My lord, spare his life!

As we all know, every "internet celebrity face" has undergone rigorous selection by countless players. Those that manage to break through and gain widespread acceptance are extremely rare. And this particular "internet celebrity face" is the champion of this year's character creation competition!

The game developer is quite knowledgeable.

The champion's character creation screen was placed as an Easter egg on the home side quest map.

[Leader of the Eastern Bandits]

The health bar on his head is a long string of numbers.

To outsiders, Zhang Yang's momentary daze appeared as one of being terrified, bewitched by the handsome man, or so blinded by lust that she didn't even know how to run away. The young warrior didn't spare Zhang Yang a second glance; with a swift backhand flick of his white blade, a cold light flashed across the empty air. Suddenly, a scream erupted from the tip of the blade, and a jet of crimson blood splattered out of thin air.

Two snapping sounds.

The chunks of flesh, cut in half at the waist, fell to the ground like rotten mud.

The injured man was incredibly resilient; despite such severe injuries, he didn't die immediately. He tried to bend his legs to sit up, while his hands struggled to crawl forward, his face contorted with pain and terror. His insatiable will to survive allowed him to crawl half a meter forward.

puff--

A long spear came crashing down, and his head was driven into the ground.

The warhorse's hooves trampled over the corpses, but the young general didn't even glance at them. He reached out, grabbed a spear, and with a single thrust, deflected a stray arrow that seemed to fly from nowhere. No sooner had one arrow been deflected than a second and a third followed, all aimed at the young general.

The young general, while handling the situation with ease, also casually killed several targets who were trying to escape. The archer who was secretly firing arrows sensed something was wrong, because she discovered that the young general was approaching her hiding place; he had definitely figured out her location.

The archer's forehead was covered in cold sweat, but his hands remained as steady as a mountain.

In a flash, she changed her strategy.

He plucked the bowstring and drew the arrow, seven or eight sharp arrows condensing from his fingertips, aiming at Zhang Yang to his side behind the young general at an extremely tricky angle. The arrows left the bowstring without hesitation, and he turned and disappeared, blending into the snowy landscape.

Just as a surge of pleasure was about to rise in her heart, the spear pierced through her from behind, sending her flying with tremendous force until she slammed into the ground. Blood gushed from the wound, outlining a transparent human figure. Gritting her teeth, she cleaved the spearhead through her body with her bare hands, steadied her breathing, and barely managed to restore her collapsing invisibility before transforming into a stream of water and disappearing into the snow.

The young military general frowned in disgust.

"They escaped quickly."

Tighten the reins and make the warhorse turn around.

"General, should we give chase?"

"No need. That gun is enough to take half her life." The young military officer coldly swept his gaze over the rest of the village, making a gesture of annihilation. "The rest of you, leave no one alive, execute them all!"

"Several commoners have been discovered who were tricked into coming here. What should we do?" The young military officer initially wanted to eliminate them completely—he had previously rescued undercover agents disguised as innocent commoners, causing them considerable trouble. Having learned his lesson, he had no choice but to go all the way.

Turning his head, he saw the raggedly dressed boy still half-squatting, staring at his face. The young general pursed his lips, sheathed his sword, and shifted his gaze from the boy's face to the arrow craters left by several star-shaped arrows not far in front of him.

The deputy also noticed Zhang Yang's side.

He chuckled and said, "What a beautiful lady, General. It would be such a waste to kill her. Should we take her back? She won't live much longer if left out here. Taking her back could help one of the brothers with the important matter of having an heir. Ouch—General, don't hit her head!"

A young military general: "Lust blinds one's judgment."

The deputy stopped joking and, glancing out of the corner of his eye, saw Fan You, whose hands had been twisted behind his back and freed. His eyes suddenly lit up: "What a handsome young man! General, it would be a waste to kill him. Should we take him back? He won't live long outside anyway. Taking him back could help some of the ladies alleviate their worries. They wouldn't even look at those burly men in the mountains. This young man has such delicate skin and is truly a gem!"

Young military general: "Stubborn and unyielding."

Fan You didn't struggle. When he was brought over, he saw his lord's innocent, peach-blossom eyes and was speechless—there was no need to act so earnestly. He noticed the arrow craters on the ground, suddenly broke free of his restraints, stumbled a few steps, and knelt before Zhang Yang, anxiously calling out, "Yangniang, Yangniang, were you frightened?"

Zhang Yang: "Who are you calling?"

Fan You secretly pinched Zhang Yang's hand.

Zhang Yang remembered their role-playing incident and reluctantly took over the role: "It's nothing, I was just scared out of my wits."

