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"There's half a year left until the world ends. If we, the ones who clear the sewers, arrive early, won't we have a chance to save the world?"

"What is Iron Wall City?"

"No wonder they called it 'Glorious Expedition' when they said it was a nostalgia server. So there's actually glory to be earned. I'm so sick of the grimdark filter in 'Despair Expedition'."

"I can't wait! How many spots will they open up in the next internal test? Any news?"

"The world is about to end, what good will it do to only let in ten players!"

"Fast forward to Brother Kidney Deficiency giving the order, and a million war gods descend from the heavens."

The beginner tutorial in the warehouse lasted about an hour, but thanks to the helmet's triple brain processing acceleration, only 20 minutes of real time on Earth had passed.

Even so, the terrifying popularity of "Glorious Expedition" had already gathered over 2 million viewers in Qian Peng's livestream.

If he didn't habitually thank his viewers for their tips and gifts at the end of the stream, his mouth would probably be sore from talking.

Naturally, not all of these viewers were old players of "Expedition."

Qian Peng, who considered himself to be more of a serious and guide-oriented streamer, decided after a brief thought to first introduce the game to his new viewers:

"Let me introduce it to everyone first."

"Iron Wall City is the transfer location for the third-tier profession, the [Profane Scrollbearer]."

"Of course, other professions also advance here, but I'm not very familiar with them."

"This city belongs to the Thirteen City Alliance. It's a map from the second major version update of 'Despair Expedition OL.' The main monsters are level 50-60 vengeful spirits, and the berserk machines hidden in the underground areas."

"After completing the subway station quest, players can appease the despairing souls and reach Iron Wall City within the souls' memories by touching the [Warm Memories] left behind by the souls. Then, within the memories, they can undertake the transfer quests for their advanced professions."

As he spoke, Qian Peng took a deep breath and sighed, "All the old cities were destroyed. Most of the transfer quests can only be completed through the memories of the dead."

"After all, most of the NPCs in this game are already dead. Even if a few survivors appear in new maps, more than half of them will die before the version ends."

"But now that Iron Wall City still exists, the old transfer guides are still... damn—"

Mid-sentence, Qian Peng suddenly swore. As if struck by a thought, he quickly asked the old players in his livestream, "You guys, since this game is a 'real world' gameplay experience, doesn't that mean we can save NPCs who were originally destined to die?"

"Like my wife—Ice Cream?"

Upon hearing Qian Peng's speculation, the already dense barrage of comments in his livestream instantly exploded with "Wife!"

"Your wife? My wife!"

"Who's Ice Cream?"

"The cover character of the level 90 version, the Salvation Army saintess trapped in history. My beloved wife. Her white stockings are sweeter than ice cream."

"Fitting."

"Ice Cream is the character I regret the most. She didn't have to die."

"When I get my game access, I'll definitely find Ice Cream and throw myself at her for a big hug."

"The rain won't last forever, but your head can."

Qian Peng was also very excited. He paced back and forth, saying, "Wait, everyone, calm down first!"

"I need to find something to test first, to see if this is truly a 'real world.' If the changes I make to the world aren't reset after a week, it means saving Ice Cream is possible."

"Then, the next problem is the [Master-level Curse-breaking Potion]. The recipe and material locations are all online, but the problem is that we need a master-level alchemist."

"It's definitely too late to train one myself, so I have to find the corresponding NPC."

"Lastly, I won't need my [Ember] for now. No matter how well I plan, it'll only be enough to kill a few low-level bosses. I can save it to fall back on when it's time to save Ice Cream."

He excitedly planned his scheme to save Ice Cream, completely forgetting that "Ice Cream" was a level 90 boss.

"Recruiting Wasteland Guide. Passing the assessment earns 50 contribution points. Subsequent rewards depend on contribution... How about this?"

Iron Wall City, outer city wall, Exploration Guild.

The middle-aged Dragonkin bowed slightly, looking at the flyer in the Gnome's hand, and nodded.

