Old Nissen's pupils contracted uncontrollably.
However, what truly made Lily realize something was off was that after she said those words, Old Nissen's favorability toward her changed.
-15!
It seemed Old Nissen not only knew Yulia but also had a relationship with her that was far from Ordinary.
As for whether the relationship was good or bad, that remained to be further verified.
"I've heard people say that Yulia Vivianni is the famous villain Black Crow, and that she was born near the 11th Shelter."
Lily spoke slowly on purpose. As soon as she finished, she noticed Old Nissen's favorability toward her dropped from -15 to -27.
"But in my opinion, she's a good person, and a very interesting one at that."
In the next second, Old Nissen's favorability toward her rose from -27 to -1.
Lily smiled slightly.
The answer was now obvious: Old Nissen's relationship with Yulia was positive.
Cheating really is great!
Without the player panel, it would have taken her a long time just to guess whether Old Nissen's relationship with Yulia was good or bad.
Old Nissen paused and suddenly said, "You wouldn't happen to be an admirer of Yulia's, would you?"
He looked Lily over; it was quite normal for a girl her age to admire Yulia.
Lily remained noncommittal.
Old Nissen continued, "If you came here to trace her footsteps because you heard her story, I advise you to drop that idea as soon as possible. There's nothing here you want to see; instead, it will only bring you danger."
"Why do you say that?"
"When Yulia was around, the 11th Shelter was peaceful, and no one dared to come here and cause trouble. But since she passed away, the Watchers have disintegrated. Those Wanderer groups that suffered at her and the Watchers' hands have been coming here one after another to cause trouble. The one entrenched here recently is Red Sand; they come once a month to collect protection money. If you don't leave soon and happen to run into them, you'll inevitably suffer."
Red Sand? Wasn't that the organization those people who troubled her on the road belonged to?
Lily asked, "Since it's so dangerous here, why don't you leave?"
Old Nissen smiled. "Is it any less dangerous outside? The Goli Desert is vast; it's a land of chaos, filled with mutated monsters, Wanderers, and Raiders. Ordinary people living here wouldn't dare wander off; they'd likely die halfway. It's a pity... if Yulia hadn't... things wouldn't have turned out like this. Anyway, listen to me and leave quickly."
Lily's smile grew even brighter.
Chaos?
She loved chaotic places!
Lily felt she had truly come to the right place this time.
Even if she couldn't get what she wanted from Yulia, she planned to stay in the Goli Desert for a while, if only to develop her own faction.
To make players stay loyal to the Silent Garden, things like immersion, emotional value, and a sense of achievement were for later. In the early stages, the most important thing was to provide players with plenty of quests. As long as there were quests to do and rewards to get, most players wouldn't easily leave.
From this perspective, a place like the Goli Desert, which was crawling with monsters and scum and where she could easily hand out monster-slaying and leveling quests, was a rare find.
Sweeping through the yellow sands and dominating Goli—what the Watchers couldn't do, my Silent Garden will. The goals Yulia failed to achieve, I'll let the players realize!
Over the next while, Lily sipped her liquor while asking Old Nissen various questions about Yulia.
Perhaps because he was convinced she was an admirer of Yulia's, Old Nissen's favorability and attitude toward her improved significantly, and he no longer avoided certain questions.
"That child was a genius. If given enough time, I believe she could have grown into a top-tier expert of Origin Star."
"What's most commendable is that even with such great power, that child still maintained a pure heart. Many people in the 11th Shelter received her kindness, getting medicine for illnesses and food to save their lives from her."
"She said her greatest wish was to restore order to the Goli Desert. Unfortunately, she... died."
"It's lucky you met me. If you told anyone else now that you admire her, you'd likely be cursed at. The name Yulia has almost become a taboo in the 11th Shelter now."
This piqued Excavation Princess's curiosity.
A Excavation Princess who doesn't dig into the plot isn't a good Excavation Princess.
"Why did it turn out like this? Wasn't Yulia the benefactor of the 11th Shelter?"
Old Nissen sighed, a cold light flickering in his single eye. "That was before. Now everyone considers her a calamity. If it weren't for her, those Wanderer groups like Red Sand wouldn't be coming to the 11th Shelter to cause trouble so often now."
Excavation Princess found it hard to judge; she could only say she had seen many similar things.
As they were chatting, noisy voices suddenly came from outside.
"What happened?" Old Nissen was puzzled.
A person ran in from outside in a panic. "It's Red Sand! The Red Sand people are here!"
Old Nissen was stunned. "Didn't Red Sand just come a few days ago? It hasn't even been a month; why are they back again?"
The person said, "They say some of their people were killed, and now they're here to catch the killer. Not just here, they've gone to look in other shelters and settlements too."
That's what they said, but if the people from the Red Sand Wanderer Camp came and didn't loot a bit, wouldn't they be failing their notorious reputation?
Soon, the 11th Shelter was turned upside down, and it wasn't until midnight that the group finally left.
Old Nissen was exhausted. "You see now? Today they were just going through the motions. Next time they might come for you. You'd better leave quickly."
Lily asked, "If I'm not mistaken, your relationship with Yulia is quite unusual. Are you her relative, or a member of the Watchers?"
Old Nissen completely hadn't expected Lily to say such a thing. He stared at her with a solemn expression.
Lily waved her hand. "Don't worry, Yulia sent me here. She said she'd find a way to contact me once I arrived."
"You..." Old Nissen's mouth hung slightly open.
It seemed he knew Yulia wasn't dead.
Lily stood up. "To prove I'm not lying, I've decided to use those Wanderers from earlier as a meeting gift."
"You're going to kill them?"
"No, I won't even need to step in. Excavation Princess."
Lily's call left Excavation Princess dazed.
"Ah? Me, fight the Wanderers?"
She was already level 12, but her actual combat power couldn't even match a level 10 mob. Fufu was asking too much of her by wanting her to fight those Wanderers.
"Don't worry, it's just a small problem."
Lily threw a card to Excavation Princess.
[Universal Card: Psionic Shield]: Upon use, forms a full-body shield with a shield value of 450, lasting for 5 minutes.
After reading the card's effect, Excavation Princess's mind immediately settled.
There was no way she could lose tonight!
And that was that.
Lily planned to make a profit from the players by selling cards; this was the 'buyer's showcase' she had prepared for the other players.
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Webnovel updates will still be daily, as usual.
It might not seem tempting right now but who knows what the future holds?
[email protected]/SolyuraMT
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"