"You..." Li Bai's tone was unusually hesitant when he spoke.

Yang Jia glanced at her with a smile, then pulled out the letter and opened it, saying, "Old Man Wang said it's no good keeping this letter. He meant it might contain some secret that would bring us trouble. But what trouble are we afraid of? We're afraid of having no trouble at all."

Being a player is so willful!

Yang Jia had actually wanted to do this for a long time. When she used to play keyboard online games and encountered these letter-delivery tasks, she'd always wondered what would happen if she simply opened the letter instead of delivering it. Unfortunately, keyboard online games didn't allow this kind of control, so she'd always felt bad. Now that she had the chance to play it herself, she naturally didn't hesitate.

Of course, the most important thing was Old Man Wang's reminder, indicating that the letter was worth opening. Otherwise, Yang Jia would have hesitated. What if it turned out to be just an ordinary letter from home? What if this was a series of tasks and delivering the letter was just the first step?

That's why she gave it a try and stayed to help the bad chess player, Old Man Wang, play chess.

Yang Jia taught himself the skill of playing chess.

Of course, this isn't entirely accurate. Without someone to teach you, if you're just blindly figuring things out, even after years of self-study, it's hard to say how far you'll reach. Yang Jia's chess skills, to be precise, came from following these veterans who could throw themselves into the game anywhere, no matter where they were. There was no systematic instruction; he simply watched others play, gleaning insights from their conversations, and then ultimately engaging in actual matches with them.

Seeing these old men made Yang Jia feel very close to them. It also made her understand that, while they might seem to be just playing casually, these old men actually cared deeply about winning or losing. After watching for a while, Yang Jia knew that Old Man Wang was a terrible chess player. He probably lost more than he won, or even rarely won at all. Yet, he had this mysterious confidence in his chess skills, constantly fighting and getting more courageous with each defeat.

That's why she tried to win the game for him, hoping to improve his favorability and see if she could get the task prompt.

Turns out she was right.

Li Bai's experience in gaming wasn't as good as Yang Jia's. Although Yang Jia was an NPC, he was incredibly experienced, while Li Bai himself had barely any experience in this area. Yang Jia's analysis made sense, so he nodded and asked, "What's in the letter?"

"Great news." Yang Jia raised her head, the surprise on her face still not completely fading. She handed the letter to Li Bai, "What a coincidence. Take a look for yourself."

Although this letter was given by Old Man Wang, it was obvious that he was just a middleman and the letter was not written by him.

In fact, the person who wrote this letter was an official in the City Lord's Mansion named Liu Shun, and the letter was written to his brother Liu Chang.

In the letter, Liu Shun said that he had found out that the current city lord had lost something very important, so he had not completely controlled the city. Recently, the lost thing seemed to have reappeared, so the city lord had been making frequent moves, which might be a good opportunity.

Although the entire letter was vague, as people who had obtained the city lord's seal, Li Bai and Yang Jia could guess what the letter was about.

Perhaps because he had lost the City Lord's Seal, the City Lord of Phoenix City could not fully grasp his authority. Therefore, some abnormalities appeared on his body, which was discovered by Liu Chang. Then Liu Chang sent his younger brother Liu Shun to sneak into the City Lord's Mansion to gather information.

It can be imagined that sending people to the city lord's mansion to inquire about the news itself shows that Liu Chang probably wants to deal with the city lord, and maybe even want to bring him down and take the position himself.

So now, after Liu Shun discovered the truth, he sent a letter to tell Liu Chang that the opportunity had come.

Whether it was to find the lost important item before the city lord, or to mobilize his own forces to stage a coup while the city lord's attention was focused elsewhere, now was a good opportunity. After all, the city lord knew his flaws, so he must have been very cautious and would not easily give anyone a chance.

Similarly, this news is also very important to the players!

Ever since receiving the City Lord Seal, Zheng Yizhao had been searching for follow-up missions. After all, it was useless without the City Lordship. This became a top priority, especially now that someone in the Americas region had become City Lord. Unfortunately, despite his considerable efforts, he still saw little progress. This led Zheng Yizhao to consider improving their combat effectiveness and asking Yang Jia to form a team.

And now, the opportunity brought by this letter belongs to Liu Chang as well as the players.

Especially since they had the City Lord's Seal in their hands, they had a lot of initiative. If necessary, they could even use it to lure out the mysterious City Lord. As for Liu Chang, he certainly had something he could use.

When two strong teams compete, players gain the upper hand. This is the correct way to play the game!

Otherwise, in this technological age, why would Liu Shun choose such an ancient method as letters to deliver messages? Perhaps this is the opportunity created by the system for players to participate.

