Chapter 10 The Infinite Boss Invites You to "Eat Melon" 10. Soon...

With the story missions fully displayed, Pei Yanzhi's gaze fell on the fifth important prompt, and he felt a slight sense of relief.

His test worked.

Previously, Pei Yanzhi had made a guess because of certain things, and now it seems that it is probably true.

Although "Fool's Kingdom" is described as an SSS-level dungeon by Smile Games, in reality, Smile Games may not understand it, let alone have complete control over it.

The game also relies on players' exploration to uncover more about the "Land of Fools" and ultimately pinpoint the so-called final boss. Currently, by concealing certain key clues, it cannot truly pinpoint Lu Yu and can only conservatively offer two candidates to guide players further exploration.

The square fell silent after the announcement of the story mission.

A moment later, a commotion arose, like a drop of water rolling into boiling oil.

"God?! Does God really exist?"

"Divine fragments, the path to godhood... does this mean players can become gods?"

"If even an infinite game has appeared, what's so special about a god?"

"Look closely, two players have already obtained the Divine Essence Fragment. Who could it be?"

"We definitely won't let anyone know about this. Don't miss those last three words: 'can be stolen'!"

"Are the strange creatures no longer effective against fragments of divinity...?"

The players who made it into the top ten and received the story missions became excited, shielding themselves from other players with a barrier and starting to discuss it extensively.

Ji Chengchuan's expression changed the moment he saw the mission details, but he concealed it in time and was not noticed by anyone other than his admirers.

If Lu Yu were here, he would know why Ji Chengchuan's expression changed.

Smiley Game tricked Ji Chengchuan into finding the Godhood Fragments, then released it as a story mission and even revealed that other players possessed Godhood Fragments, encouraging them to compete for them.

Although the identity of the owner of the divine fragment was not revealed, this was already extremely dangerous for Ji Chengchuan. It would be strange if he could remain calm.

As it turned out, Ji Chengchuan was indeed unable to maintain composure.

He had already questioned the Smiling Game in his mind, and the Smiling Game calmly replied: "I have not betrayed you, my future master. I have not revealed your name. Introducing more elite players to search for the fragments of divinity is also to help you become a god as soon as possible. Our competitor has always been only one, and that is 'The Kingdom of Fools' itself."

"On our own, it will be difficult to gain the upper hand in the competition with the final boss. We need some tools that we can utilize..."

Ji Chengchuan frowned, unsure whether he believed what he was hearing.

The text in the sky faded, leaving only a blood-red countdown, reminding players not to linger at the transfer station and to enter the instance within the specified time.

“We are competitors, but also collaborators, so how about we have a little meeting?” one player turned to the other top ten and asked.

Among the top ten, there wasn't a single solo player; they were all teams from major guilds. Ji Chengchuan's guild, Tianyuan Guild, was particularly impressive, having another team besides Ji Chengchuan in the top ten, securing two spots. The player who spoke at this moment was the owner of the other spot—the guild leader of Tianyuan Guild.

"There's no need." The great prophet showed him no respect, uttering a curt remark before leading Pei Yanzhi and the rest of the Crimson Dawn away.

With less than eight hours left in the countdown, they had to enter the instance before 8:00 AM tomorrow. Before that, they had many things to do, whether at the transit station, on Mercury, or on Earth. They couldn't afford to waste any time.

The real contest is about to begin.

While the players of Smiling Game were busy shuttling between the two worlds with their own thoughts, Lu Yu had a rare good night's sleep.

He had stayed up quite a bit the previous two nights, and this time he couldn't stay awake any longer. He fell asleep as soon as his head hit the bed, and when he woke up again, the alarm clock was already ringing. He had no dreams all night, and could be described as being in a coma.

The Huanhua Lake Music Festival started in the afternoon, but Lu Yu couldn't wait until it started to arrive. He had been tagged several times in the work group early in the morning, so he went to the company first, picked up two old colleagues and two interns, and then rushed to the event venue with his equipment.

The scene was chaotic. They mingled with the video crew, shooting promotional materials, communicating with the designated platform, and posting real-time updates.

Both Gao Gan and Bao Xiaoqi were doing this for the first time, so they were unfamiliar with it and preoccupied with the task at hand. They were very flustered and broke out in a sweat under the blazing sun.

