novelhk Chapter 21 The One-Eyed Old Man
Chapter 21 The One-Eyed Old Man
Just as the scavenging mission was in full swing, the thick fog on the side of the camp was broken.
A man came running in, panting heavily; it was the secret agent.
He was covered in mud and water, holding the rusty dagger upside down in his hand, with a strange expression on his face.
He didn't look at the pot of fragrant meat soup, but ran straight to the little snail and Lynn.
The two were discussing their next steps when they saw the agent rushing over in a panic, so they stopped talking and focused their attention on him.
"I've found Old One-Eye." The agent lowered his voice, his tone carrying a hint of lingering excitement.
The little snail put down its bowl: "Who is this person? Will he come and help?"
"Help my ass." The agent grabbed the water bottle on the table and took a swig. "That old man is no ordinary blind man. I found an underground tavern on the edge of the shipwreck area. The place looks terrible, but it's full of ruthless guys with scars."
The agent, recalling the scene, swallowed hard: "The old man was blind in one eye, sitting on a shabby sofa at the back of the tavern, fiddling with a solid gold pocket watch. I just asked him if he was the One-Eyed Old Man, and at least five crossbows were pointed directly at me. Damn, that scared me to death! This old man is definitely the underground emperor of the shipwreck area, or a hidden NPC at the level of a godfather."
Lynn stood to the side, listening expressionlessly. But he knew perfectly well that without Chief Lucas's token, Old One-Eye, a cunning old fox who had been navigating the underworld for years, would never easily trust a few strangers of unknown origin.
"The mission was interrupted?" Xiaoyu asked, leaning closer.
"It's not over." The agent shook his head. "The old man knows we've been causing trouble in Bolton's territory these past few days. He didn't lay a hand on me, he just asked me to pass on a message to the GM."
He channeled his inner spy, cleared his throat, and mimicked the old one-eyed man's hoarse, deep voice:
"Go back and tell your people I don't do business with the dead. Bolton's eyes are on you right now. If you dare to start any construction work here, that woman's enforcement team will crush you within half an hour. Want me to take action? Prove you're fit to survive in this quagmire first."
"A woman? What's going on?"
"How come Bolton is a woman?"
"Weren't those laborers talking about Uncle Burton?"
All three players were wondering about the same thing, but Lynn quickly figured it out.
As the ruthless ruling class of Pearl Harbor, Bolton would certainly disdain coming to the shipwreck area, and those who work for her would naturally not deliberately emphasize Bolton's gender.
"The old one-eyed man was talking about eyes..." Lynn brought up a crucial professional question.
Before he could finish his question, the agent immediately answered, "Yes, Old One-Eye said there are sentries in the shipwreck area. If we make a big fuss, those people will definitely notice and then go to inform Bolton."
Just as the agent was about to finish speaking, Lynn had already begun to activate the system to issue a mission.
As soon as the agent finished speaking, a system mission notification popped up on the emblems of all players again.
[Side quest triggered: Eliminate Bolton's sentries.]
[Mission Description: Clear out spies on high ground around the camp. Recommended number of players: 1-2.]
The moment those words were spoken, the atmosphere in the camp changed.
The players who had just been drinking soup instantly stood up. Xiaoyu grabbed an iron pipe from the ground, weighed it in her hand, and her eyes gleamed: "We've got a job! A monster-hunting quest! Brothers, grab your weapons and wipe out these sentries!"
The goose also sharpened its broken knife on the stone a couple of times.
"Stop! Stop! Stop! Don't move!"
The agent strode in front of them, spreading his arms to firmly block the group of eager players.
"Did you even read the mission description?" the agent said, pointing to the ground. "This is stealth! Assassination! Old One-Eye said it's a sentry post; moving one will have far-reaching consequences. You bunch of reckless brutes with all your initial stats maxed out on strength are just there to draw aggro! If the alarm goes off, Bolton's army will come crashing down, and all this stuff we just built will be destroyed!"
"I didn't add power!" Xiaoyu protested.
"You're even worse. You're supposed to be an intelligence-boosting character, but you'd have trouble even killing a pig before you could become a mage." The agent showed no mercy.
Xiaoyu: "…………"
He patted his chest and said, "I have to do this mission by myself."
The little snail sized up the agent, then sneered, "You want to solo an elite monster? You want to hoard all the experience and rewards, huh? Besides, you're just an ordinary office worker. Do you even know how to assassinate? Do you even have the ability?"
"I don't understand?" The agent was not annoyed at all; instead, he gave a very confident sneer.
He held up one finger: "I know the Mission: Impossible movies, from one to six, by heart. I've analyzed every stealth scene in the Bourne series frame by frame and taken notes on them all."
He held up his second finger: "Splinter Cell and Metal Gear Solid, I've completed the entire series perfectly! My knowledge of combat theory is already maxed out."
The agent scanned the crowd, speaking with self-assurance: "I allocated 3 points to Luck and 2 to Agility, so I barely make a sound when I walk. The one with the highest Agility is Roasted Whole Lamb, and that idiot hasn't been around for the past two days, so it's obvious I'm the most suitable candidate."
The camp was quiet for a few seconds.
Several players were taken aback by his seemingly serious qualifications. After all, in their eyes, using a movie protagonist's template in a game seemed perfectly reasonable.
The agent, too lazy to waste any more words, began preparations after receiving Lynn's nod of approval.
He looked around and his gaze settled on George, who was lying by the fire.
It had just drunk a bowl of oily bone broth and was now energetically gnawing on a pork bone.
For stealth assassinations, what better bait to distract attention than a dog?
It has high damage output; when it comes to actually taking action, its DPS might even be higher than yours. Most importantly, it can be resurrected after dying.
The agent walked up to Xiaoyu, rubbed his hands together, and lowered his voice to ask, "Little Yu, oh no, Brother Yu, can I ask you something? Can I borrow your baby for a bit of work?"
Xiaoyu warily shielded the dog behind her: "What do you want?"
"This dog is perfect as bait at night." The agent pointed to the thick fog outside. "We don't need it to fight; just let it run around to attract the NPCs' attention. I'll give you 20% of the credits earned from this mission as rent."
Xiaoyu glanced at George, then at the agent.
"It'll cost extra." Xiaoyu held out her hand. "Twenty-five percent, and if the dog dies, you'll have to pay for its revival."
"Deal." The agent grasped Xiaoyu's hand without hesitation.
What are credit points? This is the most exciting mission ever! Before, we were all about killing pigs and chopping wood. Compared to this mission, it's a joke.
He turned and walked to the large iron pot, scooped out a piece of meaty bone that hadn't been cooked through with his bare hands, and waved it in front of George.
"Come on, George." The agent tossed a bone to the dog. "Tonight, I'll show you what infiltration and assassination are like. Who knows, there might even be some good food there."
George picked up the bone, wagged the tip of his white tail, and followed the agent into the darkness.
The man and his dog made no sound as they blended into the dark acid fog of the shipwreck area.
Only the laborers queuing to hand in their materials remained in the camp, along with a few players who continued to drink soup.