198. Gio the Rogue Gull
A strong hatred burned in his heart, isolated and fierce. Jiao Ziniu clutched his chest. He didn't know where this hatred came from, but he knew with absolute clarity—it was directed at [The Tailor].
The bard's song was long. Caramel Snail listened quietly, sunlight spilling over his shoulders. His face was hidden in shadow, and his hands, now spread open, had clenched into fists.
His originally clear brown eyes, accompanied by the bard's soft singing, gradually glowed green. A vivid, intense green invaded his irises, and Caramel Snail's demeanor became increasingly solemn.
At this moment, he was like gunpowder—ready to explode with just a spark.
「The purity of peace is the saint's shroud; in the forgotten future, none will remember the warrior's fall…」
The bard gently muted the strings and uttered the final rhyme, removing his hat and bowing in respect.
「Thank you very much for listening, Descender.」
「Good song.」
Caramel Snail nodded slightly, lips pressed tightly together. His voice seemed to come from nowhere, directly resonating in the bard's mind:
「People in times of peace always question the sacrifices of warriors. Your theme is solid, your rhymes are good, but your words lack beauty. As for the story—I quite liked it.」
He tapped lightly on the table, his gaze deep and contemplative.
「This kind of song reminds me of an old friend… Nodia. If you ever have the chance to meet them, try offering them daffodils. Generally, they'll gladly teach you the art of poetry.」
He glanced at the bard, suddenly remembering something:
「Ah, I almost forgot. I think I can give you a reward. But I truly don't have much on hand to offer—how about this? If Nodia is unwilling, you can give them my name: Gio the Rogue Gull. They'll agree.」
The bard looked at him, startled, his legs trembling involuntarily as he stared into the lion-like emerald eyes of the man before him.
It was as if standing before him wasn't one of those weak Alpha-tier Descenders but rather a great figure or Ascender glimpsed only briefly in the news.
No, not just an Ascender.
This feeling—
[BUG_#2403: Recognition filter failure. Reinforce blocking.]
[Blocking failed—initiating overwrite.]
[Executing "Lyantine Medical Protocol" Clause 4: When recognition filter blocking fails, use overwriting to backtrack the summoned body.]
[Unknown error detected: Force logout and reconnect.]
A faint white light flickered in Caramel Snail's eyes as streams of data rushed past.
「This aura… [Redemption Celestial] Lyantine. Ah… I see now. You've found a real chance to fight back.」
He didn't resist, calmly allowing the power to wash over his body.
「Descenders—I understand now. Not just me; every single one of us came this way, didn't we…」
......
[Network connection unresponsive.]
......
[Reconnecting.]
......
[Reconnected successfully.]
[Descender #2403 'Caramel Snail', welcome back to Star Abyss.]
Caramel Snail blinked, raised his head, and looked at the bard before him with his brown eyes, asking in confusion:
「Brother, why are you kneeling?」
He scratched his head, bewildered, then glanced down at the food in front of him, muttering:
「This game's summoned body is so unruly. It just roams around whenever I'm offline—way too free.」
With that, he opened the game interface and began checking his information, obliviously operating it.
The bard stood nearby, frozen in shock.
The Descender before him… acted as if he had never seen him before.
Caramel Snail opened the quest interface, and a bright red notification immediately caught his eye.
「Oh! Li Aozi issued a quest? Let me take a look!」
Li Aozi hadn't issued a quest in a long time, but every time the rewards were substantial. Caramel Snail had been eager to improve his [Soul Engraving Sword Saint] Omega Energy—maybe this was his chance.
With that thought, he clicked on the quest details:
[Your lord has issued a main quest to all members of Faithkeep Village—"Rescue Lord Aozi"]
[Type]: Support/Transport
[Deadline]: 12 hours (6 hours remaining)
[Difficulty]: S
[Description]:
「A Zeta-tier marauder named Remaining Moon has attacked the capital of White Candle Star, Trevira. Your lord, Li Aozi, has gone to confront them and now urgently needs support from all available forces. As warriors of the territory, Descenders, take action!」
[Completion Criteria]:
A. "Death Stranding"—Go to the designated locations, retrieve items, and transport more supplies to Trevira City:
-Visit [Heroic Spirits of Felicia] burial grounds to retrieve Li Aozi's weapon.
-Go to [Faithkeep Village - Biochemical Center] to transport Li Aozi's cybernetic body to Trevira.
-Travel to more locations to notify them of Trevira's situation and arrange for humanitarian aid to be transported there.
Reward: 1,000,000 experience points.
B. "Call of Duty"—The current situation cannot allow Remaining Moon to survive. The marauder, guilty of heinous crimes, must pay with their life. Seek a Zeta-tier champion and bring them to Trevira.
Reward: Specialty [Perpetual • Autocracy]
Note: This concerns a life-or-death crisis for the territory. Please respond actively.
————————————
「Wow, S-tier… and so many objectives.」
Although the rewards were incredibly generous, the quest's difficulty was equally high. It was clearly designed for group cooperation.
There was no way he could do it alone, especially with the deadline fast approaching.
「What now? I can't just let an S-tier quest slip away!」
Feeling stuck, Caramel Snail opened his friends list, hoping for a miracle.
Seeing a row of grayed-out avatars, Caramel Snail clutched his head, almost wailing in despair.
「I'm doomed! I'll have to watch this S-tier quest slip away!」
And what's more? The quest was about the territory's survival crisis?
「My house!」
Just as Caramel Snail was about to burst into tears, a message suddenly popped up in his friends list.
[Your friend [XXG] Cumin Powder has come online.]
[XXG] Cumin Powder: 「Whoa? Niu, aren't you sleeping? Why are you gaming this late? I'm in training. What are you up to?」 — Just now (read)
Reply: 「Cumin Powder! You're my savior!」
Caramel Snail quickly sent her screenshots of the quest details and then connected to voice chat, pleading with her:
「Cumin Powder, A'Zi, sis, you're a pro player. Can't you get some of your colleagues to help? We're about to lose our territory!」
「Hmm… this is a tricky situation. And in the middle of the night, no less. It's hard to gather people.」
Cumin Powder paused, then added:
「At this hour, the original Faithkeep Village crew probably can't make it. After all, I don't have that many connections.」
「No way…」 Caramel Snail immediately deflated.
「However, accounts belonging to studio and major guild pro players are usually shared among team members. I've already sent the details over. They're working on account-switching arrangements.」
Cumin Powder said:
「I might not be able to gather 25 original team members, but I can definitely pull together 25 pro players.」
Some additional context about symbols in this story:
[]—Exclusive to Li Aozi, used for psychological descriptions and spiritual communication.
[]—Exclusive to Yavanna, used for psychological descriptions and spiritual communication.
「」—Used in dialogue by divine entities, such as Jania, Leoz, Gio the Rogue Gull, etc.
Divine entities aren't limited to gods but include divine artifacts or individuals who consider themselves gods (e.g., Professor Abyss).