Chapter 73 (Second Update)

Captain Li stayed online until midnight again. Now that he is offline, the children should have already fallen asleep.

He felt a little guilty, but there was nothing he could do. The matter of the "special address" was not 100% certain, and he had to keep an eye on the Wing On Hotel.

Herring walked in and said, "Minister, the restaurant is closed, and the employees have packed up and left."

"No clue?"

"No."

Herring was a little worried. They had sent a group of people to the hotel, but after a whole night, they hadn't found a single clue. The other guests who had rushed in after hearing the news had seen the same thing. Many had left cursing, calling the Governor a liar.

Many people also said that the person who left a message as a testimony in the post was not the Governor at all.

"Minister, what if..." Herring hesitated, "If we offend Hengbatong, wouldn't that be too much of a loss? We were watching outside the mayor's house and saw President Tang go in."

Captain Li's brows were almost furrowed into a shape of a "川" (川).

During the day, he had tried to persuade the Governor in front of Tang Lang, which was bound to alienate him. It was no surprise that Tang Lang chose to side with the mayor.

Besides, Captain Li had no regrets. If Yong'an truly was a special place that continuously laid golden eggs, he really wanted to kick Yinlai out.

Things are different now. Even without Yin Lai, Zhongsu Town is no longer short of players or "luck".

"It's too early to say this now. We have to wait and see when Yongan reveals the third clue." Captain Li shook his head.

Herring suggested, "Why don't we send someone to follow An Rou, just like before? Yong An and An Rou are inseparable. If she's a special NPC, maybe if we keep a close eye on her, we can find clues before others."

Captain Li pondered for a moment, then shook his head: "Don't interfere with the trajectory of special NPCs."

Too much interference may affect the "mission" assigned to her by the system.

Besides... An Rou had clearly stated that she didn't like being followed. He had finally helped her out today and had finally raised An Rou's favorability to 70%. He couldn't let it go to waste.

-

Tonight is destined to be a sleepless night for many people.

An Rou worked hard all night. Captain Li and his crew waited all night. Tang Lang walked into the mayor's house, where he was scolded and complained about for half the night.

It was really eye-opening for him that an NPC could curse out so many vivid words.

"The mayor is right. Captain Li did act inappropriately this time. I urged him to apologize to the mayor before I came, but he wouldn't listen."

Tang Lang sighed pretentiously, "Don't worry, I will definitely send someone to keep an eye on the Yong'an Hotel to see what An Rou is up to!"

Heng Batong felt relieved for a moment, then looked at Tang Lang suspiciously, "Are you trying to help her business in a roundabout way?"

Tang Lang said immediately, "How could that be? I really want to share the mayor's worries. If I find that An Rou has violated any laws or disciplines, I will definitely notify the mayor immediately. Then we will do whatever the law stipulates. Minister Li will not interfere in the town's official affairs no matter what."

"What if he still interferes?" Heng Batong narrowed his eyes.

Tang Lang said solemnly, "That means we're going to make things difficult for the mayor and Yinlai! Even if it means fighting against a rock with an egg, Yinlai will definitely defend the mayor's dignity!"

After Tang Lang left, Heng Batong was still reluctant to get up. The butler attentively took out a cigar and handed it to him with both hands.

"Where's the lady?"

"I went to bed a long time ago."

Heng Batong nodded, took a puff of his cigar, and the smoke enveloped his gloomy brows.

The housekeeper probed, "The same goes for An Rou. If the master hadn't written her on the list, it might have been her instead of Lin Meiqian who died!"

"List? What list?"

"It's the list given to Chizen Ichimura," the housekeeper reminded. "Beautiful woman."

Heng Batong suddenly remembered and slammed his fist on the table. "That's right! Ungrateful little bitch!"

After the two of them cursed at each other, Heng Batong's remaining anger finally dissipated and he began to yawn.

"Master, we still have to deal with official business tomorrow, so go to bed early."

Heng Batong nodded and stood up. Glancing at the butler's expression, he asked, "Do you have anything else to say?"

The housekeeper hesitated and said, "This time, Captain Li has indeed wronged the master, but in my opinion, that Tang Lang is no good either. The master should not be fooled by him."

"Well," Heng Batong chuckled disdainfully, "I was indeed negligent in the past. After all, I have to keep two dogs, so that they can bite each other, otherwise one of them will become bolder. Do you think I don't know what's going on?"

