140: Chapter 140 Mission Completed

Jiang He gripped his dagger for dear life.

He hung like that behind the BOSS, Moore.

Moore felt the pain and began to thrash wildly, his body careening out of control.

He tried to shake Jiang He off.

Boom, boom, boom—

With his other hand, Jiang He desperately condensed his Blood Speech Technique.

He slammed it fiercely against Moore's head.

Blinding red light exploded before his eyes.

It made him squeeze his eyes shut.

Soon, a massive, bloody hole appeared on Moore's head.

At this moment, Jiang He looked terrifying.

He looked as if he had just been fished out of a pool of blood.

"Damn it, just die for me!"

Just as Jiang He prepared to deliver the fatal blow,

Moore suddenly leaped into the air and then violently threw himself backward.

"Jiang He, watch out!"

Everyone shouted in alarm upon seeing this.

Jiang He's fighting style just now was essentially trading his life for the boss's.

Even though they knew players could respawn after death,

this method was highly likely to kill him before the BOSS died.

Jiang He realized Moore's intention at this moment.

The BOSS wanted to crush him to death.

But instead of stopping, he became even more frantic.

A red magic orb instantly condensed in his hand.

"Damn it! Even if I die, I'm taking you with me!"

Two loud explosions rang out almost simultaneously.

Moore crashed to the ground, his health bar hitting zero.

Dust and smoke billowed everywhere.

"Big Brother!" Xie Yunzhou immediately rushed over to check on Jiang He.

Jiang He was pinned underneath the BOSS's massive body.

It took everyone's combined effort to barely move Moore's corpse.

Beneath it lay a shocking, bloody mess.

Beep, beep—

A friend message arrived.

[Game ID]: Damn, is the monster dead?

[Frost Ash]: Uh... it's dead, but you were crushed into meat paste...

[Game ID]: Damn it! Don't mention that! Hurry up and bring the NPCs back; I'll wait for you at the palace.

He closed the chat.

Jiang He still felt a lingering sense of palpitations.

Although he had respawned,

the moment of his death just now felt too real.

The excruciating pain of every bone in his body shattering and his organs being crushed seemed to still linger on him.

He shuddered violently and strode toward the palace.

Arriving in front of the palace,

"What the?" Jiang He froze.

He had only been gone for half a day; how did so many people gather outside the main hall?

He saw Theresa approaching him with the guards.

"Lord Duke, you have returned."

"Your Majesty, what is going on here?"

"They were brought here by the Blazing Fire Gang."

Jiang He was speechless.

This Liefeng was truly something; for the sake of money, how many people had he mobilized to find these NPCs?

Just then, a rough roar sounded from not far away: "Jiang He! You aren't planning on welching on the deal, are you?"

Liefeng came rushing over in a flurry.

"Uh... what deal would I welch on?"

"Damn! What do you think? I brought back so many people, where is the money?" Liefeng glared with wide eyes.

Jiang He gave a wry smile: "Giving, giving, giving. Rest assured, not a single cent will be missing."

"Hmph, I should hope you wouldn't dare!"

Jiang He immediately arranged for staff to count the headcount.

The final number shocked even him.

He rushed over to Liefeng and asked urgently: "Where did you find all these people?"

The number the guards just reported was 1219!

They were all brought back by Liefeng!

"Why do you care so much? Are you giving me the money or not?" Liefeng said impatiently.

"Uh... giving! I'll add another 10 gold coins, just tell me the location, deal?"

Liefeng frowned and thought for a moment, scanned his surroundings, leaned close to Jiang He's ear, and lowered his voice: "It's right near my territory..."

Jiang He's brow twitched.

"Holy crap, where is your territory?"

Liefeng quickly marked a coordinate for him on the map.

Jiang He took one look and nearly jumped up.

"This... isn't this the border of the Sea of Death?"

That was the intersection between the various countries, currently sealed off by a system restriction.

Jiang He looked at Liefeng with a complicated expression.

"Hey! What's with that look? Let me tell you, that's a prime piece of land! Quiet, no wild monsters, perfect for building a territory! Don't you dare get any funny ideas!" Liefeng said, on guard.

Jiang He felt nothing but pity in his heart.

He sighed and said earnestly: "Considering you've done a great service, take my advice and find a chance to move your territory."

"Damn! I knew it! You brat, you really are eyeing my territory! You want me to move? Not a chance!" Liefeng said angrily, snatched the hundreds of gold coins Jiang He handed over, and turned to leave.

Jiang He shook his head.

He had given the warning.

Whether he listened or not was up to him.

That place seemed peaceful now.

But once the restriction was lifted, it would definitely be the eye of the storm.

It was a vital thoroughfare between the four countries and was right next to the Sea of Death... Jiang He knew even with his toes that extremely terrifying monsters must be entrenched there.

When that time came, Liefeng might not even have time to run.

Not long after, Xie Yunzhou and the others returned as well.

Jiang He stood outside the main hall, his brows locked in a frown.

He stared at the jumping number on the mission panel: [Mission Completion: 76%]

At this moment, what he was worried about was no longer whether the mission could be completed.

But what those people stranded outside were experiencing right now.

He noticed that most of the people brought back were young, just coming of age or having just graduated from college.

They were likely forced by the difficulty of finding work and then swindled by unscrupulous companies into becoming miners.

Over the next three days,

another one or two hundred people were found one after another.

But the mission progress remained stuck at: [86%]

Seeing the deadline approaching day by day,

he dared not imagine what the fate of those who hadn't been found would be once the mission ended.

Jiang He clenched his fists tightly.

He sent out another announcement: "Starting today, anyone who finds a refugee will be rewarded with 100 gold coins per person!"

Once the announcement went out, the world channel completely exploded.

"My God?! One hundred gold coins per person?!"

"Holy crap! Don't anyone fight me for this! I'm going to dig three feet into the ground to find one!"

"Wuwuwu... God bless! I'm out in the wild right now! As long as I find one! I can achieve financial freedom!"

[Liefeng]: All members of the Blazing Fire Gang, listen up! Stop all leveling! Everyone go out and find people! Hurry!

Jiang He stared at the scrolling chat channel, rubbing his palms in agitation.

He silently prayed: Please find them, please don't let anything else happen...

Although the lives and deaths of these people had no direct connection to him, he still hoped in his heart that he could save as many as possible.

Time flew by, and only two minutes remained for the mission deadline.

Jiang He was stamping his feet anxiously outside the main hall.

After this day, the mission progress had only increased by a pathetic 2%.

Suddenly, the doors outside the hall were violently pushed open.

Liefeng came rushing in, bringing a group of people with him in a flurry.

"Jiang He! You're going to have to bleed for this one! Hahaha... hurry up and pay up!"

Almost at the same time,

a cold system prompt rang out in the air: [Refugee Rescue Mission Ended, Completion 88%]

"Damn it!"

Jiang He couldn't help but curse.

The people Liefeng brought hadn't even reached the area of the main hall before they were judged as timed out!

Immediately after,

Boom, boom, boom—!

A series of unprovoked explosions detonated behind Liefeng!

Those newly brought NPC refugees burst apart one after another like bloody fireworks!

Jiang He's pupils shrank, his eyes split with rage, and he rushed toward the gate like a madman: "No—!"