Chapter 11: A Mission to Venture into the Ocean

Chen Sui walked far away under the gazes of other players and NPCs, heading somewhere deserted before finally setting the girl down.

"Thank you for helping me out today. I'll repay you someday."

The little girl was well-behaved and said nothing more. She gave Chen Sui a bow, then turned to leave.

"Wait."

The girl stopped and turned back, waiting for Chen Sui to speak.

Chen Sui looked her up and down. She had quite a few fresh wounds on her body, all carefully hidden, but there were so many of them that traces of blood had soaked through the fabric in places.

"Someone's been bullying you?"

At those words, the girl lowered her head. Her fingers twisted the hem of her clothes, then she nodded. "I only take out ten Fish Coins a day, but even that amount is too much."

Chen Sui understood what she meant — it was probably the work of some players and NPCs.

He crouched down and looked at the girl.

"How much do you have left now?"

"Two hundred and sixty."

"You're quite a clever kid."

Chen Sui reached out and ruffled her hair. She really was a good little girl — sensible and smart. The NPCs in this game felt very real. Modern game characters were built on character code that had been iterated countless times, designed to be as lifelike as possible, yet they all ended up feeling the same. None of them had this kind of spirit. But since this world was most likely real, Chen Sui wasn't surprised. "Do you remember who robbed you?"

"……"

The girl said nothing.

Chen Sui smiled. "If you don't tell me and I find them on my own, I'll cut them down."

And if she did tell him, he'd cut them down too.

Chen Sui kept that last part to himself.

The girl blinked, then looked up at the smile on Chen Sui's face.

She couldn't understand how he could say something like that without so much as a change in expression. For a moment, her face went blank.

Seeing her spacing out, Chen Sui didn't press her to answer.

Instead, he asked:

"What's your name?"

"Hai Linlin."

After a brief hesitation, the girl offered her name.

Surname Hai? That's a bit of an unusual name… Are all the NPCs around here named like this?

Chen Sui didn't dwell on it. He patted Hai Linlin on the head. "What will you do after this? What if they come after you again?"

Hai Linlin shook her head. "I don't know."

"Then come with me. I'll arrange a place for you to eat and sleep."

Chen Sui said this with genuine sympathy — it wasn't right for this little girl to wander around like a beggar every day.

To his surprise, however, the girl shook her head again.

"Why?"

Chen Sui asked.

Hai Linlin kept her head down and said nothing.

"……"

Chen Sui could tell she had her reasons. He smiled and didn't push further. "Then let me find you a job. Would that be alright?"

Hai Linlin hesitated.

Chen Sui added, "Nothing far. I'll find something nearby."

Hai Linlin raised her face. A pair of large eyes peered at Chen Sui from beneath her disheveled hair, and she gave a shy, cautious nod.

"Let's go."

Chen Sui took her hand and turned to walk in another direction.

First stop — the sea beast recycling shop.

Quite a few players were coming and going. Chen Sui waited until the crowd thinned out, then stepped inside with Hai Linlin.

The floor was covered in scales and slippery mucus.

"Watch your step."

Chen Sui gave a word of warning.

"Welcome. Recycling is at seventy percent of market value."

The uncle running the recycling shop was still in the same posture as before, focused on processing the sea beast carcass in his hands, not even looking up as he spoke.

"Uncle, it's over five hundred this time."

Chen Sui waved his hand, and the massive carcasses of Red-Mantled Tide Crabs appeared across the open floor — even more than last time, nearly filling every inch of empty space in the shop.

The recycling uncle heard those words and gave his head a hard tilt, as if he thought something was stuck in his ear and he was trying to shake it loose.

"How many?"

"Over five hundred."

Chen Sui repeated.

The recycling uncle, whose face naturally wore a bewildered expression, turned around in a daze and stared at the mountain of crab carcasses before him, then stared back at Chen Sui in shock. "It's you again!"

Chen Sui laughed. "Oh, Uncle, you still remember me?"

