Chapter 88.2: Very Valuable
The second batch of cooking was almost done, and Rex came over.
This young but experienced weapons master, after taking a look at the two civilians waiting at the side to help, gestured to Liu Meng to give him a portion.
Then, in front of Mrs. Doyle and Chris, he drank half the bowl of soup in one go.
Mrs. Doyle remained unfazed, her smile unchanged. Chris, though less experienced with the ways of the world, visibly relaxed, accepting the fact that the undead hadn't tampered with their food.
As the meal distribution party set off again, it came to a halt in the middle section of the town's main street for quite some time.
The two largest establishments, "Gold Coast" and "Elegant Dreams," were located in the middle of the main street, and 40% of the town's sex workers were concentrated in these two venues. What set them apart from other establishments was the presence of quite a few "special commodities," namely orcs.
Establishments with inadequate power couldn't afford to recruit orcs for business. The reason was simple: the cost of managing orcs was much higher than managing humans. No matter how weak these orcs were, when given the chance, they could still kill.
Standing beside the steaming and fragrant pot with a large ladle was an orc who was just as physically weak and bore the marks of confinement. This was sufficient to allay the fears of the other orcs, who had banded together after the rapid change of circumstances. At the two establishments, dozens of orcs, some of whom recognized Ossirian and Lyka, rushed forward to hug them excitedly.
Rex stepped back, leaving the situation to Ossirian and Lyka. It was up to them to soothe their fellow orcs.
Players, who couldn't understand what was being said, crowded around at the side and made idle chat.
"Does this game have racial discrimination too? NPCs are forced into the flesh trade, but humans seem well-fed, while the orcs are skin and bones," Yang Ying remarked.
"There has to be. Our undead race faces quite significant discrimination as well." Tang Jia nodded affirmatively.
Rex: "…"
To prevent the undead from misunderstanding the physical condition of these sex workers, Rex had to turn over and explain solemnly, "It's not like how you imagine it to be. Humans are also severely mistreated. They don't get enough food and are even forced to take fattening agents used in livestock rearing to maintain an abundant physique so they don't incur customer displeasure."
Not only Tang Jia and Yang Ying but other players that had followed along for this quest were dumbfounded.
"The… heck?! It's just a game, is there a need for such a dark background?!"
"Oh, god! I can't even look at these beautiful ladies anymore!"
"Damn, I'm suffering psychological scars just from hearing this!"
"No wonder we, the righteous undead scourge, came to attack this place. The light of justice must shine upon the land!"
"Rex, let's just kill all those fellows on the street! I can't stand scum who treat pretty ladies like this!"
"Execution! Execution!"
Rex covered his ears, ignoring the crazy ranting of these frenzied lunatics.
At this moment, after almost two hours of counting and doing mental calculations that nearly made his brain explode, a gloomy Hal Maxwell returned.
His usual air of arrogance was replaced by a haggard look as he clutched Rex's arm and silently pulled him away from the undead.
"What are you doing?" Rex frowned.
"Give me money," Hal said ominously. "You set the mission reward yourself, 100 territory prestige and two copper coins for capturing an enemy. These undead have captured a whopping 1,862 people, and that's nearly 4000 copper coins. The money we brought isn't enough!"
Rex was stunned.
Indeed, the spectacle of "prisoners" on the street was impressive, but even Rex hadn't expected there to be over 1,800 of them…
Hal raised a thumb, but instead of a thumbs-up, pointed to the player representative Blossoming Strokes, waiting further back, and said chillingly, "The captives have been counted, and those guys are eagerly awaiting their money. If we aren't able to produce enough copper coins… you should probably understand what that would mean."
Beads of cold sweat started trickling down Rex's forehead.
[Rescue Civilians] granted 50 prestige for each rescued sex worker. There wasn't much of an issue since the reward could be given all via the imprint matrix's operation.
As for [Capture Enemies], Rex had not only raised the territory prestige reward to 100 points but also added an extra two copper coins per enemy captured so as to minimize the undead's exposure to the thrill of killing.
Given the small numbers of these undead, Rex had estimated them to take a few hundred prisoners if lucky. After all, this wasn't their home turf, and the undead certainly wouldn't be familiar with the paths locals took, and many would leak through their net…
He had never imagined that the undead, driven by the dual incentives of prestige and copper coins, would execute this siege so flawlessly and to such an extent…
Rex clutched his head in both hands, sweat cascading down.
Under normal "quest procedures," the undead, no matter how frenzied they were, could still be controlled.
