Chapter 143

When Lin Ling said this, a man in his early fifties, wearing the uniform of a Deputy Captain and bearing the typical midlife paunch, walked toward them.

"There he is—just as I mentioned him—he's Luo Xin."

"Greetings, General Lin, Deputy Captain Ye."

Luo Xin looked ordinary, his expression rigid, face stern.

"That's just how he is—too serious, doesn't know when to relax… Alright, alright, don't look at me—tomorrow when we leave the village, take good care of Xiao Ye. He's a refugee, clueless about the wilds, entirely reliant on you to guide him."

"Understood, I'll assist Deputy Captain Ye properly."

"Good. The rest, you two work out among yourselves."

With that, Lin Ling truly took off—heading in the direction of his home.

But Fang Yue had heard Hua Wuye, unwilling to face that household, had already moved in with Lin Ling. Those two lovebirds, cozying up like that, never considering the feelings of other single dogs!

Still, Fang Yue only grumbled inwardly. Not to mention all the help Lin Ling had given him, just the No-Wood Fruit Hua Wuye had given him was enough to make Fang Yue deeply grateful to both.

This was a meteoric rise—how could he not be grateful?

"How much does Deputy Captain Ye understand about this escort mission?"

"Uh… over a hundred people? Escorting Divine Doctor An back through Man Shui Cun, Chaoyue Village, and several other villages?"

"Then you understand nothing. Before I came, I organized all the data—I'll now explain the full situation to you, Deputy Captain Ye, from start to finish."

Saying this, Luo Xin began reciting from the documents like a monk chanting sutras, making Fang Yue's head swell.

He'd managed to maintain a polite smile at first, but later he clutched his head and cried: "Stop! Stop reciting, big brother—you just know it yourself, don't read it to me!"

"How can that be! If something goes wrong, lives hang in the balance! Deputy Captain Ye bears responsibility for over a hundred lives—you cannot treat this lightly!"

Luo Xin resumed pouring his "knowledge" into Fang Yue's mind, making Fang Yue want to scream—it felt like his old math teacher explaining incomprehensible astronomy, leaving him with nothing but a throbbing head and a foggy, dazed mind.

"Aba aba!"

Amid this terrifying, monk-like babble, Fang Yue suddenly heard a heavenly voice.

"Niu Niu! My beloved Niu Niu!!"

I snapped to attention and rushed over.

"Luo Xin, I have urgent business—I'll let you keep studying. I'll come back later to listen to your… no, to hear your briefing."

Luo Xin frowned, glanced at Niu Niu, then at Fang Yue, and nodded: "Alright. I'll handle the documents left by General Lin. When Deputy Captain Ye returns, I'll continue explaining the escort team's situation."

"Mm-hmm, I'll be back!"

Absolutely not coming back! I'm sleeping at home tonight!

"Night哥, I can't scrape together five Silver… please keep my manual a little longer."

After leaving the Guard Station, Niu Niu sent a message.

"Small issue, small issue—brothers, who's who?"

Fang Yue chuckled.

Seeing Fang Yue in good spirits, Niu Niu asked further: "By the way, Night哥, why did you call me over?"

Fang Yue looked at his dopey, drooling expression and patted his shoulder.

"There's something I need you to do. I want you to join the escort team tomorrow and come with me to Mo Cun."

"Aba aba?!"

Upon hearing this, Niu Niu got so excited he forgot to send the message.

Seeing Fang Yue's skeptical look, he quickly sent it.

"Night哥! No way! The escort team leaves the village—that's the wilds! I'm not going!"

"You won't go? Don't you want your lifespan? Don't you want the Guard Team's benefits? I have the right to kick you out."

"Night哥! Have some humanity! You're going to die, and you want me to die with you? No way, no way!"

"What nonsense—what do you mean I'm going to die? We're leaving as a group, on the village road—it's perfectly safe! You'll just be tagging along to collect your reward, got it?"

"... No way. Absolutely not."

Fang Yue frowned, speaking solemnly: "Niu Niu, how have I treated you normally?"

"Very, very well." Niu Niu, seeing Fang Yue's expression, grew uneasy—his message trembled.

"So now your brother needs your help—will you refuse me?"

"This… Night哥, it's not that I don't want to—it's just that the wilds are too dangerous."

"Since I agreed to lead this escort team, I naturally have confidence. Don't you trust me?"

Fang Yue was bluffing—he'd been forced into this role by Lin Ling, with no choice.

But Niu Niu didn't know—he clearly hesitated… well, from that drooling, vacant expression, it was impossible to tell if he was hesitating at all.

"Night哥, don't pressure me—let me think about it."

"Fine. I'll wait for your answer tomorrow morning."

"Mm-hmm."

Niu Niu went back to train with his coach, practicing spear techniques—Fang Yue could tell Niu Niu didn't want to go.

But you raise soldiers for years, and use them in a single moment—this was precisely when Niu Niu needed to step up!

Fang Yue went to the Di He to warm himself by the fire, dispelling the Yuhan zhi shi, then logged off to eat and browse forums.

Back in the game, night had fallen—the Night War God returned!

Weirdos, your king is back!!

Fang Yue began his night patrol with high spirits.

Unfortunately, the entire night passed without a single weirdo appearing—only a reply from Niu Niu arrived.

"Night哥, emergency—my sister was hit by a car! I have to go to the hospital to care for her! Sorry, I can't join the escort team tomorrow—you do your best!"

Fang Yue:?!!

Family fled?

Wow, does this guy have no limits at all? Where's his integrity!

Fang Yue's face darkened.

Fine, from now on, he gets no share of any good deals!

Fang Yue could understand Niu Niu's mindset—he'd finally managed to climb up, was about to take off, and suddenly had to go into such dangerous wilderness; of course he didn't want to risk it.

But understanding doesn't mean accepting—he refused my request to join, and gave this excuse? Unbelievable!

The air turned cool; he collected his basic reward.

"Remaining lifespan: 1 month, 14 days."

Subtracting one day of natural daily consumption and adding the two-day lifespan reward for night patrol, it amounted to a daily net gain of one day of lifespan.

Of course, that is, provided you don't get killed by something strange during night patrol.

There was risk, but the payoff was decent—Fang Yue was quite satisfied with this job.

Additionally, this escort mission was a high-reward, high-risk task; everyone who joined received a basic reward plus extra lifespan rewards, and could even pre-claim the lifespan reward—but if they pre-claimed, the reward would be discounted.

A 15-day reward became a 7-day lifespan reward.

Even so, many still pre-claimed this portion of the reward—almost all were refugees.

Of course; only refugees had such an urgent need for lifespan.

(End of Chapter)