A few minutes later, Li Wei saw the Uber he had called turn the corner from a distance and slowly pull up in front of him and Don Quixote.
The window rolled down an inch or two, and through the gap, Li Wei could see the Black driver's cautious eyes.
His gaze was mostly fixed on the fully armored Don Quixote standing beside Li Wei.
"Alright, name for the ride?" the driver asked. "And is your friend drunk?"
"Li Wei, that's me," Li Wei said. "My friend... he's a method actor, preparing for a play."
The driver looked Li Wei and Don Quixote up and down. Seeing that they didn't appear to be carrying any weapons, he unlocked the back doors.
"Look, I'm not interested in your strange hobbies. Just get in," he said. "Not the front seat—no one rides shotgun at night."
Li Wei thanked him, quickly pulling open a rear door for Don Quixote before getting in on the other side.
Once inside, Li Wei noticed a sticker with black text on a yellow background. It announced that audio and video recording was in progress, presumably to ensure the driver's safety.
The moment he was settled, Don Quixote voiced his dissatisfaction.
"Attendant!" he bellowed. "Why is this carriage so cramped!"
"A larger carriage would attract unwanted attention," Li Wei quickly explained. "Everyone travels in smaller carriages these days."
The truth was, he couldn't bring himself to spend 180 USD on an Uber Black and had chosen the cheapest economy option instead.
Don Quixote only quieted down after grumbling for a while, muttering that "after we expel the Witch, I will have the Duke reward me with a grand carriage."
Once Don Quixote was finally placated, Li Wei offered a belated explanation to the driver. "Like I said, he's a method actor. Please bear with him."
The driver said nothing, just drove on in silence.
A few seconds later, a voice alert from a fellow driver suddenly came through on his WhatsApp group chat.
"Police chase just started over in Brownsville. One of the roads is blocked off. Advise you reroute."
The driver switched to the Uber map to take a look, then spoke to Li Wei, his eyes meeting his in the rearview mirror.
"There's a police chase on the street next to your destination," he said. "If it's not urgent, I'd suggest you don't go over there tonight."
"Lord Knight," Li Wei immediately turned and said to Don Quixote, "the coachman says there is danger nearby."
The driver gave Li Wei a silent look but said nothing.
"What is there to fear!" Don Quixote was, of course, completely unafraid. "A Knight fears no danger!"
"Is it really that dangerous?" Li Wei asked the driver. "What if we really need to get something important?"
"Then you might as well go," the driver said after studying the map. "It's not like it's much safer during the day. The cops hate coming to this shithole."
He thought for a moment, then shrugged. "If you've got urgent business, it might actually be safer to go now. At least when people around here hear sirens, they tend to be a little more cautious."
'That actually makes sense,' Li Wei thought. In a place the police usually avoided, a sudden large police presence blocking off the roads would probably scare the local drug dealers and gangsters out of their wits. They'd be scrambling to hide.
With that thought in mind, he let the driver take a detour and drop them off at the entrance to a construction site.
"Lord Knight," Li Wei said, looking at the dazed Don Quixote, "it's time to go slay the dragon."
"Follow me, Attendant," said Don Quixote. "This Knight can already smell the foul stench of the Earth Dragon! It must be near!"
With practiced ease, he led Li Wei through a remote thicket of bushes. Judging by the cigarette butts scattered all over the ground, Don Quixote and his coworkers must have used this path often to sneak out for smoke breaks.
Once they were through, the nighttime construction site gave off an indescribable feeling of deep gloom and fear.
Aside from the sirens on the next street over, the only sounds were the footsteps of Li Wei and Don Quixote, and the clanking of his armor.
"Just as I suspected!" Don Quixote suddenly roared. "It's right here!"
Li Wei turned his head and saw Don Quixote charging toward—a parked excavator?!
Don Quixote rushed up to its treads and began punching and kicking the excavator. He even tried to rip the treads off with his bare hands, nearly losing his balance and falling over.
Luckily, his full suit of armor prevented him from getting hurt. After landing a few blows and seeing that the Earth Dragon before him wouldn't budge an inch, he turned and shouted to Li Wei.
"Attendant! Come, join this Knight and help vanquish the Earth Dragon!"
Just then, a quest notification popped up in Li Wei's vision. The reward alone made him think, 'This adventure is definitely worth it!'
[Quest Received: Slay the Dragon]
[The Earth Dragon that dwells deep in the forest is an evil accomplice of the Witch. Its defenses are so strong that even the great Knight Don Quixote struggles to breach them. For over 100 years, countless Dragon Slayers and Knights have fallen to its claws. Be extremely careful. Its destructive power is far beyond your imagination.]
[Quest Reward: Strength, Agility, Constitution +0.1]
[Hidden Reward: Gain Skill [Berserk] after bathing in Dragon Blood.]
'A full 0.3 stat points at once! And a skill!'
Li Wei immediately cast all his reservations aside, gritted his teeth, and shouted, "I'm coming to help!" as he charged forward.
He scrambled onto the treads in a few quick movements. Spotting a set of construction guidelines on the driver's seat in the cab, he was struck by an idea. He turned and shouted back to Don Quixote.
"Lord Knight, I see it!" he said. "Is the map inside the Earth Dragon's mouth?"
Don Quixote was overjoyed. "Precisely!" he boomed.
Li Wei nodded, pulled open the cab door, and stepped inside, completing the grand feat of slaying the dragon in an instant.
'But how do I complete the task of bathing in Dragon Blood?'
He looked around and, to the right of the seat, found a half-empty bottle of mineral water.
He unscrewed the cap and sniffed it cautiously. After confirming it was just plain mineral water, he poured a little onto his hands and rubbed them together.
Jumping down from the treads, Li Wei said to Don Quixote, "Lord Knight, is this the map you were talking about?"
As he spoke, he handed over the construction manual.
Don Quixote closed his eyes and "examined" it for a moment, then became ecstatic. "Yes! This is the map! And you've done a wonderful job, Attendant! Slaying a dragon is a remarkable achievement, you know!"
Li Wei glanced at the cab door he had just closed and said nothing.
"Lord Knight, would you care to bathe in the Dragon Blood?" Li Wei asked, holding out the water bottle. "It is said that Dragon Blood can strengthen the body."
Don Quixote naturally agreed, but he reverently instructed Li Wei to pour the mineral water over his head.
As he poured the water over Don Quixote's head, more notifications sounded in Li Wei's mind.
[Quest Complete: Slay the Dragon]
[Reward Received: Strength, Agility, Constitution +0.1]
[Hidden Objective Complete: Bathed in Dragon Blood. Skill [Berserk] Acquired.]
Unlike the gradual increases he'd experienced before, an immense power suddenly flooded Li Wei's body.
[Strength 1.1] -> [Strength 1.2]
[Constitution 1.0] -> [Constitution 1.1]
[Agility 1.0] -> [Agility 1.1]
[Knight's Path Stage Two quest complete. 2 attributes have reached 1.2. Reward: +7 Gold Coins!]