In the game.
Ancient Moon Village.
The Chen residence, guest room.
Warm evening sunlight fell across a young man's face.
Fang Yue slowly opened his eyes.
"The sun hasn't set yet?"
Fang Yue felt a little dejected. As long as the sun hadn't set, night hadn't arrived.
He got up and tried moving around.
To his delight, although his status panel still showed that he was gravely injured, he could move freely again.
He just couldn't exert himself or make any large movements. He had to move slowly, like a sickly invalid, or a blood-loss warning would immediately appear above his head.
Even so, Fang Yue was glad. At least he didn't have to lie in his room like a paralyzed patient anymore.
After checking his condition, Fang Yue noticed that quite a few people on his friends list had sent him messages.
Shi Wuliao: "Brother Ye, I heard you were badly injured. I brought some people to visit you, but Captain Chen stopped us. Are you okay?"
Niu Niu: "Brother Ye, did a villager ambush you? Give me a name. Once I master my divine skill, I'll take him down!"
Tactical Breathing Fox: "Brother Ye, I didn't spread the word that you'd been crippled. I only said you were badly injured. By the way, is that Meridian Disorder really incurable?"
The others had also sent messages of concern, one after another.
They had all sent those messages shortly after he logged off.
Scrolling down a little farther, he found some messages from two or three hours ago.
"Brother Ye, still not online? Any way to get Lifespan? Waiting here, it's kind of urgent!"
"Big pro player, I want to buy Lifespan. Do you have any for sale?"
"I'm offering a high price for Lifespan, or a way to get it. Brother Ye, got any leads?"
Clearly, the players he'd brought into the village were starting to worry about their Lifespan too.
Lifespan was like a countdown to their characters' deaths, and it had them all fretting like ants on a hot griddle.
But Fang Yue hadn't been online at the time, so he hadn't replied. After that, they hadn't sent any more messages.
Only Shi Wuliao had sent another message half an hour ago.
"Brother Ye, contact me as soon as you see this! I've got a business proposition for you!"
Business?
Fang Yue sent a puzzled reply, and Shi Wuliao responded at once, delighted.
"Brother Ye, you're finally online!"
"Yeah. What business were you talking about?"
"Here's the situation. Niu Niu, some other players, and I formed a team and took a mission from the Patrol Team..."
As Fang Yue read Shi Wuliao's messages, he quickly understood what they meant.
The players in Ancient Moon Village had all been driven to desperation by the dwindling Lifespan they had left.
They'd heard from Niu Niu, who was mixed in with the Patrol Team's reserve members, that they could earn Lifespan as a reward by taking Patrol Team missions. So they'd formed a party and accepted one.
At first, Niu Niu had planned to take the mission alone. But thinking about the danger, he'd brought Shi Wuliao along, and Shi Wuliao had recruited the others.
Word inevitably spread, and now five of them had accepted the mission together.
But Shi Wuliao still wasn't sure it was a good idea, so he'd thought of Fang Yue, the pro player, and wanted him to take charge.
A pro player who'd scored the first kill on an aberration could surely handle a little thing like this.
"One price: 50,000 yuan! The Patrol Team sends out squads of six. The five of us will each pay 10,000 yuan to have you keep us safe and help us complete the patrol mission! If we run into an aberration and you can handle it, I'll pay 10,000 yuan for the right to land the final blow on each one!"
It would have been a lie to say those prices didn't tempt him.
The problem was that Fang Yue himself was practically crippled. How could he protect them?
"It's not that I don't want the job. I'm badly injured, and my combat strength has dropped. I can't guarantee your safety, so I'm sorry."
"Is your injury really that serious, Brother Ye...? When do you think you'll recover?"
"I don't know. I might recover tonight, or I might never recover."
Shi Wuliao was speechless.
Recovering in one night, or possibly never recovering at all.
That was quite a gap.
"If you recover tonight, around what time do you think it'll happen?"
"I don't know. I might recover as soon as night falls, or not until just before dawn."
Fang Yue told him honestly.
This time, Shi Wuliao didn't reply.
Just as Fang Yue thought he'd given up, another message suddenly came through.
"Brother Ye, how about this? We've decided to lower the pay to 5,000 yuan, plus 50 coins, for you to join our team and keep us safe. Don't rush to turn us down. At that price, I don't expect you to be at full strength. We just need you to join our temporary Patrol Team squad and keep us safe."
There was an offer like that?
Fang Yue felt a little guilty. It seemed too easy to earn the money.
"Brother Ye, don't just go quiet on us! We can pay upfront! You're a pro player. You can't turn down a job when one comes along, right?"
They'd even pay in advance?
"I'll take the job!"
Fang Yue replied at once, then reassured himself.
I have to trust Night's Breath. It's a Human-grade talent, after all. It'll definitely be fine.
Shi Wuliao was delighted when he saw the message. He quickly sent Fang Yue his location and told him to hurry over.
Fang Yue didn't waste any time. He pushed open the door and started out.
Creak.
The moment the door opened, a scream came from outside, followed by a crash as a ceramic cup hit the ground and shattered.
Fang Yue looked down and saw a well-dressed middle-aged woman lying on the ground, staring at him in shock.
"Madam!"
"Madam!"
The two maids behind the woman hurried over in a panic and helped her up.
Madam?
Wasn't that Captain Chen's wife?
"Madam Chen, are you all right?"
Fang Yue hurriedly asked with concern.
Madam Chen had recovered by then and gave him a gentle smile.
"I'm all right. But, Young Master Ye, your injuries haven't healed. Where are you going?"
"I'm feeling much better, so I don't want to impose on your household any longer."
"But Doctor Hong said..."
"Madam Chen, I'm really feeling much better. Those of us who practice martial arts recover quickly."
"All right, then. I can't very well stop you. I'll speak to my husband when he gets back."
"Then thank you, Madam Chen."
Fang Yue thanked her, passed by Madam Chen, and headed outside.
The two maids glared at Fang Yue's retreating back.
"How ungrateful. Madam went to the trouble of bringing him medicine, and that's how he treats her? He's just a refugee."
"Exactly! He doesn't know a good thing when he sees one. What a two-faced ingrate!"
Madam Chen shook her head and said nothing.
She didn't feel particularly upset about Fang Yue's bluntness. Her husband had shown him a lot of consideration, and she'd been curious, so she'd personally brought him medicine to meet him.
Now that she'd met him, he seemed like an ordinary person after all.
Madam Chen bent down beside the broken pieces of the cup, stretched out her fair right hand, and spread her fingers to pick up the shards.
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