Bai Ye always felt that a group of horse bandits plus a berserk mechanical man didn't quite match the grandeur of a hidden quest, especially with the help of a group of Chosen Ones. Moreover, after the mechanical man went berserk, Bai Ye didn't even need to lift a finger; Kai and Mulan arrived directly and dealt with the thing.
However, if it were a chained quest, Bai Ye would have understood, as the first link of a chained quest was naturally the simplest.
The problem lay in the difficulty of the next stages, and how many links this quest had?
"Hey, Bai Ye!" Mulan called out, turning around. "What are you standing around for? Let's go!"
Bai Ye snapped back to his senses, responded, and quickly followed Mulan and Kai.
Returning to the roadside, the horse bandits had all been subdued. The Chosen Ones were not obligated to escort them, and they dispersed as soon as the quest was completed.
Mulan called over a squad leader from a Chang'an soldier and asked him a few questions. Then, she went to the huge flatbed cart and looked at the damaged mechanical man.
A moment later, Mulan found Kai and Bai Ye. "I need to write a letter back to Chang'an. Something is not right about this."
Bai Ye asked, "What's not right?"
Mulan explained, "According to the Chang'an soldiers, that mechanical man has nothing to do with them. It was brought by the horse bandits. When the bandits appeared, they used over a dozen horses to pull that flatbed cart."
Bai Ye retorted, "It wasn't from the supply convoy anyway, so it must have belonged to the horse bandits. What's so strange about that?"
Mulan countered, "But, I found the 'Myriad Phenomena Engineering' emblem on the center of the cart's wheel and on the back of the mechanical man. This means that the mechanical man, and even the flatbed cart used to transport it, came from Chang'an."
Bai Ye and Kai exchanged bewildered glances.
Bai Ye and Kai couldn't grasp the intricacies of this matter. Kai was an outsider adopted by Mulan and brought to Chang'an. Bai Ye was a newly arrived Chosen One. Although he had been to the Heroic Region in his previous life, he had never been to the Great Wall. Therefore, neither of them even knew what "Myriad Phenomena Engineering" was.
So, Kai patted his chest and said, "I don't understand what you're saying, and I don't want to. All I know is that wherever your sword points, that's where I'll charge with my saber."
Bai Ye's eyes widened, and he secretly gave Kai a thumbs-up.
"Amazing, big brother!"
Such a loyal declaration, wouldn't it sweep Sister Mulan off her feet?
From today onwards, please allow me to call you Father Kai and accept me as your adopted son, teaching me the ways of wooing women.
Then, Bai Ye glanced at Mulan. She showed no reaction, her head bowed in thought, as if pondering the mystery of the mechanical man.
Bai Ye slapped his forehead, having forgotten that she wasn't just any ordinary girl. It seemed Father Kai's path to romance was long and arduous.
They escorted the horse bandits back to the military camp. Shou Yue, brimming with the power of a devoted wife, held up a tray and smiled, "You three have worked hard. Come, have some food."
Shou Yue's food was, as always, delicious.
After eating, Mulan immediately put down her chopsticks and went to find Li Xin. As the current commander of the Great Wall, she needed to go through Li Xin to write a letter to Chang'an.
Bai Ye, on the other hand, continued to ponder the hidden quest.
The second part of the quest was to help Mulan find that phantom. However, quests couldn't be judged solely by their surface. Currently, the clue seemed to be the mechanical man, and since the mechanical man was related to the phantom, investigating it and discovering its origins might lead them to the phantom.
Thinking this way, Bai Ye felt he might need to wait for a while, as Mulan had already begun investigating the mechanical man, and the reply from Chang'an would likely contain new clues.
Meanwhile…
A bird's cry suddenly interrupted Bai Ye's thoughts. He looked up and saw a large white bird flying overhead. It looked like a seagull, with a very distinctive beak, large like a giant pouch.
Then…
Bai Ye saw a blur of black shadow falling from the sky, growing larger and larger, and then…
*CRASH!*
Bai Ye's head was struck with a heavy blow, sending him and his chair crashing to the ground with a loud thud.
Kai and Shou Yue were startled and quickly helped Bai Ye up.
"Bai Ye, are you alright?" Shou Yue checked Bai Ye's head. "Your head is red, but there's no bleeding. You should be fine."
"Damn it!" Bai Ye cursed, holding his forehead. "Falling object from high above, may you die a terrible death!"
Kai picked up a cardboard box and handed it to Bai Ye. "What is this thing? There's a note on it."
Bai Ye took it and instantly felt speechless.
The first line written on it read: "Big-Mouthed Gull Express, at your service."
"My heavens, it's an express delivery?"
Then he looked at the bottom, where the sender was listed as: Jin Sha.
"It really is my delivery?" Bai Ye couldn't help but twitch his eye. He said to Kai and Shou Yue, "It's my stuff, they just delivered it a bit roughly."
Kai shrugged. Shou Yue asked, "Do you want to put some medicine on it?"
"I can do it myself," Bai Ye said, picking up the cardboard box. "You guys keep eating. I'm going back."
After speaking, Bai Ye walked towards the tent with the cardboard box, muttering curses.
Upon returning to his tent, Bai Ye drew his famous sword, "Bloodthirsty," and sliced open the cardboard box. He stared at the contents, stunned.
"This thing?" Bai Ye exclaimed, "A snail?"
The box contained a snail, but compared to ordinary snails, this one was a behemoth among snails, about the size of two palms. The shell had spots, a dial like a telephone on the side, and the top piece of the shell could even be detached to reveal a receiver.
Den Den Mushi (Item) (White): A magical creature used for communication, resembling a snail. It remains dormant when not in communication and awakens when communicating.
Bai Ye glanced at the screen, speechless. "So, it's a telephone that looks like a snail?"
This thing was quite magical. Bai Ye had seen a lot in his time, but in his previous life, he had never encountered such a communication tool.
However, the World Battlefield was full of strange and bizarre things. Even after a lifetime of experience, Bai Ye couldn't have seen everything, so it was normal to encounter something unfamiliar.
Just then…
"Buru buru, buru buru buru, buru buru…"
The Den Den Mushi's eyes suddenly opened, and its mouth, split into a narrow slit, began to emit a continuous "buru" sound, a pattern of short and long tones, with a distinct rhythm.
Bai Ye tilted his head. Was it ringing?
As Bai Ye pondered this, he picked up the receiver from the shell. "Hello?"
"Hi, Bai Ye, long time no see," Jin Sha's voice came through with a smile. "Did you receive my package?"
…