"All the news is about the system and the disappearance of the countdown. The week's deadline is about to end. Do you think the system will start the countdown once more?"
Lilianna asked as she shifted through the news channels.
About 70% of the people had come back from the fourth game already, and more returned every hour, adding to that number. However, the countdown for the next game had not started, which worried a lot of people.
"Don't worry. The countdown will come back once this game round concludes…which should be any hour now."
Andrew assured her as he continued to work in the field. He had used the week to train with Lilianna by tilling the field and planting crops.
Even though they had not been able to find a farmer yet, he still wanted to keep things ready once they did.
Lilianna did not say much as she worked harder on her side of the field. Her stamina had improved a lot compared to when Andrew first met her, but she still tired quickly.
After working for half an hour more, Lilianna finally let out a frustrated sigh.
"Ugh, I cannot take it anymore. I am bored and tired…but mostly bored. Can we please take a trip to the city or something?"
She begged Andrew, and Andrew finally relented.
"Fine. Let's take a small walk. It will also be a good idea to have a look around and see how other humans are doing."
Lilianna did not even wait for Andrew to finish speaking before she ran past him and headed toward the door to wash her face.
Sigh
"So she still has so much stamina left? I wish Lilianna showed the same enthusiasm during training as she does toward going shopping."
Andrew followed her inside, and after a quick shower, they headed into the city.
Unlike a few days ago, the city was actually filled with people this time, and they were loud. Protests were taking place, and many shops had already fallen victim to this protest.
The government had deployed the army to take care of the protesters, but with both sides being players and having opened professions, the fight was getting worse.
"Was this what you came down here to see?"
Andrew asked Lilianna, and she immediately defended herself, and Andrew only laughed before he walked in front of her.
"Hey, I did not know things were this bad. I just wanted to walk around a little and…feel normal."
Lilianna's voice got low as she looked around. She was a little lost in thought, so she did not notice that a group of tense and raging people were running toward her.
By the time she noticed, it was too late for her to get out.
Luckily for her, someone grabbed her arm and pulled her to safety. Andrew noticed her as well and immediately headed her way. He looked at the buff woman who had pulled Lilianna out of the way, and the woman let Lilianna go.
"Sorry for grabbing you like that. I did not want you to get stomped by the protesters. You don't look like protesters yourselves. Did you come here to buy something?"
The buff female asked calmly. She did not seem to be a part of the protests, and Andrew immediately looked at her profile.
[Player Name: Clara Shane (level 13)
Title: Owner of the Green Thumb
Skills: Plant Whisperer
Profession: Farmgirl
Strength: 14
Speed: 2
Intellect: 4
Luck: 2]
The buff female somehow had worse stats than Lilianna. They were horribly imbalanced, and usually he would not have paid any attention to them.
But this time, things were a little different. And it was because of that profession.
'Farmgirl? I have never seen a profession like this. But all her skills look plant-related. And she is also cautious and polite. She might be the person I was looking for.'
Andrew was looking at Clara with a new light in his eyes, and his attention made Clara take a step back.
"Ehm, as you can see, it is chaos everywhere, and if you are here to buy stuff, I am afraid you might not be able to do that today. You should head back home…"
"Before that, I would like to ask you one question—do you know how to farm and grow things? Woah—! Don't look too alarmed. I am just asking because I want to hire you to work for me."
Andrew immediately tried to soften the situation, but Clara looked even more alarmed. So he finally decided to introduce himself to her.
"Since you are still suspicious of me, then allow me to introduce myself to you first. My name is Mark Dawson, but you can call me Andrew. And I assure you that I am not trying to trick you. I truly want to hire you."
Andrew looked the female straight in the eyes, and Clara looked a little taken aback.
She recognized that name…anyone would recognize that name. After all, that name had dominated the top ranking of their new world ever since the games started.
But the person in front of her looked nothing like the top-ranker she imagined. However, something about him did look familiar…
"Give me a minute. I need to check something…"
Clara opened her phone and typed in the name, and sure enough—the name and the person in front of her matched.
It made her relax a little bit, but she did not let her guard down completely.
"Now that we have established that I am not a fraud. However, if you are still not sure, why not come with me and check for yourself why I am asking for your help."
Clara looked a little troubled by the offer, but that was mainly because she could not figure out why someone at the top like Mark Dawson would need an average player like her.
Still, being with someone on top would only benefit her and help her survive in the future. And it was not like she had anyone else left she needed to be with.
"Alright, I will follow you along for now. I would like to see as well what you can offer me and why you need me."