Scourge Messenger

Chapter 5 Secret Realm
Yan Qing thought that he would have poor sleep quality in this strange cave. He has always been the type of person who would have endocrine disorders when traveling - the unfamiliar environment would cause him to have Hakimi's stress response.

But unexpectedly, after waking up this time, Yan Qing felt as refreshed as if he had put on red underwear on New Year's Eve. This was a precious experience that he would never be able to have again since he got into the bad habit of working.

After a quick wash and warming up the leftover meat buns from last night—yes, there was even a fireplace in the room—Yan Qing finished his breakfast and turned on the game console.

Messenger, start!
Because there were no windows, Yan Qing could only judge the time by looking at the game console. It should be just dawn outside, the sky still a lingering blue. Yan San had already gotten up and was practicing his spearmanship.

"Should we change the game mode from 'auto evolution' to 'manual control'?"

Yan Qing discovered automatic evolution when he was about to log off last night. After a brief study, he found that it was actually an idle system, but a relatively smart idle system: the game character would automatically deduce his next action based on past gaming experience. For example, if 'Yan San' came to the military camp to serve as a soldier without knowing what was going on, he would sleep on time, do drills regularly, and obey orders until Yan Qing logged into the account to control him.

Yan Qing let 'Yan San' continue to hang up, opened the public warehouse and took out a bowl of hot pork rib soup - the meat buns were still not enough, and he still needed to drink some hot soup early in the morning.

By the time the assembly bell rang in the training ground, 'Yan San' had already risen to level 1, which meant that even if Yan Qing left the team alone, 'Yan San' could still reach level 10 within four or five days.

The soldiers gathered in the training ground, and Yan San quickly found his superior - the Ghost Knight from yesterday.

At this time, a name was floating above the latter's head: 'Hyakubo Tsuchiyasu Karasuma Ryu'. This name was told to him by others, but once the game character knew the information, the system would automatically match the name with the character.

Karasuma Ryu: "Today it's our turn to enter the secret realm. As usual, the Archery Team has ten members, and the reward is five jades; the Combat Team has five members, and the reward is thirty jades. You, join the Combat Team!"

The person named by Karasuma Ryu was none other than Yan San.

Yan Qing didn't understand what this was all about, so he just went along with it, letting the cavalry help him put on his heavy armor, equip him with a spear, a longbow, a pot of arrows, and even first aid bandages and strong liquor. Everyone else was vying to sign up, but they all rushed to join the archery team. The combat team was entirely up to the Wuhuan Ryu to personally call the roll.

In addition to the archery team and the combat team, the Karasuma clan also selected twenty people as reserves.

After assembling the team, Wuhuanliu did not lead them out of the camp, but instead led them deep into the camp. The further they went in, the stricter the security became, with even sentry towers, barriers, and chevaux-de-frise towers... The military camp that Yan Qing had known before was only the outermost living area. Not only was the security even stricter inside, but the majority of the army's strength seemed to be used to guard it.

Under the aiming of dozens of powerful crossbows from four directions, the gate of the fortress slowly opened, and the Wuhuan clan led them into the most secure area inside the military camp.

At this time, even Yan Qing couldn't help but become curious: What on earth could it be that needed to be surrounded by a military camp for protection?

What appeared on the screen was a house.

Yan Qing wondered what important figure lived there, who actually needed an entire military camp to protect him. But as he took two steps closer, he saw light green ripples appearing on the vermilion lacquer gate of the mansion, and relevant information popped up in the game:
"Zheng Family of the Three Mountains"

"Background: Zheng Shan was a renowned philanthropist. Every year, he donated money to repair bridges and roads, support academies, and care for the widowed, the orphaned, the disabled, and other vulnerable individuals. Unbeknownst to anyone, the Zheng family was actually a den of thieves. Year after year, Zheng Shan engaged in robbery, murder, and arson in other areas, earning him the nickname 'Zhen San Shan'. However, his philanthropic efforts upon his return to his hometown kept him from the authorities' suspicions..."

Challenge Level: 8~15

「Number of challengers: up to 15 people」

"Goal: Kill 'Three Mountains Guardian' Zheng Shan"

At this time, Karasuma Ryu said, "I repeat, all spoils belong to the public. All treasure chests are mine alone. Anyone who breaks the rules will be merciless! And you, stay with me. If you make it out alive, you will be Baibaoqi. But if you retreat or flee from the demon... then you will remain in there forever."

"One last check of weapons, building two, entering the secret realm!"

That's it!

No wonder Black Wolf and the others knew the Thieves' House so well.
No wonder the Karasuma clan has tokens to protect them.

It turns out that people in this world can discover copies and explore the resources inside!

In the eyes of people in this world, a place like a copy, which is a world of its own, can indeed be called a "secret place".

As Yan San followed the group inside, the scene suddenly changed. It was clearly morning outside, but once inside the dungeon, it had turned dark. They arrived at the courtyard outside the mansion, where many braziers were placed. The courtyard extended all the way to the mansion. Five ferocious servants patrolled the center of the road, with the names "Bandit Servants" emblazoned above their heads and health bars.

Karasuma Ryu: "Archers, split into left and right wings, and prepare for crossfire. Soldiers, follow me closely, and advance five steps!"

After saying this, Wuhuanliu took five steps forward and plunged his long weapon, the crescent-shaped blade, into the ground, completely unafraid of the servants ten steps away taking advantage of the opportunity to attack. However, when all the soldiers reached behind Wuhuanliu, the servants still did not react.

