Afternoon sunlight filtered through the Mountain Stronghold's Wood Fence, casting dappled shadows across the rammed-earth Square.
Lin Mo slowly finished the last mouthful of chicken soup at the main table and let out a satisfied sigh.
He had been in the Game World for three days, and this was the most satisfying and sumptuous meal he had eaten.
"Lord, shall we return to your room to rest?" Liu Lao Liu came over at some point, a smile plastered across his face. "The madams are waiting for you over at the North Courtyard..."
Lin Mo waved his hand, his gaze sweeping over the Clones sprawled all over the Square as they lounged around digesting their food.
"No rush. I just ate my fill. I'll walk around a bit and let my food settle."
"Yes, yes, of course! A hundred steps after a meal, and you'll live to ninety-nine!" Liu Lao Liu hurriedly nodded in agreement, an ingratiating smile plastered across his face.
"Lord, should I bring a few people?" Lin Yi set down his Bowls and Chopsticks and immediately asked.
"No need." Lin Mo waved his hand. "I'm just taking a look around the stronghold and getting familiar with our new home."
He left the increasingly quiet Square alone and strolled leisurely along the rammed-earth road.
The Mountain Stronghold in the afternoon was wrapped in a lazy tranquility.
Most of the Clones had eaten and drunk their fill, scattering in groups of three or five around the Square.
Some leaned against the walls and dozed, while others simply lay in the shade with their legs crossed.
A few others had gathered together, playing a game resembling animal chess with crude wooden pieces.
Only the Clones standing watch atop the walls cast long shadows beneath the sunlight.
With his hands clasped behind his back, Lin Mo looked like an old landlord inspecting his estate as he walked and looked around.
The warehouse, stable, workshop, Barracks... Though crude, they had everything they needed.
Compared with that damp cave, the Water Curtain Cave, this place practically counted as a luxury mansion.
As he walked, he reached the northwest corner of the Mountain Stronghold.
This place was more secluded than the others, with several low rammed-earth houses standing there in isolation.
There were no windows in the walls, only a heavy wooden door with a large rusty iron lock hanging from it.
Just as Lin Mo was about to pass the door, he suddenly heard faint cries coming from one of the rooms.
"Let... let me out..."
"Is anyone there...? Give me some water..."
The voice was hoarse and weak, but it was unmistakably human.
Lin Mo stopped and frowned at the rammed-earth house.
"Liu Lao Liu!" he called out.
In only a moment, Liu Lao Liu came trotting over from the distance, his ingratiating smile as familiar as ever. "My lord! What are your orders?"
"What is this place?" Lin Mo pointed at the rammed-earth house.
"My lord, this is the stronghold's prison cell." Liu Lao Liu hurriedly replied. "We usually keep disobedient hostages here, or spies we've captured."
"Is there someone in the cell right now?"
"Yes... one person." Liu Lao Liu wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"He was a refugee we captured at the Foot of the Mountain the day before yesterday. He was acting suspiciously and didn't look like a good person.
"The Three Leaders were busy planning a major operation at the time and had no time to deal with him, so they ordered us to lock him up for now."
"A major operation?" Lin Mo recalled those letters. "You mean the plan to rob those eight merchant households?"
"My lord is truly discerning!" Liu Lao Liu nodded repeatedly. "But before the operation could even begin, you... uh, the Three Leaders..."
He did not finish, but his meaning was obvious.
Lin Mo did not care. His gaze shifted toward the prison cell where the cries had come from. "How many days has he been locked up?"
"We caught him the day before yesterday, so by today... nearly three days." Liu Lao Liu answered carefully.
"Open the door. I'll take a look."
"Yes, yes, of course!" Liu Lao Liu hurriedly pulled a large ring of keys from his waist.
Fumbling around, he searched for quite a while before finally opening the iron lock with a click.
The heavy wooden door was pushed open, and a foul stench mixed with mildew, feces, urine, and blood rushed out.
Lin Mo frowned, fanning the air in front of his nose with his hand as he stepped into the cell.
The cell was tiny, barely a little over a zhang square.
The walls were built from rammed earth, and dry grass covered the floor. A chamber pot sat in the corner, which was where the smell came from.
A figure was curled up on the pile of straw. Hearing the door open, he struggled to raise his head.
He was a middle-aged man in his forties, his face covered in grime, his hair a bird's nest, and the coarse-cloth clothes on his body tattered beyond recognition.
Most conspicuous was his right leg. From the knee down, it was twisted at an unnatural angle and had turned purple. It had clearly been broken for some time.
"Water... give me some water..." The man weakly stretched out a hand.
But the instant Lin Mo saw that face, he froze.
This face... why did it look so familiar?
It seemed he had seen it somewhere before...
At that moment, the middle-aged man also saw the person who had entered.
He first blinked blankly, his gaze passing over Lin Mo's short hair and relatively clean face,
then sweeping over the obviously ill-fitting iron armor, whose quality was nevertheless decent.
In the next second, an almost tangible light of hope suddenly erupted in his eyes!
"You... you're a player?!" The middle-aged man's voice turned sharp and distorted with excitement. "You're an Internal Test Player, aren't you?!"
As he spoke, he tried to climb to his feet, but his twisted broken leg dragged along the ground.
The intense pain made him grunt, and beads of cold sweat instantly broke out across his forehead.
"How do you know I'm a player?" Lin Mo deliberately lowered his voice, making it sound more mature.
"The people here... wouldn't keep someone with modern short hair like yours." The middle-aged man caught his breath, the pain from his broken leg making sweat bead on his forehead.
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