Chapter 114 The Music Box

Hao Ren filled out the form haphazardly (it didn't seem anyone actually looked at it seriously anyway) and then casually pointed to the newspaper, asking, "Anything else happening at Beinz Blood Lake?"

He deliberately added the word "else" to prevent the other party from wondering why he was so ignorant, as the Blood Lake seemed to have been acting up for two months, and this might already be common knowledge.

"Disappearances, continuous disappearances. The fourth group is gone too," Wilton said, shaking his head. "Since the first group went there two months ago looking for the Sacred Relic, four teams have disappeared, including two experienced mercenary groups. Tsk, tsk, dozens of people, and still, people keep throwing themselves at it."

"High reward," Becky muttered. "If I didn't lack a team, I'd want to join the fun—finding the Relic's location means you get a manor! And a knighthood, no need to work for the rest of your life!"

Hao Ren stood next to Wilton and quickly scanned the newspaper, catching some key words. A passage mentioned the situation at Beinz Blood Lake: "...The Relic has been missing near the Blood Lake for two months, its whereabouts still unknown... Viscount Brock, who was ordered to escort the Relic, has accepted a joint review by the Holy See and the Kingdom's council. The Pope personally declared the Relic's disappearance a 'test from the gods,' and Viscount Brock was declared innocent... The mercenary team Headhunter disappeared while crossing the southern side of the Blood Lake by boat. There were no witnesses. The number of missing people is as high as thirty-six, bringing the total number of missing people to... Due to the Relic's unknown whereabouts, Prince Haverman announced the cancellation of this year's Pilgrimage Festival..."

It seemed the initial cause of the Beinz Blood Lake incident was related to the loss of something called the "Sacred Relic," and the subsequent disappearances had no official conclusion to date. The so-called "Beinz Blood Lake connecting to another world" was just one of the rumors, and the reliability of the entire story was questionable, but Hao Ren still felt he should go and take a look.

After all, they were still in the dark here, and there was no clear objective in investigating this world. Since they were going to take action, naturally, they should choose a place with many legends and a long history. And right now, Beinz Blood Lake was showing signs of disturbance, making it a good idea to make it the first stop for their group in this world.

Moreover, since hearing about Beinz Blood Lake and the demise of the ancient civilization from Becky, Hao Ren had been quite interested in that strangely named place. In his opinion, the major event that the locals considered the end of the world more than ten thousand years ago and the related historical relics must have something behind them.

By this time, Nangong Wuyue, even the slowest writer, had finished filling out the form, and Becky was urging everyone to leave. Nothing cliché like "being provoked and extorted by local soldiers upon arriving in a strange place" happened. Hao Ren's group simply registered the "accident" and was released. Once outside the guard post, Becky immediately held out her hand to Hao Ren: "Where's the music box you promised?"

This girl's obsession was truly extraordinary.

"Here," Hao Ren pretended to rummage in his pocket and took out the MP5 and charger from his personal space, handing them to Becky. "This is a treasure; you absolutely won't find another one in this world!"

"This is a music box?" Becky looked at the strange gadget in surprise. "How is it different from the flying one last time?"

As soon as Becky finished speaking, Hao Ren heard a clunk from the teapot at his feet. It seemed the data terminal was startled, or perhaps Doudou had just turned it over again.

"This thing doesn't fly, but it has a lot more functions than the last one," Hao Ren said, quickly fiddling with the MP5, deliberately making his operation dazzling. "See, it can also view pictures, take photos, and record videos. Isn't it better than the last one that could only sing? Oh, and this is a charger; it can replenish the 'music box's' energy by basking in the sun..."

Hao Ren was explaining with great enthusiasm, and Vivian immediately felt something was wrong. While Becky was busy fiddling with the MP5, she quickly tugged on Hao Ren's sleeve. "Wait! Is this okay? You're giving this to a local..."

"It's fine. How could an MP5 affect the balance of the world?" Hao Ren waved dismissively. "Besides, I already confirmed it last time. This world does have similar alchemical techniques. Taking photos, recording videos, and playing music are not unfamiliar to people in this world at all. Electronic devices from Earth are just smaller and have more bizarre designs. As long as you don't take it apart, it's just an alchemical machine in this world."

What Hao Ren said was true, but there was one thing he didn't know: the alchemical technology in this world was still in the mode of small-scale handicraft. Entertainment products like this were high-end gadgets made by senior alchemists, exclusively for the enjoyment of the nobility, or military products custom-made by the country for special forces. Ordinary people had only heard of them and could never come into contact with them.

So, after Becky clumsily fiddled with this magical little gadget with a screen, she quickly froze and handed it back as if touching a hot iron. "Oh! This is too precious! I just wanted a music box... I don't dare to accept this. The crystal box that can take pictures in the town mayor's house is enough to exchange for three good horses. You should keep this and sell it to rich people..."

"Just take it if I give it to you. I don't take advantage of people," Hao Ren forcefully pushed the MP5, which he didn't consider much, back to her. "Compared to this, we have something we want you to help with."

"Ah? Just say it." Becky was a little dizzy with excitement because of the "treasure" in her hand, still struggling between whether to accept it or not, and nodded subconsciously when she heard this.

"We want you to be our guide to Beinz Blood Lake," Hao Ren said bluntly. "We're unfamiliar with this place, and it's inconvenient to go anywhere. You know, my hometown is in the northern empire..."

"Oh, right, I was going to ask!" Becky immediately reacted. "Last time I saw you, you were alone. How did so many people suddenly appear... Did you all teleport here?"

"We specialize in teleportation gates!" Lily puffed out her chest and said without thinking. Hao Ren gave the girl an approving look: the husky girl's cooperation ability was getting stronger and stronger.

Becky looked suspiciously at this group of strange "mages" who could be said to be strangers. Her years of mercenary life told her that there was definitely something wrong with these guys, but her years of mercenary life also made her believe that these wrong guys really needed help, and she might be about to take on a business that could make a lot of money—the "music box" in her hand proved that this thing was at least enough to exchange for a set of enchanted armor! But this man who looked quite kind gave it away so readily, so they were either members of an old-brand mage tower with a solid foundation and lots of money, or bookworms who were ignorant of the world and didn't know how to save money when they went out.

Or this man really fell and broke his brain when he fell, and he hasn't recovered yet.

Anyway, it seemed profitable in any case.

Becky made a mercenary calculation (of course, with the "music box" in her hands, we don't know how much "shrewdness" she had left), and felt that this matter was profitable, so she nodded. "Okay, anyway, many mercenaries have signed up to join the search team. I wanted to go too, but before that, you have to register as mercenaries first. Many places around Beinz Blood Lake are dangerous areas, and civilians are not allowed to approach."

Izaax listened with great interest to Becky mentioning "mercenaries." He remembered that similar combat professions existed in his hometown. In fact, as a demon king, he had been raided by groups of mercenaries and heroes no less than four digits. And this time, he was actually going to register as a mercenary to play, which made the great demon feel very interesting. He asked curiously, "Is it troublesome to register?"

"Not troublesome. Mercenaries can be said to be the purest profession in the world. They exchange their lives for money, their lives for reputation, their lives for everything. Money is the boss, and life is the capital. No one can deceive anyone. It's very easy to register. The only thing that's not easy is surviving," Becky puffed out her chest, trying to show her side as a senior mercenary, and then asked a question, "By the way, you need documents to register as a mercenary. Do you have your mage qualification certificate or ID?"

Hao Ren: "..."

Why does no one ever ask them for this after they time travel?!