novelraw Chapter 65: Do You Trust Me?
Chapter 65: Do You Trust Me?
Outside the secret treasury, Wang Yi piloted the Floating Mountain to a stop before the six Feces Hall Players.
"Spare us!"
"We’re not Mountain Bandits!"
"We surrender! We’ll do whatever you say. Just don’t kill us, we’ll do anything!"
"We’re Players! We’re more useful than the Indigenous People..."
The six of them knelt, kowtowing and begging for mercy. Their groveling was no different from that of the Indigenous People.
Lu Hongyan was among them, her head bobbing like a pestle grinding garlic, not daring to look up.
Wang Yi shook his head. He didn’t accept their surrender, nor did he plan to kill them. He would let them fend for themselves.
"Go down the mountain. Good luck..."
With a soft sigh, Wang Yi had the Floating Mountain depart. He began to circle Black Stone Mountain in search of Luo Jiu, scanning from the front of the mountain to the back, then from the back to the Li River, before turning around to resume his search, circling Black Stone Mountain again and again...
By dusk, Wang Yi had intercepted and killed a dozen more elite Mountain Bandits and had set several fires. The entire Black Mountain Stronghold was burned to cinders, yet there was still no sign of Luo Jiu.
Looking at the darkening sky, Wang Yi couldn’t help but frown.
’Did the top leader really get away?’
’Forget it. It’s already dark. We’ll stay the night and scour this stronghold again tomorrow. We can loot for supplies while we’re at it!’
Wang Yi issued the order, bringing the Floating Mountain to a hover over the peak of Black Stone Mountain.
If the Floating Mountain was merely hovering instead of flying, its Chaos Energy consumption would be much lower.
Hearing this, the men acted as if they had just clocked out. Some took off their General Armor, others sat on the ground, and some took out braised beef and other food. There were even those who ran to the edge of the Floating Mountain’s cliff, unfastened their pants, and took a piss below.
Their day had been surreal—filled with surprise, tension, thrills, and excitement. Now, most of them just felt exhausted.
Wang Yi, on the other hand, had done little more than give orders all day and had barely exerted himself. Still full of energy, he decided to take stock of his spoils.
Many of the spoils lay uncollected, scattered across the top of the Floating Mountain. Wang Yi had only bothered to put the more valuable items, like the Purple Blind Box, into his Storage Waistband.
The first item Wang Yi now took from his Storage Waistband was the [Black Mountain Stronghold Treasure Map].
This item had been dropped by Master Xu Lei. It was a functional item generated by the system; the map couldn’t be opened by brute force, but Wang Yi could read its text description.
[Black Mountain Stronghold Treasure Map: The Black Mountain Stronghold has occupied Black Stone Mountain for many years, plundering countless riches. Big Boss Luo Jiu has dug a secret passage to hide a great treasure in a cave on the back of the mountain. Consume 100 points of Chaos Energy or 100 adventure experience points to use this Treasure Map and activate auto-navigation!]
"Huh, so there’s a Great Secret Treasure!"
Delighted, Wang Yi immediately spent 100 points of Chaos Energy. The [Black Mountain Stronghold Treasure Map] transformed into a ball of light and shot ahead to lead the way.
"Alright, everyone, rest later! There’s a treasure to be had!"
Wang Yi immediately had the Floating Mountain chase after the Guiding Light Ball.
The ball of light flew toward Black Cliff and dove into the ruins of the Gathering Hall.
"Hm? The treasure is here?"
Wang Yi landed the Floating Mountain. He scanned the area and, seeing no Mountain Bandits, said, "Cyan Ox, Lengzi, and a few of you—take the Rock Giant Scorpions down there. Follow the Guiding Light Ball and check out the situation inside those ruins."
"Yes, sir!"
Yang Qingniu immediately complied. He expertly mounted a Rock Giant Scorpion, grabbed a jar of Fire Dragon Oil, and charged toward the winding mountain path.
Zhang Lengzi and Yang Wanli scrambled onto the other two Rock Giant Scorpions and followed close behind.
Hu Fenqiu, Zhang Mazha, and Yang Dazhuang, having failed to get a mount, grumbled under their breath but still followed quickly.
