Chapter 210: You’re Trying to Survive; I’m Just Being Efficient!
Zhang Yangqing didn’t need to know the how; he just needed a target.
The method described by the White Feather Clan chieftain had some feasibility, but it was all about how to infiltrate the settlement, how to avoid dangers—like playing a thief simulator. If discovered, it almost certainly meant death. Other Chosen Ones had to memorize every detail meticulously here, afraid of missing something.
Zhang Yangqing, hearing this, felt it could all be skipped. He had his own approach. Actually, even if there was no task related to the Eternal Clan, he still planned to visit them. It wasn’t just about completing the hidden mission; he also had a special method to verify which teammate was the supernatural entity. This stemmed from his unique interpretation of the rules.
[Rule 12: Angels possess powerful contamination. If you discover an angel, try to avoid their eyes.]
[Rule 13: The Eternal Clan is powerful and possesses immunity to contamination.]
Since the supernatural teammate could devour and gain the powers of those they consumed, all he needed to do was have his teammates devour members of the Eternal Clan. Later, whichever teammate showed no abnormality when looking into an angel’s eyes would be the one impersonated by the supernatural entity.
This was a special method only Zhang Yangqing could pull off. Other Chosen Ones wouldn’t dare even think of it.
He just needed to kill members of the Eternal Clan. Like the hidden supernatural beings, they would require some time to resurrect. Then he could have his teammates split up to search for useful clues. After all, weren’t those humanoid beasts in the Nameless Mountain Village trying to use the Harvest God’s power to devour the Eternal Clan? If they devoured the Eternal Clan, they would gain immense power and eternal life. He didn’t believe the supernatural teammate would pass up such a good opportunity.
Once they found an angel, they could identify the supernatural teammate in advance. Having gone through many strange tales, Zhang Yangqing had some understanding of contamination. If not fully contaminated, the other teammates would just need some time to rest and recover. After all, while these teammates seemed weaker compared to him, they still possessed a certain level of physical resilience.
After bidding farewell to the White Feather Clan chieftain, Zhang Yangqing prepared to return to the inn to rest for a while.
He claimed it was to conserve energy, to be in better condition for the night’s departure. In reality, he was giving the supernatural entity within the team some time to prepare.
While Zhang Yangqing’s team rested, other teams began their own activities.
Some teams started monitoring the Goatee Captain to determine if he was truly colluding with the Black Feather Clan.
At this point, many observant Chosen Ones noticed something: while the other Black Feather Clan children appeared normal, only the chieftain’s son had his head wrapped in a cardboard box. What did this imply?
The American Chosen One, Muscle Doctor Miller, approached this child and received a so-called side quest. It turned out the Black Feather Clan chieftain’s son accidentally discovered that the cardboard box provided a certain degree of cold resistance, offering a hint of warmth even in a blizzard. If Miller could fulfill the child’s request, he would gift him the cardboard box.
Like some unimportant NPCs in a game, talking to them yielded unexpected surprises.
Besides Miller, other Chosen Ones also interacted with various people. These individuals more or less had task requests, promising the Chosen Ones some benefits in return.
Watching other Chosen Ones busy with tasks, acquiring many useful items, the Egyptian audience grew puzzled. Why was Rahman resting? Hadn’t he noticed?
[Comment]: The Dragon Country’s Celestial Master and the Pasta Country’s Archbishop not investigating the Black Feather Clan is one thing, but why isn’t Professor Rahman going either?
[Comment]: I saw in other streams, some seem to have discovered the Black Feather Clan’s secrets, and some Chosen Ones already know the captain is not a good guy. I really want to tell Professor Rahman directly.
[Comment]: Huh? Professor Rahman is moving. He’s not leaving the city; he’s going to the Black Feather Clan chieftain’s house.
[Comment]: What’s going on? Professor Rahman seems to be directly approaching that dangerous captain?
Rahman’s current actions made the audience anxious. He was the best-performing ordinary Chosen One at this stage, so why did he seem to have a drastic drop in IQ this round?
The two top-tier superhumans in this strange tale didn’t investigate the Black Feather Clan because their own strength was overwhelmingly powerful; they simply weren’t worried about teammates turning traitor. But their own Chosen One didn’t have that capability. It was one thing not to investigate, but to actually contact the problematic captain? Wasn’t that seeking death?
