Ming Dynasty: Summoning game players at the beginning

Chapter 116 I’m the only newbie
Heavy snow fell, blanketing the silent earth in a blanket of fox fur. Tens of thousands of militiamen, divided into infantry units of 2,000 each, under the player's command, undertook a long-distance training exercise.

The militiamen were well fed and watered, and wore thick cotton-padded clothes and thick cloth shoes.

This winter training started from Runing, passed through Luoshan in Xinyang, stopped at Guangzhou for rest, and then started from Guangzhou and went directly to Runing. The whole journey was about one thousand miles.

The first half will hone the militia's ability to march with loads, while the second half will hone their ability to march quickly.

Yang Wenli, who was carrying out a special mission, was also in the marching column, but he left the team on his own when he reached Queshan.

He wore a Fan Yang hat, a gray cloak, a sword at his waist, a red tasseled spear on his shoulder, and a wine jug on his shoulder. He rode a mule and slowly stepped forward.

He seemed like a knight wandering the world, strolling in the snowy season.

All was silent, with only the muffled thud of mule hooves on the thick snow and the ancient style songs he had carefully composed.

Ancient and pastoral tunes echo in my mind, sometimes light and joyful, sometimes exciting like war drums. With the beautiful snow-white scenery and a pot of fruit wine chilled by the heavy snow, I hum ancient poems and songs.

Wow, this free and joyful atmosphere of chivalry is something I wouldn’t trade even for two beauties.

The rewards for special missions are quite generous: three item mall raffle tickets, a resurrection code, and 100 merit points...

You should know that the mall has recently put up a lot of props, such as mountain armor, horse lance, special military boots, and COS customized suits...

Including Ru Ning’s new gadgets after the war.

Team music coupons, fifty signal guns, fifty flares and smoke flares, one hundred packs of compressed biscuits, three hundred crowbars, one hundred boxes of thirteen-spice seasoning...

Yang Wenli discovered that every time there was a military victory or city expansion, a group of new players and new items would be welcomed. After the Battle of Runing, more than 800 new players entered the game.

He guessed that this was the game's iterative mode. After each battle, it would be optimized based on the combat data to accommodate more new players.

The task prompt floated in the upper right corner of his field of vision, telling him to arrive at the assembly point before the tenth day of the eleventh lunar month.

When a pocket-sized "county government office" comes into view, a hint in the style of ink painting gradually appears in the center of the field of vision - "Zhugou Inspection Office".

The office of the Inspection Office is like a large post station, with at least thirty or forty people stationed there, and at most more than a hundred people.

Its function is equivalent to that of a police station + garrison militia, mainly assisting county towns and garrisons to fill the gaps in grassroots public security.

Yang Wenli dismounted from his mule and pulled his mount into the gate of the Inspection Office, where dozens of players with " " on their heads were already stationed.

Everyone gathered in front of two stoves to keep warm. Steam was coming out of the wine jugs on top of the stoves, and a strong aroma of fruit wine filled the air.

"Oh, a newcomer." The player with the number 8 on his head walked towards him with a smile on his face, like a distinguished guest.

He skillfully took the reins of the mount, and while pulling the mount towards the stable, he asked Yang Wenli what phase of the player he was in and what basic skills he had.

"Third term. As for specialties, I like to have fun. Does coming up with ideas count?"

"Yes, of course."

"Number Eight" added a handful of straw to his brother's mule, then gently patted Yang Wenli's shoulder, motioning him to go into the house to keep warm.

Number Eight picked up a pot of soju and handed it to Yang Wenli to warm him up. He then pointed to a player named Green Skin and said, "Look at this guy. His specialty is burping and farting."

He pointed at another muscular man in blue cloth armor. "This guy's specialty is being extremely immature. He keeps saying he's Robert Guilliman. But there's a character limit on names, so he can only choose one, but he didn't want to, so he just came up with Rob Guilliman."

"Carrot, chicken and pear, hahahaha..." The players burst into laughter when they heard the words, and the inner room was suddenly filled with a happy atmosphere.

"what?"

Everyone's laughter made Yang Wenli look confused. What was so funny about these four words? Was it because his sense of humour was too high?

Yang Wenli asked, "So what is your specialty?"

"Me? My specialty is assassination."

Number Eight picked up a piece of dried fig and stuffed it into his mouth to chew. When he saw Yang Wen looking him up and down with strange eyes and was about to activate the exit button and log off to call the reporting line, he quickly added, "It was an assassination in the game! If I were proficient in assassination in real life, I would have been killed long ago."

The suspicion on Yang Wenli's face disappeared, replaced by surprise and anticipation.

"Could it be that you are the 'Central Plains Hero' that corrupt officials tremble in fear?"

"It's not just me. Everyone in this room is a hero from the Central Plains. We are a team."

Number 8 raised the corners of his mouth, narrowed his eyes slightly, and looked very proud, as if he was asking you to praise him more quickly.

Others couldn't help but straighten their posture and strike what they thought was a handsome pose, sitting, standing, or lying sideways on the square table.

Some people even tilted their heads back, as if they were a Stand user whose true identity had been discovered, and walked towards them handsomely while saying, "I really can't do anything to you."

"Holy crap! The Zhongyuan hero is right in front of me!" Yang Wenli's face was filled with the enthusiasm of a fan meeting his idol, his eyes widening as big as a bull's. "People often mention you in the chat group and Tekken Bulletin! I wonder if the whole room is full of big shots, and I'm the only newbie?"

