Bai Xia cautiously drew near. Yet, the knight-like man sprawled on the ground remained utterly unresponsive from start to finish.
‘Could he have already kicked the bucket?’
Kneeling beside him, the young woman paused for a silent moment. Then, with a hesitant reach, she nudged his armor. “Hey there, big brother, are you still alive?”
The blood-soaked knight remained utterly still; in fact, there was no trace of the vitality one would expect from a living being.
Bai Xia frowned, then suddenly slapped her forehead.
“Detection Skill!”
The scene was so lifelike that she had completely forgotten she was currently in a game. If she didn’t know what was going on, she should simply use her Detection Skill!
Bai Xia was truly exasperated with her own foolishness. As the white light of the Detection Skill emanated, the knight, previously devoid of any information, finally yielded a response.
[Dawn Knight (Deceased)]: A knight belonging to the Dawn Knight Order, who died due to unknown reasons. Bringing his corpse or perhaps a token back to the Forest City and delivering it to the Forest City Lord might yield some clues.
“Ding! A fortuitous quest has been triggered—’The Missing Knight.’ Do you accept?”
Simultaneously with the information, a system notification appeared. Bai Xia inwardly sighed, acknowledging that this was precisely what she expected, and then, without a moment’s hesitation, she accepted.
“Ding! You have obtained the quest item ‘Dawn Knight’s Emblem.’ Please return this quest item to the Forest City Lord to trigger the next stage of the quest.”
As the system’s voice faded, a ball of white light suddenly emerged from the deceased knight’s body. The light drifted towards Bai Xia, and she instinctively caught it, only then realizing it was a palm-sized metal emblem.
Nearly half of the emblem was stained a reddish-brown by dried blood, and it bore several marks that appeared to be from sharp weapons, testament to the fierce battle its owner had fought in life.
Clutching the emblem, Bai Xia glanced at the knight’s body once more, just as she prepared to rise.
“What are you doing?”
The sudden voice from behind startled Bai Xia so badly that her legs nearly buckled, almost sending her sprawling onto the corpse before her. Fortunately, she quickly recovered, then turned with a resentful gaze towards the man, whose face was a picture of innocence.
Tian Zheng found her expressionless stare rather unsettling. He promptly pointed at the knight’s body, diverting the topic. “What’s this? A new type of monster?”
“Are you a ghost?” Bai Xia, however, did not answer Tian Zheng’s question, maintaining her placid expression. “You make absolutely no sound when you walk. You must be a ghost, right?”
“…It just so happens that I logged in right behind you.”
Tian Zheng waved a dismissive hand. In truth, his own feelings were far more complex, having logged in only to see Bai Xia squatting beside such a gruesome corpse.
Bai Xia eyed him suspiciously, still asking with a hint of confusion, “Why did you log out here too?”
“Because this is the only safe spot on this entire plain, my little princess.”
“Who’s a little princess?!”
“Then… my little darling?”
“Get lost!” Bai Xia scoffed, feeling her usually expressionless face about to crack in the face of the shameless man.
Having finished their usual banter, Tian Zheng smiled, then finally adopted a serious expression.
“So, what exactly happened with this corpse?”
Bai Xia offered no verbal reply, instead directly sharing the quest information with him.
Tian Zheng quickly read through it. After a moment of inexplicable silence, he suddenly exclaimed, “Honestly, Bai Xia, is this game run by your family?”
“Huh?”
Though Bai Xia’s face showed little emotional fluctuation, Tian Zheng still discerned a hint of bewilderment in her eyes. It wasn’t his fault for thinking this way; it was just… how to put it?
While Bai Xia’s complexion was indeed pale, her luck was simply outrageously good!
Though they had only known each other for a few days, Tian Zheng was not the only one in their party who felt this way; most of the others largely shared the same sentiment.
Just like at the very beginning, in the新手村 (TL Note: a common term in MMORPGs referring to the starting area for new players), they had stumbled into an ancient ruin purely due to Bai Xia’s accidental blunder. Following that, a deluge of experience, divine artifacts, and various benefits had granted her everything others could only dream of right from the start.
Furthermore, their recent dungeon runs were a testament to this. Even though monster equipment drop rates were notoriously low, simply having Bai Xia in the party guaranteed good loot. They had even encountered a hidden map once before, all because Qian Qiao and Bai Xia’s playful skirmish had inadvertently led Bai Xia to trigger a mechanism.
And now, without doing anything at all, a rare fortuitous quest had automatically presented itself.
It was no wonder Tian Zheng would exclaim that Bai Xia’s family owned the game; this was clearly the treatment reserved for a beloved daughter! How were ordinary players supposed to survive?
Bai Xia clearly hadn’t grasped what the shameless man was rambling about, but she was too lazy to bother with him. Of course, before pulling out her Town Return Scroll and crushing it, she didn’t forget to add, “Stop spouting nonsense. Join the party.”
“I was just remarking, alright, I’ll join the party… Huh? Where’s the party?”
Before Tian Zheng could finish his sentence, Bai Xia’s figure had already vanished in a burst of white light as the teleportation scroll shattered, leaving him alone to stand in the cold wind. In the end, he could only offer a wry smile, pull out his own Town Return Scroll, and choose to return to the city.
****
****
Forest City, Resurrection Plaza.
