novelODS Chapter 119 Lucas Cleaning Up the Butt
Chapter 119 Lucas Cleaning Up the Butt
Along the coastline of Pearl Harbor, a bustling scene of labor continues.
After chatting for a while, Lucas had to leave.
Yu Wen, who came to ask for a letter of recommendation, walked past the noisy construction site, her feet sinking into the soft sand.
His painting style seems out of place here.
This burly man, nearly 1.9 meters tall, was covered in dried blood and residue of mutated spore powder. His coarse linen clothes were torn in several places, and the scabs underneath were faintly visible.
Those were the cruel marks left behind deep underground in the ruined capital after a fierce battle with the Zombie Mushroom King.
Yu Wen is a pure battle maniac.
He had no interest in speculating on land or building seaside properties; all he could think about was how to get to the Magic Forest for further studies as soon as possible.
Relying on his memory of being born in Pearl Harbor, he walked straight through the outer shantytown and headed towards the old village chief Lucas's residence.
That was the only way he could get a letter of recommendation.
As Yu Wen approached the familiar courtyard, he stopped, keenly sensing the unusual atmosphere around him.
He immediately darted away like a leopard, silently disappearing behind a pile of abandoned breakwater rocks.
These NPCs are acting a bit strange!
It has its own independent cutscene! It's definitely a hidden storyline! He was frantically calculating in his mind.
Hiding in the shadows, he began to carefully examine the people in front of him.
A heavy-looking armored vehicle was parked outside the gate, its outer shell coated with some kind of anti-corrosion paint.
A bloated fat man dressed in an expensive silk robe stood beside the vehicle, a bright metal badge with a golden wing design gleaming on his chest.
In this wasteland where even food is scarce, such luxurious attire makes one a sitting duck.
But the lingering warmth quickly dispelled that thought.
He glanced at the two fully armed elite guards behind the fat man. Their plate armor was polished to a gleaming shine, and their breastplates and joints even seemed to shimmer with some kind of magical luster.
Yu Wen immediately recognized that these two guards were definitely high-level NPCs with extremely high stats.
At this stage, if any clueless player dares to rush in and collect gold coins, they will probably be instantly killed before they even have a chance to draw their sword.
Old Lucas was directing several port laborers to load heavy crates of supplies onto the wagons.
"Mr. Lucas, is this all the output of Pearl Harbor for this quarter?"
The fat man clutched a silk handkerchief in his hand, covering his mouth and nose in disgust. His shrill voice echoed outside the courtyard gate, "Just this little bit of cheap salt and inferior metal? Are you trying to fob me off like a beggar?"
Old Lucas bowed slightly, a lingering warmth I had never seen before in that obsequious posture.
"Inspector, as you know, the abandoned city has long been a heavily polluted wasteland. The amount of pig iron we can dig out is already the limit."
"Uh... as for sea salt, the monsters in the nearshore waters have been appearing more and more frequently lately, and we've lost a lot of manpower at the port, so production really can't keep up."
Old Lucas's tone was bitter and ingratiating.
The fat man snorted and rummaged through one of the wooden boxes with his chubby fingers.
During the transport, the corner of a wooden crate was bumped, and a few handfuls of pure white, fine refined sea salt leaked out from the gap, accompanied by the clanging sound of metal ingots.
Yu Wen's eyes lit up.
The box contained not only sea salt, but also several perfectly treated blue crocodile skins on top, as well as a small jar of strong acid gel that shimmered with a greenish light.
"Holy crap, that thing... isn't that what Big Goose and the others were talking about on the forum? It's the thing they just tinkered with in the sewers of the ruined city."
Yu Wen was deeply shocked.
I walked slowly for several days, but I didn't expect these things to arrive faster than I could walk.
He then realized that the top-tier materials that players had painstakingly obtained by fighting monsters in the ruined city had been quietly transported here by this secret network and used as offerings.
The game's economic system has actually formed an invisible black market industry chain.
"I heard a group of homeless people recently arrived in the ruined capital and caused quite a stir?"
The fat man glanced sideways at Lucas.
"The committee is very unhappy with this uncontrollable variable. You'd better not try anything funny."
"Your Excellency is wise; they are just a group of refugees who can't survive and are merely clinging to life in a few dilapidated houses."
Old Lucas pulled a delicate little black cloth bag from his sleeve and discreetly slipped it into the fat man's hand.
"Hehe, this is just a small token of my appreciation. Take it with you on your journey to relieve your fatigue."
Old Lucas bent slightly and handed over a paper document stamped with red wax.
