Chapter 15 Fifteen Minutes After the Start

Fifteen minutes into the script, the four members of Hell's Front had already split into three groups.

Little Tan and Little Ling, both skilled in reconnaissance, each took a separate route, discreetly searching along V-shaped paths. Ruoyu and Huajian, on the other hand, advanced directly through the open areas; with their combination… they could handle ranged attacks or ambushes with ease, so there was no need to hide.

In short, their tactical approach was… to search separately and quickly find the enemy, or be found by the enemy. Once contact was made, they would use their superior strength to take them down.

"Hmm… so you guys aren't planning on touching the plot at all…" Feng Bujue muttered, switching his viewpoint between his teammates. "I agree that the other team probably isn't stronger than you, and the chances of getting item rewards in this mode aren't high, but ignoring the plot isn't a good idea… In later matches, using the NPCs in the script will undoubtedly be key to victory, and it's best to get into that habit as early as possible…"

Even if he sighed and complained there, his teammates couldn't hear him. These words would have to wait until after the match to be conveyed.

"Ah… well then…" Brother Jue then added, "Looks like I'm not wasting my time as a substitute. With more than half a month until the competition, the problems I see in them… should still be correctable."

***

On the other hand, the four members of the Corn Kernel Team also adopted a split-up strategy.

However, their strategy was much simpler… 【Liu Sanfeng】acted as the sole scout, while the other three maintained a distance of two hundred meters behind him, advancing slowly.

They, too, abandoned any intention of exploring the plot, wanting to engage the enemy as soon as possible.

But, there was a problem…

If both teams ignored the plot, how would they meet?

The "White Kingdom" was vast, and the scale of the ruins made it clear that the kingdom was immense. It would be incredibly difficult for just eight people to run into each other in such a large area.

Searching aimlessly without any clues would naturally be inefficient.

Fortunately… even though the players weren't touching the plot, the plot would come to them…

***

"Eh? What's that…" After searching for several minutes, Little Tan spotted a figure in the distance.

At that moment, Brother Jue's perspective happened to shift behind him, and he saw the shadow in the distance at the same time.

It was a hunched man in black robes. His face was very old, with a balding forehead and wrinkles covering his face, which were clearly visible even from afar.

"An NPC, I guess…" Little Tan frowned, gazing at him and muttering to himself.

"Hmph… too naive." Feng Bujue scoffed upon hearing this. "Maybe someone on the enemy team has a disguise ability…"

Unfortunately, his opinion didn't reach Little Tan's ears.

After looking around and feeling that there was no one else nearby, Little Tan went forward to make contact.

As he approached the black-robed old man, the old man noticed him but did not make any unusual movements, only stared coldly at Little Tan, waiting for him to approach.

"Uh… hello, old sir?" Little Tan walked up to the old man and tried to greet him.

"Do you have bread?" The old man spoke quickly and with a strong voice.

"Bread?" Little Tan was a little taken aback by the sudden question.

"Looks like it really is an NPC…" Feng Bujue muttered. "This should trigger an event. Giving him bread… should get some kind of benefit or advance the plot."

"Um… sorry, I don't have any bread on me," Little Tan replied honestly after thinking for two seconds.

"Tch… why are you answering so honestly?" Feng Bujue was anxious for him. "Couldn't you at least ask 'If I give you bread, what will you give me in return?' first?"

"Please find me some bread," the old man replied expressionlessly after hearing Little Tan's answer. "If you give me bread, I will repay you."

"Quick, ask him 'how will you repay me'," Feng Bujue's first reaction was, "Is he going to give something or information?"

"Oh… okay, I'll go look," Little Tan's first reaction was, "Don't go anywhere, I'll bring it to you when I find it."

"Are you his grandson or something!" Feng Bujue vehemently complained.

"I won't leave until I get the bread," the old man said calmly.

"Okay," Little Tan responded and turned to leave.

"Hey, at least ask him 'where can I find bread'?" Feng Bujue said. "So you took on a task here and left without getting any hints or information! Is this your level of puzzle-solving when you're alone!"

"Oh! That's right." At this moment, Little Tan suddenly stopped and turned to say to the old man, "I almost forgot to ask…"

"Phew… good, looks like the kid isn't completely hopeless," Brother Jue said, relieved that Little Tan remembered.

"...Do you have any requirements for the type of bread?" Little Tan asked with a serious face. "For example… do you want regular bread? Or whole wheat? Croissant? Or baguette?"

"Are you going to find a wheat field, harvest some wheat, and make it for him right now!" Feng Bujue shouted. "What's the point of asking such a stupid question!"

No matter how much he yelled, it was useless. Little Tan couldn't hear him…

"Any bread will do," the old man's reaction was very calm. After answering, he paused for half a second and added, "Go look over there… I think there might be some there." As he spoke, he raised a hand and pointed in a direction.

