Infinite Puzzle City

Chapter 642 We're just messing with you guys.
"As expected, the difficulty of tasks for professionals is indeed different."

Although the difference in difficulty between tasks for professionals and beginners was clearly felt at the Fifth Hospital.

But this task, this blatant challenge, really made Xiao Ran feel a little uncomfortable.

If the beginner's task is to uncover the truth while ensuring their own safety as much as possible, then they have basically completed most of the task, and the main focus is on the sense of participation.

For example, Mengchi participated in the main quest and surrounded and killed Li Jingqi.

Or perhaps it was before, when I participated in a sword review.

And further back, they participated in the defense of Ruzhou City, etc.

Basically, as long as you participate and survive, you've completed the main quest.

As for the outcome, it often follows the general trend, and naturally, other experts take action. These beginners are more like pawns under the experts, helping them create enough opportunities to make their move.

In contrast, the task of professionals is direct, simple, and brutal.

Or, to put it another way, they are an upgraded version of beginners; they focus on participation and become experts in the eyes of beginners.

What is needed is not just participation, but more importantly, achieving the goal.

It's similar to the transformation from a chess piece to a chess player.

Thinking of this, Xiao Ran calmed down even more. Instead of rushing to inquire about the Spirit God Sect, she casually put away the list and followed the crowd forward.

As Xiao Ran walked, she pondered the task.

However, he was not only thinking about the task itself, but also putting himself in the shoes of the chess player to figure out how to complete the task.

The mission at the hospital last time was actually the same in nature as this side mission.

All of these fall under the category of prioritizing the achievement of the goal.

"I didn't do a good job on the last mission. If it weren't for Plum Blossom Taoist's support, it's hard to say whether I could have completed the mission in the end."

When Xiao Ran summarized her last mission at the hospital, she silently gave herself a bad review.

Even though the final rating was A, Xiao Ran knew that it was all because Plum Blossom Taoist had covered for her.

"The reason I was so tired was because I hadn't really adapted to how to be a chess player. I was trying to do the work of a chess player by brute force with the methods of chess pieces. That's not right. I have a long road ahead. If I keep doing things like that, I'll eventually be exhausted. I might as well use this side quest to try it out and learn how to be a real chess player!"

Xiao Ran stopped and looked up, only to see two people walking straight towards her.

Although the streets were crowded with pedestrians, Xiao Ran's mental strength was terrifying. When the two people focused their gaze on her, Xiao Ran knew that they were coming for her.

"The beginners are quite strong. The one on the left should be stronger, like a master of external martial arts. The one on the right doesn't seem to have a profession, but he carries a sinister aura, so he should be a profession related to the spiritual realm."

With just one glance, Xiao Ran noticed every detail about the two men. For example, the man on the left exuded a masculine aura, and his wrist had a thick layer of calluses on the tiger's mouth. Therefore, he deduced that the man was skilled in martial arts. If he was skilled in martial arts, then the most convenient path would be to train horizontally.

In contrast, the young man on the right looked just like an ordinary person, except that he had a cold and sinister aura, which led to the conclusion that he was probably a professional specializing in mental skills.

Unbeknownst to the two, Xiao Ran had already guessed most of their backgrounds. They strode up to Xiao Ran and blocked his way: "Brother, my name is Manchester United, and his name is Milan. What's your name, brother?"

Manchester United, AC Milan?
Upon hearing the name of the football team, Xiao Ran recalled what Huang Le had told her before: among the three groups of people in the city, this team consisted of highly skilled individuals.

So he nodded: "Durian!"

"So it's you, Durian Brothers. We mean no harm; we simply want to invite you to sit down and have a chat. How about we do you the honor of joining us, Durian Brothers?"

As they talked, the two even pointed out the direction to Xiao Ran, where four people were sitting in the teahouse behind them.

It seemed as if they were waiting for Xiao Ran.

"Okay."

Xiao Ran readily agreed and followed the two to the teahouse.

The teahouse was small, and the three of them felt even more cramped after entering. So two of them stood up and made room to stand outside the teahouse like door gods.

Sitting in front of Xiao Ran was a man in his early thirties. The man had thick eyebrows and big eyes, and his skin was rough and yellow, as if it had been worn by wind and sand for many years.

"This is Real Madrid, and this is our captain. Brother Durian, you must have already heard of our captain. We invited you here today for no other reason than to inquire about the situation outside."

While stating their purpose, Manchester United subtly introduced Xiao Ran's name to Real Madrid.

"What's the situation outside?"

Xiao Ran squinted: "When you ask about the outside, do you mean outside this labyrinthine city, or outside of reality?"

"Of course, it's the reality. To be honest, we've been trapped here for a long time. We just heard that the Lost City has landed outside. We all have families and parents, so naturally we want to find out the truth."

Although Real Madrid may seem a bit rough around the edges, he speaks with a strong sense of江湖 (jianghu, a term referring to the world of martial arts and chivalry), or rather, a bandit-like air.

Xiao Ran guessed that Real Madrid was probably no pushover in real life.

"You don't need to worry about the actual situation. With the company around, nothing can go wrong."

Xiao Ran didn't continue the conversation, but changed the subject: "Since you've been stuck here for so long, haven't you thought of a way to leave?"

