Chapter 77.1: Tricycle Expedition Sets Off Again
There was a sudden stir in Exile Town on this night.
Hearing the activity outside, Mia cast aside her covers and slid off the bed. She approached the window and peered out into the night.
There weren't any streetlights in Exile Town, and with the glow of the moon, Mia could only make out vague, elongated silhouettes darting across the streets.
"Is it those undead gentlemen, Mia?" Martina, her roommate who couldn't see a thing, propped herself up in bed but didn't rise.
"Yes," Mia replied, leaning forward with her hands clutching the windowsill, squinting as she tried to discern details. "They seem to be cheering about something with great delight."
"That's wonderful." Martina chuckled, resting a hand over her chest. "It's good to hear their voices again."
"It certainly is." Another woman, with vision as poor as Martina's, sat up from her bed too. "Not hearing the sounds they make for several nights in a row was truly unsettling."
While the former thieves loathed the clamor of players, the common folk women from Camore were very much the contrary.
In the Duchy of Shiga's eastern provinces, Taranthan epitomized the fear of the unknown, enigmatic demons, and alluring devils—folktales born of the wastelands that stood adjacent to the eastern populace for more than a thousand years.
Not to mention the terrifying monsters these women had witnessed firsthand being slain by the undead as they traveled along the tricycle caravan to Exile Town…
Although they knew Exile Town was safer than Camore Weaver District they used to live—where drunks hurled bricks at their houses for laughs, or mysterious men pounded on their doors in the dead of night—if they didn't hear the raucous noise made by the undead that protected them before falling asleep at night, a sense of unease would linger.
Mia felt her way back to her bed and sat down, listening to the renewed chatter of her roommates becoming more spirited. In the dark, a serene smile graced her lips.
She understood the unease of Martina and the others—she felt it too. The life they were granted on arriving in Exile Town far exceeded all of their expectations. It was a reality that felt unreal to every one of them, and they were afraid of waking up and finding out it was all a dream.
Deep down, Mia had a profound fear that lingered. She dreaded the possibility that one morning she might wake up and find herself back in that oppressive, gloomy corner, with the disdainful voices of her family haunting her ears, while the old, worn-out loom that had consumed her spirit, willpower, and determination loomed large over her as if to drag her into a grave…
Each time memories of that particular loom handed down by her mother when she was eight drifted into her mind, Mia would feel restless for quite some time.
Even in her wildest dreams, she would never entertain the thought of returning to her former life.
Her only desire was to cling on to the life she now had—days spent in the small courtyard behind the tailor shop with other women like her, mending and washing clothes worn by the undead, repairing used pouches and backpacks (actually just worn-out player gear and bags recycled, refurbished, and sold at an 80% discount), sweeping the streets around the tailor shop, cleaning the bathrooms in the house they lived in, having three meals a day, being able to take breaks after finishing her tasks, and engaging in leisurely conversations.
There was no longer any need to worry about receiving criticism or beatings for any slight mistake, no longer facing the disdainful glances from family for even eating a small piece of black bread as if she wasn't even deserving of food. Most of all, there was no more sitting before the loom, tearfully working through the night to meet the deadlines…
At night, they could reside in well-ventilated, flea-free rooms, without having to share even a worn-out blanket with anyone else. Each of them had their own bed, mattress, bedsheet, blanket, and pillow.
Mia's favorite was the mattress. It was soft, thick, clean, and devoid of any odor or stains.
When Mr. Anthony first brought the mattresses to them, the women initially wondered if Mr. Anthony had made a mistake. Nobody dared to touch the mattresses as they found it hard to believe that they could be provided with something this good.
It was only after Anthony issued each of the twelve women a bed did they realize it was all real. And, with great joy, they assembled their bed out of the provided planks before gently placing the mattress on top.
Well, these mattresses, which were popular among the female workers, came directly from the factory direct sales via Pinshaoshao. A 10-centimeter-thick single-size mattress of 1.2m x 2m cost under 20 yuan. A complete set, including bedsheets and blankets, could be had for 100 yuan. And because Yang Qiu had made a bulk order of several hundred sets, the factory had even sent free towels, pillowcases, and mosquito nets. [TL note: Pinshaoshao is an online retail site known for cheap products and is kind of a knockoff of the much more renowned Pinduoduo.]
Were it 20 years ago, a low-quality set like this, excluding the bed, couldn't even be obtainable for several hundred yuan, let alone in this world. And this went to show how industrial development and increased productivity were closely related to the lives of ordinary people.
Of course, while Yang Qiu was a gentleman, his care for these female workers only extended to providing basic necessities, nothing more.
Even so, this alone made the women from the Camore Weaver District feel anxious about losing such luxuries to the point where they wouldn't be able to sleep in peace if they didn't hear the din of players that protected them… Yang Qiu never would have imagined this.
The women still had to work in the day. The Merchant Association canteen had contacted the tailor shop, which had the most manpower, hoping that the female workers could plant scallions, garlic, leeks, and mung bean sprouts in the empty space behind Life Lane. Anthony had already agreed. So, after chatting for a bit, the women in the room gradually fell silent.
As Mia lay down and closed her eyes, there was a sudden knocking on their door.
"Mia, are you sleeping?" Anthony's familiar voice came from outside, though sounding somewhat impatient.
Mia instantly became wide awake and quickly jumped out of bed, running barefoot to open the door. "Coming, Anthony. I haven't slept yet."
As the door opened, moonlight streamed into the house.
Standing outside, apart from Anthony, who held a lantern with a look of annoyance, was… Mr. Lord, dressed in mage robes and had a slight smile on his face.
"Pardon the late disturbance. You must be Mia?" The man who had changed Mia's fate, Black Mage Yang, politely nodded to the barefoot Mia as he spoke.