"Yes, yes, the master is the wisest. It's me who talks too much."

It was too late, and Heng Batong was afraid of waking up his wife, so he simply slept in the study.

After the butler finished serving, he turned off the lights.

He looked at the vermilion lacquered gate in the dark night and smiled coldly.

Tang Lang's wicked ambitions were of no importance to him. What mattered was that, ever since Yin Lai arrived in Zhongsu Town, Tang Lang had never bothered to take care of him. This showed that the leader of this small gang clearly had no sense of conduct.

Unlike Captain Li, he would always chat politely whenever he saw him. And Captain Li's subordinate, Herring, would always find a discreet opportunity to slip in a few red envelopes.

This is what a person who does great things looks like!

As for whether the Yong'an Hotel can continue to operate, it has nothing to do with him as a housekeeper.

-

It was daybreak and most shops were still closed. Two figures were moving swiftly through the streets, coming from different directions and converging together.

"Post?"

"Post."

"Where are the people?"

Another voice came from the hidden alley: "Here."

There were two people in the shadows at the alley entrance, one of them flashing his ID: "Four bars. This is my friend, Zhang Balao."

"Zhang Baron?"

I have never seen such an ugly ID.

Seeing that Zhang Balao didn't show his ID, and the two newcomers didn't show theirs either, they briefly introduced themselves.

"Huyang, mid-level bronze, wild guest."

"Coincidentally, there's a 'Four' in my ID, so just call me Ah Si, Gal Guild."

Huyang was shocked: "Gal Guild also went out on a mission alone?"

"It's late at night, I'm trying to make some extra money," Ah Si said. "Brother Four-Bar, can I ask where the clue came from? Wing On Hotel?"

"no!"

The four bars deny things too quickly and arouse suspicion.

Ah Si smiled and said, "Since the Yongan Hotel has caused such a big commotion, I'm just asking casually. Don't be so nervous. Let's take a look at the mission clues."

The group had never met before and had no time to bond, so out of caution, none of them suggested forming a makeshift team. Aside from the four-bar guy, the other three didn't even reveal their IDs.

The four bars shared the light screen hesitantly.

[Quest Clue: Strange noises have been heard recently from the long-uninhabited Xiao Zhang Coal Shop.]

[Related quest: The ghoul hidden in Zhongsu Town (relevance 50%).]

The four-bar man had clearly made preparations, locating Xiao Zhang Coal Shop on the map. It wasn't far away, and with mobility activated, he'd be there in less than ten minutes. He seemed a novice, cautious and nervous.

Ah Si patted his shoulder and said, "Why are you so nervous? Look how calm your friend is."

Fortunately, the light was dim, otherwise he and Huyang would be frightened by Zhang Balao's red eyes.

The four of them soon arrived at Sloppy Alley.

Ever since the ghoul haunting at Xiao Zhang's coal shop, several shops on both sides have closed. This row of houses looks especially deserted, a chilly air filtering through the darkened windows.

Hu Yang and Ah Si looked at each other, and both smelled danger.

Ding, there was a slight metallic sound from inside, like a hammer hitting a nail.

Four bars couldn't help but tremble, and asked the others in a low voice: "How to deploy?"

You can tell from the sound that he is a novice who only knows how to talk about theory on paper.

Huyang rushed in front of Ah Si and said, "What deployment? It's such a small place, and there are so many NPCs setting up shops nearby. It must be a small task. I see that Brother Four-Bar doesn't have much experience. Why not take advantage of this rare opportunity to gain some experience?"

Upon hearing this, Ah Si looked at him and said nothing.

It turns out that none of the wild guests are good people.

Four bars asked: "How to train?"

Huyang said, "It's very simple. You and Zhang Barao go straight in, and we'll be your backup. Don't worry, if you can't defeat the ghoul, we'll take action immediately."

"real?"

Sidaogang was tempted. After repeated confirmation, he gritted his teeth, pushed the wooden door open to leave a dark gap, and invited Zhang Balao to go in with him.

The two figures quickly disappeared into the darkness.

Huyang and Ah Si waited for a while, and suddenly a cry came from inside: "Help!"

Ah Si was about to rush in when Hu Yang pulled him back. Hu Yang finally revealed his ID: "Silver."

The meaning is very clear: he is of a high level, and with him in charge, the two bronze ones can be used to feed the ghouls.