The archers were inaccurate, and Zhang Yang easily dodged them all by taking a small step back. However, the dust kicked up by the arrows hitting her face was a mess. Fan You spread his arms to shield Zhang Yang, warily watching the young general and his group, and most importantly, using his body to block Zhang Yang's face. She was definitely not one for pretense.

"What do you intend to do to us siblings?"

The young military officer glanced at Fan You but didn't speak. His deputy, displeased, put his hands on his hips and said, "You two are ungrateful. If we hadn't happened to arrive, you two would have been reunited in someone's belly in less than half a day."

Fan You: "They are soldiers from the Eastern Frontier who were recruited after coming down from the mountains!"

"Eastern bandits" is the term used by outsiders to refer to the bandits of the Eastern Frontier.

They wouldn't call themselves thieves; they'd call themselves soldiers.

The deputy chuckled: "So you're going with them?"

Fan You looked dejected and grief-stricken. His lips moved, but tears streamed down his face before he could utter a sound. He gritted his teeth and said, "Thieves broke into the manor, burning, killing, and looting. My whole family perished, leaving only my brother and sister to depend on each other for survival. If we don't seek revenge, how can we face our tragically deceased relatives?"

The deputy was still smiling.

It wasn't that Fan You's experience wasn't pitiful, but rather that he had heard far too many similar stories, many of which were even more tragic. However, Fan You's words also explained why the brother and sister had joined this band of Eastern Barbarians: they wanted to join them to seek revenge.

"Your idea is good, but unfortunately you've made the wrong choice." The deputy pointed to the corpses strewn all over the ground and said, "This group isn't the kind of soldiers who can help you get revenge; they're outright thieves. If you go with them, you'll be in deep trouble. Your sister is so beautiful; going into a den of thieves like this will only harm her."

Fan You endured it all, biting his lower lip until it turned white.

"...But the rumors circulating among the people about the Eastern Barbarian soldiers are not like that."

The deputy was amused by Fan You's words and indirectly flattered him. He said in a cheerful mood, "Ah, that was in the past. Since... well, something happened that caused the Eastern Army to split into eleven routes, each fighting its own battles for a long time."

Fan You: "Route 11?"

The deputy sighed, "Perhaps it's fate."

The Eastern Frontier Mountains originally relied on eleven major mountains, but unexpectedly, the Eastern Frontier troops hidden within them eventually split into eleven routes. Over the years, they have fought countless battles, devouring and consuming each other.

The deputy was about to say something when he was interrupted by the young military officer.

"Take stock of the men and head back to the mountain."

The deputy solemnly accepted the order: "General, these two, a brother and sister?"

"I have had renowned scholars come to my home to teach me for many years, so I know a little bit of everything. I humbly request that you heroes take me in."

The second-in-command asked, "Want to come with us?"

Fan You: "Yes."

The deputy stroked his chin, leering at Fan You and Zhang Yang, who was mostly obscured by Fan You: "We're not one of those ruthless gangs, but we're not exactly saints either..."

Fan You's face was pale, but he concealed Zhang Yang even more tightly in his actions: "I don't mind sacrificing myself, but you can't harm my sisters in the slightest. I'm a lustful man, and I have no resistance to this kind of thing."

The deputy was speechless: "A lustful devil?"

After saying that, he looked at Fan You with a strange expression.

He turned to the young military officer: "What should we do?"

The young military officer glanced indifferently at Zhang Yang and his companion.

His thin lips moved slightly: "Take it back."

The deputy smiled and accepted the order.

Besides Fan You and his sister, the thatched hut also housed more than a dozen people bound hand and foot. These people were probably the food supplies left over from the band of Eastern bandits in the last few days; they had miraculously survived, and each of them shed tears of relief. The young military officer didn't take them away, but he didn't kill them either; he simply let them disperse.

At this moment, Zhang Yang suddenly looked up.

She saw a yellow dot rapidly swooping down towards them from afar, followed by the cry of a falcon.

The young general raised his arm, and the eagle instantly slowed down and regained its footing.

Zhang Yang's eyes lit up, and he muttered, "Billion-Dollar Bird Bro!"

Wow, this NPC Easter egg guy is truly favored by the game developers! He's the top-ranked character in this year's character creation contest, and his giant bird pet, which sold for hundreds of billions of dollars, is also a perfect match. Crucially, his other attributes, such as his physique, voice, and personality, are all appealing features that most players love. I reckon this NPC Easter egg guy is quite popular among the observed sample.

Fan You looked at him questioningly.

Zhang Yang said, "That bird looks very valuable."

Fan You: "..."

Naturally, it was no ordinary beast; like Zhang Dami, it was a star beast that transcended ordinary wild animals. The more ferocious a bird of prey was when it transformed into a star beast, the more difficult it was to subdue. The young general's star beast was quite large; its beak could easily pierce through boulders!

