LWGP - Chapter 77
Chapter 77: Captain
Dao Dao, who had calculated a huge sum of money while gnawing on a pig's trotter, asked, "Why did you choose to be a doctor?"
So much like a profiteer. If the master's family elders saw this, they would surely treat her like a treasure.
Wang Jiu: "Practicing medicine to save people is the sacred profession my soul yearns for."
She blurted out the standard answer.
Dao Dao was bewildered. "Then why are you hoarding so many flint sticks?"
Wang Jiu: "Originally, I wanted to help the world, so I was prepared to list them for 1 copper coin. But the system insisted on implementing stamina and hunger levels. That's a rule. How could I let a rule be worth only 1 copper coin? Money is but a trifle; I view wealth as dirt."
Still the standard answer.
System: "…"
Will you die if you don't badmouth the system for one day?
Just then, the pot came to a boil, and fresh seafood tumbled in the milky-white broth.
Trifles, dirt, and what not—everyone subconsciously thought of a certain dungeon.
Wang Shu, holding a spoon, asked, "Master, why did you have to bring that up?"
Qiao Xuejing, who was also feeling a bit hungry and wanted to eat, pressed her forehead.
Wang Jiu said in a warm and friendly tone, "I still have sausages. Do you want some?"
The moment Wang Shu saw her pull out the sausages, he felt his scalp tingle, but he didn't dare say a word.
Have you ever seen a pig complain about having too much to eat? Dao Dao got excited. "Sausages, what sausages?"
"A Lotus Road specialty."
Dao Dao, who had already taken the sausage from Wang Jiu and eagerly eaten half of it: "…"
Was it the Lotus Road it was thinking of?
Wang Jiu patted Dao Dao's plump, porky hide as if to help it swallow, and explained considerately, "That's right, it is. Our Ah Shu even specially looted it from a corpse. But don't be like that, it's been washed, it's clean. If you don't believe me, you can ask him."
Dao Dao: "Blech…"
Wang Shu covered his face. Qiao Xuejing understood.
She was getting revenge on Dao Dao, probably for its earlier comment about her pattern of being shady.
She really holds a grudge.
In a fit of anger, Dao Dao insisted that Wang Jiu give it 10 copper coins. Wang Jiu said, "The 19 silver coins I listed for your master was already a 1 silver coin discount. By that calculation, you still owe me 90 copper coins."
This woman!! So vicious!
Dao Dao was speechless, furious. It snuggled up to Qiao Xuejing, nudging her to help it get revenge. Qiao Xuejing sighed, "Dao Dao, I can't beat her."
Even if she could, the most important thing was that she saw the light shield of the homestead suddenly dissipate. They could see outside, and of course, the outside could see in.
As luck would have it, that terrifying butcher was sitting right there… trying to make a fire by drilling wood.
It was a particularly rustic scene.
His stamina had probably been depleted too, forcing him to prepare food. But he was still waiting for Wang Jiu and the others, since they would also have to prepare food and would eventually have to come out to gather firewood.
And so… the two groups came face to face.
Drilling wood for fire versus each person holding a large bowl of seafood soup.
The contrast was stark.
Seeing the butcher's initially surprised, then cold and profound gaze, Wang Shu and the others, who had just been grossed out, were instantly gratified.
You can't hit us, and on top of that, you can't eat! So much for being awesome!
Wang Shu, who had lost a level after being killed, felt his spirits lift, and he happily ate his seafood.
It seemed Wang Jiu had done this just to deliberately provoke the other party. She quickly reactivated the light shield.
The butcher could no longer see what was happening inside, but through that brief glimpse, he had noticed an item next to their large pot.
That thing could make fire.
Everyone was actually starving. After just a few bites, Qiao Xuejing suddenly said, "Just now, I saw someone list a flint stick for 1 gold coin, but it was bought very quickly. I guess the buyer must be this person. After all, he's killed so many people, he's not short on funds. Seeing that we were about to recover, he felt a sense of crisis and naturally wouldn't be stingy with his money. But the seller…"
She looked at Wang Jiu and asked, "Was it you?"