However, "quest procedures" couldn't guarantee that these undead wouldn't become extremely tricky to deal with…
Seeing Rex's reaction, Hal wasn't in any mood to taunt the fellow who usually looked down on them. He grabbed Rex's collar in a fit of frustration. "You bastard, you better not tell me you didn't prepare a backup plan. How are we going to resolve this?! Tell me!"
"Fret not, I have arrived."
As Hal and Rex were on the verge of going mad, a deep and calm voice resonated in their minds.
Hal, who was usually infuriated by Yang's commands through the imprint matrix, was overjoyed this time. "Yang? You're here?!"
"Yes, I'm here."
Yang Qiu reassured the two who had nearly given up via the imprint matrix, then nodded to the accompanying Inspector Lowell. "We've finally arrived. Let's go in."
Inspector Lowell silently lowered his dusty hood and dismounted from his horse as well.
They each led their horses and walked toward the town gate of Weisshem.
Players that had completed the quest had mostly scattered. Some wandered aimlessly in the town, while others habitually formed teams and headed outside to see if there were any monsters to fight. Those who stayed in town were either eager for the quest settlement or worried about wandering off and getting killed, and so patiently waited for a respawn point to be set up.
A few players chatting at the town gate spotted Yang Qiu and immediately began to chatter excitedly.
"Old Yang is here! Old Yang is here!"
"Whoa, he even brought the pretty boy along?! Could the two really be secret lovers?"
"This darn game is so formal. Rewards for large-scale quests won't be given out when the Lord isn't here? We've been waiting for so long!"
"Think about it, with Old Yang here, we'll have respawn points. We'll be able to roam freely soon."
"I just want to teleport back and get my clothes mended. My pants are nearly revealing my entire butt."
Yang Qiu ignored the boisterous bunch of undead and calmly led his undead horse into town.
As for the situation in the town… Yang Qiu had already seen it through the players' perspective, and there hadn't been much change.
However, the Black-robed Inspector, upon witnessing this scene of the main street filled with over a thousand half-naked men baking in the seventh month's morning sun, was utterly shocked.
Yang Qiu looked around, satisfied with the spectacle of these landlords and their thugs, revealing a genuinely delighted smile. As if boasting to the bewildered Inspector Lowell, he said, "Look at this spectacular sight. Decades of accumulated sins are cleansed in an instant. This quaint little town can finally see the light again, and it's truly heartwarming."
Lowell: "…"
He had many objections, but he didn't know whether to voice them out…
Yang Qiu simply ignored the palpable resistance written all over this religious chap's face. He continued to lead his horse, taking in the sorry sight of the numerous pleasure-seekers, brothel owners, and thugs as he made his way to the two indigenous tool personnel patiently awaiting rescue.
A plump patron who, despite his difficulty in sitting for extended periods due to his girth, had been watching Yang Qiu since his arrival. As Yang Qiu passed by, the plump man struggled to straighten himself and shouted, "Wait! Are you a black mage? Did you summon all these undead?"
Yang Qiu naturally paid him no heed.
"Wait! I-I'm from the Odysse family! Count Odysse is my uncle!" The plump patron grew anxious and, disregarding decorum, voluntarily revealed his prestigious lineage. "If you safely deliver me back to Count Odysse's territory, you will receive a generous reward! Do you hear me, black mage?!"
Yang Qiu finally came to a halt, turning to face the plump patron who claimed to be the nephew of a count.
The plump patron's eyes lit up, and he made another concerted attempt to prove his identity. "My luggage is in the number one VIP room at 'Elegant Dreams.' My family crest is inside a glasses case. If you have someone fetch it, you can verify that I'm speaking the truth!"
Yang Qiu nodded in acknowledgment of the plump patron. He then looked around briefly and beckoned to Jerome, the knight instructor who was in the vicinity. "Come here, Jerome."
Jerome hurried over obediently and asked, "Do you want me to escort this gentleman… to the room first?"
"No need." Yang Qiu waved his hand dismissively. "Go find a piece of paper and stick a note on him that says 'very valuable.' Stick it on this gentleman's chest so that he won't be misplaced when it's time for sorting."
The plump patron who claimed noble lineage: "??"
Inspector Lowell: "…(゜ロ゜)"
Even Jerome stood on the spot in stunned silence.
"Hurry up." Yang Qiu waved him off.
"Y-yes." Jerom gulped hard and scampered off.
Jerome had a habit of keeping a diary, so he quickly fetched a piece of paper, wrote "very valuable" on it, and taped it onto the plump patron's chest…
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