Chapter 129: Completion
"A light... a light Nirvana Edition?!"
After carefully confirming the item details of the absolute safety express, Mo Tan was stunned.
He still remembered the panel of this thing when it first fell. Although the damage in a strict sense wasn't very great, it was completely unable to take off again. Not only had the 'Flight' characteristic disappeared, but even the notes indicated that unless Master Lu Wei himself took action, it would probably be beyond saving.
The not-so-large crack was one thing, but the detachment of two important runes was a big problem. After all, the Express was just a simple flying vehicle. It had no tracks or wheels. Being stripped of its levitation effect basically meant it was Waste !
Theoretically speaking... it should be like this...
But the facts proved that a certain person's cooking talent had completely leaped out of the 'theory' framework, and from a conclusive point of view, it could even rival logic and the conservation of mass-energy!
What kind of fried dough stick could flatten Rune Metal Beta, which even a fine steel longsword would chip when striking?
Whose millet porridge and black sesame paste could be used to 'coagulate' a flying vehicle?
Which brand of sticky bean buns could firmly 'glue' two rune parts back into a slightly deformed slot, and after being glued back, they couldn't even be pried off!
"How were these terrifyingly mysterious substances created in the form of 'cooking'!?"
If it weren't for considering the girl's self-esteem, Mo Tan would have really wanted to ask that question!
"Mhm, after I processed it, it became the Nirvana Edition!" Ji Xiaoge happily patted the flying vehicle beside her, which had been repaired by 'cooking' without any sense of incongruity. Her pretty face slightly flushed, she replied, "Although I think those things should be on the dinner table more than being used for these..."
"Please don't, it's more humanitarian for them to appear on the battlefield!"
Mo Tan wailed in his heart, stiffly gazing at the beautiful, lively, graceful, cheerful, adorable, and innocent girl with wings on her back... like an angel. He was filled with mixed emotions.
He suddenly understood the meaning of 'the way of Heaven, to take from what has in excess and give to what is in want'...
It probably meant that what Heaven bestows upon you is always less than what it takes away.
If the girl's stunning beauty, capable of overthrowing a nation, was what Heaven bestowed, then it also meant...
Ji Xiaoge's cooking was definitely more lethal than her looks!
"The ancients truly did not deceive me..." Mo Tan muttered unconsciously.
"Hmm?" Ji Xiaoge blinked, "What ancients?"
Mo Tan immediately gave two dry laughs and waved his hand, "It's nothing, it's nothing. In short, it seems it can indeed be used. Thank you so much... Hey! Ya Ya!"
He suddenly noticed that Ya Ya, who had been staring at the Express since just now, was carefully approaching, wrinkling her small nose and sniffing around the two runes Ji Xiaoge had glued back.
Then...
"Stop!" Mo Tan immediately grabbed the dog-eared girl by the back of her collar.
"So fragrant, woof!" Ya Ya, sticking out her small tongue, had already licked it first.
...
Ten minutes later
Jia Deka, who had just woken up, saw Mo Tan walking towards him, carrying a pile of noodles. Oh, there seemed to be a young girl in the noodles.
"Ya! Wang Dejia, you're awake!" The girl cheerfully greeted Jia Deka.
"Uh... awake, but still a bit dizzy. Those biscuits were really strong." Jia Deka rubbed his head and sat down with a pale face, asking curiously, "What's going on with you?"
The beast-eared girl, held by Mo Tan, blinked and happily exclaimed, "Woof went crazy again, and then woof couldn't get out!"
"She accidentally licked the bean bun Ye Ge made." Mo Tan placed Ya Ya, who was tangled in noodles, horizontally on the table and shrugged, "Then she went berserk. We struggled for a while before getting her to calm down~"
Jia Deka nodded with a serious expression, asking with great concern, "Ya Ya, did you... break anything?"
He had been scared silly...
"No, Ya Ya was very well-behaved." Ji Xiaoge, who had walked in from outside, shook her head and smiled, "Although she took two bites out of Mo's Express, Ya Ya's teeth and that thing are both quite sturdy. Oh, Ya Ya, don't move around. I'll get you out right away~"
With that, she pulled out a cold, gleaming scallion pancake from her satchel, grabbed a handful of noodles, and began to cut.
Sparks flew...
"Wow! Sister Ye Ge is amazing!" Ya Ya, freed from the ramen net, squatted on the chair and said with a grin, "Except for woof's food being scary, woof is amazing everywhere else!"
