Chapter 557.1: To The South!

"Is this the place?"

In front of the Pirate's Bay Tavern, the street was bustling with foot traffic.

Falling Feather glanced at the map and photo on his VM screen, then looked up at the storefront in front of him. His expression gradually turned excited.

No mistake!

This was it!

"Little Feather, we’re going in!"

"Yiwu!"

Having confirmed the target, Falling Feather pushed the door open and walked in.

The 10 figures wrapped tightly in exoskeletons behind him followed closely through the open door.

They were all Little Feather’s sub-bodies without independent consciousness. They shared the same mind with Little Feather, essentially functioning as Little Feather’s eyes and hands.

Strictly speaking, sub-bodies couldn’t stray too far from the main body. And unlike other Hives that transmitted information via spores, Little Feather relied on sound, which had a much shorter effective range.

However, thanks to the administrator’s creative workaround, every one of them was equipped with a headset, instantly turning a weakness into an advantage.

Although Little Feather’s main body couldn’t leave Shelter 404, as long as it was within the New Alliance’s signal coverage, Feather 1 through Feather 10 could communicate seamlessly with Little Feather.

To avoid frightening NPC passersby, Falling Feather had taken advantage of a recent military surplus sale in Boulder Town and equipped them all with K-10 Iron Wall exoskeletons that originally cost 30,000 chips each.

With the helmet visors down, no one could tell what was inside. All they saw was 10 burly, iron-clad men marching behind him.

Thanks to them, Falling Feather attracted stares wherever he went.

"What would you like to order...?" Hearing the bell at the door, the bartender behind the counter began his greeting, but cut himself off halfway upon seeing the row of gleaming black exoskeletons.

After steadying himself, he changed his words. "Are you here to accept a commission?"

"Yup!" Falling Feather walked straight up to the bar, nodded excitedly, and showed the VM on his arm. "It’s for the B-level mission!"

The moment the group stepped into the tavern, they drew countless eyes. And when people overheard the young man had taken on a B-level commission, a wave of whispers followed.

"B-level? Hasn't the Mercenary Guild only been open a few days? Someone already qualified for the B-level tasks?"

"I heard their system works differently, there’s a special assessment standard."

"Apparently awakeners can apply for a rank evaluation? They don’t have to start from G-level..."

"Makes sense..."

"But that gear... It looks like it came from the regular army, huh?"

Strictly speaking, rookies weren’t supposed to take on B-level mercenary missions. But since the Mercenary Guild had just launched, and unlike the Scientific Expedition Team that had been around since the Alpha version, there was no point in leaving high-level missions to rot.

In the end, a rank assessment system had been put in place.

Newly registered players who reached LV10 and had awakened would be assigned three system-generated tasks matched to their combat profession. According to their roles as a soldier, hunter, or other professions, they would receive a calculated combat score.

For instance, if the system offered C, C+, and B-level missions, and the player completed C and C+-level missions but failed a B-level mission, their starting rank would be C+.

If they completed all three, they would start at B-level.

But if they failed all three...

Then they would have to climb from G-level.

Since clients usually had limited intelligence, mission difficulty wasn’t absolute. A C-level mission might unexpectedly turn out to be S-level.

But for players, the surprise factor was part of Wasteland Online’s charm.

"A B-level commission, huh... yeah, that one’s not easy," the bartender muttered as he leaned closer to glance at the VM. Stroking his chin, he looked at Falling Feather and continued, "Wait here. I’ll go get my boss."

With that, he turned and headed into the kitchen behind the bar.

Falling Feather waited a moment at the counter. Soon, someone sat down beside him and offered a right hand. "White Shark. I’m the boss here."

Looking at the NPC, Falling Feather introduced himself in return. "Falling Feather!"

Glancing at the row of exoskeleton-clad bodyguards behind him, White Shark got a rough idea of this mercenary team’s capabilities. He then looked back at the young man in front of him. "Falling Feather, huh... Interesting name. Are you from a shelter?"