One box contained 50 sticks. She guessed Wang Jiu probably had four boxes, which meant 200 sticks.
Wang Jiu had previously said she listed 197, kept one for herself, and sold one to her. Where was the last one?
Wang Jiu, who was using a blade to peel the succulent meat from a mantis shrimp, calmly replied with a "Mm."
The homestead fell silent for a moment.
After a while, Wang Shu, who had grown accustomed to his master's black-heartedness, was the one to say that the butcher's name was Liao Luo.
The system had notified him when he was killed by Liao Luo.
Liao Luo had gritted his teeth and spent a fortune on the flint stick as he was leaving because his stamina was depleted, while the people inside the homestead were already eating and recovering. He was a cautious person, so he temporarily backed off.
From his perspective, although one gold coin was excessively expensive, he understood the importance of eating. Seeing that the people inside were willing to buy it, what was there for him to be reluctant about? At worst, he would just kill more people and sell their dropped equipment.
Looking at the fifteen gold coins remaining in his account, Liao Luo didn't feel particularly pained anymore.
However, he didn't go far. While preparing his food, he kept an eye on the glow of the homestead over there.
Once his stamina was fully restored, if they still hadn't come out, they had probably entered the tree-hole vortex. He wouldn't waste his time waiting here; he would surely encounter them again in the future.
Liao Luo let out a cruel, cold smile.
System: "…"
Looking at his cold smile, as a program, it wouldn't normally laugh unless it couldn't help itself.
However, it also noticed that after Liao Luo finished eating, seeing that no one came out of the homestead, he didn't leave to run a dungeon as originally planned. Instead, he walked toward that tree.
That big banyan tree.
He approached it with his blade drawn.
However, two hours before Liao Luo made his move, Wang Jiu had finished sorting out her finances. She took out ten bags of cement and a pile of bricks, then handed the larger treasure chest to Wang Shu. She hadn't used her four Lucky Wheel spins yet, because she couldn't exchange for a battle robe here. Besides, her silver badge had just reached level 3, and she felt like her luck had been drained, so she didn't dare to risk the Lucky Wheel on her shady luck.
"Open it. If you get something good, there's a reward. If it's bad, I'm taking back the fork, and the number of strengthening stones you owe me will be doubled. I'll keep a tab."
Wang Jiu's tone was casual, but Wang Shu seemed to have grasped some of her methods and understood. He quickly agreed.
Then they watched as he unlocked and opened it with his greasy, braised-pork-trotter-covered hands.
He was actually a bit uneasy. He had gotten three strengthening stones in a row before, which seemed a bit unlucky. Moreover, this treasure chest looked very valuable, much more so than the previous ones.
But when you're deep in debt, you stop worrying.
With a click.
"Master, it's a card."
"One-day duration."
"But this monster's name is a bit strange."
Just as Wang Shu finished speaking, Wang Jiu, who had just added water to three opened bags of cement, took the card and glanced at it. "Fishman Chieftain's Mom."
Everyone: "……"
The system had a wicked sense of humor, huh.
But one day was excellent.
It could be used for a full day of dungeoneering, Wang Jiu calculated silently.
The Fishman Chieftain she had gotten from a boss before lasted for half an hour. Now, his mom lasted for a day, which was much, much better.
Qiao Xuejing suddenly stood up gracefully and walked towards Wang Shu with Dao Dao.
It was obvious that after all this time, she had only been organizing things and hadn't opened any chests or the like.
She was clearly traumatized.
Now, she and Dao Dao had finally identified their savior.
Wang Shu's RNG seemed quite stable. Even if he didn't get a top-tier item every time, the overall value of the things he opened was generally 50% higher than what certain professional black-hands pulled.
The difference was too great.
