Chapter 39: A Real Enemy Attack

Chapter 39: Chapter 39: A Real Enemy Attack

"Captain, isn’t that a bit much?"

"30 Copper Coins? You could buy a dozen bowls of stew back in town for that."

"And 20 Copper Coins is almost enough for a whole rabbit..."

Half a minute later, the youth silently went back, saying he had to ask his captain before deciding whether to buy.

Having to ask his captain about an expense of less than one silver coin showed that this small team wasn’t very well-off.

And this made Bai Ya’s heart soften a little.

"We can’t eat all this anyway. It’d be fine to just give them some for free..."

’Huh? For free?’

"On what grounds?"

The word Lu Wei couldn’t stand to hear right now was "free." He immediately put on a stern face. "You made the food, I caught the rabbit, and Furen chopped the firewood. They didn’t do a thing. On what grounds should they eat for free?"

"Then... isn’t the price a little steep?"

"I don’t think it’s steep at all. We’re in the middle of the forest. How could it be the same price as in town? I’m not a philanthropist."

"But..."

After a moment’s hesitation, just as Bai Ya was about to say more, Furen suddenly cut in.

"I also think it’s very reasonable."

"Since he offered to buy from the start, we should follow the rules of business. We have the right to set the price."

"If they think it’s too expensive, they can choose not to buy. Only then would we consider lowering the price. That’s proper business logic."

"But if he had asked us to give them food from the beginning, then we might have shared some out of goodwill."

"Am I right, Brother Lu Wei?"

’Wrong!’

’What’s the difference between giving it away and for free!’

Glancing at Furen, Lu Wei felt there was a serious ideological problem within the team. With a grave expression, he was about to reiterate their purpose for entering the forest.

But before he could speak, the youth returned, holding a wooden bowl.

"Our captain said one bowl of mushroom soup will be enough."

"No problem!"

The customer is king. Lu Wei immediately turned his head, reminding him with a smile:

"Please pay first."

"Okay... here you go."

"Right. How about a skewer of roast rabbit? It’s on sale now, only 15 Copper Coins."

"Huh? What about the mushroom soup..."

"No discount on the mushroom soup."

"..."

...

[Earn 100 Gold Coins through mutually acknowledged, genuine transactions. (0.26/100)]

Half an hour later, dinner was over.

Before even having a chance to scrub the pot and wash the dishes, Lu Wei immediately began to tackle the team’s ideological problem.

"...Finally, let me reiterate: we’re here to make money, not to do charity!"

"And you need to know, every Copper Coin I earn isn’t just for me!"

"Once the business is on the right track, you two will get a share of the profits!"

"We’ll discuss the specific percentages later. In short, you must realize that making money is the most important thing!"

"Of course, I’m not telling you to be completely mercenary. After all, I’m not some Crafty Merchant."

"If someone really needs help, we can help them."

"But the question is, do they really need that much help?"

"Weren’t they able to cough up the money?!"

Slamming the coin pouch hard on the ground, Lu Wei’s words made both Furen and Bai Ya bow their heads in shame.

’As I thought, I’m still too naive.’

’Nowhere near as mature as the captain.’

"Alright, clean up."

Seeing that both of them had realized their mistake, Lu Wei dropped his stern demeanor and waved his hand.

"I’ll take the first watch tonight. You two get some sleep. Furen can take over in the second half of the night."

"Okay!" Furen nodded.

"Captain, what about me?"

Bai Ya, who was scrubbing the pot, looked up. "When do I take a watch?"

"For the sake of our safety, you won’t be taking a watch."

"Ah, but..."

"Hm? Have you forgotten what I said so quickly?"

"No..."

"Then repeat it!"

"Oh, okay."

Bai Ya bit her lip and recited in a small, ashamed voice:

"It’s not shameful to accept help, but it is disgraceful to drag down your teammates by trying to be strong..."

’Her memory really is good, she didn’t get a single word wrong.’

"But just remembering it is useless. You have to truly understand its meaning. Think about it tonight if you can’t sleep."

After delivering another lecture with a leader’s air, Lu Wei paid no more mind to Furen and Bai Ya. He took a map out of his pack and continued to study potential locations.

The night was as black as ink. Above, the dense canopy of the Dome Tree’s branches crisscrossed, slicing the firmament into fine, blue-black fragments. Stars twinkled faintly between them, like countless crystalline fruits.

The air was filled with the distinct, charred scent of burning pinewood, mixed with the cool fragrance of soil, dew, and flowers. Whenever the wind blew, scattered embers would spiral upward before dissipating into the endless dark.

An unknown amount of time passed. The area around the campfire grew still, with only the occasional RUSTLE of a pen tip moving across papyrus.

Leaning against his pack with his head down, Lu Wei was busy circling and drawing on the map, thinking very hard.

Anyone with experience opening a store knows that location is primarily about customer traffic, and secondarily about accessibility.

The entire Gelan Forest covered an area of over a million hectares... roughly one-fifth the size of the Amazon Forest from his previous life.

In an era where transportation relied solely on legs and horse-drawn carriages, this was undoubtedly an absurdly large figure.

To cross it from one side to the other, even if you did nothing but travel, would take at least half a month.

Therefore, to make route planning easier for Adventurers, most maps divided the entire forest into five sections.

The "Northern Forest," entered from Heitai Town.

