【Main Quest Triggered】
【Side Quest Triggered】

After the three greeted each other, the system prompts immediately sounded—two in a row, in fact.

The next second, all three of them looked at the quest log at the same time.

First, the main quest: 【Find the original translation of the Ramayana among Blackbeard's treasures】

Then, three consecutive side quests:

【Help Blackbeard find his old subordinates on Chew-Magic Island】, 【Board an enemy ship during a naval battle and kill at least three enemy sailors】, and 【Participate in a deck boxing match and defeat "The Viking"】.

"Hmm... there's quite a lot going on in this script," Feng Bujue muttered, uttering a line that was utterly devoid of substance.

This was one of his usual conversational techniques, using this "throwing a brick to attract jade" approach to get the others around him to express their opinions first.

"Looking at the content, these are all tasks that can be conveniently completed while doing the main quest..." Honghu understood Jue-Ge relatively well, so he immediately added a pointless statement, indicating that this grand strategist wouldn't fall for that trick.

"Heh..." As a result, two seconds later, the quick-witted but "inexperienced" Snow smiled and said, "Thinking about it the other way around... according to the principle that side quests are 'optional,' doesn't that imply... we can choose not to join Blackbeard's camp, not help him find people, not help him fight naval battles, and not participate in any sailor boxing matches... but instead, hide here, wait for the ship to dock, and go straight for the treasure to complete the main quest."

"Eh?" Hearing this, Honghu immediately perked up. "This 'Snow' brother, you're quite impressive. Let's be friends, shall we?"

Honghu was also an astute person; he knew very well that in the game *Thriller Paradise*, any player who could immediately come up with this analysis after seeing the above four quests was at least one level above the "average" player.

Levels, equipment, skills, specializations... these things could all be obtained through time or money, but wisdom was not so easily acquired, so... the more friends like this, the better.

"Hmph... alright," Snow replied a second later. "I've also heard a lot about Honghu's reputation. I'm honored to be acquainted with such a celebrity."

His words actually carried a hint of sarcasm. Logically speaking... if he and Honghu became friends, then Honghu should be the one feeling honored.

In reality, Honghu was, at best, a first-tier celebrity in the gaming world, but in terms of social influence and power... he might not even be as strong as some second or third-tier minor celebrities.

As for Snow... it was no exaggeration to say that he was like a "prince of the underworld"; if he wanted to, he could make those so-called "high society" figures kneel down and lick his shoes or even vanish from the face of the earth in a matter of minutes.

However, in this game world, they were just..."players."

This was also one of the charms of the internet—the network could, at a certain time and place... allow people with vastly different identities and statuses in the real world to find themselves in a relatively fair environment.

In this environment, all kinds of resources that those "superiors" usually controlled... such as the priority of having a voice, the right to choose; the ability to control the direction of events through various legal or illegal "off-site methods," etc.... would all disappear.

Just like how domesticated animals gradually lose their hunting ability, when those people come out of the cages called "money" and "power," most of them... would appear particularly fragile, incompetent, and even foolish.

Of course, there were exceptions...

Snow was one such exception; even if you took away everything around him, he would still be a difficult character to deal with.

Fortunately, at this moment... he was a teammate, not an opponent.

"Where~ where~ I'm just trying to make a living; I don't count as a celebrity. Everyone's just friends playing a game; there's no need to be so polite." After receiving the other party's reply, Honghu gave a very humble response.

The current Honghu was clearly much more mature than when he first met Jue-Ge; it could even be said that... the "knowing Feng Bujue" incident had allowed him to grow a lot.

Back then... in the "Climbing the Tower" script, he and the other two studio players were busy praising each other in front of Jue-Ge right from the start; he would definitely not do such a thing now.

The higher a person stands in a certain field and the wider their horizons, the more they will understand the principle that there is always someone better and something beyond the heavens; to go to "higher places," one must learn to "revere," learn to "self-reflect," and learn to "be humble"...

"Complacency" is something to be enjoyed by those who are content with their small achievements and stop making progress; it is a kind of compensation from heaven for those whose "skills have reached their limit."

And Honghu definitely did not belong to that kind of person... so he had already discarded that "complacency" and placed himself in a very low position, striving with the mindset he had when he first started his career.

Today, Honghu has made significant progress in his words, wit, and foresight. As the team's strategist, his ability is no longer inferior to Jue-Ge's. His assistance to the Useless Alliance in making it all the way to the finals in s2 is a good proof of this; and in terms of dealing with people, Honghu also shows the demeanor of a great general. When it comes to "playing dumb," he can also compete with Jue-Ge.

"I think... how about this?" After listening to the two of them talking for a few sentences, Feng Bujue interjected with malicious intent, "You two... why don't you just get into a barrel and chat slowly; I... will go out alone, join the pirate crew, complete the side quests, and come and call you when the ship lands on the island."

"Cut it out..." Honghu said, already pushing open the lid of the wooden barrel he was in, sticking his head out, and turning on the flashlight he was carrying. "If we let you go out alone, you'd sell us out within three minutes."

"Are you that distrustful of me?" Jue-Ge also opened the wooden lid above his head, revealing half of his head and raising his eyebrows.

"Ha!" Honghu chuckled, "I've even figured out the specific process of you betraying your teammates... The first step is to deliberately get discovered and captured; the second step is to declare that you admire Captain Blackbeard very much and want to join his pirate crew; the third step is to use the location of me and Snow as a bargaining chip, while pinning the blame for the 'disappearance of the withered leaf wine' on our heads... and that's it."

