Chapter 004: The Mysterious Elder

From the village chief, Li Feng received astonishing information: the small wooden house in the village has been uninhabited for over seventy years. Its original owners were a young couple from outside, but for reasons unknown, the man never returned after going out one day, leaving the woman to guard the home alone

Upon seeing these four characters, Li Feng immediately felt a surge of excitement in his heart

In order to confirm the true identity of the old man, he went back to the village to find the village chief

I am even worse off; I spoke a lot beside him, yet this old man showed no reaction at all, wasting my precious time for leveling up. It seems your judgment is correct; there are probably no tasks to take here. Let's go and hunt monsters to level up.

Li Feng also noticed that whenever the old man displayed such emotions, his gaze would fall upon a certain house to the west of Hongyun Village, and his body would gently tremble as well

It was a kind of inexplicable and strange gaze, filled with reminiscence, pain, regret, self-blame, and joy. Various emotions intertwined, collectively forming this gaze, which contained an overwhelming amount of information. Moreover, each instance was fleeting, akin to a flash of light, and if one did not observe carefully, it would be utterly imperceptible.

Based on previous gaming experiences, players can obtain special items after completing specific tasks, which may include unique equipment, special skills, or even a distinct profession; anything is possible

Could it be that this old man was originally a villager of Hongyun Village, and that house was his home? A thought flashed through Li Feng's mind; indeed, there was a sense of longing for home in the old man's gaze

Generally speaking, special tasks in games possess uniqueness. He is the first person in Hongyun Village to complete the "Collect Wild Boar Teeth" task, thus becoming the first player to encounter this special task

Li Feng swiftly accepted the task and then opened the task scroll to begin reviewing the contents of the task

Observing the old man is quite boring His greatest virtue is his unwavering patience A person who can squat on the ground watching ants move their home for over an hour, how could his patience be lacking

The Secret of the Stranger At the entrance of the village to the east, there sits a strange man under a large tree, whose origins are unknown to anyone. If you are able to uncover the secret of this stranger, you will be rewarded with a mysterious prize

A few years after the man left, the woman passed away in sorrow, and that small wooden house fell into disrepair, remaining there until now, becoming the oldest house in the village

Soon, a new humanoid statue appeared beneath the large tree. At this moment, Li Feng resembled an old monk in meditation, sitting not far from the elderly man, observing this peculiar old man.

Half an hour later, Li Feng walked out of the archive room. He had obtained the information he wanted. It turned out that the owners of the small wooden house were Vilen and Jenny, a couple from outside who had lived in Hongyun Village for five years. In the sixth year, Vilen left Hongyun Village and never returned, while Jenny remained in Hongyun Village and passed away a few years later.

Once Li Feng enters a state of tranquility, his observational skills become remarkably astonishing; this is another of his notable strengths, second only to his extraordinary patience.

He is now almost certain that the old man sitting outside the village, mhetushucomcom, is Velen, because only Velen himself would have such a nostalgic feeling towards that small wooden house.

Arriving at the eastern side of Hongyun Village, one can see players everywhere engaged in monster hunting and leveling up. The number of players far exceeds that of the monsters, and every monster that spawns cannot escape the tragic fate of being dismembered. Li Feng can only silently mourn for the monsters in his heart.

Every village maintains records of its residents. That elder is very old, at least over eighty years of age. It seems that no one in the village recognizes him. There are only two possible explanations: either all the villagers who knew this elder have already passed away, or the elder's appearance has changed so drastically that no one can recognize him anymore

Due to the passage of time, the village chief learned this information from conversations with the elders and is unsure of its accuracy

Special task

With the assistance of the archivist, Li Feng found the file of the house's owner. He sat by the window and began to read it carefully

Li Feng's gaze swept around, and soon he spotted an old man sitting motionless under a large tree beside the village entrance. The old man appeared aged, with murky, dull eyes, and a few leaves resting on his tattered clothing. He resembled a statue, exuding almost no sense of life.

Closing the task scroll, Li Feng immediately headed towards the eastern side of the village. The entire village was filled with novice players, and the various shouts and arguments converged into a torrent of sound, creating an atmosphere reminiscent of a bustling market, exceedingly noisy.

Li Feng did not attempt to communicate with the old man like the other players did; even the NPCs in the village were unable to engage in any conversation with this peculiar old man, making it even less likely for the players to do so. He remained nearby, observing this strange elder and paying attention to any subtle changes in the old man's demeanor.

Around the elderly man, there were quite a few players. It was evident that they had also noticed the presence of this mysterious elder and wanted to attempt to take on some tasks. However, their various actions did not elicit any response from the elder.

If that small wooden cabin truly belongs to the old man, then he must be over one hundred years old! Li Feng was secretly astonished; he felt that the old man was very likely the man who had run away from home, which would also explain why the old man displayed such extremely complex emotions

Li Feng vaguely sensed the basic outline of the entire matter; now he needed to check the files to gather more information about this mysterious old man

Both possibilities existed. Li Feng decided to first ascertain the origin of the dilapidated wooden house in the village. He approached the village chief, explained his intentions, and soon gained access to the village's archives.

After observing for more than half an hour, he noticed that although the old man's eyes were cloudy and lifeless, they occasionally revealed a very complex gaze.

Damn, I thought I would receive some kind of task, but it turns out to be an old man suffering from dementia!

Wasting time on leveling up? His goal is to become a lifestyle player; let the level rankings be whatever they are, they have nothing to do with him

It was an extremely old wooden cabin, consisting of two stories, with many areas already decayed and collapsed, in a state of disrepair, and it was unclear how long it had been uninhabited

Ultimately, the players surrounding the old man left grumbling, and the surroundings returned to silence