"Ah?" Little Tan looked in the direction he was pointing. "Oh… okay, then wait for me." With that, he quickly set off.

"God…" If Feng Bujue had a body, he would definitely be holding his forehead and shaking his head at this moment. "Thank goodness this NPC gave him a hint, or else this kid might not have found anything."

***

At the same time, in another part of the ruins.

Liu Sanfeng, the scout for the Corn Kernel Team, also saw a black-robed old man. This NPC looked exactly like the one Little Tan encountered, hunched over and standing there in a daze.

After seeing this, Liu Sanfeng waited cautiously for a moment, and after confirming that there were no other figures around, his teammates also caught up.

So, the four of them came to the NPC's side together.

"Old sir, are you okay?" Liu Sanfeng asked tentatively.

"Do you have corn?" The black-robed old man was asking for something different from the one Little Tan encountered.

"What?" Liu Sanfeng's expression changed upon hearing this, and he immediately took a step back and shouted, "Be careful, it's a trap!"

His teammates tensed up at his shout, and the four of them formed a back-to-back battle formation, on guard.

Some might wonder why Liu Sanfeng thought it was a "trap." His thought process went like this: the other party inexplicably mentioned "corn"… our team name is "Corn Kernel"… the other party knows our team name… NPCs shouldn't know our team name… the other party is a member of the enemy team in disguise or a summon… it's a trap.

That was roughly the series of steps…

"Hmph! You're really putting on an act!" Liu Sanfeng said confidently to the old man, "You even took the initiative to mention 'corn,' are you trying to mock us for falling for it?"

The old man looked at him coldly and replied with a non sequitur: "Please find me some corn. If you give me corn…"

"Ha!"

Before the old man could finish speaking, Liu Sanfeng gave a light shout and used a skill on him.

【Name: Poseidon Spear Strike】

【Skill Card Attribute: Active Skill, Permanently Learned】

【Skill Category: Spiritual Art】

【Effect: Unleashes a spear-like shockwave to crush the opponent.】

【Consumption: 50 Spirit Power】

【Learning Condition: Spiritual Art Specialization B】

【Note: An attack magic that borrows the power of Poseidon Dalphy, can be used without water.】

"Hmm?" The moment the magic energy pulsed, the expression on the black-robed old man's face changed slightly.

In that instant, the old man raised a hand, his fingers slightly spread, and a layer of black barrier appeared in front of him.

Chi— buzzing…

Liu Sanfeng's skill hit the barrier and vanished like snow into a raging fire.

"This guy… is he really the enemy!" Wei Wu Ge, who was on the side, immediately said.

It was unclear how he came to this conclusion… but he believed it, so… he stepped forward, went around behind the old man, and prepared to form a pincer attack with his teammates.

However…

In the next second, the old man's figure moved suddenly, turning into a black streak that shot straight into the sky. His speed was so fast that the four members of the Corn Kernel Team couldn't react in time.

By the time they came to their senses and looked up, they saw… a huge crow appeared in the sky. It flapped its wings a few times and quickly flew away.

"Uh…" At this time, Liu Sanfeng's face became unsightly. "Brothers, I think I made a mistake…"

"Ah… I could tell…" Xiao Xue Gou said belatedly. "I was a little suspicious just now, but I didn't express my opinion since you seemed so sure."

"This…" The Lonely Guy looked at the departing crow shadow and muttered, "...Could it be one of the 'three birds' mentioned in the script introduction?"

"I'll be damned!" Wei Wu Ge added. "Aren't we in trouble for offending an NPC? Will there be any negative consequences?"

"I think…" Liu Sanfeng continued, "It shouldn't be a big deal." He thought for a few seconds and analyzed, "That birdman was probably a plot NPC, and talking to him would trigger some kind of flag; although we didn't get a quest from him, he didn't retaliate against our attack, he just ran away. So… we probably just lost a side quest." He shrugged and flipped his long hair in front of his forehead. "Anyway, we weren't planning on doing any side quests."

Although it seemed like he was making excuses for his mistake, Liu Sanfeng's analysis was actually correct… If they completely ignored the plot, driving away the NPC wouldn't matter.

"Okay, let's continue then," Xiao Xue Gou said to Liu Sanfeng after thinking for a few seconds. "But you better be more careful next time." He reminded him, "Wasting skills on NPCs is still a loss."

"Understood," Liu Sanfeng replied. "This time, it was my fault… It's just a coincidence that the NPC mentioned 'corn' right away, which is related to our team name…" He shook his head, showing no remorse, and instead said with a bit of self-admiration, "Ah… I just react too quickly and am too sensitive to these kinds of words…"

If Feng Bujue were here, after hearing these words and seeing the expression on his face, he would definitely say, "With your IQ and mentality, you could probably become the President of the United States in the South Park dimension."

***

Let's split the story and look at Little Tan's side.

