Chapter Forty-Three: The Standard Model Broomhandle

“Petty-minded.”
After figuring it out, Liu Zixuan snorted coldly but didn’t pursue the matter with Chen Hao any further. She wasn’t an unreasonable person; after all, how someone chose to complete a quest was their own business. If he didn’t want to attack NPCs to benefit the team, she couldn’t insist on having her way.
Lin Xiaofeng had also realized the crux of the issue. He cupped his hands to Chen Hao and said, “Brother Chen, aside from the Mauser pistol as the quest reward, how about we split all loot from the NPCs evenly? If you defeat the other two NPCs, the ring-handled saber will be yours.”
Chen Hao actually thought quite highly of this team. Although Liu Zixuan liked to pick on him, when it came to the interests of the group, she could set aside her personal prejudices and argue rationally for the benefit of the team—she was a valuable member. Lin Xiaofeng was steady by nature and acted fairly.
Yudie was not talkative, the type easy to get along with. The quiet young boy, Chen Feng, seemed to have had some chance encounter since entering the game—his footwork was impressive. He could sneak into the ancestral hall to gather information without being discovered, so his stealth attribute must be extremely high.
After level 10, leveling up would require finding various dungeon-like zones, and it was impossible for just Chen Hao and Bai Hu Hu Yao Nie to manage on their own. Chen Hao had always been a lone wolf without a fixed team; his college roommate Wang Donglai was in Minzhou Province, while the other two had joined Li Hongbo’s studio. So he needed to gather a few players to form a regular leveling team.
Lin Xiaofeng’s team was strong, and Chen Hao had been observing them. There was nobody in the group that he particularly disliked. Upon hearing Lin Xiaofeng’s proposal, he smiled and said, “This is my first time accepting a commission, so I didn’t know the rules and thought of keeping the ring-handled saber for myself. But I don’t want the saber anymore; let me have the items dropped by the other two NPCs.”
Xiaofeng agreed readily.
Liu Zixuan had been eavesdropping on their conversation. Upon hearing that Chen Hao was giving up the ring-handled saber in favor of the loot from the other two NPCs, and thinking of how cunning he was, she quickly interjected, “Let’s do as Brother Lin suggested! I won’t contest the saber with you, but we’ll take the items dropped by the other two boxers.”
Chen Hao couldn’t help but laugh. Of the four boxers, only the yellow-faced man was the leader and only his ring-handled saber was valuable. He wasn’t a greedy person; he’d only wanted to pocket the saber out of habit. Since he thought well of Lin Xiaofeng, he didn’t want to take advantage and so had suggested taking the loot from the other two NPCs. Little did he expect Liu Zixuan’s imagination would run wild and she’d think those items would be even better.
Chen Hao smiled faintly. “All right! Then I’ll take the ring-handled saber. But aren’t you afraid you’ll regret it if the other two NPCs drop nothing good?”
Liu Zixuan replied with total confidence, “I never regret anything. The saber is yours, and whatever else drops is ours.”
Soon, the remaining two NPCs in the ancestral hall were lured out by Bai Hu Hu Yao Nie. These two were not as troublesome as the yellow-faced man—Lin Xiaofeng’s group could easily handle them even without Chen Hao’s help. After subduing and tying them up with mountain vines, Chen Hao picked up the ring-handled saber and gestured to Liu Zixuan. “You can search them yourself—the loot is all yours.”
Liu Zixuan searched their packs several times and only found five copper coins, her face filled with disbelief. When the young boy Chen Feng searched them again and still found nothing, she complained, “Chen Baxian, where are the real valuables on these NPCs? Tell us and we’ll split them with you.”
Chen Hao was at a loss for words. “Miss, who told you these two NPCs were carrying anything valuable? Modesty is a traditional Chinese virtue, you know? I was only hired by you, and didn’t want to take advantage, so I asked for their loot. What were you imagining?”

“You…” For a moment, Liu Zixuan was speechless. That guy was obviously implying she was judging a gentleman by her own petty standards, but she couldn’t retort.
Chen Hao handed the ring-handled saber to Lin Xiaofeng. “Brother Lin, this saber rightfully belongs to your team—you may as well take it.”
Lin Xiaofeng insisted on refusing, so Chen Hao simply stuck the saber into the ground. “You’re the employers; any loot belongs to you. I don’t want it anyway.”
With that, Chen Hao led the way toward the ancestral hall. Watching his retreating figure, Liu Zixuan still felt his actions were a bit “showy.” Yet for some reason, she suddenly found this “showy” guy a little less annoying.
Chen Hao and the others entered the ancestral hall and untied the ropes on Lieutenant Podolsky. When he realized they had come to rescue him, the Lieutenant’s face lit up with delight. “You must be messengers sent by God! Thank you! If not for your arrival, I would have been disemboweled by these ignorant, cruel people…”
Lieutenant Podolsky had been stationed in Jiaozhou for years and spoke basic Chinese, so communication was not an issue. Chen Hao quickly interrupted, “Lieutenant, not all Chinese are ignorant and cruel. If they were, we wouldn’t have come to rescue you today.”
“My apologies, that was a slip of the tongue,” Lieutenant Podolsky said sincerely, then stood up to stretch his legs.
Chen Hao urged, “Lieutenant, let’s escort you out now. If we delay and alert the enemy, we’ll all die here.”
The six of them escorted Lieutenant Podolsky all the way to the German camp. The Lieutenant asked them to wait outside. Not long after entering the barracks, he came back out holding a Mauser pistol. “Thank you for your help, my friends. This Mauser has been with me for years—let it serve as a token of my gratitude.”
“Player Lin Xiaofeng, congratulations on completing the special quest ‘Rescue the Lieutenant’ attached to the gold ring. You have received a standard Mauser pistol as a reward.”
Lin Xiaofeng received the Mauser with delight. So far, very few firearms had dropped in the game, and all were ordinary models—never a standard edition. The Mauser was a classic, once immensely popular in China, and the German-made standard version was the finest weapon currently available in the game, both in quality and performance.
Chen Hao smiled and said, “Brother Lin, may I take a look at the Mauser’s attributes?”
With memories from the future, Chen Hao remembered the standard Mauser’s stats well. He asked to test Lin Xiaofeng’s character, and he was pleased when Lin hesitated not at all, handing the pistol over. “It’s an excellent sidearm—better than any other on the market.”
Item name: Mauser Pistol
Item type: Handgun

Item quality: Standard edition
Description: One of the world’s earliest automatic pistols, developed by the Federle brothers of Germany and named Mauser.
Length: 288 mm
Caliber: mm
Weight: kg
Effective range: 50 meters
Magazine capacity: 10 rounds
Power: 40
Rate of fire: 60
Accuracy: 60
Stability: 90