I'm in the Ark, a player.

You bought this with your own loan money, so eat more.

The snow pheasant mechanically picked up its chopsticks.

She picked up a mouthful of noodles, brought it to her lips, opened her mouth, and ate it.

The noodles were fragrant, the soup was delicious, and the meat was tender.

But as she chewed, her eyes suddenly started to sting.

It wasn't because I was moved.

"that............"

She swallowed a mouthful of noodles and spoke again, her voice trembling.

"May I ask... what's your name?"

"I?"

Qin Tianling thought for a moment,

"Just call me...my benefactor."

"................"

The snow pheasant lowered its head and continued eating its noodles.

benefactor,

Her benefactor helped her borrow 1,000 yuan.

My benefactor said that if I can't repay the loan, I can use another loan to pay off the loan.

I have money now, but should I be happy?

This...this isn't right, is it?

As she ate, she silently calculated in her mind.

A thousand yuan, based on her current income from odd jobs, even if she lives frugally, it would probably take her... three months to pay it back? No, with interest...

While Xuezhi was still pondering, Qin Tianling had already finished his noodles and was watching Xuezhi listlessly.

The taste simulation is quite good, it feels like you're really eating. The only problem is that this NPC eats too slowly; it seems the quest only completes when she finishes eating.

After thinking it over, Qin Tianling spoke up.

Have you heard the stories of chivalrous heroes?

Snow Pheasant paused, struggling to pull her thoughts back from the pile of numbers.

"No... I've never heard of it." She shook her head blankly.

"Never heard of it?"

Qin Tianling's eyes lit up, as if he had discovered some treasure.

He straightened up, pointed at the snow pheasant, then at himself.

"Perfect timing, let me tell you about it!"

He cleared his throat, striking a pose like a storyteller:

"The second year of Yuanhe..."

..........

"...This is the story of our chivalrous journey!"

Qin Tianling slammed his hand on the table, ending his story. Then he glanced at Xuezhi's bowl—it ​​was still half full.

"Why haven't you finished eating yet?" He frowned, but quickly relaxed. "Never mind, I'll tell you another story."

He thought for a moment, then spoke again:

"By the way, have you heard the story of the chivalrous knight-errant?"

The snow pheasant's chopsticks stopped in mid-air.

"that.........."

She spoke cautiously.

“My benefactor, this is the story you just told.”

"What? You've heard of it?"

"It's okay, listen to it again."

"How could I not listen..."

The snow pheasant said weakly,

Unexpectedly, Qin Tianling slammed his fist on the table after hearing this.

"Bold,"

He pointed at the snow pheasant with righteous indignation.

"You don't want to listen?! Do you even realize you haven't heard the story of the wandering swordsman for a full 30 seconds?!"

Startled, the snow pheasant shrank its neck, almost shrinking into the chair, like a small animal frightened by a sudden clap of thunder, and responded weakly.

"Hmm... I'll listen..."

"Hmm, not bad,"

Qin Tianling nodded in satisfaction, a pleased smile spreading across his face.

"Since you want to hear it, I'll tell you it again!"

Seeing Xuezhi wanting to say something but not daring to, Qin Tianling was very happy.

Hey, teasing NPCs is so much fun!

So Qin Tianling told the snow pheasant the story again, but the snow pheasant still hadn't finished eating after he finished telling it.

"Tsk, why haven't you finished eating yet? Why are you eating so slowly?"

"Because...because, I might never be able to eat such delicious food again..."

The snow pheasant lowered its head, poking at the noodles in its bowl with its chopsticks, its voice muffled:

"Ok?"

Qin Tianling was taken aback.

Xuezhi raised her head and looked at him timidly. There was no blame or grievance in her eyes. Instead, it seemed like... she had resigned herself to her fate?

"To repay the loan... I might have to eat bread every two days, and I also need to squeeze out some money for my research project..."

It feels kind of pitiful?

Seeing the snow pheasant's appearance, Qin Tianling stroked his chin.

Making this game too realistic isn't necessarily a good thing...

By the way, didn't she just say "research"?

What research project are you working on?

Qin Tianling asked,

"Is there no funding?"

The snow pheasant nodded, then shook its head.

"The funding is very limited, so we can't make any rash moves. The research project is... a mechanical gripper that will never loosen, but we haven't figured out its application yet."

The snow pheasant's voice grew softer and softer as she spoke, becoming increasingly less confident.

How could a grappling hook that doesn't even know its purpose convince its superiors to give it more research funding?

Moreover, she was just an unknown person.

Qin Tianling's eyes lit up when he heard this.

Grappling gun?

This is amazing stuff!

oh--!

I was wondering why some random NPC would give out quests when they were starving. Turns out, it's an important NPC who can provide equipment or new features after you complete the quest!

Just like Leonardo da Vinci in Assassins II, who modified the hidden blade and provided various wonderful inventions, and Hattori, the annoying swordsmith in Gwent 3: Kenkyuu!!

This snow pheasant in front of me might just be the NPC who will provide me with amazing tools in the future!

Qin Tianling immediately understood what to do next.

He stood up from his chair.

The snow pheasant opposite him looked up, staring at him with some confusion.

"benefactor?"

She blinked.

Where are you going?

Qin Tianling waved his hand and walked out of the shop.

"Wait here, I'll go buy you some oranges and I'll be back in a bit."

......

..

............

Chapter 6, this is a basic attack, this is a dodge, now let's go fight monsters!

Longmen, a slum.

This is the most chaotic place in the entire Lungmen, and also the rotten spot beneath the glamorous surface of this mobile city-state.

Lin Yuxia came here on business today.

As the daughter of the Rat King—the de facto ruler of the Lungmen slums—she knew this area intimately.

Familiarity is one thing, but official business still needs to be handled personally; there are some things that subordinates can't do.

Things went smoothly, but unfortunately, on the way back, I was spotted by some clueless person.

Two motorcycles sped out from the alleyway ahead, blocking her way. Almost simultaneously, the same sound came from behind—two more motorcycles, blocking her escape route.

Lin Yuxia stopped in her tracks.

Two thugs got out of the car, one in front and one behind. They were all wearing matching floral shirts and ripped jeans, with brightly colored hair, cigarettes dangling from their mouths, and carrying weapons like steel pipes and axes.

The leader had dyed green hair, three or four earrings, and some black stone fragments on his face.

That's what happens when you get Oripathy; he was infected.

"Robbery! Hand over the money!"

Green Hair gestured with his chin toward Lin Yuxia and said.

"Be good, give us some money to spend, and we won't make things difficult for you."

The other three joined in the commotion.

"Yeah, you're dressed quite well, you must be rich, right?"

"Stop dawdling, hurry up!"

Lin Yuxia's gaze slowly swept over them.

On the back of their right hands, they all have a uniform anchor tattoo.