The Players' New Life

"Who would've thought? Grabbing a random bounty netted me this much EXP! It really is a pie falling from the sky!" "Hahaha, let's go, Noodles! I'm going to give Sing-dog an eyeful!" Mantou stood tall upon the wyvern's back in high spirits, carrying the heavy, blood-soaked burlap sack holding the frost giant's severed head. "Awooo—!" The wyvern seemed to sense its master's excitement. Stretching out its neck, it threw back its head and let out a hearty roar. Mantou was now an imperial Dragonblood Viscount. As the saying went, "when a man achieves the Dao, his poultry and dogs rise to heaven"—and wyverns were no exception. Noodles now stretched over seven meters long. Though its neck remained slender like a strand of noodles, it was covered in hard, thick dragon scales, and its build had grown far stockier and more robust. In short, after receiving multiple Bloodline Boons, Noodles was far more "red dragon–like," or rather "atavistic," than others of its kin. However, because it had grown so massive, Mantou always felt rather uncomfortable riding directly on its back, so he was currently considering purchasing a saddle with a proper seat. Whoosh—! The wyvern spread its wings, their wingtips slicing through the air with a piercing shriek as it carried the knight on its back toward the city of Isdalia. The warehouse where the frost giants had mutinied was in the city's outskirts, a mere dozen kilometers away. Before long, Mantou arrived before the city gates. Mantou had accepted the quest at the Empire's Emergency Affairs Bounty Office, which was quite a distance from the Redscale Garrison. Thus, instead of landing at the garrison's wyvern landing pad, he headed straight for Isdalia's South Gate. The South Gate was renowned as the most magnificent gate in the Cinder Empire, combining formidable defense with grandeur, serving as the face of the capital, Isdalia. Even with an imperial engineering corps packed with civil engineering bros and spellcasters versed in earth evocation magic, building it had taken months of hard labor. Dozens of meters tall, the gate bore the banners of the Cinder Empire fluttering aloft, with hideous stone wyvern heads protruding outward. It was said that the mouths of these stone beasts could fire devastating explosive shells capable of blasting any invader to cinders. Tiefling guards clad in martial armor and bearing polished rifles stood sentry atop the gate. Rigorously trained, they stood motionless against wind and rain alike. Perched upon towering stone pillars were living wyverns, ready at a moment's notice to take flight and intercept encroaching foes. Faced with such an imposing display, even the bravest fighters could hardly help feeling intimidated. Quite a few spies had lost their composure before this gate and been caught on the spot by the guards. "Citizens, please queue in an orderly fashion! No crowding!" "Imperial citizens, mind your words and deeds! The great Emperor Cassius is watching over you at all times!" The impassioned voice of the tiefling guard captain boomed through the loudspeakers atop the ramparts. Before the towering, dozens-of-meters-tall gate, the bustling crowd created a din, yet they formed neat, orderly queues without a trace of chaos. "Things have been so busy lately. We just landed a big order from the outskirts." "Tell me about it!" "I heard from the big shots that we're going to war again!" "War is great! With His Majesty Cassius protecting us, the Empire will never lose anyway. Whenever war breaks out, factory orders flutter in like snowflakes, everyone hires, and there's never a shortage of coin to make." "Exactly! The tavern my family runs is the same way. When those soldiers come marching home loaded with coin, we rake it in hand over fist every day." "Hahaha, it'd be best if the Empire fought a few more wars and never stopped!" Hundreds upon thousands of citizens and merchant caravans lined up in long queues to enter and exit the city, while fully armed tiefling guards conducted routine inspections. The tiefling guards worked swiftly and with practiced skill. Beep— "Secure. Clearance granted." An emotionless, synthesized voice droned, and imperial citizens filed into the city one after another. The tiefling guards merely waved the newly developed magic scanners from the Department of Technology up and down over each person, glanced at their standard identification, and waved them through. Of course, as an "honorable Dragonblood Viscount," Mantou was exempt from such procedures. "Awooo~" Noodles circled several times in midair, greeting its kin atop the stone pillars, before slowly flapping its wings to touch down in an open clearing outside the walls. The wyvern's wings stirred up a tempest of dust and noise, drawing the gazes of the surrounding crowd and eliciting gasps of amazement. "Look! He's riding a wyvern!" "It's a