Anglers Never Admit Defeat

Qi Laje wore a bucket on his head and carried a fishing rod on his back, lurking in the Foul Swamp like a crocodile.

Several Skeleton Monsters wandered back and forth beside him, yet somehow failed to notice such a large living person.

It was hardly their fault. An adventurer not far away was making an even bigger commotion, drawing the attention of everything nearby. The monsters all chased after that adventurer.

"Thank you, brother." Qi Laje watched the adventurer's retreating back, tears streaming down his face. He knew that his brother was probably gone for good.

"I'll catch one extra fish for you, in memory of your sacrifice."

He stared intently at the monsters until they had gone far enough that they could no longer catch up to him, then abruptly rose to his feet!

But he was not the only one who stood up. Another group rose as well. Counting him, there were nine people in total!

They all wore the same outfit: buckets on their heads, fishing rods on their backs, fragrant bait tied around their waists, and grief-stricken expressions on their faces. Their eyes seemed to proclaim, "The meaning of the dead must be bestowed by the living."

These were the brothers Qi Laje had met in the Gourmet Area a few days ago.

They shared the same aspirations. No matter the cost, they had to fish in the Gourmet Area.

For no other reason than that the Gourmet Area had plenty of fish, making it hard to come back empty-handed. Catching them gave an incredible sense of accomplishment! The prices were good too, enough to help support the household, and their families would never oppose their fishing again!

And there was food everywhere. They only needed to bring buckets and fishing rods when they came. It was simply the paradise of their dreams!

Recently, the Gourmet Area had not only become the biggest topic of discussion in Bede City, but had also drawn a huge wave of people into Zane Dungeon. Put simply, it had expanded the dungeon's audience.

Originally, many people had no interest in dungeons, much less difficult ones. Dungeons gave people the impression of fighting, killing, and exhausting themselves all day long.

But if you told them that a dungeon suddenly contained a sunny place with endless food and drink, filled with delicious dishes they had never seen before, then everyone would want to take a look.

After all, food was often more appealing than fighting and killing.

The Gourmet Area's abundant fish resources had attracted a great many fishing enthusiasts as well. What was the greatest joy in an angler's life? Catching a new species of fish, of course. And the Gourmet Area was full of fish they had never seen before.

So during this period, anglers had gone crazy filling out their fish encyclopedias.

However, there was one problem that deeply troubled everyone.

They were all kind of weak.

Actually, calling them kind of weak was inaccurate. They were extremely weak.

Among these ten people, Qi Laje was surprisingly ranked T1 in combat strength. The rest were either ordinary middle-aged men or laid-back adventurers with little fighting ability. Entering Zane Dungeon meant a brush with death, and although everyone had already mapped out a shortcut to the Gourmet Area, the journey remained extremely dangerous.

That was because Zane Dungeon was alive. The monsters inside did not stay motionless in fixed locations forever. They wandered around!

You might memorize the locations of traps, but roaming monsters would definitely bring you unexpected surprises.

Thus, the weaklings banded together for warmth, and one clever fellow promptly came up with a brilliant idea.

"Hey, whenever we get surrounded by monsters, why don't we pick one brave warrior to lure them away?"

"We can take turns. That way, everyone gets to fish at least once every two days. Wouldn't that be great?"

Everyone considered it and agreed that the idea was indeed good, so they readily accepted it.

Don't ask why they did not hire adventurers as bodyguards. With the difficulty of Zane Dungeon, anyone who could keep themselves alive was already exceptional. Besides, the anglers present were all ordinary people and did not have the spare money to hire bodyguards.

They had heard that the Strategy Team, which had recently been riding high, had suffered a setback here. Its members had become discouraged and still had not recovered.

"Everyone, run!"

At the command, everyone dashed off like lightning and raced like the wind. Time was life, and time was fishing!

