Chapter 81
Outside the wall of the mayor's mansion, Tang Lang put the two people down and looked at the light screen with complicated eyes.
[Boss Anrou's favorability increased by 20%, currently at 60%, friendly.]
[Butler Liang's favorability increased by 20%, currently at 60%, friendly.]
An Rou was fine, as she had once helped Ku Shui destroy the Wing On Hotel, so it was normal for her favorability to be low. But what about Butler Liang?
Tang Lang had never noticed how little favorability he had towards him. Normally, he was always polite to Butler Liang whenever he visited the mayor's house. What had gone wrong?
"President Tang, I am deeply grateful for saving my life." An Rou's eyes were red.
This look reminded Tang Lang of the mahjong game when they first met. Facing difficulties and interrogations, she also had the image of a weak woman who forced herself to remain calm.
Butler Liang was even worse, he dropped his knees and was about to kneel down to express his gratitude, but Tang Lang raised his hand to stop him.
"Hurry up and leave. Wait until the mayor calms down before trying to mend the relationship. Otherwise, you..." Tang Lang paused and looked at Butler Liang, "You can forget about staying in Zhongsu."
Butler Liang's face was filled with sorrow. The balance began to shift between the enormous 100,000 gold red envelope and the status of the mayor's butler, which was enough to allow him to run rampant in Zhongsu Town.
An Rou saw Tang Lang turn around and asked, "President Tang, are you going back? Without waiting for the mayor...are you angry enough?"
"The mayor is a man of great integrity, diligent in his work and dedicated to his people. He will certainly be magnanimous," Tang Lang said earnestly. "You two must not harbor any grudge against him."
An Rou got goosebumps all over her body as she watched him climb over the wall. Her grateful smile turned into a sneer.
What a good dog.
Captain Li also knows how to choose sides, and Tang Lang never forgets to flatter both sides.
"Boss An, what you promised me..." Butler Liang said worriedly, "The security guards must be targeting me. What should I do?"
People who betray their masters are hated wherever they go, but An Rou treats him gently.
"Don't worry, you'll be in charge of the Red Luck Bathhouse from now on. It's open 24 hours a day, and everyone here is a member of the Red Luck Group, so there's no time to spare. You'll be eating and sleeping at the bathhouse, so how dare the security guards come and arrest you?"
Even if the security guards had the nerve, the players wouldn't agree. Like the Wing On Hotel, the bathhouse had also revealed numerous clues and was considered a special location. Butler Liang was the manager, so how could the players allow anyone to disrupt the bathhouse's normal operations?
The two walked towards the antique car. An Rou first sent him to the bathhouse, explained things to Xiang Sao, and then returned to the car.
There was already someone sitting in the car - Paopao.
Seeing An Rou get in the car, Paopao couldn't wait to ask, "Boss, what happened? I heard gunshots inside, but I couldn't find you when I got there."
An Rou shook her handbag, indicating that she had received the things, and said with a smile: "What else can it be? A rabbit bites when it is anxious."
I told Paopao roughly what happened.
Paopao was a little scared: "Tang Lang? I was staring at the gate the whole time, but I didn't see him go in. If I had known earlier, I should have gone in with the boss."
"If Tang Lang saw you there, he would kill instead of saving people."
At this point, An Rou suddenly felt that something was strange: all the players thought she was an NPC, but only Paopao firmly believed that she was a player, and a top-level player at that.
It was clearly Paopao who first told her about the special address and the special NPC.
After driving back to the farm, An Rou asked Paopao not to log off yet, and took him, Wang Da and Zhang Da to review the fish-eating business.
It is necessary to review and improve details every day.
Aside from the flour mill mission, this was the biggest commotion of all the fish eaten. Three consecutive ghoul waves occurred in one night. While the mission data for the Hongyun Hotel hasn't been finalized yet, a rough estimate is that the total number of ghouls will be no less than 50.
Excluding partner Paopao, the only regular employees sent out were Wang Da and Zhang Da, and there was only one temporary worker - the ghoul bride.
That was Wang Da's temporary separation from the players who resurrected from the pickled cabbage shed. As for the two ghosts' new costumes, it was An Rou's idea.
The purpose is simple - to attract attention, leave clues, and guide players to the big world.
Players are generally wealthier than NPCs, and when they go somewhere, they tend to frequent high-end establishments. Commercial businesses, dance halls, and large restaurants are all frequented by players. If only one or two ghouls were to cause a disturbance, they would likely be cleaned up in a matter of minutes. If the commotion wasn't too serious, Hengbatong's influence would allow them to quickly suppress the news.
meaningless.
