funbook-pk Chapter 39 The teammates' style is quite strange.
Chapter 39 The teammates' style is quite strange.
After a short step through the time-space tunnel, Lin Zhuo arrived in the world of the "Cangcheng" instance. Before him was a rustling autumn forest, with yellow leaves falling and carpeting the ground.
He was the last player to arrive; his three teammates had arrived a little earlier and had already gathered.
Lin Zhuo looked around and immediately saw only two figures.
One was a young woman dressed in white, with her black hair tied up in a bun and a beautiful face. When she saw Lin Zhuo, she smiled and winked, then waved her hands slightly at her waist, giving a reserved yet playful greeting.
Upon seeing the other person's appearance, Lin Zhuo couldn't help but be slightly taken aback.
This valiant man stood nine feet tall, with a waist ten spans in circumference. When he stood there, he resembled half a dark cloud pressing down on the ground, or a snow-capped mountain stretching across the sky. His thick arms could support a fine horse, and his bulging belly could support a large boat. His face was as white as the moon, his eyes were surrounded by black fur, his nose was like black lacquer, and his mouth was full of sharp teeth. He wore a flowing gauze hat and had a yellow gourd hanging from his waist. He was truly imposing without being angry, and his demeanor was majestic and profound.
"panda?"
What truly surprised Lin Zhuo was that his teammate was clearly not a member of the Hominidae family of primates, but rather looked exactly like the pandas he had seen at the Hongshui Central Zoo.
"Hmm, you have good taste. But that little girl called me Iron-Eating Beast, her way of saying it is cooler." The panda chuckled, his chubby face losing all its imposing and domineering air, leaving only a friendly and憨态 (simple and honest) expression.
The current version of the game features a built-in automatic translation module for all languages, allowing players from various worlds to communicate smoothly and travel through different dungeon worlds without needing to learn the local language.
Lin Zhuo raised his hand to salute, but then changed it to a fist salute. After a moment's thought, he accepted it and said, "I am Lin Zhuo, nicknamed 'Mayfly Yue' on the internet, a first-level Qigong master. Greetings, esteemed masters."
The shy female player waved her hands repeatedly, "I'm not a pro, I'm a newbie too. My online nickname is 'Mingxiao Gu,' my name is Shu Yuliu, a level one Qigong master."
"Me too!" The fourth teammate spoke. Lin Zhuo looked around, but couldn't find him. "Hey, look down there!"
He looked down and saw a two-foot-tall golden tabby cat standing upright on its hind legs in the sparse herb bushes. It was wearing a light yellow floral jacket and blue linen pants, holding a small gong in its front paws, and carrying a large grass-green backpack on its back.
Lin Zhuo felt secretly ashamed that he hadn't noticed his teammate at all. "Sorry, I really didn't notice you just now."
The little raccoon seemed used to it, shook its head, raised its paw to strike the gong with a wooden mallet, producing a cheerful and melodious "dong" sound that cheered everyone up.
"I am 'Knocking on the Gong,' or you can call me Big Guy, that's what my mom calls me. My friends call me 'Little Tiger Jin,' a Level 1 Qigong Master. Thank you, brothers, sisters, and uncles, please take good care of me."
After the three of them finished introducing themselves, it was Panda who spoke last: "Well, I am 'Hero Loves Noodles,' you can also call me Zhu Baixuan. My master gave me this name."
Zhu Baixuan spoke in a kind and gentle voice, but did not reveal his professional rank. Although everyone was curious, no one asked.
The first thing the four-person team did after reuniting was to discuss the mission route.
These open-world dungeon maps are vast and have long time cycles. The main and side quests are scattered in all directions, and just traveling takes a lot of time. Moreover, many quests have trigger points that expire and cannot be missed, so you can't just wander around like a headless fly.
When multiple players team up to enter a dungeon, the disadvantage is that it increases the overall difficulty, but the advantage is that the quest is shared. If there is enough capacity, players can split into several groups and advance simultaneously, gaining more experience and coin rewards that are difficult to obtain by running the map alone.
As an experienced team leader, Zhu Baixuan was already very familiar with how to arrange the process of clearing stages.
He took the gourd from his waist, took a swig of the savory liquor, but instead of assigning a target, he asked, "Do you know where this is?"
The little raccoon cat answered first: "Near Liquan Town, where the main story begins, is also where the protagonist lives."
"Good answer." The giant panda chuckled. "Then let's settle down in town first. Do you have any quick ways to gain the trust of the locals?"
Shu Yuliu said softly, "I read in the strategy guide that on the first day of entering the instance, there are some wealthy women from wealthy families having an outing and poetry gathering on the outskirts of Liquan Town. One of the protagonist's female companions is among them. Perhaps I can get to know them."
