Chapter 105 Weird Bangs and Dead Fish Eyes [VIP]
Lin Chen hummed the tune of some unknown song as he ran, like a black bullet shot out of a gun, aiming clearly at the "gold and silver mountain" made of abandoned machinery deep in the Gear Alley.
Master Rabbit (she mentally gave the mechanical rabbit a temporary label) was right, the garbage dump is Xinyu's paradise! Maybe there'll be a hidden quest item? For example, rummaging through the garbage 20 times will give you a special costume, the Garbage Hat?
Just as she was about to dive into the embrace of the mountain of waste, two figures standing at the entrance of the alley forced their way into the edge of her vision.
Tsk, NPC is blocking the way?
She didn't stop, but just changed direction slightly, intending to slip past them - just like bypassing those insignificant passers-by in the game.
Huh? Wait.
She braked suddenly, her shoes squeaking softly against the greasy floor. Inertia caused her to spin a little, facing the two strangers.
A bit strange.
Her vision automatically focused, and the passive effect of [Scan] popped up two translucent information boxes on her retina, like the basic character panel in the game:
Target A: Male
Appearance: Tall, with long black hair tied in a bun and odd bangs. He's wearing something like... a school uniform? But it's dingy. His eyes are narrow, with dark circles under them that look like permanent stickers. His expression is... well, a mix of "alert" and "tired," according to the system.
The data stream shows slight turbulence.
Special mark: A light golden text logo is floating above her head, which only she can see: [Player].
Mission status (observable): [Main Mission: Obtain the 'Environmental Protection Pioneer' Ribbon!]
Progress: 0/1000 kg of waste.
Target B: Female
Appearance: Also wearing a dirty school uniform, with brown hair that's a bit messy at the ends, and a very... dead-eyed look? He's fiddling with a small metal tool (a surgical knife? It looks like a small butterfly, doesn't it?) between his fingers. His demeanor is a bit colder, but his data flow is just as unstable.
Special mark: There is also a [Player] logo on the top of the head.
Mission Status (Observable): [Main Mission: Obtain the 'Excellent Rejuvenation (Mechanical)' certification!]
Progress: 0/100 basic maintenance.
Wow! Two real players!
Lin Chen instantly perked up. Having been in Punk Lord Spirit for so long, this was the first time he'd encountered anyone like him in the wild! The system hadn't lied. Twenty thousand players were scattered across this vast data planet.
She was like a player who had discovered a rare refresh point. Her eyes lit up, and her sapphire pupils flashed with curiosity in the dim alley.
She completely ignored the obvious alertness and tension on the other person's face (which, in her opinion, was the standard alert posture of an NPC), turned around, and walked over with a clattering step.
He first walked around the tall male player (A), tilted his head and carefully studied the [Player] label above his head, as if to confirm whether it was a graphics bug.
Well, it's straight.
And as she moves, the label rotates with her to ensure it always appears positive in her eyes.
So interesting.
Lin Chen circled around the strange bangs several times at super high speed, and the label was always firmly fixed in front of her eyes, without any low-level bugs.
Satisfied, she let go of the strange bangs that suddenly covered her forehead, and moved closer to the female player (B), her eyes lingering for a moment on the Yu surgical knife that was flipping between her fingertips.
Well, she and Butterfly must have a lot in common!
——
Throughout the whole process, Player's face still had that iconic, calm expression, but her body language - slightly leaning forward, surprisingly bright eyes, and undisguised scrutiny - was like a cat circling around a new toy, silently conveying a strong curiosity and desire to explore.
All the muscles in Geto Suguru's body were tense.
Player, he and Glass are no strangers to this person.
Initially, she limited her activities to North America, running blindly and then overthrowing all obstacles in her way - whether it was the local government, the undead supernatural beings "WASPs" or the gangs, they could not stop her.
Then she stopped and began to precisely strike at organizations with bad intentions until all of North America fell and the warrant for her was withdrawn. Then it was South America, where she brought a small, struggling organization under her wing, and that organization later became very important in South America.
Then Player returned to the neon where she was first observed, and "bought" Radium Street in a completely incredible manner - even though everyone knew that it was impossible to buy and sell in this place, all documents and consciousness knew in an instant that "Radium Street belongs to Player's legal territory."
It's just weird.
And other wonders, and then spread to the world, punching blood-sucking species in Northern Europe, kicking curse masters in South Africa - multiple countries have orders.
Geto Suguru's thoughts are constantly diverging. Recently, the discussion about Player on TW (Twitter), X, and Instagram has become increasingly heated, especially after an official from Kamakura thanked her for solving the problem of the Crystal Sea, which pushed the discussion to a climax.
