Hearing Notch's statement, although Stephen didn't quite understand what he meant by habits and rules and such,
That final sentence, ("If we keep ignoring a problem just because it's hard, we'll never find a solution, right?"), Stephen still felt made a lot of sense.
Now, the animals Stephen represented were indeed facing something very difficult. Their situation in this world was extremely tough.
From the moment Stephen chose to join the Biological Association, he had already been trying, in his own way, to solve the difficult problems they were facing.
And Stephen's participation in the Trial Grounds was also an attempt to find a solution to these problems. So he really agreed with what Notch said.
Thinking of this, Stephen nodded and said, "I agree with your view…"
As he said this, Stephen thought for a moment, then asked Notch, "Then what's your plan next?"
On the surface, this question was asked to Notch, but in truth, Stephen was also asking himself.
After entering the Trial Grounds, he had actually been quite lost. Although Stephen's mission was to survive, he wasn't the kind of personality that sought stability.
He wanted to do something, something that could help the animal faction, something that could influence the situation.
So he didn't want to just look for companions and stay in one place to develop.
It was only after meeting Notch that Stephen had a small goal, kill Notch, a major general of the player faction.
But clearly, his conversation with Notch had made Stephen give up on that goal. Which also left him unsure of what to do next.
Hearing Stephen's words, Notch smiled and said, "Actually, at first I didn't have any plans either… It was only after meeting you that I had a goal."
Hearing Notch's words, Stephen couldn't help tilting his head.
"Me?"
Notch nodded and explained, "Yeah. After meeting you, I instinctively thought of the wandering merchant…"
"Since there are no wandering merchants here, then why don't I take on that role? Understand the beings of each region, spread the supplies and information of each region… Do my best to influence more people."
Stephen was a llama. Basically, seeing a llama would instinctively remind people of leashed wandering, uh no, wandering merchants.
Notch wanted to be an observer, so naturally he had to travel between different regions.
The role of wandering merchant really matched Notch's goal.
And Notch had also learned some of the rules of the Trial Grounds. For contestants in the Trial Grounds to survive, they would surely need quite a lot of supplies from other regions.
Since Notch wanted to travel around the regions, then he could completely act as the wandering merchant of the Trial Grounds, to provide supplies for the beings of each region.
And this identity was completely neutral, and wouldn't cause disgust. It would also be easier to convey his own ideas.
Hearing Notch's plan, Stephen was also a bit surprised.
'He really is strong…'
He didn't expect Notch to take on such a role in the trial.
If Notch were just an ordinary player, Stephen would definitely try to persuade him not to do this.
Stephen, being a llama, had quite a deep understanding of wandering merchants. Many of Stephen's companions, while doing business with wandering merchants, had suffered greatly at the hands of players.
In the mouths of players, wandering merchants had once become "leashed wanderers."
To the players, it was just a witty nickname. But to llamas and wandering merchants, that nickname was built upon life after life.
So in Stephen's eyes, wandering merchants were undoubtedly a high-risk profession.
And yet Notch wanted to be a wandering merchant in the Trial Grounds, a place filled with experts. Judging from his 95% pass rate, his strength must be extremely strong.
It had to be said, Stephen's ability to imagine was indeed powerful. At this moment, he had already imagined the scene of Notch traveling through the regions, being lifted high and respected by all the beings there.
'If it's like this… Then maybe I can try traveling with him!' Stephen had this idea based on three considerations.
First, Stephen himself didn't have any particular plan, and he didn't want to stay in one place. Notch's idea of traveling all regions didn't conflict with Stephen at all.
Second, Stephen felt Notch was a strong person. By following a strong person, he could also go farther.
Most importantly, even with such strong power, Notch had not attacked Stephen even after being attacked first, and had even shared food with Stephen. That alone was enough to prove his attitude toward animals.
And finally, the most crucial point, Notch's attitude was to try to solve the current difficult problems.
If it were only Notch alone, even if he did reach other animals, not all of them would be like Stephen, willing to listen to Notch's thoughts.
Some of those animals might just attack Notch, like Stephen did at first. If Notch were pushed into a corner by then, he would most likely fight back against those animals.
If things developed that way, it would undoubtedly harm the interests of the animal faction.
Stephen wanted to follow Notch exactly to try and prevent such a situation from happening.
After thinking it through and weighing the pros and cons, Stephen finally made up his mind. He looked at Notch, a little awkwardly, and said, "Umm… Can I go with you?"
"Since you want to be a wandering merchant… a wandering merchant must have a llama by their side."
"With me, you can also carry more supplies. And also…"
Stephen was afraid Notch would reject him, so he kept emphasizing his usefulness.
But unexpectedly, Notch didn't even let him finish and nodded without hesitation, "Of course you can!!"
Notch hadn't expected Stephen would take the initiative to ask to join him. He was, of course, a thousand times willing to have Stephen join.
Notch knew very well his own strength and abilities. Wanting to be a wandering merchant was not easy. He wasn't a combat-type player, and this journey would surely bring a lot of trouble.
Notch had just witnessed Stephen's spit machine gun. Stephen's combat strength needed no more explanation.
If Stephen joined, Notch's journey would become much smoother. And just as Stephen himself said, Stephen could carry chests. That way, Notch could carry more goods.
He could provide both combat power and inventory space, this was truly one llama with two uses.
Basically, with just three pumpkins, Notch had gotten a bodyguard and two mobile storage boxes. Rounded off, it was basically free.
Of course Notch was more than willing.
Seeing how readily Notch agreed, Stephen also let out a long sigh of relief. "Then… where are we going next?"
Hearing Stephen's question, Notch looked Stephen up and down, then touched his chin and said, "Let's go mine first! Make an iron bucket!"
Hearing this, Stephen couldn't help but be confused. "Why do you want an iron bucket?…"
He saw Notch point to Stephen's neck and say, "Iron buckets can hold water. Water is our battle strength reserve!"
Now that he had a bodyguard, he naturally had to equip him first. Although Notch didn't want to cause conflict with any faction, there would definitely be unavoidable clashes in the future.
If Stephen choked on phlegm at a key moment, Notch's strength wouldn't be enough to turn the tide.
Hearing Notch's words, Stephen quickly understood. Notch probably wanted to fix his phlegm problem. But he didn't quite understand. With Notch's strength, even if Stephen messed up, shouldn't be a big issue.
Although he didn't fully get it, Stephen quickly convinced himself.
'He must want to be completely prepared… Is this how the strong think?!'
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