Chapter 116: Berserk Pretty Boy
When the three infiltrators finally discovered the truth that there were no night patrols in the town of Weisshem in an alley less than two hundred meters in a straight line from the town hall, a few players were also moving stealthily along the walls.
"I can't help but feel that this isn't very reliable Little Gummy, are you sure you really saw it?"
The female player with the ID "Jia Luo" on her head whispered to her fellow female gamers.
Tang Jia was about to speak when she saw Yang Ying turning back abruptly and making a shushing gesture.
Tang Jia immediately shut her mouth.
Jia Luo's lips twitch. "Don't speak. It was an oversight on my part."
Fallen Mulberry Leaves, who had recently joined their all-female player group and quickly bonded with them, added, "Actually, I saw it too. The batch we were grinding before consisted entirely of heavy cavalry monsters, and the boss monster, named Wagner Pitt, did appear alongside the pretty boy in that house."
"Is that right?" Jia Luo mused, stroking her chin. "The captured boss hangs out with the pretty boy and Lord Yang hasn't been seen in Weisshem for quite a while. This does have the scent of a hidden quest."
Lord of Taranthan, Yang, could appear in both Exile Town and Weisshem simultaneously. After players cleared the Inner Demon instance, they would also encounter another Lord Yang who would bestow enchantment chances on them. Players of OtherWorld could accept that the NPCs of this game had a mirror setting.
"But I remember that Old Yang was quite formidable. Would it be that easy for the pretty boy to usurp his position? It just doesn't make sense." Jia Luo was still skeptical.
"I think so, too," Yang Ying turned back and said resignedly. "Besides, I haven't heard of the pretty boy giving quests to anyone. Instead, he runs away when he sees players. If there's really an usurpation plot, shouldn't the pretty boy be actively replacing Lord Yang? Qingyue also expressed similar doubts. Just that Tang Jia remained adamant and insisted on sneaking in during the in-game night to take a look."
Seeing that her two teammates were in agreement and had effectively rejected her idea left Tang Jia visibly frustrated.
Fallen Mulberry Leaves, the recent addition to their all-girls team, came to Tang Jia's defense. "We are just going to take a look anyway. If there's no plot quest, the building should be closed off to players, and only NPCs can enter. We'll find out by giving it a try."
Weisshem was such a large town with many residences that it was impossible that players hadn't attempted to break in Running into houses and rummaging through the stuff in front of NPCs was how the Fourth Crisis would have acted.
If it weren't for Yang Qiu manipulating the imprint matrix to display a reputation penalty warning when players tried to enter certain areas, the public security of Weisshem would have been compromised long ago.
"So, if attempting to break in angers the pretty boy and results in a wipe, you three will log out and attend your afternoon classes. Is that right?" Yang Ying teased.
Tang Jia nodded firmly.
It was a Thursday after all, and she couldn't afford to skip class every day.
"Maybe you should sit this one out, Sis Ying?" suggested Fallen Mulberry Leaves. Like Jia Luo, she, too, was a third-year college student and had classes in the afternoon, so she couldn't play around like Tang Jia.
"It's fine. I haven't logged out for lunch yet. If I die, I'll just cook some noodles. Let's go," said Yang Ying with a determined wave of her hand.
And so, the four young women ventured toward the grand residence where the two old masters dwelled.
Having found their destination, Jia Luo, the most agile of the group, sprang into action and gracefully scaled the wall.
"There's no pop-up warning! This house is accessible!" Jia Luo, perched on the wall, turned around and whispered excitedly.
"Really?" Fallen Mulberry Leaves, Yang Ying, and Tang Jia also got excited, immediately scaling the wall as well.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtIn the real world, these four young women would have struggled to scale a nearly three-meter-high wall due to their limited physical strength and weight. However, in the game, such obstacles were easily overcome as they effortlessly climbed over.
Lowell, asleep in a guest room, woke up the moment the players trespassed.
Glancing toward the direction of the outer wall through several rooms, Inspector Lowell put his hand up and massaged the bulging veins on his temple
Yang Ying and her gang weren't the first group that had chased him to this house. Having been harassed for two days, Lowell now truly understood why Yang had advised him to avoid wearing that cuckoo flower lapel badge like those town hall clerks unless necessary before he lefthe had severely underestimated the relentless energy of those undead!
Even more ridiculous was that these undead pursued him for the sole reason of obtaining "quests" from him.
As an ascetic serving the Goddess of Prosperity, how could he let these dark creatures do his bidding!
How could he, Alfred Lowell, stoop so low!
The annoyed Inspector Lowell took a deep breath and pulled the blanket over his head.
In any case, the undead could at most break into the courtyard and the house, but they couldn't enter the rooms. Let them be!
