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Remember this: 【??】, providing you with exciting novel readings.
Beiyue asked, "What is the content of the Five-Star Card?"
"I once saw a Black Dragon," Li Qing replied. "Generally speaking, the probability of encountering a Five-Star Card is highest with animals, plants, and Intelligent Beings. Scenery refers to seeking out certain views, like climbing the highest mountain to watch the sunrise or finding an oasis in the desert. Locations are cultural landmarks, such as famous caves, but most are guarded by Force Creatures. There are three categories: the first category is Force Beasts, which wander around and actively attack any practitioners within their range. The second category is Force Plants, which remain stationary at a location to prevent others from passing through. Intelligent Beings can engage in conversation and communication; they are usually represented by staff members who will judge whether to attack based on their own rules and preferences. Whichever category you choose, you cannot avoid fighting against all three types of creatures. Therefore, one should prioritize choosing one of these three types."
Li Qing continued, "In that assessment, the scenery and location guarded by animal cards was the Black Dragon. The group that chose scenery sacrificed three people to distract the Black Dragon and ultimately obtained the card. However, the location group and animal card group reached their designated spot and were completely wiped out. The worst option is the location; anything can happen there, so never choose it."
Cui Ming shook his head. "Li Qing, we've studied this; there has never been an identical assessment. This question seems similar, but could it have been tampered with? Who are the people choosing A+? The Ding Family, the Ye Family, us, Raefus Group, and Cao Liu Family—all of them have some influence; how could they not have heard of this previous competition?"
Li Qing thought for a moment. "That makes sense. Beiyue, you decide."
Ding Ze said, "Let's eliminate scenery because many of them are time-dependent—sunrise, sunset, high tide, low tide... We need to avoid time constraints."
Beiyue nodded at everyone. "Anything else?"
Cui Ming added, "Animals and plants are difficult to deal with but generally quite foolish. Based on Li Qing's analysis, plants remain stationary to defend against intruders. This sounds more challenging than dealing with animals."
"Any other opinions?" Beiyue scanned everyone and said, "Then we will prioritize animals and absolutely not choose scenery. Alright. I'm going."
Ten minutes later, Beiyue returned with an envelope and glanced at everyone. "Intelligent Beings... need I explain?"
"No need," everyone replied as they took their envelopes. Whether drawn or chosen willingly made no difference.
...
Five minutes before the second round of the Assessment Match began, Dina and the President reiterated that no mutual assistance or attacks were allowed; any violations would result in immediate disqualification.
The five groups appeared simultaneously at the eastern entrance of a small town. This town was genuinely small; it had a central square with shops and facilities extending out in a cross shape from there—nothing more. The four roads at the crossroads led north to the desert, south to the sea, west to the snowy plains, and east to the mountains. The five groups looked at each other at the eastern entrance of the town, unsure of how to proceed.
"Maps, maps!" a vendor shouted nearby. "Selling maps!"
It was a decoy. Everyone gathered around, and the vendor said, "One map for ten gold coins."
Yellen asked, "Gold coins? No, how about gold?" pointing to the wrist guard on his left hand.
"Only gold coins accepted." The vendor pulled out an envelope. "Or you can complete this task and exchange it for a map with my stamp."
Each of the five team leaders took an envelope. Yellen glanced at his and asked, "Wash two thousand bowls?"
The vendor replied leisurely, "You can wash them. You can also choose not to."
Raefus looked at the contents of his envelope and called to his teammates, "We're heading to the beach." They would transport two thousand bags of goods from the seaside dock.
The other team members exchanged glances; there was no choice—maps were essential—so they each took their envelopes and left. Beiyue had to go to the salt fields to pack two thousand kilograms of salt and was about to leave when Cui Ming discreetly tugged at him. Beiyue pretended to discuss with everyone what needed to be done at the salt fields.
Once the four groups had departed, Cui Ming waved his hand, and the five surrounded the vendor. Cui Ming slapped his palm on the stall and said, "Brother, sorry, we're here to rob you." The decoy was impressive; they had five people on their side.
The vendor smiled, "You should take a look at who I am..."
Li Qing kicked out a leg, sending the vendor flying thirty meters away. Mi Xiaonan snatched a map and ran off while Li Qing casually tucked a hot dog into his pocket and fled with everyone else. The vendor returned to his stall in disbelief. "What the hell? I've been running this stall for twelve years and have never been robbed before."
Cui Ming shouted from a distance, "Big brother, run!"
The vendor scoffed. Why should he run? Not only would he not run, but he would also seek revenge.
Two hours later, the vendor understood why Cui Ming had suggested running. When the four groups that completed their labor found him to get maps, the vendor felt something was off. He had only prepared five maps, and all had been stolen. Helplessly, he turned to 'God' Dina for maps, but President vetoed it; conditions had already been set and could not be altered. Not only did players have to follow game rules, but NPCs also had to adhere to them; otherwise, if BOSSes were brought into beginner villages, who would still play this game?
Thus, the vendor was eliminated.
As for who had the maps? Of course, it was Beiyue Team—but they couldn't take them or give them away intentionally...