"leave?"

The Real Madrid players exchanged glances and couldn't help but laugh; "Why are you leaving?"

As Real Madrid spoke, he took out a large, black sword from his spatial storage.

Upon taking a look, Xiao Ran couldn't help but praise, "What a fine blade." The blade was entirely black, yet its edge gleamed with a chilling light, exuding a murderous aura that rivaled even his own decapitation blade.

"A top-grade cursed sword, a D-level item, would fetch at least three thousand Netherworld coins in Bone Spirit Street. Here, it's free, and you can have as many as you want. Besides, when we first came here, we were only E-level, but now we're all 3D-level. Tell me, why should we leave?"

Real Madrid looked up; their mindset was completely different from others. Here, they had plenty of resources to take for free. Where else could they find such a good place?

Although I can't leave, I'm strong enough that I'll have to leave sooner or later. Wouldn't it be better to hone my skills here and use the resources here to grow bigger and stronger?

"So what do you want me to do?"

"It's very simple. We know you are all experts and don't plan to stay here for long. You just want to grab someone and leave, so we have no intention of making things difficult for you. However, if you take the person away, we won't have anyone to do the work. How are we supposed to live?"

Real Madrid rested his chin on his hand, his eyes scanning Xiao Ran.

"understood!"

Faced with this familiar scene, Xiao Ran remained expressionless, but she already knew what was going on.

"Then please tell me a solution."

"Haha, relax, relax. We're not robbers, we're not trying to force anyone," Real Madrid said with a laugh.

Then he suddenly slammed his hand on the table, stood up, and stared intently at Xiao Ran: "How about this, we have a small task here that we've been unsure about to do. You guys are all very capable and powerful, could you please help us out?"

"What mission?" Xiao Ran looked at Real Madrid in front of her with an unchanged expression.

"Hey, it's not a dangerous mission. There's a City God Temple in the west of the city. That place is really weird. My brother and I went in and haven't come out yet. Could you go in and scout it out for us? If you can find my brother, we'll call it even. You can take as many people as you want out."

"Okay, but I don't know the place. Can you have someone show me the way?"

Xiao Ran agreed very readily, which surprised Real Madrid. They carefully examined Xiao Ran, but how could they possibly see Xiao Ran's strength?

"Milan, Manchester United, you two take him to the City God Temple."

Real Madrid addressed the two players from Milan and Manchester United.

When the two heard that they were going to the City God Temple, their expressions became somewhat unnatural, but they dared not refuse under Real Madrid's gaze and nodded helplessly.

"Brother, well done. As long as you can figure out what's going on with the City God Temple, we can talk things over."

"Then you can wait for my news."

Xiao Ran stood up and gestured for the two to lead the way.

The two pursed their lips, cursed their bad luck inwardly, and pointed to the path on the left: "Let's go this way."

The City God Temple is located in the west of the city, and the three of them walked straight west along the path.

Milan was in front and Manchester United was behind, as if they were preventing Xiao Ran from escaping.

"Gentlemen, have you received the mission from the Spirit God Cult?"

Xiao Ran asked casually.

"This is a stupid task, I'm too lazy to do it," Milan said, tilting her head back.

"You're not even doing the missions??" Xiao Ran asked, feigning surprise.

Manchester United scoffed, "There are plenty of resources here, all free. This mission from the Spirit God Cult is incredibly troublesome. It involves infiltrating the Spirit God Cult's mansion and destroying the Spirit God's shrine. Only a fool would do it."

"You're asking this? Are you planning to do this quest? I advise you to give up on it. The quests here are incredibly difficult, and the side quests are almost as challenging as the main quests in a regular maze." Milan turned to Xiao Ran and advised her.

"Hey, I'm just killing time anyway, might as well do some side quests and get out of here sooner."

"Haha, you little rascal, you're like someone who's fallen into a honeycomb and doesn't even know how sweet it is." Manchester United shook his head, thinking Xiao Ran was just naive.

Why do something so thankless when there are free resources available?

As the three of them talked, they climbed over a family's courtyard and saw the gate of a dilapidated City God Temple in the distance.

Upon seeing the City God Temple, the two men's previous nonchalance vanished, replaced by wariness.

"That's the City God Temple, let's go in."

Milan pointed to the open door in front of him and said.

After speaking, Xiao Ran made no move. When they turned around, they saw Xiao Ran staring at the two of them expressionlessly.

Seeing this, Milan frowned and urged, "What are you standing there for? Go!"

Xiao Ran looked up at the gate of the City God Temple, then shook her head: "But what if I didn't plan to go inside?"

"Ok??"

The two men were taken aback, and Manchester United's face immediately darkened: "Are you kidding me?!"

But before he could finish speaking, Xiao Ran's eyes flashed, and he suddenly reached out to grab Manchester United. The moment his hand opened, Manchester United felt a buzzing in his head, as if something was tapping the back of his head.

Then suddenly everything went black, and when I came to my senses, I found myself inside a coffin.

At the same time, Xiao Ran's teasing voice rang in his ears: "It's rare to run into a few monkeys, wouldn't it be a waste of the trip if we didn't have some fun with them..."

(End of this chapter)