The battlefield fell into an eerie silence as everyone stared at Vice-Terra's lifeless body, his eyes wide open in death. The group exchanged glances, unsure of what to say. Suddenly, Jack snapped.
He grabbed Qin Ming by the collar, using his brute strength to lift him off the ground and slam him against a wall. Jack's face contorted with rage.
"You damn bastard! What the hell are you doing?!"
Qin Ming remained silent, glaring at Jack. Without a word, he calmly raised his blue revolver and pressed the cold barrel under Jack's chin. Feeling the chill of the gun, Jack's expression froze, and he wisely let go.
As he dropped to the ground, Qin Ming adjusted his collar and sneered.
"What am I doing? Killing people, obviously."
"He was defenseless! We should have handed him over to the authorities!"
"Oh? But you didn't seem to care about handing over all those minions on the way here!" Qin Ming shot back.
"And what about my bar? Are you going to avenge that? My bar was bombed! But it's easy for you to talk about turning him in since it wasn't your property that got destroyed!"
As Jack stood there fuming, his favorability toward Qin Ming dropped by 100 points. Even Mess and Mustafa's favorability dropped by around 50 points. But Qin Ming didn't care—favorability didn't matter to him. He had never counted on these guys to get anything good from them anyway.
In his mind, it was better to collect the boss's loot, even if the quality would be reduced due to the presence of the plot characters. It was still boss-level loot, after all. Definitely worth it.
Just as the tension rose, footsteps echoed from a distance. It was Hannah, the only female protagonist in the Cadillacs and Dinosaurs world, limping toward them, covered in wounds.
Seeing her battered appearance, the three men rushed to her side, asking if she was okay. As Hannah explained the situation, she gave Qin Ming a grateful look. Learning that he had saved her, Mess and Mustafa's favorability toward Qin Ming rose by 30 points each.
Qin Ming saw Jack's favorability drop by another 50 points, putting it at a solid -200. Turning away, Qin Ming rolled his eyes.
"Great. I lose points if I don't help, and I lose points even if I do. This bastard really has it out for me!" he muttered to himself.
"I've heard that love is blind, but this is the first time I've heard of hatred being blind. No matter what I do, this guy just hates me more."
Qin Ming couldn't help but plan his revenge. "When we finish this mission, I'll find a way to put a bullet in him. Might as well treat him like a boss and farm him for rewards!"
Ignoring Jack, Qin Ming walked over to Vice-Terra's body and picked up the key the boss had dropped. Unlike the red keys dropped by fellow adventurers or the white or green keys dropped by minions, Vice-Terra had dropped a silver key.
Unfortunately, due to the presence of the three plot characters, the key's once bright silver color had dulled, indicating that the rewards inside wouldn't be too great. Still, Qin Ming didn't mind. Even if it was just a white item, he could always upgrade it into something powerful.
Having defeated the poachers and extracted information about their other leaders, the protagonist group prepared to head to the dinosaur forest to stop the poachers' next plan. Qin Ming, who had only joined them temporarily, would now part ways with the group.
As they reached the building's exit, Hannah, her wounds hastily bandaged and looking even more pitiful, turned to Qin Ming and extended a hand.
"Mr. Qin, thank you for your help today. You also saved my life."
Qin Ming shrugged. "It was nothing. We're all friends here, no need for thanks."
Hannah smiled at his words, then, after a moment of thought, spoke again.
"Since we're friends, I'll be honest. We're planning to head to the dinosaur forest to stop the poachers' next plot. I wonder if our friend Mr. Qin would be willing to help us out?"
As she spoke, Hannah clutched her wounds and looked at him pitifully.
"I'm badly injured, and going into such a dangerous situation without protection would be risky. What if I get killed out there? You wouldn't want that to happen, would you, Mr. Qin?"
Before Qin Ming could respond, a notification from Nightmare Space rang in his ears.
Ding! "You have reached over 250 favorability with the protagonist Hannah and acquired critical information about the next boss. You have unlocked the hidden quest: 'The Butcher's Early Appearance.'"
Hidden Quest: The Butcher's Early Appearance
Difficulty: C-levelCompletion Reward: 5,000 points and 5 free attribute points.Failure Penalty: All protagonists' favorability will decrease by 50 points.Quest Description: After obtaining early intel, you are invited by the protagonist group to head to the dinosaur forest to stop the poachers. Awaiting you there is the bloodthirsty Butcher. (Note: Since this is a hidden quest, the protagonist group will continue to participate in the battle. It's up to you to decide whether to seize this opportunity or play it safe.)
Qin Ming's eyes widened in surprise. A hidden quest? He had triggered a hidden quest!
Snapping back to reality as Hannah called his name, he took a deep breath and instinctively gripped his revolver.
"Alright," he said, nodding at her. "I'll help. For your sake."
Hannah's smile brightened, and her favorability toward him increased by 30 points, surpassing 300.
Meanwhile, Jack's expression darkened even further, and his favorability dropped to a staggering -300.