Chapter 43: Are They Really This Strong?

However, once you start a conversation, that triggers an event.
Dachun forced himself to calm down and asked, "What is there to talk about?"
A voice from outside the window asked, "Where did you get that gold?"
He really was asking about that! And he deliberately used the word "gold" to downplay it. If he didn't answer well, would that trigger a world war?
Dachun answered cautiously, "I fished it up. From the belly of a fish."
The other party's tone remained completely level: "What kind of fish?"
"It looked like an octopus!"
The other party asked again, "Where did you catch it?"
"How am I supposed to remember? My fishing rods were tied to the boat, and I just fished all the way here."
"What do you mean by tying six fishing rods together?"
He even observed my boat carefully!
"You just tie all the fishing rods that grant bonus luck together, and your luck increases sixfold. Catching some treasure shouldn't be a problem, right?"
"Where did you get the fishing rods?"
Holy crap! With an answer as absurd as mine, he didn't refute or question it at all?
Then I might as well give an even more absurd truth: "I picked them up and salvaged them from the sea when I set off..."
"When did you arrive at this island?"
"This morning."
"How do you plan to cure the plague on the island?"
"I haven't thought about it. It'll probably get better after enduring it for a while..."
The other party's questions were both rapid and trivial, already drifting away from the topic of the gold.
Yet Dachun's heart was beating wildly. Was this a conversation? This was clearly an interrogation akin to a lie detector! In this kind of nonsense-filled mode, if he suddenly brought up one of the key questions asked earlier out of nowhere, things would most likely go wrong, and even a split second of hesitation would prove that he was lying! Besides, why didn't he ask about my "boat-piloting skill"? That was the one thing I had no way of answering!
The other party asked again, "Why did you flee?"
This was a grave crime, and Dachun had to deny it: "I am wronged! I have a strong sense of conscience and responsibility, I didn't flee! I just wanted to go out to sea to keep fishing for gold! That's very reasonable, right?"
"But you don't know where you fished it."
"That's why I have to go look for it!"
The other party's tone finally fluctuated: "The time and place don't add up. You were exiled at midnight last night and only arrived at Plague Island this morning, but when I found you, you were already in the Silver Sea. You don't even know how to sail a boat, and there were no corresponding tides or ocean currents. How did you appear there?"
Holy crap, he really hit the nail on the head! Could this guy possibly be a player? Anyway, when he found me, I was drunk!
Dachun fished out a bottle of century-old cassava wine: "I found it in the pub next door. After I drank it, I got drunk, and I had no idea where I went."
The other party fell silent.
Dachun didn't want to give him time to think and proactively pulled the topic back to the gold: "Who are you anyway? Do you want this piece of gold?"
Only then did the other party snap out of it: "Velapiku, captain of the treasure-hunting ship *Sea Otter*. I have discovered a treasure far more important than gold—and that is you. Are you interested in becoming a treasure hunter?"
——System Prompt: You have triggered the hidden class "Treasure Hunter".
Holy crap, does he appreciate me this much? Another hidden class, I've definitely got to be interested! But this is obviously reeling me into an organization first, and then trying to trick my secrets out of me by every possible means, right?
Dachun wanted to clarify the situation first: "Could you introduce what kind of class this is?"
The other party's tone became much gentler and more amiable: "Do you know about the Thieves' Guild? Although many petty thieves have joined, very few people can truly qualify for the Rogue class; it's a hidden class. The Treasure Hunter evolves from the Rogue class by stripping away all combat-related skills and focusing exclusively on using magical pets for treasure hunting. These pets possess abilities like stealth, lockpicking, trap disarming, illusions, and shared vision, avoiding the frontline dangers of traditional rogues. It is a hidden class among hidden classes."
Dachun was stunned: "But there are tons of treasure hunters. It feels like they're everywhere."

The other party said, "That precisely shows the prospects of our class. It also draws a clear line from traditional rogues, making our reputation much better..."
So thieves and pirates all join the treasure hunters? Isn't this still the exact same group of people? It feels like this class division is flawed, as if the Rogue class got nerfed!
The other party laughed again: "Of course, many people are also drawn in because of the Treasure Queen Azshara. With your talent, you will definitely win Azshara's favor; her wealth, beauty, and strength are the supreme treasures of the sea!"
Oh! I actually heard tavern patrons talking about her from time to time—she's the "Pearl of the Sea" comparable to the beauties of the five great cities! Since I've already earned Fafna's appreciation, earning hers is only natural, right?
Dachun immediately grew interested and asked a question he already knew the answer to: "Who is Azshara?"
Elene said in a deep voice, "The Pirate King's daughter, a bitch!"
Holy crap, you—!
The other party chuckled: "She looks like this!"
A flash of magical light appeared beneath the windowsill, and a slender, copper-skinned figure with red hair leaned against the sill, waving at Dachun!
Dachun couldn't actually see her clearly in detail! But for a magical pet to pull off a stunt like that genuinely made Dachun's heart race with yearning.
The atmosphere had been hyped up to this point, and Dachun was getting a bit impatient: "I want to take the class."
"I am at the dock! I can grant you the class advancement."
Then let's go.
As soon as he stepped outside, Dachun caught sight of Azshara's full-body projection. It was as breezy and revealing as a swimsuit, especially the sheer loincloth skirt fluttering in the nonexistent wind, instantly hitting all the right spots for a man's desires.
Dachun asked, "Where are you?"