So An Rou decided to trigger a ghoul wave that would catch everyone off guard, and not just once, but three times in a row, to let everyone in Zhongsu Town know that these three places were haunted by ghouls.
Only in this way will An Rou have enough deterrent power when negotiating with Hengbatong.
However, all three businesses were located in the downtown area, and An Rou was worried that the ghoul tide would get out of control and randomly injure people, so she only prepared a temporary worker as a decoy. Once enough players were present, she would have Zhang Da cause trouble from behind.
The same was true in the big world. Only after the surviving players who received rewards from the trading company arrived did Zhang Da loosen his control and chaos ensued.
As for the Hongyun Hotel, with the increasing number of players visiting Zhongsu Town, Hengbatong had repeatedly raised its room rates, and now only players could afford it. Therefore, Wang Da could kill several ghouls in one go without worrying about harming innocent people.
Moreover, with the Shanghang and the Great World being precisely targeted, An Rou had anticipated that someone would figure it out and make arrangements in advance. As it turned out, Yin Lai and Ou Li had indeed arrived.
In short, the rhythm of the three fish-eating events was unprecedentedly tight, the execution of each link was also ideal, and the result - four contracts and six corpses - was also quite satisfactory.
In addition to these real things, eating fish this time also once again verified Captain Li's attitude, and of course, there is also Tang Lang, who is a fence-sitter.
Town Mayor Hengbatong?
It's not far from the past tense.
"You all performed well," An Rou sat on the chair, smiling at the two ghosts and one person in front of her, "Wang Da and Zhang Da, each of you pick two corpses from the pickled vegetable shed and reward two souls. Of course, you have to die many times. Run and stay for a while."
The two ghouls had eaten a lot of souls last night, but they were all fragmented, and they were vomiting after eating, and they were both in a weak state. The souls that An Rou rewarded were different. They didn't need to be fragmented and could be eaten whole.
Zhang Da was already extremely hungry. As soon as An Rou finished speaking, she rushed out the door, and Wang Da followed slowly behind her.
Paopao knew that the next step would be to distribute bonuses, so he happily went to close the door.
His bonuses are divided into two types. One is the income from industrial operations, which is paid out monthly. The other is from the fish business, which is paid out for each order completed. The motivation is extremely high.
The bonus for the "eating fish" business is divided into two parts. One is the bonus earned on the mission site, which is what you earn, and you get it as much as you want. The other part is the subsequent low-cost acquisition, which is not included in every business.
But there were definitely these three orders last night, and quite a few of them.
An Rou smiled and said, "Don't be too happy too soon. Hongyun Commercial Bank, Hongyun Hotel, and Great World Ballroom are all independent buildings. This incident is too big. Business can't be done. The damage is also serious, and the value of the buildings themselves has been greatly reduced."
Paopao rubbed his hands and said, "I know, I know. We'll take whatever we have. The boss has the final say."
Even if he didn't have a single gold coin, he had participated in half of the merchant company's ghoul tide, his level had increased a little, and he had also grabbed a lot of rewards, which was already worth it.
"According to market prices, the Great World is the least valuable of the three properties, at 1.5 million gold. The trading company is worth about 2 million gold, and the restaurant is worth 2.4 million gold..."
With Butler Liang around, An Rou already had a clear understanding of the three properties.
"Since the business won't be open for a while, the value will be discounted. The building is severely damaged, so the price will be discounted further. However, there's a lot of furniture and equipment inside that can be moved to the farm... For now, I'll estimate it at 500,000 gold. I won't deduct the 35,000 gold cost from you."
An Rou transferred 25,000 gold and asked with a smile, "Okay?"
Paopao: "Sure, sure, sure. Thank you, boss!"
Converted to the real world, with hundreds of thousands of dollars in hand, what else do you need a bicycle for?
After handing out the bonuses, An Rou returned to business: "With three B-level ghoul waves in one night, Zhongsu Town will definitely be bustling for a while. We'll suspend the fish-eating business for two days to calm down. But you still have to be online on time at 6 pm this afternoon."
He cried out, "Paopao!" He had been online all day and all night preparing for this big deal, and had originally wanted to take a day off.
"Boss, do you have any other work?"
"It's not really work." An Rou smiled. "It's rare to have some free time, so let's hold a celebration party. What's going on?"
Paopao's eyes lit up: "No problem, I will definitely be online on time!"
After running back to her room, An Rou walked out of the bungalow. It was already bright outside.
She walked towards the staff dormitory, but before she entered, she saw the person she was looking for standing quietly in the sauerkraut shed.
The quiet and cold appearance once again made An Rou subconsciously feel that it was not a ghost, but a person.
Wang Da changed out of his woolen suit and put on his usual peasant cloth shirt. The clothes were a little baggy, but he looked as clean and tidy as ever.
