After quickly checking their physical conditions, Hao Yun and his companions cautiously rose to observe their surroundings. At this moment, they found themselves in a grassland near a hill. In the distance, the grassland was surrounded by continuous mountains. Whether it was the grassland at their feet, the nearby hills, or the mountains in the distance, they were all covered with various wildflowers, making the environment colorful and vibrant.
Redirecting his gaze from the distant scenery back to the campfire, Hao Yun soon noticed a very crude canvas tent nearby. Behind the tent, there was a shallow pond, and a winding path along the edge of the pond extended into the distant mountainside.
What lay before Hao Yun and his companions was a very common rural scene. However, they quickly realized that the environment they saw was anything but ordinary. Despite the dim sky and the stars above, indicating it was late at night, the surroundings were unexpectedly bright. Even outside the campfire's illumination, it was as bright as day, allowing them to see everything clearly.
"What place is this?" Hao Yun asked, looking at the strange scene before them. While he found that they still retained their ability to speak this time, he remained vigilant, searching for any trace of the clown and wondering what performance they would be forced into this time.
Master Gu, upon regaining his senses, reminded, "Everyone, check your respective systems to see if there are any new functions restored."
Upon hearing this, Hao Yun and Dream Jia quickly immersed their consciousness into the Mold Spirit Energy Tracking System and activated the self-diagnosis program. The system soon provided the results—their misfortune level remained at three stars, and the misfortune level detected in the surrounding environment was still as high as six stars.
Upon seeing the system's self-diagnosis results, Dream Jia expressed disappointment, "Strange, why hasn't our divine power been restored after completing the teleportation?"
After some thought, Dao Lao speculated, "Hmm... It might be because the Countess knew our power was recovering and fixed any vulnerabilities that might help us recover. It's also possible that factors affecting the restoration of our divine power are not just the gaps that appear during teleportation. So, let's not worry too much and continue to monitor the changes within us."
Hao Yun and Dream Jia agreed with Dao Lao's speculation. Then, the three of them walked to the front of the tent and cautiously lifted the door curtain to inspect the interior. The space inside the tent was not very large, and besides three backpacks piled on the ground, there was nothing else special inside.
"Is this the task equipment prepared for us? Could these be the food provided for us?" Dream Jia examined the three backpacks, which contained grass, carrots, and colorful mushrooms.
"The more vibrant the color of the mushrooms, the more toxic they may be. So, these things shouldn't be food for us," Hao Yun remarked, looking at the mushrooms in the backpack.
"These grasses smell like herbs, so they're probably not meant for consumption either," Master Gu said, sniffing a handful of grass from another backpack.
Although neither the mushrooms nor the grass were suitable for consumption, perhaps the basket of seemingly ordinary carrots would be safe? Thinking this, Dream Jia picked up a particularly juicy-looking carrot and put it into her mouth. However, after chewing it twice, she spat it out and began coughing violently.
Witnessing this, Hao Yun and Master Gu hastily asked, "Dream Jia! What's wrong with you? Isn't that carrot poisonous?!"
After gagging a few more times, Dream Jia weakly replied, "The good news is, this carrot isn't poisonous. But the bad news is, why does it taste so terrible?"
Hao Yun took the half-eaten carrot from Dream Jia's hand, cautiously took a bite, and soon began retching. "Ugh! What on earth is this thing?! Why does it taste so awful! This isn't a carrot at all, it's clearly a—ugh!"
Unable to finish his sentence, Hao Yun threw away the carrot in his hand and desperately wiped his tongue and teeth with the back of his hand.
Master Gu, meanwhile, examined the half-eaten carrot on the ground, analyzing, "It seems that the contents of these baskets are not meant for eating, but are props for other purposes. Since we're not sure what game tasks we'll be undertaking here, I suggest you two food enthusiasts refrain from putting anything in your mouths for now!"
To avoid Dream Jia engaging in a physical altercation with Master Gu over his teasing, Hao Yun quickly grabbed her and said, "Hey! The big picture is what matters! After we handle things here, you can settle the score with this old man later! Let's go, we'd better go fetch some clean water from the pond, rinse our mouths, and freshen up a bit before continuing to investigate any clues here."
So, Dream Jia, still spitting out the disgusting taste and giving Master Gu a disdainful look, reluctantly followed Hao Yun's repeated urging and headed to the nearby pond. Then, the two of them discovered that there were two water buckets and a fishing rod placed in the grass by the pond. Obviously, someone had been fishing here before. However, upon careful examination, Hao Yun and Dream Jia found that the clear and shallow pond in front of them was empty, devoid of any fish or aquatic plants. Moreover, there were no suspicious footprints near the muddy edge of the pond. All of this seemed to indicate that no one had been here before them.
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"Could it be that these fishing tools are meant for us? Is fishing here also one of the tasks we have to complete?" Dream Jia speculated, picking up the fishing rod.
Meanwhile, after making sure the two water buckets on the ground were fine, Hao Yun prepared to draw some clean water from the pond, rinse his mouth, wash his face to wake himself up a bit, and then continue to investigate any possible clues here. However, as he bent down to pick up a water bucket and stood up again, he saw a glimmer of firelight suddenly appear in the distance.
