The morning breeze blew, and dog barks echoed through the streets.
As the sun gradually rose, the sleeping Lynn Settlement was slowly awakened.
Lily drove straight to the Excavation Princess's residence, with Anya, the Silent Garden's quest giver and a newly established merchant, sitting in the passenger seat.
After a few turns, the outline of the hotel appeared in her vision. Her eyesight was good, and she immediately saw more than twenty new players from yesterday scattered outside the hotel.
By the time she parked the car, those players had also noticed her presence.
"Oh my god, it's Lily!"
The players who were just chatting all turned around, their faces showing unconcealed surprise.
They had originally thought they would have to unlock advanced professions to see Lily again, but they didn't expect Lily to show up voluntarily.
Quick, quick, start a live stream and make the players who couldn't come to Lynn envious!
After getting out of the car, Lily did not rush Anya to give these players quests, because doing so would make her seem to need players very much. Once players formed this perception, it would not be so easy for her to freely 'harvest' them in the future.
She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
"Are you also here to find the Excavation Princess?" She paused, then suddenly spoke to the player standing at the very front, "Long time no see. If I remember correctly, we once defended against a swarm of insects together at the exhaust cooling plant. Your nickname was [Super Big Watermelon Rind]."
"Holy crap!"
Super Big Watermelon Rind was startled.
He never dreamed that Lily would remember his name. One should know that there were hundreds of players fighting alongside Lily at that time.
Could it be that Lily… has feelings for me…
Just as this thought arose, Super Big Watermelon Rind heard Lily's voice again.
"Your nickname is [Don't Make Noise Anymore]… Hmm, I remember you too, [Eat or Not Eat Oil Cake]…"
So, Lily remembered the names of all the players who fought with her at that time.
Super Big Watermelon Rind felt a wave of disappointment, but soon he felt that this was like a little cow riding a rocket—awesome to the heavens.
In general games, NPCs, let alone remembering their names, might even do a 180-degree turn in attitude immediately after a quest ends if their mood isn't good.
No, in fact, this experience is unique in Beyond the Stars. Besides Lily, who erects gravestones for players, who else can provide this kind of emotional value?
As the players on site were surging with excitement, the players in the live stream also started to have fun.
[Players, please make your nicknames look like a person.jpg]
[Understood, next time I'll change my nickname to 'I like you, damn it']
[You bastard, taking advantage, huh?]
[Lily actually managed not to laugh when reading these names, so cool!]
Just as everyone was chatting, the Excavation Princess suddenly walked out of the room.
"Lily!"
Lily turned to look at her, then looked apologetically at the players gathered around her.
"I'm very sorry, but I have an urgent matter to discuss with Excavation Princess right now. Let's chat later."
With that, she led Anya upstairs. The players downstairs could only look at the Excavation Princess with envious and jealous eyes.
Damn it!
They were the ones who spoke to Lily first, and they were chatting happily with Lily, but as soon as the Excavation Princess appeared, Lily left.
Is this the benefit of early plot intervention and high favorability?
This feeling of being 'cut off' was truly unbearable. What made them even more uncomfortable was that whenever they closed their eyes, they could imagine Lily giving new quests to the Excavation Princess in her room, always feeling 'cuckolded'.
If they had arrived in Lynn a few days earlier, would they be the ones enjoying this treatment now?
"Ah ah ah—"
The expressions of the players downstairs were completely visible to Lily. She secretly laughed; she had deliberately chosen to come when both the Excavation Princess and these players were present.
Most players have a competitive spirit, especially those who came here early in the morning. Seeing the Excavation Princess having such a good time, they would definitely be holding back a desire to prove themselves.
By then, she wouldn't even need to speak first; these players would come to her, begging her to give them quests. After receiving the quests, they would definitely be even more proactive in proving themselves.
In short, let them stew for a bit first.
Lily withdrew her gaze: "Is it just you here today?"
The Excavation Princess asked: "Do you want me to call the others over?"
Lily said: "No need, you can just inform them later. I came here to tell you something important. Your performance yesterday was recognized by Four Directions. Four Directions agrees that you can continue to participate in Four Directions's operations as external personnel. At the latest, Four Directions will launch a new operation within a week.
"This operation is very important, not just for Four Directions, but for me as well. There might be a way for me to further recover my strength hidden there. But correspondingly, the difficulty of this quest is also very high. You need to be mentally prepared. If there is an emergency and you want to withdraw, be sure to tell me in advance."
What, a way to further recover her strength?
Upon hearing this, the Excavation Princess had no intention of withdrawing. She only felt that her long efforts had finally earned Lily's complete trust. One should know that Lily would never have voluntarily told her about her situation before.
She immediately patted her chest, indicating that she would absolutely not drop the ball.
"Mmm." Lily said with a smile, "Then I'll be going. I'll come back and discuss the details with you all when I have time."
She pushed the door open and left. Before she could even go downstairs, the group of players standing below surrounded her.
Although they didn't know what Lily had just said to the Excavation Princess, it must have been something very important, otherwise the Excavation Princess would never have smiled so happily.
They couldn't sit still. If they waited until they unlocked advanced professions to find Lily, it might be too late.
"Lily, Lily, look at me, I can also help you."
"Indeed, Lily, we were comrades, can you still not trust me?"
"The bonus from advanced professions is significant, but strength isn't just about theoretical data; it also involves combat skills."
A group of players looked on eagerly.
Seeing that the emotions had brewed sufficiently, Lily said: "It's not that I don't trust you, but what I'm going to do is very dangerous. The Excavation Princess also passed my test to… How about this, I'll give you a different test method. If you can pass this test, I will recommend you to Four Directions."
She gestured to Anya to issue the quest to the players.
[New Test]: If you can eliminate the gangs entrenched in Lynn, Lily will recognize your strength. Do your best to prove yourselves!
After seeing the quest content, these players were overjoyed.
They had only approached Lily with a tentative mindset, but they didn't expect Lily to actually change the content of the test quest.
There was no level restriction; instead, it asked them to fight monsters. With good luck, they might even complete the quest today. This way, they might be able to catch the last train to act with Lily.
This is great! NPCs as understanding as Lily are truly rare these days!
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Webnovel updates will still be daily, as usual.
It might not seem tempting right now but who knows what the future holds?
[email protected]/SolyuraMT
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"