Volume 3 Containment Operation Chapter 28 Xiaoyue's Help
"Junior thief Ah Dai, have you decided to complete the promotion mission 'Crocodile King's Tears'?" The old man from the Thieves Guild asked me in a friendly manner, not showing any disdain or dissatisfaction with my inability to make a decision.
This is the third time he has asked me this, and I feel a little embarrassed. The safest way is to give up this task and take a normal task again. With my strength, I can be promoted to an intermediate thief safely. However, it is a pity to give up just like that. The super-valuable attribute increase and super-level skill rewards are extremely tempting to any player. Although I can only get one of them, it is the reward for the second profession after all, and it is already precious.
The key to the problem is whether I have the ability to complete this extremely difficult task. This is also the reason why I have been hesitant. Before making a reply, I can't leave the old man behind to find a river to test the water combat ability of the Undead Army. There is no way to lure the Crocodile King to the land for a decisive battle. Moreover, there are many planned things waiting for me. It is impossible for me to waste too much time on this task. I must complete it within two or three days at most.
In fact, I didn't think the problem through and was a little careless. I knew there was a high possibility that I would encounter this task, but because the thief was my second profession, I didn't pay enough attention to it. I thought that even if I couldn't complete it, I would only be punished for ten days. I didn't lead the Undead Legion to conduct a field investigation earlier, which led to the current dilemma.
Generally speaking, this task requires the assistance of other players. It is difficult to accomplish it alone. Of course, I have also considered this aspect. There are dozens of people in the Tongxin Alliance. Afeng's swimming ability is not much better than mine, so he certainly can't be of much help. I haven't heard of any other male compatriots I know who are particularly good at swimming. As for the beauties in the alliance, I'm not too sure. But after all, this is not just a battle with crocodiles. Of course, no one will be vague about real swords and guns. This involves the psychological feelings of women. The virtuality of "Tianxia" is very real. Even if there are some who are good at swimming, they are not in love with their prince charming. I don't have the confidence to persuade them to jump into the water and bathe with many ugly crocodiles.
After thinking it over again and again, I gritted my teeth and finally made a decision, "I decided to take on this task!" As the saying goes, fortune and fortune are sought in danger. Risks and opportunities coexist. Facing opportunities, you will not be able to seize them if you are unwilling to take risks. The worst that can happen is that I can give up this second career and concentrate on developing the necromancer.
"Afeng, I just accepted a thief promotion mission. I have to go to the Crocodile River to obtain the Crocodile King's Tears. Can you help me ask all the companions in the alliance to see if there is anyone who is proficient in water, can lurk in the water for a long time, and can dive to the bottom of the river to grab things?" Although I didn't have much hope, I still contacted Afeng. It is still unknown how much the undead's abilities can be exerted in the water. The best hidden observer is still the player, especially when it comes to the final stage of fishing out the tears, which requires the player to do it himself. With my poor water skills, I really lack enough confidence. If I can really find companions to help, the hope of success will be greater. When I am in crisis, it depends on which brother or sister is able to stand up and help me through this difficult time.
"No problem, I'll help you contact them right away. Do you want me to be the first to sign up?" Afeng acted very "righteous".
"Go to hell with your swimming ability. You will only be fed to crocodiles if you go there. It's better for me to do it myself." I ruthlessly exposed his "hypocritical" mask.
"Alas, there's nothing I can do. I'm good at the work on land, but I can't help you much when it comes to the work in the water. But I know most of the male compatriots here, and I haven't heard of anyone who is a good swimmer. It seems that we can only target those beauties." Afeng's views coincided with mine.
"Remember to explain the real situation to them. It's not about simply killing the crocodile king, but observing it from a close distance. This requires courage, and you must not be scared by the crocodile's sharp teeth." Let me be frank first and prepare for the worst. It's not that I'm overly cautious. A similar experience has been reported before. A female player who was good at swimming helped a friend complete this task. In the end, she couldn't stand the crocodile always swaying in front of her eyes with its bloody mouth open, so she attacked. Not only did the mission fail, but she also suffered a lot of stimulation and was nervous for several days.
