9: Chapter 9: Although he committed murder and robbery... he is actually a good person!

Qin Muyuan, who was looking for quests, thought back for a moment.

According to the official game announcement, this was an extremely open world for infinite exploration without any main quests, designed to let players deeply experience another strange world.

However, the new-generation AI System would provide personalized quest guidance based on the player's gameplay, allowing players to carve out their own main storylines.

"Carving out the player's own main storyline... does that mean quests must be found and triggered by the players themselves?"

Qin Muyuan pondered.

Suddenly, in a corner of the street, he spotted a glowing golden exclamation mark.

It was a young girl who looked no older than ten years old. A white cloth strip was tied around her head, and her eyes were red. She was kneeling in the corner of the street, with words written on the ground before her in white powder.

Upon seeing the exclamation mark, Qin Muyuan flashed forward without hesitation:

"Do you have a quest for me?"

"Ah?!"

The little girl trembled in fear at the figure that suddenly appeared in front of her. Tears welled in her eyes, her face full of terror.

Fortunately, Xiao Chang was behind Qin Muyuan. Understanding what Qin Muyuan meant, he stepped forward to explain to the girl:

"Don't be afraid, little girl. Brother Qin isn't a bad person; he's just eager to help you."

He lowered his head to look at the ground, his gaze landing on those lines of writing, his voice softening a bit:

"Are you trying to borrow money... to bury your mother?"

Hearing Xiao Chang's gentle voice, the little girl nodded and sobbed:

"Y-Yes, Young Master. My name is Shi Yan, and I live by Songhua Street..."

After listening to the little girl's background and experiences, Xiao Chang's gaze softened even further.

The girl was named Shi Yan, living on Songhua Street outside the Xiao Mansion.

Her family had been peaceful and harmonious. Although they were not wealthy, their life was stable. Unexpectedly, about a month ago, her mother suddenly fell gravely ill.

Her father quickly called a doctor, but her mother's illness did not improve; instead, it worsened day by day.

Three days ago, her mother ultimately failed to hold on and passed away.

During this time, their modest savings had been completely exhausted to treat her mother, leaving them without even enough money to buy a plain coffin.

With nowhere else to turn, Shi Yan had no choice but to kneel at the street corner, begging people for a loan so her mother could be laid to rest.

"Where is your father?" Looking at Shi Yan's frail body, Xiao Chang couldn't bear it. He pulled a date cake from his robes, handed it to her, and asked.

Shi Yan stared at the date cake, swallowing nervously, her eyes flashing with desire, but she ultimately did not take it and said:

"After Mother passed away, Father went out to borrow money from acquaintances... but he never came back."

Xiao Chang fell silent. Under these circumstances, Shi Yan's father had likely used that as an excuse to abandon her.

"Hey! What are you doing!"

Just then, an angry voice suddenly interrupted. Xiao Chang and Qin Muyuan turned to look.

They saw a frivolous-looking ruffian swaying as he sauntered over.

He first glanced sideways at Xiao Chang and Qin Muyuan, then shifted his gaze to Shi Yan with a look full of disdain.

Immediately after, he raised his foot and brutally scuffed out the white powder writing in front of Shi Yan, then violently kicked away the worn clay bowl before her, shouting harshly:

"Who gave you permission to beg for money here?!"

Shi Yan trembled all over from this sudden violence. Tears shook in her eyes, and her small, frail body instinctively curled into the corner behind her.

Seeing this, a smirking grin spread across the ruffian's face. Glancing sideways at Qin Muyuan and Xiao Chang, he raised his voice:

"I advise you two to mind your own business! Her useless father ran off and dumped her, so what are you trying to play hero for?"

"Don't you lie! Father didn't abandon me!" Hearing the ruffian slander her father, Shi Yan's voice trembled with fear, yet she clenched her fists, sat up straight from the corner, and yelled:

"Father went to raise money for Mother's burial... He will definitely come back!"

"Raise money? He fled long ago! Anyone would run away after being stuck with a burden like you!" Hearing Shi Yan's words, the ruffian sneered mockingly.

Hearing this, Xiao Chang frowned slightly. "Brother, you are crossing the line."

"Crossing the line? Who the hell are you to tell me—"

Before the ruffian could finish speaking, two burly guards behind Xiao Chang stepped forward, surrounding him.

Only then did the ruffian realize Xiao Chang was no ordinary person, noticing that although he wore casual clothes, the fabric was clearly far superior to that of ordinary folk.

The ruffian's expression abruptly changed. His previous reckless and arrogant demeanor vanished instantly, replaced by a flattering smile as he leaned closer and lowered his voice:

"Young Master, Squire Chen has had his eye on this girl for a while... Please do us a favor and step aside."

However, faced with the name he dropped, Xiao Chang merely frowned even deeper:

"What Squire Chen? Never heard of him!"

"Get out of my sight right now. I'm protecting this girl. If you dare harass her again, don't blame me for showing no mercy!"

The ruffian's face froze. He couldn't tell which family's Young Master Xiao Chang was, so he didn't dare offend him lightly.

However, he also didn't dare fail the task given by Squire Chen, so he could only speak up again: "Young Master..."

Before the ruffian could finish his sentence, a broad palm suddenly enlarged before his eyes in the next instant.

Crack!

The crisp sound of breaking bones echoed. The ruffian's head instantly snapped around 180 degrees, his breath cut off instantly as he dropped dead on the spot.

This scene shocked everyone present.

The little girl named Shi Yan widened her eyes in shock and almost screamed instinctively, but the moment the sound was about to escape, she clamped her hands tightly over her mouth, making no noise.

Trembling, she raised her eyes and met the gaze of the murderer in the street—it was the very same Young Master who had first bent down to check on her earlier.

"So that's what 'carving out the player's own main storyline' means..."

Qin Muyuan, who had been silent for a long time, finally understood.

Earlier, there had been an exclamation mark above both the little girl Shi Yan and the dead ruffian, except their exclamation marks were not fully solid—only half of them were colored.

When Qin Muyuan looked at them, a prompt lit up over the exclamation marks above both of their heads: [Mutually Exclusive Quests].

In other words, Qin Muyuan could only choose to accept a quest from one of them.

Once he accepted the ruffian's quest, Shi Yan's quest would disappear.

After all, as heard in the conversation, the ruffian had appeared here because that good-for-nothing Squire Chen had taken a liking to Shi Yan.

If he chose to help the ruffian and Squire Chen, he naturally wouldn't be able to accept Shi Yan's quest anymore.

This was what the game advertised as "players choosing their own world line."

Drive off the ruffian so Squire Chen doesn't get his way?

Or help Squire Chen make Shi Yan his bedchamber maid?

This was the choice players had to make.

How other players would choose, Qin Muyuan didn't know.

However, for Qin Muyuan, he would naturally choose according to his own preferences and heart—

Although he murdered, stole horses, ransacked houses, and dined and dashed at street food stalls without paying, he was actually a good person!