This sentence was obviously very easy to understand. Ji Xiaoge's pretty face immediately flushed, and she lowered her head a little shyly, muttering, "I will definitely work harder..."
"Woof!" Ya Ya nodded vigorously.
"Please, for the love of all that is holy, do not try any harder!"
This was what Mo Tan and Jia Deka were fervently praying in their hearts.
Afterwards, the group began to chat casually, and Ya Ya, whose biological clock was usually very accurate, was also exceptionally energetic, chatting with everyone. It seemed she hadn't remembered to be sleepy because she had just finished 'exploding'.
...
"So, our compensation work should be considered finished." Mo Tan looked around and then asked the three people in front of him, "What are everyone's plans next?"
Jia Deka shrugged, "I don't have any plans. Anyway, there's still some time before returning to Anka Market to turn in the quest. Besides, Ms. Chris definitely doesn't want us to go back so soon. Uh, Mo, I wasn't talking about you, I was talking about me and Ya Ya."
Mo Tan thought about Cordova, who had fallen from the sky at a certain farm that night, then thought about Feimigeer, who had also fallen from the sky. He then recalled the expression of the old farmer at the time and the chainsaw in his hand, and shook his head with a pale face, "Me too, pretty much..."
"Woof don't care!" Ya Ya, lying on the table, wagged her tail happily, licking the back of her hand and muttering, "Woof is very happy to be with Wang Dejia and Mo. Woof can have full meals every day... Hmm, except for Sister Ye Ge's food, woof is even happier!"
Ji Xiaoge clasped her hands together, her face flushed, and lowered her head, "I'm sorry!"
The wings on her back also drooped listlessly...
"Woof it's okay!" Ya Ya shook her head, her tail brushing against Ji Xiaoge's cheek, "Woof likes Sister Ye Ge very much, woof is just a little afraid of dying!"
Ji Xiaoge: "..."
Seeing the conversation about to go off track, Mo Tan quickly interjected, "So, if you two don't have anything to do, Jia Deka and Ya Ya, would you consider coming with me to Tian Zhu Mountain?"
"Tian Zhu Mountain?" Jia Deka was startled for a moment, then laughed, "Oh, I remember now, you told me before that you were going to fight in that Arena, right?"
Mo Tan nodded, "That's right, I want to make myself as strong as possible, so I plan to train there. It would be great if you two are interested, we could play three-person team battles together."
"Woof has no objections!" Ya Ya immediately raised her small hand high, but then her ears drooped sadly, and she said in a low voice, "But woof isn't good at fighting..."
"You're overthinking it, kid." Jia Deka glanced at Ya Ya and shook his head, "You're super amazing."
When this girl went crazy, she could pick up both him and Mo Tan at the same time, one in each hand, and spin them around like a windmill. Her strength and speed would also increase dramatically. Although it might not be much in the eyes of true masters, at least in the 'low-tier' matches Mo Tan had described, she should still be able to hold her own.
Mo Tan also smiled faintly, then asked Jia Deka, "What about you?"
He also handed over the staff that Ya Ya had taken.
The Old Mage stroked his beard, took his unstable explosive, and nodded, "I have no objections either. I've heard of the Grand Arena on the First Outer Mountain of Tian Zhu Mountain. It would probably be a good experience to go and try it out, and perhaps it could even inspire my spellcasting techniques."
"Actually, I think you, old man, could just go up and throw punches. Although the damage might not be as strong as when you're holding a staff, at least it wouldn't lead to situations like 'burying friendly forces'..."
Mo Tan thought to himself, of course, it was just a thought. Being inherently kind (1/4), he certainly wouldn't say it out loud.
"Um~" Ji Xiaoge, however, leaned forward excitedly towards Mo Tan, showing a hint of a fawning smile, "Can you take me with you?"
Looking at the pretty face so close, Mo Tan was momentarily dazed, but then immediately composed himself and asked with slight confusion, "Didn't you say before that you wanted to stay here and be a cook... a chef...?"
He seemed to understand something.
"Hehe, I also want to go out and see the world." Ji Xiaoge laughed awkwardly, "And after observing these past few days (and Jia Deka and Ya Ya's occasional personal experiments), I feel that my skill level isn't quite enough for this job, so I want to gain more experience! And this game... uh, I mean, this world is so big, there should be many different kinds of ingredients in other places. Maybe I can break through myself on the journey! So... can you take one?"
Mo Tan pondered for a moment, then nodded readily, "No problem, then you can come with us later."
