Chapter 46: Prefect Mission, Free Play

“Ah Rong, where are you going next?”

“I’m going to take the Prefect mission. I haven’t upgraded my Universe Pouch yet—it’s still the original one the System gave.”

Since he had come to Chengdu, Ye Rong had already decided he would take care of this matter that had been on his mind for a long time. Even a Universe Pouch with 50 storage slots would more than double his current carrying capacity, which was extremely important to him.

“Haha, I thought you were a pro, but it turns out you haven’t even done the Universe Pouch mission yet.”

The passerby guy snorted softly, not missing any chance to mock Ye Rong. The other players’ gazes toward him changed subtly as well.

The Universe Pouch mission was practically the first task every Player tackled upon reaching a Main City. Among their group of nine, almost half had already completed it.

“Alright, why don’t we go and finish this mission together? Qingying and the others haven’t done it yet either.”

Haozi made the suggestion, and Ye Rong naturally didn’t object. The others were quite enthusiastic and excited; helping beauties with missions always provided extra motivation.

Among the group, apart from Unbreakable Egg who was at Level 20, the other eight were around the same Level as Haozi.

By this point in the game, the early benefit of finding large Sect recruiters in each Main City had been removed after the recent update. Those Sect NPCs were gone. Later Players could no longer enjoy the perk of being teleported directly into a Sect if their Bone Foundation met the requirements.

And the game company turned a deaf ear to the complaints of millions of Players.

Emei’s recruitment criteria were definitely no lower than Qingcheng’s; in fact, its Initiation Task was said to be the most difficult among the large Sects in Far Shore. However, Emei had one advantage: it was large and well-established. There were over a dozen second-generation NPCs with the authority to directly accept Players as Formal Disciples. Additionally, outstanding third-generation disciples like Zhu Ge Jingwo and Deng Ba Gu also had the right to recruit disciples.

So, quite a few Players held onto the hope of getting lucky, dreaming of being noticed directly by a top NPC and becoming a Formal Disciple overnight.

Weren’t Xuan Yuan Tianxia and Blue Chariot positive examples in this regard? There were even rumors that one lucky guy was taken as an inner disciple by Emei’s Sect Leader, True Lord Miaoyi, Qi Suming.

Inspired by these examples, newcomers naturally became even more eager, not seeing the vast number of Players behind these success stories.

The Prefect’s office was located in the center of the Main City, an extremely large garden covering over a thousand acres.

Before the vermilion gates stood two rows of guards holding long swords, their cold gazes sweeping over any approaching Player, eyes sharp and profound.

These Tang blade guards were all Level 120 Elite Tier NPCs. Any Level 20-30 Player daring to act out in front of them would meet only one end: being cut down and sent for rebirth. There was no other possibility.

After stating their purpose, Ye Rong and his group were ushered into the Prefect’s office and brought before the long-bearded Prefect.

Those needing to do the Universe Pouch upgrade mission stepped forward one by one. After a brief dialogue, they received their missions and discovered they each had different ones.

System Notification: Slay the Red-tipped Pink-winged Butterflies outside the city and collect the residual pollen from their bodies. Time limit: half an hour.

“It’s actually a Free Play mission.”

Ye Rong rubbed his temple, watching the remaining time counting down in his Player Log. He felt a headache but also excitement.

So far, those Players who obtained larger capacity Universe Pouches had all completed similar Free Play missions with exceptionally outstanding results, earning them the corresponding high-capacity Universe Pouch rewards.

However, for this kind of mission, there were no fixed numerical targets, so no one knew the exact standard for evaluation.

If one performed poorly, it was entirely possible to receive a reward only slightly larger than the original Universe Pouch.

Ye Rong held a Green Snail Sachet in his hand—a special Magic Treasure for the mission duration. It automatically collected and categorized various pollens and fragrances, reaching as high as the Fifth Tier. Unfortunately, once the mission ended, this Magic Treasure would be automatically reclaimed by the System, leaving Ye Rong no chance to secretly keep it.

“Haozi, my mission is a Free Play one. I have to leave immediately and can’t do it with you guys.”

“Oh… alright then. We’ll catch up next time.”

Haozi paused for a moment, then nodded. He could see that Ye Rong wasn’t getting along well with his friends; they simply weren’t the same kind of people.

“Haozi, is your friend leaving?”

“Yeah, his mission has a time limit. It’s more convenient for him to do it alone. Why, Qingying, do you have your eye on my buddy?”

“Stop talking nonsense! Watch out or I’ll tear your nasty mouth!”

Luoluo Qingying scolded sharply, a blush rising on her face and spreading down her jade-like neck, making her skin appear even more delicate and snow-white.

…

Ye Rong let out a soft sigh. He still wasn’t comfortable with the feeling of being in a large group; he felt restrained and far less free and exhilarated than when he was alone.

The Main City had a no-fly Restriction; no one could use Sword Flight within its bounds. It was said that after passing the First Heavenly Tribulation, one would be exempt from this Restriction and could fly freely in the city.

Half an hour, or one hour—his performance during this time directly affected the capacity and quality of the Universe Pouch Ye Rong would receive.

The Red-tipped Pink-winged Butterfly was a Level 15 monster. It could spray fine pink powder that caused slight dizziness in enemies, but its attack power was very low.

However, Red-tipped Pink-winged Butterflies mostly lived in groups. When dozens or even hundreds of them flapped their wings simultaneously and released the pink powder, even opponents much stronger than them could be knocked out.

As soon as Ye Rong left Chengdu City, he mounted his Flying Sword and headed straight for Flower Fairy Valley.

This valley was inhabited by various butterfly-type monsters, ranging from Level 15 to Level 30, making it very suitable for the current Player Levels.

Many Players who had just arrived in Chengdu or failed their Sect Initiation Tasks chose this place for grinding, making it a relatively popular training spot near Chengdu City.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

A Red-tipped Pink-winged Butterfly was simultaneously struck by four or five streaks of Sword Light, instantly torn into several pieces, utterly destroyed.

Ye Rong frustratingly realized that he, too, had fallen into the trap of too many Players and too few monsters. Since entering Flower Fairy Valley, he had collected less than ten portions of pollen. There were simply too many Players. Often, as soon as a Red-tipped Pink-winged Butterfly spawned, several Players rushed forward and eliminated it instantly.

Even though Ye Rong was sharp-eyed and quick-handed, with skills a notch above these Players, he stood little chance of snatching kills when they were operating in teams.

At this rate, an hour later, Ye Rong’s Universe Pouch mission results were probably not going to be good.