"Don't worry, this mission is already very famous. No one will be fooled even if you want to cheat. I will do my best to lobby for you. Wait for my good news." From Afeng's tone, it seems that he is somewhat confident. I don't know if it is to comfort me.
I returned to the base first and waited for news in my room. By the way, I studied the information about Crocodile River again. Since I took on this task and planned to give it a try, I had to be fully alert and treat it seriously and make necessary preparations.
Not long after, there was a gentle knock on the door, "Bang, bang, bang...", with a rhythm. Who was it? So gentle? Afeng, who often came to see me, always knocked loudly, fearing that I was hard of hearing and couldn't hear it. Suddenly, I heard such a gentle knock on the door. I was a little uncomfortable and stunned for a moment.
The other party knocked again, and I came to my senses. I hurried forward to open the door. It turned out to be Yue Linglong. The little girl was standing there with a smile on her face. "Hello, Dai brother!"
"It's Xiaoyue, please come in." I hurriedly let her in, and at the same time, I wondered why she came so suddenly. Could it be that she ask me for help? However, the promotion task I just received has not been settled yet, so I have no time to spare for the time being. I am afraid...
"I heard from Brother Feng that you just accepted a promotion mission and needed the help of someone who is proficient in water?" Yue Linglong interrupted my wandering thoughts.
"Oh, yes," I answered absentmindedly, then I came to my senses, "You are the one that Afeng asked to help me?"
"Yes, I have been able to swim since I was a child, and diving is no problem either. I should be able to help you." Yue Linglong answered in the affirmative.
It's not my fault that I didn't think she was a volunteer applying for the job. I was indeed surprised that Afeng found a helper so quickly. Besides, she should have informed me in advance. It was so irresponsible to let someone come to me alone.
“You have to think clearly. This time we are not going to kill crocodiles. The main thing is to observe the crocodile king and get its tears. By then, there will likely be many crocodiles around you, and you must stay still.” Although it is a good thing that someone is willing to help, I feel a little reluctant to let such a gentle girl accompany the crocodiles. She is a novice, and I am afraid that she was "encouraged" by Afeng, so I kindly reminded her again.
"It's okay, Brother Feng told me that I still have the psychological endurance to do this. I will definitely try my best to help you complete the task." Yue Linglong answered without any hesitation and it seemed that she had made up her mind.
She is a very gentle girl, but she is very decisive when it comes to doing serious work. This is indeed her style. Since I already know the difficulty, I didn't say anything more after thanking her. I just remembered the favor and I will always have the chance to repay it in the future.
Afeng sent me a message at the last minute, claiming that the reason he didn't notify me in advance was to give me an unexpected surprise. There was a beautiful woman bathing with me and she envied my carefree journey. I regretted that I should not have let him go and dragged him along to find a big-mouthed crocodile beauty to swim with him.
Arriving at the Crocodile River, the first thing they did was to test the water combat capabilities of the Undead Army. The results were mixed. Zombies and skeleton archers were not good at swimming, but since they were all undead, they were not afraid of drowning. However, once the water covered their heads, they could not see and basically lost their combat effectiveness. Crocodiles were more interested in zombies and would rush up to bite the rotten flesh on their bodies following their scent. They could not perform the task of lurking and observing. Skeleton archers were all skeletons. As long as they stood still and did not attract attention, they would generally not be attacked by crocodiles. However, they were lighter and easily washed away by the turbulent river. They could only move in the relatively gentle river sections. Moreover, it was not easy to shoot arrows in the water, so the attack speed and hit rate were much lower.
I was very satisfied with Yue Linglong's performance. I could not even catch up with her water skills. Even her pet white dragon was a good swimmer and had a lot of fun playing in the water. Unlike my Taotao, who refused to touch the water no matter how I persuaded him.
Although it was a task I undertook, since it involved water affairs, I still humbly consulted Yue Linglong, listened to her opinions, and decided not to rush into action, but to survey the environment along the river first and select a suitable section of the river to start from, which would make it easier to hide and attack.
