The next morning, both humans and non-humans in the inn gathered in the lobby on the first floor.
It must be said, the maintenance fee was truly worth it. When Su Yao arrived, she saw that the hall was not only clean and tidy, but even some minor damages had been repaired. Only a few major damages remained, which Su Yao would need to gather materials to fix herself.
Peng Yi pulled an all-nighter and came out with dark circles under his eyes.
"I interrogated him all night, and it was only an hour ago that Wilson finally spoke."
The others were all dead, and Wilson had no will to live. When a person is not even afraid of death, interrogation becomes quite difficult.
The three Peng brothers originally planned to take turns tormenting Wilson, but Wilson was so stubborn that they had to gang up on him together.
At the break of dawn, Peng Er and Peng San couldn't hold on and fell asleep. Peng Yi, after some effort, finally managed to get all the information out of Wilson.
Their team belonged to the Northern Wolf Pack Mercenary Group. Among the people who came to the inn, Wilson, Mary, and Jennifer's father were key members of the Wolf Pack Mercenary Group.
Wilson said they were indeed looking for the Water Repelling Pearl.
The legend of the Water-Avoiding Pearl has been passed down for hundreds of years, but no one has ever found it, not even a single clue. So, people on the continent have all assumed it to be just a mythical tale.
So why did the Wolf Pack Mercenary Group suddenly start looking for the Water-Avoiding Pearl?
This matter must be traced back another fifty years.
Fifty years ago, a prophet was born in the northern estate of the Earl of Eston. The prophet used his life to predict the location of a treasure, and said that whoever possessed this treasure would be able to conquer all the seas and dominate the Dragon Roar Continent.
"Didn't they say this was a hoax?" Becker frowned deeply. "I've heard this rumor too, but it seems like Count Aston made it up to inherit the title."
"When the old count died, his sons were all waiting to defeat their brothers to inherit the title. The Earl of Aston did the same, so he deliberately made up the story that his youngest son was a prophet to gain the support of the people..."
Peng was older and had a vague understanding of these matters: "The version you heard was spread by other rival counts. In fact, this prophet was real. And after he made this prophecy, he died."
"The prophet spoke late as a child, only uttering single words by the age of three, and finally forming complete sentences at five. His first complete sentence was a prophecy, and he passed away the day after he spoke it."
"So incredibly profound!"
"Yes, at that time everyone believed the prophecy was true for this reason as well. It seemed as if this child was born just to deliver this prophecy."
Peng Yi continued, "As for the rest, Wilson doesn't know much. He only mentioned that the top echelon of the Wolf Pack Mercenaries found another prophet. That prophet calculated the specific treasure and its location, and also predicted that the treasure would only truly appear when the master of the Misty Forest emerges."
The specific treasure should be the Water-Avoiding Pearl, and the location should be the Misty Forest. As for the master of the Misty Forest..
Su Yao scratched her head, seeing that they had attributed the title of the Misty Forest's master to her.
"Why must we oppose the boss? It's based on the oracle's instructions. The oracle said that the master of the Misty Forest is their greatest enemy. If she doesn't willingly hand over the item, then we must eliminate her as soon as possible."
The Wolf Pack Mercenary Group had been waiting for the master of this Misty Forest to appear for a long time. It wasn't until that day when Jennifer was safely escorted home by Baker and his companions that they learned about this newly emerged inn from Jennifer and the others.
They were convinced that Su Yao was the master of the Misty Forest, so they made preparations overnight and came.
Beck and the other two's faces changed instantly; it turned out they had led the enemy here!
"I'm sorry, boss, we..."
Su Yao raised her hand in a pause gesture: "What's done is done, there's no need to talk about it anymore."
Beck and his team clearly didn't do it on purpose; no one could have anticipated such a thing happening.
"Let's talk about the upcoming plans," Su Yao asked Baker. "When did you come to the South? Do you still not know that the North is going to war?"
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
"What?" Beck was shocked, "War? How is that possible?"
Betty and Stephen also looked incredulous. "We came here more than half a month ago. Because Mary detected a high level of evil spirits at the northern entrance of the Misty Forest, we couldn't fight them, so we circled around to the southern entrance to get in. It took us quite a few days to reach the inn."
The South was isolated from the North, and the Misty Forest was isolated from the entire continent, so these people had no idea about the changes in the outside world. If it weren't for encountering the three Peng brothers, Su Yao might not have known about these matters either.
"If there's going to be a war, it would be better for us to return as soon as possible."
Becker and the other two had parents and homes, and they were all in the north, which made them uneasy.
Su Yao nodded after hearing this, then turned to look at the three Peng brothers.
After receiving the look, they stood obediently at attention: "We don't have a home, the house in Woshui Town is rented. It's just the three of us brothers, from now on this place will be our home."
Su Yao was amused by their behavior, revealing her little tiger teeth as she smiled. "I have no intention of driving you away. I was thinking of upgrading your dormitory once all the guests have left."
Peng Er shook his head and said, "Upgrade? It's fine as it is. We feel very comfortable where we are."
"The hotel staff each have their own room," Ya said with a smile, uttering a statement that left the three Peng brothers and the three Becks in shock.