System: "I think the things he opens for others are better than what he opens for you—judging by treasure chests of the same quality."
From the three treasure chests Qiao Xuejing had hoarded, he opened a total of three strengthening stones, a top-grade bronze longsword with slightly better attributes than the fork, and finally, a top-grade small bronze jade pendant. Although it wasn't a growth-type, it still gave +5 to all attributes.
Most importantly, when Wang Shu used the strengthening stones for Qiao Xuejing, he got to +3 in one go with just three stones.
"Master, Master, let me, let me! Let me help you lay the bricks."
"Master, are you thirsty?"
"Master, can you please not look at me like that? I… I'm getting nervous."
"Miss Wang, let me help you."
Having benefited greatly, Qiao Xuejing felt a little unnerved by the constant smile in Wang Jiu's eyes as she looked at them, afraid she might get scammed at some point. So she took the initiative to help, and even Dao Dao enthusiastically helped make the brick house.
Three people and one pig, full and with nothing better to do, threw themselves into the work of laying bricks and building a house with great fervor.
It was only after they started that they learned Qiao Xuejing was an architect. No wonder the name had sounded a bit familiar; Wang Jiu had heard in high-society circles about a rebellious child from a certain family who, instead of inheriting the family business, went into architecture.
With her there, Wang Jiu, who wasn't very knowledgeable in this area, quickly finalized a building layout of two rooms and one bathroom.
Thanks to Qiao Xuejing's guidance, the result was quickly approved by the system.
System: "Construction meets standards. Completion successful. Requires one hour to fully integrate with the homestead. Upon success, Spirit will increase by 100 points."
Oh ho! That much Spirit!
That was comparable to an intermediate-level title!
Having participated herself, Qiao Xuejing now also understood the information about the homestead and couldn't help but feel impressed. This gameplay mechanic was quite amazing.
However, the future use of Spirit was still unknown. In any case, judging by the system's repeated reminders, it was bound to be extremely crucial.
"Your Red Name seems to have faded a lot."
"It's fine. I can run dungeons now. I'm not going outside anyway."
Because regardless of whether that Liao Luo was outside, they could still enter the Normal difficulty dungeon through the tree-hole vortex.
Three people and a pig. If word got out, people outside would probably think they were going in to die.
"Previously, after I finished the Easy difficulty with He Ruguang and the others, He Ruguang said he wanted to try the Normal one. I refused, so I haven't seen how strong the monsters inside are."
"Then you dare to go with me?" Wang Jiu lowered the pant legs she had rolled up while working and looked up at her.
Dying inside a dungeon meant losing more than just HP. If you were unlucky, your equipment could drop, and you would also lose some experience, just not as much as when you were killed in PvP.
So, pioneering a dungeon required preparation. Rushing in recklessly could set you back instead of moving you forward.
Qiao Xuejing was already prepared. She looked at Wang Jiu and smiled, "Can they compare to you?"
"You cleared the Easy difficulty all by yourself."
Wang Jiu had never mentioned this, but the other woman was intelligent and had guessed it.
However, Wang Jiu was neither modest nor arrogant. She had already walked to the light barrier adjacent to the vortex. Before she could say anything, Qiao Xuejing had already proactively reported her current three attribute stats.
90, 98, 78.
"Your three sizes?" Wang Jiu raised an eyebrow.
Qiao Xuejing paused, slightly embarrassed. "Attribute points. I thought the captain would need them."
"And my skills are Heavy Strike, and both Weapon and Agility Mastery."
These attributes were enough to fight the previous Liao Luo, but just as they could get stronger, Liao Luo had likely also assimilated the resources gained from his massacre and would only have grown stronger. That was why they weren't in a hurry to go out and fight.
As for Dao Dao, its attributes were very balanced, all around 70.
Wang Shu's were balanced around 50, a lucky little charm built up by Wang Jiu with equipment and money.
For some reason, both the person and the pig had gone for a balanced build.