Yan Qing naturally understood the reason - the monsters in the dungeon would act according to the program, and Wu Wanliu's distance was just outside the monster's hatred range.

Karasuma Ryu drew his bow and ordered, "Ready!"

Yan San and the rest of his team drew their bows, while the archers, already divided into left and right wings, stood behind them, ready to shoot. "Shoot!"

Fifteen arrows rained down upon the five servants like water, each receiving three arrows, causing their head health to drop by one-third. However, despite being struck by arrows, the bandit servants remained unaffected, charging forward with swords raised!

Digitization!
These monsters are different from real people. Their combat effectiveness will not decrease due to injuries. They will only die when their health is depleted!
"Guards, engage!"

Wuhuanliu picked up his crescent-shaped sword and confronted the foremost retainer. The other soldiers also grabbed a retainer, ensuring that not a single one was missed. It's worth noting that, aside from Wuhuanliu and Yan San, the other soldiers were sword and shield wielders, primarily focusing on defense.

As the servant ran over, the archers behind him launched another round of shooting. Therefore, when Yan San fought with the servant, the opponent had only half of his health left. However, this was a level 8 to 15 dungeon, which meant that the servant was at least level 8, which was higher than Yan San. Therefore, when Yan San poked the servant, the opponent only lost 15% of his health.

The battle ended quickly. Although Yan Qing tried his best, he was still hit twice by the servants and lost about 10% of his blood.

Yan Qing opened his personal warehouse, clicked on "Meat Buns" and chose to eat.

"Where did you get the meat buns?" the panting sword and shield warrior next to him asked in surprise.

Yan San: "Leftovers from breakfast."

After eating the meat bun, a small amount of green blood appeared in the health bar, which slowly recovered. As a veteran player, Yan Qing naturally understood what this meant: the green blood represented the amount of health that the meat bun could restore, but it would take time to take effect slowly.

After the fight, the Karasuma clan didn't advance further, instead allowing everyone to rest for a moment to relax. Yan Qing looked at the 'Spirit Jade,' 'Roast Chicken,' 'Blood Replenishing Pills,' and 'Steel Ingots' floating on the servants' corpses, then at the Hundred Guard Knights, who had ignored these drops. After a moment's deliberation, he piloted 'Yan San' closer to the drops.

"You picked up 300 Spirit Jade"

"You picked up roast chicken x2"

"You picked it up..."

"What are you doing!" Wuhuanliu's roar seemed to penetrate the game console and exploded in Yan Qing's ears.

He stood up, gripping his crescent-shaped blade tightly, and stared at Yan San from behind his evil ghost mask:
"Why are you stepping on the corpses of these demons!?"

Yan Qingfu was enlightened and replied, "I was hit twice by them just now. I'm very unhappy."

Karasuma Ryu looked at him for a moment and said, "Don't step on them. We'll have to collect their clothes later. If they're injured, apply some medicine quickly. We'll have to continue the battle soon."

Yan Qing now completely confirmed that people in this world cannot see the drops of dungeon monsters!

If you think about it, it really doesn't make sense. Who would carry around money, food, and various materials? But The Courier is an MMORPG, after all. It's impossible to have dungeon monsters only drop relevant items. Otherwise, after completing a dungeon like this, players would end up with a bag full of low-level weapons and clothing, which would only take up space in their inventory. And players would undoubtedly trade this junk for Spirit Jade once they're done. It would be better to just give Spirit Jade, supplies, and stackable materials directly.

Although people in this world can enter the dungeon, they are not players in the game after all, so they can neither see nor enjoy these drop mechanisms that are convenient for players.

After the break, Karasuma Ryu led them into the main house, where they saw five servants eating. The same routine continued: distance, shooting together first, then the combatants took over, with the archers firing crosswise.

Because the space in the main house was narrow, the five soldiers did not have much room to maneuver. Yan Qing only managed to dodge once and lost 20% of his health before the battle ended.

The good news is that after two battles, 'Yan San' has reached level 7.

Just as Yan Qing was about to eat some roast chicken to replenish his blood, the sword and shield warrior next to him said, "Master, I, I can't do it anymore."

There was no blood bar on the sword and shield warrior's head, but he had many wounds on his body. There was even a deep scar on his shoulder that could be seen to the bone, and even his armor was cut through.

Only then did Yan Qing realize that, except for 'Yan San' and Wuhuanliu, the other three sword and shield fighters were all injured and in extremely poor condition.

It's understandable that Karasuma Ryu was unscathed, as he'd already changed classes and had a protective token. But Yan San had clearly taken several hits as well, so why...

Yan Qing looked at the health bar in the lower left corner of 'Yan San' and immediately understood everything.

Like dungeon monsters, "Yan San" is a digital creature. No matter how much damage it takes, its combat effectiveness remains unchanged, and it dies only when its health bar is depleted. Furthermore, while a real person would need to stop the bleeding, disinfect, and bandage wounds to heal, "Yan San" can simply eat steamed buns and roast chicken to restore its health.

The impact of digitization wasn't just on injuries, it affected combat style as well. These retainers charged forward without hesitation, never dodging or trading blows. Fighting such fearless yet impervious monsters, even with the utmost caution, would inevitably lead to injury. No wonder the Combat Team, despite offering six times the bounty of the Archers, still refused to participate; the risk was simply too great.

When you think about it this way, it’s only natural for the locals to call the dungeon monsters demons: they are tough, not afraid of death, fight for their lives, and will be resurrected when the dungeon is refreshed. If this isn’t a demon, what is it?
(End of this chapter)