, telling future generations to always feel their own insignificance and to be vigilant in their search for the truth in the dark.

Star God, no matter what tomorrow brings, at this moment, let me borrow your power.

He closed his eyes.

The 30th star of the first house, the "bear", gradually became clear in the sky, and in the darkness, a starline emitting strong light and heat split his body like a sharp sword, shooting from the "bear" to the seventh house of the seventh house star "boat", which is now on the far side of the earth.

Jonah held his staff aloft.

In the red crystal, the star array quietly activated, and the scattered energy fragments fell from the starline, like broken crystals, and the fragments were driven by the vortex of the star array, and the energy spun faster and faster in the complex graphics carved by Mithril, emitting light, and the sun rose again in the center of Cherry Crossing.

"My lord, I will defend your heavenly glory to the death. Toba, who came from a small closed mountain village, hid behind the house, silently reading and tears streaming down his face. He stood half a head above the room, only half crouching, lest the astrologer see his indecent demeanor.

Jonah glanced at the brightened riverside town, the shadowy blackstone houses looking austere, and only at this moment of the day did he feel like a man capable of carrying a mission,—— no, like a king standing on the shoulders of a king.