A few minutes later, Li Wei spotted the Uber he'd called turning the corner in the distance and slowing to a stop in front of him and Don Quixote.
The window rolled down a couple of inches. Through the gap, Li Wei could see the Black driver eyeing them warily.
Most of his attention was fixed on Don Quixote, who was standing beside Li Wei in full armor.
"Yo, give me your name," the Black driver said. "And is your friend drunk?"
"I'm Li Wei. I called the car," Li Wei said. "My friend... is a method actor preparing for a stage play."
The driver looked them both up and down. Seeing no weapons on them, he unlocked the back door.
"Yo, I'm not interested in your weird kinks. Get in," he said. "Don't sit in the front—it's nighttime, and I don't take passengers up front."
Li Wei thanked him, hurriedly opened the back door, and let Don Quixote climb in. He got in on the other side.
As soon as he was inside, Li Wei noticed a yellow sign with black writing posted in the car. It informed him that audio and video recording were underway, presumably to protect the driver's safety on the road.
The moment he got in, Don Quixote voiced his displeasure:
"Servant!" he bellowed. "Why is the carriage so cramped?"
"Big carriages attract attention," Li Wei hurriedly explained. "Everyone rides in small ones."
The truth was, he couldn't bring himself to spend $180 on an Uber Black, so he'd chosen the cheapest economy option.
Don Quixote muttered that once the witch had been driven out, he would make the duke reward him with a large carriage. After some effort, Li Wei finally managed to calm him down.
Once he'd finally soothed Don Quixote, Li Wei somewhat belatedly explained to the driver, "My friend's a method actor. Please bear with him."
The Black driver said nothing and kept driving in silence.
A few seconds later, an alert from a WhatsApp group for fellow drivers popped up on his phone:
"There's suddenly a police chase in Brownsville. One of the roads over there is closed. Recommend taking a detour."
The driver switched to Uber's map and studied it carefully, then spoke to Li Wei through the rearview mirror:
"There's a police chase on a street next to where you're headed," he said. "I'd suggest not going there tonight unless you really need to."
"Sir Knight," Li Wei immediately said to Don Quixote, "the coachman says there's danger nearby."
The driver glanced silently at Li Wei but said nothing.
"What's there to fear?" Don Quixote was, of course, completely unafraid. "A knight fears no danger!"
"Is it really that dangerous?" Li Wei asked the driver. "What if we have something important to pick up?"
"Then you might as well go," the driver said after studying the map. "To be honest, it's not exactly safe during the day either. The cops don't even like coming to this shithole."
He thought for a moment, then shrugged. "If you really have something urgent to do, it might actually be safer to go now. People around here at least get a little cautious when they hear sirens."
Li Wei thought it over and realized the driver had a point. The police rarely came to this neighborhood, so a sudden influx of officers shutting down the roads might have the local drug dealers and gang members terrified and scrambling to hide.
With that in mind, the driver took a detour and dropped them off at the entrance to the construction site.
"Sir Knight," Li Wei said to the daydreaming Don Quixote, "it's time to set out and slay the dragon."
"Follow me, squire," Don Quixote said. "I can already smell the foul stench of the Earth Dragon. It must be close!"
He led Li Wei straight to a secluded clump of bushes and guided him through it with practiced ease. Judging by the cigarette butts scattered everywhere, Don Quixote and the workers must have often slipped out this way to smoke and slack off.
Once they were through, the construction site at night seemed to radiate an indescribable sense of gloom and dread.
Apart from the sirens on the neighboring street, all that could be heard was the sound of Li Wei and Don Quixote walking, along with the clanking of the armor on Don Quixote's body.
"Just as I thought!" Don Quixote suddenly roared. "It's right here!"
In the light, Li Wei turned and saw Don Quixote charging at—a parked excavator?!
Don Quixote rushed up to its tracks and started punching and kicking the excavator. He even nearly fell over trying to tear off one of the tracks with his bare hands.
Fortunately, his full suit of armor kept him from getting hurt. After landing several blows and seeing that the Earth Dragon hadn't budged an inch, he turned and shouted at Li Wei:
"Squire! Come help this knight slay the Earth Dragon!"
A quest appeared before Li Wei's eyes, and the reward made him think the adventure was absolutely worth it!
[Quest accepted: Slay the Dragon]
[The Earth Dragon, which dwells deep in the forest, is an evil ally of the witch. Its strength is so great that even the mighty knight Don Quixote can scarcely breach its defenses. For over a hundred years, countless dragon slayers and knights have fallen beneath its claws. Proceed with extreme caution. Its destructive power far exceeds your imagination.]
[Quest reward: Strength, Agility, Constitution +0.1]
[Hidden reward: Gain the skill [Berserk] after bathing in dragon's blood]
A total of 0.3 attribute points in one go! And a skill, too!
Li Wei tossed aside all his reservations, gritted his teeth, shouted, "I'm coming to help!" and charged forward.
He leapt onto the tracks in a couple of bounds and spotted a copy of the construction site's safety guidelines on the driver's seat. An idea came to him, and he turned to shout at Don Quixote:
"Sir Knight, I see it!" he called. "Is the map inside the Earth Dragon's mouth?"
Don Quixote was overjoyed. "Exactly!"
Li Wei nodded, opened the cab door, and went inside, accomplishing the great feat of slaying the dragon in an instant.
But how was he supposed to complete the task of bathing in dragon's blood?
He looked around and found a half-empty bottle of mineral water to the right of the seat.
He unscrewed it and cautiously sniffed it. Once he'd confirmed it was just ordinary mineral water, he poured a little onto his hands and rubbed them together.
Li Wei jumped down from the tracks and said to Don Quixote, "Sir Knight, is this the map you meant?"
As he spoke, he handed over the construction guidelines.
Don Quixote closed his eyes and examined it carefully for a moment, then beamed. "That's right! This is the map! And you did a fine job, squire! You should know that slaying a dragon is an extraordinary achievement!"
Li Wei glanced at the cab door he'd just closed but said nothing.
"Sir Knight, would you like to bathe in dragon's blood?" Li Wei took out the bottle of mineral water. "They say dragon's blood can strengthen the body."
Don Quixote was naturally more than willing, but he reverently asked Li Wei to pour the mineral water over his head.
As Li Wei poured the water over his head, he heard another prompt in his mind:
[Quest: Slay the Dragon completed]
[Reward received: Strength, Agility, Constitution +0.1]
[Hidden quest: Bathe in Dragon's Blood completed. Skill acquired: [Berserk]]
Unlike the gradual improvements before, a vast surge of power suddenly flooded into Li Wei's body.
[Strength 1.1]—[Strength 1.2]
[Constitution 1.0]—[Constitution 1.1]
[Agility 1.0]—[Agility 1.1]
[Path of the Knight, Stage Two quest completed. Two attributes have reached 1.2. Reward: +7 gold coins!]
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