"You’ll still need to first go to the military station to find a suitable task," Yijie noted that the long bench they had been using as a resting place had been flipped over. Glancing at Number Zero, one could easily guess with the sole of their foot that Number Zero had been schemed against once more.
"Then think of something fast. I’ve only got a little over two hundred military merit points, and I’m a long way from the 3000 needed for promotion," Number Zero only now realized that military merit was everything. As long as one accumulated enough military merit points, it meant having money, power, and servants.
"How come you only have two hundred military merit points? Didn’t we each get half of the military merit points when we were with the Eastern Yi Tribe?" According to Yijie’s plans, if they had completed the last bandit eradication task and took on another one, Number Zero should have been able to level up. There was no rush, though.
"Sold it, didn’t you know military merit can be exchanged for cash?" Number Zero had no regrets selling her military merit points.
"I know. I heard some players wanting to buy military merit points back at the Dark Night Market. It’s just that Batou didn’t agree. He said military merit points are something players trade privately, but..." Yijie paused for a moment, his face sinister as he turned to look at Number Zero.
"And it can also be obtained by killing other players, right?" Number Zero looked at Yijie with utter disdain. She had already heard about this even before Sun’s Crown.
What Number Zero didn’t know was that Sun’s Crown disappeared after Military Road’s public beta testing had started. Newcomer players like Yijie had not seen Sun’s Crown since then.
Being in Babylon City, as long as one doesn’t provoke trouble without reason, Number Zero isn’t afraid of being murdered. As for Yijie, since they are allies, he wouldn’t risk threatening her just for a few hundred military merit points.
However, Military Road is indeed a contradictory system. On the one hand, it prevents players from fighting each other in private, but then they’ve set up a mechanism for players to rob each other of military merit points. It’s like keeping a wolf to guard against tigers, utterly superfluous.
Number Zero had no interest in understanding the flawed system of Military Road. Aside from the contradictory military merit system, other features of Military Road could be said to be flawless.
Like when they entered the military station in Babylon for the third time, the aloof, half-masked woman was already able to accurately call out Number Zero and Yijie’s names.
Compared to the scripted question and answer when they first met and the second encounter, the half-masked woman was much more polite this time.
"Congratulations," the half-masked woman greeted them as they reappeared to select a task. Before they made their choice, she stopped them.
"What’s there to congratulate, unless the people who got ahead of us last time eradicated the bandits and voluntarily gave up the military merit?" Yijie said sarcastically. After much effort, they had been overtaken, which was a great injustice on reflection.
"You didn’t complete the bandit eradication task, but your pending task has been successfully verified. The client has issued an invitation for you to go to his residence to receive your rewards." The reason the half-masked woman was so courteous was precisely because she regarded the face of the pending task’s client.
Any player soldier who enters the military station is considered a pawn for the military station. Unless it’s someone like Black Yama or the Chairman of Yanhuang, the half-masked woman would never be so polite to the guests.
Quite the high-profile client, requiring a special trip just to receive a reward.
Ever since Number Zero agreed to let Ziyu take her to Babylon City, her only thought has been to quickly accumulate military merit points and join the King of Babylon’s Personal Guard as early as possible. Being a Personal Guard entrusted with protecting Hammurabi’s safety should make entering the inner city more convenient.
"What are our rewards? Money or military merit?" Number Zero pondered and decided to first ascertain the value of this trip. With a client for the troublesome pending task, the next one could very well be an even more challenging pending task.
"I cannot disclose that. The carriage that has been waiting for you outside the military station to take you to meet the client has already been there for days," the half-masked woman said, raising her hand to point outside where a carriage drawn by two horses was waiting.
Number Zero looked at Yijie, who was also looking back at her. After a slight hesitation, "Then let’s go take a look first. It shouldn’t take too long." Yijie nodded in agreement.
"Before you get on the carriage, please take a bath and change," the half-masked woman clapped her hands, and four maids came up, forcibly taking Number Zero and Yijie into the inner hall without question.
"Hey, my clothes," Number Zero was dragged into a bathhouse, and in no time, two of the maids stripped her down to nothing. She had no idea where her tattered military uniform ended up.
On the other side, Yijie’s octagonal hat and dark blue military uniform were also removed. The two maids were even less polite as they undressed him.
"Enough, I can do it myself," Yijie shouted angrily, scaring the maids into immediately retreating.
"Who knows what high-profile person we’re going to meet," they soaked in the milk-colored aromatic bath, closed their eyes, and wondered just who this peculiar client searching for the Sago Tree could be.
When Yijie and Number Zero met again after changing, they could only see each other’s eyes. Both were wearing typical Arabian robes. However, Number Zero’s women’s robe had additional gold and silver thread decorative patterns, while Yijie’s robe was plain white.
As they boarded the carriage, the half-masked woman handed them two black blindfolds, "Remember, along the way, do not listen to what you should not listen to, and do not ask what you should not ask." (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to go to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation tickets, monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)