99: Strange people, magical self-improvement society

“Oh? Someone else is here?”

The sudden voice made Ye Xiao stop.

He turned his head and soon saw a man and a woman walking towards him.

Ye Xiao sized up the two.

Their clothes were a bit old, and they looked several years older than him.

The man held a longbow, so he was likely an archer.

The woman, on the other hand, held a sword in one hand and a shield in the other, undoubtedly a Shield Warrior.

Ye Xiao was a bit curious.

Linhai Village was remote, so normally no one should appear here.

Could they also be as unlucky as him?

Ye Xiao's confusion didn't last too long.

Because the man's next words explained everything.

“Are you also here for the Linhai Village quest?”

Hearing the man's question, Ye Xiao thought to himself, 'Sure enough.'

He didn't hide it and nodded, replying, “That's right, are you two as well?”

The man's eyes immediately showed a touch of familiarity upon hearing Ye Xiao's reply, then he smiled and said.

“That's right, my name is Qi Fei, and this is Wei Wei. We're both as unlucky as you, but we've been unlucky longer; we've been here for six years.”

Wei Wei, by his side, seemed to have long grown numb to this. After hearing Qi Fei's introduction, she gave him a slight glare, then spoke kindly to Ye Xiao.

“It seems you must have just received the quest. Meeting us is fate, so why don't you come in with us?”

Ye Xiao looked at the two with suspicion, but after some thought, he didn't refuse.

After all, he had very little information about Linhai Village, and from their tone, they seemed to know this place very well.

Anyway, with his current combat power, no one in the novice zone could harm him, so he naturally wasn't worried.

Qi Fei and Wei Wei became even more enthusiastic when they saw Ye Xiao agree.

However, this behavior made Ye Xiao feel even stranger, though he couldn't pinpoint why.

At this moment, Qi Fei spoke, “Looking at you, you probably don't know anything, do you? How about I introduce you to the situation here?”

Ye Xiao was naturally eager, so he nodded immediately.

“Then I'll trouble you.”

Qi Fei smiled and waved his hand, saying cheerfully, “Don't be so polite, perhaps we'll become comrades in the future.”

“Comrades?” Ye Xiao frowned slightly, not understanding.

Qi Fei was used to this and explained with a smile.

“Wei Wei and I came here six years ago after receiving our class change quest, unwilling to give up just like that, so we came with a hopeful mindset. I imagine you're the same, right?”

Ye Xiao nodded noncommittally.

Qi Fei smiled and continued, “Sure enough, everyone who comes here has the same mindset.”

Ye Xiao caught the implication and asked, “Are there others here besides you two?”

Wei Wei, by his side, smiled and explained.

“You're not the only one with our mindset; many people have come over the years.”

Qi Fei sighed and continued:

“Initially, Wei Wei and I thought that if we cleared out the monsters here first, perhaps a miracle might happen. However, after arriving here, I realized we were too naive.”

“Decades ago, after the NPCs were wiped out, Linhai Village lost its defensive capabilities and was completely overrun by Oceanic Monsters.”

“And with decades of development, these monsters have made this their lair, gradually breeding a large number of high-level monsters.”

“Facing nearly 100,000 Oceanic Monsters inside Linhai Village, Wei Wei and I alone are completely helpless. But we are not resigned to it.”

“Later, Professionals like us also came here one after another. Our team slowly grew stronger. Because everyone had the same goal, we were exceptionally united.”

“Gradually, we formed a legion here.”

He paused, then Qi Fei said with a somewhat self-deprecating tone, “It's a bit embarrassing to say, but at the time, we don't know why, but we suddenly got a bit hot-headed and named the legion the Ziqiang Society. Because we felt the name was too embarrassing, we didn't dare to promote it. We rely entirely on Professionals like you arriving each year to slowly expand our numbers.”

Wei Wei, by his side, covered her mouth and chuckled, “Actually, the name isn't bad. It perfectly represents our belief in not giving up and not accepting fate. It's just these stinky men who find it awkward.”

Qi Fei cleared his throat and continued, “Through five years of effort, our Ziqiang Society now has 2,000 members. Although this number is still very difficult to deal with those level 90 Oceanic Monsters, we will persevere.”

“Everyone believes that as long as we persist, we will eventually be able to clear out the monsters here.”

Ye Xiao listened to Qi Fei and Wei Wei's introduction, but he shook his head slightly in his heart.

“Even if you really manage to clear them out, without the relevant quest NPCs, what's the point?”

Qi Fei didn't seem too bothered by this; instead, he said with a bright smile, “Something has meaning as long as it's done. Giving up directly without even trying is truly meaningless.”

Ye Xiao observed Qi Fei before him.

He felt a bit emotional.

However, without truly understanding the other party, Ye Xiao naturally wouldn't easily pass judgment based on a few words.

At this moment, Qi Fei and Wei Wei had led Ye Xiao to a forest on the west side of Linhai Village.

Qi Fei smiled and introduced, “Let's go to our camp to rest first. After that, if you want to understand the situation in Linhai Village, you can ask anyone inside, and they'll give you answers.”

Ye Xiao nodded and followed the two to their Ziqiang Society's encampment.

When Ye Xiao stood in this seemingly very crude camp, he was quite surprised.

Who would have thought that in this remote area, there would actually be such a rarely seen camp?

At this time, with Ye Xiao's arrival.

Many Professionals who were resting in the camp also looked up.

Seeing this, Qi Fei couldn't help but smile and say, “Brothers, today we welcome a new friend. His name is...”

Suddenly, Qi Fei paused, then turned his head and asked, “Oh, right, I was too happy earlier and forgot to ask your name.”