Universe Infinite Canteen

I was so excited I could burst, "The reward for this quest might seem like a regular backpack on the surface, but I reckon after you complete it, it'll likely lead to a new hidden quest. There's also a good chance it could be related to the main storyline and might even give out some Divine Artifacts or a unique title."

Ma Lu looked at Baldy with a questioning gaze. Baldy shook his head, firmly saying, "No, this is just a beginner quest to give away a backpack."

However, I was still immersed in my own fantasies.

"I'll tell you a secret. When I first received this quest, I thought, like most people, that there was a mistake with the quest values, so I even gave feedback to the official customer service. But guess what."

"The customer service later told me that the planners had seriously considered my feedback and checked the relevant data, and found that there was no issue."

I slapped my non-existent knee, excitedly saying, "Doesn't that confirm my suspicion officially, then? There really is something fishy about this seemingly unreasonable quest!"

Baldy also stroked his non-existent hair, "Seems like there really was such a thing."

The more I talked, the more excited I became, even inviting Zhen Ye to join me in collecting Black Mud, "Come on, according to my past experience, the first one to complete this kind of hidden quest gets the best stuff.

"But since the quest isn't closed yet, it means others can do it too. If you collect with me now, you'll be the second server-wide to get the backpack, and the reward should be decent too."

The ID across from me, Random Beat's Skeleton Puppy, finally had a response, just two short words.

"No thanks."

I wanted to persuade him further but then I saw the Quartermaster NPC, who had been by the Magic Circle, suddenly run over.

My eyes lit up, thinking, is my hidden quest coming already?!

On the other side of the screen, my heart was pounding with excitement, and hands trembling. But then I thought, wait, I haven't even finished my own quest. I'm still short 64 portions of Black Mud. Why would the NPC come this early?

Could it be because I was so far ahead of the other players on the same server, it was no longer in doubt?

While I was still puzzled, the Quartermaster had already run up to me.

"Congratulations, I wasn't wrong about you. You are indeed the talent Red Ridge Town has been waiting for. You don't need to collect Black Mud anymore; here's your backpack."

"Hahaha, it's nothing," I typed, laughing.

However, the next moment, I saw the Quartermaster bend down and hang the crumpled, earthy yellow backpack on the back of that Skeleton Puppy.

Then he said to the Skeleton Puppy, "Do you want to know the path to evolve a Skeleton Soldier? Then go find Mr. Heim in the cemetery on the southwest side of the town. I've also put the ten Abyssal Blood Clams he needs in your backpack."

I was completely dumbfounded.

Here I was, having worked hard in this spot for so long and just about to receive the hidden quest, and someone swooped in and stole my thunder at the last moment!

And this person hadn't really done anything either; by the looks of it, they must have just registered as a new player today.

I wasn't having it, I maneuvered my character to block the Quartermaster's path and typed, "Why?! Why does he get a backpack?"

Although the game's values were absurd, it wasn't without merits. In addition to graphics and optimization, the level of NPC intelligence was also very high, and you could hold a direct conversation with them; the production team must have introduced a large AI model.

Although sometimes the conversations could be like chickens talking with ducks, after all, it's AI, and you can't expect too much.

The Quartermaster, blocked by my damn explosive temper, suddenly changed color and exclaimed, "What do you think you're doing, trying to attack a superior officer?"

"No, that's not it," I retorted with my damn explosive temper.

"How come he doesn't have to dig for Black Mud? Has the system changed to give out backpacks upon logging in now? Then what the hell was all my grinding for these past days? If you don't give me an explanation today, I'll… I'll take this to the GM!"

With a meaningful look, the Quartermaster glanced at me and said, "Some folks have connections up high, do you?" After that, he shoved me aside and walked away with an air of importance.

Leaving only the Skeleton Soldier standing there dumbfounded.

What the hell, does this game have a birth system now? Aren't we all just piles of bones summoned out of a Magic Circle? Or is it that dogs hold a higher status than humans in this game?

Should I delete my account and start over with a dog character? But I'm so close to getting the backpack… I've already spent so much time on it, yet the impact of hidden origins in this game seems pretty significant too.

If I reincarnated as a dog, maybe I could get a backpack from the start like that Skeleton Puppy named Random Beat, along with supplies for the next quest. It's got to be faster than picking up this damn Black Mud.

Zhen Ye ignored my brooding self and, carrying his little backpack, hurried to the next quest point.

Along the way, he checked the system and indeed he had unlocked the backpack interface. However, there were very few slots, only 12, and there was a weight limit, thankfully, the Abyssal Blood Clams weren't heavy.

Ten clams together only took up two slots and weighed less than a pound, but even so, the Skeleton Puppy moved a bit slower than before.

No wonder they boasted realism in this game… they took the details very seriously.

But this also led to another issue.

Ten minutes later, Ma Lu couldn't help but speak up again, "Come on, do you really need to recreate the map at a one-to-one scale? Then you should at least speed up the travel time. Otherwise, just running around the map is a massive waste of time."

Today, Mengmengda had already lost count of how many times she'd been criticized, yet all she could do was clench her teeth and respond, "This… there are some technical difficulties."

"What's so difficult about it? Isn't it just about changing a few numbers?"

"You say that like it's easy. Sure, numbers are easy to change, but what if they don't match up with reality? Then I'll be the one to take the blame," Mengmengda replied in frustration.

Ma Lu had already noticed many strange things before, and hearing Mengmengda's words, he finally caught on and turned to look at the Baldy producer.

The latter sighed, "Boss Ma, shall we step outside to chat?"

"Sure," Ma Lu agreed readily.

The two didn't go far after leaving the living room, just to the hallway on the first floor.

Baldy took a cigarette out of his pack, placed it in his mouth, lit it, and deeply inhaled before exhaling a ring of smoke.

"I'm not gonna lie, Boss Ma, we've actually come over from the Abyss," he confessed.

Ma Lu, having grown accustomed to these otherworldly characters since meeting Old Wang, wasn't overly surprised but was still a bit taken aback by Baldy's revelation.

He then probed, "The Abyss within Red Ridge?"

"That's right," the Baldy producer admitted, "We are all servants of Lord Aisagon."