Chapter Thirty-Six: Instant Debt, Instant Repayment

"I didn't! It wasn't me! I don't know anything about this!"

When Mo Tan was tackled to the ground by a swarming crowd, he was completely bewildered. Putting reality aside, he was certain he hadn't done anything wicked or illegal in the game. Even if he had... it surely couldn't have anything to do with this character, right!?

So, could someone please explain to him what on earth was going on?

A few seconds later, the receptionist who had processed Mo Tan's paperwork a few days prior sauntered over from the other side of the lobby. She crouched in front of him like a delinquent, gritted her teeth, and shot him a glare. "Finally, I've caught you."

"Um..." Mo Tan, pinned to the floor by a hulking ogre adventurer and being dragged across the polished marble, said helplessly, "I think there must be some misunderstanding here."

Indeed, a scene where he was being collectively attacked by everyone should logically never happen to him—at least, not to the 'current' Mo Tan. After all, in the game, this [Lawful Good] Mo had never done a single bad thing. The style of his [Chaotic Neutral] personality could absolutely not be present right now; by every metric, he was a law-abiding citizen.

But here he was, a law-abiding citizen pinned to the ground by a bunch of people, while the head of the Anka Bazaar Adventurers' Guild receptionist was practically steaming with rage.

"Misunderstanding?" The young woman sneered. "They've already brought the fight to our doorstep, and you're still telling me it's a misunderstanding?!"

Mo Tan was even more confused. First, he didn't know who had brought the fight to their doorstep, and second, he had no idea what this had to do with him...

"Tsk, tsk. Start talking, and be honest!" The receptionist clicked her tongue, her voice rising an octave. "Why did you incite your dog to attack people?!"

Huh?!

Incite a dog to attack? What dog? What people?!

"Don't know?" The receptionist raised an eyebrow and glanced at the large crowd of onlookers. "Big guy, yes, you—bring her over!"

...

A while later, a morose one-eyed troll adventurer returned, pushing a large iron cage mounted on four casters.

Inside was...

"Ya Ya?!" Mo Tan stared. Those pointed gray beast ears, the listless tail hanging down, those two sharp little fangs, and that aggrieved expression—wasn't that the dog-girl who couldn't even speak Common properly, let alone use the word 'woof' without an accent?

She also seemed to have some charred marks on her...

Why was she here, and why was she locked up?

For some reason, a very familiar feeling welled up in Mo Tan's heart, the same feeling he got whenever he returned to his current state after having done something terrible while in one of his other (as everyone knows) personalities.

This was very bad...

"Two nights ago, our branch received two complaints simultaneously," the receptionist said, expressionless, as she looked at Ya Ya in the cage. "The complainants were the posters of E-rank quest 17502 and E-rank quest 10308: Ms. Molly and the Gulo couple."

*Gulp.*

Mo Tan swallowed hard.

"Woo~" Ya Ya’s ears drooped.

"Among them, Ms. Molly highly praised our branch because the pest control mission she posted was completed with extremely high efficiency," the receptionist said with a sweet smile. "And she is demanding 30 gold coins in compensation."

Mo Tan chuckled dryly. "Um, why demand compensation if the completion rate was so high..."

"Ask your dog," the receptionist continued to smile.

Mo Tan turned his gaze toward Ya Ya.

"Umm... Woof!" Ya Ya hugged her knees, her tail tracing circles in the air, mumbling incoherently, "So many woofs... bugs! Scared... a big woof!"

"Scared a big woof," indeed.

Mo Tan's comprehension skills were decent; he immediately deciphered the meaning behind Ya Ya's words. The quest was to exterminate pests. After he led her to the destination, she saw many bugs and got scared, resulting in a 'big woof.'

"That's right," the receptionist spread her hands. "And so, having been startled, she somehow proceeded with extreme efficiency to slaughter—yes, that is exactly what I mean—to slaughter every single bug, plant, and flower in Ms. Molly's yard, and then she dismantled half of the house."

Mo Tan looked at Ya Ya with a horrified expression.

"Woof... gu..." The dog-girl's tail, still tracing circles, was moving so fast it was a blur.

"Alright," Mo Tan let out a long sigh, looked up, and asked, "And then?"