Perhaps Little Tan wasn't as smooth and shrewd as Brother Jue when dealing with NPCs, but he had good character…

He followed the direction the old man pointed, and after a few minutes, he found the plot item.

Or rather… he was tripped by the plot item.

Of course, there was no need to worry about Little Tan falling flat on his face and losing survival points.

After being tripped, he simply supported himself with one hand and spun his body, dissipating most of the downward force; in less than two seconds, he flipped over and stood up again, suffering basically no damage.

"Wow~ this kind of bread… is really the first time I've seen it," Little Tan said after standing still, looking back at the thing that "tripped" him, speechless.

No matter how you looked at it, it was "a hand"… a hand made of bread that suddenly came out of the ground.

"This thing isn't alive, is it…" Feng Bujue, who was watching from the spectator's perspective, saw it more clearly. A few seconds ago, he clearly saw the hand break out of the ground and quickly grab Little Tan's ankle.

"Hmm…" Little Tan looked at the bread hand for a few seconds, made up his mind, and walked over.

Unexpectedly…

Tu-tu-tu-tu—

In an instant, the earth crumbled and a strange figure appeared.

This time, it wasn't just a hand… but a whole "Bread Man" that jumped out of the ground.

Its body was of various colors, but mostly brownish-yellow; its torso was a rectangular toast, its limbs were French baguettes, its neck was two donuts stacked on top of each other, and its face was a coconut bun smeared with butter.

The rest of its body was also made of various kinds of bread, such as the palm of its left hand being an English bloomer, its fingers being five small croissants; its right hand was a sweet red bean Mexican bread, its fingers were cheese sticks; its knees were pineapple buns, its elbows were mille-feuille bread, and so on…

"This game even has monsters that look so delicious…" When he saw this enemy, many thoughts flashed through Feng Bujue's mind…

Human meat soup, maggot sandwiches, Walker's corpse, the eyeballs of Mad Dragon Smiling… Since he started playing this game, he had eaten too many things that shouldn't be on the human menu.

Today, he finally saw something that looked good to eat no matter where you bit into it, but he wasn't the one standing in front of this monster…

This feeling… was like a pimp who had been frequenting low-class brothels for years and had visited all the mediocre and ugly women there, suddenly seeing a beauty one day. The problem was… he didn't bring any money that day, and the beauty had already gone into someone else's room.

"Damn it…" No one could hear Brother Jue speak in spectator mode, so he could curse as he pleased. "Why can't I ever encounter something like this…"

"Eh?" On the other side, Little Tan was also slightly stunned after seeing the full appearance of the enemy.

The aroma that was drifting in the air, a mixture of wheat, honey, butter, and other fragrances, made him swallow involuntarily.

"Pan!" The Bread Man jumped out of the ground and immediately stared at Little Tan with a pair of butter eyes, shouting, "Pan! Pan!" As it shouted, it raised its hands and made threatening gestures, clearly wanting to fight.

"Hmm… it seems like it can only make the syllable pan…" Feng Bujue muttered. "Well… in any case… it's better than repeatedly shouting an_pan (red bean bun)…"

"It looks like it wants to attack me…" Little Tan said to himself while looking at the Bread Man. "But it doesn't look very strong, after all, it's just bread…" He was still kind-hearted. "I'll just cut off a piece of it and take it to the old man."

"Pan!"

Just as Little Tan made up his mind, the Bread Man took a big step and rushed forward.

Don't let its bread-like appearance fool you, it was really fast. Its swift figure tore through the air, scattering layers of wheat flour and leaving behind a rich fragrance…

"Sorry! Let me just cut off a piece!" Faced with the monster's attack, Little Tan wasn't afraid at all. He took out his military knife and, instead of retreating, advanced and slashed at the enemy's right arm.

Pfft—

The brittle outer crust was broken by the blade.

Zzzzzz…

The soft, flexible, and dense wheat fibers were quickly severed.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…

The Bread Man's severed right arm flew through the air, spinning.

After a round of engagement, Little Tan quickly jumped up and caught the piece of bread he had cut off from the other party.

"Pan! Pan—" The Bread Man screamed in agony after losing its arm, covering the stump and kneeling on the ground, "Pan~pan~"

"Uh…" Seeing this scene, Little Tan couldn't help but feel compassion. "It looks so pitiful…" He looked down at the bread in his hand, hesitated for a few seconds, and gritted his teeth. "But I've already cut it off…" With that, he turned sharply and ran towards the black-robed old man. "I'm sorry!"

Feng Bujue, who had been watching Little Tan from behind, muttered at this time, "He even apologized… are you eight years old today… no, you're getting soft after seeing a humanoid food… not just eight years old, but also a girl."

"Pan… pan…"

Just as Brother Jue was complaining, the Bread Man, after losing its arm, underwent an abnormal change…