Taking a Taxi to Slay the Dragon

"Of course, I have conditions," Li Wei thought for a moment and said, "You graduated from the University of Chicago, so you should be familiar with AP course material, right? Calculus, macroeconomics, things like that?"

"Naturally," Don Quixote said, "Do you wish for me to tutor you?"

"Just help me fill in the gaps," Li Wei said, getting up, "I'll ask you if there's anything I don't understand."

Don Quixote jumped off the sofa in excitement and gave Li Wei a fierce hug.

If Li Wei's strength hadn't already increased to 1.1, Don Quixote's foul mouth would likely have been pressed right against his face.

After the hug, he dashed into the bathroom with great enthusiasm to shave his beard and groom himself.

Once finished, he rushed out of the basement, hopped into the car, and sped toward Manhattan.

By ten o'clock that night, when Li Wei saw Don Quixote again, he found that the man had never seemed so happy.

He held his phone, scrolling through his photo album while gesturing animatedly, recounting how he had spent a wonderful day with his little angel that afternoon.

"Look, this is us in Central Park, this is on the sightseeing carriage... this is the Frozen Hot Chocolate from Wonder 3. Isn't Lily's face covered in chocolate adorable? Ha! What a beautiful little kitten..."

Li Wei watched the man prattle on, showing off his daughter, and after a while, he couldn't help but ask:

"What about you?" Li Wei said, "Why aren't you in the photos?"

"I..." Don Quixote rubbed his hands together, "I didn't feel right standing next to her. It was enough for me to take pictures for her."

"It was worth it, wasn't it? I mean... even though I have to save for a week to afford that 300 dollars, I don't regret it, damn it," he turned to look at Li Wei, "I will pay you back, I promise."

"Alright, alright, save the sentimental talk for later," Li Wei waved his hand, "It's almost midnight, time to sleep."

The sentimental speech Don Quixote had been brewing for so long died in his throat, and he looked at Li Wei with a touch of resentment as the latter pulled the curtain of the partition shut.

The desk lamp went out, and silence returned to the basement.

Li Wei, however, was waiting for Don Quixote to fall asleep. Now that he had spent so much money in one go, he needed to finish the Path of the Knight quest as quickly as possible so he could get the money to move out.

As for Don Quixote, perhaps because he had exhausted too much energy from the emotional highs and lows of the day, he was snoring on the mattress Li Wei had torn in half within less than a minute.

Once Li Wei heard the snoring, he checked the time on his phone. Estimating that it was about time, he got up, quietly put on his clothes, and waited for Don Quixote to start sleepwalking.

He had spent 3,500 dollars on the man today; he needed to squeeze a few more attribute points out of him to make up for the pain in his heart.

It was hard to say how much time had passed, but the snoring in Don Quixote's partition suddenly stopped.

The sound of clanking armor followed, and Li Wei, having timed it perfectly, pulled back the curtain and stepped out.

"You have come, my dear squire!" Don Quixote said, his spirits soaring, "Through my investigation, I have learned from the Duke the method to find the witch!"

"Respected Knight," Li Wei said, keeping a straight face, "May I ask what that method is?"

"Follow me, squire!" Don Quixote walked toward the door, "We must find the Earth Dragon that guards the map!"

Earth Dragon?

Li Wei muttered to himself, what kind of new trick was this? What in New York could be considered an Earth Dragon?

Despite his inner doubts, Li Wei followed Don Quixote out the door.

Don Quixote had gone to sleep early today, so his sleepwalking started earlier than before, and there were still a few hurried figures on the streets.

Li Wei looked around. Fortunately, because New York was full of eccentric people, no one found it strange to see someone wandering around an alley in the middle of the night wearing a suit of armor.

When he looked back, he nearly jumped out of his skin—

Don Quixote had opened the car door at some point, squeezed himself into the driver's seat, and was clutching the keys with his eyes closed, ready to start the engine.

Fuck! Can a sleepwalker drive with their eyes closed?

Li Wei took three steps in two and pulled Don Quixote out of the car with a hard tug.

"Squire! What are you doing!" Don Quixote scolded loudly, "Why do you obstruct me from mounting my steed!"

"Uh..." Li Wei said quickly, "The road through the forest is difficult to traverse. I suggest we proceed on foot to slay the dragon, otherwise, something might go wrong—"

"My horsemanship is unrivaled in the kingdom!" Don Quixote would not allow his squire to defy him, and he shouted, "Squire, if you fear riding with me, then find yourself another mount!"

With that, he prepared to climb back into the car.

Li Wei intended to pull him out again, but seeing Don Quixote's eyelids twitching violently, he was afraid of startling him out of his sleepwalking state.

After a moment of thought, Li Wei used [Clumsy Eloquence] on Don Quixote.

"Sir Knight, don't you think riding a horse would consume too much stamina?" Li Wei persuaded, "Why don't we rent a carriage instead? What do you think?"

Given his current mental strength and the success rate of his skills, it was relatively easy to persuade someone who was sleepwalking.

Don Quixote paused after hearing his words and said:

"How did I not think of this method! You truly have clever ideas, squire!"

He stepped away from the car and walked toward the roadside on his own.

Li Wei pulled the keys from the ignition, locked the car, and chased after him.

"Sir Knight, may I ask where this dragon is?" Li Wei saw no taxis on the road and opened the Uber app, "Let's take a taxi—ah, I mean, let's take a carriage."

"It is where I trained today!" Don Quixote said bitterly, "That wretched witch actually hid the map guarded by the dragon right under my nose. Why didn't the Duke tell me before?"

Probably because you were busy laying bricks all day, Li Wei thought to himself, setting the destination to the construction site where Don Quixote had been working.

"How much?! 105 dollars for a taxi!"

Late-night ride-sharing was ridiculously expensive. Seeing that a mere 3-kilometer trip would cost him 105 dollars, Li Wei nearly couldn't breathe from the heartache, and even his fingers trembled.

He had spent 3,500 dollars today, and now a round trip by taxi would cost over 200 more. Could he even earn that back in a month?

But considering that this would definitely trigger a reward quest, and the description made it sound like the rewards would be generous, Li Wei bit the bullet and tapped the order button, standing on the side of the road with Don Quixote, waiting for an economy Uber to take them to the construction site to slay the dragon.