People had said there were two complaints, so this definitely wasn't over yet...

"Then she dashed over to No. 11 Aromatherapy Avenue, which is the Gulo couple's residence," the receptionist said calmly. "It seems she was looking for you, but you weren't there, so she..."

[No! Don't say it! I don't want to hear it!]

Mo Tan wanted to scream that out loud, but out of the inexplicable guilt in his heart, he listened obediently.

"So, she helped you 'finish' quest 10308, which was 'weeding' for the Gulo couple," the receptionist shrugged. "She completely plowed their yard flat, including twenty percent weeds and eighty percent rare magical plants. By the way, she also seemed intent on tearing down the Gulo couple's house, but failed because their front steps suddenly exploded. She was then captured by those two gnomes, interrogated, and brought directly to the branch!"

A nearby human axe-warrior, his legs shaking like leaves, muttered, "Those two gnomes are absolutely insane. They nearly blew up our branch!"

"Sigh, look on the bright side," a tall dark elf rogue rolled her eyes. "If people like that didn't become botanists but instead became adventurers, would we even have a job left?"

An orc shaman nearby jumped up, shocked. "So they were botanists! I thought both of them were into battlefield engineering!"

"Anyway, that's about it," the receptionist glared at Mo Tan, her forehead pulsing with veins. "The Gulo couple came here and made a huge scene, demanding an explanation and three thousand gold coins in damages. Of course, the actual loss isn't as much as those two money-grubbing gnomes claimed, but it's at least one-tenth. And then..."

She glanced at the shivering Ya Ya in the cage and spread her hands. "She has no money."

"Woo-woof..."

Mo Tan suddenly felt a sense of self-loathing, realizing that for a moment, he had actually hoped he would get kicked offline...

As expected...

"So, combining the large amount of information provided by eyewitnesses near Yangzhao Avenue and the adventurers who saw the two of you at the branch entrance," the receptionist handed a piece of paper to Mo Tan, "and factoring in the fact that this demi-human girl completed the quest for you, please, as her presumed owner, pay a total of 340 gold coins in damages and 90 copper coins for food—this girl really does have a healthy appetite."

Mo Tan's vision went dark... Failure. He couldn't faint in the game...

"I..." Mo Tan sighed. "I don't have that much money."

"You have three days to pay it off," the receptionist shrugged. "The Adventurers' Guild still carries some weight. Of course, you can also distance yourself from this matter, as it was this girl who went crazy at the time."

At this point, the onlookers had released Mo Tan and pulled him up from the floor.

Ya Ya let out a confused whimper from the cage.

"But she will be stripped of her adventurer status and blacklisted by most neutral organizations on the continent," the receptionist said, reaching into the cage to pat Ya Ya's head with a bitter smile. "Life will be very difficult for her from now on..."

"Woof?"

"Be good, I'll give you a big bone to chew on later."

"Woof!"

Mo Tan was speechless for two seconds, then nodded decisively. "I understand. I will find a way within these three days. If I still can't scrape together the full amount, I am willing to accept all consequences on her behalf."

The math was simple. He was a player, after all. Even if this led to some very unfortunate consequences, it was far better than Ya Ya, an NPC, losing her footing in this world.

One had to realize that institutions like the Adventurers' Guild, Mercenary Guild, Thieves' Guild, and Mages' Guild were all 'neutral organizations.' Once one was on that so-called 'blacklist,' the consequences for a native of the Wuzui Continent were obvious.

Therefore, Mo Tan took the responsibility upon himself without a hint of hesitation.

At the same time...

[You have triggered an event quest: Repaying Debt. Reward: 500 Optional Experience Points, one random Fine-grade piece of equipment. Failure Penalty: Reputation -5000 with all neutral organizations except Tianzhu Mountain.]

Mo Tan didn't need to look to know that the quest was to pay off Ya Ya's debt of 340 gold and 90 copper within three days.

Although he felt the failure penalty was already set in stone, he couldn't say this had nothing to do with him. Mo Tan was quite open-minded, simultaneously calculating in his heart whether there was any way to obtain such a massive sum through legitimate means.

By the way, did this world have anything like a lottery...