"Your last order kept me busy for days — how could I forget you?"

The uncle freed his hands and wiped the sweat from his forehead with the sleeve on his upper arm.

"Then I'm a regular customer, aren't I? So how about it — any discounts?"

Chen Sui asked shamelessly.

The uncle shot him a sideways glance.

"Small business."

Chen Sui chuckled. "Uncle, you're so stingy. Fine, forget the discount. But Uncle, are you hiring any help here?"

"Hiring help?"

The uncle's gaze instinctively drifted to Hai Linlin standing beside Chen Sui. He was about to refuse when Chen Sui's voice cut him off:

"She's a local kid from around here. She was begging on the street a few days ago. I felt sorry for her and gave her some money, but she couldn't hold onto it — it was all stolen within a couple of days. So I figured I'd find her a job."

The uncle's expression wavered.

Chen Sui continued, "Look at her — such a small child, smart and hardworking. I think if you teach her, she'll definitely do well."

"And besides, I'll obviously be checking in on her often. Uncle, if you don't take her in, I might have to bring my sea beast carcasses somewhere else…"

Chen Sui said this while keeping his eyes fixed on the recycling uncle.

"This whole fishing village only has my one recycling shop."

The recycling uncle said flatly.

Chen Sui laughed awkwardly, his skin thick as ever.

The uncle's already bewildered face grew even more so. He looked at Hai Linlin, thought it over for a moment, then finally let out a sigh and waved his hand. "Alright, alright, leave her here with me. I'll teach her how to process sea beasts — room and board included, three Fish Coins a day, and a bonus if she does extra work. How's that?"

"Uncle, you're a generous man."

Chen Sui gave a thumbs up, then nudged Hai Linlin. "Go on, Linlin."

Hai Linlin showed no timidity. She stepped over to stand beside the recycling uncle.

"Right then, come with me. First, let's get you a change of clothes, then I'll teach you how to dissect sea beasts."

The recycling uncle had Hai Linlin head to the back courtyard first, then pulled off his gloves and was about to follow her back there.

"Hold on, Uncle."

The recycling uncle stopped mid-step and turned around.

Chen Sui stepped forward and pressed a pouch containing a thousand Fish Coins into his hand, saying quietly, "Uncle, this child hasn't been eating well. Buy her something good to eat every now and then."

The uncle raised an eyebrow and weighed the pouch in his hand, surprised. "You really do care about her."

"She's just such a small child…" Chen Sui said with a soft laugh. "Please look after her."

Other players might not know, but how could he not? The NPCs in this world were likely real people from another world. On top of that, this kid was just too endearing — he simply couldn't bring himself to ignore her.

"Don't worry, she won't go hungry here. Take your money back." The uncle turned around and pressed the pouch back into Chen Sui's hand.

"Ah…"

"Don't take it the wrong way — I'm not just being polite, and I'm not saying I won't accept anything. I can see that you've been able to hunt this many Red-Mantled Tide Crabs in just a few days, so your strength must be considerable. I need some carcasses from dangerous sea beasts in the ocean. How about you go catch some for me?"

The recycling uncle said.

"In the ocean? Where would I go to catch them?"

Chen Sui asked. He had wandered all around the fishing village these past few days — there hadn't been a single dangerous sea beast in sight.

"Little Fishing Island is under the protection of the Sky Whale, so of course there are no dangerous sea beasts here. They're out in the open ocean. I'll write you a letter of introduction — take it to the village entrance and you can rent a fishing boat. Head out to sea and you'll find other sea beasts."

As the recycling uncle finished speaking, a panel materialized before Chen Sui.

Quest Posted: Dangerous Sea Beast Materials.

Recycling merchant Hu Chao hopes you will board a fishing boat and venture into the ocean to retrieve carcass materials from dangerous (Superior) sea beasts.

Quest Reward: Permanent fishing boat rental rights to enter the sea.

[Accept?]