Chapter 159: Team Adventure Script Invitation |
Bai Mu had never really paid much attention to the flow of Community Time compared to Script time. After all, if he calculated it strictly, the total time he had spent in the Community was still less than twenty-four hours.
The longest period he had stayed in the Community was when he drank on the beach with Misty Rain Traveler, leisurely lying by the sea for about seven or eight hours. Aside from that, he had not even slept once in the bed behind him.
Ever since arriving in Paradise, he had always slept and rested inside the Scripts.
'Looking at it this way, the time flow between the Scripts and the Community is synchronized.'
Because he could not use the friend system inside a Script, these messages had piled up until today.
It was not just Misty Rain Traveler who had sent him messages; Great Northern Wilderness had also contacted him in the chat box.
Twenty-six days ago, Misty Rain Traveler had asked if he wanted to queue for a Script together. It was likely that the Community Time she earned in the "Death Journey" was running out, so she sought him out to duo queue.
When he did not reply, she sent a "?".
"Don't tell me you went and queued for a Script by yourself again?"
"I'm speechless."
"Forget it, I'll queue on my own. Give me a holler when you get back."
Then, ten days ago, it seemed she had successfully cleared her Script and returned, asking if he was still alive.
But this Script had taken a very long time. Back then, he must have been staying in the Abandoned Factory, planning his excursions, so naturally, he hadn't responded. The last time the two of them had seen each other really was fifty days ago.
Her final message was a string of ellipses, followed by nothing else.
Bai Mu briefly skimmed through the logs and sent her a single line: "I'm back," indicating that he was still alive.
He made sure to greet Misty Rain Traveler, lest she treat him like a dead man and secretly burn incense and paper money for him.
After finishing Misty Rain Traveler's messages, Bai Mu moved on to Great Northern Wilderness's messages.
Great Northern Wilderness spoke much more politely, also asking if he wanted to queue for a Script together. However, his message was sent a bit earlier than Misty Rain Traveler's. The two brothers had slightly lower ratings, meaning they received less Community Time and had to queue for Scripts much sooner.
From the looks of it, they had smoothly cleared their new Script. Great Northern Wilderness's last message was from six days ago. He said he had acquired an admission ticket for a multiplayer Adventure Script and wanted to find a few reliable teammates to enter with, asking if Bai Mu wanted to join.
"Brother, I saved a spot for you. Just join whenever you get here."
Great Northern Wilderness was evidently deeply impressed by his performance in the Death Journey. Bai Mu did not want to miss out on a free admission ticket like this, but that had been six days ago. He had no idea if Great Northern Wilderness had found other players to queue with since they couldn't reach him; after all, Great Northern Wilderness had quite a few friends. Regardless, Bai Mu still replied, just in case the spot was still reserved for him.
"Brother Wilderness, I just got back from a Script. If you guys still have an open spot, just hit me up anytime."
Right after sending that sentence, Misty Rain Traveler's chat box popped up.
"You're not dead?"
"This Script was a bit long. I just got back."
"Don't tell me you ran several Scripts in a row?"
"No, just one."
"Are you free? I got my hands on some new stuff, want to go practice in the Training Room?"
"Please, seriously spare me from that, boss."
Misty Rain Traveler sent a sweating yellow bean emoji, then asked, "Great Northern Wilderness probably asked you about the Adventure Script too, right? Are you planning to go?" "I'm going, why wouldn't I? But did he ask you as well?"
"He did, and I'm still considering it. Mostly, I feel like those two brothers are unreliable at critical moments."
"Just don't tell them I said that."
"Don't worry, my lips are sealed."
Actually, Bai Mu shared Misty Rain Traveler's thoughts. He also felt that the two brothers were somewhat unreliable. It wasn't that they had bad character; as teammates, they were definitely qualified. They would do their part and generally wouldn't hold the team back.
But one could not count on them to shoulder others' burdens. In other words, they were strictly fair-weather friends. If push came to shove, they would weigh the pros and cons and might just abandon you to prioritize their own safety and interests.
This approach couldn't exactly be called wrong, but it inevitably made anyone teaming up with them feel a bit uneasy.
Of course, those with enough strength and confidence didn't care about these little schemes of theirs.
Bai Mu didn't care. He wanted a free admission ticket, and the brothers wanted to find stronger players to increase their clear rate. It was a mutual exchange where both sides got what they needed. A short while later, Great Northern Wilderness replied to his message.
"Brother Bai, you're back! That's fantastic. I happen to still have a spot saved for you. Why don't we set a time to meet up and chat?" "Sure, when?"
"We didn't get to grab those drinks last time, did we? I'll book a place and send you the coordinates later. With you, our group is complete. I'll go schedule things with the others and contact you later."
"Alright."
Great Northern Wilderness sent a grinning emoji with bared teeth, and the chat ended there.
Later, Bai Mu chatted a bit more with Misty Rain Traveler and discovered that Great Northern Wilderness seemed to have kicked someone out of their original team.
It was a D-grade five-person team Script. Besides Misty Rain Traveler, Great Northern Wilderness had already found two other people. The five of them had even met up at a bar for a meal and discussed the details of the Script together.
The flow of the Script didn't seem long, but it required frequent combat. The last time they met, the roster was pretty much finalized. Yet the moment Bai Mu messaged Great Northern Wilderness, it suddenly became "I happen to still have a spot saved for you."
There was no telling which poor bastard got kicked out. Reality was harsh no matter where you went; without ability or connections, even a cooked duck could sprout wings and fly away.
Bai Mu shrugged his shoulders. After sorting his belongings, he used the fitness equipment he had bought previously to do some light exercise.
Since he had to wait for Great Northern Wilderness's message, he didn't queue for a Script.
He glanced at his Community Time. After this last Script, his Community Time was approaching the 2000 mark—he already had 1,943 hours. That was roughly 80 days. When you had over 2,000 bucks in hand, spending a little bit didn't hurt as much. He asked Misty Rain Traveler once more, "Are you really not going to practice with me in the Training Room?"
"No," Misty Rain Traveler replied instantly.
"I'll transfer you 1 hour."
"I wouldn't go even for 10 hours!"
[Player "Bai" has initiated a trade with you.]
[You will receive Community Time: 10 hours.]
A dozen seconds later, Bai Mu heard a notification chime.
[Player "Misty Rain Traveler" has accepted your trade request.]
Bai Mu chuckled. Afterward, he equipped the Mushroom Hat, hung the Catholic Pendant around his neck, gripped the Flaming Sword, and created a new Training Room. He spent a delightful 30 minutes inside the Training Room with Misty Rain Traveler. Although during that time, the smile on her face had transferred over to Bai Mu's, she earned Community Time while Bai Mu secured a high-level sparring partner. How was that not a pleasant outcome for both?
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