"Hmm..." Before he could finish speaking, Snow also popped his head out of his barrel. "That's actually a pretty good plan. This way, you can get rid of two teammates who will eventually share the main quest rewards with you and gain Blackbeard's trust for yourself... Even if that trust isn't very solid, it's enough to keep you on the ship."

"Tch... am I that lacking in ambition?" Feng Bujue narrowed his eyes and glanced left and right, then took out Bell's Everyday Knife from his waist and cut open the rope net covering the three barrels.

"Me? Feng Bujue, needing to betray teammates to gain the trust of NPCs?" After cutting open the rope net, Jue-Ge put away the knife and stood up, muttering, "Get it straight, this is the Main Universe..." Speaking of which, he patted his chest. "I've got connections."

"Yeah~ yeah~" Honghu also narrowed his eyes, stood up, and said, "I almost forgot... Even Dou Mo is one of your people, right?"

Honghu naturally still remembered the fact that Feng Bujue had schemed against his team in the s2 finals, causing the entire team to be directly transferred out of the Main Universe.

"Ah... who knows." Jue-Ge laughed, not giving a clear answer, and quickly changed the subject. "Anyway, I'm definitely going to do the side quests. Whether you two want to do them... is up to you."

"Do them, why wouldn't we?" Honghu said, "You've been the only one talking; I never said I wanted to hide here."

"Hehe... it seems like you two are quite familiar," Snow, who had been silent for a while, said as he climbed out of the barrel, smiling.

"Ah... sort of," Honghu replied. "Dealing with Brother Feng... whether as a teammate or an opponent, is a very unforgettable experience."

Hearing this, Snow smiled knowingly: "Heh... indeed, I deeply agree."

"Oh?" At this moment, Honghu also realized something. "Speaking of which... you two aren't meeting for the first time, are you?" He turned to look at Snow, questioning, "I remember, Snow, you called him 'Mr. Crow' just now?"

"Yes." Snow didn't mean to hide it. "About a month ago, we met twice. Something happened during that time... so..."

"Hey, hey, hey..." Feng Bujue interrupted Snow. "Why are you describing it in a tone as if we met at a gay bar?"

"Huh?" Snow was stunned. "Did I?"

"Of course you did." Jue-Ge replied confidently in his hometown accent and immediately looked at Honghu, asking, "You be the judge... Isn't his statement just now easy to associate with... 'I used the name Mr. Crow to hang around in gay bars and then got picked up by him'?"

"Uh..." Honghu didn't know what expression to use to face this question and answer. "At first, I definitely didn't think about it that way at all, but now you've forcibly brought me into that kind of brainwashing rhythm that I don't want to enter..."

"See, look." Feng Bujue said after getting the answer, and then looked back at Snow, saying, "It really is your statement that's the problem, right?"

"Hey... it's clearly your problem..." Honghu shook his head, holding his forehead. "And... what's there to be so hung up on about this? A lot of people know that you have a girlfriend, okay?" He raised his voice. "If you don't want me to ask about 'what exactly happened between you and Snow'... then just say it directly. There's no need to bring the conversation to strange content to divert attention... Anyway, I wasn't very interested in this matter in the first place."

Hearing these sentences, Feng Bujue's expression changed slightly, and he thought to himself, "Oh... he's grown a lot, my intentions are seen through clearly."

"Okay, then let's talk about the script." But Jue-Ge did not praise the other party face-to-face, but immediately changed the topic. "Snow, are you planning to stay here, or come out with us?"

"I..." For the past ten seconds, Snow had been observing his words and expressions and analyzing the relationship between the two in front of him and every word they said. Now, being suddenly asked by Jue-Ge, he hesitated for two seconds, and then continued, "...Naturally, I will act with the two of you."

"Okay, you go open the door." Feng Bujue didn't give the other party time to think at all, and immediately made a request.

"Hmm..." Snow wasn't stupid; he immediately asked three very constructive questions. "Excuse me... why do I have to open the door? Why do I have to listen to you? And... why don't we search this 'third storage room' before we leave?"

And Feng Bujue was also prepared, and immediately replied, "It's very simple... because I have connections and I have to rely on me to get in touch with Blackbeard. So... exploration work like 'possibly running into a guard and being killed instantly after opening the door' definitely can't be done by me." He paused. "As for the reason for not searching this room... it's also very obvious; we're going to join the pirate crew in a while, if you 'steal' other people's things now, won't it become a hidden danger in a while?"

"Ah..." Snow heard this, thought for three seconds, and then rolled his eyes and muttered, "Why am I being persuaded by this somewhat unreasonable reason..."

After saying that, he turned around and walked towards the door.

Feng Bujue and Honghu then looked at each other, the former just shrugged his shoulders with a smile, while the latter shook his head helplessly.

Several seconds later, Snow came to the door of this third storage room.

It was a very thick wooden door, whether it was the door panel or the lock on the door, it was the kind that ordinary swords and guns could not destroy at a glance.

After standing still, Snow put his hand on the doorknob; before opening the door, he also looked back at the two teammates behind him.

At this time, Feng Bujue was looking around with an indifferent expression, while Honghu was looking focused, holding a flashlight to illuminate Snow.

"Heh..." Snow smiled softly again when he turned his face back to the door panel.

Jue-Ge and Honghu did not hear this laugh, because the continuous sound of the sea tide drowned it out.

Glug—

Immediately afterwards, Snow turned the doorknob and opened the door.

As expected, there was indeed a guard outside the door, but that guard was lying in a hammock several meters away from the wooden door, snoring loudly; the shaking of the ship and the surrounding sounds had no effect on him... There was no doubt that he was already used to sleeping in such an environment, and the bursts of snoring indicated that he was sleeping soundly.