SWDnovel Chapter 44 Environmental Inspectors
Chapter 44 Environmental Inspectors
Concentrate your mind and silently repeat: "Use."
[Confirm you are using the 'Seaweed Farm Admission Ticket'? This action will teleport you to the instance space. Please ensure you are prepared.]
Seaweed Farm
[Type: Single-player instance]
[Level: 1]
[Description: Uncle Dugong's seaweed farm has recently been infested with insects! The dense spiky sea urchins are almost devouring the tender seaweed! Uncle Dugong is frantic and urgently needs hardworking, brave, kind, and compassionate survivors who ask for nothing in return (scratch that) to help him get rid of the insects! In return, Uncle Dugong says you can take away all the dead sea urchins that have been killed!]
[Admission ticket used; access to the instance will last for 48 hours]
"confirm."
The admission ticket in his hand suddenly burst forth with a soft, light green light, enveloping Yu Wang entirely. He felt as if he were being gently pulled by an invisible force, and the surrounding scenery of the Little Yellow Duck and the sea rapidly blurred and elongated, eventually transforming into a flowing play of light and shadow.
A slight feeling of weightlessness and dizziness came over me, but it lasted only a short time.
The next moment, a solid sensation came from their feet, the light faded, and the surrounding scenery had changed drastically.
The gentle morning sunlight streamed down.
He was no longer in the cabin of the "Little Yellow Duck," but standing on a wooden pier floating on the calm sea. The pier creaked and groaned as it rose and fell gently with the waves.
There were several low shacks built with wood and tarpaulin nearby.
Further away, a simple waterwheel can be vaguely seen turning slowly, driving the water flow, and the shadow of a large net stretching to the horizon divides this body of water.
Through the clear seawater, you can see a boundless seaweed field at your feet.
Seaweed is different from kelp, wakame, and other seaweed.
They are true higher plants, with differentiated roots, stems, and leaves, and typically grow on the seabed where sunlight can reach directly, forming vibrant underwater grasslands.
In this other world, the vitality of these seaweeds was further enhanced, and they grew tall and lush as if they were over-nourished. Most of them were taller than a person, with thick and wide leaves and serrated edges. They intertwined with each other to form a green maze.
However, on the other side of the enclosure, the seagrass fields became noticeably sparse, and many seagrass leaves showed obvious gaps.
Among the sparse seaweed, a large group of spiky figures could be clearly seen slowly moving and gnawing.
Yu Wang knew that those were his targets, the "Ringed Poisonous Thorn Gallbladder".
There are quite a few of them, and they have already attacked the fence, where obvious bite marks can be seen.
It probably won't be long before these swarms of variegated thorny gallbladders break through the enclosure.
Eventually, it spread to the relatively healthy seagrass field below the pier.
"Is this the seaweed farm?"
Just as Yu Wang was observing his surroundings, a voice with a heavy nasal tone and dissatisfaction came from behind him:
"Hey! What are you daydreaming about?! Can't you see the fence is about to break?! Get back to work!"
Yu Wang turned around and saw a dugong with a bloated figure, rough, grayish-brown skin, and wearing a linen apron, who was shouting at him with his round belly.
[You have seen a non-human intelligent race. Sanity -2 (Saving save)]
Uncle Dugong's small eyes revealed impatience, clearly mistaking Yu Wang for a new employee or laborer.
According to the normal dungeon process, players should then be driven by this grumpy dugong farmer to jump into the sea and begin the arduous and dangerous task of hunting sea urchins.
The final reward might just be the dungeon completion bonus and the corpses of those sea urchins.
As for wages
What is that?
However, Yu Wang had already made plans.
He ignored the dugong uncle's urging, and instead took a step forward unhurriedly, straightened his back, and took out a wave-shaped "Environmental Guardian" badge from his pocket.
"Ahem," he cleared his throat, mimicking the tone of the fishmen in the environmental organization.
"I am an environmental inspector dispatched by the 'Marine Environmental Protection Organization.' Following a report from the public alleging serious environmental pollution risks and improper planting practices at this farm, I have been ordered to conduct a surprise inspection!"
