Treasure Hunter, Kim (2)
"Game-based world, thank goodness." It was a huge relief that this world's average citizen had a sturdy body. Normally, swinging a bat like that would be attempted murder at minimum, but they just passed out.
"Hup!" He stepped over the sprawled Wei soldiers and entered the shrine interior.
"Milord, isn't this dangerous...?" Chun Seol asked.
Yeah. They were guests riding on Cao Cao's coattails. If they got caught, it would be a big problem.
"It's fine. We won't get caught." But if he farmed quickly and sold to a discreet fence, that was that.
Besides, this treasure-hunting squad Cao Cao had formed was half unofficial to begin with. Who would openly admit they were excavating ruins and tombs like crazy because they were short on cash? If word got out they were doing the same as Dong Zhuo, his political rivals would pounce immediately.
The dilapidated shrine reeked of musty dust.
"Um, should we... dig here?" Chun Seol tilted her head, apparently not spotting anything valuable.
Well, it wasn't obvious at first glance.
"Nah, no need to sell it." The reason the Wei soldiers hadn't found treasure despite digging everywhere was simple: there wasn't any buried in the ground.
He walked toward a small wooden statue inside the shrine.
It was supposedly a shrine to Confucius, but the statue depicted a Taoist figure in a distinctly Daoist style.
Early Han shrines were like this. The state had transformed into a Confucian nation, but Buddhism and Daoism lingered deeply in the culture.
"Hup." He raised the bat and aimed at the Taoist statue. "M-Milord...?" Chun Seol's startled voice was brief.
Crash!!
He smashed the statue to pieces with a satisfying crunch.
"Y-You'll get divine punishment!!" Chun Seol flailed her hands in panic. Yeah, but they'd already sinned by looting the rundown shrine.
"Daoism's fine. Dead Daoism is good Daoism." Look at Daoism's track record: the Yellow Turbans, Zhang Lu in Hanzhong, the Boxers way in the future. All troublemakers. It wasn't personal prejudice; the facts just lined up.
Inside the shattered statue lay a massive orb.
S-Rank Treasure
A sacred pearl held by a dragon. Whether dragons truly exist—or if this was actually held by one—is unclear, but its value is immense regardless.
"Whoa... it looks super expensive." Chun Seol's eyes sparkled.
"Heh. Sell it and you'll get your cut." He pocketed the Yeouiju.
"Let's snag one more." He gazed at the endless mountain range encircling Baekguk.
After that, he and Chun Seol roamed the mountains, unearthing various treasures.
They ran into Cao Cao's troops midway, but with the bat that could knock out anyone, it was all good.
Above all, he was isekai'd into the game he loved. He knew exactly where the valuables were hidden.
By farming shrines behind waterfalls the Cao army missed and items buried in deep forests, dawn was breaking.
"We got a lot..." Chun Seol marveled at the leather satchel bulging with loot.
Yeouiju, assorted smaller pearls, treasure swords—the haul was worth a proper estate in the game.
"Chun Seol, hold onto this for now. Find a fence later and let me know." He could farm more, but treasure hunting at dawn risked detection by Cao's men.
"Got it. I'll dig up old contacts..." She spoke in her usual subdued tone, but the sense of duty unique to a general on mission shone through. Heh. She could handle it.
Daytime means... that annoying quest, huh. Since he was under Cao Cao, he needed to chain quests for the Fragment of the Peerless Sword. It was patrol-compatible, so best to knock it out early.
"Kim Gong!! You're with me today!" Someone approached with a grin. A lightly armored beauty in a white robe, sword at her side.
"Oh, Zhao Yun." She was his patrol partner today.
"Yes. Everyone else is busy with training and recruitment." Zhao Yun smiled brightly.
Yeah. Liu Bei was hustling hard: cutting taxes, revamping farms and commerce for revenue, then pumping it all into military buildup.
A normal person would settle for governing Yezhou, but Liu Bei was always ready to march. That's Liu Bei—born to lead from the streets.
"Right. Shall we?" Teaming with Zhao Yun was fine by him.
"Heh. Let's go, Kim Gong. And after shift, spar with me." She followed with a beaming smile.
"Sparring's cool, but... let's just sightsee." Maybe from her mountain village roots, but Zhao Yun loved city strolls.
"Ah... We tried last time, but I got lost—nearly a disaster." She looked sheepish.
"..." Yeah, figures. A city general getting lost in her own turf? Astral-level comedy.
Zhao Yun had this precarious charm that made leaving her alone impossible.
"With you, Kim Gong, I'm at ease." That genuine grateful gaze. No helping it.
Finish work, then hang with Zhao Yun. He penciled it in mentally.
During street patrol with Zhao Yun, he sensed a tense atmosphere.
"Wanted criminals!! Report any suspicious persons immediately!" Cao soldiers were posting notices everywhere.
They sought two black-masked bandits.
