Chapter 929: Starting in a Novice Village? Where on earth did I end up?

Qi Yuan opened his eyes in a daze, and the first thing he saw was a messy thatched roof. Blinding sunlight shone in through a broken window, making him dizzy.

What… place is this?

Long-lost strength flooded into his limbs. Qi Yuan rolled over and sat up from the bare wooden bed, causing the boards beneath him to creak.

After getting off the bed, before he could even look around, the wooden door outside was gently pushed open. A little girl wearing coarse cloth clothes with her hair tied in two pigtails walked in from outside.

The little girl looked about eight or nine years old, her small face still retaining a touch of childishness. She held a steaming large bowl in her hands, and the liquid inside emitted a faint herbal scent, like some kind of medicinal soup.

Seeing that Qi Yuan had already gotten up, the little girl's large, dark eyes instantly brightened, and she said happily, "Young Master, you're finally awake!"

"Xiao Yuner, I… where is this?"

As he spoke, Qi Yuan couldn't help but frown. Whenever he tried to recall anything, he felt a splitting headache and couldn't remember a single thing.

As for how he knew the little girl's name, it was because the three bright, prominent characters [Xiao Yuner] were floating above her head, making it hard not to notice.

On the other side, Xiao Yuner didn't seem surprised that this stranger could call her name immediately. Hearing Qi Yuan's question, she smiled sweetly and said crisply, "Young Master, this is Apricot Bamboo Village. Yesterday, when Uncle Mo was fishing by the river, he pulled you out of the water. You were unconscious for a whole day, but now you're finally awake."

As she spoke, she handed the chipped porcelain bowl in her hand to Qi Yuan, signaling him to drink the medicine first.

"I see. Thank you for saving my life."

Since he couldn't remember his past experiences, Qi Yuan decided not to dwell on it. He immediately picked up the wooden bowl and downed the medicinal soup in one gulp.

A taste that was bitter yet had a hint of sweetness spread through his mouth. Immediately after, a line of small text appeared before Qi Yuan's eyes: "Player consumed one dose of Elementary Refreshing Soup, current Stamina +1 (3/10)."

Soon, the small text automatically disappeared, and he felt the fatigue in his body lessen significantly.

What does 'player' mean?

At this moment, countless questions churned in Qi Yuan's mind. He suppressed his astonishment, smiled, returned the empty bowl to Xiao Yuner, and asked, "Xiao Yuner, is the Uncle Mo you mentioned here? I would like to thank him personally."

Although he had lost almost all his memories, he still retained his basic ability to think. The little girl before him was clearly naive; to obtain more valuable information, it would be better to start with her elder.

"You want to find Uncle Mo?" Xiao Yuner put away the empty bowl and shook her head, saying, "He went to town to sell fish early this morning and won't be back until evening."

Hearing this, Qi Yuan was somewhat disappointed and could only nod, saying, "I see. Then I'll just have to wait for him to return to thank him."

Hearing this, Xiao Yuner didn't suspect anything. Seeing that Qi Yuan looked shaken, she immediately took charge and said, "Young Master, you must be hungry, right? I'll go have my mother cook something for you to eat."

As she spoke, she seemed to think of something and added with a smile, "A lot of outsiders like you have come to the village these past few days, but none of them have ever fallen into the river."

"Besides, those big brothers and big sisters are all kind-hearted and helpful; they've done a lot of things for the village. Once you've recovered, I'll take you out for a look around…"

After saying this, she skipped out of the room and soon disappeared from sight.

A group of outsiders? Qi Yuan's heart skipped a beat, and he hurriedly followed her out. He hadn't gone far before he saw a group of young men and women dressed in bizarre clothing moving back and forth through the village.

Some were chasing chickens and dogs, some were driving away small beasts, and others were gathering flowers and herbs, all busy in a frenzy.

Others were gathered in twos and threes, chatting and joking, occasionally engaging in impromptu contests. The victors were triumphant, while the losers were dejected—a lively and bustling scene.

What was even stranger was that many people would appear or disappear into thin air right in front of Qi Yuan, which looked extremely bizarre.

This group of people also had a line of names displayed above their heads, mostly pure white, whereas the color above Xiao Yuner's head just now was blue.

Compared to the normal-looking Xiao Yuner, the names of the outsiders seemed a bit abstract, such as Tomato Lemon, Cute Fairy, Peerless Good Man, A Big Sweet Potato… and so on.

Although most of them were handsome men and beautiful women with extremely standard figures—perfect golden ratios—Qi Yuan felt an indescribable sense of awkwardness.

What… is going on?

Just as Qi Yuan was completely bewildered, a man with "Brother Is Just A Legend" floating above his head approached. As he ran, he would occasionally jump in place, as if he were having a seizure.

Coming closer, the man looked Qi Yuan up and down and asked, "Brother, why is your name blank? How did you do that? Do you have to type a string of spaces?"

Spaces? Qi Yuan was confused and didn't know how to answer. Before he could respond, "Brother Is Just A Legend" waved his hand and said with a smile, "Looks like it's a secret technique. If you won't say, then forget it. My name is Wang Dali. I plan to stay in this game from now on. I'm a full-time Armored Warrior. Let's add each other as friends; we can run dungeons together sometime."

As he spoke, a line of small text appeared before Qi Yuan's eyes: Friend request from player [Brother Is Just A Legend], do you accept: Yes / No?

Qi Yuan was stunned, but he didn't choose to refuse. Instead, he tried to reply [Yes] in his mind.

The next moment, the small text appeared again: You have become friends with player [Brother Is Just A Legend], ID720342. You can view friend information in the holographically generated friend list.

After the friend request was accepted, "Wang Dali" showed a hearty smile and nodded, saying, "I'm going to class, let's talk later."

"Brother, wait!" Seeing that the other person intended to leave, Qi Yuan hurriedly went up and grabbed his arm, asking, "What do you mean by the game you mentioned? Also, where exactly is this place?"

Faced with this inexplicable question, "Wang Dali" seemed startled for a moment and looked at Qi Yuan with suspicion, but still answered, "Buddy, you aren't a minor, are you? This game is called Sword Immortal World, a full-immersion game developed by Unreal Company. There are already hundreds of millions of people playing since the server opened. As for this place, it's Novice Village No. 10086…"

Speaking of which, he seemed to remember that he still had to go to class, and said in a panic, "Forget it, I won't say anymore. I'm going to be late…"

Immediately after, "Wang Dali"'s figure disappeared into thin air right before Qi Yuan's eyes, as if he had never appeared at all…

Gazing at the empty ground before him, Qi Yuan's eyes widened, his expression full of shock. Novice Village No. 10086? Damn it… where on earth did I end up?