CHAPTER 72: CHAPTER 72: UNEXPECTED INTEL

A huge blue grub appeared in front of Ethan—about the size of a city bus.

Its surface was very smooth, with no scales or hair, almost like a block of blue tofu.

At the front of its body, there was a strange bulge that didn’t match its round, sleek shape at all.

As Ethan looked closer, the bulge suddenly moved. Then, like a convertible car roof, someone opened it from the inside.

A man wearing sunglasses stuck his head out and shouted, "What are you standing there for? Get in! We’re leaving soon."

Get in?

This big blue grub was smooth all over. There didn’t seem to be any way to enter it.

While Ethan was still confused, the man in sunglasses reached out and pointed to the grub’s rear. Ethan took a couple of steps that way and saw a wriggling "entrance."

Even Ethan, who was usually calm and rational, couldn’t help taking a step back. He looked again at the man in sunglasses.

The man nodded firmly and said, like it was nothing:

"Hurry up. The [Ice Worm] is pretty clean. It won’t just eat stuff at random."

"In a place this cold, it’s the fastest option and can carry the most passengers."

Ethan took a deep breath, walked over to the man, glanced at the space he was in, and said:

"Looks like you’ve got plenty of room. If we squeeze a bit, two people should fit."

The man in sunglasses was about to say something, but Ethan pulled out a big handful of Dawn Coins.

The man looked around, stayed quiet, and made enough space for Ethan.

An hour later, at the [Ice City] Hub, Ethan jumped down from the Ice Worm’s head.

This [Ice Worm] was pretty special. It could move fast through solid ice.

While riding it, Ethan kept having an urge.

If he killed this [Ice Worm], what kind of Intel would it drop?

But the man in sunglasses killed that thought with one line.

He said: "All of Safe Zone 9527 has only two [Ice Worms]. The admin values them a lot."

Ethan had met Tina, the admin of Safe Zone 9527.

Anyone who can run a Safe Zone is definitely strong.

Ethan gave his head a small shake and looked around.

This was the station of the Ice City Hub, about ten times larger than the one in Safe Zone 9527.

But like the 9527 station, there weren’t many people here. Sometimes another [Ice Worm] would arrive, and only one or two players would squeeze out of its "entrance."

Ethan made eye contact with two such players. Their first reaction was to lower their heads, awkwardly pat their clothes, and hurry toward the exit.

Only then did Ethan understand why no one on the real-world game forums mentioned the [Ice Worm] as transport.

If you described how you get in, players from other Safe Zones would laugh at you like crazy.

Chances are, for a long time, no one near the Ice City Hub would talk about how they rode a [Ice Worm] to get here.

Ethan didn’t waste time and walked in the same direction as those two.

Soon, he saw them lining up in front of a huge rectangular machine.

Ethan walked over. The player at the back kept twitching his nose, smelling himself to see if there was any strange odor.

He noticed Ethan behind him, quickly stopped, gave an awkward smile, and said:

"I never thought we’d have to ride an [Ice Worm]—such an uncomfortable thing—just to reach the Ice City Hub."

"Hey, man, you must feel awful too, right? There’s no special smell, but still, going in and out of that place..."

"Damn, this is the last time I ever ride an [Ice Worm]!"

Ethan shook his head and said, "Yeah, it’s pretty uncomfortable. Luckily, I sat with the [Ice Worm]’s driver."

"It was a bit cramped, but it didn’t make me feel gross."

As soon as he said that, the two players in front of him widened their eyes and stared at him.

"Sat with the driver?"

"You didn’t go in through the [Ice Worm]’s waste outlet and then come out of its waste outlet?"

"Damn!"

"How did you sit with the driver?!"

Ethan nodded. "Easy. Just pay more Dawn Coins."

In an instant, the two players’ jaws dropped. They didn’t know what to say.

When they saw Ethan, they had assumed he was just like them.

They didn’t expect he dodged the mental torture just by spending a bit more.

One player suddenly said, "Bro—no, big bro, I’m begging you for one thing."

"Please don’t tell anyone you can sit with the driver!"

"If everyone uses that method to reach the Ice City Hub, we’ll look like idiots."

The other player also looked at Ethan with hopeful eyes.

As long as Ethan kept quiet, players near the Ice City Hub would have to suffer the same mental torture they did.

Ethan didn’t answer right away. At that moment, he thought of the player [Tank].

[Tank] is a guide maker and a story lover. He often posts guides on the forums.

If Ethan told him about this, and then waited until lots of players reached the Ice City Hub by [Ice Worm] before [Tank] posted the guide, it would spark a ton of discussion.

Players who already went through the [Ice Worm] mental torture would comment, asking why no one said it earlier.

And players who haven’t suffered it yet would remember the guide and be very thankful to [Tank].

This was also Intel Ethan could use. After hearing the two players’ request, he realized the [Ice Worm] riding Intel had real value.

So he just gave them a small nod and said, "Don’t worry. Plenty of players will reach the Ice City Hub the same way you did."

Hearing that, the two players thought he agreed to their request.

They happily introduced themselves: both from Safe Zone 9525, [King Charles] and [Emperor Charles].

Ethan gave a quick intro, only saying he was from Safe Zone 9527.

[Charles King] spoke up right away: "Safe Zone 9527? The one with that ’Executioner’?"

Ethan paused, confused. "Executioner?"

[Charles Emperor] nodded and said, "Yeah. The one who got ambushed by eleven players who had changed class, but killed them all instead—the ’Executioner,’ [Windchaser]!

"Aren’t you from Safe Zone 9527? How do you not know [Windchaser]?

"At first I thought the story was fake, but I looked into it seriously, and it all turned out to be true.

"[Windchaser] is amazing. I really think he’s either a pro gamer with crazy skills, or in real life he’s special forces, or some kind of weapons master.

"Lots of players have analyzed him. It’s just a shame Dawnfall Online can’t record video right now. If it could, I’d find his fight videos, study them, and watch them a hundred times a day!"

[Charles Emperor] kept talking nonstop, all about the "Executioner,"[Windchaser].

Ethan could clearly feel his excitement and admiration.

After [Charles Emperor] finished, he suddenly remembered Ethan hadn’t said his ID yet.

[Charles Emperor] scratched his head and said, a bit embarrassed, "Sorry, I got too excited. By the way, what’s your in-game ID?"

Right then, an NPC shouted, "Next! You two, go together. Hurry up, don’t waste time!"

[Charles Emperor] and [Charles King] rushed into that rectangular passage device.

Ethan was curious what the device actually did.

He thought for a moment, opened his watch, and sent the [Ice Worm] info from just now to [Tank].

Less than a second later, [Tank] replied.

[Tank]: "Awesome, Ethan! I was just out of guide ideas!"

[Tank]: "I don’t even know how to thank you. I’ve got a feeling once I post this guide, my followers will jump a lot."

[Tank]: "How about I pay you 100,000 again, like last time?"

Ethan turned him down. 100,000 wasn’t much to him now.

[Windchaser]: "Forget the money. Just owe me a favor."

[Tank]: "No problem at all! Ethan, thank you so much!"

Ethan closed his watch. He hadn’t lost anything—he just edited some info—and in return, he got a favor.