My experience of grinding in another world

Chapter 438 Acquiescence
Watching Fei Yong lead his remaining troops slowly away, Chen Mu turned to look at the mountain of red-eyed water apes and couldn't help but smile.

If he handed over all these water monkeys, he could earn at least thirty military merits. This one transaction alone was worth three days of hard work carrying them.

"Indeed, no one gets rich without unexpected windfall, and no horse gets fat without night grazing! Haha!"

But this joy didn't last long before turning into helplessness.

He pushed the Flame Chariot to its maximum speed and stuffed the Five Ghost Bag to the brim. Even so, a small portion of the Crimson-Eyed Water Ape remained.

"Why are you monkeys so fat?!" Chen Mu said with a sour face, but had no choice but to leave through gritted teeth.

He suddenly realized why Fei Yong had led such a large group of people to plunder; it wasn't just to show off and bolster his prestige, but more importantly, to help him transport the water apes.

"Make sure you don't let anyone get the benefit."

Chen Mu immediately urged the Flame Chariot to urge the swift horse towards the camp.

But when he finished dealing with the water apes and rushed back, the small number of water apes that had been left behind had disappeared.

Chen Mu stood there, his face blank.

After working hard for half a day, only to have a small portion of the reward end up in someone else's pocket?

Hey!
Don't fucking let me find out which bastard it is!
"How about next time, after we rob someone, we have those guys deliver the loot directly to the camp gate?" Chen Mu was itching to try.

"Forget it, forget it. This is already outrageous enough that they're ripping each other off."

"It would be too disrespectful to expect people to come to us on their own."

After a period of wild speculation, Chen Mu had no choice but to leave.

"It was their first time double-crossing, so they still lacked experience."

……

Southeast corner of Hai-character camp, the camp of the third banner of the Flame Army.

Shi Dechun quickly came to Chen Mu's side. Seeing that Chen Mu was unharmed, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief: "It's so good that you're alright."

"You disappeared in the blink of an eye this morning?"

"I thought you'd fallen for those big monkeys' tricks too."

The Crimson-Eyed Water Ape is powerful and unpredictable; even death is dangerous. There have been cases of people accidentally getting too close to this giant ape and instantly turning into nothingness.

"I was so focused on picking up the water monkeys that I strayed a bit off course. When I looked back, you were already gone. So I followed the other teams back." Chen Mu lied casually, but a thought flickered in his mind.

Shi Dechun noticed his departure the first time he left. If he were to leave Yisanqi repeatedly in the future, it would be difficult to guarantee that others wouldn't discover it.

"We need to come up with a reasonable excuse to act alone." Chen Mu narrowed his eyes.

Shi Dechun didn't notice the change in Chen Mu's expression, but instead asked rather anxiously, "You didn't run into any robbers, did you?"

Robbery?

And I actually ran into one!
It's just that I turned the tables on them.

"No!" Chen Mu said without changing his expression.

"You're just lucky." Shi Dechun's face was filled with disappointment and envy.

What happened? Judging from the old fox's expression, Yisanqi was robbed?

Chen Mu raised an eyebrow.

But it's fine if you're envious, but what's with all the disappointment?! Are you hoping I get robbed too?

Chen Mu rolled his eyes inwardly.

“It’s Hong Xiu from the Fifth Banner.” Shi Dechun sighed: “A few old ghosts in the banner released paper figures to resist, but they were easily torn apart by the other side’s terracotta ghost soldiers and got a good beating.”

"The rest, not wanting to get beaten up, had no choice but to reluctantly hand over the toll and obediently give them half of the water apes."

Terracotta warrior ghost soldiers?

A ghost artifact even more powerful than a paper effigy?

Chen Mu narrowed his eyes.

Unexpectedly, my departure from the team actually saved me from a minor disaster.

