Chapter 309 - -
Chapter 309 of "Welcome to Rewind World Game" introduces the scene: Chapter 309: Chapter 306 - "But This Is About Saving Lives"Are you from out of... Keep going!
Chapter 309: Chapter 306 - "But This Is About Saving Lives"Are you from out of town? Here for sightseeing, treasure hunting, or to join the Maritime Banquet?"
Seeing that he didnât speak, the boss began smoking.
The mixed smell of tobacco and alcohol filled the air, causing Su Mingâan to slightly frown.
"I guess all of the above," he replied.
"Looking at you, you donât seem to be lacking in gold and jewels," the boss said with a smile, "Yet youâre interested in that self-destructive event?"
"Arenât you interested, boss?" Su Mingâan saw that the other locals seemed to be very interested in it.
"No," the boss exhaled a ring of smoke, "... I havenât lived enough yet. Those madmen, theyâre tired of living and want to ascend to Cloud City, but I can see the reality clearly. That place said to be where the deities reside is not so easy to enter... By the way, are you here alone to gather information? Where is your family?"
"Just me," Su Mingâan asked, "Boss, what exactly is the Maritime Banquet about?"
Seeing as this familiar boss seemed not to be leaving, Su Mingâan simply started asking.
"What else could the rules be, but to fight against each other?" The boss chuckled, "Every year the specific rules of the Maritime Banquet change a bit, but they arenât that different. Contestants kill each other off in this broken-down city... The victorious team gets to meet the Princess, and they earn a pass to Cloud City."
... Which was pretty much what Su Mingâan had understood.
Seeing that thereâs not much information on the Maritime Banquet, Su Mingâan turned to what he was actually interested in.
"Boss, do you have a map?" He leaned back slightly, dodging the cloud of smoke exhaled by the boss.
"What kind of map?"
"A map of the city."
"Well, isnât that a coincidence, lad," the boss said, tapping the table with his thick knuckles, "Iâm the only one in the east of the city selling maps. Others here are fishermen; they donât sell maps."
"Price?" Su Mingâan said.
If there was one advantage he had so far, it was the pile of Yate Stones he carried. He had previously counted them, enough for one hundred and twenty tallies - the entire stock from the Yate Vessel.
He had asked Eilina if local currency was accepted, for he had a bunch of Blood Bottles and equipment heâd retired, but the response was negative. It seemed the instance didnât want to give players such a loophole; NPCs did not accept equipment brought over by players.
If you want to trade locally, other than using the local currency, you can only use special items produced in the current instance like Yate Stones.
So, Eilina wasnât wrong calling him a "fat sheep."
In fact, he was carrying enough to buy an entire city.
Upon hearing his words, the bossâs eyes moved slightly.
He got up,
He looked over the map layoutâthe Pulaya had ports to the northeast, southwest, facilitating the arrival of travelers from various places. The east and west of the city were residential areas, filled with all kinds of shops and houses, while the north was close to the Royal City, inhabited by the Pulaya royals and nobles. The south was home to the Cloud Church and the headquarters of Soul Hunt.
In the center of Pulaya, there was also an Island Library, which contained books on Pulayaâs history and knowledge and should have a lot of clues.
Su Mingâanâs current primary target was still the Soul Hunt registration point in the east of the city. There were three Soul Hunt registration points in Pulaya, one each in the east, west, and south, and the one closest to him in the east was just two waterways away.
As he studied the map, the couple that had been saved cautiously approached him from behind.
"Um... thank you for saving me and Xiaona," the young man spoke first, still having a red mark on his forehead where the club had left its trace.
The girl named Xiaona seemed somewhat shy, hiding behind the young man without speaking.
Seeing the coupleâs attitude, Su Mingâan guessed they were NPCs with traveler identities.
If these two were players, at this point, they would probably be using gamer jargon, such as asking to team up or sharing clues. That they were so sincere in giving thanks most likely meant they were NPCs.
"Itâs okay," Su Mingâan said.
"Rinna and I came from the eastern Krissa Empire, simply wanting to experience the exotic scenery of some island cities, but we didnât expect this place to be so chaotic..." the young man said, "Um... with your impressive skills, are you a Soul Hunt master from another country? Rinna and Iâs ship is still involved in trade and canât return for now, IâI would like to hire you to protect Rinna and me for a few days."
At this moment, a system prompt also popped up.
It was a C-level task, the objective being to ensure that either Kassan or Rinna survived until the fifth day.
Looking at the task, Su Mingâan felt puzzled. Although it seemed the difficulty of the task wasnât low since Kassan and Rinna lacked combat abilities, and protecting them for two nights would be a heavy burden for the player, it was only categorized as a C-level task.
He refused Kassanâs request. A task with only a thirty Points reward was barely better than nothing for him and would be a waste of time.
"Doesnât your fleet have Soul Hunters?"
"No," Kassan shook his head, "Soul Hunters require a special talent, they are quite rare... Our Krissa Empire is only a small country, without any formidable Soul Hunt masters... I heard that Pulaya is blessed by the Deity, with many Soul Hunters, so I dared to come here boldly, but I never expected the locals to be so treacherous..."
Su Mingâan nodded and walked away.
With a map already in hand, he had no need to interact with these NPCs anymore.
"Wait, wait a moment!"
Just then, the timid Rinna spoke up.
"Soul Hunt master, arenât you going to kill those people in the tavern?" she called out to him.
Su Mingâan stopped in his tracks.
He suddenly smelled a strange scent on Rinna.
It was like the smell of disinfectant, the odor was so distinct, as if it naturally emitted from her body.
"Why should I kill?" he didnât dwell on the scent on her, replying instead.
"Theyâthey are all slave traders! Their sins are heinous, donât they deserve to be executed on the spot?" Rinna said, her emotion rising, "If you let them go today, they will continue to engage in such sinful trades tomorrow! By letting a single evil person go, youâre harming countless good people!"
Su Mingâan turned his head, "Pulaya has royal laws that forbid outsiders from killing locals."
He had already learned this information from chatting on the channel.
"âBut isnât this about saving people?" Rinna said loudly, "We are punishing criminals, not killing good people, I believe the people of Pulaya would understand..."
"Youâre foolish," Su Mingâan simply lifted his foot and walked away.
From the information he previously got, he knew Pulaya wasnât a good city at all.
The fact that one could encounter such incidents by walking into any tavern indicated that the slave trading business was rampant in Pulaya.
Indeed, it was this sinister industry that had sustained them up to this point, luring outsiders enticed by wealth to come and explore.
Once those who make the rules and those tasked with enforcing them are in cahoots, the so-called influence of outsiders is worthless.
Challenging the rules, trying to assert "justice," is seen by those in power as challenging their authority. In such an island city constructed by the locals, "justice" has no value.
He quickened his step and left, hearing the quiet exchange between the man and woman behind him.
"Donât be afraid, Rinna, if the Soul Hunters wonât protect us, Iâll do everything in my power to protect you..."
"Kassan, but Iâm scared, Iâm afraid of those from the Soul Clan..."
"Donât be afraid..."
"Kassan, youâre so kind, would you accompany me to the park? I want to give you a reward..."
The voices of the man and woman gradually faded away.
Su Mingâan circled around the water channels to a deserted alley, with the Memory Stone of Su Rin appearing in his hand.