CHAPTER 61: CHAPTER 52: OVERPOWERED PLAYER

Number 0 was headed to the Eastern Yi Tribe, a different tribe compared to the previously visited Tushan Tribe, located in the Yellow River Valley. Besides the different geographic location, this tribe had already transitioned into a patrilineal society. Agriculture and pastoralism were highly developed, and the use of human tools was no longer confined to the early agricultural implements, but had gradually shifted to usage by state violence institutions, namely, the military.

According to materials Xia You previously consulted in the library, the waters controlled by Yu were not the Yellow River itself, but a nearby tributary. Amid the severe natural conditions of the big river’s floods and the small river filling up, Yu organized people to manage water continuously near these tributaries, using methods of divergence and guidance.

However, by the time Qi was eleven, the flood management was nearly complete, and under normal circumstances, convincing Yu to return home to visit his family would not have been difficult.

Bazhou City is located along the southeast coast of Hua Country. Previously, Xia You had never visited the Yellow River Valley near where the Eastern Yi Tribe resided.

Thousands of years ago, the Yellow River, this "mother river," resembled a young maiden - lips red, teeth white, with lush green grass, the water flowing swiftly yet clearly, belying its name "Yellow River." As one walked along its course, the cool water and the fish jumping out of the water were truly refreshing and delightful.

At this time, the chieftain of the Eastern Yi Tribe was Emperor Shun, whom Xia You had studied extensively before. The tribe had also constructed more stable defenses using adobe walls on its perimeter.

Upon entering the Eastern Yi Tribe, Number 0 gave a brief notification. When it was heard that she was a messenger of Yu, the questioning Eastern Yi soldiers had strange expressions and hemmed and hawed without divulging where Yu lived, but they allowed her in.

In the Eastern Yi Tribe, both the scale of the tribe and the population living there were much larger than in the Tushan Tribe. All this could be discerned from the local houses and the number of cattle and sheep each household raised.

There were wooden low houses and large residences with three to five courtyards. Here, the earliest wealth divisions had already emerged. Just a few steps in, Number 0 heard a tinkling knocking sound. Ahead, on an open area, several idle men and women each held a polished stone.

Among the men and women, the men held wooden mallets in their right hands and struck to produce sounds. Each held a differently sized polished stone, while the women nearby danced the most primitive dances.

"That is the musical instrument called ’Qing’ mentioned by Lord Shang Jun," said Shang Jun, son of Emperor Shun. Shang Jun loved singing and dancing and, in those eras fierce as tigers with natural disasters, he was not involved in governing or national affairs.

Not far from this gathering, the sizeable crowd mostly listened without speaking. One man, however, stood beside the group, and Number 0 noticed that this man slightly differed from other NPCs.

(Why aren’t you looking for Yu and instead following that man? He is probably a player too. After Military Road enters public testing, new players will continuously join the main battlefield. If the first battlefield fills up, some will be directed to a reserve battlefield.) Little Eight also noticed the difference in that man. Dressed very similarly to Xia You in a military uniform, bald, and large-framed, he stood out distinctly in the crowd.

Number 0 would need more time to locate Xia Yu since the system map did not specify his residence, "Since we are both players, what he needs to do is what I need to do as well," she thought, following the direction where the man went.

"Try using Loli Reconnaissance Skill," Number 0 focused her gaze on the bald male soldier. People in front sensed something, stopped, and turned around. Suddenly, the sky darkened overhead, and the man’s gaze, like a rope, instantly bound Number 0’s hands and feet.

(Danger, do not rashly use reconnaissance skills,) Little Eight screamed, but it was too late. Numerous events later proved that Little Eight’s main special skill was not "Desertion," but "Hindsight." Number 0 remained on the busy street, seeing only a pair of cold eyes.

When the bald soldier turned around, Number 0 had never seen such a person; the Bald Soldier was unexpectedly handsome. Sword-shaped thick eyebrows, unusually deep eye sockets for an Easterner, lips neither thin nor thick. The Loli Reconnaissance Skill in use was forcibly severed.

"He is very strong," Number 0 realized too late.

The use of character special skills being interrupted mid-way only has two possibilities: the user voluntarily terminates it, or it is forcefully disrupted by the opponent. Either scenario would cause great harm to the user themselves.

Number 0 had never encountered such a situation before; her targets when using Reconnaissance Skill were always ordinary NPCs or prehistoric creatures with weak spiritual power.

The interrupted Reconnaissance Skill rebounded onto Number 0, causing her spiritual power to plummet by half. Losing a large amount of spiritual power was even more terrifying than losing physical strength. Number 0 felt her brain begin to hurt intensely, her limbs first numbed, then stiffened as if petrified.

(Where did such a formidable player come from?) Little Eight cried out in dismay internally.

Little Eight and Number 0 had overlooked one thing; after the global rollout of the Military Network’s public test phase, "Military Road" began to attract all types of players. Just as there were newbie players like Xia You, there were also players like Bald Soldier who were judged to be high-ranking officers upon joining.

Not everyone could encounter the Sub-God Space’s bug, so after evaluating the entrants’ strength, the system directly sent stronger players to the alternative Newbie Village, which had a higher level of difficulty compared to Newbie Village.

Fortunately for Number 0, although the Bald Soldier was powerful, he was decent enough not to kill her after disrupting her skill. His special skills seemed quite unique; not only could they attack a person’s spiritual power, but they also had a prolonged deterrent effect.

"Only a Private First Class, but..." the Bald Soldier murmured, glancing lightly at Number 0. Although not a reconnaissance soldier, his many years of military experience allowed him to detect the person following him from the start. He felt no need to kill, so he just went directly to complete his mission. He too had recently joined "Military Road" and was unaware of the game’s operational rules.

If it was wrong for Number 0 to have followed him, what happened next was definitely the Bald Soldier’s fault. He walked brazenly up to Number 0, opened her military pack.

"This is possible??" The shock of Number 0 was unparalleled. The Bald Soldier did not respond to her.

(It is possible. Fortunately for you, he seemed to be a newbie as well, only taking your needle shooting gun,) Little Eight weakly responded.

"Nonsense, everything else is bound," Number 0 could only curse internally, finding the situation both laughable and infuriating. That damnable Bald Man had actually taken her only weapon. Everyone had a mission handbook and a system map, and the Investigation Manual was bound, so only the Ghost Needle Gun caught the interest of the Bald Soldier.

All the new players, including Number 0 and the Bald Soldier, were not yet aware that military merits could also be transferred, but the prerequisite was either sniping down a player or through an agreed transfer.

Her body could move freely again, but her spiritual power had fallen to its lowest point.

(Just exit the system for now, wait for that high-level player to complete his mission, then think of a plan,) Little Eight felt helpless.

Draining a large amount of spiritual power was very taxing, and it was much harder to recover spiritual power compared to Physical Strength value, especially since now all of Number 0’s items, aside from a slingshot and "bullets" considered child’s play, had been taken. She wasn’t left with a single military coin.

Number 0 gritted her teeth, opting to exit the game first. If she encountered that Bald Man again, she was determined to make his end a gruesome one.