Of course, according to Yang Jia's speculation, even if they didn't open the letter, after delivering it to Liu Chang, they would definitely receive subsequent tasks from him, which would be considered as participating in this matter. However, the information asymmetry meant that they would be passive and could only follow Liu Chang's arrangements, and the final benefits would probably not be great.

After reading it, Li Bai handed the letter back to Yang Jia and said, "You are very smart."

Yang Jia was completely surprised to receive praise from Li Bai. And she praised him for being smart. Yang Jia widened his eyes, pursed his lips, feeling both proud and embarrassed. His eyes sparkled, and he finally said, "I'm lucky."

"Luck is also a kind of strength." Li Bai said.

Yang Jia fell silent. She hadn't really wanted to argue, after all, it was Li Bai's approval and affirmation. She still had some inexplicable feelings for him. Even though she knew the chances were slim, it was always good to be closer.

Previously, Yang Jia had thought she admired Li Bai's cold sharpness, his superiority, his power and confidence, as if he could control everything. But now, after receiving such praise, her heart was filled with joy, and she couldn't suppress it no matter what. She realized that when steel is transformed into softness, it is the most deadly.

Unfortunately, she couldn't fall for him now. Yang Jia took a deep breath and tried to change the subject. "Let's call Zheng Yizhao out to meet him. We need to discuss this matter with him."

"You decide." Li Bai said.

She said this very naturally.

Li Bai felt the most deeply about the recent changes in Yang Jia.

After all, she had been in contact with Yang Jia from the very beginning. Back then, Yang Jia looked ordinary, no different from most other players, attracting attention at best because of the white surprise card she held. But now, she had accepted the position of captain without hesitation, commanding Phoenix City's top forces without hindrance. She had her own opinions and arrangements for everything, and her considerations were thorough and far-reaching.

If just the name was mentioned, outsiders would probably think that Li Bai was the one who had the final say in the team, and Yang Jia was just a nominal captain.

This was indeed the case at the beginning. When Yang Jia made a decision, she would discuss it with others, especially asking Li Bai for his opinion before making a decision. But before she knew it, she became the one making the decisions and giving the orders, and no one in the team thought it was wrong.

In Li Bai's opinion, Yang Jia's performance was far beyond her expectations.

Her initial understanding of Yang Jia was correct; she was truly just an ordinary person, propelled to her current position by luck and a few unexpected events. Li Bai had initially assumed that Yang Jia would need assistance to maintain her position, and she was prepared to lend that support. In reality, Yang Jia's rise to this position was undoubtedly due to Li Bai's support.

But Yang Jia adapted quickly, completing his transformation in a very short time, completely mastering the current situation and making Li Bai's accumulated strength go to waste.

So Li Bai consciously took a step back and gave the stage to her.

This was also a very new experience for Li Bai. From the day she burst onto the scene, she was praised and admired by the entire world. Everyone regarded her as a solid support. They revered her, admired her, and relied on her. No matter where she went, Li Bai was always the one shining brightly, overshadowing everyone else.

But Yang Jia didn't.

She looked ordinary, with no particularly outstanding qualities, but when others were suppressed by Li Bai, she seemed to feel nothing and continued to perform with ease. Most importantly, unlike most people, she would not subconsciously give up the right to speak and make decisions and rely on others because of the presence of more powerful people. Instead, she completed these tasks on her own and maintained her independence.

This difference in attitude has been affecting the people around her, and naturally, she has become the other center of the team besides Li Bai. And because Li Bai's lone ranger temperament makes people afraid to approach him, everyone gathers around Yang Jia.

This is a very interesting idea: if you can't compare with Li Bai, then don't compare yourself with her, just be yourself.

But there are so few people who can do it.

So Li Bai really wanted to know how far Yang Jia could go.

Yang Jia pulled out his phone and called Zheng Yizhao, asking him to join them. A moment later, Zheng Yizhao arrived in his car. Although he was driving an ordinary car, it was clear that he was gradually adapting to this world and beginning to use its native things.

This is also the current situation of the vast majority of players. After experiencing the initial confusion, they have become accustomed to this world, deepened their understanding of it, and then took the initiative to learn a lot of information.

For Yang Jia, this greatly reduced her advantage as an NPC, but Yang Jia was happy to see this situation.

Her advantage was originally in the early stages, and she had already used it to accumulate a large fortune, which was enough. Furthermore, this made it easier for her to disguise herself as a player. Even if she occasionally showed her understanding of the gaming world unconsciously, it would be considered that she had done her homework, and no one would suspect her.