The Righteous Player(s)

Chapter 303: Neckless of the Past

Watching Delicious Wind Goose talking to himself on the forum, Wandering Child couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

I’m sure he was panickingjust now.

He and Delicious Wind Goose have known each other for so many years. Sure enough, the Child had a rough understanding of the baldy’s character.

If Delicious Wind Goose weren’t struck with fear, he would have published a post and boosted eloquently on what he saw, heard, and thought about before he made the decision. Then, he would brag about it and tag those who had tagged him first.

Seeing that Old Goose didn’t even make a post about it and disappeared right after thanking the other players one by one, the Child was quite confident that Old Goose panicked.

But after gloating over the misfortune, the Child couldn’t help but get a little worried, “…I wonder how’s their situation.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Dove sat beside the Child, petted her lynx, and said casually, “I don’t think it’s a big problem.

“If Neckless (Goose’s nickname) manages to respond immediately, he should be able to cut off any loose ends in time. Jiu Er and their identities are still clean, and they can still enter the royal city.

“With Annan watching from a distance, he should have a buffer time if something does happen. I’ve known Neckless for a long time, but he doesn’t like to use his brain very much. Once he starts thinking, his brain is still quite useful.”

“Yeah, smart heads don’t grow hair…” The Child nodded in agreement.

The Child had already reached the ruin’s entrance, so there was no need to hurry.

He waited for the other two of his team to go online, so they could pack up and prepare to explore the ruins.

Now that the two of them had nothing to do, they caught another deer, some bugs, and edible mushrooms. They roasted and ate them at the ruin entrance to pass the time.

At this time, the Child was glad that he took tea leaves with him when he left.

His original idea was to chew tea leaves to refresh himself when he was sleepy. This tea was a special energizing black tea, the same type that Salvatore drank every morning, so Annan still had some in stock.

Tea leaves in this world were relatively cheap to the extent that ordinary people could afford them.

The ships and navigational technology in the Noah Kingdom had only just developed to the level at the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.

However, due to the upright deity — the Deity of Decomposition and Nurture, Motherly Moth, crops such as sugar, tea, cotton, and even cocoa were favored by Her believer hundreds or even thousands of years ago. They were discovered and cultivated, with their nurturing process optimized.

Some endangered plant species were acquired from the elves, such as elves’ tea leaves, which the Motherly Moth had successfully passed them down for many generations. The Papal Kingdom was the base of the Motherly Moth believers. Not only did they export nutrient solutions similar to chemical fertilizers, but they even pioneered the soilless cultivation technology.

It was fair to say the technological development of this world was quite unbalanced.

This was also why countries didn’t have as much land as the Noah Kingdom was still striving and didn’t starve to death because of famine.

The cause of a large number of casualties was primarily due to natural disasters such as undead, severe colds, floods, and sandstorms.

Of course, this aspect was one of the Noah Kingdom’s advantages.

This was all thanks to the sharp vision of Silver Sire in choosing their place. Although their territory wasn’t large, it happened to have no natural disasters, so the land quality was superb.

The Child opened the lid and put the tea leaves into the boiling water. Then, he fastened the lid.

It was an item that looked like a rice cooker, but it was not a teapot but a standard cooking pot. The pot was double-layered with the fuels of the Green Fire stored underneath. Although it wasn’t as powerful compared to cooking on a gas stove, its temperature could at least boil the water. Also, it prevented diseases potentially caused by drinking raw water, and it could also be used to cook porridge.

Once the fuel was refilled, it could continue to heat for 3 hours. One set of fuel weighed about 2 kilograms. They each carried a spare set of fuel. Since they used it sparingly, they hadn’t yet used up the first fuel even when they reached the ruin’s entrance.

They definitely wouldn’t be able to use up these five fuels at this rate when they return.

Hehe, we’re safe. I can use as much as I want.

While waiting for the tea to be made, the Child asked Dove curiously, “By the way, when did you and Old Goose get acquainted? I remember hearing him mention about you a few years ago.”

“Ah, it has been a long time.” Dove looked up at the sky and thought for a while playing with the cat, “It’s almost 15 years.

“He was in the first year of high school at that time, and his mother introduced him to me to learn compound bows. But, he stopped after two months of lessons… He had known me since then.”

When Dove said this, she raised the corner of his mouth and said, “At that time, I remember that he wanted to pursue me. So I just told him that you are too fat for me, and then he went to the gym…

“Do you know that the nickname “Neckless” came from me?”

“…I really don’t know about that.”

The Wandering Child shook his head again and again. He suddenly became interested in the old stories.

It’s just a little bit confusing to him…

He looked at Dove’s brown ponytail, short stature, and immature face and then fell into contemplation.

She seems to be a teenager at most, right?

At most, she is in her early twenties. If she dresses up much younger, the others may even believe that she is just a junior high school student.

How could she be able to teach Delicious Wind Goose archery 15 years ago? How did she get to know his mother?

How old is this girl now?

But Wandering Child was smart enough not to ask that question.

He felt that he would be attacked if he were to ask that question.

He concentrated on the gossip to see if he could get something to blackmail Delicious Wind Goose and pressured the Poor Goose to treat him for a crab feast, “—Please tell me more, boss.”

The Child poured the boiled tea into a cup and respectfully handed it to Dove.

Dove took over the tea with a smile, not in a hurry to drink it. She reminisced with some nostalgia, “At that time, Neckless still had hair, but he wasn’t as smart as he is now. At that time, he had a bad temper and was rash. It depended on his weight and height for any fights, trying to cool while sneering as if he could punch harder. If he hadn’t been fat enough at that time, he would have been beaten into a fool long ago.”

“Did he have a bad temper at that time?” The Child was a little surprised.

When he met Delicious Wind Goose, the bald muscle card game streamer already gave off a reliable vibe like an elder brother.

“It’s pretty serious. At that time, Xiang Tiange always felt that he was pretty good. He was the best player in their class, and he could also play basketball well. Also, he was 185 centimeters tall when he was still a freshman. So I didn’t expect that he didn’t grow bigger but appeared to be shrunk down when he lost his hair.

“His family is rich. Before he learned archery, he also learned fencing and horseback riding, but they are all at an average level. But he likes to treat his classmates to dinner, so he still has many friends around him. Although he was a bit foolish, he has a good memory, thus a good academic at the junior high school and high school level. I remember that he even get 5th in the class.”

Dove took a sip of tea and said in a low voice, “As for when did he change, it didn’t happen after I rejected him. It should be when he was in the college entrance examination.

“At that time, he only learned half of everything. He would just drop it when he felt that he had learned it. When he was in the first year and the second year of high school, he was always among the best in his class. But when it came to the third year, he couldn’t perform. So he went to learn guitar, then rock, and then basically anything. But no matter what it was, he still knew how to do it but was not proficient in it.

“His performance in the mock test was already unsatisfactory. But until the end, he felt that he should be fine after an emergency revision. Still, he couldn’t pass.”

Dove made her signature calm voice, “It was around that time that he became mature. He stopped being boastful, became cautious and reliable, and his temper improved.

“He shaved his dyed hair and threw away all the casual hobbies. He quit smoking and drinking and went back to study for a year. Then, he was admitted to a prestige university. Then, he picked up his hobby in armored combat sport there. Then, I went to Australia after he repeated his studies for half a year. I don’t know what happened next.”

She looked at Wandering Child and said seriously, “Xiang Tiange is a good boy. It’s not because he’s smart, but because he admits his mistakes and corrects them.

“So don’t worry. No matter how dangerous the situation he encountered, he could handle it… I watched him grow up, after all.”

Dove held the teacup in both hands, “I believe him.”