Ten Thousand Ways To Eliminate Players
Chapter 44 - 044 Novice Village Protection

Chapter 44: 044 Novice Village Protection

Lin Bai, supporting Zhou Jiang, entered the City Lord’s Mansion in a flamboyant manner. No matter who offered to help, he would smile, gently shake his head, and maintain an air of not being tired at all.

This was firstly to cultivate a good image, and secondly, to have a hostage in hand.

His ’Divine Dragon Shakes its Feathers’ move had already tested the capabilities of the City Lord’s Mansion guards. But even a fierce tiger cannot withstand a pack of wolves. What if the City Lord still wanted to find someone to kill him, to test if he was a Player?

Therefore, until he was certain of the City Lord’s attitude, he would not let go of Zhou Jiang. Besides, Zhou Jiang, in his current state, was a walking generator of positive Emotion Value.

Lin Bai had finally understood: the System, despite its overwhelming nature, wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Although he might be driven to the brink of a mental breakdown by a mountain of quests, everything he did came with rewards!

「In the hallway.」

A hurried old man approached, intending to take Zhou Jiang.

Lin Bai, clutching his ’treasure,’ dodged backward and habitually refused, "No need, I can handle it..."

The old man looked at Lin Bai and shook his head helplessly. "Let me. I’m the doctor of the City Lord’s Mansion."

"So you’re the doctor! My apologies." Lin Bai hastily put Zhou Jiang on the ground, apologizing profusely. "Doctor, please check Mr. Zhou quickly. He was unconscious the whole way and vomited a lot of blood."

The old man nodded slightly, his hand already on Zhou Jiang’s pulse.

After a moment, he frowned, muttering, "This is a severe internal injury! Why didn’t he take any healing medicine in time?"

"Maybe he didn’t have time!" Lin Bai replied, his expression unchanging.

"If he had taken healing medicine and circulated his vital energy to recuperate in time, the injury wouldn’t be this severe. Now, I’m afraid he’ll need to rest for two or three months to recover," the doctor sighed.

He took out a bottle of Pill Medicine from his nearby medicine box, poured out one pill, and moved to feed it to Zhou Jiang.

But before the pill reached Zhou Jiang’s mouth, Lin Bai snatched it.

The doctor was stunned.

Lin Bai carefully examined the pill’s composition and quality, then pried open Zhou Jiang’s mouth and fed it to him personally. "I’ll do it. Since I personally brought him back to the City Lord’s Mansion, if I also personally feed him the Pill Medicine, it would make my good deed complete."

The old doctor looked at Lin Bai curiously but didn’t probe further. He just assumed Lin Bai had an odd quirk for seeking ’completeness.’ In any case, the Pill Medicine was administered, so it didn’t matter who did it!

The people around once again contributed a wave of positive Emotion Value, thinking to themselves that Lin, the Storekeeper, was indeed a man of principle...

[Healing one patient (Completed); Reward: Physical Constitution +1 (Issued)]

[Proactively heal three patients; Reward: Physical Constitution +1]

The moment Lin Bai put the Pill Medicine into Zhou Jiang’s mouth, the task completion notification chimed in his mind, as expected. Every initial mission from the System was like a freebie; it only required him to attempt it, not necessarily to do it perfectly.

The System’s designer is quite user-friendly in this regard. I like it.

The point of Physical Constitution was applied to him.

Lin Bai felt his body become much lighter, but other than that, there were no other special changes. It seemed that Physical Constitution, much like Mental Strength, required significant accumulation before its benefits could be truly felt.

"Lin, the Storekeeper, the City Lord is asking for you," an Attendant parted the crowd, came before Lin Bai, and greeted him with a cupped fist salute.

"Alright." Lin Bai stood up and returned the gesture with a circular salute. "I’m going to see the City Lord. Please take care of Mr. Zhou, everyone."

If you’re going to put on an act, you have to see it through. Best to build up some goodwill first.

Zhou Jiang had ambushed him, only to be defeated. Yet, Lin Bai still went to the trouble of bringing him back to the City Lord’s Mansion. After such a righteous act, surely Zhou Jiang wouldn’t have anything to say once he woke up.

Judging by the attitude of everyone in the City Lord’s Mansion, perhaps, just as Zhou Jiang had said, after this initial test, the City Lord would most likely not make any covert moves against him.

The Attendant led Lin Bai to the entrance of a study. "City Lord, Lin, the Storekeeper, has arrived."

"Let him in," a slightly husky voice came from within the room.

A woman? Lin Bai was taken aback. The City Lord of Jiamucheng, Xu Longyun, was a woman?

"Lin, the Storekeeper, please!" The Attendant pushed the door open and gestured for him to enter.

Lin Bai looked inside.

The study had two levels and was brightly lit, its walls lined with bookshelves brimming with volumes. The City Lord was in the inner section. Through a carved wooden partition, a figure in dark green could be faintly seen, their features indistinct.

