Chapter 79 – Prairie Encounter

The coordinates Birdy sent were in the Horqin Prairie. By the time Fang Zheng arrived, Polly was already there. Since they’d gotten familiar, Fang Zheng rarely took the time to scrutinize Birdy’s character closely. But now, looking from afar, he realized that at some point, the other had abandoned his mismatched gear for a sleek set of dark blue equipment.

The scene was eerily similar to what had flashed through Fang Zheng’s mind two minutes earlier—

Blue sky, green grass, vast and serene, except now, a Little Zombie stood proudly in the wind.

This new addition was perfect, the Legion Leader thought—the finishing touch.

[Local] Milk is Mom: I’m here~~~ What did you find~~~

It wasn’t Fang Zheng’s fault for being curious. They’d been to this place four times before, all to take down a mid-tier world boss. Aside from that guy, for miles around, there was nothing but the vast, endless prairie, wind-blown grass revealing mobs. Oh, and some herbs for Demon Refining, he almost forgot.

But the Deputy Commander really had made a discovery—

[Local] Polly: Did you come with a group?

Fang Zheng froze, his instincts kicking in as he quickly adjusted his camera angle. His sharp gaze quickly caught two figures who hadn’t yet managed to hide in the tall grass.

Huaxia Summit never lacked for sneaky players—even someone as upright as Drink Till You Drop had hidden behind a tree to watch them enter the Hanging Gardens. So it wasn’t exactly news that a couple of War Banner Legion members were tailing them.

[Local] War-Bodhi Patriarch: No point hiding now, they’ve seen us.

[Local] War-Sister Liuli: I’d thank your ancestors eight generations back if you’d just shut up=_=

[Local] War-Bodhi Patriarch: Hey, Healer, what a coincidence.

[Local] Milk is Mom: Mhm.

[Local] War-Bodhi Patriarch: Let’s cut the crap—how do you break through Level 65? Just tell us straight up.

[Local] Milk is Mom: What are you talking about? I totes don’t understand~~~~~~~

[Local] War-Bodhi Patriarch: ……

[Local] War-Sister Liuli: Ghost Server Legion Leader, this place is in the middle of nowhere. If you’re not here to level up, what else could you be doing?

[Local] Polly: Hooking up.

……

The wind stopped. The grass stopped swaying. The world fell silent.

……

[Local] Polly: Want to join? ^_^

A moral compass, the Legion Leader thought, existed only to be shattered TAT

[Local] Milk is Mom: You already have me and you want someone else?! You heartless scumbag~~~~~~~ [wailing]

Sister Liuli and Bodhi Patriarch exchanged glances. Whether they believed it or not was one thing, but that didn’t stop their admiration for the Ghost Server’s leadership from surging like an uncontainable flood…

[Whisper] War-Bodhi Patriarch: Retreat?

[Whisper] War-Sister Liuli: What else? You think they’re gonna hit Level 66 right in front of us?

[Whisper] War-Sister Liuli: Anyway, this place is definitely it. Next time, we’ll come back and search together. It’s gotta be either the mobs or a quest—something’s fishy here.

[Whisper] War-Bodhi Patriarch: Fine.

Having reached an agreement, the two War Banner members quickly Town Portaled away.

On their way back, they exchanged some thoughts—

[Local] War-Bodhi Patriarch: Sister Liuli, I just thought about why our legion hasn’t been able to grow. The main reason isn’t that we’re too small.

[Local] War-Sister Liuli: Then what is it?

[Local] War-Bodhi Patriarch: We’re all too concerned with face…

[Local] War-Sister Liuli: Agreed=_=

At the same time, the two shameless legion leaders were also in discussion—

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: Should we keep going?

[Whisper] Polly: If you let me hook up with you.

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: I meant doing the quest, not hooking up!!!!!!

[Whisper] Polly: I know ^_^

Was this guy… teasing him?!

Fang Zheng swallowed hard, feeling like ever since this guy had confided in that “big sister” City Toppling Beauty, something had changed. The sharp tongue was still there, but there seemed to be something else mixed in. He wasn’t sure if Birdy had really changed or if it was just his own imagination shifting because his feelings had changed. All he knew was that if this kept up, he’d fall hard—and the guy hadn’t even started pursuing him yet!

