"Hello, I'm Hannah Dundee, and this is Jack Tenrec. We're from the Nature Protection Society, investigating the recent dinosaur rampages. What's your name, sir?"
Sitting under the familiar bridge, Qin Ming found himself face-to-face with the two who had attacked him earlier.
Qin Ming wore a sullen expression, his face devoid of emotion.
Meanwhile, Jack sat across from him with a scowl, refusing to even look at Qin Ming, clearly still angry about the kiss.
Only Hannah, the beautiful Western woman, seemed unbothered, her warm smile and diplomatic tone showing the skills of someone who had been in delicate negotiations for years.
Hearing her soft tone, Qin Ming's eyes flickered as he glanced at both of them.
Hannah? Jack? Aren't they characters from Cadillacs and Dinosaurs? One of the four playable characters, right?
So, this scantily clad Western beauty in front of me must be the "flower" of the group, a favorite of sleazy old men.
And Jack? Pfft! No wonder he looks so miserable—he's the least popular character, the one no one ever picks!
So this is the protagonist, huh? Protagonist, my ass!
Qin Ming, always petty, wasn't one to let things slide.
With a grin plastered back on his face, he shook Hannah's hand and introduced himself.
"Hello, Redhead! I'm Qin Ming, from the East. By the way, where's the yellow-hat guy, the one who's the best fighter in your group?"
"Oh, I mean your teammate! The one with the yellow hat, Mu... Mu-something..."
"Yeah! The guy with the super long legs!"
Seeing Qin Ming nod vigorously, Hannah's expression turned a bit strange.
Before she could respond, Jack, still glaring, suddenly snapped, "How do you know so much about us? Are you working for the poachers?!"
Hearing this, Qin Ming's smile instantly vanished, and he shot Jack a glare.
"Mind your own business! Yeah, I'm with the poachers—here to steal your girlfriend!"
"Yeah, come on then, you wanna die?!"
With a loud click, the two were once again locked in a standoff.
Qin Ming pulled out his revolver, ready to fire, while Jack, already standing, prepared to fight.
Luckily, Hannah intervened, quickly grabbing Qin Ming's revolver and shooting Jack a fierce glare to stop him from escalating the situation.
As Jack sulked and turned away, Hannah sighed in frustration, mentally cursing herself for bringing him along. Then she smiled at Qin Ming.
"Qin Ming, you seem to know a lot about us?"
Qin Ming didn't deny it and nodded.
"Yeah, I have a grudge against the poachers. I heard you're fighting them too, and since you've got quite a reputation, I looked into you."
"Oh, I see. We saw you charging into the building earlier. You gave us quite a scare."
"I scared myself! How was I supposed to know there'd be so many people inside?!"
Recalling the scene, Qin Ming couldn't help but mutter in frustration.
Hearing this, Hannah looked a little embarrassed.
Why had there been so many people inside? Simple—the poachers had gathered their forces when they heard that she and Jack were coming. In a way, Qin Ming had been caught in their trap.
After a moment's pause, Hannah asked softly, "Qin Ming, how deep is your grudge with the poachers?"
Qin Ming furrowed his brow, thought for a moment, and then suddenly brightened. He gestured around him.
"Look! This is where I live! As you can see from this natural bridge, I'm a pure naturalist. I believe in living in harmony with nature and using resources wisely. So of course I hate those poachers who hunt dinosaurs and ruin the environment! So, yeah, I've got a big grudge against them!"
Hannah stared at Qin Ming, her expression growing more confused.
Seeing her doubt, Qin Ming's heart sank.
Crap, I overdid it. She doesn't believe me.
Better switch to a more straightforward excuse!
Pulling at his collar, Qin Ming added,
"And also, they blew up the bar I run yesterday."
At this, Hannah, who had heard about the explosion, beamed and shook Qin Ming's hand.
"Qin Ming, welcome to the Nature Protection Society!"
As Hannah finished speaking, a piercing voice from the Nightmare Space suddenly echoed in Qin Ming's mind.
[Ding! Adventurer Qin Ming has joined the protagonist faction. Faction rewards are now active! Title tasks are now available!]
[Title Task 1: Walking with Dinosaurs (Raise your reputation with all members of the four-person protagonist faction to Friendly or higher.)]
[Reward: White Title - Friend of Dinosaurs (Constitution +10)]
[Title Task 2: Nature's Protector (Kill 100 poacher gang members, current progress: 0/100)]
[Reward: White Title - Nature's Guardian (Strength +10)]
[Title Task 3: Bond with the Group (Reach Romantic level with one of the four protagonists.)]
[Reward: Green Title - Homewrecker (All Attributes +5)]
[Title Task 4: I'm the Real Protagonist (Solo kill the Act 1 Boss, Vise-Teschion.)]
[Reward: Green Title - Boss Slayer (Damage to Boss-level enemies +10%)]
Qin Ming stared at the new information in disbelief before snapping out of it.
Then he glanced over at Jack, who was still sulking nearby, and narrowed his eyes.
That unlucky bastard—no wonder he looks so miserable! One of the title quests is directly aimed at him! Talk about bad luck!
Among the four tasks, one specifically required reaching a romantic relationship with a protagonist, and since Qin Ming was a man, the only realistic target was Hannah. After all, there was no way he'd pursue one of the male characters.
But Hannah seemed to be Jack's girlfriend.
Tsk, tsk, tsk! With a task , how many times has poor Jack had his girlfriend stolen by adventurers? What a poor sap!
Sensing Qin Ming's strange gaze, Jack glared at him again and let out an angry huff before turning away, clearly not interested in dealing with him.
However, Qin Ming had gotten one thing wrong—the task couldn't be completed with Hannah.
The reason? Hannah was notoriously hard to woo.
Even Jack, who had known her for years, had only managed to win her heart after a long "romantic marathon," capped by an epic battle against the poachers and a heroic rescue at the last moment.
If even Jack had such a hard time, it would be nearly impossible for anyone else to reach a romantic relationship with her—hence the quest's green-tier difficulty.
The task was as tough as fighting the Act 1 boss solo!
The real way to complete the quest was to target one of the male protagonists, like Mustafa, the tall, long-legged Black guy who had yet to appear.
Why? Because Mustafa had certain... preferences.
Female adventurers had an easier time, as they could target the muscle-bound Mike, another protagonist.
This, after countless attempts by other adventurers, was found to be the optimal strategy to complete the title quest!