Chapter 309 Hidden Map
A convoy consisting of eighteen trucks pulled by six-legged lizards and ten carriages pulled by mules and horses, loaded with cheap ready-made clothes, spices, goods from the Ertong Store, dead cloth purchased in Innadri Territory, as well as food and water for more than sixty people for half a month, traveled through the uninhabited mountainous area in the southern part of Adler Territory.
Because of the invasion by foreign enemies two hundred years ago, the population of Adler territory migrated to the central and northeastern parts on a large scale, concentrating along the magic steam train and the tributaries of the Barcelo River and the Naunia River. This resulted in a large number of uninhabited areas in the south and north, with the south being the most obvious. Outside the border of Innadli territory, there are hundreds of square kilometers of mountainous areas and plains without a single village.
And this large uninhabited area... is perfect for slave traders to use as a base.
This caravan that bought a large amount of goods in Innadri was certainly not a professional slave trader, but an inland caravan doing legitimate business; but for the businessmen on this continent, it was common to play the role of robbers, bandits, or even horse thieves who massacred villages and towns when the time was right , and it was not worth making a fuss about.
As the sky grew darker, the caravan showed no intention of stopping to find a safe area to camp for the night and continued to move hurriedly into the depths of the wilderness.
"How far is it?"
"We're almost there, just over that mountain."
"Come on, hurry up! I don't want to spend the night with a skeleton in the wilderness!"
The impatient caravan members urged each other to speed up.
It’s no wonder that these people are so nervous... After all, they did a "big job" when they left Innadli - they forcibly dragged two undead who were curiously getting close to the six-legged lizard and looking around into the car and brought them out together!
Ordinary undead were of course worthless. Even the undead servants of a black magician were not as good as the little girl who could make a fire... These low-level monsters had very low IQs and slow reactions, and it would take them a whole day to sweep a yard.
But the Tarantan Undead are different!
After the great achievements of the Tarantan ghost were reported in the newspapers, most people just looked at it out of curiosity as a rare thing, but for those who are interested... this strange ghost who can fight, exorcise demons, and communicate with people is undoubtedly a valuable commodity.
Especially since commodities like "Tarantan Undead" had never appeared in the slave market before - the first batch brought out for sale would definitely fetch a good price!
The caravan members who were hurrying on their way all had fiery eyes when they glanced at the two undead sitting on the backs of the six-legged lizard.
When it comes to the underground black market, these are no longer undead, but two piles of golden coins!
What's even more wonderful is that they accidentally discovered a way to capture these undead souls... either sell them to slave traders who are willing to pay a price, or organize their own people to capture them, both are ways to make money!
The two female players who were stared at from time to time by the more than 60 caravan members did not notice that these "NPCs" were eager to attack them.
"Why does this hidden mission take so long? It's been too long, isn't it?" Yang Ying glanced at the time (on the Earth plane) displayed on the system panel. "Oh, it's 11 o'clock in the afternoon. I have to log off to buy groceries. Jialuo, can you help me check my account?"
"Okay, I'll wait for you to come up and then go offline to order takeout." Jialuo, who was chatting with a gloomy face, waved his hand.
"Okay." Yang Ying then began to take off his equipment.
If the player logs off without returning to the main city's resurrection point, his skeleton will be scattered and his equipment will fall to the ground.
It’s okay for large pieces of equipment, such as breastplates, shoulder armor, leg armor, etc., but in order to avoid dropping equipment when dying in battle, players have already developed ways to use tools such as wire and nylon ties to fix the equipment to the bone frame... For example, tie the breastplate straps to the ribs with nylon ties, and twist the shoulder armor to the clavicle with wire.
But parts like gloves and shoes are very easy to fall off... After all, when the skeleton collapses, the finger bones and leg bones are so scattered that they can't hold up at all.
And weapons - players have already mastered the skills of quickly one-handedly maneuvering their weapons before a fight, quickly tying them to their hands with cable ties.
Yang Ying didn't play the magic system and didn't have any accessories on him. He just took off his gloves and shoes and stuffed them and gave them to Gala.
Next, Yang Ying took out a bundle of cloth that he had asked an NPC to help him sew with the tattered novice suit (T-shirt) that could not be repaired, spread it on the lizard's back, squatted in it, said hello to Jia Luo, and fell apart on the spot. The skeleton and the equipment tied to the bones all collapsed into the bundle...
The caravan members formed a circle and stared closely at the two undead on the lizard's back: "???"
Jialuo paused the chat, skillfully rolled up the bundle of cloth that contained Yang Ying's "corpse", sat on it, and continued to open the chat window of the friend list to gossip with online relatives and friends...
Her attitude was so calm and so normal - after all, it was very common for players to look after each other's "corpses" when they went offline - that the caravan members were not sure whether the undead that suddenly fell apart was really gone, or whether one of the "goods" was missing on the spot.
