"Brother Mo, I thought about what happened just now..."
"Ahaha, Brother Tie, I suddenly remembered a question about the setting of the stamina bar..."
...
"Uh, Brother Mo, in the evening..."
“What’s it like at night in the free world?”
"...You asked me so suddenly, and I couldn't explain it at the moment. In short, it's just that I can't deal with you now..."
"In other words, this is how we can spend our nights... It's so boring."
The night in the free world is like a dream in Duan Qing's imagination, far clearer than in the real world. In the sky, countless stars twinkle like swaying snowflakes spread on the black cloth called the night sky. Even if there is a bit of coolness in the night wind, it will not make people feel cold. According to Brother Tie, according to the calendar of the Free Continent, the current month is March—from the experience in the real world, it should be It's spring, so the night temperatures are what they should be, and they should be getting hotter.
"Okay..." Iron Heart finally gave up his own doubts: "When we get to a higher level and gain strength, there shouldn't be any problems going out at night. Now we can't defeat those demonized ones. monster......"
His voice had become very deep, partly because it was that way and partly because they were now sitting in the lobby of the village's only inn.
Hotels in the free world are places designed to provide rest and accommodation for travelers and adventurers. Even in larger towns, people with strength or influence will not choose to go out rashly. Places like Novice Village that generally have low strength will Even more so. For players, a hotel is a natural place to rest. In game terms, this is a gathering place for players to rest, an unwritten safe zone.
Duan Qing was brought here by Ambition of Iron and sat at one of the tables in the vast hall. The hall is very large, with many round tables and benches like the ones in front of them placed on the wooden floor. They are cheap and practical, just like the food here. It only takes a few Ebris to restore full physical strength. It is precisely because of this that the hall is full of people taking a rest every night. In order not to disturb others, or to cause trouble for themselves, the two of them try to lower their voices when talking.
"And this place is a natural place for exchanging experiences. It's not like a place like the entrance of the village, where it's just a vegetable market..."
Iron Ambition said quite confidently: "Believe me, spending more time here to get some information is definitely much better than doing experiments outside."
"It doesn't matter, I just hope you can solve the payment problem for a while, but I don't have a penny..."
"Didn't I tell you before, I'm not such a stingy person..."
The two chatted casually, with some silence in between. If you pay attention, you can find that both of them lower their heads and their ears perk up in unison - that is, they are paying attention to something that others say that seems to be useful.
"It seems that the people of Wings of Freedom have gained a lot today. I heard that they brought back a lot of trophies, including a few wild boars..."
"Yes, it's just that the new members of Wings of Freedom are so powerful. It's conceivable that they are now..."
"That's not right. There must be some veterans there. Isn't it normal to create a new account and come to lead the team..." Another voice interrupted with disdain.
"That's pretty awesome. Think about it, ordinary guilds don't have so many great masters who come down to lead the team. They are so busy upgrading to FM that they don't even have time to grab territory..."
"I have heard about this. It seems that the Sword of Justice had a fight with them on the outskirts of Redcar City. I heard it was because..."
"What is Wings of Freedom? What's the name of the guild?" Duan Qing raised his head and started to ask, perhaps because he felt that the gossip-like information was no longer of much use.
"...You didn't play games much before, right? Brother Mo, Wings of Freedom is one of the top conferences registered in the alliance, and its strength should now rank...probably second or third." Steel Ambition replied: "As for the alliance..."
"I know that." Duan Qing interrupted him quickly: "The alliance doesn't know, so I'm just playing the game in vain..."
In the 22nd century, with the rapid development of virtual technology, you can say that you have never seen the world, but you cannot say that you have never played virtual games. Most of the conversations between classmates and old friends come from here. Which game have you played, what profession have you played, what boss have you killed, these are all things you can brag about now. As for the people who have made fortunes because of games, and the industries driven by games, although there are too many to list, they also reflect the prosperity of the game industry from another level.
However, no one who has played virtual games now knows about the alliance.
Although most of the people who come to the hotel to rest are players, it does not rule out that some locals from the free world will come here. For example, farther away from Duan Qing's table, two people who looked like NPCs in their dress were also sitting at a square table. A man who was tired from work was eating the curry-like food in front of him like a hungry traveler. The man sitting opposite him looked more calm and relaxed in comparison. He sat there and drank. Drinking wine while talking to him about some news on this continent.
"I heard that the north of the principality is going to war with the empire again..."