The three Peng brothers: "We have slept squeezed together since we were little, never having a room of our own."
Beck: "My sister and I didn't start sleeping separately until we were ten. She got her own room, and I'm still squeezing into the space next to the bathroom."
Stephen: "I am an only child, so I do have a room where I can live alone..."
The North is relatively affluent compared to the South, but poverty is the hallmark of this continent. Most people can't afford to build big houses, and children in the family have to make do by squeezing together to sleep. On this continent, people only build new houses when they get married.
Even after the three Peng brothers became a bit wealthier through stealing, they never thought of building their own house. Instead, they rented three rooms to live in: one for the toilet, one for the living room, and one for sleeping.
Peng San, with tears in his eyes, said, "I've had enough of sleeping with my snoring brothers. I can finally have a room to myself!"
Working is great, I could work for a lifetime!
The six humans started to quarrel, and the inn became lively again. The bloodshed of yesterday was somewhat washed away by this newfound joy.
After lunch, the three of them, laden with food and medicine, embarked on their journey home.
This time, the three of them did the same as last time, paying ten thousand gold coins, and Su Yao escorted them out of the Misty Forest.
However, this time there was no teleportation card, only Zhan Xing driving an off-road vehicle.
Stephen: "Awesome! So cool!"
Beck: "As long as we can get out safely, any method will do!"
Betty: "Boss, you're amazing! I knew it, you're definitely not as ordinary as you seem on the surface!"
The three of them felt incredibly lucky to have connected with Su Yao. As the car started, they didn't forget their promise: to keep an eye on the movements of the Wolf Pack Mercenary Group when they returned to the North.
Beck and his companions left, and the three Peng brothers also set out to continue chopping wood. This time, they had an additional task of collecting materials dropped by evil spirits.
The hotel is severely damaged and materials must be collected quickly to repair it.
Fearing that something might happen to the three Peng brothers, Su Yao gave them the compass she had taken from Mei Li. This compass was their weapon to evade high-level evil spirits and beasts. With it, the three Peng brothers generally wouldn't encounter any trouble.
Su Yao not only found this compass but also took the storage bags from them. In an instant, Su Yao's assets rose to 120,000.
As Su Yao became wealthier, she no longer felt the pinch of spending gold coins. As soon as the three Peng brothers left, she kept her promise and expanded their three dormitories.
The room was ready, and Su Yao sat down.
She carefully went through her own materials package again, but still couldn't find the Water-Avoiding Pearl. The Wolf Pack Mercenary Group had indeed misunderstood; she really hadn't obtained it.
However... she did have a treasure-seeking pearl.
She took the item out and showed it to Felix and Ya, "Will this help us find the existence of the Water-Avoiding Pearl?"
According to the logic of the game, Su Yao wouldn't receive things and clues for no reason. If the Water Repelling Pearl pointed to her, and she also had the Treasure Seeking Pearl, then most likely she needed to use the Treasure Seeking Pearl to explore and find the Water Repelling Pearl.
Su Yao didn't wait for the two clerks' response; instead, she first received a message from the system.
[Congratulations to the host for unlocking the hidden main quest: Unify the Longyin Continent and build a beautiful magical world!]
[Now releasing the first and second stages of the hidden main quest (both stages run concurrently, no particular order):
① Seek the Water-Avoiding Pearl, open up new maps.
② The host is requested to expand rice cultivation to cover half of the southern land area within one year, increasing grain production to 100 billion jin, thereby initially addressing the poverty issue in the south.
[Automatic task acceptance successful, reward: 10 card draws.]
Su Yao: ???
How did I automatically accept the task?
[Congratulations to the host for receiving over twenty guests. Hotel experience +500, received a Level 3 optional decoration card *1.]
[Congratulations to the host for repelling the inn's enemies. Inn experience +500, card draw chance *1.]
[Not forgetting to loot the bag after killing the enemy, congratulations to the host for obtaining the achievement title "Born Saver," and earning one card draw.]
[Congratulations to the host for unlocking the secret of the Treasure-Seeking Pearl, reward: 1 card draw.]
[The host is in the Misty Forest but can still obtain firsthand information from the north and south. The host is rewarded with the achievement title "In the Forest, but with a 5G Information Network" and receives one card draw.]
[Your employees have cumulatively chopped 99 grams of wood, successfully earning the title "Tree-Cutting Expert." Inn experience +500, reward for the host: 1 card draw, reward for employees (a total of seven) stamina enhancement potion *7.]
Since those people arrived, the system hasn't issued a single task or given any rewards. It turns out it was waiting for them to leave to release everything at once!
A series of broadcasts and a heap of words quickly surrounded Su Yao.
Su Yao simply went straight to "Personal Center" and "My Hotel" to check.
In the "Personal Center," Su Yao had two more achievements, and the number of card draws had increased to fifteen.
In "My Hotel," the hotel experience had reached 2100/3000, just nine hundred short of leveling up; the funds after deducting the expansion card had become 98,700 gold coins; and next to the staff, a small icon had lit up. When magnified, the words on it read the newly acquired title—"Tree Cutting Expert."