Chapter 400: You

"Eeyoo, eeyoo… I just remembered! Heroes and brave men, I say! I'll tell everything! Stop hitting!"

The effect of the GreatMemoryRestorationTechnique is astonishing; after only three minutes, the chubby boss was already kowtowing like crushing garlic, and even though he didn't know what move to use, he had to rack his brain to think of something.

He writhed on the ground like a fat maggot, tears streaming down his face.

"Um, I just remembered, they… they seem to have a base in the more southern Dry Wood Territory; they really didn't tell me! I overheard it accidentally while delivering wine!"

…Look, what did I say? He really does have something he knows.

Having obtained a crucial clue, Ji Ming stopped bothering him and planned to head straight to the Dry Wood Territory to launch a trial duel and bring the black wizard to justice.

But as soon as he lifted the cellar door, he saw a guy with a player ID in the basement frantically raiding the boss's food supplies, eating and taking at the same time.

Perhaps because of his experience repeatedly scouring An De Lu's underground warehouse back and forth in Sunlight City, the two locked eyes and felt a hometown‑meets‑old‑friend kind of warmth.

"Hey! You little thief!"

Then Ji Ming took three steps and two steps, and arrested the little Xiao Huangmao—who looked like a European—on the spot.

If this were the past, a player stuck in such a predicament would just use a forced rebirth and hide back in the urinal.

But anyone who could get here is at least level 30, level 30… losing a level would be heartbreaking, so he didn't die on the spot; instead he kept begging for mercy.

"What do you want? Friend! This Asian friend! Let's talk, don't hurt each other!"

Matsui and ShanShang, hearing the commotion overhead, quickly climbed out and, together with Ji Ming, surrounded the little thief.

And moreover…

What techniques have ShanShang's ancestors actually passed down?

How is this kid so skilled at tying people up, and the binding looks so artistic?

So Xiao Huangmao's face was like a breathing light, turning bone‑white with fright one moment, then flushed with panic the next, forced to lie on the ground in despair.

"bro! Actually I also have Asian friends, please spare me, and I'm a Gaul, not royalty, I'm really embarrassed!"

ShanShang, furious, tightened his grip to death, cursing while doing so.

"Baka, we're not from India either!"

Grabbing Xiao Huangmao wasn't because he stole, nor because Ji Ming wanted to be the first group to make money by kidnapping other players in another world.

All this stems from Ji Ming's complete player information; Xiao Huangmao belongs to a guild called the Holy Zulu Empire.

…In reality there is only a Zulu Kingdom, which disappeared long ago, its people now part of South Africa, so the name sounds nothing but otaku at first glance.

But earlier, when LaoZhao summoned Ji Ming to a meeting to cram international relations, he learned that there is a small, backward nation in southern Africa still ruled by a so‑called king.

Just like the Romans of Europe, barbarians love to pretend to be civilized, and the king's chosen "wild father" is a Zulu who has nothing to do with him.

His self‑title, however, is an "emperor" that nobody acknowledges.

Wow…

"Alright, alright, stop chatting with him, it's serious time now!"

Ji Ming ordered the two youngsters to spread out, drew a knife and thrust it in front of Xiao Huangmao.

"Speak, what's your relationship with Rang Pi Sai Er Yue Se Fu Ka Ka?"

"Uh…"

Xiao Huangmao originally tried to play dumb, but when he saw Ji Ming draw another knife, which slammed into his core area with a bang, he instantly surrendered.

After all…

Although he can't escape, he can still be stabbed.

—Conclusion after the 125th suicide in "Desperate for Death".

But in his panic, though he didn't know exactly who he had offended, Xiao Huangmao subconsciously chose to ask a reverse question, knowing they were certainly not good people.

"What do you mean? Who are you? How do you know?"

Bang!

"Now I'm the one asking you!"

Another knife was thrust before his eyes, and Xiao Huangmao's face instantly twisted into a knot.

In an instant his expression changed to a tearful pleading.

"Little brother, I can see you're knowledgeable, but I have family, I really can't tell!"

Hiss…

Ji Ming thought, is this Pi Ka Ka that impressive? Isn't he the famed Gaulish filial son, the one who would worship the emperor as a father?

