Chapter 18 Another Group of New Guests (Part 2)
It was afternoon, and the sun was high in the sky.
At the city gates of Feiyun Country, a long procession of carriages, horses, and soldiers slowly entered from outside the city.
The hunting team had returned.
However, they looked incredibly battered and miserable.
Within the team, most of the soldiers were on foot, while the carriages and horses dragged mostly wild vegetables and fruits that had been gathered and stockpiled, with only a small portion being the corpses of hunted desolate beasts.
In addition, there were quite a few soldiers who had fallen in battle.
The team that set out numbered in the hundreds, but now, less than a hundred returned.
Moreover, even among those who were alive, many were wounded, appearing dejected and dispirited.
It wasn't until the entire team had entered the city and someone came to meet them that the hunting team leader announced their disbandment, stating that the members could go home and rest.
Before leaving, all members of the hunting team received a considerable sum of gold coins, as well as some wild vegetables and fruits, which was probably their greatest comfort from this expedition.
As for meat, there was some, but it was limited to individuals or small teams who had personally slain desolate beasts and earned merit, and the quantity was very small, usually only one or two taels.
To be honest, this small amount of meat wasn't even enough to fill the gaps between a Martial Artist's teeth.
One must know that cultivating martial arts, besides requiring the sensing and absorption of Martial Qi between heaven and earth, also necessitates honing the body and replenishing nutrition, as the body is like a container; even if your talent for sensing and absorbing Qi is high and your speed is fast, if the container is too poor, it cannot hold it.
Therefore, with the famine of these past few years, it can be said that Feiyun Country, which already had a low martial arts popularization rate, saw its overall strength decline significantly.
On the Nine Heavens Continent, in some powerful empires, even a five-year-old child would have a Martial Artist's body capable of forming a star ring.
However, in Feiyun Country, it is very difficult for ordinary commoner households, even adults, to produce formal Martial Artists who can form a star ring; and even if they do, most are only Bronze 1-star, a level that is very dangerous when encountering the weakest 1-star desolate beasts.
"Zhao Tie, for slaying one Bronze 2-star desolate beast and eight 1-star desolate beasts, your battle merits are recorded!"
"You may receive one catty of desolate beast meat, and each member of your small team may receive two taels of meat!"
Under the announcement of the quartermaster, Zhao Tie received his reward and left under the envious gazes of countless people around him, followed by five or six members of his same small team.
"Good heavens, we finally have meat to eat tonight, it wasn't easy! But this small amount, it feels like just one bite, too little!"
"Be content, if it weren't for Brother Zhao this time, it would still be unknown whether we could have returned alive. Look at the other small teams, which one isn't missing an arm or a leg?"
"That's true, Brother Zhao, you're amazing!"
"Yes, thanks to Brother Zhao, otherwise it would have been truly perilous!"
Even now, recalling the process of this hunt, everyone still felt lingering fear; it was simply too dangerous.
Their hunting small team was originally just a random assortment assigned by the higher-ups; in plain terms, they were a motley crew, without even a designated team leader.
Small teams like theirs, with weak strength, were originally only responsible for gathering vegetables and fruits, at most dealing with isolated, weak desolate beasts.
But their luck was truly bad; during the process, they encountered a powerful 2-star desolate beast, and they all thought they were doomed.
Unexpectedly, Zhao Tie stepped forward. Not only had he broken through to a 2-star Bronze Martial Artist, but he also almost flawlessly slew that desolate beast in a one-on-one situation.
This truly stunned everyone, because it was well-known that at the same level, desolate beasts were much stronger than humans.
Later, Zhao Tie even led them to kill many desolate beasts, which is why the members of their small team were able to return with almost no casualties.
"Brother Zhao, a few of us are planning to find a tavern for drinks now, you must honor us with your presence!"
"Yes, from now on, we are all comrades in the same small team, and we will all have to rely on you, Captain!"
At this moment, everyone deferred to Zhao Tie, calling him Captain, with looks of gratitude and admiration.
