Chapter 72: Chapter 72: The Veteran’s Wealth of Experience
Han Shi now can’t figure out how he, the boss, and Baldy got separated from the main group and ended up in this godforsaken new dungeon.
They are core members of the Iron Armor Corps’ C-Level Dungeon Strategy Group. Collecting dungeon intelligence, investigating dungeon outputs, and formulating strategy plans are their bread and butter.
As for the Peaceful Town, they can say they know it inside out; he even clearly remembers its first appearance 74 days ago.
He is very confident in his professional capabilities, as every trade has its mastery.
There’s no one more knowledgeable about C-Level dungeons than their trio.
A dungeon that’s only been around for 74 days — how hard could it really be?
That little bastard from the Management Bureau trying to deceive them is laughable.
However, he and the boss can understand that Baldy had a mental breakdown while strategizing a dungeon and was saved by luck, but it left him with a psychological scar.
When his condition acts up, everyone looks like his first love, and he impulsively wants to do something.
This is not good, but he and the boss can’t say anything.
Because Baldy’s breakdown was to save the two of them, so even if Baldy causes a big mess, they have to clean up after him.
They owe him a life.
That kid from the Management Bureau, to prevent them from causing trouble for the rookies, tried to use the profession assigned to each person in the dungeon to tie them down.
Though that kid definitely exaggerated the importance of work, the Peaceful Town Dungeon is indeed bizarre.
The three of them randomly got shipbuilder, lumberjack, and porter.
The work assigned to them wasn’t much, but the peculiar thing is that every completed task reduces their Power Limit.
Baldy tried it, the more work done, the more deducted, yet the reward for hard labor was merely a slight improvement in the townsfolk’s attitude towards them.
What a joke.
Back when the three of them were strategizing the dungeon over at Sakura Island, taking turns to raise the Shogun’s wife’s favorability, it wasn’t this difficult.
To be safe, the boss and Baldy kept working. With less Strength Attribute than the two, he kept his strength preserved and adopted a wait-and-see approach.
Simply put, he was slacking off.
He took out a shrunken Magic Wand, infused it with energy, and the gemstone at the wand’s tip glowed with red light.
He brought the glowing gem close to his mouth and lit the pipe he held.
Taking a deep drag, he contentedly blew out a smoke ring.
The feeling of not working is truly great.
Working is impossible, not in this lifetime.
He’s never worked a day in his life in the real world, so how could he do hard labor in a dungeon world?
As he was enjoying the beautiful sunset, a guy dressed in a postal uniform walked up to him.
He recognized this postman, one of the rookies from the Management Bureau.
What’s his name again, something like Miscellaneous Fish?
"Kid, what are you looking at?" he exhaled a puff of smoke at Wu Chang, asking provocatively.
The postman was evidently a newbie player. Being yelled at like that left him a bit flustered, nervously picking at his fingers.
"I, I’m not looking at anything, just thought that as fellow players, we should at least greet each other." Wu Chang was so nervous his face was turning red.
Han Shi took a drag from the pipe and asked, "Now that we’ve greeted, do you have any other business?"
Wu Chang shook his head, "No other business, I just wanted to remind you, make sure you complete your work, Sword Star said that completing work is very important."
Han Shi exhaled smoke from his nostrils, sensing that this rookie was a simpleton.
With nothing better to do, he decided to mess with him.
"Have you completed your work then?"
Wu Chang smiled awkwardly, "I tried delivering two packages, but every package delivered reduced my Willpower Limit by 0.3. With my attributes, I can’t do much more."
"So you used 0.6 Willpower Limit for work, what did you get in return?"
"The townsfolk’s favorability toward me seems to have increased a bit."
Han Shi shook his head, thinking to himself that this simpleton was truly naive. Though perceptive enough to notice changes in the townsfolk’s favorability, he blabbed out precious intelligence after a few casual words.
Everyone knows that each piece of intelligence is worth money.
Working can earn townsfolk favorability, and different jobs consume different attributes upon completion. These two pieces of intelligence, packaged a bit, could easily sell for thousands of Rotten Silver Coins.
He pressed the tobacco in his pipe and said:
"Let me tell you, even if a dungeon is hard, it adheres to basic rules. Does the town have any notices about consequences for not working?"
"No." Wu Chang shook his head.
"Then there you have it. These soft rules aren’t entirely untouchable. When you reach their limit, someone will naturally come to remind you, and you can change then."
Han Shi glanced at Wu Chang, his tone calm, exuding an air of experience.
"But you should know, once an attribute is gone, it’s gone for good."
Wu Chang was stunned, looking at Han Shi with admiration.
"I see, veteran players truly are experienced!"
Feeling a bit smug from Wu Chang’s flattery, Han Shi continued:
"You lone wolves are too caught up in vanity, running to be auxiliary members of the Management Bureau the moment they beckon."
"For a mediocre lone wolf like you, you won’t learn anything in the Management Bureau. It’s too big; those at the top don’t even know who you are. Instead, middling forces like our Iron Armor Corps offer the best training and real skills."
Every veteran knows how difficult gathering intelligence in dungeons is, and even when collected, verifying it takes effort.
Naive people like Wu Chang, who openly share intelligence, are rare. Naturally, Han Shi wouldn’t miss this opportunity.
Immediately, he started promoting the Iron Armor Corps to Wu Chang, telling him that joining them was his future.
He promised that if Wu Chang relayed any information from Sword Star to them, once Wu Chang had enough experience assisting and couldn’t get a formal position, he could ensure Wu Chang joined the Iron Armor Corps.
Han Shi boasted extravagantly, and Wu Chang listened, somewhat confused, believing everything.
In the blink of an eye, it got completely dark, and workers from the shipyard finished their shifts.
"Alright, that’s it for today. If you gain any insights tomorrow, come find me here. If not, just keep busy with your own tasks first."
Han Shi dusted off his clothes, dismissing Wu Chang immediately.
Wu Chang nodded and obediently turned away and left.
Han Shi went to a town restaurant and ordered an egg and sea fish set meal. The server had a bad attitude towards him.
Information spreads quickly inside the town. Once word gets out there’s a slacker, everyone knows.
No one treats slackers kindly, and when the server delivered his meal, their thumb with dirt under the nails even jabbed directly into the fish meat.
Han Shi felt disgusted and shouted, "Give me another one."
The server replied politely, "Eat it if you like, or beat it if you don’t."
Han Shi’s temper flared immediately. Grabbing the server’s hair, he shoved the tainted fish into the server’s mouth.
Then he grabbed a raw fish from the kitchen and left.
The temporary residence of the three from the Iron Armor Corps was a trio of connected wooden cabins on the town’s outskirts.
Most outsiders lived in such peripheral areas.
Due to its remote location, traveling required passing through several deserted paths.
Hungry and annoyed, Han Shi wasn’t afraid of the paths but rather looked forward to them.
If anything dared to attack him, it would allow him to vent his anger and potentially gather some intelligence.
He strolled into the path clutching his fish, then suddenly vanished mid-step.
Thirty meters from Han Shi’s disappearance, Wu Chang, in his Spirit Body form, slowly emerged.
He clicked his tongue, murmuring quietly:
"You really are experienced, knowing how to avoid dungeon dangers, aware of warnings and punishments for severely violating soft rules."
"But did your experience ever tell you that this dungeon has an Inner World, and they’d catch rule-breaking players first?"