The "Eastern Forest," entered from Kalin Port.

The "Western Forest," which connected to another Adventurer’s Land, the "Lizard Marsh."

The "Southern Forest," entered from Haiwang Castle.

A few years ago, the "Great Trade Route" was planned to run directly from Heitai Town to Haiwang Castle.

Apart from these, the centermost area was known as the "Lost Basin."

It was said to be home to many High Level monsters.

In short, in a forest this large, it would be impossible for Lu Wei to open a shop with "full business coverage."

So, if he only considered business in the "Northern Forest," the Dome Pillar seemed to be the best choice.

Its location was neither too close nor too far, allowing it to cover both veteran Adventurers deep in the forest and newcomers active on the outskirts.

Once he built a reputation, he was confident the customer traffic wouldn’t be low.

Although the profit margin probably wouldn’t be particularly high, he could still earn a considerable income through "small profits and quick turnover."

Of course, "small profits" here was relative to other, more dangerous places.

According to Lu Wei’s calculations, a profit of three to four times the cost per shipment shouldn’t be a problem.

’Can’t be greedy. This is already pretty good.’

’I’ll have a trial run for a while. If it goes well, I’ll lock it in and see if I can build a small house or something here to serve as the shop.’

Having made up his mind, Lu Wei closed the map, stretched, and turned to look at Furen and Bai Ya, who were already asleep.

Both were using their packs as pillows, lying in their duck-feather sleeping bags. They looked like two large silkworm cocoons.

’They’re pretty carefree, I have to say.’

If it were him, sleeping in this kind of environment for the first time, he probably wouldn’t be able to fall asleep for a while.

And that was exactly why he had volunteered for the first watch.

Thinking of this, he turned his head again to look at the campfire to the west.

Beside the flickering flames, the short-haired woman sat quietly on a rock, with three "cocoons" next to her as well.

One of them was particularly short; it was undoubtedly the Dwarf.

’Why is there a Dwarf...’

Taking a sip of water from his waterskin, Lu Wei was a little puzzled.

After all, in the low-end team-up market, Dwarves were arguably the most unwelcome.

Unless they were a Professional or had mastered Combat Skills, very few people were willing to have them as teammates.

They were slow, had average combat power, and even needed help from teammates to cross certain terrain.

Although they had many strengths, like high Magic Resistance and the ability to identify Equipment, these weren’t very useful in "low-end games."

That’s why in Heitai Town, Dwarves were strictly a "last resort."

Half-Beastmen, on the other hand, were in high demand.

Any team with a Half-Beastman walked down the street with their heads held high.

If they also had an Archer, it would be almost too enviable.

As for Mages...

Let’s put it this way: the last time an Adventurer who had mastered [Magic] appeared on the Heitai Town team-up market was three months ago.

’Now that’s a true noble Profession.’

’I wonder when I’ll be able to get my hands on a Magic Skill Book.’

’Even a Ring Zero one would be fine.’

Leaning back against his pack, Lu Wei gazed at the night sky through the gaps in the canopy, silently dreaming of the future.

It was a long night, and he couldn’t sleep, so all he could do was fantasize a little.

But at a certain moment, he suddenly sat up without any warning, looking uncertainly toward the edge of the woods not far away.

There seemed to have been a strange noise from that direction just now.

It was very faint and distant, like the sound of a wild animal moving through the undergrowth, brushing against leaves.

But it was too frequent. It sounded many times in a short period, and the location seemed to shift slightly.

’There’s a problem...’

Slowly getting to his feet, Lu Wei’s ultra-high Perception was even more effective in the silent darkness than during the day. He moved cautiously in the direction of the sound.

To his surprise, not long after he stood up, the short-haired woman also got to her feet and slowly approached the woods.

’Did she hear something too?’

Glancing at the woman who had stopped at the edge of the woods, Lu Wei paid her no mind and began to enter a state of Stealth.

Whether it was the wind or a beast, he had to investigate to put his mind at ease.

’Anyway, with Stealth, I won’t be in danger even if it’s a monster.’

’Is the first battle about to begin?’

’Or maybe not... I hope it’s just the wind...’

With these thoughts, Lu Wei quickly completed his preparations for Stealth. Then, under the woman’s astonished gaze, he slipped into the woods and vanished.

He moved cautiously through the dark forest, following the intermittent sound.

After walking about one or two hundred meters, he suddenly stopped and quickly hid behind a large tree.

His back was pressed tightly against the cold, rough tree trunk. His chest heaved violently, and he could almost hear the POUND-POUND-POUND of his trembling heart.

’Did I see wrong...’

Staring wide-eyed, Lu Wei’s face was filled with astonishment, and his throat felt tight.

After a brief moment to compose himself, he took a deep breath, struggled to steady his breathing, and cautiously peeked out from behind the tree again.

And then...

THUMP...

It felt as if his heart had skipped a beat. A cold wind whimpered through the treetops, lifting the stray hairs on Lu Wei’s forehead as a drop of cold sweat slid silently down his temple.

Ahead, the darkness was as thick and viscous as ink.

Deep within the gnarled vines and twisted branches, behind the shadowy bushes, a vast multitude of eerie green eyes flickered silently.

Densely packed and layered upon one another, they were slowly and greedily closing in on the Dome Pillar from all directions.