Gamers Are Fierce-Chapter 591 - 589 Noble

"It’s a pity. If Tyson were here," Li Ang said in a grave voice, "with his vast experience of being compared to animals in nature through virtual combat, he would definitely be able to take down those three fierce beasts with his bare hands."

"This is not the time to joke around!" Black Trojan whispered fiercely, "Damn it, this shouldn’t be happening. Ordinary people surrounded by three hungry beasts are almost certainly facing a death sentence. Is it possible that the System has hidden some equipment in the forest, and we must find the items before we can proceed with the game...?"

"No, it’s not like that." Forest Cat seemed to have an epiphany, her eyes lighting up. "Leopard, lion, she-wolf! I get it now! It’s ’Divine Tune’!"

Black Trojan was stunned for a moment. "What?"

"The long poem ’Divine Tune’ by Italian poet Dante Alighieri!" Forest Cat said excitedly, "’When I had journeyed half of our life’s way, I found myself within a shadowed forest, for I had lost the path that does not stray. Almost at the hill’s summit, a leopard light and swift exceedingly sprang out...’" 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"In the poem ’Divine Tune,’ Dante strays into a forest that symbolizes sin and is blocked by three fierce animals: the leopard representing pleasure, the lion representing ambition, and the she-wolf representing greed."

As a programmer, Black Trojan had only heard of ’Divine Tune’ and never actually read it. Thankfully, his mechanical eye contained vast amounts of data, and with a thought, he extracted related information about ’Divine Tune.’

This long poem was written between 1307 and 1321. The poet Dante imagines himself as a living person traveling through the Underworld, conversing with various famous figures in Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven. He uses this journey to denounce the rule of The Church, condemn obscurantism, and express the pursuit of truth.

"If this is indeed about ’Divine Tune,’ then these three beasts aren’t meant to be fought..." Witch’s eyes lit up as she said, "In the poem, the one who rescues Dante from this encirclement is none other than his idol, the ancient Roman poet Publius Vergilius Maro. Next, the one commonly called Virgil should appear on the desolate mountainous terrain."

As a cultured Information Broker, Mule had also read ’Divine Tune’ and subconsciously scanned his surroundings.

In the poem, Virgil stands on desolate ground. Dante sees him, asks if he is a man or a Ghost, and pleads for his help. Virgil then reveals his identity. As a predecessor in poetry, he accepts Dante’s admiration and offers to guide Dante away from this place to tour the Underworld.

So? Mule gripped his stick tightly, watching the three beasts draw near with growing anxiety. The mission log wasn’t updating, and the ancient Roman poet Virgil, who was supposed to save the day, was nowhere to be seen...

"Motherfucker!" The classic English expletive, delivered with a distinct African American accent, rang out from the left rear of the ridge. Everyone turned their heads at once. They saw a middle-aged, bald Black man dressed in a garish wine-red suit, wearing a top hat, and using a cane. He was cursing loudly in English as he strode up the ridge. "Fuck you, you fucking fucker! Get the fuck out of my way!"

The bald Black man swung his cane and cursed profusely at the three wild beasts. Within just a minute, he had used the F-word at least a dozen times.

Something unbelievable happened. The three ravenous, ferocious beasts, upon seeing the maroon-suited Black man, actually lowered their heads, tucked their tails, whimpered softly, and dispersed in defeat, quickly vanishing over the ridge.

"Motherfucker." The bald Black man muttered another curse under his breath and approached Mule. He instantly switched from looking menacing to all smiles. With his left hand on his cane and his right hand outstretched, he shook hands warmly with the stunned Mule. "You must be Attorney Kevin Romas, right? I’ve heard so much about you, so much indeed!"

Mule swallowed and asked uncertainly, "Mr. Samuel Jackson?"

Indeed, this bald Black man bore some resemblance to the American actor Samuel Jackson. He starred in classics like "Pulp Fiction," "Face/Off," "Die Hard," and "Kill Bill," and his catchphrase was the American curse "motherfucker."

He cursed so well, with such a distinctive intonation, that he was probably the only actor who could say "motherfucker" repeatedly without becoming annoying. This is why some audiences jokingly referred to him as the "Motherfucker Hero."

(The "Star Wars Prequel" trilogy may be one of the few film series where Samuel Jackson didn’t use the word "motherfucker.")

"HO HO~" The bald Black man gestured amiably with an "aha, you actually figured it out" expression. "Heh, you’re not the first person to mistake me for that Mr. Jackson from the real world. Even though I do look a lot like him, I am actually much older than him—I died long ago. Maybe one day, I could take a day off to find him and exchange some cursing tips."

Mule’s eyelids twitched. "Dead?"

"Yes," the bald Black man nodded. "This is where the living shall not pass, the boundary between the Underworld and the Mortal Realm, the entrance to the Underworld. And I am the Messenger sent to guide you through the Underworld. You may call me Ferry."

Almost the moment the Black man finished his last word, Mule’s task log updated:

[Phase One Task: Climb to the ridge - Completed]

[Phase Two Task: Follow the Messenger of the Underworld and journey through the hells of the Underworld]

Mule very much wanted to inform his companions of the change in the task objective, but this Messenger of the Underworld, with his unclear background, made it difficult for him to speak up.

"Are you wondering why the one to guide you isn’t the ancient Roman poet Publius Vergilius Maro?" Ferry seemed to catch the subtle expression on Mule’s face and explained with a smile, leaning on his cane, "In fact, the ’Divine Tune’ written by the Italian poet Dante was not a figment of his imagination, but an actual event.

"He truly entered the Underworld in a dream and toured Hell led by Virgil, only to wake up and mistake it for a mere dream.

"This was the rule in the Underworld before: some of the dead, those without any value or not worth mentioning, would be automatically cast into the Underworld to be punished according to the degree of their sins. Only those esteemed individuals with outstanding contributions to the world would receive the guidance of a Messenger of the Underworld, allowing them to travel through Hell safely."