"Well, it is said that some soldiers from the principality crossed the border to perform tasks and were caught by the empire's border guards. The empire's ambassador here has issued a formal statement, which seems to be a serious protest... ...But let me say, it must be the empire that is causing trouble again. Our soldiers can't even hide from them, so how can they cross the border..."
"Didn't I hear a while ago that a spy from the empire was caught in the capital and then sent back to the country at the request of the empire? That incident..."
"I don't know." The eater kept eating, but his speech was not affected. It was probably a privilege granted by the system: "President Hosman seemed to have made a decision to ignore it, and Speaker Pamir seemed to have acquiesced. But several conservative congressmen protested, so there was no further development of the matter..."
"Is where we are now considered within the principality?" Duan Qing asked again after hearing this.
"Yes."
"name?"
"Well, I hate remembering these strange foreign names. Let me think about it..." Iron Ambition hit his head with the end of a spoon: "It's called...Ai'er... ...Well, El...fat...no, no, Nephi...or Nephia..."
What kind of weird way of remembering names is this... Duan Qing shouted in his heart.
"El...Nifea, that's probably the name." Iron Ambition repeated to himself, as if to convince himself: "It's called the Principality of Elnifea."
"Sure enough, it looks very long, but there are five characters..." Duan Qing sighed helplessly.
There was also a square table where a few people who looked like local villagers were chatting.
"Joel came back today and said he saw the mysterious hunter again." A young man whispered.
"That 'Watching Hunter'? Joel must have gone to some dangerous place again..." The person sitting next to him interjected.
"I don't know about this, and Joel didn't mention it either. You know him, he only brags about his greatness and novel knowledge." The man continued: "But this knowledge is not very novel... "
"Come on." Another person received: "I don't know if the legendary hunter exists yet... They are just rumors, and no one can prove the existence of the hunter. I asked someone to find him. Didn't find it either..."
"Oh? Is this place still haunted?" Duan Qing suddenly became interested after hearing this: "Or are there any other reclusive people?"
"It's just rumors." Although Iron Heart had heard about these things, he was obviously not very interested, so he just shrugged: "Who knows whether it is true or false..."
Time passed slowly between their listening and speaking. From Duan Qing's side, he did learn a lot of information, such as the layout of the player world and the distribution of the main forces in the Free Continent.
The place they are located is probably in the south of the mainland, and it is also south of the Principality of Elfinia. To the north of the Principality is the Frey Empire. The relationship between the two countries is as discordant as they heard, with varying degrees of friction from time to time. There are not once or twice wars. The reasons seem to be various, but in summary, it can be summarized as: grabbing territory.
The situation is the same on the players' side. After all, in a game like this, after the power is formed, it will take this step. I have never heard of a game that has naturally "unified the world". If everyone is not convinced by each other, a fight is inevitable, and the fight will last a lifetime... Many well-known players in the league It is because of this that the current love-hate relationship appears. Ten years have passed, several virtual games have been played, and the grievances and resentments between them are beyond the scope of a single ledger. Now, if major guilds are fighting for territory in a certain place, they can yell something like "How did you treat us in a certain game" before starting the war, which is enough to justify the fight.
As for whether it is true? Who cares.
Therefore, Duan Qing is accustomed to these things and is not surprised. Compared with this, another problem is more serious for Duan Qing. For example, he didn't recognize this guild called Wings of Freedom.
"A higher-ranking guild in the alliance? Is this a problem? Everyone knows it... Forget it, it doesn't hurt to tell you a few words. Anyway, you can find it casually. You can find it later check......"
While the two were talking about some current trends, the quarrel slowly grew louder at several tables on the other side of the hall, and then came over. Duan Qing and the two stopped their discussion, turned around and saw a petite figure standing at one of the tables in the southeast corner, shouting loudly with the people at the same table, as if there was some kind of argument. The crowd in the hall seemed to be startled by the quarrel over there, and the sound slowly lowered, so the content of the argument over there was slowly amplified, and gradually became clear:
"...Stop arguing, this is the captain's decision..."
"How can we not fight? How can there be such an unfair decision..."
"You have to consider the interests of our team. The equipment allocated to the Longhu brothers is also for the long-term development of the entire team..." Another gentle voice said.
"I don't care what you think, my share can't just disappear..."
"Watch your words and attitude, Mengzhu! You are just a newcomer..." The person on the other table stood up and his tone became arrogant.
"Newcomers are human beings too! Even if it's just to... let them take away those things, at least this month's salary must be given!"
