Chapter 7: Where is my task reward?

The upcoming journey remained as dull and boring as ever.

Apart from occasionally seeing caravans heading toward him, there were no more wild monsters that Chen Shicheng hoped to encounter.

After asking the old man, he learned that the county seat's soldiers regularly cleared the area around the official road, so the closer to the county seat, the lower the chance of encountering wild monsters.

But lately, for some unknown reason, the county seat's soldiers seemed to have disappeared, which led to them being chased by Soulless Mountain Bandits on the way back from Li Family Village to the county seat.

Chen Shicheng originally wanted to accumulate 100 experience points before reaching the county seat to level up and see what it felt like.

But after the old man finished speaking, he temporarily set aside that thought and began asking about the game's content.

As an NPC, the old man knew more about the game's background information, but wasn't clear on the player-side game mechanics; nevertheless, from the limited information he had, he still learned many useful things.

Three years ago, the heavenly star shone brightly, night was as bright as day, and mindless wild monsters that could appear out of nowhere, like the Soulless Mountain Bandits, began to increase gradually.

Previously, one had to venture deep into the mountains to encounter them, but three years later today, they could be seen everywhere even on the official road; if not for the soldiers' regular clean‑ups, ordinary people like the old man couldn't even leave the city.

At the same time, a group of miraculous humans who hardly differed from wild monsters but possessed consciousness and could be reborn after death suddenly appeared in the villages around the county seat.

As soon as they appeared, they rushed around helping villagers with work and asking everywhere if there were any tasks.

Moreover, some of them seemed a bit mentally unclear; whenever there was a crack to squeeze into or a pit to climb, they would definitely go up to have a look, and even if they got stuck inside, they would excitedly shout, "It's so real!"

And this is still the mild side; more seriously, some of them killed villagers' chickens, poisoned neighbors' dogs, and if the village head hadn't led protests, the old oxen in the village probably wouldn't have survived.

Of course, these are only the mild cases.

The little girl couldn't understand why Chen Shicheng's strength changed, but having seen an old man who knew players could quickly become strong, she realized Chen Shicheng was likely the same kind of person as those people.

So while saying these things, he still held back; Chen Shicheng could hardly fail to notice the old man hiding some facts, and as a modern person who had played the game, he knew all too well what kind of conduct those players called the Fourth Heavenly Calamity exhibited.

But why does it feel embarrassing when others defecate in the street?!

Chen Shicheng had no choice but to change the subject and ask where those players had gone, after which he received a shocking answer.

The players of Huangchi County and its surroundings had actually disappeared bit by bit over three years! According to the old man, in the past six months he was the only old man who had seen a player! What's going on? Could it be that after reaching a high level they switched maps? As for the idea that other players thought the game was boring and quit, Chen Shicheng never even considered that possibility.

Anyone with half a brain knows what a game with 100% realism, where NPCs are indistinguishable from real people, signifies; one or two people not playing might be possible, but everyone not playing is utterly impossible.

So what exactly happened? Chen Shicheng instinctively felt that the total disappearance of players was not merely a map change; there must certainly be some other reason.

But no matter how he pondered, he couldn't figure out what other cause could lead to the players' mass disappearance.

Time thus slipped away in his contemplation until the old man spoke, bringing him back to his senses.

"Young hero, Huangchi County Seat is just ahead!" Seeing the tall city walls barely visible in the distance, the old man took the little girl's hand and together they bowed to Chen Shicheng.

At the same time, the system's notification sounded.

【Mission: Escort (Completed)】That's it?

What's next? Chen Shicheng stared at the system prompt with no follow‑up, a question mark forming in his head: I accepted the mission, I delivered the person, and now you just say "completed" and dismiss me? Perhaps the one giving the reward is this old man?

He lifted his gaze to the old man, his eyes scanning up and down.

"Young hero, why."

"Dad!!!!"

Before the old man could finish his words, a mournful cry rang out from within the city gate.

Following the direction of the sound, Chen Shicheng couldn't help but marvel in his heart, what a fine fellow! The newcomer appeared to be a hunter; though he looked young, his tall, straight posture was about 1.95 meters, ten centimeters taller than Chen Shicheng.

He wore a sleeveless dark cloth shirt, his arms bulging with muscle as if they could run horses, a long bow slung on his back, and his waist tied with game pelts and a quiver of arrows flashing with cold light.

"Uncle, little uncle, I'm here with Grandfather!" the little girl exclaimed, her face lit with surprise, arms outstretched as she ran forward, "Little uncle, I've missed you so much!"

Chen Shicheng had expected a warm scene of relatives embracing, but instead this person completely ignored the little girl rushing past, brushed past her, and lunged straight at the old man.

The little girl stood frozen like a wooden chicken, her small mouth pouting as tears streamed down, "Little uncle, you didn't see me?"

The young hunter completely ignored the tearful little girl, continuously checking the old man's wounds while muttering incessantly.

"Dad, are you okay, Dad? What happened, Dad? Dad, I'll help you get revenge right away, Dad. Dad, quickly tell me who injured you like this, Dad."

The little girl had almost made Chen Shicheng laugh, but he barely managed to hold it in; seeing the hunter's extreme contrast between inside and out, he couldn't help but let out a "pfft" laugh.

Seeing the laughter draw the hunter's attention, he quickly held his breath and pretended nothing had happened.

"Who is this?" the hunter asked, glancing at Chen Shicheng's severely distorted face and turning his head in confusion toward the old man.

"Oh, this is the young hero who saved us, his name is—" the old man began, then realized halfway through that they had never exchanged names.

"I am Chen Shicheng; it was merely a small effort, no need to mention it," Chen Shicheng quickly said.

"I am Li Hu; I cannot repay the debt of saving my father,"

"Stop!" Chen Shicheng cut off the hunter, who was going on about repaying his father's kindness in the same old way, "No need for servitude; do you have something practical?"

Although he was picking up a bit of amusement on the side, the reward could not be offset.

Although no major danger had been encountered along the way, and the only four wild monsters he met were easily defeated by himself, a task is a task—since it was done, there should be some gain; that is the most ordinary universal value.

(End of chapter)