Chapter 104: I Helped Feed Him
Translated by Karai of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
Editor: Addis
The last wave of melee combat almost wiped out everyone except for Watermelon, who was almost completely wiped out in the blood pool. If you didn’t look closely, you wouldn’t have noticed the missing person.
ScarletFruit searched in the blood pool and finally found Watermelon dead in the corner. “How did you die here?”
Watermelon didn’t want to explain. He just wanted to finish this dungeon quickly. He never wanted to enter another dungeon again.
After defeating the boss, the subsequent clearance became easier. They just needed to avoid the other jailers’ gaze and reach the exit to successfully complete the challenge.
[Server Announcement] Congratulations to players momo, CloudTraveller, UnchainedWanderer, and others for clearing “Journey Through Wind and Rain: Mechanical Iron Prison,” defeating the master of Mechanical Iron Prison, Death Patroller Necromancer, and meeting the conditions for a perfect clearance. They have received [Directional Equipment Chest x1] and an additional [Demon Points x3000], along with the comprehensive clearance reward for the “Journey Through Wind and Rain” event series. They are currently ranked 1st in the overall server clearance rankings, and all players have obtained event clearance rewards [Demon Points x1600 (S)] and [Autumn Treasure Chest x2].
Su Mo had just exited Mechanical Iron Prison when he encountered a teleportation NPC. After using it, he returned to the event entrance, Glacial Ravenlands.
Since they have cleared the event, the event task details now specify their clearance information. They originally were at Stage 3, and Stages 4 and 5 are considered completed by default.
“It seems like your earlier guess was correct. The subsequent stages probably follow the same clearance method,” observed Yu Zhen. “We’ll just need to go through Stages 1 and 2 again. Perhaps because we’ve tackled the 6-star difficulty, it’s assumed we completed the challenge.”
“There are a total of 5 stages in this event. It’s probably scheduled for seven days,” remarked Su Mo.
“Wow, did we clear everything?”
“Is there an achievement for beating the hidden boss?”
“We can even rank on the dungeon clear leaderboard for this event! I just checked!”
“This targeted equipment chest is awesome; we can directly choose the gear parts we want.”
“Was the 6-star challenge that enjoyable?” Su Mo checked the leaderboard and indeed found another new dungeon ranking among the list of completed dungeons. Just then, another system-wide announcement popped up in the game.
[System Announcement] The Death Patroller has been defeated. Following the conclusion of the “Journey Through Wind and Rain” event, a new map, “Demon Mountain,” will open to the west of Glacial Ravenlands in the Celestial Horizon continent. Venturing deep into “Demon Mountain” will allow access to the advanced dungeon “Iron Prison,” with difficulty ranging from ★★★ to ★★★★★★★ (player-selectable). Detailed dungeon information will be released in subsequent announcements.
Su Mo glanced over the announcement. This seemed similar to the advanced dungeons like Desert Inn from before, but this time, the option to choose the difficulty level made it quite unique.
“Dang, my equipment is about to be completely worn out, just 3 durability points left.”
ScarletFruit spent a large amount of gold repairing the nearly worn-out equipment.
Su Mo opened two Autumn Gold Chests, which contained materials. Upon hearing this, he simply responded, “Well, you’re lucky to have those 3 points left.”
ScarletFruit looked puzzled, “?”
The others were speechless.
With just 3 points left, another death would render the equipment completely unusable. In that sense, luck did play a part.
Su Mo opened a Directional Equipment Chest and chose a PvE component he didn’t have. The attributes were mediocre, requiring further material enhancement later.
“Are the attributes not good?” Yu Zhen asked.
Su Mo locked the equipment and tossed it into the equipment storage. “No good, I’ll have to wash it a few more times later. Forget about these for now, I’ll feed the spirit pet and then…”
Before he could finish his sentence, a disconnection prompt suddenly popped up in front of him. When he opened his eyes again, he was confronted with an electronic screen full of reproachful messages from Lele.
“It’s time…” Su Mo apologized with a sheepish smile, “I turned off the alarm without paying attention.”
Lele replied, “You weren’t like this before.”
“My bad, my bad,” Su Mo sincerely apologized. Earlier, because of Watermelon opening the hidden gameplay, he was worried about being disturbed and turned off the 11 o’clock alarm. After finishing the game, he didn’t notify Lele or call back, and before he knew it, it was already 11 o’clock.
Lele lectured him a few more times, and Su Mo listened obediently, catching a glimpse of the message that had popped up on the terminal.
-Yu Zhen: What did you just say?
“You can’t do that next time, you need to tell me in advance,” Lele said.
“Mm-hmm, I know, I definitely won’t do it again,” Su Mo replied, nodding. He then grabbed the terminal and sent a text message.
-mo: It’s okay, I was planning to feed the spirit pet first before logging off. The connection was cut off when the time came.
Lele looked at Su Mo, then at the terminal in his hand. “Su Mo, are you listening? You can’t do that next time!”
-Yu Zhen: I’ll help you feed it later.
-mo: Thanks, that’s too much trouble for you.