Naturally, the commotion on their side drew the attention of other monsters. They pressed forward without hesitation. As long as they entered the Gourmet Area, those monsters would not follow them inside.

However, they were ultimately one step too slow and were surrounded by another group of monsters. At that critical moment, someone suddenly leaped out and shouted:

"Off I go!"

"Farewell, hero!"

That person ran in a different direction from everyone else while yelling "Waaah! Waaah!" at the top of his lungs, successfully drawing away a large group of monsters.

That was what a true man should be like.

After another desperate sprint, when everyone finally threw themselves into the Gourmet Area filled with birdsong and flowers, only seven people remained in the group.

Three heroes had sacrificed themselves so that everyone could catch fish.

"Remember their names," Qi Laje said solemnly. "Next time, it will be our turn to sacrifice ourselves."

Everyone responded with fervor. If an outsider unaware of the situation had been there, they might have thought this group was about to die for some grand ideal.

A pot of tea, a pipe of tobacco, and a fishing rod for the whole day.

The morning passed quickly. Qi Laje stretched, glanced at his empty bucket, and could not help sighing.

Clearly, he had come back empty-handed.

Coming back empty-handed in a place as rich in fish as the Gourmet Area took a certain kind of talent.

Sigh, if he did not earn something extra, he would not even be able to guarantee today's meal.

His teammates currently did not dare enter Zane Dungeon anymore. They said they wanted to take on some small commissions outside first and gain experience.

Qi Laje had no interest in the cat-and-dog-finding commissions they had taken, so he had come fishing with a group of newly acquainted angler friends instead.

If he caught a fish and sold it at the market, it would cover food expenses for three or four days. Even if he failed to catch anything, it would not be a big deal.

He had also accepted some commissions to gather local specialties from the Gourmet Area. He could complete them while he was failing to catch fish anyway.

"Let's see. Ox Tongue Dandelions, at least twenty flowers. Easy, they're everywhere."

"Soy Sauce Locusts. These things are too fast, so they won't be easy to catch."

"Hunt a Roasted Whole Pig... Who stuffed this into my commissions? Isn't this just asking for death?"

"Five Swift Mushrooms and two Life Durians..."

Qi Laje grimaced. He had accepted the commissions too hastily and had not read the details carefully.

Swift Mushrooms were said to be magical ingredients that could temporarily increase one's speed after being cooked.

Life Durians could make someone who was severely injured and barely clinging to life become full of energy again after eating one.

These ingredients had special effects, standing in stark contrast to most ingredients in the Gourmet Area, which merely tasted delicious. They also had a much larger market.

But the problem was that these ingredients grew in the depths of the Gourmet Area...

As everyone knew, the Gourmet Area was divided by rivers. The resources available in each small region were limited, and their varieties were nearly fixed.

To obtain more and better resources, one had to explore deeper!

This progressively increasing difficulty separated ordinary people from adventurers. Ordinary people could gather common resources safely in the Milk River safe zone, while adventurers could delve deeper in search of greater opportunities.

To be honest, Qi Laje rather appreciated the Gourmet Area's rules, provided that he did not have to go deeper himself.

He handed his fishing rod to a companion, gritted his teeth, and crossed the Milk River.

Five minutes later, Gong Qiying received a notification.

Spirit Power +91.

He merely glanced at it and paid it no further attention. Many images were displayed on the Crystal Ball, but he had enlarged one of them.

Several figures could be seen within it. They appeared to be adventurers as well, but a closer look revealed something strange.

Their skin was pitch-black, their bodies were exceptionally muscular, and horns grew sporadically from their heads and limbs. They also possessed all sorts of other traits: tongues so long they dragged on the ground, several pairs of bat wings growing from their backs, scales covering their bodies... At first glance, they looked like a fusion of humans and monsters.

"These things..."

Gong Qiying muttered to himself:

"They seem to be called demons. How did they end up in my territory?"

It was the end of the month. Thank you all for your monthly votes. Love you!