Watching Dao Lao's ugly face as he spoke, Hao Yun pounded his chest and stamped his feet, exclaiming, "Oh my goodness! What kind of society is this? It seems like working for the Divine Realm subjects us to more exploitation than even feudal society! So, here I am, working day and night, risking my life on missions, and yet I can't even get a single penny in wages within six months!"
Dao Lao, feeling somewhat guilty, replied, "Huh? Don't talk nonsense! Doesn't your salary include a commission? The Divine Realm has deliberately not restricted the commission part of your salary, considering the concerns of new recruits like you. So, starting from the probationary period, you can earn bonuses. This way, if you work hard and earn commissions, you'll still be able to make ends meet every month. It's not like you'll be penniless."
"What about overtime pay? Shouldn't we get triple pay for working on holidays? And what about social security and benefits?" Hao Yun felt it necessary to carefully discuss the issue of remuneration with Dao Lao, while also berating himself for his carelessness when he first joined. He had thought these divine officials would be more generous in their dealings, but as it turns out, when it comes to compensation, they are not only meticulous but also stingy.
"Overtime pay? The Divine Realm has granted you a long life, yet you still have the nerve to ask for overtime pay? No! The work in the Divine Realm is a round-the-clock operation, like James Bond's mission! There's never been talk of overtime pay! Huh? Stop giving me that resentful look! What are you crying for? Swallow it back! If you're not willing, then get lost now! Many people are clamoring to become my assistants, but they don't even have the chance! You still have the audacity to talk to me about remuneration?!" Dao Lao drew his sword from his waist, threatening Hao Yun while brandishing it.
Faced with the oppression from the exploiting class, Hao Yun quickly surrendered. After all, if he wanted to quit, his brain would be sliced open by Dao Lao. Then he might end up as a vegetable, which would be much worse than enduring exploitation but still being able to move around freely. What's more, Hao Yun's bubble tea shop back home relied on Master Gu and the others to make money! So, after weighing his options, sigh! Hao Yun could only grit his teeth and bear a bit of grievance!
Hao Yun and Dao Lao cautiously explored the stone forest. Although they hadn't found a suitable hiding place to rest, the dim light in the territory of the Dark Elf and the swirling sand between the stone forests provided some cover for their movements.
As they continued forward for an unknown period, they gradually entered a state of exploration, becoming more focused on sensing their surroundings. It was because of this that they suddenly heard voices carried by the sandstorm when they turned into a corridor formed by interwoven and undulating stone pillars. From the gradually increasing volume of the conversation, they judged that the speakers were approaching them.
Hao Yun and Dao Lao exchanged glances and immediately took cover in the shadows between two giant rocks. Then, Hao Yun nervously said, "Oh no, could we be so unlucky? Didn't those Light Elf soldiers say this area is safe? How come we've only walked a short distance and already encountered Dark Elf soldiers?"
It's worth mentioning that although Light Elves and Dark Elves belong to two different elf tribes, they both speak the same elven language. However, according to Serwen's introduction, Light Elves speak in a softer and gentler tone, while Dark Elves speak in a deeper and huskier tone. Therefore, even if they only heard voices, they could distinguish the speaker's camp based on their habitual tone.
Of course, Hao Yun and Dao Lao had never seen Dark Elves before, and the strong wind made it difficult for them to identify the speaker's allegiance. However, considering the geographical location, the probability was higher that they were Dark Elves.
"Shh! Don't make a sound! Switch to private chat. We're in danger now," Dao Lao gestured for Hao Yun to keep quiet and reminded him in the system.
Hao Yun lightly tapped his head, feeling sorry for not being able to switch chat modes in time, "Right, right! Private chat! Old Dao, what should we do now? Should we fight them?"
As he spoke, Hao Yun instinctively gripped the sword in his hand, and his whole body involuntarily began to tremble again.
"We'll hide for now and assess the situation. It's best to avoid them if possible. If not, we'll play it by ear," said Dao Lao calmly, gripping his sword at his waist.
After hiding in the shadows for a while, Hao Yun and Dao Lao soon saw four figures crossing from the direction ahead. They were engaged in conversation the whole time, so when they passed through the corridor of stone pillars, they didn't even bother to look in their direction.
Watching the figures disappear from their sight and hearing their conversation gradually fade away, Hao Yun breathed a sigh of relief, "Phew! Luckily, they didn't spot us, or we would have been in real trouble!"
"Trouble? Huh! You're giving those guys too much credit! While we divine officials are not supposed to harm the creatures of the mortal realm, during missions, if necessary, killing them wouldn't be a big deal." Dao Lao said disdainfully.
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"You're impressive, can't I admire you?!" Hao Yun retorted. "Anyway, let's hurry up and leave. So we won't run into them again and end up in trouble."
To avoid encountering those people again, Hao Yun and Dao Lao decided to take a detour in the opposite direction of where they had come and ensure they were completely out of the way of those people. Then, they would return to their original route and continue toward the possible direction of the Black Stone Castle.
Hao Yun and Dao Lao quickly left the area they had just encountered, and after circling around for a while, they successfully returned to their original route. Due to their encounter with unidentified individuals earlier, Hao Yun and Dao Lao became even more cautious as they traveled. However, despite their vigilance, they once again faced a new crisis after walking a considerable distance.