This calculation was quite simple. Firstly, having another player in the group besides himself was definitely a good thing for Mo Tan. Even if they didn't know his secret of having multiple characters, they could help cover for him at crucial moments. Secondly...
If the owner of this shop really hired Ji Xiaoge, Mo Tan, by leaving her here, would definitely feel uneasy.
After all, not just anyone had the relatively strong physiques of Ya Ya and Jia Deka.
It wouldn't be good if someone died!
Imagine, someone feeling down wants to find a buddy to have a couple of drinks, but after just one bite, they achieve complete 'liberation'...
"Yes, it's definitely better to take her with us!"
Mo Tan reaffirmed his idea, his gaze sweeping over Ji Xiaoge, Ya Ya, and Jia Deka one by one.
A cooking enthusiast whose ramen and scallion pancakes could spark actual flames...
A dog-eared girl who usually couldn't even speak Mandarin properly, and when berserk, liked to indiscriminately demolish homes, people, and houses...
And Jia Deka, who was mature, steady, well-informed, responsible, and persistent, but would occasionally explode on the spot.
Plus a certain Cordova, who had almost become a unit of bad luck... (For example: no seasoning packet in instant noodles is 0.1 Cor, being hit by a flowerpot when going out is 0.82 Cor)
Mo Tan suddenly realized with sadness that from the beginning of playing this game until now, there had never seemed to be any normal people around him.
"Uh, you don't look so good." Ji Xiaoge looked at him with some concern, asking hesitantly, "Do you feel it's inconvenient to take me along...?"
Mo Tan immediately shook his head, "You're overthinking it. I was just wondering how we should get back. After all, the Express can only hold two people now, and we're over the limit."
Although Mo Tan's face wasn't bitter because of this just now, it was indeed a rather tricky problem when he thought about it now.
"When do you plan to depart?" Jia Deka asked Mo Tan, turning his head while applying an ice pack to his staff, "Didn't you say you had something to do in Dragon Soul Town when we were in Ondhill? It's not too late for us to leave after you've finished."
Mo Tan, hearing this, smiled, "It's already done."
"Huh? It's already done?" The Old Mage was immediately stunned, "When?"
"Well, it was during these past few days when I wasn't at the tavern." Mo Tan smiled, "Although I might have to come back again in the future."
Of course, we all know that when he wasn't at the tavern, it was usually because he was disconnected, but Mo Tan wasn't exactly lying, because his previous matter was indeed 'done'.
It was triggered not long ago when he was in Ondhill and chatted with Feimigeer...
"Side Quest Chain: 1. Go to Dragon Soul Town. Quest Reward: 1200 Optional Experience."
This quest was completed the moment he crashed... I mean, the moment Mo Tan arrived within the vicinity of Dragon Soul Town.
1200 optional experience easily acquired.
And then...
"Side Quest Chain: 2. Clear the Bone Bandits of Dragon's Breath Wilds 0/30. Quest Reward: 5000 Optional Experience, All Basic Attributes +1, Golden Dragon Race Reputation +300 (Note: This quest has too large a gap with your current strength, please proceed with caution)."
The meaning of the sentence in parentheses was already clear enough: you are currently a noob, you'll probably die if you go, so go level up, get equipment, pay to win... well, that's roughly the meaning.
"Hmm?" Ji Xiaoge, however, looked at him curiously, then sent a message...
'Weren't you offline when you weren't here?'
Clearly, Mo Tan must have greeted this girl before, and the content was roughly similar to what he had told the girl Wen Qiu when he was 'Black Vatican'.
That he shared an apartment with others, had to work at night, and had a few unreliable roommates he worked with, and so on.
'I had a quest chain before, and the first step was to reach Dragon Soul Town. I can't beat the later parts, so I can't do it for now.'
Mo Tan replied calmly.
'Oh oh! I understand! Hehe, I forgot about quests! I haven't even finished the tutorial quest yet~'
Ji Xiaoge expressed understanding.
Mo Tan smiled (which in Jia Deka and Ya Ya's eyes looked like flirting), then, after a brief thought, sent a message to Cordova.
The gist was, I want to go back now, the Express has some problems, it can only seat two people, but there are four of us here, and it feels a bit overwhelming. He then described the absolute safety express's experience to Cordova, hoping he could ask Lu Wei for advice.
Two minutes later, Cordova replied.
'The Undead said it's fine, you just find someone to sit inside with you, and then hang two more on the outside.'
'???''
'Yes, two inside, two hanging outside. He said they won't die.'
'...'
Chapter 126: End