Redscale Conqueror!" "Those guys can tame and ride wyverns! Word has it every Redscale Conqueror is kin to His Majesty Cassius. Truly incredible!" "I wanted to try out before, but the trial in Wyvern Valley was... far too dangerous." "Wait—look at the medal on that knight's chest! He's a dragonblood noble! A viscount, no less!" Amid the crowd's awe, the wyvern landed with a thud. Mantou swung himself down from its back with smug satisfaction, playing the gallant knight to the hilt. "Good day, Lord Viscount!" "Lord Viscount!" "Your heroic figure astride that wyvern is unforgettable!" Many among the crowd offered respectful greetings, and even those farther off bowed their heads in deference—such was the treatment accorded to dragonblood nobility within the Empire. Mantou beamed, waving back at the enthusiastic citizens before taking the wyvern's reins and heading toward the city gate. Before he even reached the threshold, several tiefling guards hurried forward to meet him, their squad leader arriving in person. Such was the pomp of dragonblood nobility—especially for an esteemed viscount, a rank held by fewer than four hundred individuals across the entire Empire. Although the capital of Isdalia was crawling with legendary figures, a viscount was still someone who commanded immediate respect. "Good day, Lord Viscount. This way, please." The tiefling guard first bowed in a "Salute of Loyalty," then respectfully stepped forward to take the reins from Mantou's hands. Mantou nodded slightly and walked alongside the tiefling, taking the "special passage" with practiced ease. Suddenly, the tiefling turned and said, "Excuse me, Viscount Woquchimantou, could you please present your wyvern driver's license?" Mantou's eyes widened in mild confusion. "Didn't noble insignia used to be enough to enter? Why do we need a wyvern driver's license now?" The tiefling offered an apologetic smile. "My apologies, Lord Viscount. It's a new regulation issued from above, and our hands are tied. Rumor has it that a few days ago, some Starfallen stole eggs and wyvern whelps from Wyvern Valley without imperial clearance, then rode wyverns inside the city without passing the certification exam, causing quite a mess..." "Haha, so it was that guy! He actually pissed off the higher-ups." Mantou couldn't help bursting into laughter. He knew the player who had gone joyriding through the city on a half-grown wyvern and crashed into everything. The culprit was another gag streamer named "Da Shui Lan Zi." He had only recently started playing Elezerg, yet in just a few short months, he had already stirred up a storm of trouble. "Fair enough. If it's an order from above, I'll dig it out for you." Mantou rummaged through his standard inventory pack, retrieved a delicate little green card, and handed it to the tiefling beside him. "Operator: Woquchiman. Driving experience: three years. Zero accidents... Status: Member of the Redscale Conquerors, Intermediate Peace Officer of the Isdalia Thirteenth Detachment..." The tiefling guard accepted the license with both hands, scanned the text, and handed it back with a beaming smile. "Everything is in order, Lord Viscount. Your mount is cleared to enter. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding toward the constabulary's duties." Mantou gave a casual wave. "No worries, no worries. I get it. We're all working stiffs trying to get by—it's not easy for anyone." And so, Mantou and Noodles entered the city of Isdalia. The streets teemed with throngs of pedestrians and heavy traffic. Shops lined both sides of the bustling avenues, while compact steam locomotives chugged along embedded tracks, their whistles sounding in rhythmic blasts. Starfallen wandered aimlessly down the streets, rushing up to anyone they encountered to ask if they had quests available. Busy imperial citizens usually ignored them, hurrying on their way. The reputation of these shabbily dressed Starfallen had already spread far and wide across the Empire: they were generally inept, prone to botching tasks, and mockingly dubbed the "Useless Folk." Instead of dealing with novices, imperial citizens preferred patronizing established organizations like the Magic Agency and the Wangquan Bounty Office to hire powerful, veteran Starfallen. Looking at the newbies in beginner uniforms crowding the street, Mantou couldn't help sighing. "Tsk tsk, this game really is getting flooded with new players." "Holy crap! Look over there—it's Mantou that old rogue!" Suddenly, a newbie player pointed at Mantou, having recognized him, and the players in the vicinity instantly swarmed over. "Damn, he looks badass! He even has a mount!" "I started playing this game after watching his videos! Hey, Mantou, you old rogue, you haven't updated your Elezerg Diary in two whole months!" "I want to ride a wyvern too!" Staring at the "loyal fans" crowding around him, Mantou