One must understand that although Gaul is now a total pushover, it still has a royal house backing it among the Five Constants, and as a traditional colonial power its influence in Africa is not to be underestimated.

Daring to kidnap a Gaul and threaten his relatives to work for them is like digging on the head of Grandfather Tai Sui, then urinating and playing with mud!

So Ji Ming, as a personal‑force intelligence operative, got enthusiastic, leaned close to his ear, and lowered his voice.

"Friend, have you notified your country's embassy about this? I think I can offer a little…"

But Xiao Huangmao stared wide‑eyed.

"What!? Dude, I think there's no need to make such a fuss over two dogs!?"

"???"

"Uh…"

Xiao Huangmao hesitated for a moment.

"Fine, I'll come clean. I'm actually a Gaulish exchange student studying in Huaxia; my parents only pay for my tuition and food, so I have to work hard for anything else…"

"So after I got the qualification, I leveled up hard, earning money by taking people through quests, and recently was hired by that African emperor named Pi Sai Er, and… that's how it went."

So you're saying my family are two dogs, right!

Fine.

Since that's the case, it's easy to say. Reluctant to lose a child to a wolf, anyway Ji Ming, who can claim reimbursement from LaoZhao, sighed.

"How much money did he give you?"

Xiao Huang Mao's eyes lit up, then he furrowed his brows, as if it were hard to pull it out.

"Sorry, I don't know how to convert to EastJapan yen; your exchange rate changes far too fast…"

Ji Ming was stunned.

"Why convert to EastJapan yen?"

Xiao Huang Mao looked at the two youths behind him.

"I just heard that rich kid speak EastJapan language; aren't you EastJapan people?"

…

"They are, I'm not; I'm a Huaxia person."

…

"Then why didn't you fight?"

…

"Would you directly fight if you encountered a royal player?"

…

"Yes, just never have before."

…

"Brother, you're already level 31, your skill is again a talent-number monster; who can bring you down?"

…

"Constance, she's the crazy goddess of the Father-Annoying Alliance! You don't know, her methods are extremely vicious, she almost ripped my lungs out!"

During the conversation, Matsui and ShanShang, standing nearby, had been silent for a long time; they only wanted to know why every sentence these two said was full of flaws.

But having a common topic creates the possibility of conversation, and conversation creates room for easing tensions,

Since this Gaul knight's goal is merely to seek wealth, he becomes a target for recruitment and subversion.

By stating that we can offer him a stable job and emphasizing that Pikaka's actions are purely regressive, the game will eventually sanction him.

"Alright, misunderstanding cleared, ShanShang, release the great enlightenment Yuanwei bro."

Actually, how could an ordinary rope possibly restrain a level‑31 warrior class? It's just everyone giving each other face.

"Honestly, I don't want to work for that Zulu Emperor, serving the emperor… Isn't this just pure nonsense?"

Shaking off the rope from his body, Yuanwei Shengdian told them the "mission" of his trip.

The answer is there was no mission; he acted on his own, heard there was a base here and came to look around, and was caught on the spot by Ji Ming.

As for why he, after seeing the front desk empty, came down to eat and take everything…

Perhaps because his talent is Ancestor Battle Soul, which is part of an ancient inheritance.

Yuanwei leapt up, swinging his large hand.

"Let's go, I'll take you to the Withered Wood Territory base! The olive's black egg!"

Lying in the cellar, half‑asleep, the forgotten fat boss heard this sentence; before he completely passed out, his last thought was.

"Damn, I think I got beaten for nothing…"

One can only say this "knight" truly was a knight; after leaving the inn, Yuanwei changed into a full set of armor and summoned an equally fully‑armed warhorse.

Moreover, unlike the Crusader Knight's intricate magical patterns, his armor looked sleek, even worthy of being called "realistic".

Yuanwei raised his cloak, and again swung his large hand.

"Depart!"

"... You set off for a market, but we have no mounts!"

Suitable horses aren't just available on demand; having no choice, Ji Ming and the others pooled money to temporarily purchase an ox‑cart.

