Inside a port city.
"We've arrived. As long as we take a ship from here, we can reach the island in the west."
It hadn't been easy.
After three days of hard travel, Yanqing and the others had finally reached the port.
Now they only needed to board a ship.
Once they reached the island, everything would change.
"Let's split up," Yanqing suggested. "Miss Keqing, please check the harbor. Klee and I will buy some recovery items and equipment. We'll also see if there are any players in the tavern."
At the moment, they didn't have a priest.
Along the way, they had been surviving entirely on potions.
Fortunately, Klee had the Hero's Sword.
Otherwise, they might never have made it this far.
Their top priorities now were finding teammates and supplies.
"Alright."
Keqing nodded and headed toward the harbor.
"Klee, let's go too."
Yanqing called to her and walked toward the market area.
He had already made up his mind.
If they found suitable teammates, Klee would recruit them.
As for himself, joining a team was optional.
Compared to Klee, he wasn't nearly as strong.
If necessary, he could even sacrifice himself to protect her.
At the harbor, Keqing frowned.
The port was completely empty.
A harbor this large…
Yet there wasn't a single ship.
Looking around, she noticed several fishermen nearby.
She walked over.
"Hello. May I ask… are there no ships here?"
One of the fishermen looked up and nodded.
"There used to be plenty."
"But recently someone bought them all."
"Bought them all?"
Keqing was stunned.
This harbor must have had dozens of ships.
And someone had bought every single one?
"Then… who bought them?"
"Boss Qing, of course," the fisherman said, pointing toward the city. "See that tallest building? That's hers."
"Thank you."
After thanking him, Keqing decided to visit this "Boss Qing."
Even renting a ship would be enough.
If necessary, they could buy one.
Luckily, the building was easy to find.
It towered above the rest of the city.
Knock knock.
She knocked on the door.
"Who is it?"
"…Um… is Boss Qing here?"
The door opened.
Fu Xuan stood in the doorway.
"…Miss Fu Xuan?"
Keqing blinked in surprise.
"Why are you here?"
Wasn't she looking for Boss Qing?
"Looking for Qingque?" Fu Xuan said flatly. "She's inside."
Her expression looked… rather unpleasant.
She stepped aside and let Keqing in.
Inside, Keqing almost burst into tears.
She had been traveling in the wilderness this whole time…
Meanwhile Fu Xuan was living in a mansion like this.
"Oh? Miss Keqing?"
A cheerful voice came from upstairs.
Keqing looked up.
Qingque, dressed in luxurious clothes, was slowly walking down the stairs.
"Please, sit."
After inviting Keqing to sit down, Qingque turned toward Fu Xuan.
"Butler, bring us some tea."
"…Haa… haa…"
Fu Xuan took several deep breaths, clearly trying very hard not to kill Qingque.
Then she unwillingly went to prepare the tea.
Seeing Keqing staring in disbelief, Qingque smirked.
"No need to be surprised."
"She relies on me to survive now."
"Isn't it a bit inappropriate to treat Miss Fu Xuan like that?" Keqing said.
"She's the butler."
"I'm the master of the house."
"What's inappropriate about that?"
Keqing covered her face.
You really aren't afraid of dying, are you?
She quickly reminded her.
"How long do you think this game will last?"
"When it ends…"
"Relax."
"At worst she'll just fire me."
"I've been guarding gates for ages anyway."
Qingque waved it off.
After guarding the door for so long, couldn't she enjoy herself a little?
"Well… as long as you're fine with it."
What else could Keqing say?
If Qingque didn't regret it later, that was her own decision.
Changing the topic, Keqing asked about the ships.
"Oh, that."
Qingque smiled mysteriously.
"There are no ships right now."
"But if you can wait two days, I'll show you something impressive."
"Something impressive?"
"Of course."
Qingque lifted her chin proudly.
"You don't think us NPCs have been doing nothing, do you?"
"What do you mean?"
Keqing didn't understand.
Qingque couldn't even leave the city.
What could she possibly accomplish?
"Hehe."
"Three days. At most three days."
"You'll see."
"Three days…"
Keqing hesitated.
They didn't have time to waste.
"I recommend you wait," Fu Xuan said calmly as she returned with the tea.
"You won't regret it."
She placed the tea on the table.
"And tell me—who are your teammates?"
"What's the situation outside?"
That was what Fu Xuan really cared about.
Earlier, when she heard Jing Yuan had been eliminated, she had been shocked.
But she couldn't leave the city.
Now that Keqing had arrived, she immediately wanted information.
"…It's complicated."
Keqing briefly explained everything she knew.
After hearing the story, Fu Xuan nearly burst out laughing.
So Jing Yuan was eliminated by little Klee?
That was hilarious.
However, considering the Demon Generals were roaming outside…
This city wasn't completely safe either.
"Please bring Yanqing and Klee here," Fu Xuan said seriously.
"With me guarding this place, even Demon Generals can be held off for a while."
"Just give it three days."
"After that, you'll be able to escape their pursuit."
"So certain?"
Keqing couldn't understand why the two of them sounded so confident.
But since Fu Xuan asked her to bring Yanqing…
She went to find him.
Two hours later.
They returned to the mansion.
This time, two more people came with them: Belle and Wise.
One was a mage.
The other was a priest.
Exactly what the team needed.
Fu Xuan glanced at Yanqing and Klee's levels and nodded with satisfaction.
"Excellent."
"As long as you maintain this pace, victory should be possible."
"…Lady Diviner," Yanqing asked, "what exactly are we waiting three days for?"
"Just wait."
Fu Xuan smiled mysteriously.
In other words—
Just be patient.
You'll see something shocking soon enough.
"…Alright."
Even though time was tight, Fu Xuan wasn't someone who spoke without reason.
If she insisted on waiting, then they would wait.
After days of harsh travel, they could finally rest properly.
Three days later.
Outside the city, a small figure appeared.
"So they're planning to escape by ship?"
Silver Wolf looked at the harbor city and guessed their plan immediately.
"Hmph."
"As if it would be that easy."
A dangerous smile appeared on her face.
Her body transformed into a bat.
Then she flew into the city.
"Let's see how you escape."
"I'll destroy every single ship you've got."
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