broke into a cold sweat, suddenly seized by the urge to bolt. "What do you think you're doing?!" "I've warned you before—no gathering in mobs and disturbing the peace within Isdalia!" Fortunately, a patrolling peace officer arrived just in time, barking a fierce shout. Brandishing a truncheon, he shooed away the "Useless Folk" like a flock of sparrows. The players scattered in a panic—none of them wanted a stint in the detention cells. The peace officer stepped before Mantou and offered a respectful salute. "Long time no see, Viscount Mantou. You weren't harmed, were you?" "I'm fine. Much obliged." Mantou nodded slightly, racking his brain to figure out who this unfamiliar officer was. Had he lost his memory or something? To his surprise, the officer stepped closer, dropped all pretense of respect, and sneered, "Heh, Lord Viscount, feels pretty good enjoying the noble treatment, doesn't it?" That punchable face, that familiar mocking tone... Mantou took two steps back, eyes wide in utter disbelief. "Holy shit? You're Sing-dog?!" The "stranger" nodded and beamed smugly. "Well? Didn't recognize me with this new face, did you?" Mantou looked him up and down and was stunned to find that not only was his appearance completely altered, but he didn't even have a player handle floating above his head. He looked exactly like a genuine NPC. Curious, Mantou pressed, "How did you pull that off?" Singo pulled a folded gray skin from his inventory pack and gave it a smug shake. "Doppelganger Mask. Put it on, and you can disguise yourself as anyone and even conceal your player identity. Supposedly, the folks at Magic Coin developed it specifically for their backstabbing traitor operations." "Holy crap, a god-tier item for going incognito!" Mantou's eyes filled with longing, but after a moment of thought, he said, "Sing-dog, hit me with a price so I can give up hope." Singo replied casually, "It's made from the pelt of a doppelganger—super rare material. Five hundred gold minimum." Mantou's face fell, and he pretended to weep bitter tears. "All right, don't say another word. Just another piece of gear a broke loser like me can never afford." "Here, take it." To his astonishment, Singo tossed the gray pelt right into his hands as if it were worthless scrap. Mantou hastily caught it, staring at Singo in disbelief. Delight surged through him, laced with deep suspicion. This stingy iron rooster was actually willing to pluck a feather? And five hundred gold worth of feather at that? An unprompted favor meant deceit or theft—was this bastard trying to trick him into unpaid hard labor again? "What, you don't want it? Give it back if you don't." Singo made a move to snatch it back. Mantou immediately slapped the gear onto his face, asking, "What, did the sun rise from the west today?" Before the words were fully out of his mouth, Mantou's face shifted continuously until it settled into the likeness of a famous actor. "You think you're Eddie Peng?" "I'm just restoring my naturally handsome features. This is what I look like in real life." "Get lost. Looking like that will only draw even more attention! You want to get mobbed by newbies again?" "Fine, guess I'll have to downgrade myself." Mantou's face shifted once more, settling into an ordinary, nondescript passerby face not much different from his original look. "All right, so why give me gear? Trying to recruit me as your slave laborer again?" Singo gave a wry shake of his head. "Turns out, I was wrong last time. I take full responsibility for our party wipe. This is my compensation to you guys—everyone gets one. I was just so desperate to prove myself back then that I overlooked the most fundamental intel." He pulled a book from his pack featuring a red dragon pattern on the cover, titled A Guide to Dragon Research, and went on: "According to the intel I gathered, an ancient red dragon measuring thirty meters long easily reaches a Challenge Rating of 20 or higher. And that abyssal dragon we ran into... "It was probably beyond our wildest imagination. Back then, risking a total party wipe to challenge it was nothing short of a mantis trying to stop a carriage—sheer delusion." Mantou gasped in awe. "Damn, that boss was that insane? Wouldn't its Challenge Rating be off the charts? Oh, right, what about Emperor Kai of our Cinder Empire? He killed that abyssal dragon all on his own—doesn't that make him even more cracked?" "No clue," Singo answered honestly. "Players are still far too weak right now. Even top-tier players like me and Gangtie Kuangchao have only just hit level 11. We're still miles away from genuine high-tier power. But from what I know, at least in this current version, the Empire under the shelter of Cassius's wings will definitely never fall." "That's a relief. My entire net worth is tied up in the Empire. If the Cinder Empire goes under, I'll go completely bankrupt."