Chapter 15 The Bread

Fifteen minutes into the script, the four members of Hell Front had already split into three groups.

Xiao Tan and Xiao Ling, with their stronger scouting expertise, each took a path, covertly searching along a V-shaped route. Ruoyu and Huajian, on the other hand, advanced directly through open areas; with their combination... they could easily handle ranged attacks or traps, so there was no need to hide.

In short, the four's tactical approach was... split up to find the enemy as quickly as possible, or be found by the enemy. Once contact was made, they would use their superior strength to eliminate the opposition.

"Hmm... so you guys aren't planning on touching the plot at all..." Feng Bujue muttered, switching his viewpoint between his teammates. "Although I don't think the other team is stronger than you, and the probability of getting item rewards in this mode isn't high, ignoring the plot isn't a good idea... In later matches, borrowing power from NPCs in the script will undoubtedly be key to victory, and the sooner you develop that habit, the better..."

Even if he sighed there, his teammates couldn't hear him. He would have to convey these words after the fight.

"Well... never mind..." Brother Jue then said, "It seems my substitute role isn't for nothing. There's still more than half a month before the competition. The problems I see in them... should still be correctable."

...

On the other hand, the four members of the Corn Kernel team also adopted a split-up strategy.

But their strategy was much simpler... 【Liu Sanfeng】alone went ahead to scout, while the other three maintained a distance, advancing slowly two hundred meters behind Liu Sanfeng.

They, too, had abandoned any intention of exploring the plot, hoping to engage the enemy as soon as possible.

But there was a problem...

If both teams ignored the plot, how would they meet?

You see, the "White Kingdom" was vast. The sheer size of the ruins indicated the overall scale of the nation. It was quite difficult for just eight people to meet in such a large area.

Searching aimlessly without any clues was naturally inefficient.

Fortunately... although the players didn't touch the plot, the plot would come to them...

...

"Eh? What's that..." After searching for several minutes, Xiao Tan spotted a figure.

At this moment, Brother Jue's perspective also shifted behind him, and he saw the shadow in the distance at the same time.

It was a hunched man in black robes. His face was very old, and his balding forehead and face were covered with wrinkles, which were clearly visible even from a distance.

"An NPC, probably..." Xiao Tan frowned and stared at him, muttering to himself.

"Hmph... too naive." Feng Bujue snorted as soon as he heard this. "Maybe someone on the enemy team has the ability to disguise themselves..."

Unfortunately, his opinion couldn't reach Xiao Tan's ears.

Xiao Tan looked around and, feeling that no one else was around, went forward to make contact.

As he approached the black-robed old man, the other party noticed him, but the old man didn't make any unusual moves, just stared at Xiao Tan coldly, waiting for him to approach.

"Uh... hello, old man?" Xiao Tan walked up to the old man and tried to greet him.

"Do you have bread?" The old man spoke quickly and powerfully.

"Bread?" Faced with the other party's sudden question, Xiao Tan was a little caught off guard.

"Looks like he's really an NPC..." Feng Bujue muttered. "This counts as triggering an event. If you give him bread... you should get some kind of benefit or advance the plot."

"Um... sorry, I don't have any bread on me." Xiao Tan thought for two seconds and then answered truthfully.

"Tch... why be so honest?" Feng Bujue was anxious for him. "Can't you ask, 'If I give you bread, what benefits can you give me' first?"

"Please find me some bread." The old man replied expressionlessly after hearing Xiao Tan's answer. "If you give me bread, I will repay you."

"Quickly ask him, 'How will you repay me?'" Feng Bujue's first reaction was, "Is he going to give something or give information?"

"Oh... okay, then I'll go look for some." Xiao Tan's first reaction was, "Don't go anywhere, I'll bring it to you when I find it."

"Are you his grandson or something!" Feng Bujue complained fiercely.

"I won't leave until I get the bread," the old man said calmly.

"Okay," Xiao Tan responded and turned to leave.

"Hey, hey... at least ask him, 'Where is there bread?'" Feng Bujue said. "So you took a job here and left without getting any hints or information! Is this your level of puzzle solving when you're acting alone!"

"Oh! That's right." At this moment, Xiao Tan suddenly stopped and turned to the old man. "I almost forgot to ask you..."

"Phew... good, it seems like you're not beyond saving." Brother Jue felt a little relieved when he saw Xiao Tan remember.

"...Do you have any requirements for the type of bread?" Xiao Tan asked seriously. "For example... do you want regular? Or whole wheat? Is it croissant? Or baguette?"

"Are you going to find a wheat field, harvest some wheat, and make it for him now!" Feng Bujue roared. "What's the point of asking such nonsense!"

No matter how much he yelled, it was useless. Xiao Tan couldn't hear him...

"Any kind of bread will do," the old man replied calmly. After a slight pause, he added, "Go over there and take a look..." As he spoke, he raised a hand and pointed in a direction. "I think there might be some there."

