Fantasy Game: Infinite City

".....you..."

"I understand what you mean. I saw how that guy came back. No need to ask, this should be the boss of the dungeon. The data can't detect it either. It should be a hidden boss. After all, this dungeon has never been in this direction before."

Several people squatted on the second floor of the barn, observing the location of the small house through the gaps in the window. Below them, under the hay blocks near the wall on the first floor, there were some small car parts hidden. Although they found these parts, they did not steal them, as they had just arrived here.

"What do you mean? You've been to this dungeon before? But isn't this a new dungeon with a new mode? What's going on?"

The person who asked the question was wearing cowboy clothes, which were common in the countryside, but he had a magic wand on his waist, which made him look a little eccentric. Due to some well-known jokes, his teammates and friends called him "the philosopher" or "the magic man".

"There are also differences in dungeons under the new mode. There are brand new dungeons, and there are old dungeons that have been expanded upon the original dungeons. And didn't you notice that, even though it's a new mode, we can still use normal professional abilities and weapons and equipment?"

The person answering the question, wearing a straw suit, looks like a walking scarecrow, if he doesn't have a very high-tech tactical goggles on his face. But his weapons are a crossbow and a bow, and he is a healing profession, so let's call him Straw Doctor for now.

"Yes, we have been to this dungeon before, or its "basic version". The original dungeon was a large floating difficulty dungeon, located a short distance away from the farm, just in the upper right corner of the map. There is a small town there. The original mission was that many monsters appeared around the town, and the residents of the town could receive some missions to eliminate the monsters. The time and difficulty of passing the level varied depending on the difficulty of the monsters. Since there is no upper limit to the bounty missions that can be accepted at one time, it is a good place to gain experience and gold coins. However, some missions are too difficult, and there is no record of them being completed until now, so I don't know what the final boss of this dungeon is, and what the reward is for defeating it."

The third person who spoke was also the last member. He was wearing a full set of SWAT team clothes, but without a helmet. His weapon was also normal, a CQC (indoor combat) model assault rifle. Let's call him the captain.

"When you came to this copy before, have you ever been to this location on the farm?" the magic man asked.

"I've been here before, but it turns out that the farm is an area that cannot be explored. There are only some bounty missions posted on the main gate of the farm, but the difficulty is too high and it is impossible to complete them. It is said that someone who has taken on farm missions said that completing the missions can obtain a safe zone, which is most likely the exploration permission of the farm, but the missions are too difficult. Fortunately, you can give up the missions."

"In the original instance, the monsters around the town basically stayed away from the farm, as if following the rules of the instance. No matter what the monster's level was, it was the same. So someone on the forum said that the final boss of this instance might be the owner of the farm, or that he was a hidden boss with an independent quest, the kind that could be avoided by completing quests."

"My reconnaissance equipment just now couldn't read his information. It seems that we can't win the battle with just the three of us. Maybe we should try the second method."

"You mean accept the mission? But if that's the case, we'll have to go back the same way. Will he find us in advance and trigger a battle?"

"No, now we have a new ability in the new mode. With it, we just need to be careful and we won't be discovered. The same is probably true for those guys who stole the parts."

"Oh right, we have to leave quickly. When you mentioned the parts, I remembered that they are underneath us. If they are discovered now, then..."

"Yes, yes! Let's go!"

The three of them looked at the small house in the distance again. The owner of the farm and perhaps his family were sitting on the steps at the door and did not notice this side. Taking this opportunity, the three of them quietly left the barn, left the farm through the cornfield, walked around outside, and came to the fence with the task list posted on it.

"It looks like there have been some changes. Originally these quests were posted on the front gate of the farm. The new mode's abilities are really convenient."

"Skill name: Survivor's Breath of Escape"

"Skill type: Passive skill"

"Learning conditions: complete specific tasks, or in limited copies"

"Skill Range: Self"

"Skill effect: The first breath of relaxation after a survivor escapes from danger and returns to a safe area will automatically activate after five seconds of stillness, making it immune to all detection capabilities. When you continue to remain still, all information such as footprints, breathing, heartbeat, scratches, and sounds will be completely hidden and cannot be detected. The skill has the highest priority. After the skill effect is fully activated, it will not lose the effect when moving slowly, and the effect will remain for five seconds when moving quickly. After that, you need to be still again to activate it again."