Compared to the desolation of a few days prior, Forest City now felt completely revitalized.
The massive Resurrection Plaza was teeming with players, their clamorous voices buzzing like a swarm of bees. The moment Bai Xia’s teleportation completed, the noise instantly assaulted her ears, causing her to frown slightly in discomfort.
Thus, the instant Tian Zheng’s figure materialized beside her, she grabbed him and swiftly pulled him away from the constantly flashing white light of the resurrection runestone.
Only after moving a significant distance from the Resurrection Plaza and venturing into the commercial district did Bai Xia finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Though the streets remained crowded, they were considerably less dense than the Resurrection Plaza, and the noise level had significantly decreased.
As time progressed, ‘Otherworld’ (TL Note: The name of the game, ‘异界’ literally meaning ‘different world’ or ‘other realm’) had become increasingly popular due to various promotions. Its current popularity now far surpassed almost all comparable games, resulting in an influx of more and more players.
Batch after batch of players were teleporting from the新手村 (TL Note: a common term in MMORPGs referring to the starting area for new players) to Forest City. While the city was indeed large, it still felt somewhat small when faced with such enthusiastic players.
Fortunately, this was merely a starting point; a much vaster world awaited outside, otherwise, the city would surely have burst at the seams.
Leaving the Resurrection Plaza, Bai Xia led Tian Zheng through the town’s established rapid transit channels, heading towards Forest City’s administrative district, where the City Lord’s Manor was also located.
In truth, the residential and office areas of Forest City’s administrators were generally off-limits to players. Guards from Forest City even patrolled outside day and night; players who approached would receive a warning, and in severe cases, could even be expelled!
Of course, getting inside was actually quite simple. For instance, if one were to suddenly draw a knife on the street and maliciously engage in PvP, or cause harm or threaten an NPC at a shop or stall, Forest City’s guards would instantly appear beside them, then seize and imprison them in Forest City’s jail.
Well, that method was purely a trick (TL Note: A Chinese slang term, ‘keng die,’ meaning to trick or scam someone, often implying a frustrating or unfair situation).
After all, surely no one would get themselves arrested by the city guards just for a day trip into the administrative district, right?
As they approached, Bai Xia and Tian Zheng were, without question, stopped by the guards. However, after presenting the token obtained from the previous knight, which the guards then handed to the City Lord, they were quickly granted passage and even specially escorted into the City Lord’s Manor.
The City Lord’s Manor in Forest City did not appear luxurious; it exuded an ancient and simple aura, with most of its structures even crafted from wood.
Inside the grand hall of the City Lord’s Manor, Bai Xia and Tian Zheng finally beheld the legendary City Lord of Forest City.
However, it was somewhat unexpected.
“Are you the adventurers who brought back the emblem?”
The City Lord of Forest City was frowning, examining the emblem in his hand that served as the token. Upon hearing the two enter, he asked without looking up, his expression inexplicably mercurial.
Yet, after a long wait, he received no response.
The City Lord finally looked up towards Bai Xia, his brow furrowing even deeper.
“Why aren’t you speaking?”
“…You are the City Lord of Forest City?” Bai Xia opened her mouth, then hesitated, seemingly holding back her words.
The City Lord gave her a very strange look, appearing somewhat puzzled. “What, I don’t look like it?”
‘It’s not that you don’t look like it, it’s that you don’t look like it *at all*!’
Observing the City Lord, who stood not far away with his pale green short hair, a height only slightly taller than Bai Xia’s own, and a remarkably delicate face despite a deep voice, Bai Xia fell into a profound silence.
‘If one didn’t hear the City Lord’s voice, anyone would surely mistake him for a soft and adorable girl. Though the ‘falsely feminine’ (TL Note: ‘伪娘’ (wěiniáng), a term referring to a male who looks and acts like a female, often used in anime/manga contexts) attribute… for many, is even more exciting than an ordinary girl.’
Perhaps provoked by Bai Xia’s gaze, or perhaps discerning her unspoken doubt about his gender, the City Lord’s expression stiffened, and his eyes narrowed. “That look… are you, you little shorty, questioning this City Lord?”
‘L-little shorty?’
For a split second, Bai Xia felt her mind go blank.
Fortunately, Tian Zheng, sensing the awkwardness, quickly pulled her behind him, then hastily addressed the ‘falsely feminine’ City Lord. “Ahem… City Lord, please forgive us. This one of mine meant no offense; she was simply astonished by your youthful appearance.”
“Flatterer… Humans, this City Lord’s beauty is not for the likes of you to covet.”
Faced with the City Lord’s disdainful gaze, the man momentarily felt an urge to draw his sword and cut him down.
Of course, it was merely a thought. One must remember that a City Lord of a major city would have to be at least level 80, and here, he could summon a throng of guards at any moment, the lowest of whom would be level 50.
Thus, unless one was utterly insane, it would clearly be impossible to cause trouble in such a place.
Seeing Tian Zheng put in his place, Bai Xia, who had been somewhat annoyed, almost burst out laughing. After all, it was rare to see the man beside her with such a dark expression.
However, her joy quickly turned to sorrow, for the City Lord’s gaze swiftly returned to her. “Little shorty, you found this emblem, didn’t you? This matter is of great importance, so please tell me all the specific details. What about the knight who possessed this emblem? What is his condition?”