149 Bond

White Candle Star, underground nest.

Three months of clearing have wiped out all the monsters here. The 25 players, each at the Alpha Rank, are now more than capable of dealing with these weak monsters in low-level ecosystems.

The captains of several major guilds stayed behind to think about how to modify the Goblin Nest.

The system indicated that this place could be converted into a dungeon by the lord, but that would reduce the habitability of Trustworthy Village. Considering that Trustworthy Village was not even a humble farmhouse, the group felt it was necessary to think it over carefully before making a decision.

"This has nothing to do with us, let's go, let's go." Cumin Powder casually grabbed the Caramel Snail and walked back.

Caramel Snail's head was pulled directly into the other's arms. The soft, warm touch and the scent produced after vigorous exercise made him forget for a moment that this was a game.

"... You're a girl, you can't always be like this, can you? You should at least be more careful."

"Oh dear, why is Little Niu Niu acting like a girl?" Cumin Powder pouted. "It was just a hug, be careful he doesn't look like a single, nerdy guy."

"But that's me... I don't have a girlfriend, I just stay home playing video games all day," Caramel Snail muttered.

"Oops, I didn't expect it to actually hit the spot. Sorry, sorry." Cumin Powder patted the latter on the shoulder.

"You two seem to have a great relationship," Garryton teased as he packed up his picnic gear. "If all else fails, I think you two are a good match. What's that called again? A herbivore man with a carnivore woman?"

"Huh? That's an old version from so many years ago! It's long gone." Cumin Powder curled its lip. "Besides, our Little Niu Niu is a pro player now—why don't you start a live stream? There are bound to be girls who like your type. You can just find a fan and get a girlfriend, right?"

"Please, have mercy on me..." Caramel Snail sighed. "With my extreme social anxiety, I'd definitely die if I had to interact with so many people in the live stream."

"What? You're making money and chasing girls, aren't you satisfied?" Cumin Powder shrugged.

"I don't have many friends in real life. In my nearly 20 years of life, I have less than three female friends I can talk to."

The Caramel Snail muttered to itself:

"It's only because of you that I can be more relaxed."

"Oh?" Cumin Powder crossed her arms and said with dissatisfaction, "So you mean you see me as a real man?"

"No, not at all," Caramel Snail said casually. "You're a little different from other girls, or rather—Miss Cumin Powder, you're very special."

Am I... special?

"She speaks frankly, doesn't hide anything in her heart, and has Clear Grudges. No one would dislike a girl like that."

"... And what about you?"

Me too.

Cumin Powder's eyes flickered. She turned her head to the side, put her hands behind her head, and said in a casual manner, "... It's not like I'll just say whatever comes to mind."

"Huh?" Caramel Snail asked, bewildered.

"Someone's a blockhead, but I won't say who." Garryton munched on his fries, quietly taking a few steps back, distancing himself from the two-person center that exuded an unpleasant atmosphere for single people.

—What is all this about?

The Caramel Snail scratched its head.

On one side was a female friend who turned her head to the side, suddenly acting mysterious.

On one side, there was the cook, who was now looking at her with a disappointed and disapproving gaze.

What's going on? What happened? Fortunately, his confusion didn't last long. Caramel Snail looked ahead and saw a gray-haired woman carrying a basket slowly walking out of the woods. She was the camp's guide NPC, ' Weaver ' Ya Wen.

"Hmm, it's time to settle the previous tasks."

Without a second thought, Caramel Snail walked straight towards Ya Wen.

"Hey, I was eating watermelon!" Garryton wailed, stamping his feet. "Caramel Snail! I hate how you're like a block of wood!"

"Pfft."

The Cumin Powder next to him chuckled, then shrugged, said nothing, and followed without saying a word, as if it were none of his business.

She walked over and saw Caramel Snail take some collected materials out of her backpack:

"Hello, Ya Wen, I need to submit a task—"

"I'm not in the mood."

Before he could finish speaking, Ya Wen coldly interrupted:

"Just put it in my room."

"Tsk..."

Caramel Snail's eye twitched. Cumin Powder stepped forward, took out a small packet, and handed it to Ya Wen:

"Weaver ~ I'd like to submit my previous task."

Caramel Snail quickly whispered in Cumin Powder's ear: 'It's no use, this female NPC isn't in the mood right now—'

"OK."

Ya Wen looked up and smiled gently, "These flowers are exactly the dye I need. You even packed them in a package. Well done."

"Oh? No, that bag was the one you gave me back then..."

"Really? Then thank you for returning it to its rightful owner." Ya Wen said, taking out her wallet from her pocket, pulling out a few large-denomination Dina bills, and placing them in Cumin Powder's hand. "These are a reward. Come to me anytime if you need more."