"Alright, that's settled." The receptionist's gaze toward Mo Tan softened significantly. She tapped the iron cage beside her twice, and the iron bars in front of Ya Ya vanished instantly.

"Woof!" The girl slipped out and ran quickly behind Mo Tan, whispering, "Woof... sorry, I caused you... trouble..."

Hmm, very cute.

The single men watching nearby were staring wide-eyed.

"Pay at the branch within three days," the receptionist instructed Mo Tan, then lowered her voice. "I've set aside a few quests for you. Although the time is tight, it's not impossible if you push yourself. The rewards are pretty good."

Mo Tan could only smile bitterly and nod in thanks, but he couldn't feel happy at all...

He knew that Dave hadn't received his due judgment yet. When the time came, he would inevitably have to switch accounts to deal with that, and wanting to have the best of both worlds was harder than climbing to the heavens.

But he had no choice. Since they were giving him three days, that was already generous enough. He couldn't abandon Ya Ya, and he couldn't let Dave go unpunished, so...

"I'll do my best," Mo Tan smiled wryly. "I'll pay as much as I can."

However...

"No need," a sharp voice rang out from the entrance of the first-floor lobby. "We will pay these gold coins."

[You have completed the quest: Repaying Debt. Gained 500 Optional Experience Points. Gained equipment: White Lion Round Shield.]

Huh!?

Mo Tan was shocked!

Not just him, but the receptionist and the onlookers were all stunned as well.

The crowd parted slightly as three Forest Elves, looking like green stick figures, walked over. The one in the lead walked directly to Mo Tan and nodded. "We never got the chance to thank you in person, and we didn't know how to repay you for saving our caravan. Let us pay this money."

It was the Forest Elf caravan!

Mo Tan realized immediately, but he waved his hand, saying, "I couldn't possibly accept that."

He wasn't just being polite; he genuinely felt he hadn't done anything that remarkable and felt bad about letting them pay such a 'huge sum.'

"It's alright," the Forest Elf, who had a long beard that looked like leeks, smiled. "It was just a small effort."

After saying this, he took a vibrant green fruit from his companion and handed it to the receptionist, who was still busy being stunned. He said softly, "Should this Bilon fruit be enough to settle our friend's debt?"

The tone was as calm as it was wealthy...

Although he couldn't see the item description, his intuition told Mo Tan that this thing was definitely worth a fortune.

"Enough, more than enough." The receptionist's hand moved with a blur, and the fruit, which was emitting a refreshing fragrance, disappeared into her pocket. She then smiled sheepishly, "But we don't have change!"

Yeah, she had taken the goods, and now there was no change, so she was leaving it to them to decide what to do...

The Forest Elf shook his head dismissively. "No matter. Could you please arrange a quiet room for us? We have some things we'd like to discuss with this friend before we leave."

"The VVVIP room No. 7 on the third floor is currently vacant," the receptionist said with the sweetest smile imaginable. "It is available for our... honorable guests to use at any time~"

If Mo Tan wasn't in such a good mood, he definitely would have started complaining!

"Woof..." Ya Ya pulled on Mo Tan's sleeve, looking a bit scared, and muttered, "Woof wants to... follow..."

Mo Tan paused, then turned... and looked down at the Forest Elf who appeared to have high status.

"No matter," the other party nodded. "With her level of linguistic ability, the possibility of leaks is essentially zero."

Ya Ya: "Woof?"

Mo Tan: "..."

Two minutes later, in the VVVIP room No. 7 on the third floor of the Anka Bazaar Adventurers' Guild.

"Please allow me to introduce myself," the Forest Elf said as soon as he sat down (or rather, jumped onto the chair), bowing slightly to Mo Tan. "My name is Broken-Branch Xuan Yuan, one of the elders of my clan, and the leader of this caravan."

*Broken-Branch Xuan Yuan...*

Mo Tan certainly wouldn't comment on that at a time like this; he simply returned the bow politely (following suit was never wrong). "My name is Mo. Thank you for your generous help."

He didn't say any unnecessary nonsense. Since they insisted on helping, being coy would be pointless.

"Actually, it's like this," Elder Broken-Branch didn't beat around the bush and went straight to the point. "I have a request..."

Chapter 36: End