Chapter Six: The Bandit Hall

"Ye Chen, big sister asked me to find out when you'll be logging off to cook, so I can let the others know in advance."

Logging off to cook!

Though it wasn't meant as an insult, just hearing those four words made Ye Chen feel exasperated. Before he joined the studio, cooking had always been a major headache for everyone there. Once he arrived, the problem was finally solved—because the job was dumped on him.

From that moment on, "logging off to cook" became Ye Chen’s nightmare. Over a dozen girls, all with fine figures but impressive appetites. Every time he stepped into the kitchen, it took more than an hour to finish. If the girls weren’t satisfied, he’d have to start all over again. It was the very definition of misery.

Scratching his head, Ye Chen was a bit unwilling to leave his current quest unfinished. "Lingyue, I still have some things to do here. I don’t think I can get away just yet."

"What should we do, then? Some of the girls are already hungry." Lingyue clearly had no intention of cooking herself.

"How about you cook today, Lingyue? I remember you’re pretty good at it."

Lingyue hesitated, then refused, "But I still have to go find quests later."

She was a quest maniac, always running around completing tasks in the game. Fortunately, quests came with plenty of rewards, so the leader let her be.

"No need to go looking for quests. I just picked up a hidden quest, and it can be shared. I can share it with you," Ye Chen tempted her.

"A hidden quest!"

Lingyue’s shriek echoed from the communicator. The poor girl had been grinding quests in the game for over half a month and hadn’t even gotten close to a hidden one. She’d spent her days running errands for NPCs. Now, hearing that Ye Chen was going to share a hidden quest with her, she was over the moon.

"Do you want to do it?"

"I do! I do! I really want to!" Her sweet, excited voice made Ye Chen’s heart skip a beat, but he decided to turn up the heat.

"Do you know what the rewards are? Let me tell you: you’ll get a whole level, a rare piece of equipment, twenty gold coins, and even a mysterious reward. How about that? Pretty awesome, right?"

"That's amazing! I want it, I want it—Ye Chen, please share it with me!" Lingyue was practically drooling, her form of address switching to a more affectionate "brother."

Sensing the moment was right, Ye Chen stated his terms: "I’ll share it with you, but you have to cook for me for ten days. If you agree, the quest is yours right now!"

"No problem, no problem!" Lingyue agreed eagerly. As soon as Ye Chen shared the quest with her, she cheered in delight through the communicator, "Ye Chen, wait for me! I’m coming now so we can do the quest together!"

Done! Ye Chen clapped his hands in excitement as he hung up, finally free from his cooking drudgery. Ten days—after that, he could always throw her another hidden quest, and that quest-addicted girl would still be happy to cook for him. Ha! He was a fountain of quests; he and the system were practically best friends.

In no time, Lingyue arrived from the city. Ye Chen spotted her from afar.

Lingyue’s class was knight, but since players didn’t have mounts yet, this lady knight had to travel everywhere on foot. She gripped a silver lance, wore snug-fitting knight’s armor, and her hair was a vivid crimson. Her face was fair and lovely—her in-game character was striking indeed. From behind, she had the air of a Western lady knight, but face-to-face, her features were too delicate, lacking the boldness one would expect.

Lingyue was a few levels higher than Ye Chen, already level twenty. Reaching that level through pure questing was no easy feat. Ye Chen genuinely respected her perseverance.

They set off together, and with good company and conversation, the journey to Half-Moon Mountain passed quickly.

The mountain was teeming with level-eighteen bandits, perfect for the current average player level. As a result, there were more players than monsters—by a long shot.

"There are more people than monsters. This quest is going to be tough." Lingyue frowned as she surveyed the throngs.

Ye Chen just chuckled. "Did you bring the torches I told you to?"

Lingyue nodded, still puzzled. "I was going to ask you about that. What do we need these for? They cost two silver each—pretty expensive."

"They’re very useful. I know a great spot to farm bandits. Come with me."

With that, Ye Chen took the lead up the mountain. Lingyue, though unsure what he was up to, saw no reason to stay at the base fighting over spawns. Maybe there would be fewer players up there, making it easier to get kills. With that thought, she followed him up the slope.

Soon, they reached a cave halfway up the mountain. Ye Chen led Lingyue inside. The path sloped downward, sunlight spilling in from the entrance and illuminating their way. After a short walk, they reached a bandit hall, where corpses already littered the floor. Over a dozen players were inside, but as the bandits were slain and new ones began to respawn outside, the players all rushed out. In the blink of an eye, the hall was empty.

"Quick, light the torches!"

Ye Chen called out, then dashed to the candelabrum in the center of the hall. He grabbed it with both arms and gave it a hard twist.

A series of mechanical clicks sounded through the hall, and with a heavy thud, the stone door at the cave entrance slammed shut.

Darkness fell.

With a whoosh, Lingyue lit a torch, the fire painting her face a bright red. Her expression was one of utter disbelief, round eyes wide as she stared at Ye Chen as if she didn’t know him at all.

Lingyue was shaken to her core. She’d always thought Ye Chen was the studio’s biggest newbie. Even when he picked up a hidden quest, she thought it was just a stroke of luck. But now, this scene overturned everything she believed.

A secret—this was definitely a secret technique! The game had been open in the Divine Descent District for half a month, and no one had ever discovered this. How had Ye Chen found it? Lingyue felt her head spinning. She realized she needed to reevaluate this man who was supposedly the studio’s support staff.

Once all the torches were lit and placed in the wall brackets, the hall filled with light. Bandits began to respawn, at least seventeen or eighteen at a time—more than enough for two people to handle, and at a fast enough rate to keep them busy.

From there, things were simple. Lingyue tanked in front, while Ye Chen provided damage and healing from behind, maximizing their duo’s strengths. Their teamwork made the fight easy.

While Ye Chen and Lingyue slaughtered gleefully inside, the players outside pounded on the door and cursed. Two people hogging twenty monsters, leaving none for the crowd outside—who wouldn't be furious?

Ye Chen grinned, ignoring the shouts. As he fought, he reassured the anxious knight, "Ignore them—they’re just jealous. If they knew how, they’d lock us out in a heartbeat."

Lingyue considered this and nodded, focusing on the bandits. As she fought, curiosity got the better of her. "How did you learn this secret? Did someone tell you?"

Ye Chen laughed heartily. Of course, he wouldn’t admit it was a tip from the system itself. He made something up on the spot. "Of course not. Who would tell me these things? I found it in a book about the history of Half-Moon Mountain in the library. It pays to read, you know."