"Actually, I can see through your attributes," Wang Jiu said suddenly.
After a moment of surprise, Qiao Xuejing's eyes narrowed slightly as she smiled. "Aren't you going to observe me for a while longer?"
"No need. I've already put out so much bait to hook you. Any more observation would be pretentious."
Qiao Xuejing was surprised for a second time, then suddenly had an epiphany—Wang Jiu, who only went to extremes when on the attack, was usually reserved. Otherwise, she couldn't have hidden for so many years without anyone knowing. The reason she had unguardedly revealed some of her abilities and assets to her and Dao Dao was to entice them.
Poaching? No, what you lack is an excellent captain.
And so, to gain her trust, she had proactively reported her attributes.
This person was so calculating. Could it be that she had been scheming to recruit her and Dao Dao from the very first glance?
But why did Wang Jiu say she could see through her attributes?
Was it a reminder that she had better perform normally and not mess around, otherwise… she would kill her and Dao Dao.
Would she?
Probably.
Such a domineering captain, but it felt pretty good.
Qiao Xuejing lowered her gaze and chuckled softly.
System: "I thought you would keep Eye of Insight as a trump card."
Wang Jiu: "Wang Shu has seen it. What kind of trump card is that?"
The system suddenly had an epiphany—so she didn't consider Wang Shu to be a completely trustworthy ally either.
So it didn't matter if Qiao Xuejing knew or not. Besides, it would have to be revealed in the dungeon anyway.
Wang Jiu created a party. The three people and one pig joined directly, and then they entered the Normal difficulty dungeon together.
The four difficulty levels of the dungeon didn't care if teammates had cleared the previous stage, as long as the captain had.
Upon entering the Normal difficulty dungeon, the environment was identical: a stream, a cliff face, a forest, and the pool at the far end.
The same?
Normal difficulty is just a basic enhancement, huh?
Wang Jiu was quite surprised, her eyes growing slightly deeper. She had already equipped the Fish Abyss Badge, and with the attribute increases from her replacement bronze equipment, her current stats were as follows.
HP: 65
Strength: 120
Agility: 140
Stamina: 99
Everyone had cleared the Easy difficulty, so they understood the general situation upon seeing the scene. The environment was unchanged, so the difference must be in the strength or number of monsters.
Wang Jiu had Insight, and with 140 Agility, she could directly see the situation at the pool from twenty meters away, including the number and strength of the Fishman minions.
"The number of Fishman minions on the shore has doubled to 50, but I estimate there's a similar number underwater, so the total might be 100. They've gotten a bit stronger. Each Fishman minion is still level seven, with attributes of 30, 40, and 30 respectively."
The convenience of having Eye of Insight was too great, but the stats and number of these minions were a bit frightening.
Despite this thought, the two people and one pig all waited quietly for Wang Jiu's command.
She had managed to clear an Easy dungeon by herself and received such a high rating; she must have a technique. Then she said…
"We'll steamroll them. I'll have a puppet pull the mobs in front, with Dao Dao coordinating from the side. But all three of us must have bows. Ranged attacks can reduce casualties and control the distance."
As for bows… Wang Jiu had a spare one in her inventory. She had never intended to sell such ranged weapons. She tossed it to Qiao Xuejing and told Wang Shu to buy a bronze bow from the auction house himself.
A purchase of thirty or forty silver coins was no longer a pressure for Wang Shu, who had received "remuneration" in both money and equipment from Wang Jiu and Qiao Xuejing. They also swept up a pile of quivers.
It was really great to be rich; you could just buy whatever you lacked.
"To get a high rating, we need to minimize casualties. I'll throw a puppet in front to pull aggro and tank damage. Dao Dao will also be down there, using its ground-shaking skill to assist the puppet."
These preparations were made as they approached the pool. Wang Jiu recalculated the Fishmen's attack range, repositioning them at a distance of twenty-three meters. Then, Wang Jiu controlled the Fishman Chieftain, which had a 30-minute duration, to advance with its fork and pull the mobs with heavy steps.
