"Uh... I did do it~"
Lei Jian looked somewhat surprised. He hadn't expected Ye Feng to have guessed this.
At this moment, Old Man Liu spoke again, "Mr. Ye, your ability to delve into the goblin lair and bring back 'Xiao Tao' in such a short time indicates that your strength far surpasses that of ordinary adventurers~"
"And your ability to guess the true nature of the mission shows that your intelligence is also extraordinary~ You fit our criteria for selecting a partner~"
"Are you perhaps...?"
"Not interested!"
Before Old Man Liu could finish, Ye Feng interrupted him.
With that, Ye Feng directly closed the door.
"This..."
Old Man Liu was dejected. He hadn't even mentioned the mission details or rewards, and Ye Feng had already refused?
Ye Feng hadn't refused rashly. Firstly, he disliked their roundabout approach. If they had been direct from the start, he might have considered it...
As for the mission, it was bound to be more complicated than simply finding "Xiao Tao" and likely very dangerous...
Of course, there was another very important reason for Ye Feng closing the door so quickly.
That was, he was extremely, extremely tired at that moment, not physically, but mentally.
Ye Feng had long discovered that holding the Tang Dao for extended periods, even without doing anything else, would gradually exhaust one's spirit. And today, he had been fighting with the Tang Dao for most of the time.
Adding to that, he had suffered mental attacks from the Goblin Shaman...
Therefore, Ye Feng felt a dazed heaviness in his head and extreme mental fatigue.
After closing the door and setting up the protective devices, Ye Feng collapsed into sleep.
Xiao Xiao stayed by Ye Feng's side, her expression quite worried~
...
The next day, as the sun was high in the sky,
Ye Feng finally woke up.
"Ugh~~"
Ye Feng stretched lazily, moving his limbs. A crisp "crackling" sound came from all his joints.
At this moment, Ye Feng was in excellent spirits. He felt even clearer-headed, a peculiar kind of clarity... Ye Feng couldn't quite explain it...
"Big brother, you're awake~"
Xiao Xiao had woken up much earlier. Seeing that Ye Feng was still asleep, she didn't disturb him. After eating a small bread roll herself, she took a candle, lit it, and stared intently, a slight sheen of sweat on her forehead.
Under Xiao Xiao's gaze, the flame of the candle, which had been straight, began to twist and bend...
Xiao Xiao had stopped just as Ye Feng woke up, so Ye Feng hadn't seen this.
"Xiao Xiao, why did you light a candle in broad daylight?"
Ye Feng asked, pointing at the birthday candle in Xiao Xiao's hand with some confusion.
"Oh, I was practicing just now!"
Xiao Xiao wiped the sweat from her forehead and said crisply.
"Uh, okay~"
Although he didn't quite understand what Xiao Xiao was practicing, he didn't stop her.
After all, those birthday candles were bought by Xiao Xiao using the "pocket money" Ye Feng had given her from the [Trading Channel]. Xiao Xiao had every right to spend it as she pleased.
Ye Feng deeply disdained the behavior of parents who bought things for their children and then crudely interfered, saying things like, "I bought it with my money, so you have to listen to me, I'll do whatever I want, and I'll break it if I want to."...
"Gurgle~"
At this moment, Ye Feng's stomach rumbled with hunger.
Subsequently, Ye Feng opened the [Shop], bought steaming hot milk, a roasted whole chicken, and baked bread, and then ate breakfast and lunch with other food items.
After a hearty meal, Ye Feng and Xiao Xiao headed to the first floor. He wanted to see if anyone would exchange for complete survival coins.
If not, he would have to leave.
After all, he needed to keep exploring and getting stronger outside!
"Little brother, we've finally been waiting for you. See if this Arcane Yuan Coin can be exchanged, 100 units,"
"It's a bit old, but it should still be the 'complete' one you mentioned!"
As soon as they reached the first floor, a four-person exploration team was waiting for them. The robust man at the front immediately stepped forward and spoke to Ye Feng.
"Let me see~"
Ye Feng took it and observed it carefully, then nodded, "It is indeed complete, but I only have 400 units left. I'll go over there first and exchange it at the Adventurers' Guild before giving it to you~"
"Okay, okay~"
The robust man nodded repeatedly.
After paying 10 Arcane Yuan Coins, Ye Feng's 400-unit Arcane Yuan Coin was replaced by one with 200 units and another with 190 units.
"It's good to make money with equipment and skills~"
Ye Feng muttered as he looked at the machine at the counter of the weapon sales area, then handed the 200-unit Arcane Yuan Coin to the robust man.
The robust man also handed Ye Feng a 100-unit Arcane Yuan Coin and then happily went off to buy supplies.
"Yes, it's him! He scammed me out of my Arcane Yuan Coins yesterday!~"
Suddenly, a rather noisy commotion came from the entrance.
As the words fell, a middle-aged man with a handlebar mustache, a lecherous face, and a sharp mouth and monkey cheeks appeared before everyone's eyes. It was Wang Hou, whom Ye Feng had seen yesterday.
Behind Wang Hou followed a middle-aged man with a gloomy expression.
The middle-aged man had a peculiar hairline, with a pointed forehead and chin, and an unusually fat middle section of his face, resembling a rugby ball.
"Wang... Wang Shanghui? The middle-aged version?"
Upon seeing the middle-aged man's face, which was almost identical to Wang Shanghui's, Ye Feng was stunned.
They were carved from the same mold, just one a young version and the other a middle-aged version...
Upon hearing the name Wang Shanghui, the middle-aged man's eyes widened, and he shot a hateful glare at Ye Feng!
"Uncle... it's this kid! He scammed me out of my Arcane Yuan Coins yesterday!"
"He posted a quest himself, saying he'd exchange Arcane Yuan Coins at a 1:2 ratio~"
"I gave him 200 Arcane Yuan Coins, but he only gave me 200, he swallowed 200 of mine!"
At this moment, Wang Hou shouted loudly, attracting a lot of attention.
"Hey, what are you talking about nonsense?"
"You clearly only gave big brother 100 Arcane Yuan Coins, so of course big brother gave you 200 Arcane Yuan Coins~"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Xiao was immediately displeased.
"Little girl, you shouldn't speak carelessly!"
The sharp-mouthed, monkey-cheeked Wang Hou glared at Xiao Xiao, then chuckled coldly, "That kid ate two bowls of noodles but only paid for one. Is there any logic in this world?!"
"I gave him 200 Arcane Yuan Coins, and according to the quest requirements, he should have given 400 Arcane Yuan Coins. Don't you agree?!"
...
"Yes, yes!~"
"That's the logic!"
...
Wang Hou's words quickly received responses from the crowd, some of whom were his accomplices, and others were envious of Ye Feng.
Of course, many adventurers remained silent.
"Wang Hou, what nonsense are you spouting?"
"I saw it clearly. Yesterday at the entrance, you did exchange 100 Arcane Yuan Coins with Ye Feng for 200 Arcane Yuan Coins?"
"Where is this talk of scamming me out of my Arcane Yuan Coins coming from!"
At this moment, Ling's dissatisfied voice rang out.
"Miss Ling, you only saw part of it. The other 100 Arcane Yuan Coins were taken by this kid named Ye Feng. If you didn't see it, don't speak carelessly!"
"I have witnesses!"
"Clap! Clap!~"
With that, Wang Hou clapped his hands twice, and over a dozen people pushed their way into the Adventurers' Guild.
"Huh?"
Seeing those people, Ye Feng narrowed his eyes.
Because Chen Xinhui, who was black and blue, and Wang Shanghui, who was covered in bandages and propped up on a stretcher, were among them.
...