Wang Yi had the Floating Mountain rise into the air again. He didn’t send Man Datou down, keeping him by his side as a guard in case of any surprises.
Before long, Yang Qingniu ran out from the ruins and shouted up to Wang Yi, "Boss, we found a secret passage! My dad took some men inside."
Wang Yi replied, "Have the Rock Giant Scorpions take the lead. Explore carefully and report back immediately if anything happens!"
"Yes, sir!"
Yang Qingniu acknowledged the order and ducked back into the ruins.
A moment later, Wang Yi received a system notification.
"DING! Killed an elite Black Mountain Stronghold Mountain Bandit. Received 3 Silver Coins and one [Green Forest Saber Technique] Skill Book."
"DING! Killed an elite Black Mountain Stronghold Mountain Bandit. Received 2 Silver Coins and one [Hundred Battles Saber Technique] Skill Book..."
Similar system notifications chimed four times in succession. A chill went through Wang Yi; he knew Mountain Bandits were hidden in that secret passage.
’Don’t tell me the Big Boss is hiding in there too... Can three Rock Giant Scorpions even handle him?’
A sense of foreboding washed over Wang Yi.
A moment later, with a RUMBLE and a cloud of dust, a figure shot out from the ruins below.
The figure glowed with a purple light—it was none other than the Big Boss of the Black Mountain Stronghold, Luo Jiu.
He was holding someone in his grip: Yang Wanli.
CRASH! More dust billowed as Yang Qingniu emerged in pursuit on his Rock Giant Scorpion, with the other two scorpions, Zhang Lengzi, Hu Fenqiu, and the others close behind.
They were all injured, but they immediately fanned out to surround Luo Jiu, drawing their Iron-Clad Bows and aiming at him.
On the Floating Mountain, Man Datou also raised his Iron-Clad Bow at once.
Luo Jiu let out a sinister laugh. "Stop, or I’ll kill him!" he roared.
Just then, the six Feces Hall Players rushed out from the nearby ruins.
One of them pointed at Yang Wanli and yelled, "Big Boss, kill him! He’s the Lord! If you kill him, the threat will be gone!"
"Yeah, kill him! The Floating Mountain will definitely fall!"
The other Players chimed in their agreement.
Lu Hongyan was with them. She glanced at the Floating Mountain, then at Yang Wanli, a flicker of confusion on her face. But she still added, "Kill him! Maybe our Black Mountain Stronghold can rise again!"
On the Floating Mountain, Wang Yi’s gaze swept over the six Feces Hall Players, and his expression turned to ice.
’One really can’t be too kind. I already gave you a way out. Why didn’t you go down the mountain? Why did you have to come back here to die? You are foolish, and I... I was naive.’
Muttering to himself, he guided the Floating Mountain downward. He slowly sat in the driver’s seat of the Crossbow Machine Carriage, turned the key, and gripped the handlebars tightly.
Wang Yi didn’t need an answer from the Players. Whatever they were thinking, why they had stayed on the mountain—it no longer mattered.
What mattered was that Wang Yi had learned a profound lesson. He had to correct his mistake.
The next moment, a torrent of Flying Light Arrows suddenly poured down from the Floating Mountain. A single volley of fire cut down all six Players, killing them instantly.
The six Players never saw the attack coming and had no time to dodge. As they fell, each of their corpses contributed 100 Lord Experience points to Wang Yi.
With a cold expression, Wang Yi looked at Yang Wanli, whose throat was locked in Luo Jiu’s grasp, and called out, "Old Yang, do you trust me?"
Yang Wanli’s old face flushed red. He was so ashamed he wished the earth would swallow him whole.
’Damn it all! Captured again. This is just too embarrassing.’
’I was only caught because I was at the front, protecting Hu Fenqiu and the others, but captured is captured!’
’I’m old and useless,’ he thought. ’Might as well be dead.’
But upon hearing Wang Yi’s shout, he nodded and said, "I do!"
"Good!"
Wang Yi nodded at the reply, then yelled down to Yang Qingniu and the others, "Do you trust me?"
"Of course!"
"We’d die for you, Boss!"
"Boss, just give the order..."
Hearing their replies, Wang Yi let out a hearty laugh. The next moment, he roared, "Kill!"