"Not good! Enemies!" This was Hao Yun's first reaction upon seeing the firelight. Immediately afterward, his second reaction was to drop the water bucket, grab Dream Jia, who was still focused on the fishing rod, and sneak into the bushes. At the same time, he informed Dao Lao through the system about the suspicious situation he had discovered while looking for clues around the tent.
The three of them hiding in the bushes all turned their attention to the sudden appearance of the firelight on the distant country road. They quickly analyzed its moving trajectory and realized it was rapidly approaching their campfire. So, they bent down and, under the cover of the bushes, swiftly moved to the back of the tent and lurked in a denser area of grass to be prepared for any potential danger.
Soon, Hao Yun and his companions could clearly see who was approaching, and they exclaimed simultaneously, "Oh no! It's him! He's actually a tiger!"
Why did they refer to him as "him"? Because at this moment, they not only saw that the approaching figure was dressed as a tiger but also realized that it was none other than the lead clown who had been constantly wielding a whip to intimidate them during the previous performance!
However, unlike before, this bulky clown, who was now dressed as a tiger, looked completely different from his previous ferocious appearance. He now had a look of fear and cowardice, appearing very worried and utterly non-threatening. Nevertheless, even though this clown appeared weak at the moment, Hao Yun and his companions dared not lower their guard. They suspected that the clown's inexplicable presence here might be to lure them out.
"Hey! Anyone there? Can someone please help me? Wahh!" As the clown approached the campfire, he couldn't help but cry out with a sobbing voice, occasionally wiping his tears and sniffing loudly.
This was the first time Hao Yun and the others had heard the clown speak. His voice was rough, clearly belonging to someone who was crude and unreasonable. Seeing this clown, with his face full of flesh, portraying such a helpless appearance, coupled with his robust physique and cartoon-style tiger costume, gave Hao Yun a strong sense of dissonance and further convinced them that something was amiss.
"That guy is not to be trifled with. We mustn't fall for his act!" Dao Lao reminded, watching the stumbling clown approach. At the same time, upon confirming the clown's identity and noticing a black whip hanging from his waist, Hao Yun and his companions couldn't help but shiver, recalling the painful experience of being whipped by him before.
"Humph! Does that guy have something wrong with his head? Anyone with an ounce of intelligence wouldn't believe that such a burly man really needs help!" Dream Jia remarked, annoyed.
"What should we do now? Shouldn't we just stay here forever?" Hao Yun pointed at the clown who had already sat down beside the campfire and asked.
"Don't rush. We're completely unfamiliar with the situation here. We mustn't let our guard down. It's best for everyone to stay put and observe the situation first," Dao Lao suggested. At the same time, his Mold Spirit Energy Tracking System completed its inspection of the clown. To everyone's delight, the system finally detected a misfortune registration from the clown. However, considering the absolute dominance the clown had shown over them in their previous encounter, they still felt uneasy despite the clown's misfortune level being only three stars.
As the three discussed the purpose of the clown's appearance and whether he was related to their game tasks, the clown sitting by the campfire suddenly burst into tears. He cried so bitterly that, from his sobbing back view, he appeared even more miserable and helpless.
"Wahh! What should I do? I'm all alone now, and I'm so scared! Can anyone help me?! Wahh!" The clown, now resembling a two-hundred-pound child, wailed with tears and snot streaming down his face, appearing utterly dejected.
"Um... Is he deliberately setting a trap? Or should we accept him as the task NPC?" Watching the clown crying and desperately seeking help, Hao Yun couldn't help scratching his head, looking at Dao Lao and Dream Jia.
Dao Lao also pondered with some difficulty, "Could this be his role here?"
In fact, both Dao Lao and Dream Jia felt that the clown might be the NPC they needed to interact with for their game tasks. However, given the absurdity of the rules set by the Countess, they dared not act rashly at this moment, for fear of falling into another one of her bizarre traps.
"But since the Countess has made it clear that we're here to complete game tasks, anyone we encounter here, anything that happens, could be crucial clues, right?" Though filled with doubt and worry, Hao Yun hesitated and suggested whether they should take the bold step to greet the clown.
"At this point, why not give it a try? After all, we don't even know what we're supposed to do right now. What if he's the key figure to start the mission?" Dream Jia agreed with Haoyun's idea, but at the same time, she hesitated about whether they should approach the clown.
Then, Haoyun, unable to contain his suppressed emotions any longer, suddenly stood up and exclaimed, "Hey! No matter what, we have to give it a try! We've died before, and besides, didn't the Countess say it herself? Failing the mission means we start over. We can always try again! You guys wait here, I'll go talk to him!" Haoyun's sudden action startled both Dao Lao and Dream Jia. But before either of them could stop him, he strode over to the clown and shouted, "Hey hey hey! That's right! I'm talking to you! What are you doing here? How did you get to our camp?" Haoyun tried to assert himself as the master of this camp, using a loud and assertive tone.
Upon hearing the roar behind him, the clown, still sobbing, was immediately startled. With a frantic scramble, he rolled over and stood up, then exclaimed in alarm, "Oh my goodness! You scared me to death! Who are you? What do you want? Wahh! Please don't hurt me! Can't I just leave? Wahh!"