Tch, maybe he never planned to. Maybe he just found Fang Zheng amusing, so he “liked” him—the kind of “like” where you see a cute puppy on the street and can’t resist teasing it, then walk away when you’re done. But maybe that wasn’t so bad, Fang Zheng thought. At least he wouldn’t end up as tragic as Mad Lad, insisting on meeting in person only to suffer the consequences of his own recklessness.

[Whisper] Polly: Let’s keep going.

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: Not worried about exposing it?

[Whisper] Polly: The location’s already exposed. The quest will be out sooner or later—now it’s a race against time.

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: Yes, boss!

[Whisper] Polly: Good boy.

Why did he suddenly feel like a lackey? =_=

With the discussion over, Legion Leader Lackey clicked Follow and watched as Deputy Commander Boss headed straight in a certain direction. The vast prairie had no landmarks, but thanks to the minimap, Fang Zheng could tell they were moving south. After about three minutes of following, the Deputy suddenly stopped, crouched down, and started yanking up herbs with terrifying speed and brutality!

But before he could pull his third herb, a backpack-wearing youth materialized out of nowhere—

[System] Lan Xiaotian: Freeze! What kind of ruffian dares to steal my homeland’s herbs!

Fang Zheng’s eyes lit up—clearly, this was a triggered event. He held his breath and prepared for battle.

[System] Lan Xiaotian: With the stolen goods in hand, come with me to my tribe to atone for your crimes!

Unfortunately, the system didn’t give the Legion Leader a chance to fight. As soon as the words “atone for your crimes” appeared, Milk is Mom and Polly were automatically set to follow Lan Xiaotian. Soon, a few yurts came into view under Lan Xiaotian’s lead.

Though they were called yurts, their original shape was barely recognizable now—clearly damaged by some external force. Daily items were scattered everywhere, and in the middle of the grassland, a girl in traditional Mongolian dress was crying.

At the same moment, the follow state was lifted. Lan Xiaotian rushed to the girl and asked what had happened. Between sobs, she explained that most of the young men in the tribe had either left for work or, like Lan Xiaotian, gone away for university. Only the elderly and women remained, making them frequent targets for bandit raids. This time was the worst—not only had the bandits stolen their belongings, but they’d also taken the people captive to use as slaves. The girl had only escaped because she’d been out herding at the time.

After finishing her story, both of them fell silent, and a blue cursor—unique to quest NPCs—appeared above Lan Xiaotian’s head.

Before Fang Zheng could approach, Birdy had already double-clicked the NPC—

[System] Lan Xiaotian: I have to save them!

[System] Will you help Lan Xiaotian?

Birdy naturally clicked “Yes” without hesitation, and then the system notifications started flooding in—

[System] Polly has accepted the quest “Help Lan Xiaotian.”

[System] Polly has gained 40 XP.

[System] Polly has gained 5 Huaxia Coins.

[System] Polly has leveled up.

Birdy’s XP bar had already been full, and now, with this minor 40 XP boost from the quest, it was enough to push him to Level 66.

Fang Zheng was green with envy and quickly stepped forward to talk to Lan Xiaotian as well. He clicked “Yes” without hesitation, accepted the quest, gained XP, got Huaxia Coins, and then… that was it. His XP bar was still at 80%—and it was Level 64’s 80%.

The Deputy Commander, who had witnessed the entire process, sighed—

[Party] Polly: Even Your Uncle is Level 65 now…

The Legion Leader silently turned away. Who was Your Uncle? He didn’t know that guy >_<

[Party] Polly: Tired?

The sudden question from Birdy caught Fang Zheng off guard. He checked the time—almost 12:30 AM.

[Party] Milk is Mom: Not really, why?

[Party] Polly: If you’re tired, go to sleep. If not, let’s grind.

[Party] Milk is Mom: Then I’ll sleep.

Not everyone’s a grinding maniac like you =_=

[Party] Polly: Alright, go sleep. Leave your account in the party.