"I have compiled the reports of casualties among the refugees and the proof of poverty in the ruined city."
The fat man took the document, weighed the cloth bag in his hand, and the gloom on his face instantly disappeared.
He glanced at it casually, then tucked it into his pocket with satisfaction.
"Lucas, Lucas, you're the most law-abiding person in all the villages and towns on Treasure Island. For the sake of these good intentions, I'll handle things for you with the committee during this quarter's audit."
He patted the old village chief on the shoulder, let out a greasy laugh, and then stepped onto the vehicle.
The engine roared low, and a plume of black smoke billowed from the exhaust pipe. The vehicle quickly disappeared into the wilderness leading inland.
Only after the dust settled did old Lucas's obsequious posture gradually subside.
He straightened his hunched back, the fawning on his face vanished, leaving only indifference.
This series of changes in demeanor left Yu Wen, hiding behind the rocks, thoroughly enjoying the experience.
This NPC's disguise skills are amazing; he can change his expression faster than flipping through a book. He must be a retired big shot!
His deep gaze fell upon the shadow at the corner of the courtyard wall.
"Come out, young man. Those rocks can't hide the pungent smell of blood on you."
Yu Wen stepped forward from the shadows and explained his purpose.
Lucas knew that Lynn had instructed him that with his authorization, he could come here to obtain the necessary paperwork for changing jobs in other major cities.
Old Lucas sized up the burly man exuding a menacing aura before him, his brow furrowing slightly. "You want to learn magic? Young man, your physique would be better suited to a two-handed sword from the Warriors' Tribe."
Yu Wen didn't waste any more words.
He closed his eyes and forcibly mobilized the invisible spiritual power in his mind.
At first, only a faint ripple appeared in the air.
But as the residual heat caused veins to bulge on his forehead, the surrounding free magical elements were roughly pulled towards him.
A faint blue aura began to circulate around his body, quickly condensing into a thin but exceptionally pure energy barrier that kept the sea breeze out.
To prove the effectiveness of this barrier, Yu Wen directly swung his fist, which was as big as a clay pot, and slammed it hard into the halo in front of his chest.
The blue light flickered violently, managing to withstand the explosive attack with a muffled thud.
This wild approach of testing a mage's shield as if it were a warrior's chainmail breaks the stereotype that mages are weak.
Magic Shield.
A hint of surprise flashed in old Lucas's eyes.
A novice who has never even undergone a first class change was able to touch the threshold of the origin of magic on his own, and even integrate it into his instinct for close combat.
Such talent is indeed rare.
He nodded, turned and went into the house, and soon came out with a sealed parchment.
Yu Wen accepted the letter of recommendation, but his eyes kept glancing in the direction where the vehicle had disappeared.
"Village chief, who was that fat guy just now?"
Unable to contain his gossip, Yu Wen tried to extract hidden information: "Is he a member of some hidden faction? And what kind of quest item is that document he took?"
Old Lucas relit his cheap pipe, took a deep drag, and exhaled thick smoke that enveloped his wrinkled old face.
"Those are inspectors from the Treasure Island Trade Arbitration Committee," Lucas said calmly, his tone revealing neither joy nor anger. "They report directly to Sky City."
Yu Wen paused for a moment.
Castle in the Sky?
This looks like they're about to release a new map.
Old Lucas tapped the wooden door frame with his pipe, shaking off some ash.
"Do you really think that your Lord Lynn can get away with all the commotion he caused in the abandoned city, even forcibly taking over the entire town?"
The old man's question made Yu Wen's heart skip a beat.
"No matter how tall the tower is, it can't block the committee's eyes."
Old Lucas looked at the distant sea horizon, his voice turning cold, "Every month, I exploit the loopholes in their rules to fabricate reports of severe pollution and casualties in the abandoned city's jurisdiction, defining it as a dead land with no development value."
"At the same time, I will take most of the smuggling profits from Pearl Harbor to feed those insatiable vampires."
Old Lucas turned his head, his cloudy eyes filled with calculation.
"If we hadn't stamped a single seal or delivered a single box of supplies, the Sky City's purge fleet would have razed your dilapidated tower to the ground long ago."
The lingering warmth left the parchment frozen in mid-air.
He originally thought Lynn was just a GM in the game's setting, never expecting that the real protector in the game's setting would be this old geezer who smoked cheap cigarettes every day.
The game's massive and intricate political maneuvering sent chills down Yu Wen's spine, while simultaneously fueling an irrepressible urge to explore.