Xuzhou (4): Treasure Hunt in the Flames of Chaos
"Alright, mission or not, let's prioritize treasure hunting first."
"This way, everyone."
In truth, this quest was mandatory for players across multiple playthroughs, so I knew the path like the back of my hand. I roughly led the subordinates toward the riverbank road heading north of the Yellow River.
It might look like we were blatantly skipping the detachment mission, but that was nothing to worry about. In this Xuzhou that had turned into a true Apocalypse world, the place was crawling with blood-mad Qingzhou bandits.
"There they are!! Qingzhou bandits!!!"
"Kill 'em all!!"
They charged like mindless monsters, swords raised high, lunging at anyone in sight.
No commanders, huh.
If it had been Qingzhou bandits under a general or officer, they might've been tricky to handle, but these were just stragglers scavenging for loot. Nothing to fear.
About ten minutes later.
Puuk.
I cleaved the last remaining Qingzhou bandit clean through, wiped the blood off my blade, and sheathed it. The others had somehow survived and subdued their foes too.
At least the full Kim Squad was intact. A few of the Danyang soldiers Do Gyeom sent had died... but that couldn't be helped. Reincarnate somewhere peaceful next life. That was all I could say.
"Huff... h-heuk... huff..."
But the old man from the north didn't look good. He was gasping raggedly, body trembling all over.
"Ugh... hey, old timer?"
Worried, I checked on him. No matter how much I called, his condition was downright eerie. Shaking uncontrollably, staring blankly at the sky.
"Ahh... dear wife. There you are..."
The old man gazed off into the distance with a serene expression.
Shit. I got the picture. He was right on the brink of crossing the Naihe Bridge.
"Old timer!! Snap out of it!!"
I slapped his cheeks.
"Huat!!"
Finally, he came to.
"Hoo... haa... huh?"
He flailed around, looking at his surroundings, then let out a sigh of relief.
"That was close... nearly crossed to the other side..."
The old man shook his head with another relieved sigh.
"Sometimes when I overdo it, this happens. Heh heh."
He grinned innocently.
"...Old timer, at that age, wouldn't it be better to retire somewhere quiet?"
I don't wanna hold a funeral here.
"Heh. I'm a warrior too... gotta hone myself on the battlefield till the end. Think of it as this old man's final dance."
The old man flashed a ridiculously cool smile.
"..."
No. Why do your last dance here of all places?
Well, as long as everyone's alive, that's what matters.
"Everyone, if your gear's beat up, swap it with stuff from these dead guys."
I said that to the squad. Qingzhou bandits were elite mobs in this area, after all. Their equipment was top efficiency at this stage.
The troops eagerly snatched up the loot, grinning ear to ear.
Time for me to do my part.
Across the riverbank lay several corpses. Long rotten, identities unclear, but arrowheads and blade shards embedded in the flesh told of a brutal melee.
Ew... gross...
In the game, you'd just click "investigate" on a corpse. Here, you had to rummage through rotting flesh yourself. Pure horror.
And soon enough.
Phew... found it.
Out came a letter, pickled in corpse juice and blood.
"The coachman looked like he'd sell us out at first glance, so we slit his throat right away. The youngest wrecked the whole cart in one go—kid's got no finesse."
Don't ask why these thugs keep diaries. Game convention. Bandits and brigands always leave traces like this. Yeah, yeah. Good habit, writing diaries.
I brushed it off.
"Had to haul all the loot on our backs to the destination. Fucking hell. We looked suspicious as shit. Imperial troops or anyone else spots us, straight to interrogation. Or get robbed by other bandits."
"Decided to camp. Suggested I take first watch, but they all wanted to sleep and ignored me. Can't do shit with thieves."
"Heart's pounding thinking about the treasure's value—can't sleep. Gonna get up and get some night air."
I skipped the boring bits. Whose diary is this long? Surprisingly sentimental guys? True sons of the literary nation.
"Wait, too noisy? Big bro Janggae suddenly opened his eyes. Gotta hint at the shares again."