The four who entered the courtyard weren't taciturn when it came to disturbing others late at night. They called out loudly, "Anyone home? Hello?"
"Pretty boy No, Lowell-san?"
"Lowell-san, your undead friends are here to help~"
"No one's answering," Tang Jia muttered, walking up to the front door of the large house, knocking loudly, and shouting, "Lowell-san~ Did you get rid of Old Yang? Do you want your undead friends to help get rid of the body?"
"Whoa, are you sure you are supposed to shout that out loud?!" Jia Luo exclaimed in astonishment.
"What's the harm? NPCs only react to keywords anyway," Tang Jia replied nonchalantly. "Others have pestered Pretty Boy, too, but said no quest was triggered. Those who pestered him greatly were killed by Pretty Boy's magic, which means they didn't use the right keywords."
"Hmm, that makes sense." Jia Luo was convinced and joined in the shouting, "Lowell-san~ Your undead friends are here to help you usurp~"
The "KABAKABA" cries and banging on the door made it impossible for Wagner, in the adjacent room, to rest. He glanced outside in the dark and saw skeletons pressed against the window, calling into the room and waving their arms enthusiastically when they saw him.
Wagner: ""
Wagner had no choice but to knock on Lowell's door. "Mr. Lowell, some undead have gathered outside again."
Lowell sat up with a black face. Wagner was a prisoner and had no authority to drive away the undead, so Lowell had to handle it himself.
"These guys just won't quit; I have to make it clear to them." Lowell took out the cuckoo flower lapel badge from his bedside drawer, determined to make his stance clear to the undeadhe didn't need, nor would ever allow, dark beings to do his bidding!
Holding the lapel badge in hand, the incessant "KABAKABA" noises immediately turned into the uncouth and shrill calls of young ladies
"Open the door, Lowell-san~ We're here to help you deal with Old Yang~"
"Let your undead friends help you seize power, Lowell-san~"
"I'm an expert in palace intrigue s! Lowell-san, look at me!"
Lowell's hand trembled, and the cuckoo flower badge fell to the floor.
With Wagner looking on in puzzlement, Lowell quickly bent down to pick up the badge. A withered staff appeared in his hand, and he stormed into the hall with a darkened face. He reached the door, opened it, and without a second thought, cast a purification spell.
Tang Jia standing at the door disappeared in a white flash.
The other three were rudely startled, turning tail and running right away.
Jia Luo, while running, shouted, "Damn Little Gummy's fraudulence! There aren't any keywords for triggering a quest at all! Pretty Boy is furious now!"
"Completely unreliable indeed!" Yang Ying chuckled helplessly.
"Forget it, I'm about to log out anyway. I'll cover you guys while you escape!" Noticing the pretty boy chasing after them, Fallen Mulberry Leaves turned around bravely and drew out her steel knife.
"Heh, yeah, it's already half past two." Jia Luo glanced down at the system interface displaying real-world time and unsheathed her dagger as well. "You escape on your own, Sis Ying. I'm heading offline too!"
While the two girls about to log out and head to class kept Lowell busy, Yang Ying wasted no time and leaped down the courtyard wall. "I'll slip away now, then. See you gals tonight!"
Fallen Mulberry Leaves was about to say something but was instantly killed by Lowell's attack.
After disposing of the two undead who "bravely" sacrificed themselves to save their companion, Lowell then rushed toward the courtyard gate, his anger unabated.
Wagner, who was following behind, held on to Lowell's shoes and shouted, "Mr. Lowell, your shoes! You forgot to put on your shoes!"
When Yang Ying, who had already reached the alley outside, glanced back, she was astonished to see Lowell chasing after her barefoot. "Seriously? You're chasing me just because we exposed your plot?!"
Lowell was still clutching the lapel badge in his hand and could hear every word Yang Ying said. The bulging veins on his forehead became more pronounced, and he accelerated even more.
Yang Ying didn't care whether she perished, but since she had already run out, she had no intention to wait around and die. She widened her strides and sprinted in the direction of the town hall.
In traditional PC games, players often have strategies like logging out or teleporting to other maps when they can't win. "OtherWorld" players were no exception. When the Weisshem map wasn't yet released, players would annoy Hal and then use the teleportation point to escape to Desolate Outpost to avoid being pursued. Yang Ying was also prepared to employ this tactic.
As soon as she emerged from the alley onto Weisshem's main street, Yang Ying noticed three figures sprinting toward her from the direction of the town hall, with players in pursuit.
The pursuing players spotted Yang Ying from a distance and shouted out excitedly, "Brother, stop them! They're rare monsters that can't be 'Identified'!"