Zhang Yang: "Easter Egg Guy is probably expensive too."

Popular NPCs enjoy many special privileges. While these privileges increase with level progression, their frequent appearances in various story quests, often just minor roles, ensure their presence is felt. To put it simply, they are the official cash cows.

Zhang Yang thought back carefully and realized that none of the observation samples who were engrossed in the homestead gameplay had mentioned this NPC. Since character customization was currently very popular, he guessed that this might be a newly introduced character. This also meant that the related storyline might have been newly written by the developers.

Fan You: "..."

He didn't know what connection the young military officer had with the Easter Egg Guy.

With the young military officer's keen hearing, he could easily overhear Fan You and the other man's conversation, but he had no interest in paying attention at the moment: "We've discovered another group of rebels. Take twenty men and come with me. The rest of you, get ready and follow. After we finish this job, we'll all go back and rest for a day."

The deputy clasped his hands in a fist and palm salute: "Yes!"

Fan You stopped the young military general who was about to ride away.

He said, "Please give me a chance, General."

The young military officer said nothing more: "Follow me!"

Zhang Yang naturally wanted to go along as well. Fan You didn't know how far away the "band of rebels" the young general was. If they exceeded the limit of the distance between him and Zhang Yang, he would really suffer social death. Fan You borrowed a horse and was about to call Zhang Yang to get on.

Fan You: "I'll control the horse!"

Zhang Yang: "Can you ride this horse properly?"

Fan You: "..."

Guided by the eagle-like star beast, the young general and his group easily located the rebels' hideout. Twenty heavily armored warhorses charged forward, their blades reaping heads as easily as mowing grass. Fan You made no unnecessary moves, simply summoning the Star Network to concentrate all the targets on the network, preventing them from escaping for the time being. His deputy's eyes lit up as he watched.

"This method is really effective."

In the past, when we tried to arrest people, they always managed to escape.

Fan You's method, while lacking lethality, effectively eliminated potential future problems.

The young military officer's gaze towards the brother and sister softened slightly, not by much, but an improvement compared to the beginning. Fan You felt a sense of relief, watching his deputy and others hacking and slashing at the corpses one by one with their swords. He took the opportunity to ask his talkative deputy, "I've often heard of the Eastern Barbarian soldiers' chivalrous deeds, their righteous actions, and their punishment of evil in the countryside, which is why I conceived the idea of ​​joining them for revenge... but I don't know why... the Eastern Barbarian soldiers have become like this?"

The deputy sighed, "People's hearts are fickle."

The dozen or so people who started the business at the beginning naturally had similar ideas.

Everyone respected the same leader.

As time went by, new and old leaders took turns leading, their ideas clashed, and the ranks of the people grew increasingly bloated. Everyone had their own agendas, and conflicts accumulated day by day. Some thought that they could live comfortably by simply defending the city and holding onto the Eastern Fan Mountains, while others thought they should go down the mountain to expand their power and seize more benefits in the chaos. Still others felt that the distribution of benefits was unfair... There were many messy things going on.

Ultimately, it comes down to a matter of ideology.

Initially, the Eastern Bandits believed that everyone, regardless of rank or status, was like brothers and sisters, sharing both good and bad fortune, and that everyone should share the spoils equally. However, there is no absolute fairness in this world, nor is there an absolutely rational human heart, and parting ways became inevitable.

A riot became the fuse that ignited the division.

However, those Eastern bandits who came down the mountain also knew the danger and would not easily reveal the fact that they had split up. They all went down the mountain under the same pretext to intimidate the forces below.

Fan You seemed to be deep in thought.

Zhang Yang said, "So you're cleaning house?"

The deputy paused for a moment, then laughed heartily, "Of course not."

His smile vanished abruptly: "We're hunting."

Hunting activities that do not carry any moral or psychological burden.

It has absolutely nothing to do with any justice.

The young military officer interrupted the conversation.

"Mount up and head back to camp!"

However, there is one more thing to do before returning to camp.

The deputy took out two pieces of snow-white cloth and had them blindfolded Zhang Yang and his companion: "Because you have not been fully accepted yet, you need to be blindfolded when you enter the mountain. Please forgive us."

Fan You said, "That's natural."

Zhang Yang: "If we're going to cover it up, then we'll just keep it up."

Which player travels by memorizing the route?

Of course, it's all about maps!

However, as an NPC, Zhang Yang didn't have the same convenient map as players. But as the saying goes, where there's a will, there's a way, and she had her own solution. She used another function of the system log—step count—to draw a simple map based on her step route. In other words, whenever she turned on the system log's step count function, the system log would automatically record it.

??(σ???)σ..:*☆

Suddenly I realized that the uniforms of several kindergartens in the town are the same as those of elementary, middle and high school uniforms.