Sherry nodded nervously.
Although it was just an excuse, the pots, pans, stoves, and fishing rods on the boat were completely unconvincing and had to be thrown away. But this fishing rod is equipment that adds luck and has triggered a "module combination" that hasn't been figured out yet, so how can you just throw it away?
Then tie the stove with the fishing line, bundle the pots and lids, fill the pots with shell ore, and sink all the nearby shell ore to the bottom of the sea.
Getting closer! Chun saw the patrol on the dock, and they also saw him and immediately shouted, "We've found the boat! You—come over here quickly!"
Chun hastily shouted, "Don't misunderstand, we're looking for the boat..."
Chun, feeling anxious, docked, and was immediately surrounded by the flickering yellow torch lights of a circle of people!
Holy shit! In the game, red light and red names indicate hostility, while yellow light and yellow names are a level below, indicating suspicion or neutrality.
And at this moment, a gust of mist puffed out, and it was the old drunkard angrily pushing through the crowd: "Where's my fishing rod? My stoves, pots, pans, and fish oil? Arrest him, arrest him, send him to jail!"
A burst of red light exploded in front of Chun—system prompt: Warning! You are suspected of charges and are about to be arrested, do you wish to plead?
Holy shit, really? Is our friendship worth jeopardizing over a fishing rod?
Sherry panicked, "Grandpa, we have contributions from finding the boat!"
The old man paused, "If there's a contribution, shouldn't there be no arrest?"
The crowd angrily said, "Stealing must be punished!"
The old man waved his hand, "Okay, the little girl found the boat, so she won't be arrested, but this boy stole things so he will be arrested. No objections, right?"
Holy shit, you're drunk! But Chun instantly thought this was the best outcome, as long as Sherry was safe. As for himself, being unable to clear his name, recovering the fishing rod and kitchenware would only confirm the premeditated stealing of the boat, even worse! It can't be excluded that he is currently triggering a shipyard plot.
Chun immediately confessed, "Take me, I'm the one who took the fishing rod."
The old man laughed heartily, "Listen, the boy admitted it!"
The crowd was furious, "No wonder my treasure box went missing last week, there's a thief!"
"My signed Fafnir outfit disappeared too, it must be you..."
"This kid has even offended Baron Fepeng, that's a serious crime!"
"Take him away, take him away!!"
"You boy, give me back the diving suit I lent you!"
—System prompt: You admitted to the charges and were arrested, you became a Red Name! Your reputation -100,000! You returned the Old Drunkard's diving suit.
Holy holy holy shit~~~~~~
I just got here today, how can the things others lost be blamed on me! Is -100,000 reputation a mistake? That's a felony, isn't it?
Chun suddenly realized, maybe the charge of stealing is a facade, and the serious crime of letting the whale escape is the real issue? Even the offense against the fat man might be accounted for, otherwise, how could the reputation drop so drastically?
It can be confirmed that a plot has been triggered!
Chun immediately told the dumbfounded Sherry, "Don't worry about me, you've been tired all night, go home and get some rest."
The crowd immediately started hustling Chun away, "Stop the chatter, move!"
Before long, a voice came from Chun's Attendant Badge: "I'll ask around, think of something..."
Chun felt relieved knowing he could stay in touch with this badge!
Chun was pushed onto a carriage, and after a jostling ride, they arrived at the prison gates.
Chun really didn't understand the procedure, "Won't there be a court trial first?"
The escorts scoffed, "The judge isn't on duty yet, for a minor matter like this, it's unnecessary, go to labor reform and mine first, it's the same."
Holy shit, I get this! Prison is also a mining area, it's like slave labor with no pay!
Inside the prison, Chun suddenly realized there were thousands, if not tens of thousands, of Red Name players crowded inside, each in a weakened state after dying and resurrecting.
So these are the players who PK'd outside the city, died, and resurrected directly in jail?
—System prompt: Warning! You have entered a period of custody service, please get your Mining Pickaxe and rations from the Supply Officer and be assigned a mining area within five minutes. If you do not have mining skills, you may learn basic mining skills from the Labor Instructor. Be sure to comply with labor service as this will affect your service term.
Chun felt like he was in trouble. Although he had thoroughly prepared, he knew little about starting as a Red Name. Perhaps because prison work yields no benefits, there is very little public information. But it's certain that his -100,000 reputation is at a different level than these ordinary Red Names, so the area assigned might also be different.
Chun didn't have basic mining skills and didn't plan on learning from the NPCs, he decided to continue comprehending on his own. Chun was curious about the effect of learning basic mining skills after already comprehending advanced underwater mining and gaining 1 point of wisdom in essence through hand digging.
Chun had to report to the Supply Officer.
—System prompt: You received 1 Mining Pickaxe, 10 weight rations. You will be assigned to Mine Area S, please prepare to descend into the mine. Your first labor task is "Dig up 1000 weight of raw iron ore and load it onto the cart."
S area?
Entering the lift and descending into the mine, he felt it particularly deep, even hearing the sound of running water below.
Finally arriving, it turned out to be a tunnel flooded to waist level, with mine carts half submerged underwater.
Exactly! According to the game's background, during the initial city-building it was difficult to expand, so they could only dig deep in one mining area by the sea, and the lowest level naturally seeped water. Does mining here count as underwater mining? It feels like a scene tailored for the Cleaner Fish profession!
Chun looked around, seeing only dim wall lamps and hearing the sounds of mining coming from the upper levels, it was quiet on this level.
So, I'm indeed out of their league, is this my exclusive stage?
Chun tried striking with the pickaxe—system prompt: Congratulations! You successfully mined a raw iron ore and comprehended basic mining technique level 1, gaining achievement rewards: Physical Strength +1, Carrying Capacity +1. Your advanced underwater mining technique gained proficiency.
It actually succeeded on the first try! And the proficiency of underwater mining increased as well, at this rate reaching expert level is not impossible.
And just then, the badge emitted Sherry's muffled voice, "I asked Miss Vivian... she said a Cleaner Fish has to go to jail..."
Holy shit, I see! No wonder the Cleaner Fish is the job the fat guy said "no one wants to do," and the old man said, "why not learn something else," turns out it requires following the procedures!
Sherry continued, "...the S-level whaling bounty from the guild was canceled... I also shared your recipe with Vivian's tavern... I don't have enough Mana to keep the call going..."
With that, the communication ended.
Chun's heart skipped a beat, the cancellation of the whaling bounty must alarm those with connections! And he had witnessed the power of those big shots outside the city, he could not afford to show up lightly.
Suddenly, Chun was grateful for the -100,000 reputation, as it would severely lower his ranking, with the leaderboard updating daily, the current rankings hadn't been announced yet. Otherwise, with 5 advanced skills in a day, he'd surely be at the top and attract attention, at the very least those cybercafe big shots wouldn't idolize him, exposing him.
In any case, Chun somewhat relaxed, the strain of battling continuously for 16 hours was overwhelming, time to log off for food and sleep.
Actually, spending all day inside a room having instant noodles doesn't fit his cybercafe persona. More importantly, now he's made a big deal by cutting off the consortium bosses, in addition to hiding and keeping low-profile in the game, staying out of real-life trouble was also crucial, so better keep a low profile with flair! Although for now, it's only for the cybercafe, if he becomes famous in the future, the professional masters upstairs would know I'm lazy too...
It's decided, go eat outside, then find a park bench in the square to sleep until midnight...