[You have triggered the quest [Visitor from Afar]!]
[Mission Introduction: The moment you saw her, her eyes were imprinted on your soul, like a hazy mist, a dark well, a deep abyss. A voice resounded in your heart—you want to take this woman away.]
[Mission Requirements: Rescue her from the slave market, keep her with you for 6 days to complete the mission.]
[Reward: 1.8 million experience points, one unknown reward]
"Is this mission description meant to be a text-based romance adventure game?!" Han Xiao got goosebumps and was speechless.
The quest was triggered with just one glance; this woman must be extraordinary. He had never seen her in his previous life and had no recollection of her. Perhaps no player had discovered her before; she was a hidden character who hadn't been revealed.
Han Xiao asked curiously, "What's so special about her?"
Horlade said, "The projector shows that her physical structure is not that of an ordinary cosmic race. She contains the bloodline of some ancient creature. No matching file can be found, and it is unclear what race she is a hybrid of. After testing with the energy detector, the energy reaction in her body far exceeds that of normal organisms. The level is constantly fluctuating, at least at the level of Grade C superhuman at its lowest point, and even breaking through the Grade B at its highest point..."
"Why would you control such a powerful superhuman?" Han Xiao asked in surprise, pointing to the shackles and self-destruct collar on the woman's body. "Those things can't kill a Grade B superhuman."
Horlade stroked his jewelry ring with a smile and said, "Of course, we don't have the ability to control someone stronger than Grade C. However, she can't use the energy within her body, has no combat power, and besides, she chose to stay here."
Han Xiao was taken aback.
"She has some memory problems; she can't remember most of her experiences, only language. But her intelligence level is not that of an infant; she possesses a high level of intelligence and can engage in conversation..."
So she has amnesia?
"Haha, it's not as simple as amnesia." Horlade pointed to his head. "Most amnesiacs experience panic and curiosity about their identity and surroundings. However, her thought processes are peculiar. She doesn't have the curiosity or urge to explore who she is, why she's here, or what she's supposed to do. She's not panicked because she has no memories either. She's like someone half-asleep, content to stay here, without any desire to search for her memories. Her life form is very special; she seems to have no instincts or desires. She doesn't need to eat or excrete. What a unique individual!"
Han Xiao's eyes flashed. The stranger this woman was, the greater the secrets she held. He became quite curious and asked, "What's her name?"
"I gave her a name, Aroshia Sisolama Donils..." The name was a long string of fifty or sixty words, and it took Horlade a while to finish, saying, "... I usually just call her Aroshia."
Han Xiao's eye twitched. This is terrible! Why would you give someone such a long name? Did you have too much time on your hands?
Or are you saying that you, a heartless slave trader, possess the legendary golden, chuunibyou (delusional) spirit?!
This unexpected mission offers considerable experience, plus an unknown reward. The reward is proportional to the difficulty to some extent, so Han Xiao decided to give it a try. Since he couldn't steal it, he would buy it with money. Han Xiao asked, "How much does she sell it for?"
Horlade put on a businessman's smile. "Not expensive, only Three Hundred Thousand Enas."
Goodbye.
Han Xiao remained expressionless, then turned and left.
So you're trying to rob me, huh?! Why are you making things difficult for other unscrupulous businessmen?!
Horlade hurriedly caught up, shouting, "If you think it's too expensive, we can negotiate! How about 200,000... 100,000? 50,000? Okay, I'll sell it to you at a loss, the lowest I can go is 10,000!"
Han Xiao looked suspicious. A discount of thirty times? How could that be? There must be something fishy going on. Thinking of the six days required for the mission, he immediately became wary.
After thinking for a moment, Han Xiao temporarily put the task aside and continued his probing, saying, "This price is about right, but I'd like to buy other rare slaves. Don't you have any other goods?"
Upon hearing this, Horlade grinned and said, "Haha, you're in luck. I'm getting a new batch of rare goods soon, you can come and take a look then."
Han Xiao's heart skipped a beat. This new batch of goods must be the Silver Spirit People. Fortunately, they hadn't been delivered yet, giving the mercenaries a chance to carry out their interception plan.
"That's great! I'll come back to check out the goods later and buy Aroshia at the same time." Han Xiao feigned joy, expressing his sincerity in buying, but he just wouldn't pay. After giving them a perfunctory answer, he prepared to leave. Helpless, Horlade could only have his underlings see Han Xiao off.
Only Horlade remained in the underground prison corridor. He pursed his lips and muttered, "Saying they'll pay later, they definitely don't want to buy Aroshia..."
When he took over the slave market, Aroshia was already imprisoned there. The previous owner told him not to treat her specially, just sell her as usual. However, a customer once bought Aroshia, and only a few days later, Aroshia, who had been taken away, appeared out of nowhere in this cell, startling him. The customer returned angrily, and he then learned that Aroshia would suddenly disappear after being taken away, inexplicably returning to her cell.
Horlade asked the former shopkeeper and learned that Aroshia had existed not long after the establishment of Floating Dragon Island. The shopkeeper at the time reported the situation, which reached the ears of the ruler of Dragon Calm. That capricious Beyond Grade A big shot came over, took a look, and based on the principle of "killing what you don't understand," killed Aroshia, making her vanish into thin air.
However, a few days later, Aroshia reappeared as if nothing had happened, and the big boss came back to kill her again. After this happened more than thirty times, the final conclusion was reached—this was a Cosmic Wonder, that is, some kind of inexplicable and bizarre phenomenon.
According to observations, only one "Aroshia" can exist at a time. If she dies, she will suddenly regenerate after a period of time, but her short-term memories of her previous life will disappear, and she will return to her initial amnesia. If she leaves this cell, she will also suddenly disappear from somewhere else, and no matter what kind of building she is in, she will return to the location of the cell.
Based on the observed patterns, whether she dies or is bought, Aroshia will not leave this place for more than six days.
The rulers of Dragon Calm were very capricious, leaving Cosmic Wonder to be dealt with in the slave market. The shopkeepers then sold them as merchandise, swindling buyers out of their money and making huge profits with no initial investment.
Horlade shook his head, glancing instinctively at Aroshia's cell. Aroshia had been sitting in the corner, was now standing by the window, and all that could be seen through the window were a pair of deep and serene eyes!
Horlade was startled and took a moment to process it before turning and leaving.
Inside the cell, Aroshia's eyes followed Horlade's every move.
However, it was a one-way window, and the cell had no view of the outside.
"I've inquired, the Silver Spirit People haven't been delivered yet." Back in the group, Han Xiao relayed the information, and the three team leaders perked up.
"Excellent! We can proceed with the rescue plan!" said Fasereni, the leader of the Purple Gold team. "Time is of the essence. We don't know when the scavengers will arrive, nor do we know their identities. It's best to split up and ambush them on all the main roads leading to the slave market. We only have one chance; we can't miss any suspicious individuals. We must rescue the Silver Spirit People prisoners before they are sold into the market."
The group finalized their division of labor for the ambush, with the ambush sites extending from the docks to the slave market, and mercenaries to be stationed at every street and intersection.
Based on the distance from the slave market, the ambush defenses can be roughly divided into four layers on the map. The first layer is the furthest, which is the starting dock, while the fourth layer is closest to the slave market, located around the market.
The three team leaders considered that Black Star was not as fearless of criminals as they were, so Han Xiao was assigned to the third level, which was slightly safer than the criminal-infested dock, while the last line of defense was handled by Goya's team.
After a simple disguise, each team took up positions and lay in ambush, waiting for their prey to come to them.