Mia was slightly taken aback and panicked for a moment before remembering to lift the hems of her skirt and curtsy. "Y-yes, I am, Mr. Yang."
Yang Qiu sized up the lady in front of him…
Sparse, disheveled eyebrows, elongated eyes, rough skin, with a large blue birthmark on her face. Overall, she looked much older than her age.
Her looks weren't anything to write home about, and her figure wasn't particularly striking either. Standing at a little over 160 centimeters, her bone structure was prominent, but she lacked flesh. Her wrist bones, protruding from the shirt cuffs, were thick, and the back of her hand was full of veins.
Her only two redeeming qualities were that she was young, and her eyesight had recovered relatively better than most—despite only a few days of decent meals, she could already navigate through the darkness without knocking into anything.
"You'll do." Yang Qiu nodded in approval. "Mia, are you willing to give your all for the future of Exile Town?"
Mia hardly hesitated and immediately nodded with determination. "I am willing, Mr. Lord."
———
During her morning class, Tang Jia checked the player forum in secret. When she saw an update announcement post from the administrator, her breathing got heavy.
———
Release of Exclusive Class Quests for Combat Professions.
After intense deliberation, Assassin Instructor Hal Maxwell, Ranger Instructor Tuttle Joe, Treasure Hunter Finley, Knight Instructor Jerome, and Weapons Master Instructor Charlie Rex have decided to oversee an exclusive class quest for players of the above-mentioned classes: [Journey of the Brave].
Players of the aforementioned classes who wish to participate are to interact with their respective class instructors on the 28th between 12:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. and enter the expedition queue by 3:00 p.m.
Class instructors will lead the expedition, personally acting as team captains, guiding the expedition east, with the Rhine Kingdom as the destination.
1: During the quest period, players participating in the quest will automatically gain 30 points of territory prestige for every hour spent online.
2: Throughout the quest, class instructors will issue impromptu quests at random, with territory prestige, copper coins, basic equipment, and more as rewards.
Introduction of Civilian NPC Mia-related quests
1: Civilian NPC Mia will accompany the expedition.
2: During the quest, players must ensure Mia's safety at all times. If Mia unfortunately meets an end during the quest, all participating players will incur a 300-point territory prestige deduction.
3: Mia will issue impromptu quests at random, with territory prestige, copper coins, basic equipment, and more as rewards.
———
Tang Jia immediately checked the time and realized there was still over half an hour of class to go. However, she felt really restless as if she was sitting on pins and needles…
The moment class ended, Tang Jia deviated from her usual habit of rushing into the cafeteria and instead hurried back to her dormitory. She didn't even bother with lunch and immediately put on her headset to log in.
Tang Jia had only logged in and gathered with her companions when Yang Ying's one-liner, "Quick, call Qingyue on," made her turn and start running back to the respawn point.
By the time the dispirited Unceasing Entropy was dragged over by Tang Jia, Exile Town, despite it being night, was bustling like a marketplace.
The tricycles that had been used during the previous expedition quest were rolled out from storage once more, neatly lined up in front of the container platform. Players who had formed teams with friends were queuing up to interact with their respective class instructors, receiving quests, obtaining tricycles, organizing their team's supplies, and loading their own tricycles.
While this was said to be a class quest, the advanced NPCs didn't really care about casual players who hadn't yet advanced jobs or others sneaking into the expedition team. Players who had missed the previous expedition were being incredibly proactive, and even those who would have issues playing during working hours were eagerly logging in early and slipping their "remains" to reliable friends to bring along…
Cardboard boxes filled with supplies were loaded onto the tricycle carts, then secured with ropes and covered by a waterproof tarpaulin.
Besides Rex, the other advanced NPCs mounted… tricycles and signaled for the expedition team to set off.
Upon seeing this bunch of NPCs, clad in medieval attire and wielding cold weaponry, get on bikes, all players, Ji Tang included, were dumbfounded.
"This is totally not how I imagined going into battle alongside NPCs would look like! Even if they aren't using beast mounts, shouldn't there at least be horses?!"
"The heck?! These guys are even riding all-terrain bikes!"
"Seriously? Why do I think that these look like cheap counterfeits?"
Tuttle disdainfully glanced at the astonished undead behind and muttered to Finley, "These country bumpkins coming out of the boonies are acting all surprised at the sight of some slightly better bikes. Wouldn't they just fall apart from shock if they were to see electric or steam-powered cars in the city?"
Finley roared with laughter. "That's likely. Who knows how many years it has been since these undead last saw a human city. Maybe, to them, these sort of outdated tricycles are the most impressive means of transportation."
In contrast to his two companions' relaxed manners, Hal, beside them, was rather displeased. "That bastard Yang actually wants us to ride bikes ourselves. Couldn't he have just fed those uglies less and saved some money to get a steam-powered car?"
Finley reached out and tapped Hal's shoulder lightly, then used a furtive glance to indicate that Hal shouldn't run his mouth off so recklessly.
Hal couldn't be bothered looking back at the ugly women Yang had requested them to bring along and snorted in annoyance. "Let's go!"
Taking the lead, Hal surged ahead, and his like-minded comrades, Tuttle, Finley, and Jerome, followed suit.
Rex, who was using a tricycle just like the players, with Mia and some supplies in the back of his cart, gazed at the departing Hal for a moment. He then put his feet on the pedal and moved off.
Mia, clutching a large bundle, and her head wrapped in a towel, looked down and didn't say a thing.
Her hearing was much sharper ever since her eyesight started to worsen. She caught everything that Hal and the others had said.
"Come on, let's go!" Seeing the NPCs move off, players stopped complaining and started pedaling.
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