A younger caravan member couldn't help but ask, "I say... can the dismembered Tarantan Undead still be sold for a price? Will the Adler slave traders recognize it?"
"Take it over first." The caravan leader gritted his teeth and said, "Didn't they say that a white light would appear when the Tarantan Undead died? Since there is no white light, it should be fine."
Although he said that everything was fine, the caravan leader was actually unsure. He stared at the only remaining Gala and urged everyone to speed up even louder.
Yang Qiu, who was watching the caravan through Gala's vision, had an expressionless face.
He suddenly felt that he should be the one to buy and sell undead slaves. When the buyer brought the undead back, he would issue a task to the player to commit suicide to gain reputation, and then continue to sell, commit suicide again, and then...
Well, that’s a bit too much, never mind.
If a buyer encounters a spellcaster, he can create a barrier with a confinement and isolation effect to block the matrix imprint and trap the undead. Then he will have to create a "new character" for the player who "lost the game character" and replace the player's lost equipment. It's not cost-effective.
In the situation where the matrix imprint fails and the player has to change to a "new character", the player's potential level (mental strength) will not be lost; after all, the increased mental strength is trained by the player himself by logging into the game every day and projecting his soul into the other world.
But replenishing the equipment is really a huge loss - especially since the equipment players have now is no longer entirely common goods, and the equipment of some players who are willing to work hard and spend money is not even worse than that of some mercenaries who are not doing so well.
Not to mention Brother Lahong's super RMB warrior equipped with a guardian weapon... Yang Qiu has no place to replace that thing if it is lost.
While Yang Qiu was waiting patiently and chatting about gossip with Sister Jialuo, the caravan arrived at a valley.
The size of this valley is vaguely similar to the Exile Town deep in the Tarantan Wasteland, but the surrounding mountains and forests are much more lush than the Exile Town.
The caravan met up with scouts disguised as hunters in the woods in front of the valley, and was led around into the valley. The room inside was like a real small town, with not only rows of houses and flat squares, but also a popularity that was no less than that of an ordinary small town... There were several foreign merchant teams just like this caravan who came to earn some extra money.
It was dark and there was no electricity in the valley, but there were bonfires and torches everywhere in the square, lighting up the entire valley.
A large number of goods were piled up in batches in various places in the square, and buyers and sellers who came to trade were walking around picking and choosing; at a glance, it looked like a night market in a bustling town.
"Holy crap! Another new map!" Jia Luo, who was sitting on the back of the six-legged lizard, straightened his upper body in surprise and looked around. He took screenshots and showed off to his friends in the Blood Alliance channel. "Sister Ying and I opened a new map for this mission! A very secret hidden map!"
The friends in the Blood Alliance were envious: "Is this true?"
“Oh my god, someone else got the world view breakthrough mission, and it’s not me!”
"Galuo, you two are not kind enough to not even shout out a word when something good happens!"
Jia Luo was so proud: "It's too late, the NPC is in a hurry and won't wait! It's okay, you can still make it after the teleportation point is opened!"
The caravan stopped at the edge of the square. Dozens of strong caravan thugs surrounded the six-legged lizard where Gala was sitting, raised torches and illuminated Gala who was busy chatting.
"Hmm?" Jialuo looked down.
In the torchlight, the group of NPCs surrounding the six-legged lizard and staring at her... didn't look very friendly.
"...What's going on?" Jialuo instinctively felt that something was wrong.
Two particularly tall NPCs took two steps forward, grabbed Jialuo's arms, one on the left and one on the right, and pulled her down.
"What the hell - what's going on?" Jialuo was still waiting to trigger the task. Although she was a little surprised, she did not struggle and obediently let herself be lifted off the six-legged lizard.
Another NPC came forward, picked up the backpacks of Jialuo and Yang Ying, and grabbed the cloth bag containing Yang Ying's "corpse" in his hand.
Garo, who was being carried forward by two strong NPCs, looked back.
Her and Yang Ying's backpacks were stuffed into a carriage.
Yang Ying's "corpse" was carried by the NPC and walked towards the two people who were holding Jialuo.
"Uh...mission plot?" Jialuo muttered.
She really didn't react. After all, it was always players who robbed NPCs, but she had never seen NPCs rob players...
Next, the two people carrying Jialuo and the one carrying Yang Ying, supported by four or five strong men, followed the caravan leader, hurriedly crossed the square, and rushed to a three-story wooden building in the valley.
Because the square was crowded with people and most of the slaves for sale were forced to squat on the ground, Gala, who was being moved by people , did not notice the weirdness of this place for a while.
But Yang Qiu, who "shares" Gala's vision, obviously would not miss any details.
Looking at the slaves who were forced to squat on the ground and wait for selection in groups, which kept passing by the corners of Gala's vision, Yang Qiu's face became increasingly cold.
"——Since Lord Adler has given up governing this land, I will take it over."
