Chapter 161: Escort Mission (Seeking Monthly Votes)

With the cooperation of Li Hongbo, Wang Yu successfully accepted the quest to lead forty Boxer NPCs in intercepting Nie Shicheng's family, a two-way quest where the NPCs played the primary role.

Chen Hao had delivered Nie Shicheng's family to Langfang and gained the assistance of eleven of Nie Shicheng's personal guards. Because Boxer pugilists were far inferior in combat capability to these personal guards, Wang Yu, undertaking the opposing side of the quest, was assigned forty pugilists for support.

Because Li Hongbo had previously abducted Nie Shicheng's family, his actions carried a mix of faults and merits. He recommended Wang Yu, and Zhang Decheng, the Boxer leader, approved. To ensure absolute foolproof security, Wang Yu had also arranged for some players to stand ready; if the NPCs proved unable to defeat Chen Baxian in combat, he would order his subordinate players to intervene.

Any player who forcibly participated in the quest without obtaining the interception assignment from the Boxers would be hunted down by government NPCs, and the quest reward for Wang Yu, who had accepted the assignment, would be reduced. To exact revenge on Chen Hao, Wang Yu could be said to spare no expense. However, the ideal scenario was to complete the quest relying solely on the forty NPCs, and he would not mobilize his players until the critical moment arrived.

The forty pugilists assigned to Wang Yu by Zhang Decheng were all martial arts elites. In close combat, they were no weaker than Nie Shicheng's personal guards, but these pugilists were completely unversed in the use of firearms. Following San Shengshi's instructions, Wang Yu led the forty pugilists away from the Boxer camp, hastening toward the border between northern Hebei and Qilu to find a suitable location for an ambush.

Nie Shicheng's personal guards took their orders from Chen Hao, who had already inspected the attributes of these eleven bodyguards. All eleven possessed close-combat attributes exceeding fifty points, and their marksmanship attributes were not low either. The guard captain, Feng Yong, had a close-combat rating of 64 and a marksmanship rating of 66, along with an individual combat specialty called "Sturdy Shield," which increased combat effectiveness by 15% during defensive stances for one hour, though it caused basic attributes to drop by 20% for one day after combat ended.

Judging solely by individual attributes, Feng Yong's combat strength surpassed that of Chen Hao, and he would be the primary pillar of combat during the escort process. Knowing the escort mission would not be simple, Chen Hao did not rush to leave after rendezvousing with the eleven personal guards in Langfang. Instead, he first visited a foreign trading firm to purchase ample ammunition, equipping each of the eleven personal guards with a standard-issue Mauser pistol.

Chen Hao paid slightly higher than normal prices for these weapons and ammunition. The trading firm's NPC clerk in charge of selling bullets stated that various foreign powers had issued a weapons embargo, meaning bullets could no longer be purchased at the firm hereafter. Chen Hao slapped his forehead, mentally cursing himself for being foolish. In his memories, after the allied forces began their invasion, players were unable to purchase bullets at trading firms for a very long time.

The weapons embargo order had already been issued, but because major trading firms still had inventory remaining, Chen Hao was able to make his purchase this time. He went to the post office and wrote a letter to Tang Qunying, asking her to find a way to convert all the money on hand into firearms and ammunition. At the same time, he logged out of the game and converted the 30 million from selling the headquarters construction blueprints into silver dollars, preparing to exchange all of it for ammunition to stockpile.

The game had been running for a while, and the exchange rate of silver dollars to RMB had declined; obtaining one silver dollar for 800 RMB was quite easy. After rapidly converting his funds into silver dollars, Chen Hao mailed them to Bai Huhu Yaonie, instructing him to scour the trading firms across Fengtian Province to purchase and store massive quantities of ammunition. At the same time, he told Bai Huhu Yaonie to prioritize seizing and saving weapons and ammunition whenever raiding government offices.