Falling Feather answered without hesitation. "That’s right. Is there a problem?"

"No problem, just making conversation. I figure besides you guys, not many would want to travel far in the dead of winter," White Shark chuckled softly. "So let’s get to the point."

As he spoke, he pulled out a tablet and tapped it a few times, syncing the mission details to the young man’s VM.

Falling Feather immediately opened it and scanned through. The moment he saw the mission reward, his breathing quickened.

[Commission:

100,000 silver coins!

]

That... That was way too much!

Seeing the dollar signs in Falling Feather’s eyes, White Shark chuckled and waved at the bartender behind the bar for two glasses of honey water.

Taking a sip to moisten his throat, he continued, "The employer is a traveling merchant from the south, based in a settlement called Pinecone Ranch. It’s located near Brocade Lake Municipality in Brocade River Province. The coordinates should already be updated on your map."

Falling Feather lifted his eyes from the commission and gave White Shark a puzzled look. "A ranch?"

"Just the name," White Shark replied calmly. "It’s actually one of the better-known settlements in the area, with quite a large population, around 50,000 or 60,000, I hear. Of the merchants I know, at least four come from there."

Brocade Lake Municipality.

Garbage and Make Me seem like they’re somewhere around there too, though they’re in a small northern village called Dust Town. They never mentioned other settlements in the area?

Falling Feather nodded in understanding. "I see."

White Shark continued. "You’ve got two tasks. One is to escort a shipment of military goods worth 500,000 silver coins. They are mostly rifles, ammunition, and anti-materiel weapons. Don’t worry about transport, your job is just to guard it. Once the delivery slip is signed, you get one-third of the commission."

A single LD-47 rifle went for about 300 silver coins. A 7mm round had dropped to 0.5 to 0.6 silver coins. Those were among the New Alliance’s most stable industrial products.

500,000 worth of weapons was no small amount. It was probably enough to fill four or five trucks.

Falling Feather nodded to show he understood before asking again, "What about the remaining two-thirds?"

"The local lord is named Zhao Tiangan. He has a six-year-old servant girl named Yang Xiaoyang. Your job is to bring her back unharmed, by any means necessary."

Falling Feather frowned. "Are we kidnapping her?"

"No, it’s a rescue mission," White Shark corrected, smiling faintly. His tone turned playful. "Not everyone gets to do business with the lord of the land. Either you're family, or you're holding collateral. You get what I mean, right?"

Falling Feather nodded. "Yeah. Got it."

Whatever deal that merchant had with the local lord, whatever the tangled interests, it wasn’t something evil or unjust.

That was good enough.

Seeing the young man nod, White Shark continued casually, "Anyway, the client and the target are direct relatives. The guild will verify this, so don’t bother grilling me. And don’t go poking into the client’s private business either... Just deliver the girl to the Mercenary Guild in Boulder Town, and you’ll get the full reward."

𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

"The client will be staying here for the time being. Once the job’s done, if you want to talk, and he’s willing, you can."

Falling Feather flashed an ‘OK’ gesture and hopped down from the stool. "Alright, wait for my message."

It was a round trip of 700 to 800 kilometers. That would probably take a month.

But for 100,000 silver coins? It was totally worth it!

Plus, besides the main mission, he could pick up some side quests or odd jobs from the forum along the way.

Thinking about that, Falling Feather felt a surge of energy, he couldn’t wait to set out.

Just as he turned to leave, White Shark suddenly called out. "Hold on."

Falling Feather stopped and turned around. "Is there something else?"

White Shark sighed casually, "Nothing serious. Just that the place you’re going has had a few... complications. Consider this an extra tip from an information broker. The client gave you two months, but if you want the full payout, I suggest you move fast."

Thinking back to the forum discussions yesterday, Falling Feather caught a hint of something from the NPC’s expression and frowned slightly.

Can it be related to the Torch Church?

"I understand."

Seeing the look of determination on the young man’s face, White Shark nodded with a faint smile. "Make sure you really do."

...