"Go to a tavern for drinks?"
If it had been before, Zhao Tie would certainly have readily agreed, but at this moment, he proposed, "I know a more fun place. How about we go there instead?"
"A more fun place? Where?"
"Could it be the Spring Breeze Pavilion that recently opened in the city? But I heard it seems quite expensive!"
"Who cares, we got so much bonus money this time, going once is no big deal!"
Zhao Tie shook his head and corrected, "It's not the Spring Breeze Pavilion, but a place called an Internet Cafe!"
"Internet Cafe?"
"What Internet Cafe?"
Upon hearing this, everyone looked bewildered, stating that they had never heard of it.
Zhao Tie was not surprised and continued to explain to everyone, "In an Internet Cafe, there is a machine called a computer, which can be used to play a game called 'monster hunter'…"
"What? Activating the game costs 10 gold, and then playing for one hour is 1 gold. This isn't playing a game, it's practically robbing money!"
"And we have to play a game of hunting desolate beasts in a virtual world? I just finished killing desolate beasts in reality, and I'm already physically and mentally exhausted. Why would I go into a game to kill them? Isn't that just asking for trouble?"
However, the more Zhao Tie continued to explain, the more confused everyone became, rather than understanding.
"Brother Zhao, what you're saying about that computer and that game, while it sounds quite magical, just listening to it makes me feel so tired. I really can't play anymore right now!"
"Yes, I heard that because the recent harvests of the various hunting teams have been too small, they plan to organize more people for a joint hunt soon. So, we probably won't get many days of rest this time. It's better to just find a place to drink a bit, then go back and get a good night's sleep. Let's not bother with anything else!"
Zhao Tie naturally heard the resistance in everyone's words and smiled mysteriously, "Don't rush, I haven't finished yet. Aren't you curious how my strength suddenly became so strong?"
"What?"
Everyone shivered, their spirits roused, and they quickly pricked up their ears to listen.
To say they weren't curious was impossible. Although they weren't in the same small team before, they knew each other to some extent. Zhao Tie's strength was originally supposed to be similar to theirs, and they truly couldn't understand how, after just a few days apart, Zhao Tie had become so formidable, practically a different person from before.
But such matters usually involved secrets, which is why they didn't feel it appropriate to ask directly.
Unexpectedly, Zhao Tie was the one to first reveal the suspense.
"Actually, it's because I played the game in that Internet Cafe!"
Then came an even bigger bombshell: "The game in that Internet Cafe is not just fun; if it were just that, I wouldn't recommend it to you. The key is that playing that game can also improve your cultivation and enhance your combat ability. It's because I played that game that my Martial Qi increased tenfold overnight, advancing from Bronze 1-star to 2-star, and I'm not weak at all even when fighting a desolate beast of the same level one-on-one!"
"Ah? Martial Qi increased tenfold overnight? Just because of playing that game?"
"And it can also improve combat ability?"
"It must be fake, this is too exaggerated, how is that possible!"
Everyone collectively lost their composure; these words truly baffled them.
"Brother Zhao, didn't you just say that it was just a virtual world, and everything was fake? How can playing in it make one stronger?"
"Yes, this makes no sense at all. If there were really such a good thing, where one could get stronger just by playing a game, who would bother to cultivate diligently? Who would spend exorbitant prices to buy rare treasures?"
It was no wonder everyone was skeptical; this matter was simply too unbelievable!
Seeing that it was a bit difficult to explain clearly, Zhao Tie spread his hands helplessly: "I've actually only been to that Internet Cafe once, and it's a bit hard to explain just by talking. Anyway, I'm planning to go there now. If you're interested, you can come with me, and you'll understand once you play it yourselves!"
Everyone exchanged glances, communicating through their eyes, and finally all nodded, indicating their willingness to go with Zhao Tie.
Their curiosity had indeed been piqued, and they thought to themselves, whether they played or not, there was no harm in just going to take a look.
So, everyone set off towards the Internet Cafe under Zhao Tie's leadership.