"Ah?" Xiao Tan looked in the direction the other party pointed. "Oh... okay, then wait for me." With that, he set off quickly.

"God..." If Feng Bujue had a body, he would definitely be holding his forehead and shaking his head at this time. "Luckily, this NPC actively gave a hint, otherwise this kid wouldn't know where to look."

...

At the same time, in another part of the ruins.

Liu Sanfeng, the pathfinder of the Corn Kernel team, also saw a black-robed old man. This NPC's image was exactly the same as the one Xiao Tan encountered. He was hunched over and standing there in a daze.

After seeing this, Liu Sanfeng waited cautiously for a moment. After confirming that there were no other figures around, his teammates also caught up.

So, the four of them came to the NPC's side together.

"Old man, are you okay?" Liu Sanfeng went forward and asked tentatively.

"Do you have corn?" The black-robed old man asked for something different from the one Xiao Tan encountered.

"What?" Liu Sanfeng's expression changed when he heard this, and he immediately took a step back, shouting, "Be careful, it's a trap!"

His teammates became nervous when he shouted, and the four of them stood back-to-back in a battle formation, on guard.

Some people may wonder why Liu Sanfeng felt that it was a "trap." His thought process was as follows: The other party inexplicably mentioned "corn"... Our team name is "Corn Kernel"... The other party knows our team name... NPCs shouldn't know our team name... The other party is a member of the enemy team in disguise or just a summon... This is a trap.

That was roughly the process...

"Hmph! You're really good at pretending!" Liu Sanfeng said confidently to the old man, "You even took the initiative to mention 'corn.' Are you trying to mock us for falling for the trick?"

The old man looked at him indifferently and replied irrelevantly, "Please find me some corn. If you give me corn..."

"Ha!"

Before the old man could finish speaking, Liu Sanfeng let out a light shout and used a skill on him.

【Name: Sea King Spear Strike】

【Skill Card Attribute: Active Skill, Permanently Mastered】

【Skill Category: Spiritual Art】

【Effect: Unleashes a spear-like shock wave to crush the opponent.】

【Consumption: Spiritual Energy Value 50】

【Learning Requirements: Spiritual Art Specialization B】

【Remarks: An attack magic that borrows the power of the Sea King Dalphy, and can be used without water.】

"Hmm?" At the moment of magic energy rhythm, a slight change appeared on the black old man's face.

In that instant, the old man raised a hand, his fingers slightly apart, and a black barrier appeared in front of him.

Chi—buzzing...

Liu Sanfeng's skill hit the barrier, and it dissipated like snow entering a stream of lava in an instant.

"This guy... is really the enemy!" Wei Wuge, who was on the side, said immediately when he saw this.

I don't know how he came to this conclusion... Anyway, he believed it himself, so... he stepped forward and went around behind the old man, preparing to form a pincer attack with his teammate.

However...

In the next second, the old man's figure suddenly moved and turned into a black light that shot straight into the sky. The speed was so fast that the four members of the Corn Kernel team couldn't react.

When they came back to their senses and looked up, they saw... in the sky, a huge crow appeared. It flapped its wings a few times and quickly flew away.

"Uh..." At this time, Liu Sanfeng's face became unsightly. "Brothers, I seem to have made a mistake..."

"Ah... I can see that..." Primary School Dog came up with a hindsight. "Although I was a little suspicious just now, I didn't express my opinion because you seemed so sure."

"This..." Lonely Bro looked at the receding shadow of the crow and muttered, "...Could it be one of the 'three birds' mentioned in the script introduction?"

"I'll go!" Wei Wuge interjected, "Then aren't we offending an NPC? Will there be any disadvantages?"

"I think..." Liu Sanfeng continued, "It shouldn't be a big deal." He thought for a few seconds and analyzed, "That birdman just now was probably a plot NPC. Talking to him would trigger some kind of flag; although we didn't get any quests from him, he didn't retaliate against our attack, he just ran away. So... we just lost a side quest at most." He shrugged and flicked his long hair in front of his forehead. "Anyway, we didn't plan on doing any side quests."

Although it was a bit of an excuse for his own misjudgment, Liu Sanfeng's analysis was indeed correct... If they completely ignored the plot, it wouldn't matter if they scared away the NPC.

"Okay, then let's continue," Primary School Dog said to Liu Sanfeng after thinking for a few seconds. "But you'd better pay attention next time," he reminded. "Wasting skills on NPCs is also a loss to some extent."

"Got it," Liu Sanfeng replied. "This time it was my fault... Speaking of which, it's also a coincidence that this NPC opened his mouth and mentioned 'corn,' which is related to our team name..." He shook his head, with no remorse on his face, but rather a self-intoxicated muttered, "Alas... it's just that my mind reacts too quickly and I'm too sensitive to such words..."

If Feng Bujue were here, heard these words, and saw the expression on his face when he said them, he would definitely reply, "With your IQ and mentality, you should have no problem becoming the American president in the South Park dimension."

...