And that was the end. Just scattered corpses. You get the gist? They turned on each other over shares.
"This is why bandits are..."
They'd eat their own parents.
"Eek...!!"
Hearing "bandits," Guan He nearby started trembling.
Hey, chill. Wasn't talking about you.
After that, we followed the bandits' trail. Along the way, we fended off attacking Qingzhou bandits and rescued near-dead civilians—plenty to justify our "side activities" without suspicion.
The forest near the bridge from Xuzhou to Ji Province—that was my final target.
A fat man's corpse lay there, clutching something tightly. Similar sword-riddled bodies scattered around.
This tubby one was Janggae.
"Hyah."
I shoved the corpse aside and opened the precious chests he hugged.
"Ooh..."
"Oh..."
The nearby soldiers gawked in shock.
Inside: overflowing gold and jewels. Greed lit up every eye.
"Looks like the bandits raided some rich guy's estate or steward's place during the chaos."
I summed it up neatly. No good if word spread this was Janggae's treasure sparking Xuzhou's doom.
This was the quest's endgame. Bandits, scheming to cut numbers and boost shares, stabbed each other in hopeless betrayal. None made it to Ji Province—mutual destruction.
Wanna monopolize it, but...
No way one guy hauls this alone. Physically impossible.
"Everyone, good work. Let's split the treasure fairly."
I told the squad straight.
"K-Kim Gong!! No, General Kim!! You sure?!"
They beamed, shouting. See that? "Kim Gong" to "General" in a flash.
"Yeah, yeah. You all busted your asses. Gotta have some reward."
I waved it off. They grabbed the loot with glee. I took my share too.
Seemed equal, but I profited most. As a game vet, I knew what sold big.
Mine: decent gold nuggets... and Warring States era coins. True artifacts.
Old currencies from Spring and Autumn/Warring States fetched top value here—higher than Han Dynasty's official bronze cash.
Dong Zhuo hammered the nail in.
After moving the capital to Chang'an, he minted wildly, sparking hyperinflation. Bronze cash was Zimbabwe dollars now.
But Warring States coins? Rare, and in this chaos, old money had more social credit. Bonus: sell high to history buffs.
Even Mi Zhu in Xuzhou'll pay premium.
Perfect for bartering with Xuzhou's richest, Mi Zhu. That's why farm 'em.
"Don't tell the higher-ups. Keep it between us."
Mouths full of crumbs, they'd stay shut. I laid down the law.
"Yes sir!! General!!!"
Loyalty spiked instantly.
Now, poke around that burning village over there, then head back. I planned while stuffing treasure into leather pouches.
Meanwhile.
A cavalry unit galloped madly through Xuzhou and Ji Province borders. Smashing everything but Xuzhou Castle itself—Cao Cao's orders, relayed firm to his trusted adjutant, Cao Ren.
"General, this right?"
Li Dian sighed, eyeing Cao Ren.
"Army orders. You questioning the lord?"
Cao Ren stared ahead, voice mechanical.
"But..."
"Speak more, and it's court-martial."
Cao Ren cut him off, fixing on a half-ruined village.
"Advance."
His stern face matched his grave tone as he charged spear-first.
"..."
Soldiers silently entered the village, torches and weapons raised.
"Th-they're here...!!"
"Qingzhou bandits!! Run!!"
"Those bastards kill even if you surrender!!"
Civilians bolted in panic at the sudden foes.
"Girl!! You too, run!!"
A grandma yelled at a purple-haired woman with a sword.
Striking beauty in a wooden mask.
"We'll all get caught if we run together, granny!!"
The masked beauty grumbled, drawing her sword into stance.
"I'll hold 'em!! Go!!"
She shouted irritably at the civilians.
"...Girl. Thanks."
They fled with guilty gratitude.
"Brave, but futile."
Cao Ren spurred his horse toward the masked warrior.
"Damn it... why me...!"
She grumbled, gripped her sword, and took a deep breath.