Chapter 9: Returned, Only to Be Sent Back In

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4 p.m., game world time 4 a.m.
About an hour before the tide rises, Dachun felt the time was precious and gave it his all. In the midst of his urgency:
—System notification: Congratulations! You have accumulated a large amount of proficiency and successfully mastered Advanced Swimming Technique Level 1. Your speed in the water has been greatly enhanced. Achievement unlocked: Stamina +1, Carrying Capacity +1.
—System notification: Congratulations! Due to mastering Advanced Swimming Technique, Advanced Underwater Mining Technique, and Advanced Fancy Swimming, you have synthesized a new skill “Advanced Underwater Construction” Level 1: Your efficiency at underwater work has significantly improved. Achievement reward: Stamina +21, Carrying Capacity +21.
—System notification: Congratulations! You have independently mastered 5 advanced skills in one day, demonstrating exceptional talent, and received the “Three-Day Newcomer Special Blessing” additional reward: Wisdom +1.
...
Dachun was stunned!
Advanced swimming! A combined skill! Directly reaching advanced level and gaining all its rewards at once! The key was actually triggering the three-day newcomer special reward—what was wisdom?
Overjoyed, Dachun hurried to the surface and asked Sherry, “I got 1 point of wisdom. What is wisdom?”
Sherry was equally surprised and delighted: “Wisdom means becoming smarter! They say you need to read 100 classic books in the library to increase wisdom, which makes learning easier and even lets you communicate with animals and other races! But the library is expensive and time-consuming.”
Dachun was encouraged and quickly tested the effect in the water. Indeed, sand digging became much faster, and with advanced swimming, his ascent, descent, rest, and breathing speeds all improved greatly. He finally finished such a massive project.
Then he loaded the remaining shell minerals onto the ship. Sherry also repaired the ship once again. They double-checked for any overlooked clues to make sure nothing was left behind.
At that moment, the waves surged, and Sherry excitedly said, “The tide’s coming in!”
Dachun clapped underwater to summon the whale.
—System notification: Whale asks if you want to go home?
Dachun noticed the system prompt had changed. This was the effect of having 1 point of wisdom enabling communication—it was incredibly clear.
Going home!
The whale pulled the ship again, and as its speed increased, Sherry made progress too: “I feel the whale’s water magic. My meditation skill just leveled up!”
Good. Dachun thought the whale might have spatial movement abilities, or perhaps the tide itself inherently had spatial power to allow access to this special area.
Dachun felt it was time to discuss with Sherry about cultivating a sea god: “Sherry, I have a grand idea—to use fireworks and wine to hold a celebration for these whales and cultivate one into a sea god...”
Upon hearing this, Sherry was shocked: “I don’t know! But if you think that way, you first have to become the village chief, otherwise you have no authority for a celebration! To be village chief, you at least need to be a lord, and becoming a lord is very difficult. Also, the village needs people and industries...”
Indeed! Dachun knew the process of becoming village chief was tough. During the open beta, no player had a noble title. The real power titles in the game ranked as Duke, Marquis, Earl, Viscount, and Baron. Viscount was just below Baron, a nominal rank without real power. Viscounts were often honorific titles used by great nobles.
Dachun didn’t have time to pursue noble titles, but success didn’t have to be his alone.
He asked, “What about Miss Vivian? She’s somewhat famous and close to the baron. Could she do it?”
Sherry gave a strange look: “Then go ask her yourself!”
What’s with that “look at the grassland” expression?
At that moment, the creaking sound of the ship returned, and Sherry quickly went to fix it again. Dachun no longer dared be distracted.
In the distance, the light from the lighthouse appeared again.
Dachun noticed this time the light was green, indicating safety instead of the previous red warning light. Was this because the whale quest was completed and the scene changed? Would the S-rank bounty in the city’s merchant guild change? Would the shipyard, which didn’t want the whales disturbed, trigger an incident?
Lost in thought, Dachun saw the shimmering night sea near Black Iron City.
In any case, the plan was to bury the items at a spot along the suburban shore outside the city. Dachun was well aware of the surrounding maps and monster spawn points and could avoid danger.
Dachun clapped underwater again, and the whale grunted—system notification: Whale asks if you have any requests?