-Yu Zhen: It’s okay, I just happen to have a side quest to do.
“I know, I’ll go wash up now and then go to sleep.”
Su Mo blinked, took the terminal, and walked towards the bathroom.
Lele watched as the owner entered the bathroom, then turned around to prepare his bedtime medication, unable to help but remind, “You still have to take your medicine, don’t forget.”
***
In the game, the team hadn’t disbanded yet, and they were still discussing the events of the dungeon just now. When they saw Momo log off, they discussed it for a while.
The members of the Fruit Platter guild were already used to it, but others were just hearing about it for the first time and didn’t expect a strict log off at the top of the hour.
“My brother is living a healthy lifestyle—early to bed, early to rise, and even takes a nap,” ScarletFruit said after painfully repairing his equipment. “Comrade Watermelon, are you buying Lucky Equipment?”
Watermelon was about to mention several times he’d seen Momo online late at night, but dismissed it. “What kind do you have? Show me. Can your Lucky Equipment really boost luck that much?”
ScarletFruit continued, “Why would I lie to you? It can definitely help.”
Just now, the events in the Iron Prison left a deep impression on the team. The usefulness of lucky attributes was indeed significant. When necessary, they could even designate a lucky utility person in the team to specifically tank monsters or boost buffs. Most of the players in this team were veterans, and upon hearing ScarletFruit’s remarks, they were genuinely interested.
“Normally, game merchants wouldn’t stock lucky equipment on purpose. For the best purchase, it’s better to start with a merchant who has enough stock. ScarletFruit is indeed a good choice,” they agreed.
“But Momo, the boss, is really a newbie. He managed to overpower the situation just now,” the Old Daoist chimed in. “It’s my first time encountering such a commander. In the past, commanders I met in dungeons just commanded randomly based on their own thoughts, unable to explain clearly, and would even rely on teammates to sacrifice themselves.”
He knew exactly how they felt. “I had read Momo’s strategies on the forum before, but this was my first time running a dungeon with him. It was really comfortable.”
He continued, “Thank you, veterans, for helping me clear the dungeon. The three of us were really lucky to stumble upon an elite team. I’m very grateful.”
Little Treasure added, “It’s a pity Momo logged off so quickly. Otherwise, we could have thanked him in person. Last time, I forgot to add him as a friend.”
ScarletFruit chimed in, “No worries. Bosses who haven’t added him can add me as a friend. Next time if we’re selling dungeon tickets, friends get priority in line!”
CloudTraveller was puzzled.
Watermelon joined in, “That’s a good idea. Their team is solid.”
As they discussed, a new reminder suddenly popped up in the team chat — “[Teammate Momo has logged in]”
The sudden login message startled everyone. ScarletFruit hesitated for a moment, “Brother? Weren’t you logging off for a break?”
The just logged-in ‘Momo’ appeared before them and replied simply upon hearing the voice, “I logged back in.”
ScarletFruit recognized the voice and reacted, “Brother Wanderer?”
CloudTraveller was momentarily puzzled.
Watermelon looked at ‘Momo’ with a bewildered expression, “Who?”
Yu Zhen replied simply, “UnchainedWanderer.”
The tone of this sentence is different from how ‘momo’ usually speaks, using the default voice of the ‘Momo’ character, but with a distinctly steady manner that elevates the oppressive force of the voice to another level. If ‘Momo’s original tone occasionally carried a youthful cheerfulness, this current tone completely flattened out the fluctuations of the original voice, causing everyone in the team to shiver involuntarily.
HealsFor25000 exclaimed, “Brother, could you please not use his voice to speak? It’s really creepy. Today, he called my name several times when commanding, and each time I felt like my soul was being touched.”
ScarletFruit paused upon hearing ‘Brother’, but didn’t think much of it, “Oh? Really? I think my brother’s voice is quite pleasant.”
Watermelon breathed a sigh of relief after confirming it wasn’t ‘Momo’, “You just realized? I get scared every time he calls my name.”
HealsFor25000 added, “I can’t describe the feeling. It’s different from when CloudTraveller commands. With CloudTraveller, I can joke around, but with ‘Momo’, I dare not talk back.”
The summoner still wore the same outfit as before logging off, the same face and weapons, standing among the crowd still emanating an unsettling aura.
ScarletFruit said, “Leaving aside everything else, I always feel a bit uneasy when Brother Wanderer speaks in my brother’s voice. It’s too surreal.”
“Oh right, Brother, why are you online now? Didn’t you finish your daily routines during the day?” ClearWind pondered for a moment, realizing nothing was missed.
Yu Zhen waved his hand and released two pets, speaking in ‘Momo’s voice, “He forgot to feed his spirit pet, so I logged in to help him feed it.”
Others exclaimed, “What?!”
Has it really come to this? It seemed they were now at the stage of helping to feed pets.
Yu Zhen skillfully took out pet food and fed it to Soul Rabbit. “Is there a problem?”
HealsFor25000 couldn’t believe it. “You have time to feed someone’s pet but not to log in to your main account?!”
