Qilajie had a bucket on his head and a fishing rod on his back as he lay in wait in the stinking swamp like a crocodile.
Several Skeleton Monsters wandered around him, yet somehow failed to notice such a big, living person.
It wasn't their fault. Not far away, an adventurer was making an even bigger racket, drawing everyone's attention. The monsters all chased after that adventurer.
"Thanks, brother." Qilajie watched the adventurer's retreating figure with tears in his eyes. He knew his brother probably wasn't coming back.
"I'll catch an extra fish for you, to honor your sacrifice."
He kept his eyes on the monsters until they had gone far enough that there was no chance they would catch up with him. Then he suddenly sprang to his feet!
But he wasn't the only one to rise. A whole group of people stood up with him. Counting him, there were nine in all!
They were all dressed alike, with buckets on their heads, fishing rods on their backs, and fragrant bait tied around their waists. Their faces brimmed with grief, as if their eyes were saying, "The living must give meaning to the dead."
These were the brothers Qilajie had met in the Gourmet Area a few days earlier.
They shared the same goal: they would fish in the Gourmet Area, no matter the cost.
Not for any other reason than that there were plenty of fish there, making it hard to come home empty-handed. Fishing there was incredibly satisfying! And the fish fetched a decent price, enough to help with household expenses. Their families would never object to them fishing again!
There was food everywhere, too. All they had to bring was a bucket and a fishing rod. It was practically a dream come true!
Recently, the Gourmet Area had become not only the biggest topic of conversation in Bed City, but also drawn a huge wave of people into Sain Underground City. In short, it had broadened its appeal.
Plenty of people hadn't been interested in dungeons at all, let alone difficult ones. Dungeons had a reputation for being all about fighting and killing, leaving you exhausted by the end of the day.
But tell them there was suddenly a sunny place inside a dungeon, where food and drink were plentiful and all the delicacies were things they'd never seen before, and everyone would want to take a look.
After all, good food tended to be more appealing than fighting and killing.
The Gourmet Area's abundant fish had also drawn in a huge number of fishing enthusiasts. What was the most satisfying thing in a fisherman's life? Catching a new kind of fish, of course. And the Gourmet Area was full of fish no one had ever seen before.
So, these days, fishermen were going wild filling out their Pokédexes.
But there was one problem that deeply troubled everyone.
That was, they were all kind of weak.
Actually, it wasn't that they were kind of weak. They were incredibly weak.
Among these ten people, Qilajie was actually a T1-level fighter. The rest were either ordinary middle-aged men or adventurers who'd given up and had little combat ability. Entering Sain Underground City was a near-certain death sentence for them. Even though everyone had figured out a shortcut to the Gourmet Area, the route was still fraught with danger.
That was because Sain Underground City was alive. The monsters inside didn't stay in one fixed spot, doing nothing. They wandered around!
Memorizing the dungeon might help you remember where the traps were, but wandering monsters were sure to give you an unexpected surprise.
So the weaklings banded together for mutual support, and soon one of them came up with a clever idea.
"Hey, whenever we get surrounded by monsters, why don't we pick one brave soul to lead them away?"
"We'll take turns, so everyone can fish at least once every two days. Sounds great, right?"
Everyone thought it over. It really was a good idea, so they happily agreed.
Don't ask why they didn't hire adventurers as bodyguards. In a dungeon as difficult as Sain Underground City, anyone who could keep themselves alive was a true expert. Besides, the fishermen here were all ordinary people. They couldn't afford bodyguards.
They'd heard that the Strategy Group, which had been all the rage recently, had stumbled here. Its members were disheartened and still hadn't recovered.
"Everyone, run!"
At the command, they were quick as lightning and swift as the wind, sprinting with all their might. Time was life, and time was fishing!
Their commotion naturally drew the attention of other monsters. They ignored everything and charged ahead. As long as they made it into the Gourmet Area, the monsters wouldn't follow them in.
But in the end, they were still a step too slow and were surrounded by another group of monsters. At that critical moment, one person suddenly leaped out and shouted:
"I'm off!"
"Farewell, hero!"
The man shouted "Waaah!" as he ran in the opposite direction from everyone else, successfully drawing a large number of monsters away from the group.
That was what it meant to be a true man.
After another desperate sprint, the group finally rushed into the scenic Gourmet Area. Only seven people remained.
Three heroes had sacrificed themselves so the others could catch fish.
"Remember their names," Qilajie said solemnly. "Next time, it'll be our turn to give ourselves up."
The others responded with fervor. If an uninformed outsider had been there, they might have thought this group was about to sacrifice themselves for some great ideal.
A pot of tea, a pipe of smoke, and a fishing rod for the whole day.
The morning passed in no time. Qilajie stretched and glanced at his completely empty bucket, then couldn't help sighing.
It was clear he'd caught nothing.
To come away empty-handed in an area so rich in fish, he had to be pretty talented.
Sigh. If I don't earn a little extra today, I won't even have enough for food.
His teammates didn't dare enter Sain Underground City for now. They said they'd take on some small commissions outside first and build up their experience.
Qilajie wasn't interested in their commissions to find lost cats and dogs, so he'd gone fishing with a bunch of new friends he'd met.
If he caught any fish, he could sell them at the market and earn enough for three or four days' worth of food. And if he didn't catch anything, that was fine, too.
He'd also taken on a few commissions to gather local specialties from the Gourmet Area. He could do those while he was there, even if the fishing went nowhere.
"Let's see. Ox Tongue Dandelions, at least twenty blossoms. Easy. They're everywhere."
"Soy Sauce Locusts. These things are too fast. They're not easy to catch."
"Hun—hunt a Roast Whole Pig? Who put this in my list of commissions? Are they trying to get me killed?"
"Five Speedy Mushrooms and two Life Durians."
Qilajie grimaced. He'd been in too much of a hurry when accepting the commissions and hadn't read them carefully.
Speedy Mushrooms were said to be Magical Ingredients that temporarily increased your speed when cooked into a dish.
Life Durians could make someone who was gravely injured and on the brink of death spring back to life after eating one.
These ingredients had special effects, making them stand out from most of the Gourmet Area's ingredients, which were simply delicious. They also had a much bigger market.
The problem was that these ingredients grew deep in the Gourmet Area.
Everyone knew that the Gourmet Area was divided by rivers, and the resources available in each section were limited and almost always the same.
To get more and better resources, you had to explore deeper!
This system of increasing difficulty separated ordinary people from adventurers. Ordinary people could gather common resources safely in the Milk River's safe zone, while adventurers could venture deeper to seek greater opportunities.
To be honest, Qilajie rather admired the rules of the Gourmet Area. That is, when he wasn't the one who had to venture deeper.
He handed his fishing rod to a companion, gritted his teeth, and crossed the Milk River.
Five minutes later, a notification appeared on Gong Qiying's side.
Mental Power +91.
He glanced at it and paid it no more attention. His Crystal Ball showed many different scenes, but he had enlarged one of them.
There were several figures in it. They seemed to be adventurers, but a closer look revealed something odd.
Their skin was jet black, and their bodies were extremely muscular. Horns grew here and there on their heads and limbs, and they had all kinds of peculiar features. Some had tongues so long they dragged on the ground; others had several pairs of bat wings on their backs or scales covering their bodies. At first glance, they looked like a Fusion of humans and monsters.
"These things..."
Gong Qiying muttered to himself:
"I think they're called the Demon Race. How did they end up in my territory?"
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