Communication seemed barrier-free.
Dachun pointed to a dark coastline outside the city: “There!”
As they approached the shore, the regional channel activated, filled with curses and cries of battle!
Dachun was shocked. Was the PK (player killing) still going on since midnight last night? It was brutal! Even worse, the regional chat threatened to withhold mining coins!
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In any case, keep a safe distance from them.
Dachun stealthily approached the shore under darkness and buried the spices, piling extra sand on top.
Then, the whale had to carry the final leg.
As they neared the harbor, the whale loosened the fishing line and let out a joyful call—system notification: Whale bids you farewell, see you next time!
Dachun hurriedly waved; of course they would meet again!
The trip back to the factory was effortless, as the rising tide pushed him quietly towards the shipyard.
Then Dachun noticed something was off—the shoreline of the factory was patrolled by lights!
Sherry was shocked: “Could it be the factory discovered the missing ships and began patrolling?”
Would such a sloppy factory really bother about a few broken ships? This was very likely to trigger a shipyard event. This was unavoidable; otherwise, the red-name crime for stealing ships was certain!
Dachun gritted his teeth: “Sherry, just say the ships were blown into the sea by wind and drifted away in the tide. We went out to find them and searched all night to gather them. We did a good deed! The whale’s involvement must be kept strictly confidential, only the two of us know!”
Sherry nodded anxiously.
Though this excuse was made, the pots, pans, stove, and fishing rods on the ship were unconvincing and had to be discarded. But the fishing rod was a luck-enhancing item and had triggered an unknown “module combination”—how could it be thrown away carelessly?
So he tied the stove with fishing line, bundled the pots and lids, filled the pot with shell minerals, and sank the rest of the shell minerals nearby to the sea floor.
Getting close! Dachun saw the patrol team on the dock. They spotted him and shouted, “Found the ship! You—come over quickly!”
Dachun hastily shouted back, “Don’t misunderstand, we’re looking for the ship...”
He nervously approached the shore and was immediately surrounded by a ring of oil-lamp-lit figures, bathed in yellow light!
Damn! In the game, red light and red names indicated hostility, yellow light and yellow names were one level down, indicating suspicion or neutrality.
Just then, a cloud of spirit fog hit him, and a drunken old man reeking of liquor angrily parted the crowd: “Where’s my fishing rod? Stove, pots, fish oil? Arrest them, jail them!”
Dachun’s vision flooded with red light—system notification: Warning! You are suspected and accused, about to be arrested. Do you wish to resist?
No way! Our friendship isn’t worth a fishing rod?
Sherry panicked: “Grandpa, we did good by finding the ship!”
The old man hesitated: “If you did good, shouldn’t you not be arrested?”
The crowd angrily said, “Stealing means arrest!”
The old man waved his hand: “Fine, if the young lady did good finding the ship, she won’t be arrested, but this guy stole, so he will be. No objections?”
Damn, you’re drunk and judging like this? But Dachun instantly felt this was the best outcome—at least Sherry was safe. As for himself, he couldn’t clear his name. Retrieving the fishing rod and pots confirmed premeditated ship theft, even worse! Maybe he was triggering a shipyard storyline.
Dachun immediately confessed: “Arrest me, I took the fishing rod.”
The old man laughed heartily: “Listen to this, he confessed!”
The crowd grew furious: “No wonder my treasure box disappeared last week—there’s a thief!”
“My signed Favna gear is missing too! It must be you, kid...”
“This guy even offended Fat Baron—that’s a serious crime!”
“Arrest him! Arrest him!!”
“Hey kid, give back the diving suit I lent you!”
—System notification: You admitted the charge and were arrested. You are now red-named! Your reputation -100,000! You returned the old drunk’s diving suit.
Damn damn damn!
I just arrived today, how can I be blamed for others’ missing items? Minus 100,000 reputation—is this a felony?
Dachun suddenly realized: the theft accusation might be false; the real crime was releasing the whale. Even the charge of offending the fat guy was being accounted for, otherwise how could reputation plummet so terrifyingly?
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It was certain: a storyline had been triggered!
Dachun quickly told the stunned Sherry, “Don’t worry about me. You’ve been up all night too. Go home and rest.”