Lu Yu is different.

He's a seasoned veteran in the workplace, well-versed in the true meaning of working. He can easily put on a show of being incredibly busy, but in reality, he's very relaxed, having even taken two paid trips to the toilet.

As they were getting by, lunchtime arrived. Lu Yu kept a close eye on the logistics team and spotted what looked like boxed lunches in the distance. He dashed over and, before anyone could react, returned victorious with five large portions of food.

The others belatedly rushed forward, but were still a beat too late and had to form a queue. Later, the mung bean soup and fruit were gone, leaving only dry boxed lunches to eat.

"ox!"

The two former colleagues ate fruit while giving Lu Yu a thumbs-up with admiration. Working under their director, putting everything else aside, slacking off and eating were truly enjoyable.

The five of them squatted in the corner of the shed. Lu Yu ate while listening to two old colleagues give lessons to the interns, teaching them how to complete tasks quickly and how to slack off during their free time.

Halfway through the slacking-off class, Lu Yu suddenly said to the gossip-eating system, "Those five interns who came to our company are all gamers, right?"

Since the "Player" entry was unlocked, the gossip system seems to have become much smarter. Hearing Lu Yu's question, it didn't mince words and replied directly: "[Yes, host.]"

Lu Yu said, "This morning I planned to let Gao Gan and Bao Xiaoqi rest more and not go to the company, but meet them directly at the music festival. However, they said they had things to do at the company and needed to bring some things, so they insisted on going. Moreover, after leaving the company, I asked them to get out of the car and buy a cup of milk tea, but they preferred not to drink it rather than go."

"Even though they are all players, they are different from Yan Zhi and the others, right?"

The system immediately popped up a notification: [Congratulations, host, for unlocking a new term, "Duplicate"!]

Lu Yu remained expressionless, glanced at the entry, and noted down key information such as "dungeon level," "cross-scene restrictions," and "opened dungeons cannot be entered by unmatched players."

“Because they were on fieldwork, the game made their fieldwork location, which was the music festival venue, part of the company's instance,” Lu Yu said. “And Yan Zhi and the others are not players in this instance, so no matter how high their level is, they cannot enter the venue, is that what you mean?”

The Gossip System: [That's right, host.]

After a pause, the screen displayed the following text: [This means the host is safe and will not be harassed at the music festival or within the company. However, this is not the case elsewhere. The storyline surrounding the host has just officially begun, and players will not act rashly too early, focusing mostly on observation and probing. But many things will inevitably happen sooner or later.]

Lu Yu recalled the reminder Pei Yanzhi had sent him last night and understood.

He didn't ask the gossip system what the plot revolved around him was. He knew that without triggering conditions and clues, the gossip system's response would be 100% "limited by the host's cognition".

He pondered for a moment and began to keep an eye on Gao Gan and Bao Xiaoqi.

Those S-level players couldn't get into the music festival, but that didn't mean they couldn't get in. There were two like-minded individuals here, the perfect conduit. A morning of observation was enough for the S-level players to confirm that Gao Gan and Bao Xiaoqi hadn't been exposed to them. Therefore, their operation to use them to achieve certain goals should begin soon.

Lu Yu waited patiently.

He soon noticed their unusual behavior.

This story begins with bottled water.

During the meal, Gao Gan and Bao Xiaoqi were deeply moved by the tips on how to "catch fish" from their seniors. After finishing their meal, they not only took the initiative to throw away the trash, but also went to the logistics department to bring back two cases of mineral water after discovering that the bottled water in the shed was empty.

Before they went to get the bottled water, they seemed normal, but after returning with the water, a slight change appeared in their expressions. This change might not have been obvious to others, but Lu Yu, with his extremely keen observation skills and having been watching them closely, noticed the difference in them in just a glance or two.

In particular, when facing Lu Yu, they showed a deep fear that they tried to suppress but could not help but reveal, as if taking one more step closer to Lu Yu or saying two more words to him would result in their immediate death.

Even so, they were still unwilling to leave Lu Yu's side, and treated him even more attentively than they had been to him at the company.