Me and Chun Seol, huh... Barging in mid-hunt and bat-fest? Wanted posters were inevitable.
"Sigh. What a mess." "Hey, sis. It's an order from Aman oppa—no, milord. Gotta do it right..." "I wanna fight cool battles, not dig up tombs!" "But... we're broke. What choice do we have?" "Argh! Fine, let's smash those thieving bastards who roughed up our soldiers!!" Familiar voices, and twin-tails swaying familiarly.
"Xiahou Dun. Xiahou Yuan." The Xiahou sisters.
"Ah... Kim." "Right, Lord Xuande went to Yezhou."
The bickering sisters greeted him.
"...Greetings." Behind him, Zhao Yun's face hardened sternly as she bowed. A far cry from her relaxed look around him.
Her innocent features turned intimidating when serious.
Can't blame Zhao Yun. They led Cao Cao's Xuzhou massacre. Xiahou Dun, Yuan, and others bore responsibility—no wonder the bad blood.
Yeah, fair. But the world's not black-and-white. They were on friendly terms with Cao's army now. No room for outright hostility.
"What brings you two here?" He asked, knowing full well. As squad leaders, they oversaw the troops farming valuables—and probably spying on Liu Bei.
"What else? Work." Xiahou Dun replied curtly, more awkward than annoyed. They'd clashed on battlefields, blades locking.
"Bandits hitting our patrols lately. Gotta crush 'em myself." She tapped her sword hilt.
"Ahem. I see. Who could it be?" A prickly feeling made him glance away.
"You two on patrol?" Xiahou Dun asked.
"Yeah."
"Y-You're high-ranking in Liu Bei's army, right...? On patrol duty...?" Xiahou Yuan eyed them curiously.
Nah, rank was rank. Don't underestimate the bottom-feeders. Everyone but Liu Bei was entry-level.
"Well, take care." Xiahou Dun urged him. "We're guarding Yezhou together now. Spot anything suspicious, report it." She turned away.
After seeing off the money-and-twin sisters,
he reviewed the conditions for his key farming quest.
First, rack up good deeds here. A few benevolence quests in Baekguk.
One doable nearby.
"Zhao Yun, let's hit the street stalls first." An easy quest here.
"Ah, the stalls..." Maybe the savory food aromas wafting over softened her expression. She had a hidden glutton side.
Baekhyeon was relatively safe and populous, so the stalls bustled.
There, he spotted folks in distress.
A ragged, skinny old man and a girl—likely his granddaughter—sold dumplings amiably.
"S-Sir, the money..." The old man eyed the thugs squatting at his stall, scarfing food, face woebegone.
Sworded punks, obvious lowlifes, devoured dumplings.
"Hey! Don't you know us? On credit!!" They barked at him.
Reeked of deadbeat dine-and-dashers.
"Um... if you can't pay... don't come back till you settle up...!" The girl mustered courage against them.
"Hee-ya, stop...!" The old man cried in shock.
"Well now, this brat. Scared of adults?" The thugs rose, hands raised to strike the girl.
"Hey!! You there!!! You beggar scum!!" He intervened instantly.
"Who're you?" The four thugs turned to him and Zhao Yun.
"...Newbies, huh." "Fresh sir?" They snickered.
"Sir, first time here, all tensed up—we get it."
They closed in, slapping his shoulder.
"Streets have street rules. Our boss'll visit later to say hi. Back off, yeah?" Numbers gave them bravado.
"Brawling here tarnishes the garrison's rep. Before you look ridiculous..." Subtle threat: play nice or eat humiliation.
But focusing on threats over movements was their mistake.
Proof: he drew unnoticed.
Squelch!!
He rammed his sword into the guy's throat.
"Guh... ack..." The yapping mouth became a spurting faucet.
"This bastard...!" Others drew, but he'd measured distances first.
Squelch!!
He cleaved one's shoulder clean through, bisecting the torso.
Two left.
"Vermin preying on the common folk...!!" Zhao Yun was already moving.
Squelch!! Stab.
With brutal efficiency belying her delicate beauty, she split the last two. Yeah, badass. Zhao Yun was terrifying in combat.
"Old man, who were these?" He asked the owner.
"Ah... Local thugs with some pull lately..." The grandpa grimaced, stunned.
"Sir...!! Thanks, but this'll bring trouble!! Their gang runs these streets...! If this sparks revenge...!" He fretted.
"But grandpa... their tab alone could build a fortune..." The girl defended them, inwardly miffed.
"But... if they smash the stall at night..." Grandpa worried endlessly.
Right on cue.
"Hey!! Brothers!!!" "What happened!!" More shady punks arrived—up to no good, clearly.
Perfect. Roaches showing themselves.
"Dal-sam..." "These fuckers...!! Who are you?!" The gang surrounded him and Zhao Yun, roaring.
"Garrison." What else? Public authority. And they were quest fodder.