Lin Bai stepped into the study and cupped his fists. "Lin Bai pays his respects to the City Lord."

"Come in!" the City Lord’s hoarse voice sounded again. "Mr. Lin, I’d like to talk with you."

Lin Bai walked into the inner room.

Only then did he clearly see the City Lord’s appearance: a woman in her late thirties, with light, elegant makeup, and a heroic air about her brows.

Although she was a woman, standing there, she naturally exuded an air of authority, an aura cultivated from being in a high position.

However, her face now bore an undeniable look of exhaustion. Looking closely, one could even see the bloodshot veins in her eyes.

On the table before her lay a few scattered sheets of white paper.

On the papers was the ’Heavenly Remnant Collection’ Lin Bai had produced that afternoon. Many of the blank spaces in the poems had been filled with scribbled attempts.

Lines like: "If two loves reach a point of deep affection..." and "A spring silkworm spins silk till its death, an autumn cicada sings till its end..." and so on.

Each time the City Lord filled in a word, she seemed dissatisfied and immediately crossed it out...

Goodness me! So the City Lord was a literary enthusiast after all. Then her current state was probably his doing!

"If two loves are what?" Xu Longyun asked Lin Bai suddenly.

Lin Bai shook his head. "City Lord, there’s no need for probing. If I had the complete poems, why would I create a ’Heavenly Remnant Collection’? Wouldn’t it be better to publish them myself and achieve fame and fortune?"

"Are you aware of how many people will turn gray-haired agonizing over this ’Heavenly Remnant Collection’ now that it’s been released?" Xu Longyun said.

"City Lord, it’s better for the world to turn gray-haired puzzling over them than for pearls to gather dust," Lin Bai chuckled.

Xu Longyun stared at Lin Bai for a long moment, then suddenly smiled. "A fine saying, ’it’s better for the world to turn gray-haired puzzling over them than for pearls to gather dust.’ Mr. Lin, you are indeed a remarkable man."

The System registered no emotional feedback. Such false flattery!

Lin Bai demurred, "The City Lord overpraises me."

"Let’s not talk about the poetry collection anymore." Xu Longyun smiled. "I want to know, who is Mr. Lin?"

"Who does the City Lord think I am?" Lin Bai countered.

"It is precisely because I cannot see through you that I ask," Xu Longyun stated. "If I say you’re an outsider, none of the other outsiders know of your ’Heavenly Remnant Collection’. If I say you’re a person of this world, your actions are entirely out of step with the current times..."

An outsider?

It seemed the City Lord didn’t know about the ’game’!

Lin Bai interrupted Xu Longyun, "City Lord, what do you think of these ’outsiders’?"

Xu Longyun fell silent for a moment, a flash of disgust in her eyes. She said coldly, "The seeds of worldly calamity."

Hit the nail on the head.

Lin Bai looked at Xu Longyun in surprise. "In that case, why doesn’t the City Lord take the opportunity while they are still weak to capture them all in one fell swoop, instead of letting them run rampant?"

"Is this why you used the Hidden Guards as an excuse to send them to the City Lord’s Mansion?" Xu Longyun retorted.

"More or less!" Lin Bai chuckled awkwardly. Could I possibly tell her that all of this was just because my elder brother was detained by you?

Xu Longyun looked deeply at Lin Bai and shook her head. "It’s not that I don’t want to, but that I cannot. Seven days ago, a divine Oracle descended. It decreed that when the outsiders first arrived, the Government Office must allow them to develop freely. They must not interfere with their actions, nor entice or harm them. Only after the outsiders leave the city can normalcy be restored. Otherwise, heavenly lightning will descend, annihilating the city and its people."

What the heck! So the Novice Village protection is enforced by threats? That’s outrageous! Lin Bai was dumbfounded. His heart pounded a few times, his complexion changing slightly. The game protects Players in their novice period like this... Given how much trouble I’ve stirred up, I won’t attract heavenly lightning too, will I?

Xu Longyun had been observing Lin Bai’s expressions. Seeing him dazed, she tapped the table lightly. "Mr. Lin, sending all those ’descended ones’ to the City Lord’s Mansion has truly created a difficult problem for me!"

[Resentment from Xu Longyun; +1+1+1] The System finally registered negative Emotion Value from the City Lord.

So your name is Xu Longyun. I really thought someone as calculating as you could perfectly control her emotions. Lin Bai looked at the City Lord, then shook his head and smiled. "City Lord, let’s cooperate."

Xu Longyun frowned. "Cooperate?"

"Before meeting the City Lord, I wasn’t quite sure of my own mission. But after listening to your words, I seem to have some inkling." Lin Bai smiled meaningfully. "I sent them all to the City Lord’s Mansion in one go, and it didn’t attract divine punishment, did it? I think this can probably serve as the basis for our cooperation."

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