The Fishman Chieftain was a BOSS, after all. Although it didn't specialize in agility, it was still much higher than some minions. But it didn't deliberately conceal its tracks; its purpose was to pull mobs.
How many to pull?
One wave.
All 50 of them were pulled out.
How did it pull them?
Wang Shu and the others waited nervously, and then they saw the Fishman Chieftain speak.
"All of you, get over here."
The Fishman minions all looked in unison towards the fat fish in the distance.
First second: "???"
Second second: "!"
Boss, our Boss!
Boss! How did you get out from under the water? Weren't you sleeping?
But you seem a little thinner… Did you finally lose weight?
A skinny boss was still the boss. The 50 minions immediately followed obediently.
Wang Shu and the others were somewhat dumbfounded. Qiao Xuejing weighed the puppet card she had gotten from the boss fight with He Ruguang and the others, secretly pondering if she could pull off a similar move in the future.
"When I lure them to a distance of about five meters from the pool, you attack."
"Five meters should be the distance they maintain contact with those underwater. And even if they try to run back into the water for help, the time it takes to cover five meters is enough for me to shoot them all down."
"Wipe out 49 of them in three minutes, then let one go back for reinforcements to pull the second wave of 50."
As Qiao Xuejing drew her bow and prepared to aim, she listened to Wang Jiu's explanation and then estimated the 50 minions furiously chasing after the Fishman Chieftain…
Whizz! The first arrow was shot by Wang Jiu, and it killed a minion in a single shot.
The difference in attributes was too great; it was undoubtedly an instant kill. But this undoubtedly alerted the minions who had been deceived by the Fishman Chieftain puppet. They all turned to look at Wang Jiu and the others eighteen or nineteen meters away, each brandishing their forks. Whizz!
A Fishman had already thrown its long fork, and it came flying over.
Wang Jiu didn't move, so the others didn't either. Wang Shu estimated its range… Swish! The tip of the fork stabbed into the ground about three meters in front of them. Its penetrating power was quite impressive. Wang Shu reckoned that if he hadn't improved, one fork would have been enough to kill him.
A 15-meter range.
At this moment, with the minions' attention fully on Wang Jiu and her group, the Fishman Chieftain suddenly raised its fork and performed a horizontal sweep at the minions' backs.
Then Dao Dao, who had been hiding in the woods, charged out and unleashed an earthquake across the area of the minions.
Boom! The minions swept up by the attack were sent flying into the air, while those on the ground were thrown off balance by the earthquake. As they staggered…
Whizz!
Arrows whistled through the air.
Wang Jiu's arrows were noticeably much faster than the others', after all, she had 140 agility. Moreover, she fired two arrows at once. When one arrow pierced through a Fishman, it would continue into the head of the second Fishman behind it.
One shot, two kills; two shots, four kills.
And the most terrifying part was that by the time Qiao Xuejing's arrow landed its kill, Wang Jiu's second volley of arrows was already falling.
The contrast was so obvious even when compared to Qiao Xuejing, let alone Wang Shu.
Wang Shu took a look. For every one volley he fired, his master had already fired three volleys of double arrows.
1:6?
His system quickly poured cold water on him. "Are you drunk? Never mind whether you can hit a vital spot, your damage is several times lower. She's getting instant kills."
"…"
Wang Shu's accuracy was indeed far inferior to Qiao Xuejing's and Wang Jiu's, but he improved quickly because he was good at imitation.
In terms of shooting position, Wang Shu intentionally stood to Wang Jiu's left rear, precisely to observe and imitate, but he also paid attention to Qiao Xuejing's shooting accuracy.
So accurate. She's so amazing too.
"Weapon Mastery, it must be Weapon Mastery."
Wang Shu secretly resolved to learn this skill, but he didn't let it interfere with his shooting.
But it was too terrifying.
Twenty Fishmen were already dead!
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