"Rare monsters!" Yang Ying was thrilled and momentarily forgot about Pretty Boy chasing her. She drew her weapon, and her body emitted a red glow. With a battle roar, she charged toward the three individuals head-on.
The infiltrator trio didn't fully understand that players only had slightly superior combat abilities compared to regular people. They didn't dare confront Yang Ying head-on and attempted to dodge her attack.
However, warrior players had a powerful rune skill that controlled the overall movement of the player's skeleton character. There was no way to dodge when being targeted by a warrior player. As the infiltrator trio agilely changed their positions and were about to evade, Yang Ying made a peculiar, physics-defying turn during her charge and crashed into one of them.
The struck party hadn't time to even curse as he was sent stumbling and nearly fell.
Seeing this, his two comrades quickly drew their weapons coated with black oil and shot Yang Ying from both left and right, producing a shrill metallic screeching as they pierced through her fish-scale armor.
Unfortunately, the undead were the least afraid of piercing damage. Yang Ying didn't care about being stabbed twice and immediately unleashed a Sword Storm right where she stood.
The tall, slender skeleton wielding a modern industrial-grade steel knife, spun wildly in place. Regardless of how much damage it could deal, the sight alone was rather intimidating, and the three infiltrators dared not confront her directly and hastily avoided her attacks.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmWith the delay, Lowell, with withered wood staff in hand, and Wagner, holding on to Lowell's shoes, emerged from the alley in succession.
Players couldn't discern the origin of the three infiltrators, so "Identify" only revealed "???" above their heads. Therefore, players naturally regarded the infiltrator trio as rare elite monsters. Wagner Pitt, a sergeant of Indahl's city defense force, wouldn't make such a mistake.
With moonlight illuminating the street, Wagner's expression changed when he saw the three figures wearing leather armor and black cloaks, with hoods and masks concealing their faces. Even more suspicious was that their weapons were coated with black oil to prevent reflections. Wagner immediately exclaimed, "Mr. Lowell, they're spies!"
Generally speaking, spies in a city could only fall into two categories. Either they were scouts sent by hostile nobles engaged in a territorial dispute to gather information and decide whether to engage in territorial warfare or ones dispatched by marauders or bandit gangs to scout the city's routes and defenses before launching a raid.
Lowell, who was burning with anger, suddenly calmed down greatly as his sharp gaze fixed on the three figures.
The infiltrator trio, who were currently entangled with Yang Ying and the pursuing players, first looked confused upon seeing Lowell, who was barefoot and carrying a withered wood staff. Then, their souls nearly left their bodies
A withered wooden staff was the mark of a church's ascetic!
"How can there be an ascetic here?!" The leader of the infiltrators was completely dumbfounded.
Without any expression, Lowell lifted the withered wood staff and pointed it toward the chaotic brawl happening among the players and infiltrators. "As Goddess denounces, those who sow chaos shall be imprisoned."
The tip of Lowell's staff emitted a gentle and radiant holy light that surged toward the players and the infiltrators, who were brawling. The sacred light formed a glowing cage, trapping everyone inside.
"We've been had! Those mud-legs tricked us" The leader of the infiltrators cried out in despair.
"Pretty Boy is awesome!" The players were also surprised. While marveling at Lowell, who had casually unleashed a powerful skill, they didn't waste any time and swiftly began snatching the equipment from the three rare elite monsters.
"Damn it, why is this monster's equipment so hard to remove!"
"Let go! I saw that wristguard first!"
"Cut the crap. It belongs to whoever gets it first!"
"Can someone help me cut this monster's belt? I can't get this damn armor off!"
Wagner stared dumbfounded at the undead who were trapped inside Lowell's sacred light prison, still trying to snatch the belongings of the infiltrators. Suddenly, he felt a lump in his throat. He and his men had been this pitiful back then if viewed by others!
Inspector Lowell couldn't bear to watch on.
"That's enough! Undead, stop this! They've already been captured. Cease this shameless behavior!"
When players were chasing Lowell for quests, they were eager for interactions with Lowell. However, when it came to plundering equipment, they paid no attention to this "Pretty Boy" and completely ignored his words
Seeing the three spies being forcibly stripped by more than ten undead, Lowell, who couldn't stand it any longer, stepped forward with a stern look on his face and unleashed purification spells in succession, eliminating this bunch of frenzied undead.
"Whoa, f*ck! Pretty Boy has lost his mind!"
"Damn it! Am I not even allowed to take the spoils of war?!"
"Are you kidding me?! I don't want the pretty boy anymore. Bring Old Yang back!"
The infuriated players, clutching the scattered items they had managed to grab, stubbornly raised their middle fingers at Lowell before being obliterated.
Lowell, his blood vessels almost bursting, narrowly avoided crushing the cuckoo flower lapel badge in his hand.