"It's good. There should be a chance to leave the city, but what are the contribution points for?"

"To exchange for things that grant identity."

The Gnome spread his small hands, clearly uninterested in the reward.

This pair of a Dragonkin and a Gnome attracted the attention of many people nearby.

The Dragonkin wore a long sword at his side, looking like a seasoned swordsman.

The Gnome also had a confident expression.

They looked the part, but there wasn't the slightest trace of energy fluctuation on either of them, indicating they weren't even Brass-level transcendent beings.

Judging by the Dragonkin's well-maintained, glossy beard, he was likely a pampered Dragon Lord.

You're playing cosplayer and came all the way to the border?

But both of them were wearing cheap clothes from street stalls that cost less than 10 yuan, not like rich people at all.

The two walked into the Exploration Guild building, handed the flyer to the receptionist, and stated their purpose.

"You want to be guides?"

The half-orc female receptionist put down her nail clipper, looked at "Not Iaido, But Drawing Sword" more closely, and then said:

"Follow me."

Without any registration, she led the two to the office in the back and said to the scarred man inside:

"Fegen, these two from outside the city want to be guides. Give them a review."

After speaking, she dropped the two and walked back to the counter without looking back.

The human male named Fegen put away his phone, took his legs off the table, glanced at the two reluctantly, then pulled out a questionnaire and asked in a rough manner:

"You're from outside the city?"

"Mhm."

"Do you have faith?"

"No."

"Are you literate?"

"...I'm literate, and I can write too."

"Which areas are you familiar with?"

"I'm very familiar with the entire Broken Sword Valley."

"Heh." Fegen scoffed, tapped the map hanging on the wall behind him, and asked, "Do you know what's here?"

"I Don't Want to Pay Breach of Contract Fees" only glanced at it before blurting out, "Blasphemous Mask, Deep Boulder, Mottled Spider. At night there will be Abomination Scouts. The nearby woods produce Short-leg Mushrooms and Luminous Moss."

Hearing this, Fegen sat up straight, turned back to find a spot on the map, and selected another direction, saying, "How about here?"

"Netherflame, Flying Venom Mosquito Swarm, Jumping Wolf Pack. Some areas have hidden heat traps, and occasionally rare Vengeful Fire Spirits will spawn." "I Don't Want to Pay Breach of Contract Fees" immediately replied.

"Another student trying to strike it rich." Fegen spread his hands, leaned back in his chair, with an expression that said, "What can I do?"

He put away the form and said to the two:

"Let me tell you first, ever since that thing in the sky disappeared ten days ago, the wasteland outside the city hasn't been quiet."

"All the exploration teams have gone mad, and half of them didn't come back."

"If you're after Divinity Shards, I can arrange a private team for you. Without contribution points, you'll have to negotiate your own rewards."

"If you want to go through the official channels, then get out, register, go home and suck your thumb, and after your application is approved in half a year, come back with the report."

The Dragonkin and the Gnome exchanged a glance, coughed lightly, and in the unique hoarse voice of the Dragonkin, said, "Can you tell this old man what these Divinity Shards are?"

"Even the big shots in the Scroll Group don't know, so how would I know?" Fegen replied.

This answer was normal enough. "Not Iaido, But Drawing Sword" had to open QQ and send the information he just got to the group, to see what others had found.

"It might be fragments of Apep," Fegen suddenly said. "It's circulating online that the evil god who clung to the barrier for a thousand years died ten days ago."

He was stared at coldly by the Dragonkin's date-pit-like pupils for a long time. Even though he knew the other party wasn't a transcendent, he still felt a bit intimidated.

"Not Iaido, But Drawing Sword" grunted. When he was creating his character, he had already decided to be a profound and unfathomable Dragonkin swordsman.

Therefore, when communicating with NPCs, he spoke fluent Mandarin.

"Alright then, don't worry about the risks, arrange the nearest private team going out of the city for this old man."