Because in this round, the Bullfighter Country’s Chosen One contacted the captain of another team and learned crucial information: the Goatee Captain had led two expeditions before, and he was the only one who came back alive both times.
Hearing this, the Bullfighter Country’s Chosen One began to guard against the Goatee Captain, even considering defecting to another team to seek a way out. Maybe switching teams would also mean switching rules? After all, there was more than one climbing team; others seemed safer.
In this stage, Chosen Ones interacting with different people would receive different side quests and intelligence.
Seeing the audience’s unstable emotions, the Egyptian expert panel began to explain, telling everyone not to worry. In fact, in this stage, many Chosen Ones were outsmarting themselves.
Because Chosen Ones could use rules to deduce the dangers they would encounter in each stage. In the first two stages, without the help of rules, forcing exploration would have meant 90% of Chosen Ones wouldn’t have made it out alive. This showed the Chosen Ones’ reliance on rules and their thirst for information.
And in this stage, without seeing rules, the Chosen Ones began gathering intelligence from all over to ensure their safety. After all, there was a blizzard outside; they could only stay here until dawn.
According to the Egyptian expert panel’s deduction, the first stage had “Nameless Mountain Village Rules” to help Chosen Ones leave the village alive. Here, there were no “Feather Clan Rules,” but “Climber’s Code.” This was actually the rules telling the Chosen Ones there wasn’t much danger here; they could survive without specific rules.
In short, this was a “bonus stage,” a rare type of stage in the Strange Tales world. By interacting with NPCs here, Chosen Ones could obtain many items and assistance. In this stage, Chosen Ones had many tactical options.
The rules also reminded Chosen Ones that the greatest help was the flying White Feather Clan. The rest were just icing on the cake, depending on whether the Chosen Ones needed them.
Therefore, based on all this, Rahman judged that everything else was interference, only wasting the Chosen Ones’ energy. He only needed to complete the White Feather Clan’s task to reach the final destination.
Because the rules were absolute. The rule said completing the White Feather Clan’s task would make them help; this was undeniable. As for whether the Black Feather Clan’s or other climbing teams’ intelligence was correct, whether they could truly help the Chosen Ones—so far, no one knew.
Having figured this out, Rahman didn’t expend much effort.
Since one could deduce this far, it was highly probable the Goatee Captain’s words were true. The Black Feather Clan indeed had no intention of harming climbers either.
Actually, it was only after the Purple-Eyed Woman and the Slicked-Back Haired Man ignored his ideas that Rahman remembered a rule.
Because Rule 10 stated, “Your teammates are not weak.” This could be interpreted conversely: the supernatural entity’s combat power certainly wasn’t the strongest. If it were, the rule wouldn’t hint like this.
Rahman only understood the Goatee Captain was a true teammate after encountering some situations. Only the Goatee Captain could keep the other three teammates in check.
The second half of Rule 10: If you want to seek a teammate’s help, first confirm they are your teammate. Since Rahman had confirmed the Goatee Captain was a teammate, he could seek his help.
To obtain this stage’s reward—the White Feather Clan’s assistance—they had to enter the Eternal Clan’s settlement. Going with just four people was too dangerous. According to the White Feather Clan chieftain’s words, Rahman could further deduce that the Black Feather Clan just couldn’t fly but had strong combat power.
If he could persuade the Goatee Captain to help, there was a high probability he could also get the Black Feather Clan chieftain’s assistance. This would allow him to survive better within the Eternal Clan’s settlement, a gathering place for hidden supernatural entities.
In fact, many rules, when broken down and combined with intelligence, could lead to better clearing of stages.
So Rahman came to the Black Feather Clan chieftain’s dwelling.
The interior was quite normal, with ordinary furnishings. It wasn’t terrifying like the Nameless Mountain Village, and there seemed to be no forbidden areas.
Rahman found the Goatee Captain drinking and told him his thoughts.
Although it dampened the mood, his goal was to clear the stage, and the Goatee Captain’s task was also to lead them to find the Ice Crystal Fruit.
“I didn’t expect the usually xenophobic White Feather Clan would also help us. I think we can give it a try.” The Goatee Captain felt they could drink anytime, but completing the task came first. This opportunity was rare; he didn’t want to miss it either.
Here, Rahman employed his shameless spirit and asked the Black Feather Clan chieftain for help.
“If it’s about retrieving the sacred artifact, I can help too.” The Black Feather Clan chieftain was a warm-hearted person by nature. As Zhang Yangqing put it, he was a “good person.” And good people definitely had their uses.
