Chapter 17

This stall is located in a rather secluded corner, clearly because the stall owner didn't arrive early to secure a favorable spot. The stall owner is a tall, thin warrior with a somewhat intimidating appearance. The items on the stall are all white gear, bronze equipment, and some unsold materials, specifically left to trick new players. Additionally, there are two treasure maps, and Yang Ye had his eye on one of them—

[Mysterious Treasure Map: This is a mysterious treasure map that leads to a hidden treasure. Follow the map's directions to reach the treasure location and dig it up; the treasure will be yours!]

(Hidden: Digging up the treasure reveals an invitation to the Noguang Ruins. Using the Noguang Ruins invitation can teleport you to the Orc Tribe for adventures, where there are many treasures and extremely fierce and brutal orcs.)

The Noguang Ruins sound impressive, and regardless of whether there are good things there, it's certainly more interesting to Yang Ye than some collectible stones.

"Bro, how much for these two treasure maps?" Yang Ye asked.

"1 gold coin each. If you want it, take it; if not, scram." The warrior replied coldly.

Oh, quite a temper, "1 gold coin, a bit expensive, but... I'll take this one." Yang Ye casually picked up one of the maps, the one with the Noguang Ruins invitation. He tossed a gold coin over with a "ding" sound and left with Lilina.

Unfolding the treasure map, he glanced at it, and when he looked up, a clear dotted line appeared in his miner's helmet, one end at Yang Ye's head and the other disappearing into the forest—this was the location indicated by the treasure map!

Ordinary players have to follow the treasure map step by step, similar to solving a puzzle. But for Yang Ye, it was different. He could skip the puzzle-solving part and follow the shortest and fastest path indicated by the miner's helmet to dig directly...

After a long journey over mountains and through water, turning left and right, he finally reached the destination: an abandoned ancient town.

The ancient town was not large, with ruins and collapsed debris everywhere, overgrown with vegetation, and obvious signs of having been burned.

No players ever came here.

It was like a scene from a horror movie; players would not choose to enter unless they were naturally brave and adventurous, but most of those players were not as high-level as Yang Ye.

Walking around with Lilina, who was trembling in fear, hanging onto Yang Ye's arm. Come on, even if this place is tough, it's only level 20 monsters, and you are a top-level BOSS, what are you afraid of!

In the center of the ancient town was a dry well, and next to it was an NPC that Yang Ye was looking for—

Wandering Spirit - Kaya (None)

Level: 1

HP: ?/?

MP: ?/?

Physical Attack: ?~?

...

Description: Noguang Ancient Town was a prosperous and peaceful town where the residents lived in harmony. Everyone thought they would live a peaceful life, but one day, a group of fierce orcs suddenly invaded Noguang Ancient Town, plundering all valuable items and killing all the villagers. Kaya, the daughter of the town mayor, was a gentle and kind girl. When the orcs saw her, they intended to rape her. Kaya, feeling hopeless, resolutely threw herself into the well and committed suicide, but her soul unexpectedly remained. Perhaps she wanted to take revenge on the orcs.

(Hidden: Tell her that you have taken the commission to eliminate the orc tribe, or mention words like "orcs" or "Noguang Disaster" to trigger the quest.)

It's her!

Kaya is a spirit, floating in mid-air, her body transparent with a slight blue glow. Behind her is a dry well.

Yang Ye approached and spoke to her.

"Miss Kaya, I am deeply sympathetic to your and Noguang Village's plight. Unfortunately, I wasn't there at the time, or I would have done everything in my power to help!"

"Young man, there's no need to dwell on the past. What brings you here?" Kaya's voice was ethereal. But Yang Ye couldn't help but smirk at her words; if there's no need to dwell on the past, why are you still here as a spirit, clearly unable to let go.

"Miss Kaya, I am willing to go to the orc tribe to eliminate the orcs!" Yang Ye said solemnly, exuding a determined and fearless aura.

Kaya was instantly moved! "What?! You are willing to go to the orc tribe to eliminate the orcs? Good, good, good, I agree. Here is your invitation, go quickly!" Kaya agreed quickly, as if afraid Yang Ye would change his mind. She pointed in the air twice, and a paper item appeared in Yang Ye's backpack—

Noguang Ruins Invitation: An invitation issued by Kaya to a brave hero willing to eliminate the orcs. Using the invitation can randomly teleport you to the orc tribe. (Hidden: This invitation teleports to: 26465:59549:54)

With the item in hand, Yang Ye checked the time; it was a little past 8 in the morning, so he chose to log off.

He got up, feeling weak, washed up, and went to Qin Yan's place for breakfast. To his surprise, Qin Yan wasn't at work but was sitting there with a worried look, and her mother also had a troubled expression.