Even with the protection of powerful people, some people are worried that Player is extremely vicious and will soon reveal her true colors. There are also a few who seem to be her steadfast fans. Xin's behavior shows that she is extremely combative.
Fortunately,
Player never kills anyone.
However, judging by the label on her, she should also be involved in the "Punk Lord Spirit".
The way Player looked at them... wasn't like looking at people, but more like evaluating some objects.
The reckless close observation sent chills down his spine. He subconsciously shifted his body slightly to the side, blocking Ikari Nozomi more tightly. Cursed power... Damn it, he could only vaguely feel that it still existed, but he had no way of summoning it.
The knife in Jiaru Nishiko's fingertips stopped turning and was tightly grasped.
Player's blue eyes were close at hand, clear to an almost eerie degree, reflecting her own tense face.
There was no hostility, nor any kindness, just pure, creepy... curiosity? Like a scientist observing a new strain of bacteria in a petri dish.
She could even feel the other person's eyes roaming back and forth between her fingers and the knife, expressing the emotion of "familiarity" in a very human way.
This is more disturbing than outright malice.
"You..." Geto Suguru just uttered one word, trying to break the suffocating silence and weird gaze.
What happened even faster than his words was Player's behavior. His usually expressionless face wrinkled up in a rare frown, and the corners of his mouth turned downward in an arc of extreme dissatisfaction.
"This is discriminatory treatment!" The words were crisp and clearly accusatory, and the childish voice was filled with indignant anger.
She jumped up and circled around them, pulled a sword out of thin air and slashed at the trash can, and kicked a half-dead large machine into pieces.
Then Player poked them both unhappily and asked loudly, "Why are your tasks so detailed?!"
Geto Suguru and Nozomi were both stunned by the sudden accusation, and the tense vigilance on their faces was instantly replaced by confusion.
Is the mission... detailed? It only gives the location and requirements. How can that be considered detailed?!
——
After Lin Chen vented his anger, he couldn't help but stare at their tasks.
She leaned in very close to make sure she was not mistaken.
Look at other people’s tasks, how detailed they are, each one is written so clearly.
Weird Bangs' goal: 1,000 kilograms of scrap. Requirement: Animal sorting. Forbidden: Using that cool-sounding "curse spirit."
Dead Eyes' goal: Perform 100 prosthetic maintenances. Location: The Old Vic Clinic. Forbidden: Use "Reversal Spell" (sounds like a healing skill).
A strong sense of imbalance instantly overwhelmed the player's curiosity.
She took a step back as if attacked by something, and stopped circling around the two of them. Instead, she raised her slender wrist sadly and poked hard at the personal system panel that was empty except for "Ultimate Goal: Become a Legendary Hacker" and lacked even a task description.
Look at the mission! It has a name, a description, specific requirements, and even location instructions (although that "Old Vic Clinic" doesn't sound like a good place)!
Look at hers again, there's just one line of text - not even a guide! It all depends on the players' own efforts. The rabbit workshops they find charge a fee, and you have to find a place to pick up trash yourself!
This is discrimination, isn't it? This is blatant discrimination, isn't it? The dog system is targeting her!
The player stared indignantly at the system panel in the void, and his mind had already simulated countless scenarios of invading data modification permissions in the future.
However, the system of "Punk Lord Spirit" remained motionless and had no reaction at all.
But soon, the player's attention was drawn back to the clear mission description above Geto Suguru and Naoko Ieiri's heads.
She tilted her head, looking at the pile of scrap (blame it on Liu Hai's mission), thinking about how she needed to dismantle and reconstruct it to level up, then looking at the clinic where Dead Fish Eyes was going to repair his prosthetics (a clinic would definitely need parts, right?)...
The anger in the blue eyes suddenly died out, replaced by a bright light of discovery of a new world.
The task chain between the three of them! It's a perfect closed loop!
She immediately put the unfairness of the system behind her, and with two clattering steps, she jumped back in front of the two high school students. She stretched out her finger and poked the two vigilant NPCs. Her face was still expressionless, but her tone was filled with the joy of "I found a treasure":
"Cooperation?" Although he was calm, his eyes were full of anticipation.
Geto Suguru and Nozomi were stunned again by her jumping thoughts.
Cooperation? With this notorious Player with strange behavior patterns? The two exchanged a quick glance.
Geto Xiayou cleared his throat, trying to sound calmer. "Cooperation? How do you cooperate?"
The player didn't answer directly, but gestured in the air: "I demolish (pointing to the scrap mountain), you collect (pointing to Geto Suguru), she repairs (pointing to the glass), the clinic sells (pointing to the back of the alley)."
Concise and clear logic.
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