As they stealthily hugged the giant rocks and tried to hide themselves in the shadows, they suddenly froze. Because as soon as they turned into a shadow formed by two intersecting giant rocks, they came face to face with a fully armed warrior.
This warrior was not tall, but he had an unusually burly build. As soon as Hao Yun and Dao Lao entered the shadow, the warrior immediately fixed his dead, red eyes full of murderous intent on them. However, instead of attacking Hao Yun and Dao Lao immediately, the warrior emitted a series of "Ugh, ugh" sounds with the same lifeless tone upon seeing them.
"Be careful! It's an undead soldier!" Dao Lao immediately warned Hao Yun upon seeing this.
Fortunately, a few days ago, they had seen the corpses of undead soldiers outside the Misty Forest, and they had also received a lot of information about undead soldiers from Elinnana. So even though this was their first official encounter with undead soldiers of the Dark Elf tribe, Dao Lao quickly realized that the soldier in front of them was not an ordinary Dark Elf.
"Hao Yun, don't make any rash moves. Remember, we're also undead soldiers now, which is why it hasn't attacked us." Dao Lao continued to chat privately with Hao Yun, encouraging him to continue imitating the stiff movements of the undead soldiers and slowly back away from the shadow.
Little did Hao Yun know that his perfect imitation of the stiff movements of the undead soldiers was simply because he was bewildered and scared after seeing a living undead soldier for the first time.
However, just as Hao Yun and Dao Lao slowly backed out of the shadow, they immediately heard another series of "Ugh, ugh" sounds from behind them. Hao Yun couldn't help but shiver and quickly turned his head to look behind him. There, he saw another undead soldier, slightly hunched over but otherwise similar in height and build to himself, holding a giant axe and glaring at them.
"Oh no! Why is there another undead soldier behind us? Have we stumbled into a nest of undead?" Hao Yun said with a slightly trembling voice.
"It's just two undead soldiers. What are you afraid of? They must have mistaken us for their kind, so they haven't attacked us. Continue playing your role, and let's observe the situation first!" Dao Lao calmly commanded again.
Hao Yun, struggling to suppress the immense fear brought by the undead soldier standing in front of him like a childhood nightmare, withdrew his right hand, which was already prepared to draw his sword, and forced himself to stand still, facing the two undead soldiers in front and behind him.
The two sides confronted each other for a while until suddenly, Hao Yun and Dao Lao heard a rough yet somewhat surprised voice coming from another nearby shadow, "Hey! Look what we've found!"
"It turns out these two are out-of-control zombies! We've actually found two out-of-control zombies! Hahaha! What incredible luck we have today! We can make a small profit again!" The person who spoke walked out of the shadow with somewhat cheerful steps, rubbing his hands together continuously.
Out-of-control zombies? What did that mean? Hao Yun and Dao Lao didn't understand what the person was saying, but they understood very well that their decision not to immediately attack the two undead soldiers earlier was the correct one. Because, after the stout Dark Elf appeared, three more Dark Elf warriors followed him through the shadow and stood in front of Hao Yun and Dao Lao. Dao Lao quickly judged based on the physique of these Dark Elf warriors that they were the four people they had encountered earlier.
"Oh! I said we should patrol this area today! Two lost zombies? This could fetch quite a few Elven biscuit-making materials!" The stout Dark Elf, who was leading the group, excitedly said to the other three.
"Yeah! Following the old man always brings good luck! Hey? Look at the attire of these two zombies, they should belong to the Expeditionary Army, right?" Another tall and thin Dark Elf, while flattering the stout one, casually looked over Hao Yun and Dao Lao.
But what's worth noting is that when he approached Hao Yun and Dao Lao, he deliberately waved a gray iron token engraved with strange runes in front of them.
"Yes, these two beasts belong to the Expeditionary Army. Ah, it's said that the undead soldiers dispatched to the Expeditionary Army have a lower grade, rougher craftsmanship, and a higher chance of losing control. It seems that it's true! These two trash haven't even made it to the battlefield yet, and they've already lost control. Ha! I wonder which Expeditionary Army unit they belong to. Those guys are really careless to let them run so far from the camp." The stout Dark Elf said disdainfully.
"So that's how it is! These guys mistook us for out-of-control zombies. Hey! Hao Yun, control your emotions. Since they want to take us back to exchange for materials to make Elven biscuits, we might as well play along, follow them back, and then make our plans." Dao Lao, quickly grasping the situation based on the conversation of several Dark Elf, immediately whispered to Hao Yun.
"Huh? Follow them back? But, after they exchange us, won't we end up like other out-of-control zombies, being melted down and reprocessed? In that case, wouldn't our situation be even more dangerous?" Hearing Dao Lao's suggestion, Hao Yun couldn't help but feel uneasy, triggering a cascade of terrifying images in his mind of his own out-of-control zombie being thrown into a blood pool, ready to be transformed into raw materials for making zombies.
At the thought, Hao Yun couldn't help but shiver with intense fear, prompting him to immediately propose, "Old Dao, didn't you say taking care of them would be a piece of cake? Why don't we seize the opportunity and just take them all out? It's better than risking being unable to escape later!"