“Skill Description: “Hu… I escaped… I escaped… — The only sentence repeated by the only survivor who escaped from the deadly trap during questioning.”

The three of them looked at several task lists posted on the fence, and while screening out the tasks that they could complete with their abilities, they started talking.

"Scarecrow, do you think those people who steal car parts will be discovered by the hidden boss?"

"Originally I guess not, because of the special abilities given by the new mode, but if I want to repair the car now, then the Boss will definitely find out. I don't think he will leave the vicinity of the garage for the time being."

"So after we accept the mission, will we be considered as the ones who stole the parts?"

"Absolutely not. After accepting the mission, an independent script will be triggered. During the mission, we will be temporarily classified as the hidden boss's camp. As long as we don't get sick, we will be fine."

"Will other players attack us because of this?"

"It's possible, but the chances are slim," the captain replied.

"What do you mean?" the demon man asked.

"What the captain means is that after being assigned to the hidden boss's camp, we will be temporarily protected by the boss. During this period, no one can harm us unless there are special restrictions on the protection, such as having to stay in a specific range. So if other players come to attack us, not only may it be ineffective, but they may also be attacked by the hidden boss. It's not worth it."

"But there are always exceptions. I think it's still a bit dangerous."

"So the choice of mission is crucial," Doctor Straw pointed to the mission sheets on the railing, "so we should try to choose one that is difficult enough for us to complete, but the mission location is outside the farm, but not too far from the farm."

"We understand the difficulty, but what do you mean by position requirements?" asked the captain and the demon man.

"There are other players in the farm. It doesn't matter whether they are in a team or alone. What matters is that there will be conflicts. If we are not on the farm, the fight will not affect us. We cannot be too far away from the farm because the protection area, or the shelter of the hidden boss, may not be too far away from the farm."

"Okay, I see. Let's take a look... Wow... This mission looks good and meets our requirements."

"Bounty Mission: Grocery Supply"

"Mission Objective: Restock some groceries for Farmer Frank"

"Mission description: Mr. Frank needs some groceries and daily necessities, but he is very busy now and has no time to go by himself, so he needs someone to help him buy them in town. Don't worry, Mr. Frank will pay for the groceries himself. But don't cheat Mr. Frank of his money. The last person who did that has already made fertilizer in Mr. Frank's cornfield."

"Time limit: None"

“Mission Reward: Frank’s Homebrewed Beer”

"Well, this mission is good, not too difficult, and the town is not far from here. Even if you walk there, it will only take an hour to go back and forth. So, take this mission?"

"Row."

After peeling off the task list, the system prompted them to wait where they were. Not long after, some noises were heard from the cornfield inside the farm fence, and a sturdy man wearing overalls, carrying an old bolt-action rifle on his back, with some greasy dirt on his bare upper body and a cigarette in his mouth, walked out. He was very tall, more than two meters, with a peaceful smile on his face. He walked to the railing of the farm and put his hands on it.

"Is there a problem?"

"Um.. Frank? Sir?"

"it's me."

"Well, we saw the task list you posted on the railing, and we wanted to ask, do you still need help?"

"of course."

"We can go into town and get you groceries. We'll be back in as little as two hours."

"Oh! Then you can really help me a lot. Here is the shopping list and the money needed for the purchase."

Mr. Frank took out a shopping list from his pocket. The items on it were not too many, and then took out a roll of bills from his other pocket. The money looked like it was much more than what was needed for the shopping.

"That's a lot of money, Mr. Frank. It won't take that much."

"Please buy me another two packs of cigarettes, and the rest will be your errand fee."

"No, we..."

"I insist that you accept it."

"Thank you very much, we will be back as soon as possible."

"Goodbye."

The three of them left the farm with the shopping list and money. They turned around and waved to Mr. Frank, who waved back and walked into the cornfield.

"It looks like our task is much simpler."

"I hope there won't be any problems along the way."