The wind whispered a few words in Raefus's ear, and he ordered the five of them to turn over the trash bins. Sure enough, they found two maps among the refuse. Earlier, when the wind had seen Cui Ming on the street, Cui Ming was caressing a nearby trash bin. The other three groups had no maps, raising the difficulty of their mission significantly. However, some were aware of Raefus Group's actions and managed to retrieve maps from the bins sooner or later.
After obtaining the maps, North Moon Group entered a café to drink their free coffee. They had no money but were willing to fight for it. Beiyue placed the map on the table and studied it: "There are four landmarks on this map and six question marks. No, this is from the landmark group... Intelligent Beings, Intelligent Beings... Got it."
Beiyue laid out the Intelligent Beings map on the table, which had ten question marks marked on it—three in the town, two by the river, and five scattered across a desert, snowy plains, and seaside. Ding Ze remarked, "The map's indications are unclear; the area is vast. Even if we search for question marks by the river, finding three in town will be difficult."
Cui Ming said, "Force; it's all related to Force and can be visually identified." He casually picked up the other four maps and walked out of the café, tossing them into a trash bin before patting it gently. The wind passed by on the street opposite and cursed silently at the pervert, choosing to ignore him as he didn’t recognize this person. Two hours later, he found that trash bin and began digging through it.
Cui Ming returned after discarding four maps. Beiyue was organizing their tasks: "I'll go to the river; Li Qing will head to the desert; Ding Ze will take on the mountains. Mi Xiaonan and Cui Ming, you two stay in town for now and look for those three question marks while we scout ahead." Logically speaking, there shouldn't be any fighting in town; even so, Mi Xiaonan was left with Cui Ming—their golden partnership.
The group split up and communicated via walkie-talkies. Cui Ming wasn't in a hurry; he leisurely enjoyed another cup of coffee with Mi Xiaonan when they heard a microphone voice from the square: "This magic troupe comes from the Eastern Region; we're passing through this treasure land and need some travel expenses. Please support us!"
Cui Ming glanced at his Fate Card and said, "Let's go." The Force had appeared.
In the center of the square on stage stood a man dressed as a Magician, alone with a microphone shouting into it. The nearby NPCs were oblivious, engrossed in their own activities. Cui Ming and Mi Xiaonan approached; Mi Xiaonan was about to step forward when Cui Ming pulled him back to sit beside him.
After shouting several times, the Magician looked at Cui Ming and Mi Xiaonan with a forlorn expression: "Are you coming or not? If not, I’ll pack up and leave." Was he serious? Was he an idiot? This was his mission... The Magician recalled a game where there were Gwent cards; whenever the protagonist asked, NPCs would sit down to play cards. One moment they would be desperate for help because their wife was kidnapped by bandits; in another moment they would calmly say they wanted to play a round. Now he felt like that NPC...
Cui Ming and Mi Xiaonan stepped onto the stage. Cui Ming said, "I don't understand what this means." There was a table on stage with three small bowls—this was a typical street trick involving guessing beans. If that was all there was to it, how boring!
The Magician gestured for them to sit: "First, we need to tell a story."
It was hard to imagine how bored someone must have been to create such an elaborate love story for this task. The Magician played the male lead in this tale and spoke impatiently but continued nonetheless. Forgetting parts of the plot, he pulled out a draft to read from—his dedication as an NPC substitute left much to be desired.
Finally finishing his tale, he exclaimed: "And that's how it goes! Damn it, I’ve been talking for half an hour."
Cui Ming and Mi Xiaonan woke up from their stupor and looked at the Magician: "Is that it?"
The Magician was speechless but understood well enough: "The gist of the story is that my lover is trapped in a mountain forest."
"You took half an hour just to say that?" Cui Ming retorted.
"Brother, once you're in the League, you have no choice," the Magician said. "Let's get to the point. It's simple: guess the bean. Best of three rounds. If you win, I'll tell you where my lover is trapped. If you rescue her, you'll receive a card. If you lose, one of your challengers will have to stand still for an hour before they can challenge again."
Cui Ming asked, "Why guessing beans?"
The Magician replied, "It's not about what the Assessment Committee wants; it's about what us unfortunate Volunteers can do. I can guess beans, so we guess beans."
Mi Xiaonan looked puzzled. "Cui Ming, shouldn't we first ask why you're not in a hurry to rescue your lover and instead want to play this guessing game with us?"
Cui Ming responded, "Mi Xiaonan, don't expect much logic from someone who can come up with such a disgusting, long-winded backstory for this assessment competition."
The Magician nodded repeatedly as if he had found a kindred spirit. "This brother makes a good point. Who will challenge? I can only accept one challenger for this task."
"It seems everyone has it tough; I'll go," Cui Ming stepped forward.
"Please."
Cui Ming was taken aback. "Aren't I the one guessing?"
"No, I will guess because I only know how to guess beans," the Magician replied with a sheepish smile.
Whatever, Cui Ming thought as he cracked his knuckles and then flipped over three bowls, placing a single bean under one of them. "Ready, start..." This is what it means to be a master. (To be continued.)
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