Having completed all of this, Chen Hao drove his carriage to the blacksmith's shop in Langfang and had the blacksmith modify the vehicle. He sent Fishing Passerby to the carriage agency to purchase a larger carriage at a high price, adding iron plating to all four sides to ensure the safety of Nie Shicheng's family.

The floorboards of the original carriage were thickened, and Fishing Passerby was instructed to mount a Maxim machine gun onto it, with the cabin piled high with ammunition belts. Fishing Passerby and his ammunition loader took their seats in the modified carriage; once they encountered an attack, this vehicle would transform into a crude tank, unleashing formidable power.

With the carriage modifications complete, Chen Hao had Nie Shicheng's family board the larger carriage. He and Thief Three rode horses to clear the path ahead, while the eleven personal guards of Nie Shicheng protected the flanks of the carriage, moving along the official road toward the Qilu region.

Not long after Chen Hao's escort party departed from Langfang, the scouts arranged by Wang Yu quickly reported back to him. Wang Yu sneered, "Originally there was only one carriage, but now it has become two. One of them must carry a Maxim heavy machine gun. Charging blindly into that is courting death."

Wang Yu instructed his subordinates to continue gathering intelligence while he himself waited with forty NPCs in Dongfeng Town, located over twenty kilometers away from Langfang. Dongfeng Town was an important supply point along the official road, bustling with incoming and outgoing travelers. The forty Boxer NPCs removed their turbans and scattered to hide; discovering their ambush would be exceedingly difficult.

Wang Yu harbored a clever scheme: the Boxer NPCs excelled in close combat but could not fire guns. Ambushing in a town would allow hand-to-hand combat to commence instantly, neutralizing the enemy's marksmanship advantage. Forty martial arts-trained pugilists would be more than enough to tear Chen Baxian's escort party to shreds.

Dongfeng Town was crowded with pedestrians. To protect the carriage, Chen Baxian would have to order the Maxim heavy machine gun to open fire, which would inevitably injure numerous innocents. The government NPCs in the game would certainly hold someone accountable for maliciously killing non-monster NPCs, so any heavy machine gunner daring to open fire in Dongfeng Town would be finished.

Wang Yu already knew the rewards for this quest. The forty Boxer NPCs were currently under his command; if he successfully completed the quest, he could select twenty of those pugilists to hire as his own retainers. These pugilists possessed formidable martial arts skills. If he could recruit them under his command and subsequently purchase bullets to train their marksmanship, he would gain a powerful, elite guard platoon.

The NPC leader of the Boxers was named Zheng Tianshou, whose close-combat stat reached as high as 72 points. Wang Yu accompanied him for drinks at a restaurant in Dongfeng Town. After waiting for nearly three hours, the carriage escorted by Chen Baxian still had not arrived in Dongfeng Town. Just as Wang Yu was growing impatient, a subordinate ran over to report that Chen Baxian had bypassed Dongfeng Town without stopping for supplies, continuing straight ahead along the official road.

Having waited for so long, Wang Yu felt quite depressed. He stood up and said, "Brother Zheng, those imperial running dogs didn't resupply in Dongfeng Town. They passed by a while ago; we should find another location to ambush them!"

Zheng Tianshou stood up and said impatiently, "They only have a dozen or so people. Our brothers can wipe them out in a single charge. You just had to make things complicated by waiting in the town."

Wang Yu mentally cursed this NPC as a good-for-nothing, but he dared not offend him. Forcing a bitter smile, he explained, "I know Brother Zheng possesses extraordinary skills, but those outlanders possess rapid-firing fiend-devices. A direct charge will cause the loss of quite a few brothers. Dealing with them inside the town will be much easier."

"Rapid-firing fiend-devices?" Zheng Tianshou said with lingering fear, "Could those be the fiend-devices Nie Shicheng used to slaughter thousands of our brothers that day?"

Wang Yu nodded and said, "That's precisely those fiend-devices. Rapid-firing fiend-devices possess terrifying power, so I have to be cautious. They are guarding a carriage and cannot travel fast. Let's take a shortcut next and set an ambush fifty li away at Shiban Town!"