"So, haven't I explained to you that this is a special period..."
"Of course you can do it, but I can't! I have done so much work, but I can't do it just because you have to be accurate..."
The quarrel continued, and the people at the tables over there seemed to be sitting next to each other as a team. At this time, the person being attacked by the people at the tables over there seemed to be a girl. Judging from the content of the quarrel, Duan Qing estimated that it was because of differences in the distribution of the team's income, which is commonly known as "unequal sharing of spoils."
But that purple burqa looks familiar...
Perhaps seeing that the situation was about to escalate out of control, or perhaps the excited girl was about to say something she shouldn't have said, the leader sitting at the original table finally slapped the table: "Stop arguing! Everybody sit down!”
"Mengzhu, I know you think this is unfair. I assure you that this situation is really special. We will definitely compensate you in the future, and... there will definitely be no next time." The man's voice became softer: "We all see the efforts you have made in the past few days, and the Sixth Team will keep your hard work in mind." He pointed to the man next to him. The person also nodded, and then pointed in the direction of the table on the left: "We also made such a choice based on many considerations..."
The voice gradually became quieter, and Duan Qing could not hear anything clearly. He could only see the girl sitting opposite the suspected captain, with her hands on her knees and her head buried in her thin shoulders. In the middle, the two shoulders trembled, causing the clothes and hats behind them to tremble as well.
The captain pointed over there, seeming to be making some explanation, and patted his chest again, making some kind of guarantee. Then the man sitting next to him also joined in the persuasion. He should also have a considerable say in the team. characters.
According to what the person just said, coupled with the current attitude, ordinary people will accept this result in a situation like this. After all, the people above had given them steps and their gestures were sufficient. As the captain, the prestige in the team was obviously high enough. He had also suppressed the previous discussions and different opinions at the next table. . The noise gradually became quieter, and the commotion seemed to be dying down.
Some people have stopped paying attention here and continue to talk about their previous topics. Others, including Duan Qing, are still paying attention, wanting to see what the final attitude of the person involved will be. The girl seemed to be struggling, her head lowered and shaking. At a certain moment, when her captain was making his final concluding remarks, she tilted her head and looked in the direction to her left.
Of course Duan Qing couldn't see the situation in that direction, but what the girl saw was two contemptuous faces and a proud smile.
The girl seemed to have made a decision. She stood up and bowed solemnly to the opposite side.
"Mengzhu knows about the captain's kindness. Mengzhu doesn't want to cause any more trouble to your sixth team, so..."
The voice belonging to a young girl was clear and pleasant, but due to the owner's mood swings, it felt a little hoarse. Although it was not loud enough, in the ears of a caring person, the distance of a hall would not be an obstacle. When the captain on the opposite side heard "You six teams", his face turned gloomy.
"So I'd better not stay in your team..."
The two people opposite looked at each other and wanted to say something, but the girl spoke first:
"What you meant just now was expressed very clearly, and I think I understand it, but I still feel that this is not good... But this is my own problem, captain, please don't worry."
The girl bit her lip, swallowing some of the words she wanted to say, and then she said her goodbyes in quite polite words.
"Goodbye." After saying these last two words, she turned and walked out of the hotel door.
Amidst the shaking of the door panel, the noise gradually started to sound. Everything seemed to have returned to its original rhythm. Only the untimely silence of a few tables over there and the comments of some people who cared still proved the existence of the dissonant sound just now. .
"What a good show..." Iron Heart said: "Those tables over there seem to be people from Wings of Freedom..."
"Wings of freedom..." Duan Qing repeated, and then laughed out loud: "I didn't see it, brother Tie, you still have the bad quality of gloating about others' misfortunes."
"Hey, I'm such an upright person... I just feel that this kind of on-the-spot firing is really rare..."
"That girl..."
"Tsk, tsk, I didn't expect Brother Mo to be a compassionate person." Iron Ambition also laughed: "But the dispute over there just now was resolved peacefully, and the woman was advancing and retreating in an orderly manner, walking calmly, I'm afraid she didn't give in. This is your chance to be a hero and save the beauty..."
"Say whatever you want, say whatever you want..."
Amid the chatter and laughter, the two returned to their previous chat. However, after Duan Qing picked up the cup, he remembered what happened before and frowned slightly. The two of them were relatively close to the door. When the girl passed by just now, although Duan Qing couldn't see her expression, he still noticed something unusual.
For example, the little hands hanging on both sides, the blood had faded, and they were clenched into fists.