Normally, Fang Zheng was slow on the uptake when it came to emotional intelligence, but today, for some reason, he was hypersensitive. He instantly realized—Birdy was planning to grind alone and let his AFK account leech XP.

In the past, Fang Zheng would’ve cheerfully thrown out a “Deputy, I love you~~~” But now, with a secret he couldn’t voice, he couldn’t bring himself to be shameless anymore. Even remembering his past flirtatious, shameless antics made him want to grab a bottle of correction fluid and whitewash himself into oblivion TAT

[Party] Milk is Mom: No, I won’t leave it running. The computer’s been on too long—it needs a break too.

[Party] Polly: Not “Deputy, you’ve worked so hard, you should rest, I’ll level up on my own”?

[Party] Milk is Mom: I was gonna say that…

[Party] Polly: But that’s not your usual style.

[Party] Milk is Mom: Yeah TAT

[Party] Polly: So why the sudden change?

Because you had to go and confide in a big sister!!

[Party] Polly: I liked your old style better.

Are you an M¹Masochist? =_=

[Party] Polly: If you’re tired, log off. Good night.

[Party] Milk is Mom: Birdy, don’t be so nice~~~~~~~~

[Party] Polly: Staying up late makes you fatter.

Whew, that was more like it.

Damn it, he was the real masochist here!!

The Legion Leader went to bed peacefully, only realizing the next noon when he logged back in that the guy had his account password. So when he entered the game, Milk is Mom had triumphantly stepped into the halls of Level 66.

A whole 1.2 levels’ worth of XP overnight—Fang Zheng had no idea how Birdy had managed it, or how late he’d stayed up. He didn’t dare think about it. It felt like a whirlpool—once sucked in, there’d be no escape. As for thanking him? That was out of the question. He was the Legion Leader, the shameless Legion Leader, the shameless Legion Leader who was completely oblivious to Birdy’s feelings. How could he possibly thank him? Before, he could’ve accepted this kind of favor without a second thought, but now, even the mouse under his hand felt like it was burning.

Birdy liked him. He believed it now.

No one owed anyone anything, and no one was obligated to treat you well. The only explanation was liking someone.

Happy? Of course he was happy. Ecstatic, even.

So this was enough. He couldn’t ask for more—greed would only lead to loss.

Taking a deep breath, Fang Zheng steadied himself and headed to the Horqin Prairie alone. The bandit hideout wasn’t far from the ruined yurts. Since he’d accepted the quest, Fang Zheng figured that whether or not he’d already broken through Level 65, he should still complete it. Besides, such a unique quest might have extra rewards beyond the level-up.

A few bandits patrolled the outskirts of the hideout. Fang Zheng targeted the one closest to him, planning to take them down one by one.

A moment later, Crimson Lotus Holy Fire descended from the sky, striking the lackey dead-on!

A moment and 0.1 seconds later, the burning lackey magically produced a gong…

Even without headphones, Fang Zheng could practically hear the deafening celebratory noise—and then he was trampled by a swarm of bandits who seemed to have emerged from the ground…

[Whisper] Polly: How’d you die?

Unable to whisper while dead, Fang Zheng clicked Respawn. Soon, Milk is Mom appeared at the respawn point, clutching his chest.

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: How I died is… a complicated question…

[Whisper] Polly: That quest can’t be soloed. You need a party.

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: Huh? What quest? I wasn’t doing any quest~~~~~

[Whisper] Polly: Especially don’t attack the nearest minion—he’ll sound the alarm.

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: Damn it, why didn’t you say so earlier!!!

[Whisper] Polly: I died once this morning too.

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: So you had to see me die too to feel better? =_=

[Whisper] Polly: Doesn’t make me feel better. Hurts my heart.

God, could he stop being so sentimental…

[Whisper] Polly: All that XP I grinded overnight, wasted.

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: So it’s the XP you’re heartbroken over, not your Legion Leader?!

[Whisper] Polly: Does the Legion Leader need someone to feel bad for him?

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: Absolutely!

[Whisper] Polly: Does the Legion Leader have no one who cares?

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: Not a soul!

[Whisper] Polly: Then he does now.

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  Masochist