Chapter 103.2: Hal Seems Human?
When Rex woke up with a yawn, it was already dawn.
"Were there no undead seeking me out again last night…" Rex gazed out the window with mixed feelings. He had mentally prepared himself, but being kept in suspense like this felt frustrating.
When he withdrew his gaze from the window, Rex saw… Hal's face.
Suddenly, Rex felt that something wasn't right.
Hal wasn't an easy person to get along with. He was aggressive, and whenever he gave someone a good look, it was as if his eyes were assessing their value.
But now, as Rex gazed into Hal's eyes from across the room, he actually felt that this fellow seemed to have become more human…
"Done looking?" Hal uttered.
"My apologies." Rex quickly averted his gaze. He was probably still half-asleep. How could this bandit leader have become more human anyway.
"Let's grab a bite, then head back." Hal rose from his chair.
On their way from the Town Hall to Life Lane, the trio encountered undead once more, moving in pairs or small groups toward the Crossroads.
The attitude of these undead… was entirely different from the previous morning's. They seemed to be in remarkably good spirits, and even their round skulls seemed to shine as they waved toward the trio cheerfully.
"Good morning, Hal-san!"
"What's up with these fellas?" Tuttle asked in puzzlement.
"They defeated the projections of my mind," Hal replied listlessly.
"Is that something to be happy about?" Tuttle frowned. Defeating the mind projections didn't mean permanently eradicating them. As long as Yang sustained Void Realm, those troublesome entities could revive countless times in their altered mental domains.
"Who knows," Hal said indifferently. "As long as they are happy."
Now, not just Rex but even Tuttle regarded Hal with a strange expression.
Not right. Something is definitely very wrong! Given Hal's personality, shouldn't he be mocking the futile endeavors of this bunch of foolish undead?!
Who are you! You aren't Hal!
———
Weisshem's sewers, which had been clogged for many years, proved to be more challenging to clear than anyone had imagined. The over 20 able-bodied detainees Rex had selected yesterday toiled tirelessly for an entire day and weren't able to finish clearing the sewer of a small alley. This prompted a need to recruit more hands for the task today.
However, managing a larger group posed its challenges. The security team was short-staffed, and the security officers had to take turns on duty at guard posts. If they weren't vigilant, these incarcerated individuals, having tasted the fresh air outside, might escape or cause trouble in someone's home.
While Rex was figuring out how many people would be enough to manage the labor force, Hal quietly approached him from the side.
"You can just use some undead as supervisors," Hal said indifferently. "They might not want to clean the disgusting sewer, but they shouldn't have any issues just supervising."
Rex: "??"
It wasn't just Rex who was taken aback. Even Ji Tang, who had been about the same idea, was astounded.
It wasn't that they didn't think Hal was incapable of coming up with such a suggestion, but… Hal was actually sparing a thought and coming up with a suggestion for the benefit of others?!
Hal paid no heed to them. After giving his suggestion, he turned around and left before loudly chastising the detainees who weren't queuing properly and trying to snatch other's food.
Rex and Ji Tang: "…"
"Doesn't Hal seem a little strange these two days?" Ji Tang ventured. "He wasn't like this before."
"I feel the same way," said Rex, looking puzzled.
Since he saw that Rex couldn't fathom it either, Ji Tang shifted the conversation toward the supervisor quest…
These indigenous advanced NPCs had roughly grasped some tendencies of the players. But when it came to understanding players, Ji Tang, as a Chinese person, had more say.
Rex wanted to assign this supervisor quest to the casual players, but Ji Tang immediately vetoed the idea, suggesting instead to give it to the blood alliance players.
Soon, the two prominent player leaders, Brother Lahong and Vanilla Pudding, received the targeted quest and happily led their reorganized monster farming teams to come over.
Those detainees locked in the former militia headquarters weren't kind common folk, having not straightened up much despite the harassment of Hal and his former rogues. Ji Tang wasn't certain if those generally idle casual players could handle them.
All that was needed to make the blood alliance teams perform this unexciting quest that didn't touch upon killing monsters was ample rewards—50 territory prestige for an hour of supervision and 100 territory prestige for subduing an attempted escapee would be enough to ensure the blood alliance teams guarantee the smooth execution of this supervising quest!
Ji Tang had also seen the news of the Inner Demon instance being cleared on the forum before he logged in. The two teams that Unceasing Entropy formed had successfully slain the monsters inside Hal's Inner Demon instance, successfully completing the challenge.
The system prompt to players on the "entire server" indicated clearly the rewards for completing the dungeon: all players participating in defeating the dungeon boss would receive an opportunity to enchant their existing equipment.
These enchantment chances could be saved and used when better equipment was acquired. It could also be accumulated, so a player could save multiple enchantment chances for later use.