Apple pulled him aside and whispered, “Stay calm, brother! It’s not that serious! It’s just feeding a spirit pet!”
Members of the team exchanged glances, quietly discussing among themselves.
Yu Zhen left his array master character AFK and, while feeding two spirit pets, chatted with Su Mo via an external program:
Yu Zhen: “Your inventory was a bit messy, so I just tidied it up.”
Mo: “I logged off in a rush and didn’t get to it yet. Thanks, bro.”
Yu Zhen: “Getting ready to rest?”
Mo: “Just finished washing up. Soon.”
Su Mo lounged on the sofa chatting with Yu Zhen, while Lele beside him used medical instruments to record today’s physical data. The continuous beeping sound of the instruments didn’t disturb Su Mo’s good mood. He chatted with Yu Zhen while checking terminal messages on the Celestial Horizon official website about the new announcement regarding “Demon Mountain”. From the current situation, it was indeed their triggering of the hidden gameplay that had opened the new map.
The probability of encountering Extreme Ferocity should be very low. According to the official data, Watermelon was the first player to trigger the hidden event, and up until now, only four or five other teams had done so across the entire server. The rewards for unlocking the hidden gameplay during the “Journey Through Wind and Rain” event were directional equipment boxes. However, the later dungeons released did not have directional functionality. Even in the 6-star challenge, the probability of obtaining gold-tier equipment was correspondingly reduced for other challenge levels.
Also, if you wanted to farm directional equipment, the only way during the “Journey Through Wind and Rain” event’s third stage was to trigger Extreme Ferocity and unlock the hidden content.
“Su Mo, it’s time to take your medication,” Lele recorded the medical data and sent it to Dr. Wu, then brought warm water and pills.
Su Mo took the medicine in a few gulps, then switched the terminal back to chat with Yu Zhen about Zenith Expanse, catching Yu Zhen’s new message.
-Yu Zhen: I’m doing the demon side quest. Can I use the red potions in your bag?
-mo: Sure, feel free to use them.
The rest of the team disbanded. Yu Zhen had just logged into Sunset City Vicinity when Momo’s character had almost completed the main storyline but had left many side quests unfinished, thus falling behind in the overall rankings. Celestial Horizon had numerous side quests, especially expanding after level 80. Su Mo hadn’t had much time online recently, so Yu Zhen planned to help him clear all the quests in passing.
He had just finished reading the message and switched back, only to see a black-clad array master standing beside him.
The array master clearly wasn’t passing by; he had deliberately stopped next to him, seeming to have waited for a while.
Yu Zhen furrowed his brow slightly, about to leave, when he heard the voice of the black-clad array master through the Vicinity voice chat.
“Congratulations, I heard you were the first to clear the Journey Through Wind and Rain event.”
Midnight Bell rambled on, catching Momo’s attention. Seeing the young man’s gaze fixed on him, he expressed his intentions straightforwardly, “Last time things weren’t clear. Do you have time today?”
Yu Zhen remained silent, casually taking a screenshot of the scene in front of him and sending it to Su Mo.
“Today, there are 4 packages,” Lele tidied up the cups and instruments, summarizing the package information received today for the master, “One of them is a large package from G-6 planet, screened on the network. I’ve placed it in the laboratory for you.”
“G-6 planet? Screened network? A large package?” Su Mo paused briefly, suddenly recalling, “Has it arrived already?”
Lele’s display screen showed a question mark. “Logistics information detected. The package is in a confidential phase, and I don’t have the permissions to detect detailed information.”
Su Mo indeed opted for confidentiality to prevent any robot from knowing the price. He explained, “It’s the down payment for the synthetic exterior I ordered for you.”
Lele exclaimed, “!!!”
Unable to contain his excitement either, Su Mo was eager to see how the exterior looked. Just as he was about to leave, he noticed a message from Yu Zhen. Opening it revealed a large image:
Outside Sunset City, there stood an array master with the ID “Midnight Bell.”
Yu Zhen wrote, “[Image] Midnight Bell? It seems he has something to discuss with you.”
Su Mo pressed the voice button and briefly explained, “Last time he tried to talk to me but I ignored him. I don’t know him and we have nothing to chat about.”
Yu Zhen asked, “How do you want to handle it?”
Anxious to check the package, Su Mo replied casually, “Just handle it however you like, bro.”
Upon receiving Su Mo’s response, Yu Zhen heard the hurried tone in his voice, suggesting he was busy with something.
Listening to it twice, Yu Zhen refocused his attention on the array master standing before him.
Outside Sunset City in the game, the wind howled and players bustled about.
The summoner and the array master faced each other.
[A player [Midnight Bell] has been locked. Do you want to block them? (Blocking will prevent you from receiving any messages from this player)]
The young summoner calmly raised his hand and confirmed the selection on the display screen.
Author’s note:
Apple: “Has it really come to this, dual account situations?”
Little Firework: “Isn’t dual accounting normal? You should help me with dual accounting too.”
Apple: “Will I come online to feed your pets?”
ScarletFruit: “Reality is indeed more magical than fiction.”