"Keep a low profile, keep a low profile. Our current record is only two wins, two losses, and one draw. We can't be considered high-level players... The other 'Cat and Dog' team has achieved a record of four wins and no losses. The corrupt officials they assassinated are much higher-ranking than us."

Yang Wenli frowned slightly, "I can understand two wins and two losses, but what the hell is this a draw? Did we get away with it without achieving the goal?" "The target was killed, but we suffered heavy casualties, so it's a draw." Number Eight said with a firm tone, as if stating that one plus one equals two.

"Killing the target but not escaping unscathed is considered a draw. So, if you lose, does that mean the target dies but the entire team is wiped out?"

"Oh, how did you know?"

"Good boy, you're really a bunch of perfectionist warriors," Yang Wenli complained. "According to ordinary people's standards, achieving the goal is victory. Your record should be five wins and no losses!"

"No, no, no. Our standard isn't ordinary people, but other competitors. They're better than the worst, but never make progress. They're not as good as the best, but they have the drive to move forward. The Cat and Dog duo is incredibly sharp, and they always manage to escape unscathed from every assassination attempt. I'd call them the strongest in the entire server."

"strong."

Yang Wenli thought to himself, how awesome is this "cat and dog combination" that is praised so much by the heroes of the Central Plains!

Could it be that a special forces soldier in real life retired and returned home, and then created another glory in the game?

Yang Wenli looked at his ordinary muscles and his “weak and powerless” fighting skills compared to those of the big guys.

Previously, he felt that he was stronger than the newbies and was a little proud and complacent. But now, seeing a whole team of advanced players, he suddenly felt ashamed of himself, like a chicken standing among a group of cranes.

It is enough for a group of strong men who work in harmony with each other to go to Gucheng to assassinate high-ranking officials.

Why did he get the special mission?
Yang Wenli did not get an answer. Once the mission departure deadline arrived, all late players would be automatically disqualified from the mission.

Number Eight, the temporary captain, immediately announced the departure.

Just before setting off, Yang Wenli saw everyone taking off their armor and changing into sets of coarse cloth clothes worn by ordinary people.

"You should change into something too."

Number 8 handed a simple set of clothes to Yang Wenli.

After all 21 members changed their costumes, they looked like a traveling theatrical troupe, with all kinds of acrobatic props such as big stone hammers, soft-handled spears, and iron rings.

"We're dressed up as a stage troupe, which is great! No one here will recognize us as an assassination team."

Yang Wenli was assigned the role of a young apprentice who held a plate and begged for money, and it was not his turn to perform juggling.

They pulled their mules for several miles and came to a ferry, where they saw two flat-bottomed river boats carrying cargo.

The roof of the boat was covered with a layer of white snow, and several boatmen stood at the ferry with snow-white "blankets" draped over their heads and shoulders.

Although those people blended perfectly into the snowy scenery, Yang Wenli could still tell at a glance that they were players with " ".

"Oh wow, they even arranged a river boat. How thoughtful!"

"Yes, these days, taking a boat is very convenient and fast. If the wind and water are favorable, you can travel four to five hundred miles in a day.

If we go against the wind and the current, we can still travel about 200 miles a day. The Yellow River and Huai River basins are densely networked in the Central Plains. As long as we have a boat, we can go anywhere. We can reach Gucheng in three days at most."

Yang Wenli took the mule onto the river boat and chatted with the cargo players. He then learned that these cargo ships were trading ships from the main base, carrying a batch of woolen coats to Xiangyang for sale.

Yang Wenli also heard that the main base's business network was gradually expanding, bringing in huge business profits to the leaders every month.

The special team was placed in a small cabin, with twenty-one strong men sitting opposite each other in rows. Only number eight took out a small stool and sat among the crowd.

With three sharp and loud whistles, the two river boats set sail.

The sound of rippling river water came from outside the window. Yang Wenli felt the bottom of the boat swaying gently, and his stomach and intestines swayed with it.

Number Eight smiled and asked Yang Wenli, "Do you have the sense of mission of a special forces soldier riding a fighter plane to the destination?"

Yang Wenli looked around. A group of players tasked with assassination missions had different expressions on their faces. "That smell is starting to show."

A long journey is always boring, but as an assassination team that has been through it, they have their own ways to relieve boredom.

Some people go offline to stretch their muscles, some go offline to play games with friends, and some take out board games such as chess, Go, military chess, flying chess, cards, and mahjong to play.

Only snowflakes were flying on the vast river surface. Bored and depressed, Yang Wenli decided to log off and play a few games of Total War: Japan.

He just raised his hand to call up the game system interface, his finger hovering just before the exit button, when he heard beautiful music playing.

It turned out to be a group of players holding oil-paper umbrellas and holding a "concert" on the bow of the ship, including brothers from the transport team.

Yang Wenli brought a small stool and sat at the hatch, holding a glass of Wanli wine in his hand. He sipped the wine while enjoying this rare live concert.

Some played the concertina, some played the flute and harmonica, and some played the pipa and erhu.

Ancient and modern, Chinese and Western musical instruments played harmoniously together. The pleasant and light sounds seemed to draw out Yang Wenli's soul, carrying him on and on, floating to the distant place he hoped to reach.

(End of this chapter)