"How about you do me a favor?"
Don pounded his chest so hard he nearly coughed. "No problem! Please speak, great hero!"
Long Wu stood up slowly and pointed toward the east of the village. "A long time ago, when I went out hunting, I accidentally left my wine gourd at the Brugg camp. If you're brave enough, go get it back for me."
[Quest Accepted, The Lost Wine Gourd]
[Long Wu accidentally lost his wine gourd during an outing. It may have been taken by the monsters at the Brugg base camp. Retrieve it and return to him.]
[Difficulty: D6]
Don confirmed the quest immediately. D6, significantly more difficult than anything he had done recently. Which meant, of course, that the rewards would be equally generous.
If a D9 quest had handed him a bronze-grade pair of leggings, then a D6 quest could potentially reward something even better.
With that thought in mind, he said goodbye to the ragged NPC and set off.
The location wasn't close to Vilali Village. The map's smart navigation indicated a distance of roughly five kilometers, nearly twenty minutes of running. He was a little sleepy by now, so he figured the scenery along the way might help keep him alert.
Even though it was already six in the morning, plenty of players were still online. Groups were still leveling along the roadside, and he could hear their conversations drifting over the hills.
"Damn it, I've been grinding all night to reach Level 7. There are more people than monsters out here!"
"Stop complaining. Around seven, tell the network admin we should split a breakfast package."
"Yeah, that's the only way. What should we get, though?"
"Have the internet cafe manager make me two bowls of instant noodles."
Don's own stomach started growling in sympathy. 'Alright. I'll scout the edge of the base camp first, then log off and grab breakfast.'
There were plenty of breakfast stalls in the alley opposite the Heng Hua Building, affordable and much better than the "healthy breakfast" at the Little Ken downstairs.
When a person was hungry, they actually seemed to move faster, as if their body was generating extra energy just to reach food. The long journey felt shorter than expected.
Eventually, after passing through a stretch of jungle, a patch of yellow earth appeared before him, stretching along the main road with several undulating black hills visible in the distance.
The map confirmed it. Brugg's headquarters.
In less than three minutes, Don reached the edge of the loess plateau. From there, he could vaguely make out two sentry posts about fifty meters away, one on each side of the approach.
He paused, considering. No players around. No monsters in sight. 'Good enough for now.'
He'd come back after eating. Without hesitation, he prepared to log off and head for breakfast.
Don took off his light-sensing glasses and rubbed his eyes. The cafe had emptied out considerably, only a handful of people remained in front of him, and glancing back, he saw just a few scattered players still plugged in. He couldn't help but sigh. These students weren't professional enough.
He hadn't played games for three years, and even now he could still last over six hours straight without breaking stride.
To his left, Beauty Number Sixteen was still grinding away, focused and steady.
To his right, Beauty Number Eighteen, Lily Wright, that was her name, was looking at him with a tired expression, like she was about to fall asleep at her station.
The moment he took off his glasses, she stretched and asked, "Brother, are you going home?"
"No. I'm going to get breakfast."
At the word "breakfast", her face lit up with unmistakable joy. "Brother, can I come with you? I haven't really tried any Scouser snacks yet."
Don showed off his straightforward Scouser hospitality without hesitation. "Let's go. It's on me."
"Yes!" She nodded emphatically, immediately picking up her huge cream-colored bag and following him downstairs.
He led her across the road, through two alleys, and to a specialty steamed bun shop just outside the market.
The buns there had a three-delicacy filling and were quite famous throughout Hexi District. He ordered a pound of steamed buns and two bowls of millet porridge. "This should be enough for both of us."
The moment the fragrant, steaming buns hit the table, her eyes visibly lit up. She picked up her chopsticks, popped one into her mouth, chewed twice, and swallowed.
Don's eyes widened in disbelief. That was a serious eating style. Her mouth wasn't that big, and the buns weren't small either, but she had managed to down one in a single bite.
Within minutes, she had devoured seven or eight of them. Finally, she patted her stomach and said with relief, "Finally, I'm not hungry anymore. Now I can actually enjoy how delicious these buns are."
Don's chopsticks hovered in mid-air. "Um… Lily. Can I eat now?"
She realized her lapse in composure and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, brother. You eat. I was just too hungry."
"It's okay. We can order more if it's not enough. Eat until you're full."
The words came out of his mouth simply, without thought. But he hadn't expected them to trigger such a reaction. Lily's eyes immediately welled up with tears.
"Is it really that serious? It's just a few steamed buns."
Two tears dropped from her eyes. Don casually pulled a tissue from his pocket and handed it to her. "Did you have a fight with your family and run away?"
Lily took the tissue but tears still streamed continuously down her face.
'Great,' Don sighed