For example, if Give Me Medicine of the elite dungeon team wanted to use the enhancement chance now, he could bring his dagger to Old Yang and add effects like armor penetration, bleed, poison, or chance to interrupt casting to his dagger that already had crit effects.
In other games, enchanting top-tier equipment usually required real money, and there was also the probability of failure and breaking the gear. This game, however, didn't require real money, and the enchantment success rate was also 100%. If Ji Tang was truly a player, he might have gone and organized a team to run dungeons…
Clearing the instance provided equipment enhancement chances, though top-tier equipment needed to be exchanged at the Undead Merchant Association using territory prestige. (Monsters not dropping equipment was already something players had criticized countless times.) Now that materials that could be exchanged for territory had risen in price, quests that directly rewarded territory prestige were especially popular!
As they watched the undead gleefully herd a group of detainees out to do hard labor, Rex hesitated for a moment, then asked Ji Tang, "I'm somewhat curious… Why are you all only interested in Hal's altered mental domain?"
Ji Tang, who was about to leave, nearly tripped up.
Even though he wasn't a pure player, it was still somewhat difficult to have a response when an NPC straight-up asked him why they hadn't gone and challenged his dungeon…
"Um, I haven't participated in the instance clears myself, but from what I've heard from others, it seems like Hal's Inner Demon domain is relatively easier… At least the monsters can be seen inside," a clearly discomfited Ji Tang answered.
Rex was silent for a bit, then, unable to resist his curiosity, asked, "What does my… inner demon look like?"
Ji Tang: "…"
So, even the natives being used as "source material" didn't know what their inner demons looked like?!
Wait a minute! Isn't Lord Yang forcing these natives to act as "source material"?!
Speaking of which, Blossoming Strokes didn't successfully coerce Hal into submission, using his inner demon monsters!
The plotline of the Inner "Demon Domain" is forcibly disclosing the shameful secrets to outsiders… You definitely aren't a good person, Yang!
Ji Tang had a strong desire to cuss but, in the end, changed his words. "Heh heh… I haven't entered before, so I don't know. Shall I go and ask around for you?"
———
Caroline headed out of her house early in the morning, hurriedly making her way to the northern end of Martin Street and entering the narrow alley between the street and the north residential block.
This alley only had a few households, and vacant houses were an important playground for the town's children. When Caroline was in her teens, she used to frequent this place, choosing a relatively clean room to create a secret base for her group of friends.
In the run-down old house that had served as a secret base for countless children, the three young men who had returned to Weisshem with Caroline yesterday were already waiting.
"Sorry, I'm late." Caroline took off her headscarf and apologized. "My mother and I talked a lot last night, and I overslept."
"It's fine; we just arrived as well." A young man with dark eye circles waved his hand somewhat excitedly. "How did everyone's night go?"
"I don't know what to say." Another tall young man laughed bitterly. "Weisshem looks almost the same as before, but it feels extremely unfamiliar."
"I feel the same way," the final lad said, somewhat bemused. "A few years ago, my family spent quite a sum to send me to attain an apprenticeship in Indahl, and now my mother says she hopes I can come back."
"Your mother said that?" the youth with dark eye circles interjected gleefully as if he had found a kindred spirit. "My grandmother also said I don't have to go to Indahl anymore, especially after my uncle returned last night. He worked odd jobs on the main street all day long and actually brought back 30 copper coins!"
"Hey, calm down a bit. Do you guys remember why we agreed to meet today?" the tall young man cut in hastily. "Don't tell me you guys have also been beguiled."
"You can earn money as long as you work. How is that being beguiled?" the youth with dark eye circles retorted immediately. "Allen, you and I have been working in the factory for so long, and we only get eight silver coins per month.
"We have to pay one silver to the union, and even if we don't use gas in the dormitory and live frugally, we still spend two or three silver coins on living expenses every month. We can hardly save any money, and clearly, it isn't as good as staying in town and doing odd jobs now."
"How long can odd jobs last? Can we keep doing it indefinitely?" Allen, the tall young man, retorted. "Yes, I admit that the new lord, Mr. Rex, seems to be a very nice person and treats the people in the town well. But who can be sure how long Mr. Rex will serve as lord? He became the new lord with the backing of a black mage. If someone has their eye on Weisshem, this would be the perfect excuse to launch a territorial war against Mr. Rex. Haven't you seen how frequently the dirty dealings between nobles are reported in the newspapers?"
"Do we have control over such matters? Why bother with things that may happen who knows how long later?" the youth with the dark eye circles said impatiently. "There's a chance to make money now, so let's make money. It would be foolish to miss out."
The shortest lad, worried that an argument might break out, quickly placated, "Allen, Simon, stop arguing. Also, let's listen to Caroline's thoughts."
Allen stared at Simon for a moment before they turned to look at Caroline.
"I…" Caroline hesitated, then gritted her teeth and said, "I wish to stay."
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