Yang Ye was puzzled, what happened?

"Auntie, what's wrong with you two? What big thing happened to make you look so worried?" Yang Ye asked, confused.

"Ah, what else, Qin Yan's uncle is demanding money. He says he needs 50,000 this time, or he'll take Qin Yan to earn money. That's not earning money, it's selling her body!" Qin Yan's mother said, on the verge of tears, and Qin Yan couldn't help but cry as well.

The two women were about to burst into tears, so Yang Ye quickly comforted them, "Auntie, don't worry, I'm here. Wait a moment, I'll be right back!"

He rushed back to his room, turned on his computer, and went to the intermediary website to sell 600 gold coins. The price of gold had started to fall, now at 1:95, so Yang Ye listed it at 1:90. Within two minutes, someone contacted him for a trade.

The trade was completed, and 54,000 yuan was added to his bank card, bringing the total to over 100,000 yuan with the remaining amount from last time.

He went straight to the bank to withdraw 100,000 yuan, put it in a black bag, and quickly returned to the neighborhood.

Just as he arrived at Qin Yan's door, he heard a man's voice inside—

"I don't care what problems you have; you must give me the money today, 50,000 yuan, not a penny less!" The tone was forceful and full of anger. He continued, "Yang Xiang, not to say it, but you can find a new husband after your brother's death, and we won't say anything. But you're dragging us down by not paying our money. How can we live? Qin Yan isn't young anymore; she can earn money. Why not let her work with me?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Qin Yan's mother became furious, "Qin Dongsheng, get out! We will pay the money, but Qin Yan will never do those shameful things for you!"

"Pay what? I've heard this hundreds of times. Have you paid? I think we should let..."

The door clicked softly, interrupting Qin Dongsheng's words. It was Yang Ye, who had been standing outside for a moment, now entering.

Qin Dongsheng, seeing a stranger, immediately became angry, "Who are you? Don't just barge into someone's home. Have some manners and get out."

Yang Ye looked at Qin Dongsheng, a man with thick hair gel, despite his balding head, but he still carefully styled the few remaining hairs to avoid looking too sparse. His face was oily, and his eyes shone with the cunning of a small merchant. He was now glaring at Yang Ye.

Placing the black bag of money at his feet, Yang Ye sat on the sofa, crossed his legs, and looked up at Qin Dongsheng, "You're shouting at my girlfriend and my mother-in-law. I haven't even asked who you are or why you're here, and you're asking me?"

Qin Dongsheng, hearing Yang Ye's words, "girlfriend" and "mother-in-law," realized he was Qin Yan's boyfriend. He sneered, "I see, you're Qin Yan's boyfriend. I'm her 'uncle'! Nice to meet you!"

If he were a normal relative, Yang Ye might have played along, but his attitude made Yang Ye feel disgusted. He replied coldly, "So you really are her 'uncle'! I thought you were a 'fake'!"

Yang Ye's sarcastic tone made Qin Dongsheng's face darken. Yang Ye ignored him and continued, "Mr. Qin, I have an idea about your money. Would you like to hear it?"

Qin Dongsheng thought for a moment and said, "Go on."

"Mr. Qin, I know you're 'poor,' and I understand your desire for money, even to the point of severing family ties. I'm also poor and an orphan, so I value family more than anyone. Now, I have a wife and a mother, and you come to bully them. What kind of person are you?" He pointed to the bag on the floor and continued, "Here is 100,000 yuan, to pay you back. But I have a very good proposal for the remaining money. Are you interested, Mr. Qin?"

Qin Dongsheng frowned but didn't speak.

Yang Ye smiled and continued, "To be honest, I can earn 120,000 yuan in just two days. I didn't pay you directly because I was a bit reluctant, but that's human nature, and you can laugh at me. Now, let's talk about the remaining 20,000 yuan. I have two options: the first is to give you 2,000 yuan per month for 10 months, with a written agreement stating the amount and the schedule. The second is to give you 1,000 yuan in the first month, 2,000 yuan in the second month, 3,000 yuan in the third month, and so on, for 24 months. That's 300,000 yuan, right? Mr. Qin, which one do you choose?"

Qin Dongsheng's face twitched. Despite his appearance as a successful person, 300,000 yuan was a significant amount to him. He suppressed his excitement and stared at Yang Ye, "What are the conditions for the second option?"

"Ha, Mr. Qin, you're very focused. The conditions are not difficult, just..." Yang Ye looked at Qin Dongsheng, whose eyes were filled with desire, and deliberately slowed his speech—

"Just... every week, you must place flowers at Qin Father's grave, and every month, you must apologize to Qin Mother and Qin Yan."

Yang Ye paused, watching Qin Dongsheng's reaction, and asked, "Mr. Qin, which one do you choose?"