Is the person you sculpt as cute as me?

"We must not forget our original aspiration to open up this wilderness and overcome difficulties. Of course, we must improve everyone's living conditions and resolutely eliminate poverty and the problems of hunger and cold..."

"W-What do you mean?"

Yago pointed to the guild's territory on the hill. Unable to utter more, he changed his tone and said, "That land is mine. I need some help with farming and breeding."

Sensing that the atmosphere was not right, Yu Man took a step forward and spoke softly.

"It's not forced labor, it's fair employment."

Yago thought about it and realized that judging from the reactions of these villagers, they had previously worked for the harbor and lighthouse, which was probably not a good job.

He continued, "Part of the food we harvest will become your food. Besides that, I will pay you according to your hard work and the harvest... uh..."

More and more people from the village came over and started talking about it.

Strong distrust... and a little bit of confused expectation.

Yu Man added at the right moment, "If you work for us, besides having enough food and a salary, our guild will also provide you with cold-resistant enchantments to keep you warm in the cold wind of Shimlabakken. We will also have free time for you to make hot tea and sit by the fire."

Suddenly, the crowd became agitated, especially the children.

Yago took note of it silently. The key is to get to the pain point.

Alas, I was a little nervous and neglected to observe.

"Fellow villagers! Don't be afraid! This isn't a dangerous job... little sister." Yago approached one of the women and asked, "How much do you earn a month?"

"Me? I... I can get a few salted fish a month as a reserve... I can also sell them for half a silver coin."

Yago quickly estimated the economic level here and announced:

"Everyone's base salary is one silver coin per month, and commissions will be given based on their work performance."

The villagers' eyes lit up, thinking that it might be feasible... but they were also considering the income.

Hearing this, Xiaolu couldn't help typing and privately messaged Yu Man: "Isn't that a bit stingy?"

"It's actually okay..."

In this way, Yago and the village representatives had a round of negotiations on the issues of salary, work content and time.

Yu Man listened for a while and it seemed that Yago could easily negotiate the labor issues, so he ignored it.

She wandered off—

Generally speaking, there will be content to find in such villages.

Hidden missions... plot hints... side quest triggers and the like.

These people once worked at lighthouses and harbors, so they would have firsthand information on those matters. Besides that, they also made a living by fishing, so they might have intelligence on special materials.

--Um?

Soon, Yu Man met an NPC who seemed to have a story.

He was dressed in rags, with unkempt hair and a dirty face, but his body was intact, without any signs of being cold.

In broad daylight, he was staggering around the village, holding a bottle of wine.

Only children would pay attention to him - because children could bully him.

"Silly fool, why didn't you say anything today?"

"...Ha, I'm not stupid..."

"You are just stupid. You point to the old lighthouse and say there is light every day. Why don't you say anything today?" The child threw snowballs at him.

He patted the snow, looking confused. "Because... there's no light today... the light disappeared. And yesterday's rumbling... seemed to have taken the light away..."

Yu Man was stunned for a moment, and the knot in her heart was finally untied.

So the correct way to trigger the lighthouse's dim glow is this...

Alas, no wonder I was deducted so many points. I really didn’t follow the procedures.

She smiled with relief, thinking that there were no more tasks to do in this village, and prepared to leave.

but--

"That fool, you said your soul was stolen, why aren't you talking about it today?"

"Because..." Yu Man couldn't help but stop and heard the NPC's regretful tone, "It will all be stolen today... It's too late."

067·Updates are getting later and later

What’s going on? Is there a branch line?

Yu Man was a little surprised. It turned out that this was a series of tasks...

"Hey, there's more to come." Apparently, the little deer who had followed Yu Man also understood the situation at the moment. "Okay, okay, let's continue playing the story and opening the treasure chest."

Yu Man looked at her and felt a little happy.

Xiaolu can understand that this is the follow-up of the mission, and even understand that this is a plot trigger, which means that she is also experiencing it seriously.

This is not just a journey for Yu Man alone, there is also a traveler accompanying him.

In that case——

"Little Deer, come here."

"...What am I doing?"

"Go trigger the plot, advance the story, don't always leave me alone."

The deer was stunned for a moment, then shook his head wildly.

"No, no, I don't know how to do it! What if the hidden quest I finally triggered is ruined? No treasure chests to open, no monsters to fight, the quest chain is broken, the NPC gets a bad ending, and I kill them... I can't accept these things."

"I'll cover you from behind..."