This is probably not a coincidence, but rather a result of the raiding party emboldened by the fact that the main camp's ghostly soldiers ignored them, emboldening them to begin large-scale looting. Today, Yi Sanqi encountered them, which was practically inevitable. If other bandits follow suit, things could easily become even more chaotic!
"Does our General Shi really not care?" Chen Mu probed discreetly.

"That guy only shows up for roll call; he spends all his time hiding in the barracks brewing soup and medicine. He doesn't care about anything else," Shi Dechun said, pursing his lips.

He then leaned closer to Chen Mu and whispered, "I even suspect that those ghost soldiers tacitly approved Fei Yong and the others' actions, otherwise how could they dare to be so bold?"

"The amount we move has nothing to do with the military merits of the Yin Soldier General. As long as it doesn't cause any casualties among the auxiliary soldiers, these Yin Soldiers won't interfere."

"If someone were to use their military merits to exchange for secret techniques and precious medicines to offer to them, they would definitely be happy to turn a blind eye."

Chen Mu immediately raised an eyebrow.

Someone actually pulled some strings?

If that's the case...

Wouldn't that allow me to continue my shady business with complete confidence and audacity?
Tsk! What a kind person...

Just as Shi Dechun was recounting the robbery that day, a group of five or six people suddenly burst into the barracks.

The leader was a middle-aged man dressed in a brown, close-fitting outfit, with a thick, black mustache shaped like the number eight on his lips.

"Hello everyone, I'm Xiao Jinquan." The middle-aged man gave a friendly smile.

"I fully understand your grief at having your military merits stolen today."

“I just went to see General Shi, but unfortunately…” Xiao Jinquan shook his head and sighed, his face heavy.

The already gloomy atmosphere became even more somber.

Seeing the grim expressions on everyone's faces, Xiao Jinquan smiled and said, "Fortunately, it's not entirely hopeless."

"I went to great lengths to get in touch with Hong Xiu of the Fifth Banner today."

"After much persuasion and lobbying, we finally reached an agreement with Brother Hong."

"From now on, as long as we hand over 30% of the Crimson-Eyed Water Ape, he will not only stop robbing us, but will also protect our safety." Xiao Jinquan said excitedly.

"Of course, I know it hurts everyone's wallet." He earnestly advised, "But if you don't pay, someone else might snatch half of it away."

"If you encounter a greedy and tyrannical person, not only will you be robbed of everything, but you'll also get beaten up. Wouldn't that be even worse?"

"Everyone, please think it over carefully."

"If you agree, we can continue our journey together tomorrow. If you disagree, please leave the group."

After saying that, Xiao Jinquan left with four or five people behind him to continue his persuasion efforts in other barracks.

The crowd was abuzz with discussion. Some were unwilling to accept it, some felt that 30% was too much, and others suspected that Xiao Jinquan and Hong Xiu were in cahoots.

Chen Mu, sitting in the corner, couldn't help but smile.

I was just thinking about how to break away from the team, and now this opportunity has come my way.
However, leaving alone would be too conspicuous.

Chen Mu couldn't help but look at Shi Dechun.

Old Man Shi, who was listening intently to everyone's discussion, suddenly felt a chill and turned his head sharply, only to meet Chen Mu's strange gaze.

"What do you want to do?"

"You don't want to pay this protection fee, do you?" Chen Mu asked with a smile.

Shi Dechun instinctively wanted to nod, but he forced himself to hold back.

Is this little bald guy up to no good?

"No, I can pay." He looked at Chen Mu with a wary expression.
Chen Mu was taken aback.

How could you go against your conscience?!
A red glint flashed in his eyes: "Come on, say it with me, you don't want to pay."

Shi Dechun's eyes glazed over for a moment, then he blankly said, "Yes, I don't want to pay."

Chen Mu's lips curled up immediately: "It's too conspicuous if one person doesn't pay, but if two people don't pay, then... it's still a bit conspicuous."

He hesitated for a moment, then looked at the other people in the room and narrowed his eyes.

The group, who were engaged in a heated discussion, suddenly felt a chill run down their spines, as if there were ghosts in the house.

(End of this chapter)