It took a whole day to choose the target. I was impatient, but Yue Linglong insisted on a careful comparison. She was very brave and would go into the water to test the crocodiles' reactions. Once she went too far and provoked the crocodile king. Dozens of crocodiles chased her like crazy. The nearest one almost bit her several times with its big mouth. They chased her to the shore and didn't return until we rode our pets far away. Such behavior didn't take into account the feelings of me as a bystander. I was scared and afraid of any accidents, but she enjoyed it and was very interested. The gentle girl turned into a wild girl.
During the break, I couldn't hold back my curiosity. I finally asked half-jokingly, relying on my familiarity with him, "You usually look quite gentle, but why do you get more excited when things get dangerous? It's like you've become a different person. Do you have the legendary dual personality?"
Yue Linglong sat on the bank, stirring the clear river water. When she heard me, she turned around and rolled her eyes at me. "No way. I'm very normal. But my family disciplined me very strictly when I was a child. I was not allowed to do this or that, not to mention some dangerous things. I really had no freedom. I also knew that they cared about me and wanted the best for me. I couldn't bear to go against their wishes for fear that they would worry. It's different here. Many aspects feel the same as the real thing, and no matter what I do, it won't cause too serious consequences. Of course, I have to experience indulgence as I please."
I nodded silently. Everyone has their own purpose in participating in the game. Regardless of whether they are rich or poor, most of them want to realize some dreams that cannot be achieved in reality. Yue Linglong thinks very clearly and is very open-minded when doing things. What about me? Can I throw away the constraints of my personality in reality and indulge myself in this virtual game world? I really want to do this, but sometimes I feel that there is really no way to do it.
After a few hours of rest, we reunited at the Crocodile River and started our operation at a selected section of the river. The river was not too deep and the current was gentle. Although the water was turbid, it was a little difficult to fish out the tears of the crocodile king. However, the tears themselves would emit a faint light, and even if they fell into the water, it would be difficult to hide their light. As long as they approached a certain distance, it would be relatively easy for a diving expert to find them. In addition, there were many duckweeds growing on both banks and in the middle of the river, which made it relatively easy to hide. There were more than 80 crocodiles not far downstream, led by a crocodile king who controlled this section of the river. As long as we slowly lurked along the river, we could observe the movements of the crocodile king.
According to the plan, I arranged a hundred skeleton archers to accompany Yue Linglong into the water. Too many of them would easily expose them. First, they were responsible for protection, and second, they were my "eyes". As long as they saw something, I could also sense it. The disadvantage was that they were too stupid and could not sneak up to the crocodile king for close observation without being noticed, which could easily lead to omissions. If Yue Linglong didn't help me, I could only rely on them as the main force of exploration and try my luck.
I didn't need to worry about Yue Linglong. She was like a white fish in the waves. She quietly approached the crocodiles with the cover of water plants and duckweed. As long as she remained calm and the crocodiles didn't notice her movements, she wouldn't be attacked. But the performance of the 100 skeleton archers made me frown. I couldn't understand what it meant to hide and move forward carefully. They didn't know how to sneak. They were all arrogant in the water, afraid that the crocodiles wouldn't find them. I had to command them one by one, moving from one piece of water plants to the next, gradually approaching the crocodiles. Even so, the noise was still too loud. From time to time, some skeleton archers failed to react in time and were killed by the crocodiles. In the end, only more than 20 of them could successfully reach the predetermined position, and none of them dared to move too far. Only two or three could vaguely see the position of the crocodile king. If I wanted to observe the tears falling through them, I had to keep a high level of attention at all times and concentrate my mind desperately. Of course, the most important thing is to pray that the crocodile king's big eyes must be facing the direction that the skeleton archer can observe, and not to move randomly to escape their sight.
Fortunately, with the help of the chaos caused by the skeleton archers, Yue Linglong got closer to the Crocodile King. She sent me a message saying that everything was going well and asked me to wait for her good news. I was busy thanking her. If it weren't for her, a diving master who could adjust her observation position at any time, just imagine how difficult it would be to arrange those stupid skeleton archers on all sides of the Crocodile King without any blind spots for observation.
