Before departing, No. 0 still made two more stops. The first was at the drugstore, where she hoped to use some unorthodox methods to purchase potent poisons akin to "Ten-step Fall" or "Instant Death."
However, upon hearing her description, the drugstore owner turned pale with fright, almost reporting her to the authorities while insisting, "We are a legitimate drugstore, customer, please don’t make things difficult for us."
Hearing this, No. 0 gave up on the idea. If she had another chance, she would ask Batou at the Dark Night Market whether there were any poisons available for trafficking.
Her next stop was the military station. The woman with the half-covered face handed her a map when she learned that No. 0 was leaving the city, and registered her on the list of those departing.
"There are no small cross-city search missions available at the military station," No. 0 had already checked the various tasks on the mission board. She wasn’t up to accepting tasks that involved protecting the personal safety of others. This journey, she planned to prioritize safety and species searching, sticking to main roads and firmly avoiding side paths; ensuring her own safe departure was good enough.
"Such tasks are not numerous, but you’re in luck. There indeed is one task here, commissioned by a neighboring city’s drugstore, to find a poisonous herb called ’Wutou,’" said the woman with the half-covered face. "Wutou" is a highly toxic herb, and its cross-city commission is due to its growth in regions situated between cities. Therefore, Babylon City also received the commission.
For tasks like these, commissioned by two cities, completion simply requires delivery to any military station.
This happened to meet No. 0’s requirements, not delaying her travel while allowing the completion of a task.
"However, I must warn you, according to the drugstore, ’Wutou’ is a very potent poison. One must be extremely cautious when harvesting," emphasized the woman. Each city has its unique medicinal herbs due to the operators’ preferences. For example, the drugstore owner in Babylon City is a good Samaritan devoted to proper medicine, so he rarely deals with poisons.
The next city, which No. 0 is travelling to, is somewhat different. They deeply value victory, and the citizens there will utilize various methods for success, including the use of poison. None of this falls within the woman’s explanation; she didn’t elaborate, only clarifying to No. 0 the rewards and timeline for the commissioned task.
"After harvesting Wutou, you need to keep it fresh and deliver it to the local drugstore within seven days. There, you will receive a corresponding reward, roughly equal to 1000 Military Road Coins," said the woman with the half-covered face before starting to receive the next customer.
With No. 0’s current reconnaissance abilities, as long as the habitat of Wutou was within a normal region, she could ensure its successful harvest.
Having confirmed the task, No. 0 set off towards the next city.
She opened the map and found it much more detailed than the previous one she had in Babylon. Departing from Babylon City and successfully reaching the next city should take about five or six days.
"I can complete this task during the evenings when I’m off work," No. 0 calculated. If she did not reappear before Mo Xixi returned from work, things would be hard to justify.
"The next city’s name? Why isn’t it directly shown on the map?" The map in No. 0’s hands was only a semi-finished product. The blue-dyed map changed color after passing the forest near the Dark Night Market, turning orange.
An orange map area might indicate risk of bandit attacks. For safety, No. 0 consistently followed the main roads.
After walking for a while, No. 0 had no choice but to abandon the idea of following the main road straight on. While the main road was bustling and there were many passersby, increasing safety, she hadn’t spotted a single herb she was looking for.
No. 0 checked the map again and finally found a less crowded side road at a junction off the main road. The trees on either side bore bountiful crimson unidentified wild fruits, with leaves gradually taking on an autumn yellow hue in the sunlight.
After wandering a while, the sky grew dark.
She had to reach a temporary stop before nightfall completely set in.
The wilderness was unlike the city; without fixed points like city gates to dock, in order to avoid wasting the previously traveled distance in the wilderness upon her next login, she needed to reach the "stopping point" mentioned on the map. There she could resupply for free and conveniently prepare for her next login transition.