As soon as the words fell, a huge twisted monster emerged from a nearby mud pit. When the three were about to start fighting, they heard a gunshot from the direction of the farm. Frank's hand and his old bolt-action rifle, which he had just put away, appeared in the cornfield. Turning around, they saw the huge twisted monster with a bullet hole on its body, falling to the ground.

"Totally dead."

"I've fought this monster in a dungeon before. I can only say that this thing can't be killed with just one bullet. After all, its danger level is not low!"

"Look at the status bar. It looks like we are now in Frank's camp."

Following the magic man's prompt, Doctor Straw and the captain opened their status bars, and a temporary passive support skill appeared at the top of the status bar.

"Status: Farmer's Helper"

“Effect: When you are near Frank’s farm, all hostile units that attack you will be locked by Frank, and will be killed with one strike, and they cannot be revived. If the hostile player is in the “Survivor’s Breath of Escape” state, if they move or are touched by Frank, this effect will also be triggered. After being locked by Frank, they cannot activate the “Survivor’s Breath of Escape” again until they leave the attack range or lose aggro.”

“Description: A qualified farm owner would not allow his workers to be harmed, even if they are just errand boys.”

The three of them looked at each other and nodded. "Captain, I'm glad I listened to your advice. It seems that this hidden boss is not just a bluff, it is really powerful."

"Well, I proposed this idea before because the hidden bosses in the dungeons are basically much stronger than the final bosses, and may even have multiple stages. Since no one has successfully eliminated the final boss in the previous dungeons due to its difficulty, then this hidden boss... do you understand?"

"Tsk tsk, those guys who chose another route are probably going to be in trouble."

"Then it's not our problem. Let's go to the town and complete the task first."

"Ah."

The three of them quickened their pace and followed the road this time, keeping a distance from the surrounding wilderness, and quickly headed for a town not far away. After arriving, they began to buy the items on the shopping list for the mission. The items on the list were all very common, so it didn't take long, except for the last item: the cigarettes that Mr. Frank wanted.

"Boss, do you have this brand of cigarettes?"

"Let me see... Um... Sorry gentlemen, we don't have any here."

"Then do you know where I can buy it?"

"Yes, there is some in the shop next to the police station, but you may not be able to buy it because they don't have much stock."

The shop owner told the three people the specific location of the shop, and the three people went there according to the location. The owner of the shop initially said that the brand of cigarettes had been sold out, but when he heard the name Frank mentioned in the conversation between the three people, the owner called them again.

"Gentlemen, this Frank you are talking about... is he Mr. Frank from the nearby farm?"

"Yes, what's wrong?"

"Oh! Wait a minute!"

The boss ran into his shop, rummaged around for a while, and took out a box of cigarettes, which was the brand Frank mentioned.

"It's all here! If you had told me earlier that you were here to buy things for Mr. Frank, wouldn't that have been better?"

The shop owner's completely different attitude made the three of them curious. The demon man couldn't help but ask, "Mr. Frank, is it special?"

"Of course, this brand of cigarettes is very choking, just like lighting a box of cigarettes at the same time. No one smokes this brand of cigarettes except Mr. Frank."

"Is that why?"

"Of course not! Did you see the monster skull hanging on the town sign? That thing almost wiped the whole town off the map. It was Mr. Frank who killed it. Everyone in the town respects Mr. Frank very much. Here's a suggestion for you. If you encounter any problems in the town, just mention Mr. Frank's name and 90% of the problems will be solved."

More than an hour later, after buying everything, the three people's systems also sent updated task reminders. They were ready to go back and hand in the tasks. However, before leaving the town, the captain suddenly remembered something.

"The things on the farm aren't much different from the real world, but why is this town so similar to the Gold Rush era?"

"And did you remember? Apart from the two cars and a tractor we saw on the farm, there was no other car outside. The people in the town still use horses and carriages for transportation!" the magic man added.

"This may be the effect of the new mode, or it may have been like this before. But it doesn't matter. Let's go back and hand in the task."

Putting their doubts aside for the moment, the three of them rented a horse carriage and prepared to return to the farm. However, when the owner of the rental car knew that they were running errands for the farmer Frank, he was very determined not to ask for a penny.

Driving the carriage, the three men started their return journey. After a while, they could see the outline of the farm.