Shen Mu glanced speechlessly at the shield warrior player named Wo Hei Qie Ne, giving him an awkward and impolite eye-roll before turning to leave.
Mom doesn't let me talk to idiots!
Hope had been open for over two days, and many players in the first echelon had already left Newbie Village to tackle dungeons in various towns.
Dungeons had always been the core of online games; whether it was for pioneering or speed runs, the rewards were generous. Experience, money, materials, equipment—the bulk of these came from dungeons.
Although Shen Mu wasn't a professional player, he was a veteran gamer. He didn't want to waste the talents and profession of his account, and most importantly… his instant noodles were almost gone!
"Even if it's just to add a braised egg next time I eat instant noodles, I have to work hard!"
Grinding in online games made far more money than 'performance art'!
"Hey? Buddy, why are you walking so fast! Meeting is fate, why don't we team up?"
Wo Hei Qie Ne quickly caught up to Shen Mu, sending a friend request. Shen Mu ignored him and walked towards the Newbie Village entrance, following the map.
The kind and benevolent Village Chief was at the village entrance!
The innocent Village Chief, unaware that he was about to fall into the abyss of poverty, was at this moment kindly guiding new players and handing out Newbie Gift Packs to everyone!
Arriving at the village entrance, Shen Mu saw Village Chief Wang Fugui 9527, surrounded by players, while outside the village, the scene was even more bustling.
A wild rabbit had just respawned when over a dozen attacks landed on its head, dying with remarkable smoothness and naturalness…
The rabbits in Newbie Village were so tragic; they started working before they were even a month old, and then got culled as soon as they started!
"Sigh~ It's been two days, and Newbie Village is still so crowded…" Shen Mu stood outside the dense crowd, letting out a soft sigh.
Wo Hei Qie Ne heard Shen Mu's words and likewise sighed, saying, "Tell me about it! There are more players than monsters now, and it costs a lot of copper coins every time you turn in a quest!"
This guy was way too familiar… Speaking of which, why was a level three 'expert' like him telling a zero-level newbie like me all this?
Could it be that he saw my… handsomeness?
"This game costs money to accept quests? How come I haven't heard of that?"
Shen Mu eventually spoke to Wo Hei Qie Ne. He hated himself for being so weak-willed, but it wasn't easy to meet someone who could see his handsomeness!
"With so many people, you can't do it without spending some money!" Wo Hei Qie Ne said, and a pile of copper coins appeared in his palm, which he casually scattered.
"Everyone look, the guy who's scattering coins is here again, hurry up and pick them up!"
"Someone's publicly scattering coins again?!"
"Don't fight me for them!"
"So many coins being scattered!"
The players who were originally surrounding the Village Chief instantly rushed to where the copper coins had fallen. Wo Hei Qie Ne, meanwhile, pulled the stunned Shen Mu and calmly walked towards the Village Chief, looking utterly unconcerned.
Nima… This works too?!
"Ahem, Brother Liu, don't look at me like that. This is all to save time!"
"Buddy, you really are good at scattering coins, I'm impressed!" Shen Mu immediately accepted Wo Hei Qie Ne's friend request. For no other reason, he just wanted to make more friends!
Good heavens, that one move, that rich guy scattered at least two gold coins and more, enough to buy 10 buckets of braised beef instant noodles!
This guy might not look great, but he's generous with his money. I'm not one to judge by appearance, so I've decided to be his friend!
Shen Mu's gaze at Hei Qie was practically dripping with admiration; he would definitely not let go of this hard-earned… ahem, opportunity!
"Hah, it's just the cost of a bottle of water, what's there to be impressed about! On the other hand, Brother Liu, you can actually fight a tiger, that's truly amazing!"
Wo Hei Qie Ne waved his hand dismissively, then said to the benevolent Village Chief, "Village Chief Grandpa, I've finished what you asked me to do. This is the reply from Li Widow!"
"Good, good, good, young man, you're very good!" Wang Fugui patted Wo Hei Qie Ne's shoulder, took the letter, and then handed him an item. A golden light flashed above the latter's head; he had leveled up.
"Village Chief Grandpa, is there anything else you need my help with?"
"Not for now. Come find me again when you reach level five!"
Wo Hei Qie Ne shrugged and gave his spot to Shen Mu, who was behind him. Shen Mu quickly stepped forward and said in an incredibly miserable tone, "Village Chief Brother! Have pity on me! I'm so miserable!"
Wo Hei Qie Ne: ???
Wang Fugui: ???
"You've just spawned, so you are indeed miserable. I'll give you this book; I Hope you gain some insight!"
"Ding! You used Begging on Village Chief Wang Fugui. Begging successful! You received Random Skill Book x1. Wang Fugui's Favorability +10!"
A skill book quietly appeared in his backpack. After glancing at it, Shen Mu's smile became uncontrollable. Then he received the Newbie Gift Pack, a set of Newbie Equipment, whose stats were negligible but replaced the mosaic on his body.
At this moment, Wo Hei Qie Ne's face was dark, staring at Shen Mu through gritted teeth, but unable to erupt, until…
"Village Chief Brother, is there anything here you need my help with?"
"Nima! Can you stop calling him Brother?!"
Wo Hei Qie Ne couldn't hold back. He had just called the Village Chief Grandpa, but this guy directly called him Brother. Wasn't that taking advantage of him?!
Shen Mu didn't even look at him. Wang Fugui, meanwhile, nodded with a beaming smile, saying, "Recently, wild rabbits have been rampant around the village. If you're willing, please help the village by killing some wild rabbits!"
"Ding! You have triggered the quest · Rabbit Infestation. Do you accept?"
"Accept!"
Rabbit Infestation (E+): Wild rabbits are rampant around the village. Kill at least ten wild rabbits and bring ten rabbit heads back to Village Chief Wang Fugui.
Quest Reward: Experience +150, Copper Coins +15, Village Chief Favorability +1.
Quest Duration: None; Level Requirement: 0; Profession Requirement: None.
Failure Penalty: Village Chief Favorability -2, Village Chief's Wife Favorability -10.
Quest Description: The first step to defeating the Demon King is to defeat the wild rabbits!
Eh?
After reading the quest description, Shen Mu immediately noticed a blind spot: what did the quest failure penalty have to do with the Village Chief's wife?
The Village Chief only lost two favorability points, but his wife would lose ten?
"Um, Brother Hei, is my sister-in-law's temper very bad?"
Wo Hei Qie Ne was stunned, momentarily forgetting his anger, and scratched his head, saying, "I'm still single!"
"No, I'm asking if my Big Brother—that is, your Village Chief Grandpa—is his wife's temper very bad?"
"You—you—Nai Ma!" Wo Hei Qie Ne suddenly kicked out at Shen Mu but was immediately bounced away…
Before leaving Newbie Village, players were forbidden from PK. All attacks from players were ineffective, and attacking other players would result in system penalties!