As he spoke, Yu Wang's sharp gaze swept over Uncle Dugong and the distant, unhealthy-looking seagrass fields.
"Please cooperate with my work and show me your 'Marine Planting Permit,' 'Sewage Discharge Treatment Record,' and 'Fertilizer Usage Record'!"
This series of punches completely stunned Uncle Dugong.
His small eyes widened instantly, and his mouth gaped open, revealing his yellowed teeth.
After staring at the "Environmental Guardian" badge for a while to confirm its authenticity,
The impatient expression on Uncle Dugong's face quickly faded, and in an instant, he put on a perfect fawning smile again.
"Oh, oh dear! It's the Inspector! Look at this mess, I'm so sorry for not greeting you properly!"
As he spoke, the dugong uncle immediately adopted a bowing and scraping posture, his fat body trying to make a humble gesture, his tone full of flattery.
"It's a misunderstanding, all a misunderstanding! Our farm has always been a model unit that abides by laws and regulations, meets environmental standards, and actively responds to challenges! That... the report is definitely a false accusation! It's malicious competition from our peers! Leader, please investigate thoroughly!"
"Licenses? Yes, yes, yes! Records? All of them! They're all inside, kept very safe! You can check them anytime, feel free to look!"
The dugong uncle spoke rapidly, stepping aside to lead the way: "This place is filthy outside, it's not your place! Please, please come inside and have a seat, and have some of our farm's specialty, 'Cleansing Seaweed Tea'!"
His attitude at this moment was completely different from before. It was hard to imagine how his rough face could display such a variety of expressions in such a short time.
Yu Wang chuckled inwardly, but outwardly maintained the dignity of an inspector, nodding slightly: "Lead the way."
In reality, he was already overjoyed to hear the name "Qingxin Seaweed Tea"!
Something that restores sanity! This sounds much more tempting than simply completing a sea urchin hunting quest! Besides, judging from how terrified this dugong uncle is, the farm is probably illegitimate, so maybe we can squeeze even more profit out of it…
It doesn't matter if my rationality is low, because I have skills to fall back on. No matter how reckless I am, I'll always have a '1' point of protection so I won't really lose myself and become an idiot.
But the spirit is different.
Below 60, you'll start hearing the tempting offers from evil gods promoting their faith.
Below 30, hallucinations and auditory hallucinations will become more severe, and you may even start to see shadowy monsters that don't actually exist hovering around you.
If mental state deteriorates further, then these shadow monsters will truly come into reality!
90% of the extraordinary individuals on the Abyss Path initially attracted the attention of evil gods and were developed into their followers because of their chronic sub-optimal mental health.
Nine out of ten people who gain extraordinary power through this kind of temptation and forced acceptance do not live long!
They either collapse and commit suicide shortly after gaining power because they cannot withstand the more intense mental erosion that follows; or they self-destruct when their power spirals out of control, becoming mindless puppets.
Even if you have to take the path of the abyss, a stable and healthy mental state is the cornerstone of long-term survival and steady improvement!
Any item that can restore or increase mental value deserves high attention.
Therefore, he was determined to get this "Refreshing Seaweed Tea"!
Good start!
Yu Wang walked steadily behind the bowing and scraping dugong uncle, heading towards the largest shed.
Of course, he did not forget the fundamental purpose of entering the instance: to complete the task and obtain the rewards.
The dungeon rewards are quite generous, and most importantly, you'll get a lot of empty core fragments after clearing it!
The mission definitely needs to be completed, and the sea urchins definitely need to be killed.
However, instead of being herded into the sea to kill sea urchins by NPCs like livestock right at the start, you should first sit down, have a cup of tea, and learn about the distribution density, activity patterns, weaknesses, and habits of sea urchins.
The experience and ultimate benefits of these two approaches are worlds apart!
The former is pure manual labor, while the latter has the initiative and information advantage.
Yu Wang naturally chose the second path.