Rahman successfully recruited two relatively powerful combatants, then returned to the inn. After discussing strategies, they prepared to set out.
Within the Strange Tales world, recruiting friendly NPCs to help had always been the best tactic. Zhang Yangqing often used this method when clearing stages. However, he did it just for efficiency. When other Chosen Ones learned it, it became a lifesaving tool.
The Goatee Captain and the Black Feather Clan chieftain followed Rahman back to the inn. The other three teammates had some suspicions about the Goatee Captain but didn’t show it, as if the earlier small meeting never happened.
After packing their things, they expertly found the “loophole” mentioned by the White Feather Clan.
Although the White and Black Feather Clans lived together, they each built walls around their respective settlements. The Black Feather Clan chieftain was learning for the first time that the White Feather Clan had cut corners, using planted trees to block a gap. But it was precisely because of this gap that they could climb in.
Returning to this familiar yet foreign place, the Black Feather Clan chieftain was filled with emotion. Many of the tall buildings before them were constructed by his clan.
At this moment, Rahman, as if guided by spirits, asked, “Chieftain, the angel suppressed by the Eternal Clan isn’t here, right?” He was worried about accidentally triggering the conditions for an angel’s appearance, increasing the difficulty of this Eternal Clan expedition.
Hearing this, the Black Feather Clan chieftain said, “The angel isn’t imprisoned here. Those shameless Eternal Clan members claim to suppress the angel, but it’s actually to obtain the angel’s power.”
According to the Black Feather Clan chieftain, the angel was like a nuclear weapon; whoever controlled the angel could, to some extent, dominate this world. He didn’t know exactly where the angel was imprisoned, but he told Rahman that the Sanatorium Director was locked in the dungeon here. If he wanted to find the angel, he could seek out the director. As the angel’s creator, he must know something.
Rahman seemed to have triggered the key person for the hidden mission. Now he had a chance to complete the hidden task. But he hesitated. What use was finding the angel? Where would he find a “Human”?
Suddenly, Rahman thought of something. Where did the sanatorium doctor go? After reviving the “Human,” why did he leave? And tonight, when they came to the Eternal Clan, the guard said there were internal issues, and they weren’t receiving guests. Could it be that after reviving the “Human” this morning, the doctor came to attack the Eternal Clan to rescue the director? But the “Human,” being unstable, lost to the Eternal Clan and was captured.
Why could Rahman guess the “Human” lost? That was easy to judge: the Eternal Clan members were still alive, meaning they didn’t lose.
The further they went, the more it confirmed Rahman’s guess. He saw extensive signs of battle: collapsed houses, sunken ground. Clearly, a powerful being had assaulted this place.
It seemed a thread connected all the intelligence. If Rahman wanted to obtain this Strange Tales world’s hidden reward, this was actually an opportunity; missing it meant no second chance.
If he only wanted the White Feather Clan’s sacred artifact, completing this minor stage’s reward task, it wasn’t difficult.
But the problem arose: the dungeon surely had guards. With just these few people, how could they break into the dungeon?
Suddenly, Rahman thought of something else: the reward obtained in the previous stage—the two bottles of medicine granted by the rules. “Could the rules be telling me to drug the Eternal Clan, not my teammates?” Rahman thought to himself.
Drugging teammates was too difficult. Apart from the Slicked-Back Haired Man, no one would eat something given by others, nor would they give things to others. And when the Slicked-Back Haired Man handled ingredients, everyone watched, so he wouldn’t dare drug them.
Thinking of this, Rahman finally understood: the rewards from the first and second stages weren’t to help Chosen Ones clear the Strange Tales better, but to give ordinary Chosen Ones a chance to access hidden rewards. Because every time the Strange Tales world was created, conditions were made for ordinary Chosen Ones to complete hidden missions.
As for the use of the magic book, Rahman had even guessed it. Based on intelligence, the Eternal Clan could seal angels. Since it was a seal, it meant the Eternal Clan knew magic. And the magic book said it could see through mazes and magic; it must also be able to undo sealing magic. Wasn’t it a perfect weapon against the Eternal Clan?
Everything connected. It seemed lacking any one piece wouldn’t work.
Thinking of all this, Rahman’s mind became clearer. Faced with the hidden mission’s reward, his heart raced with excitement!