Wang Yu led his men along a shortcut to another supply point, Shiban Town. After spending considerable effort on the layout, an hour quickly passed. The scouts arranged by Wang Yu reported back every ten minutes; upon hearing that Chen Baxian's escort carriage was only two kilometers away from Shiban Town, an excited smile appeared on Wang Yu's face.

"Boss Wang, Chen Baxian still hasn't entered the town; he bypassed it and left." Just as Wang Yu was calculating how to trigger hand-to-hand combat, a subordinate ran over anxiously to report.

"Crack."

Wang Yu was so enraged that he smashed his cup onto the ground, exasperatedly saying, "They didn't resupply in Dongfeng Town, and after traveling so far, they don't even need to rest?"

"The brothers have made inquiries; Chen Baxian's unit prepared ample food and water. They eat on the move, and it's estimated they won't find a place to stop and dine along the rest of the route either."

Zheng Tianshou, who had long since lost patience, shouted loudly, "Brother Wang, we should have struck directly long ago. Now we've wasted so much time for nothing. Let's just chase after them directly and finish them off!"

Wang Yu shook his head and said, "The rapid-firing fiend-devices possess infinite might. Even though we outnumber them by over twenty people, we might not necessarily be their match."

Zheng Tianshou ranted, "With you acting like a wolf in front and a tiger behind, how can we ever complete the quest assigned by Altar Leader Zhang? We have the blessing of the Wusheng Mother, what do we have to fear from them? If you don't make a move, I'll take the brothers and go myself."

Wang Yu angrily retorted, "If the Wusheng Mother could bless you, Nie Shicheng's rapid-firing fiend-devices wouldn't have wiped out several thousand people. Altar Leader Zhang put me in charge of this mission. If you keep chattering away, I will go back and report this to Altar Leader Zhang."

Zheng Tianshou seemed deeply afraid of Zhang Decheng; he sat down sulkily to one side without another word. Wang Yu explained, "Brother Zheng, I am also doing this to minimize our brothers' casualties. This time, we won't wait in a town; we'll ambush them directly alongside the official road. I refuse to believe they can fly up to the heavens."

When Wang Yu entered the game, he had randomly drawn a commander specialty: Jungle Ambush. When ambushing in a jungle, the probability of being detected decreased by 30%, and launching a charge after an ambush increased the combat effectiveness of commanded subordinates by 20% for a duration of two minutes. This specialty was best suited for jungle ambushes, but even with the specialty's buff, facing a heavy machine gun would still be a tall order—which was why Wang Yu had originally intended to strike inside a town.

Now that Chen Baxian's guarded convoy refused to enter towns for supplies, Wang Yu had no choice but to take the risk and ambush them in the dense woods along the official road. Even if they remained undetected while ambusing in the dense woods, using the flesh and blood of Boxer NPCs to charge a heavy machine gun would be perilous. He decided to force his subordinate players to participate in the quest. With the forty NPCs plus thirty players with decent marksmanship, he would have all the players focus their fire on the carriage carrying the gunner. If they could eliminate the machine gunner, completing the quest would become much simpler.

Wang Yu's actions would affect the quest's completion rating. Having non-quest players participate in completing a quest would either cause the system to lower the rewards or judge the quest a failure. Wang Yu's thinking was simple: even without any quest rewards, as long as he could kill Chen Baxian and ruin his quest, that constituted victory.

Chen Hao escorted the convoy forward at a steady, unhurried pace. He was well aware of the strengths and weaknesses of both sides, which was why he had made thorough preparations while in Langfang and chosen not to resupply at the towns along the way.

His only worry was that the enemy, driven by hatred, might bring non-quest players to attack the carriage, which could prove troublesome. Therefore, while in Langfang, he had made certain preparations; if the enemy arranged for non-quest players to participate in the mission, he was equally prepared to deal with them.