Let's split the narrative and look at Xiao Tan's side again.

Maybe Xiao Tan isn't as smooth and shrewd as Brother Jue when dealing with NPCs, but he has good character...

He followed the direction the old man pointed, and within a few minutes, he found the plot item.

Or rather... he was tripped by the plot item.

Of course, everyone doesn't have to worry that Xiao Tan will fall flat on his face and lose survival value or something.

After he was tripped, he just supported himself with one hand, spun around, and dissipated most of the downward impact; in less than two seconds, he rolled over and stood up again, with basically no damage.

"Whoa~ this kind of bread... is really the first time I've seen it," Xiao Tan said after he stood still, looking back at the thing that "tripped" him, feeling really speechless.

No matter how you look at it, it was a "hand"... a hand made of bread that suddenly stretched out from the ground.

"This thing isn't alive, is it..." Feng Bujue, who was watching from the spectator's perspective, could see it more clearly. A few seconds ago, he clearly saw the hand break out of the ground and quickly grab Xiao Tan's ankle.

"Hmm..." Xiao Tan looked at the bread hand for a few seconds, made up his mind, and walked over.

Unexpectedly...

Tutu tutu—

In an instant, the soil crumbled and strange shadows appeared.

This time, it wasn't just a hand... but a whole "bread man" popped out of the ground.

Its body was of various colors, but mostly brownish-yellow; its torso was a rectangular toast, its limbs were French baguettes, its neck was two donuts stacked on top of each other, and its face was a coconut bun covered in butter.

The rest of its body was also made of various breads, such as the palm of its left hand being a British bloom, and its fingers being five small croissants; its right hand was a honey bean Mexican bun, and its fingers were cheese sticks; its knees were pineapple buns, its elbows were puff pastries, etc...

"This game actually has monsters that look so delicious..." When he saw this enemy, many things flashed through Feng Bujue's mind...

Human flesh soup, maggot sandwich, Walker's corpse, the eyeball of Mad Dragon's Laugh... Since he started playing this game, he has eaten too many things that shouldn't be on the human menu.

Today, he finally saw something that looked good to eat no matter where you started, but it wasn't him standing in front of this monster...

This feeling... was like a pimp who had been frequenting low-end brothels for years, having visited all the mediocre women, dinosaurs, and monsters inside, suddenly seeing a beauty one day. The problem was... he didn't bring any money that day, and this beauty had already entered someone else's room.

"Damn it..." No one in spectator mode could hear Brother Jue speak, so he could swear as he pleased. "Why can't I encounter such good things..."

"Eh?" On the other side, Xiao Tan was also slightly stunned after seeing the full picture of the enemy.

In the air... the fragrance of wheat, honey, butter, and other scents that wafted in the wind made him swallow his saliva.

"Pan!" After jumping out of the ground, the bread man immediately glared with a pair of butter eyeballs and shouted at Xiao Tan, "Pan! Pan!" While shouting, he raised his hands and made a menacing gesture, clearly wanting to fight.

"Hmm... it seems like it can only make the syllable 'pan'..." Feng Bujue muttered. "Well... in any case... it's better than repeatedly shouting an_pan (red bean bun)..."

"It seems like it wants to attack me..." Xiao Tan said to himself, looking at the bread man, "But it doesn't look very strong, after all, it's just bread..." He was still soft-hearted. "I'll just cut a piece off of it and take it to the old man."

"Pan!"

Just as Xiao Tan made up his mind, the bread man took a big step and suddenly lunged forward.

Don't look at it being made of bread, it's really fast. Its swift figure tore through the air, sending out layers of wheat flour and leaving behind a fragrant aroma...

"Sorry! Let me just cut a piece!" Facing the monster's attack, Xiao Tan was not afraid at all. He grabbed his military dagger, retreated instead of advancing, and slashed at the enemy's right arm.

Pfft—

The brittle outer skin was broken by the blade.

Sizzle...

The soft, flexible, and dense wheat fibers were quickly torn apart.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...

The bread man's severed right arm, which was cut off and flew into the air, was spinning in the air.

After a round of engagement, Xiao Tan bounced up quickly and caught the bread that had been cut off from the other party.

"Pan! Pan—" After losing its arm, the bread man screamed heart-wrenchingly and covered the stump of its arm, kneeling on the ground, "Pan~pan~"

"Uh..." Seeing this scene, Xiao Tan couldn't help but feel pity. "It looks so pitiful..." He looked down at the bread in his hand again, hesitated for a few seconds, and gritted his teeth. "But it's already been cut down..." With that, he suddenly turned his head and ran towards the black-robed old man. "I'm sorry!"

Brother Jue, who had been watching Xiao Tan from behind, muttered at this time: "He even apologized... are you only eight years old today... no, he got soft-hearted after seeing a personified food... not only is he eight years old, but he's also a girl."

"Pan...pan..."

Just as Brother Jue was complaining, the bread man after losing his arm, had an unusual change...