Azshara spoke up: "I am right here! Even my voice was simulated to match hers."
Holy crap, is this magical pet a monster?
However, Elene was displeased: "Did you see the sky?"
Even with his blurred vision, Dachun could see a sky full of screaming crows circling like a dark cloud. What kind of terrifying might was this? If I stood before these crows, they wouldn't even deign to look at me!
Elene was extremely uneasy: "I feel terrified! Is this really going to be okay? What if it's a scammer, and they just kill you outright to rob you of your magic gold?"
Where is the basic trust between players and NPCs?
Dachun smiled helplessly: "Would such a powerful powerhouse waste someone as valuable as me—worth far more than gold—just for a small chunk of magic gold? That perspective would be way too small—"
Huh?
Dachun suddenly couldn't laugh anymore. After all, before losing his job, he had also felt he was immensely valuable to his company! Had he severely underestimated the value of this small piece of magic gold? Not the value of the magic gold itself, but its strategic value as evidence. Without evidence, no matter how much people rumored that magic gold had appeared, it was just hearsay. Once the evidence fell into the hands of a bigwig, they would probably dig up the sea within a hundred miles around Plague Island...
The mere thought of this made Dachun's scalp tingle!
A mere hidden class was not worth gambling his life on! A mere honey trap—there was bound to be a catch!
Seeing Dachun freeze, "Azshara" gave a charming smile: "What's wrong?"
Dachun was sickened by this foot-washing dude in disguise, and dryly laughed: "You're very strong!"
The pet also chuckled: "Showing strength often avoids unnecessary trouble, and I believe my strength in teaching you will not bury your talent. You are destined to stand out and make your name echo across the seven seas!"
I love hearing that!
Dachun smiled: "But I still have a rather impolite idea. I want to see if you can find me!"
The pet's tone dropped: "What do you mean?"
Dachun said solemnly, "It means I'm going to hide in the mine and play hide-and-seek."
The pet replied with displeasure, "My air tank can't last long, but since you're questioning my professional competence, I must demonstrate it. I'll let you run first."
So generous?
Dachun could only brush it off: "I'm not questioning you at all, I just wanted to open my eyes..."
Thus, he sprinted all the way toward the mine. Under the radar's surveillance, this pet really didn't follow him, but the mecha at the dock started moving, taking step after heavy, muffled step.
That's all for its speed?
When he reached the mine, Dachun found that the already gloomy sky had grown even darker. Holy crap, what is going on?! Being so ridiculously strong that you can change the weather—does Fafna even have this kind of strength?
Entering the mine, Dachun's already blurred vision became pitch black, leaving him completely reliant on the radar to display the terrain.
Except this was his first time here too; would some hidden boss jump out first?
While Dachun was familiarizing himself with the terrain of the various tunnels, the mecha appeared at the mine entrance, but it stopped there and refused to move further.
Dachun was completely baffled: "Does this sealed suit of armor have to worry about poisonous gas? Didn't it claim its air tank couldn't last much longer?"
Elene was equally bewildered: "The radar shows no abnormal movement."
Judging from the sudden darkness earlier, it was obvious the guy was setting up a formation and charging a big ultimate attack! His high-end status exceeded imagination!
Dachun asked in alarm, "Elene, are all treasure-hunting captains this strong?"
Elene was also extremely puzzled: "I've really never heard my master mention anything like this. Perhaps we just happened to run into an exceptionally strong one?"
Happened to? In front of magic gold, there are no coincidences!
Dachun instantly thought of a huge suspicious point—with such overwhelming strength, he could have just chased me straight onto the island. Why did he lose track of me midway and take so long to land?
Is there a possibility that the ship that chased me and reported me was actually just a rather mediocre treasure hunter, and in order to land on the island, he specifically went to fetch a super-高手 (super expert)? If a super expert came...
Then the only option was the old sewer trick: find the hidden boss! Even if I die, I'll make sure the magic gold drops right beside the boss. As for whether this expert can beat the boss and snatch the magic gold—well, I did my best!
Dachun made a prompt decision: "Elene, is there a way to flush out the hidden monsters here?"
"Are you sure there are any?"
"A terrorist mining area this large and toxic has to have them!"
"Then just run along shouting all the way!"
Fine, high-end monster pulling really is this unpretentious and crude.
Dachun shouted at the top of his lungs as he charged deep into the mining area.
Perhaps Dachun's voice startled the mecha, because it finally moved!
Dachun felt several gusts of wind blowing in from various tunnels, and a blinding red light flashed before his eyes—
System Prompt: Warning! Your Purification skill has detected the presence of dense, foul death aura! There is no water at your current location, so you cannot purify it.
Dachun was startled: "Death aura?"
Elene also reacted: "He might not be a living person!"
"A wraith?"
Elene was gripped by extreme terror: "If he's a wraith, he's definitely planning to possess and invade you when he grants you the class transfer. You will have no secrets left, and your body might even be completely stolen by him!"
Dachun broke out in a cold sweat!
So that was it! That sealed diving suit was just meant to contain his death aura and conceal his identity! His entire setup was to scatter death aura all over the mine so I would have nowhere to run!
The next moment, Dachun's radar finally responded—a massive crowd of figures was surging toward him through the chilling winds!
——System Prompt: Warning! Your Purification skill has detected a massive number of ghosts and vengeful spirits! There is no water at your current location, you cannot purify...
Holy crap! Being able to dispatch this many ghosts—is this guy a grand lich?