The crowd immediately pushed and shoved Dachun away: “Enough talk, move!”
Soon, Sherry’s voice came through the badge: “I’ll ask Miss Vivian, try to find a way...”
Dachun was comforted—at least they could stay in contact via the badge!
Dachun was shoved into a carriage, and after a bumpy ride, they arrived at the prison gates.
Dachun was puzzled: “Don’t they need a court trial first?”
The escort sneered: “The judge isn’t on duty yet. For small matters like this, no need. They’ll just send you to labor camp to dig mines.”
Damn, they get it! Prison is also a mining area—this is slave labor!
Inside the prison, Dachun realized it was packed with red-named players, thousands upon thousands, all in a weakened state after death and revival.
So these were players who died in the outside-city PK and respawned in prison?
—System notification: Warning! You have entered detention. Please collect your pickaxe and rations from the supply officer within five minutes and report to your assigned mining area. If you lack mining skills, visit the labor camp officer to learn basic mining. Please comply with labor requirements; this affects your detention period.
Dachun felt the trouble deepened. Despite thorough research, he knew little about starting as a red-name. There was little public information since prison slave labor had no rewards. But his -100,000 reputation wasn’t on the same level as ordinary red-names. His mining assignment would probably be different.
Dachun lacked basic mining skill and didn’t plan to learn from NPCs—he preferred to keep mastering skills on his own. He was curious what effect learning basic mining now would have, having previously mastered advanced underwater mining and gained 1 wisdom point from bare-handed mining essence.
He had to check in with the supply officer.
—System notification: You received a pickaxe and 10 weight of rations. You will be assigned to Mine Area S. Prepare to descend the mine shaft. Your first labor task is “Excavate 1000 weight of pig iron ore and load it.”
S area?
Entering the elevator and descending, it felt extremely deep; he could even hear running water below.
Finally arrived, the mine tunnel was flooded waist-high, and the mine carts were half submerged.
Of course! According to the game background, when the city was first built, expansion was difficult, so they dug deep underground in a single mine area. Being by the sea, the lowest level naturally flooded. Was this underwater mining? It felt like a scene tailored for the Scavenger profession.
Dachun looked around—only dim wall lamps and mining sounds from upper levels. This floor was quiet.
So, I really am in a different league from them; this is my own stage?
Dachun tried a pickaxe strike—system notification: Congratulations! You successfully mined a pig iron ore and mastered Basic Mining Level 1. Achievement reward: Stamina +1, Carrying Capacity +1. Your advanced underwater mining skill proficiency increased.
A success on the first try! Plus, proficiency in underwater mining increased. At this rate, reaching expert level wasn’t impossible.
Just then, Sherry’s muffled voice came through the badge: “I asked Miss Vivian... she said scavengers must go to prison...”
Damn, so that’s why scavenging was called “something no one wanted to do” by Fat Baron and “learn something better” by the old man. It really needed to follow the process!
Sherry continued: “The merchant guild’s S-rank whaling bounty has been canceled... I shared your recipes with Vivian’s bar... but I don’t have enough mana to keep communicating...”
Then the connection was cut off.
Dachun’s heart skipped a beat—the cancellation of the whaling bounty would definitely alarm the powerful factions! He had seen their strength earlier outside the city, so he must not show himself recklessly.
Suddenly, Dachun was grateful for his -100,000 reputation. It would seriously lower his leaderboard ranking, which updated daily. The current list hadn’t been published yet. Otherwise, with his five advanced skill acquisitions in one day, he’d stand out and attract attention—at least the internet café pros would hype him up. That would blow his cover.
In any case, Dachun felt a bit more at ease. After fighting for 16 consecutive hours, fatigue overwhelmed him. Time to log off, eat, and sleep.
No, staying in the private room all day eating instant noodles didn’t fit his internet café persona. More importantly, now that he’d tangled with a major consortium, he had to stay low-key in-game and distance himself from the pros in real life. So he’d fake being lazy—loudly lazy! Though only the internet café saw it now, if he ever became famous, the pro players upstairs would know he was slack...
Decision made: go outside to eat, then find a bench in a park where people do square dancing and sleep until midnight...
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