Chapter 144: Mercenaries and the New Map

Where did you get this map?

Another man sat down across from Liu Zong shortly after. Without introducing himself, he immediately posed this question.

Liu Zong repeated the story he had told the mercenary agency. Hearing this, the man slowly nodded.

Only then did Liu Zong have the opportunity to study him. The man possessed a muscular physique, resembling an ancient Greek statue. He wore beach shorts and a tank top, and his face was covered by a golden mask. The most striking feature of the mask was a large, curly beard, which lent him a remarkably majestic air.

Liu Zong guessed that the mask was a physical manifestation of this man's class, though his own knowledge was still too limited to recognize what specific class the man belonged to.

However, this was not the time for Liu Zong to dwell on that. The man thought it over very seriously for a long time, finally reached out to touch the box Liu Zong had produced, and then nodded to the mercenary intermediary.

"I'll take this job, but this item must be given to me first. Also, you need to tell me the background of that map," the man stated his terms.

Liu Zong shook his head and pushed the box back toward the mercenary agency. "This item will stay with the agency here. As soon as my goal is met, you can come and collect it. If I die, well, I'm sorry, but this item will be sent back to my gaming space."

Stung by Liu Zong's words, the man felt his pride take a hit and said coldly, "Is it enough just to guarantee you don't die?"

"Naturally, you cannot interfere with my completion of the quest. I am going for this micro-map specifically for the final quest reward. All you need to do is ensure my safety—it's that simple. To easily acquire a directional map pointing to Titan creations, isn't that wonderful? Why make things so complicated?"

Liu Zong understood what the man was thinking, and he also knew that unless the man's lingering doubts were cleared up, even if he accepted the contract, he would not protect him wholeheartedly.

The man did not reply. Instead, he pondered deeply for a long time before reciting a string of numbers to the mercenary agency. This was his game ID, though Liu Zong did not hear it; it seemed to have been unilaterally blocked from his end.

Liu Zong understood that the man did not want others to know that someone of his status and identity was acting as a bodyguard, so he chose to disclose his information only to the intermediary.

With that, Liu Zong asked no further questions, simply waiting quietly as he watched the man and the mercenary agent converse in hushed tones.

Finally, the intermediary nodded to Liu Zong, signaling a guarantee that Liu Zong's safety during this micro-map excursion would be assured.

Afterward, the man handed several items over to the intermediary. This was the agent's commission; if the man wished to secure full ownership of the directional map, this portion of the fee could not be omitted.

With all matters settled, the man turned his head to look at Liu Zong. The ruby-inlaid eyes of his mask flashed with a peculiar light. "When do we start? Also, you can call me Bai Qi."

Liu Zong was somewhat speechless that the man had chosen such an alias for himself, but people could call themselves whatever made them happy. It was much like how Liu Zong's game ID was "Willow Giant"—it had seemed completely normal when he thought of it, but hearing people call him that over time felt increasingly odd.

Still, no one could deny that when Liu Zong had chosen that name, he hadn't given it much thought. He only felt that whatever brought joy was best.

Therefore, Liu Zong stood up and said to the man, "Fine, Bai Qi it is. You can call me Liu Zong. Let's begin right now; I've only requested a three-month leave."

Bai Qi stood up, shook hands with Liu Zong, and asked with some perplexity, "Do we really need as long as three months?"

"No, it's a micro-map. All the tasks combined will only take seven days, but I'll need some time afterward to process the gains from this trip, so I asked for a slightly longer leave. Even so, I'm worried the time might not be enough. Let's go now." Liu Zong explained while leading Bai Qi toward the exit.

Seeing that Liu Zong was about to walk out of the bar, Bai Qi suddenly asked, "Where are you heading right now?"

"The public game channel, of course. We're entering the map," Liu Zong said, looking at Bai Qi in bewilderment.

"You're still treating yourself like a Level 0 rookie. Come this way; the boss has a dedicated channel. You can use this channel next time you come over from the school side—you have the clearance," Bai Qi said with a helpless sigh.

Under Bai Qi's guidance, Liu Zong arrived at the exclusive passage in the back of the bar. It was a modest-looking portal with coordinates carved into the frame.

Aside from that, there was nothing else. Bai Qi walked up to an old man stationed by the door and said directly, "We're entering the game, heading to... Kid, where are we going first? Should we stop by the public area to prepare, or browse the forums?"

Liu Zong shook his head. "I've already prepared everything. Let's go to Sunflower City, Area 973. There's a small portal there; we can step straight through to our destination."

"Alright, Sunflower City, Area 973. Wait a minute, kid—that's the gourmet district, where they sell virtual food. Everyone coming and going there is an ordinary person who only stepped into Level 1 after turning sixty. How could there be a map like the one you mentioned?"

Liu Zong smiled and replied, "Actually, there are some extraordinary individuals even among ordinary people. I had to beg quite a few people just to secure the task for this micro-map."

Without pressing further, Bai Qi recited the coordinate number to the old man, then pushed open the portal before them and stepped inside.

Crossing the threshold of the portal, Liu Zong and Bai Qi were transported into a remarkably vast space. This space was divided into over a dozen distinct sections by countless images.

These images constantly scrolled past before Liu Zong's eyes. When he paused, he would find that each image contained detailed descriptions of various items, and occasionally, players would appear to introduce the wonderful goods available in their shops.

In truth, this area was somewhat akin to websites like Taobao, where every image represented a storefront. The majority of these shops were run by players who had only successfully advanced to their classes after level 60. Having lost the opportunity to ever step into Level 2, they still needed to make a living; unable to sustain continuous combat, they often treated their secondary occupations as their primary ones.

Liu Zong's father was an example of this. The players in this particular sector treated culinary arts as their main profession, supplying various foods that could actually be consumed in the real world.

The most crucial point was that upon reaching Level 1, players gained the ability to use class skills in the real world. Consequently, the food they prepared conferred genuine benefits to a player's physical well-being—much like the drink Liu Zong had just consumed. Therefore, whenever they had free time, the majority of Level 1 players were quite willing to come here and select their favorite foods to reward themselves.