The young master certainly can't drive, and Ji Ming lacks that skill point; fortunately ShanShang's family still farms, so he reluctantly became the driver.

Crammed with Matsui in the cart that previously held apples, Ji Ming suddenly felt a bit cramped, so he grabbed a handful of farming tools that Aunt had given them.

"Let's go, sir, your loyal tenant farmers are ready to start work!"

Riding technique is one of the Ancestor Knight's inheritances, and also a required lesson for the Demon‑slashing Ninja; therefore, despite the ox‑cart being a hindrance, the speed under buffs isn't unsightly.

Thus they slipped from noon to evening and arrived at the so‑called Withered Wood Territory.

To avoid stirring up trouble, Yuanwei took the lead before they entered the town, temporarily acting separately, and they even paid a little before entering the small city.

The atmosphere here, compared with Cold Pond, instantly turned gloomy; the market was clearly less prosperous, and the passing townsfolk wore uneasy expressions.

Matsui had also quietly asked Ji Ming, wasn't he worried that Yuanwei might feign a betrayal, actually leading them into a trap?

Wai Shu seemed very calm, merely waving his hand.

"I choose to trust him."

In fact, privately they've been using personal privileges to monitor where Yuanwei Shengdian went; at worst they'd re‑arrest and punish him together.

However, Yuanwei was wiser, not doing the foolish thing of boarding a pirate ship and spiraling up, and quickly got in touch with Ji Ming.

【No internal spy, come here, we'll take them all in one go】

Following the attached location info, Ji Ming led the two into stealth mode and discovered that, perhaps because the opponent this time was a player, their base was not in the wilderness.

It also wasn't hidden like the Shadow Cathedral in the lower city; instead it was boldly, arrogantly built in the bustling downtown.

Strictly speaking, it was a tall tower beside the local Viscount's Castle.

"Is it that spirited?"

Now not even Matsui, ShanShang also felt it was somewhat unbelievable—aren't you truly not afraid of someone sending you a bomb pack to kill you?

Ji Ming, as usual, began spending money and smooth talk to obtain information, but received an even more jaw‑dropping revelation.

Living here was actually the Viscount's distinguished guest, a magnanimous, highly reputed venerable mage!

If it weren't for the fact that this lord hasn't been in Withered Wood Territory long, Ji Ming would even suspect that Pikaka is another time‑traveler; otherwise, how could he have arranged things so?

And Matsui, who asked an extra question because of his family background, got a reasonable answer to this abnormal information.

Exactly, the Viscount is also a guy greedy to the point of insanity; for the guests' money, he drove away the attendant who had served their family for over a hundred years.

Speaking frankly, even if they really are a bit too weak now, as professional mages they can't even break through to level 20, but we can't just discard them like that.

This purely chills the hearts of the subordinates!

Moreover, although this is ultimately someone else's family affair, it's not something they can interfere with.

But if we can confirm that the Withered Wood Viscount and Black Emperor Pikaka are in cahoots, we can pin the charge of 'assassinating the Cold Pond Count' on him.

As the dividing line between great and minor nobles, a Count does have the right to intervene in kingdom affairs; you, a young lord, dare to act against a great lord—hmph...

Having a plan to solve the problem, they fully armed and rushed into the Mage Tower.

"Pikaka, wait for us, we three master and disciples will come catch you right away!"

Now it really has become a dungeon; the Viscount will spend money for the Pioneers, actually just wanting them to train more mage apprentices, so the lower levels are all rookies who can't even understand magic.

These young men and women don't even need Ji Ming and ShanShang to act; they're practically Matsui's newbie trial, just wielding their cross-shaped spears and clearing the path with a clatter, and that's it.

If it weren't for his fear of killing the innocent, he would have wrapped thick cloth around the spear tips beforehand; the 'fallen' crowd would also have been cooperative, and today we'd probably have a whole line of unlucky dead.

And after he performed Peerless Chaotic Dance to the sixth level, a worthy opponent finally appeared.

"Hey, what are you people? Dare to intrude on our territory!"

Everyone looked up and saw that it was a barefoot muscular man with his arms crossed over his chest, wearing a white training uniform.