"No, no, no..." The deer was very nervous.

"You are a traveler—a traveler is someone who experiences something, not just a spectator. They also have to create their own journey stories, not just write down their travel diaries."

Listening to Yu Man's serious words, Xiaolu was silent for a while.

She tried asking, “What if I fail?”

"Then let it collapse. That's your story too."

Yu Man continued.

"You see, the secret to exploring the story in this game is... everything is real, and you are a witness, not just a bystander with a God's perspective across the screen."

"...Then... shall I try?"

"Well—there's another secret. As long as you follow your heart, the results will generally be good... At least, the result is your own choice, so at least you won't regret it."

Yu Man's words touched the traveler's heart.

Just like she left the task of recruiting labor and communicating with the indigenous people of the Old World to Yago.

Now, travelers will begin to participate, experience firsthand... and explore a new story.

She observed the characters in the drama before her.

The drunkard, with tattered clothes and unkempt hair, was obviously mentally unstable and was a typical village fool.

But I feel that the other party has some background.

In that case... Xiaolu decided to get to know the other person first. She didn't choose the child, but instead stopped an old lady who had just gotten up and was about to join in the fun at the village entrance.

"Grandma, can I ask you something?" The little deer handed over a gold coin.

The old lady squinted her eyes, then widened them, and adjusted the focus back and forth for a long time before she could see clearly that what the deer handed her was a gold coin.

——She was startled.

If the deer hadn't handed over a bottle of healing potion, the beginning of this mission would probably have been the vicious strangers killing the elderly, children, women and children.

The old lady thanked him profusely, put the gold coins away carefully, and finally started talking.

"You...you want to ask about...that doctor." The old lady had few teeth left and was leaking. She spoke slowly and unclearly, and her voice sounded a little labored.

"doctor?"

"Yes, yes... Don't look at him like that now... He used to be a famous doctor in the city... But then he developed serious mental problems and was sent back to his hometown... which is where he's recuperating."

"Cultivation..." The little deer shook his head, obviously not well-cultivated.

The old woman spoke seriously, "We don't know what happened to him in the city. He lost his family long ago, but everyone gave him food... It's a pity that he no longer treats patients. Even mentioning the word 'patient' makes his condition worse."

"Any more?"

"Also... he's crazy and often says horrible things... like ghosts coming from the seashore, a lighthouse that should have been abandoned emitting a disgusting light, something stealing his soul every day... and-"

The haze in the old lady's eyes dissipated a little, revealing a light of anxiety.

"He was lucid once and said he saw something quietly moving various souls... including his own."

"Will we hurt him by interacting with him? Except we can't mention the word patient."

"Probably not. After that, he completely lost his rationality and doesn't remember anything. He just keeps talking nonsense every day."

With these words, the old lady took a gold coin from the little deer.

Seeing that the two little girls stopped giving out money, the old lady continued to walk towards the village entrance, where there might be more.

And the little deer looked at Yu Man——

"Eel, what should I do next?"

"Uh...what do you think?"

"Investigate his medical experience in the main city of Shimlabakken and find out what motivated him. Also, find out how he claimed his soul was stolen..."

They are all reasonable.

But Yu Man shook his head——

"We're not the kind of people who constantly run around in fantasy games, decipher puzzles, and figure out stories."

"That?"

"We are strangers of infinite freedom and extraordinary power."

After Yu Man reminded him, Xiaolu suddenly understood: "Try to cure him! Ask him directly."

Yu Man nodded, then shook her head: "Or just ask the thing that stole his soul."

Knowing the general direction, Xiaolu decided to start with the first item.

There was no healer on the team, but they had a third-tier potion they could try. If that didn't work, they had looted the land yesterday and seized a box from the ghost ship, so there must be some potions in there that could be used.

They approached the doctor.

First try to have a conversation——

"Hello, doctor."

The mad doctor stopped drinking, and with every breath, a foul and acrid substance would come out of his mouth, visible along with his breath.

There was a lot of snow on his body, and the wine and saliva stuck to his mouth, making it impossible to close.

The doctor looked at them both in confusion at first.

Then he was stunned for a moment, and let out a small sound of fear and anticipation.

"Players..."

The word was like a flash of lightning, striking the fawn's back.

She stood there in a daze, she really didn't expect to be called that.

"...Where did you learn this word?"

“…Ah…uh…ow.”

The doctor wanted to say something but forgot.

His mind and mouth could no longer form any rational thoughts to respond, and he was in a state of confusion.