Ah Si stared at him for a while, concealing his disgust, and retracted his outstretched hand.

-

"Master, Master!" Heng Batong was awakened by the housekeeper.

It was gray outside the window and the sun had not yet risen.

He was about to explode when the housekeeper stamped his foot and said, "Ghoul, there's a ghoul again!"

Heng Batong jumped up in shock: "Captain Li... No, Tang Lang, call Tang Lang over to me!"

It was too early, and Tang Lang hadn't even logged in yet. The butler was blocked at the gate of the Yinlai Guild Hall, unable to even cross the threshold. He dared not speak out against the Tian Ming Ren, the gatekeeper of the Yinlai Gang, and stomped his foot to the nearby Ouli Guild Hall.

Captain Li and Herring had both stayed up all night. When they heard the housekeeper's words, they looked at each other.

The mission was revealed at this time?

So when did the clue appear?

The two of them took a few members of the Ouli team and quickly rushed to Xiao Zhang Coal Shop.

From the outside, the coal shop didn't seem to have suffered much damage. There was only a big hole in the roof, and a lot of broken tiles and wood chips were left in the two alleys in front and back.

There were some messy footprints and fresh blood on the cinder-covered ground, but no other suspicious signs.

Captain Li was inspecting carefully. Herring had already asked the surrounding townspeople and ran in.

"Minister, people nearby said they heard a loud bang and then saw a giant fist."

He looked at the hole in the roof and said, "It must have come out from here, but it disappeared very quickly."

Captain Li nodded. Besides the scent of blood, the familiar stench of ghoul corpse fluids filled the air. "It's probably a madly transformed ghoul. Send someone to sweep the data cabinets at the pawnshop."

"But...the other party completed the mission quietly. Their level might be quite high, so they might not sell the data."

Outdated data is worthless.

Herring had a point, but work still needed to be done. He issued instructions in the team chat. Then, with a sudden thought, he switched to the forum for a quick browse.

"Minister! We've found something here!"

It was a post posted three hours ago: [There are clues, team up, limited to 2 people].

The original post didn't reveal much information, as the original poster explicitly told anyone interested to send a private message. He also didn't respond to any of the follow-up posts. But just two minutes ago, a reply from the original poster appeared.

[67L (Original Poster): I was so scared! There were actually three ghouls. Thank you both for the opportunity to train with me, otherwise I would have died there.]

The time of posting, the time of task outbreak and completion are all very consistent with the coal shop task.

Herring followed up with a post: [OP, could you please tell me where the quest is?]

[69L (OP): It's just a matter of luck, so I'll tell you what I mean, Yongan. There were so many people eating there, I just went to join in the fun, but I didn't expect to actually stumble upon a clue.]

Herring opened his eyes wide and looked at Captain Li.

Captain Li's eyes were fixed on the light screen.

In less than a minute, the original poster's post blew up with a flood of replies. Most of the first wave of people who had rushed to try the restaurant had left disappointed, and were now railing against it on yesterday's hot thread, calling Wing On a scam. As luck would have it, the original poster's post appeared.

It becomes increasingly confusing whether the Yong'an Hotel is a special address or just a result of repeated hype.

In short, Yongan’s popularity will not decrease in the short term.

Captain Li was lost in thought when a team message popped up on Herring's light screen. The members who were sent out actually bought the mission data at the pawn shop.

[Mission Name: Strange Sounds in the Abandoned Land]

[Mission Location: Xiao Zhang Coal Shop, Sloppy Lane, Zhongsu Town]

[Ghoul Level: C]

[Number of Ghouls: 0/3]

[Time limit: 1 (day)]

Difficulty Rating: C

really.

Another member also sent a message: [Minister, the mayor's steward is still waiting in the guild hall. I want you to go to the mayor's mansion.]

Captain Li frowned. "Just tell him I'm checking to see if there are any ghouls I've missed, and let him go back first."

He paused, then added: [Give him 500 gold to thank him for the notification.]

After posting it, he left it alone and said to Herring, "Reply the task details to this poster's post."

Herring was surprised: "Are you sure? This will make the competition even more intense."

Captain Li took a deep breath and said, "Since we can't suppress it anyway, we might as well lure more people over here and get Zhongsu back on track. Get ready and send more people to the Yong'an Hotel to reserve seats in advance. If nothing unexpected happens, there will be at least as many guests at lunchtime today as there were last night."