In the northwest corner of Suotuo City, in the basement of a dilapidated tavern with the sign "Old Drunkard", a dozen figures sat around a mottled wooden table. The candlelight flickered, making their shadows crooked.
This is the secret stronghold of some confirmed travelers in Suotuo City. It can only be entered through three passwords. On weekdays, everyone does not disturb each other. Only when something major happens that can change everyone's destiny, will they gather together.
The air was filled with the sour smell of low-quality ale and tobacco, and everyone had varying degrees of anxiety and confusion on their faces.
Some people were tapping their fingers on the table unconsciously, some were drinking heavily with their heads down, and some were staring blankly at the dancing candlelight. The whole basement was so quiet that only the crackling of the candle wicks could be heard.
"Okay, don't pretend to be dead." A man with short hair and a Scar on his face finally broke the silence. He is the oldest of this group of time travellers. He passed through three years ago, and everyone calls him Brother Dao. "I called everyone here today, and I just spread it out and said - our script is completely messed up."
As soon as these words came out, a suppressed sigh suddenly sounded in the basement.
"It's chaos? It's more than chaos!" A young man wearing a blue gown slammed his wine glass on the table, and the wine splashed all over the table. "When I walked over, I read the original book over and over twenty times. I even remember clearly where there is a hidden Soul Ring in every corner. What's the result? Now I don't even know if I can survive tomorrow!"
"Who says it isn't?" A girl with a ponytail rubbed her red eyes and said in a crying voice, "I had a good plan. I would go to the Nuoding Academy as a work-study student first, get to know Tang San and Xiao Wu in advance, and build a good relationship with them. Department, and then go to Shrek together, follow Shrek Seven Monsters all the way to level up and fight monsters, and finally become at least Titled Douluo Dangdang. But when I arrived in Notting, Tang San and the others had already graduated, and I didn't even see them."
Brother Dao sighed and said, "Nuoding Academy Those are all trivial matters. The most important thing is Shrek. We originally made an appointment to go to Shrek to register together next month. Even if we can't become Shrek Seven Monsters, it's okay to be a peripheral disciple and hug our thighs, right? But what happens now? Shrek is already a stinker on the street!"
When Shrek was mentioned, everyone's face showed an expression that was hard to explain.
"Don't mention it. I pretended to pass by the door of Shrek a few days ago and took a second look. In the end, I was pulled by the aunt selling vegetables next to me, and she earnestly advised me not to go in." The man in the green shirt smiled bitterly. "The aunt said that there are some lunatics who are not doing their jobs properly. The dean spends all his time trying to cheat and kidnap the students. The teachers beat the students at every turn. No one who goes in can come out well."
"This is not the most outrageous thing." Another boy wearing glasses pushed up his glasses and said in a complex tone, "I heard that Shrek is recruiting students this year. After setting up a stall for three days, seven people came, five of them homeless orphans., I didn't take a fancy to the last one. Even the poorest country noble Balak Kingdom would rather send their children to the worst junior school Soul Master Academy in town than send their children to Shrek."
Brother Dao knocked on the table and interrupted everyone's complaints, "These are still secondary. What really made me decide to give up Shrek is what Tang San looks like now."
The basement instantly became quiet, and everyone looked at Brother Dao, their eyes full of curiosity and confusion.
"I saw Tang San and Xiao Wu at Suotuo City's market last week." Brother Dao's tone was filled with an indescribable sense of absurdity. "You can't even imagine what the decisive, cold-hearted and sinister Tang San in the original novel has become like now."
He paused, took a deep breath, and continued, "At that time, Xiao Wu wanted to eat sugar-roasted chestnuts from the south of the city. Tang San ran three streets to buy them without saying anything. After buying them back, Xiao Wu took a bite. He said it was too sweet, so he threw it on the ground. Guess what Tang San did? He actually squatted down, picked up the chestnuts, wiped the dust off them, ate them himself, and smiled and said to Xiao Wu, 'Not sweet, not sweet, I think it's just right.'"
"Ugh--" Several people next to him immediately made expressions of vomiting.
"Oh my God, this is too outrageous!"
"Is this still the same Tang San? This is clearly a roadside one!"
"I always feel that something is wrong with Xiao Wu. The way she looks at Tang San is not looking at her lover at all, but looking at something that belongs to her, with a natural arrogance."
"Whether she is right or not, Shrek's path is completely dead anyway. If you follow Tang San like this, let alone become Titled Douluo, you probably don't know how you die in the end."
Brother Dao nodded and said, "That's right. So we have completely given up on the Shrek road. Originally, I was thinking that even if we can't hold on to Tang San's lap, we still have the last way out - Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well."
As soon as these words came out, everyone's eyes in the basement lit up, but then dimmed again.
"Brother Dao, don't mention Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well." The man in blue shirt smiled bitterly and shook his head, "Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, it's empty."
"What?!" Several people shouted at the same time. The boy who was fifteen or sixteen years old and had just passed through half a year ago stood up directly, "Empty? How is it possible! That is the biggest opportunity in the original work! There are so many Immortal Herb, how can it be possible that it is empty?"
"It's true." Brother Dao's face was extremely heavy, "Some of us have been there, and there is no trace of Immortal Herb there. There are only two bare springs left, and even the poisonous miasma around it has faded by more than half."
"How could this happen..." The young man slumped on the chair, his eyes empty, "That's our last hope. I've even thought about which Immortal Herb strain is suitable for me. I'm just waiting to leave this hellish place after my strength improves."
"Who knows who did it." The man in green shirt scratched his hair irritably, "Maybe there are other time travelers who came earlier than us and have better information than us. Anyway, no matter who it is, the result is that our last escape route is gone."
The basement fell into deathly silence again.
The candlelight flickered, reflecting the desperate faces.
At this moment, a strong man in the corner who had been silent suddenly spoke with an angry voice, "Wait a minute, I have another idea. Aren't all the major forces recruiting Otherworldly Visitors all over the world recently? Should we give it a try?"
As soon as these words came out, everyone was stunned for a moment, and then a pot exploded in the basement.
"Recruiting Otherworldly Visitors? Don't be ridiculous!" A tall and lanky man immediately sneered, his tone as sharp as a knife, "They want Otherworldly Visitors like Luolock, which can bring a whole new set of power systems! What do you have? Do you know magic, can you cultivate immortality, or can you move blood? Weren't we all ordinary people in our previous lives? We were scumbags when we were in school, and we were social animals when we were at work. In addition to memorizing a few lines of the plot of Douluo, what other valuable knowledge reserves do we have?"
The more he spoke, the more excited he became, and he slammed the table. "Don't deceive yourself! Balak Kingdom is offering a reward of one million Gold Soul Coin, Heaven Dou Empire Feng Guoshi, Spirit Hall gives the elder position, which is for people who can change the world, not for us trash who can only shout 666! If we go, they will just kick us out as liars, and maybe we will be beheaded as spies!"
The tall and thin man's words were like a basin of cold water poured on everyone's heads.
Many people lowered their heads in shame.
Yes, they were all ordinary people in their previous lives. They had no extraordinary talents, no special skills, and no earth-shattering knowledge. The only difference was that they knew a little more about the future plot than the people in this world.
But now, the plot has been turned into a mess, and this only advantage has been lost.
I don't know how it will develop next.