However, this attentiveness felt somewhat strange compared to before, specifically in the following ways—

"Brother Lu, are you hot? Hey, is this little fan new? Oh, you bought it this morning? Is it broken? It seems like there's no wind. Come on, let me take a look. I know how to repair appliances!"

Before Lu Yu could answer, the high-ranking official reached out and touched the small fan hanging around Lu Yu's neck.

"It's windy." Lu Yu glanced at him indifferently, turned up the speed, and almost blew Gao Gan's bangs off.

"Oh, I didn't realize I opened it too low, hahaha..." The senior official scratched his head awkwardly, but acted quite naturally, like a newbie trying to flatter his boss but ending up making a mistake. He didn't seem to have any ulterior motives.

"Hey Lu, don't move, I'll do it!" Just as Lu Yu was about to get up to throw away the trash, Bao Xiaoqi immediately jumped up, stopped Lu Yu, and swept away all the trash around him, including but not limited to mineral water bottles, tissues, melon rinds, popsicle sticks, and the small stool that Lu Yu had just sat on.

“This isn’t trash.” Lu Yu pressed down on the small stool.

"Oh, I just saw some grass leaves on it and wiped them off. I didn't mean to throw it away. Don't worry, Brother Lu," Bao Xiaoqi said with a smile.

Two older colleagues winked at him and whispered, "Your two interns are being so attentive, are they trying to get promoted early? Old Man Stingy definitely won't agree. He'll give them less pay if he can, but he'll never give them more."

"Old stingy" is the nickname they gave their boss.

Lu Yu chimed in, "That's how the old miser is."

In the afternoon, as the start time of the music festival drew closer, more and more people poured into the venue. Two old colleagues hid backstage to film behind-the-scenes footage and take a break, while Lu Yu, along with Gao Gan and Bao Xiaoqi, wandered around, occasionally taking pictures of the support flags for various stars and interviewing audience members as they entered, enjoying a leisurely time.

Throughout the entire process, Lu Yu continued to keep an eye on Gao Gan and Bao Xiaoqi.

Gradually, he came to a conclusion.

"They are looking for something."

Lu Yu said to the gossip-eating system, "This thing is right next to me. It's an inanimate object, not a living one. It only came to me today; it wasn't there before."

The gossip system did not respond.

But Lu Yu had already figured out a logic: "Those S-level players who can't get in here must have some special way to observe and monitor the situation here from a distance. They spent some time, maybe a morning, confirming the situation of me, Gao Gan, and Bao Xiaoqi, and then at lunchtime, they contacted Gao Gan and Bao Xiaoqi and asked them to help them find something."

"Let's call this thing A for now."

"They knew for certain that A was around me, but they couldn't be sure what A was. However, they seemed to have a way of identifying it. This method required direct contact with A. So they gave this method, or the tool, to Gao Gan and Bao Xiaoqi. That's why the two of them were circling around me, touching any new objects around me, intentionally or unintentionally."

A light screen appeared in front of Lu Yu, and the gossip system finally activated.

[Congratulations, host, for unlocking a new entry: "SSS-Rank Dungeon Story Quest"!]

Lu Yu's eyebrows twitched slightly.

SSS-level dungeon story quest:

This story mission is issued by (garbled text) and revolves around Lu Yu, the final boss of the dungeon.

Five years ago, Lu Yu, a "near-god" player of (Random Code), fought against (Random Code), and both were severely injured. (Random Code) was seriously injured, and Lu Yu's nascent godhood shattered into nine fragments, which scattered across the Blue Star.

Nine fragments have been dormant for years, five of which have already been obtained by (garbled text) and players while they were asleep. Of the remaining four, one is stored within Lu Yu's body, and the other three have begun to awaken, transforming into unknowable objects that are heading towards Lu Yu.

Currently, the first fragment has arrived at Lu Yu's side. All players who have accepted the quest must find the Divine Essence Fragment within four days, otherwise the fragment will be absorbed by Lu Yu.

Warning: The strange creature must not approach the fragment of divine essence, otherwise it will go out of control or collapse and devour its owner.

If Pei Yanzhi or Jiang Yan were here, they would find that although the content is similar, some parts provided by the gossip system are quite different from the smiling game.

A note from the author:

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