Chapter 545 - Bakumatsu Kyoto (1/2)

Chapter 545 Bak.u.matsu Kyoto

Zhang Heng and Scarlet agreed to meet at the checkpoint where both their ident.i.ties would be revealed. It was a safe zone, so neither had to worry about being ambushed.

Zhang Heng used his Oath Ring to authenticate Scarlet’s words, then exchanged the upper part of the Mikazuki Munechika for Scarlet’s scabbard.

Scarlet checked the hilt she received to confirm that it was genuine before slipping it into its satchel. She then instructed Zhang Heng on how to use the scabbard. “Cut the flesh of your palm and let your blood drip onto it, about two milliliters. After three minutes, you will find yourself in the special quest.”

The transaction was complete, at this point, and eager to reforge her Mikazuki Munechika, Scarlet didn’t linger around the checkpoint, leaving hastily after a handshake with Zhang Heng.

Both enemies in the Whistleblower quest, Scarlet attacked Zhang Heng on the Dodge Tomahawk, and Zhang Heng almost killed Scarlet in the subsequent fight. But their few meetings outside the game had been pretty pleasant. Scarlet even said that if given another opportunity, she would work with him again.

After Scarlet left, Zhang Heng checked his watch. It was forty minutes to midnight, and since he wasn’t in a hurry, he ordered a drink and asked the bartender for a knife. Five minutes to midnight, he cut his left palm and let some blood drip into the scabbard.

When the blood looked to be enough, Zhang Heng wrapped the cut on his hand with some gauze.

Two minutes later, that familiar dizziness struck, and he could hear the system prompts in his ear.

[Verifying player’s ident.i.ty]

Verification complete. Player 07958 has the scabbard in possession. Connecting player to the quest…] [Extraction completed—Your quest is Bak.u.matsu Kyoto (Special Edition)]

“The Battle of Sekigahara in 1600 paved the way for the Edo period. The Tokugawa clan ruled the country and inst.i.tuted a policy isolating the country for more than two hundred years. At the end of the Shogunate, finances were tight, exploitation was risingcommoners could no longer stand the oppression, and riots became rampant. During the Black s.h.i.+p incident, an East India Company’s wars.h.i.+p had broken through the country’s gates with artillery, forcing the Shogunate to sign a series of unfair treaties, forfeiting their sovereignty and humiliating the country. This infuriated the locals. With internal and external troubles on the rise, the philosophy “Revere the Emperor, expel the barbarians” became the slogan that kickstarted the movement to overthrow the Tokugawa shogunate. The rebellion was led by Satsuma and Choshu provinces, where a secret meeting took place in Kyoto-leaders conspired to launch a coup against Tokugawa Yos.h.i.+n.o.bu, leaving the country in a precarious state…

This game will not be included in your stats, and you will be unable to reenter the quest once you exit.”

[Mission Objective: Find the sword]