Chapter 14: The Newcomer

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Yang Liuqing: "And then?"

"There are many of them, even a lot of men. I asked those women to be my mother, but they refused!"

The little boy tilted his head: "It doesn’t matter. We’ll turn them all into sacrifices for the river god. As long as the river god stops being angry with us, our bridge will be built, and then we can go out to find our mother."

*Knock knock knock!*

Liang Dan’s heart tightened instantly: someone was knocking at the door.

The little boy shouted: "Help—uh uh uh!"

Yang Liuqing acted swiftly, wrapping the boy’s head with an extra bedsheet and gagging him.

Shen Si dragged the fallen middle-aged man, tore off his coat to bind his hands, pressed his head down and slammed it hard on the floor, blood gushing immediately.

Liang Dan rushed out, carefully lifting a stool from the living room and quietly wedging it against the door without making a sound.

Yang Liuqing and Shen Si also came out and stood by the living room door; the knocking had ceased. The three exchanged uneasy glances.

Footsteps receded, then approached again.

*Knock knock knock!*

"Hello, is anyone home?" came a polite, slightly nervous female voice from outside.

Another woman said, "Looks like nobody’s home here, let’s try another house."

"I checked several houses. They all said they don’t take in young women."

"How strange, discriminating even for temporary lodging."

Yang Liuqing opened the door and smiled at the two women outside: "You’re from the neighboring village, right?"

The woman on the right wore a sharp deep blue tracksuit, while the one on the left was in deep red, both looking like they had just come from the gym.

The woman on the right smiled: "Yes, we came from the next village, walked for quite a while and got a bit hungry. We were wondering if it’s okay to get some food here?"

Yang Liuqing nodded: "Of course it is. Come in and wait a moment; I’ll get something for you."

The woman on the left said: "Our shoes got muddy from the walk. We’ll just wait outside."

Yang Liuqing went into the kitchen. Liang Dan looked down at their shoe soles: "Where did you come through to get them this muddy?"

The woman on the right said: "There’s a river over there. We followed the river all the way here."

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"Oh," Liang Dan said, falling silent.

Yang Liuqing came out of the kitchen holding a plastic bag with several steamed buns inside: "The village is poor; there’s nothing special. Have some buns for now."

The woman on the right took the bag, smiling broadly: "Thank you, big sister."

The woman on the left subtly tugged on her sleeve. The woman on the right said: "We’ll be going now. Thanks again, big sister."

With that, they quickened their pace and turned to leave.

Liang Dan immediately closed the door: "They smelled the blood on us."

Yang Liuqing brushed crumbs off her hands: "Quite sharp."

Shen Si asked: "They’re from the neighboring village. Could they also be players like us?"

Liang Dan said: "Obviously."

"A batch came in the day before yesterday, then us yesterday, and now another batch today. Does that mean people come in every day?"

Liang Dan said: "As soon as they saw that river, we need to hurry over and check."

With that, the three left the house and ran toward the outskirts of the village.

Passing by a temple, they indeed found a river flowing gently ahead, the soil near it damp with several rows of footprints.

It seemed that as soon as people were transported into this world, they appeared by the river.

Shen Si wailed: "Good heavens, is there any pattern to these scenes appearing? Weren’t they supposed to only appear at night?"

Yang Liuqing rolled her eyes: "The scenes might appear at specific times or relate to the plot we’ve uncovered. For example, that little boy just mentioned the river. Maybe the river appeared the moment he said it."

"So, newcomers are lucky—they have predecessors exploring everything for them."

Yang Liuqing walked back leisurely: "Newcomers do have it a bit easier, but the mission rewards they get are much smaller."

"Clearly, this dungeon had many players before us. At first, it might have been a high-level dungeon, but by the time it’s our turn, it’s become level one."

Liang Dan finally understood why Yang Liuqing was so composed; this was not her first time entering a dungeon.

Yang Liuqing gently patted Liang Dan’s arm: "Hurry up. That male NPC will wake up soon."

* * *

Yang Liuqing tied up the middle-aged man and the little boy in the living room. The three of them then took over the house, comfortably settling in.

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The whole day passed quietly. The three went from being cautious to calmly waiting for nightfall.

*Knock knock knock!*

The door was knocked again. The three gripped their weapons and approached the door.

Outside, a young man shouted: "Brother Zhang, we’re here to pick up today’s sacrifice!"

Yang Liuqing placed her axe at the middle-aged man’s neck, signaling him with a glance.

The man nervously raised his voice: "There are no sacrifices in my house today!"

The young man asked: "There are quite a few people from the neighboring village today. How can there be no sacrifice?"

The middle-aged man said: "The group today is very vigilant; they didn’t come to stay at all."

The young man said: "We’ll check other houses. Tell Xiao Zhang to be ready; he’ll go on stage soon."

The middle-aged man said: "Xiao Zhang suddenly got sick today; he can’t go on stage."

The young man said: "Got it."

Then, the sound of dragging footsteps came from outside.

Liang Dan’s instincts kicked in: "Something’s wrong. The ones who take sacrifices never make a sound when they come."

Yang Liuqing’s eyes narrowed; she pushed the middle-aged man toward the door forcefully: "Go!"

Yang Liuqing strode to the bedroom, with Liang Dan and Shen Si close behind. The door was kicked open with a crash, and the middle-aged man groaned in pain.

Shen Si closed the bedroom door, and the three quickly pushed the large bed against it.

Shen Si and Liang Dan braced the bed while Yang Liuqing struck the wall with her axe, causing the whole house to tremble.

Outside the bedroom, the young man’s voice was taunting: "I know you’re in there. Open the door."

Yang Liuqing swung her axe again, chipping a large hole in the wall. The young man kicked the door hard: "Open up!"

The wooden door shattered, taking the bed with it. Wooden splinters flew everywhere as Liang Dan and Shen Si fell to the ground.

The young man stood amid the swirling dust and debris: "Hand over everything you’ve gotten, and I might spare your lives."