"We are from the same hometown, giving you a lift, how could I charge you for that?"


    Lancaster’s face bloomed into a smile as he pulled "I Love Xiao Yi" onto the cart and handed the driver several demon crystals. Giving the driver a re, he then sat down with his "dear hometown friend."


    The donkey cart rocked and was not very stable.


    He tried several times to find out the source of the mission from "I Love Xiao Yi," but "I Love Xiao Yi" only shared the mission with him and did not say another word.


    This situation persisted until the donkey cart stopped outside the checkpoint of Titan Town. After getting off the cart and registering with the sentries at the checkpoint, they continued on.


    "I Love Xiao Yi" nced at the somewhat verbose man and said in a low voice, "Let’s go, this isn’t a ce for talking."


    Lancaster was momentarily stunned and instinctively followed along.


    They found a stone stool to sit down on. After lighting a cigarette, "I Love Xiao Yi" asked in a raspy voice amid the swirling smoke, "How long have you been in this game?"


    Lancaster replied, "Seven days. What’s the problem?"


    "You must have had a hard time after entering the game." As "I Love Xiao Yi" finished speaking, a cartden with goods passed by them.


    The ttering of the cart’s wheels hitting the ground made Lancaster feel momentarily dazed as his eyes instinctively followed the cart into the distance.


    Following the direction of the cart’s movement, he took in the whole scene of Titan Town’s main street.


    Carts hauling goods asionally trudged by on the main street.


    Elderly men in coarse clothes strode briskly by with stacks of firewood on their backs.


    Cavalrymen in leather armor rode horses through the street.


    ...


    In a daze, he shivered.


    He remembered killing that chicken in the vige, and the family looking at him with such venomous eyes, as if one death wasn’t enough, they came after him again with pitchforks.


    It was as if they were genuinely filled with endless rage because of his actions.


    Now looking back at the scenes in Titan Town, it felt more like he had truly traversed into another world rather than just being in a game.


    "This game’s effects are incredible! The overall experience is great, it’s been four to five years since a game with such immersion has appeared.


    But the NPCs with AI-driven responses are too terrifying, soul-based games aren’t sustainable, they should lower the difficulty of getting started a bit," Lancaster praised.


    "Yeah, you could say that... If we have to put it like that, this game’s logic is excessively consistent. Many things that seem absurd, if you delve deeper, you’ll find there’s a reason for the oddities and even a certain inevitability in the coincidences... like that."


    "I Love Xiao Yi" pointed at the sentry at the checkpoint, then at the farmer who had brought them here. He turned and followed a sentry into a building.


    Shortly after, he came out again, grinning from ear to ear.


    "I Love Xiao Yi" waved the temporary entry permit in his hand and said, "See, the farmer who brought us here, as well as the sentry of this town, actually already know our identities.


    Do you believe that right now, in that room, the farmer ismunicating information about the two of us with the sentry?


    I even suspect that we are constantly being observed.


    To be honest, this situation makes me really uneasy.


    When I first entered this game and arrived at the vige, I realized that the vigers were consciously guiding us toplete tasks.


    You understand, right, that these NPCs are actually aware of our existence."


    Lancaster was momentarily taken aback, thenughed and said, "What’s so strange about that? I’ve also seen the posts by Strange Power Chaos God on the forum."


    "Hmm?"


    "Information about our yer identities, saying we are the people of the Harvest Goddess’s Shangtiya Divine Country, endowed with the Undying Blessing granted by Shangtiya.


    We came to this world from Shangtiya’s divine country, and this news has already beenmunicated by the priests and nuns of the Earth Mother Goddess Church to the leaders of major forces. So, it’s normal for some well-informed forces to know this information in advance.


    From what Strange Power Chaos God revealed on the forum, it is clear that Lancaster, that Incubus Lord featured in the promotional video, is aware of this. Isn’t thismon knowledge among those who frequent the forum?"


    Once he started talking, Lancaster couldn’t stop sharing all the information he knew. Finally, he said, "Wait, you didn’t think this game is a real alternate reality, did you?"


    "I Love Xiao Yi’s" expression froze for a moment, and he smoked more furiously. After a while, he stubbed out his cigarette, threw it into a nearby trash cart, and sighed, "I trust my own eyes more."


    "Eyes can be deceiving, you know... A few years back, when virtual games were at their peak, game operators would secretly promote their games as alternate realities within yermunities if the games had high immersion...


    Afterws were enacted banning such false advertising for virtual games, didn’t all the major gamepanies cease such promotions? I heard that even now, many hardcore addicts still firmly believe in it."


    At this point, Lancaster looked at "I Love Xiao Yi" with a puzzled expression and raised his voice slightly, "Dude, how old are you to still believe in that? If this game is truly another world, I’ll livestream myself doing handstands while having diarrhea."


    "I Love Xiao Yi" was stunned by Lancaster’s harsh words, and said stiffly, "You guys are only interested in scamming free food and drinks... but you make a good point, perhaps I’m being overly sensitive.


    I’m not much for game forums, so I’m not up to date on this news, but if what you said is true, it could exin why I received this mission."


    Hearing "I Love Xiao Yi" was finally willing to exin how he triggered the mission, Lancaster immediately perked up.


    The game’s mission mechanism was somewhat inscrutable.


    Sometimes, a vige girl’s request to pick small andrge mushrooms could turn into a mission.


    Other times, the vige chief’s request to drive away wild boar princesses was not only difficult but also failed to generate a rted mission, let alone mission rewards.


    Now that "I Love Xiao Yi" was willing to share how he triggered this mission, it naturally piqued Lancaster’s curiosity.


    "Your reasoning just now convinced me. If that’s the case, the mission I shared with you must have been issued by the Lord Mansion."


    "Hmm? Exin."


    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "There are needs, thus there are missions. If you think about it, on this territory, who else but the Lord Mansion would want to investigate hidden threats within the town?


    One thing worth noting is that evidence suggests Lancaster, the Lord of this territory, is quite familiar with yers and their thinking patterns. He is likely the NPC most prone to issuing missions throughout thend.


    Even if he didn’t have the need to issue you tasks, you could create a need for him.


    For instance, now... this kind of investigation mission, who else could do it better than our rootless, connection-free yers?


    I even suspect that the Incubus Lord’s control over his domain isn’t as strong, which is why he needs more intelligence. I suspect that this investigation mission is specifically targeted at yers.


    After all, we truly are like weeds in the wind. At this stage, having no ties to any faction makes us the best candidates toplete this mission and the most trustable individuals."


    ...


    [Picture 1]


    [Picture 2]


    [Picture 3]


    [Picture 4]