The tabby cat struck the gong again, its small face dignified and solemn. "I think we can take advantage of Uncle Zhu's appearance. You go and rob these people, and then the three of us will come to their rescue. We'll definitely become their honored guests."
Zhu Baixuan paused for a moment, then criticized, "Stop reading those unorthodox speedrun guides."
Lin Zhu thought for a moment and said, "Why don't we go straight into the town, buy an unused property to settle down, and then go to the Righteousness Hall branch of the Martial Alliance to take on some proclamations for eliminating evil and upholding justice? At the beginning of the story, the protagonist's hidden friendliness is tied to our reputation in Liquan Town. We can probably build trust with him by doing two or three tasks, and then we can naturally participate in the main storyline."
Zhu Baixuan nodded. "Alright, leave the house purchase to me. You all go directly to the Righteousness Hall, but be realistic about your abilities and only take on tasks that suit you. Don't take anything too dangerous."
"Okay!" The three newcomers readily agreed.
After reaching an agreement, the players began moving towards the town to the west. Before they could actually make contact with any inhabitants, they still needed to address the issue of their appearance.
Of the four people present, apart from Zhu Baixuan, the other three were carrying luggage and dressed like travelers on a long journey.
When it comes to clothing, Shu Yuliu, dressed in a white shirt and white skirt, has the most retro style and looks like a local.
Jin Xiaohu is small in size and would probably be regarded as a pet when he goes out. There are a few spirit beasts in the world of "Cangcheng". Even if it shows some supernatural characteristics, it is not surprising.
However, it's hard for the giant panda Zhu Baixuan to go unnoticed.
"Don't worry." Zhu Baixuan walked ahead, but it was as if he could see the hesitant expressions on his teammates' faces.
It raised its hand and pushed the conical hat. The equipment turned into wisps of cloud and fell, enveloping its entire burly body. When the wind blew, the cloud dissipated, and what appeared in the spot was a young child wearing a black and white Taoist robe, with skin as white as porcelain, a body length of four feet, and a panda headgear.
Such a contrasting image is truly impactful.
"Huh?" Shu Yuliu exclaimed in surprise.
Jin Xiaohu exclaimed with envy, "What amazing equipment!"
Lin Zhuo looked thoughtful. "If Captain Zhu goes to buy a house like this, won't people treat him like a child and try to get rid of him?"
The panda boy's voice drifted from behind the hood, clear and childlike, yet somewhat muffled, "This is a transformation hat my master gave me. It's actually just an illusion spell; my true form hasn't changed. As for buying a house, don't worry."
The clues can be seen from the path Zhu Baixuan walked on: a small boy left footprints that resembled a giant bear paw.
They discussed their public personas along the way. These days, there were no ID cards or travel permits; when you're out and about, you have to define your own identity.
The final decision was made by three successors of a reclusive sect and their guardian spirit beast: the eldest brother Zhu Baixuan, the second brother Lin Zhuo, and the youngest sister Shu Yuliu. To play the role of a normal cat, Jin Xiaohu had to walk on all fours and tie the gong to his backpack.
Shu Yuliu was very serious, constantly adding details to the setting of this reclusive sect, such as where the sect's gate was located, what the lineage was, and the daily eating habits, all in preparation for any eventuality.
Liquan Town was just ahead, with houses with white walls and blue tiles faintly visible, waterwheels turning on the riverbank, and people moving back and forth like beans. Zhu Baixuan called out, "Speed up!" and took the lead, using his lightness skill to leap away, with the rest of the team members following closely behind.
Zhu Baixuan did not turn around, but used his spiritual senses to secretly observe the lightness skills of his three teammates.
Lin Zhuo's Shrinking Earth and Leaping Technique was fluid and precise, with each step leaving a neat, spreading circle, clearly demonstrating his hard work. It nodded in approval.
Shu Yuliu's lightness skill was graceful, though a bit slow, but her movements were fluid and unyielding, quite remarkable. However, her tense expression and stiff, rigid movements when gathering her inner energy clearly indicated a lack of training and refinement. This minor flaw was easily corrected.
As for Jin Xiaohu, he moved like the wind on all fours, avoiding obstacles as if walking on flat ground. He combined leaping and maneuvering techniques very well, and in terms of agility, he was even better than Lin Zhuo.
"Hmm, all good." Zhu Baixuan felt relieved and sped up again, leaving the three behind completely, leaving only a faint echo in his ears.
"I'll go ahead first, and we'll meet at Yuelai Inn in the east of the town this evening."