The Cumin Powder turned its head and looked at the Caramel Snail with a puzzled expression:

"Little Niu Niu, what should I do? My Favorability with Ya Wen has both reached 520 (Respect)..."

Caramel Snail finally couldn't hold back any longer. He looked at Ya Wen, but due to his social anxiety, he chose to silently activate his Disguise Mode and summon the personality of the character ' Saga Akira '.

"Call..."

After a moment's hesitation, he immediately said in an annoyed tone, "Miss Ya Wen, aren't you going a bit too far?"

"Really?" Ya Wen didn't even bother to look at the Caramel Snail, still staring at the Cumin Powder.

"Isn't it obvious? We're all here to hand in our missions, so why is she the only one who gets to submit hers and not me? We're all from Azure Planet, right? Does it have to be discriminatory just because we're on another planet?"

Ya Wen did not respond to the questions raised about the Caramel Snail.

"Speaking of which, why Miss Ya Wen so kind to me?" Cumin Powder asked curiously.

"Ah, you might not believe it, but when I think about it, Ya Wen blushed slightly. She gazed at the Cumin Powder cheeks and said softly, "I used to have a younger sister named Dai Sijia. Your face shape looks a lot like hers... The first time I saw you, I thought: If Si Jia grew up, she would probably look like this, right?"

After she finished speaking, she remained silent for a while. Then she shook her head and said apologetically:

"Excuse me, that's a really strange way of putting it, isn't it? Please don't mind it. Your name is..."

"Asakusa Yako," Cumin Powder said, "You can call me Cumin, too."

"Cumin..." Ya Wen was speechless. "You Descendants really like to eat it."

[Favorability increased]

With such a high Favorability, maybe we can unlock a quest? "Oh right, speaking of which, we found an abandoned laboratory in the goblin cave before." Cumin Powder suddenly remembered something and privately messaged Caramel Snail to bring up their previous discovery.

"Laboratory?" Ya Wen asked, puzzled.

"We found this inside." Caramel Snail handed the other party the "Dragonfall Weapon Design Manuscript."

As soon as Ya Wen took it, she heard Cumin Powder say, "The owner of the laboratory is a doctor from the Hidden Society. This manuscript seems to be a tool he used to fight against some kind of enemy."

"--secret?!"

Ya Wen stood frozen in place, as if struck by lightning, her pupils contracting violently.

How could it be secret...?

The words of Vierria, the "Adventure Saintess," echoed in her ears once more, "Citizens of a 'society' have already infiltrated this planet. Narrative-level Civilization are also constantly monitoring the situation here. Sooner or later, you will be discovered."

"If Gaia's people discover you, they will merge your will into the ether. In that environment, you will be unable to resist and will immediately succumb to society."

No.

After hiding for so long, and finally, after all that hardship, I've managed to stay here with Mr. Li Aoz. After so much peace and quiet, we haven't even truly come together yet... am I about to be found? Am I destined to never escape the clutches of this Hidden Society?

"Don't want..."

Ya Wen whispered.

"In other words, we suspect that this [doctor] has betrayed the [Hidden Society]. In his research, there's a little girl named Dia Lan who seems to be a weapon specifically designed to deal with the [Hidden Society]..."

"Weapon?"

Ya Wen raised her head, her spiderweb-like eyes looking at the two of them, her tone excited. "You mean, there are weapons specifically designed to deal with stealth?"

The two looked at each other in bewilderment.

"Uh, I think so?"

"Weaver, you can take a look at the design draft..."

Ya Wen was unable to calm herself down. She opened the design draft in her hand, and the more she read, the more excited she became, her heart pounding wildly.

"Hehe, hehehe..."

The wind lifted her hood, and the two players saw the Weaver's true face for the first time:

Her mouth split open, six additional compound eyes appeared on her forehead, a terrifying corrosive viscous fluid oozed from between her teeth, and her skin showed a cracked, water-like appearance.

"Mr. Li Aoz..."

Ya Wen gripped the manuscript tightly, her eyes filled with madness, her voice like an echo in a secluded valley, uttering a clear yet eerie murmur:

"I saw hope."

The manuscript pages turned in the wind, and sunlight focused on a line of text:

"... While it can't be called a 100% success rate, Dia Lan's current strength is enough to completely absorb 70% of the target's Blood of Ether. For citizens of the [Hidden Society], being absorbed by Dia Lan twice will completely degenerate them into mortals."

"I initially thought this was a great victory, but the situation is not optimistic. A large number of experimental subjects became transparent and disappeared completely shortly after losing the Blood of Ether."

"When that time came, I realized that once you step into society, everything that belongs to you has already disappeared, but I still want to believe in Dia Lan. After all, she is only 14 years old now."

"Given time, she will surely become the savior of the Star Abyss, a being like Lioz, the Dia Lan (Falicia Language: agent)."