It turned its head, met An Rou's gaze, and smiled slightly.
An Rou walked over, glanced at the rows of pickled vegetable jars, and asked, "Didn't you eat?"
Wang Da: "You want me to eat?"
An Rou frowned. She didn't like the person standing in front of her. She felt unpredictable.
To be fair, she really didn't want Wang Da to continue devouring souls to upgrade, as she always felt that he would get out of control. What's more, its ghost mother, Bao Fu, was still dormant.
Before his hibernation, Baofu was SS-rank, so suppressing an A-rank Wang Da was a piece of cake. If Baofu successfully advances to SSS, he will surely be able to suppress an S-rank Wang Da.
When eating fish last night, An Rou sent out Wang Da, who had not been used for a long time. On the one hand, it was because he was the ghoul most qualified for this task. On the other hand, it was based on the above speculation that she dared to let Wang Da continue to upgrade.
Now it seems that this decision was a bit risky.
While An Rou was thinking, Wang Da spoke again: "I know you don't believe me. It's normal. Who would believe a ghoul? But there's no need."
The more it said it was unnecessary, the more An Rou felt it was necessary.
"You're wrong." An Rou said, "I don't trust you because you're a ghoul. On the contrary, it's because you're becoming less and less like a ghoul."
-
The Hongyun Hotel has become a tattered shell.
The news of the ghoul tide had already spread, and the surrounding shops were closed and suspended. The nearby townspeople either stayed at home or hurriedly rushed to their relatives and friends with their luggage.
But Zhongsu Town was far from deserted; instead, the streets were becoming increasingly crowded. Especially around the Grand Hotel and outside the blockade established by the Ouli Guild, players were swarming in, rushing in to ask questions.
The three consecutive ghoul waves that broke out in one night had already blown up the forum.
"Why aren't you letting us in? Didn't you Ouli say you wouldn't obstruct, interfere, or rob people?"
"Exactly! You just grabbed it when you encountered a big mission, right? Your true colors are showing, right?!"
"The way you eat is so ugly!"
…
As the players were cursing, a figure came through the air and stopped inside the blockade.
Captain Li smiled and said, "If you had come an hour earlier, you could have earned as many rewards as you killed. Ou Li would never have stopped you. But, were you here early enough? Are you capable of deploying the troops? If the ghoul tide spreads uncontrollably, who will take the blame for Ou Li's actions?"
Three questions in a row left the foreign players speechless.
Captain Li added, "Zhongsu Town is a high-frequency mission zone, as everyone knows. Even if this mission is over, there are others. Now that the mission is over, instead of wasting time here, why not go around and see if you can find any clues? I said, Ou Li will never steal your own clues."
The crowd finally dispersed.
"Buyer, the statistics are complete. A total of 42 ghouls were killed, which matches the mission details." Herring walked over.
"Does that include the one killed by Yinlai?"
"It counts. They're pretty cooperative."
Captain Li sneered and then frowned: "They are all C-level..."
Herring couldn't figure it out either: "Maybe... it has nothing to do with that B-rank ghoul? But the minister's speculation is correct. The location where the mission broke out must be related to An Rou, otherwise it wouldn't have been so accurately located on Hengbatong's property."
"What's Hengbatong's reaction?"
"Uh..." Herring was startled, looking guilty. "The members responsible for guarding the mayor's mansion have all been transferred here to fight against Bao Yinlai..."
"There are more than 2,000 people in total, and he is missing one?!" Captain Li suddenly raised his tone, then was stunned, staring at the light screen with his eyes wide open.
Herring smelled something bad: "Minister?"
Captain Li suddenly clenched his teeth and clenched his fists.
"Headquarters sent out the old guys!"
Central city, middle building.
The president of the Dragon Flame Guild stood up from behind his desk, walked to the coffee table, and poured a cup of hot water for the person on the sofa.
"If you like sleeping on the sofa so much, why don't you just buy a house? If you prefer your bed, I'll give you the sofa."
Chu Mo lay flat on the brown leather sofa, with one of his inner legs bent, the back of his left hand resting on his forehead, his eyebrows half covered, and he said nothing.
President Lu chuckled. "It's fine if the association pays, but the approval process is a bit more complicated. If not, I can pay it out of my own pocket. But you know how much I earn, so you have to pay me back as soon as possible."
"No need." His voice was a little hoarse.
"Finally you've spoken, or I'd have thought you were dead." Guild Leader Lu laughed. "Zhongsu Town had three ghoul waves in one night, and the forum is so lively, why don't you go check it out?"
Chu Mo remained motionless and spat out two words: "Ghost Mother."
President Lu nodded and said, "There's no such thing as a special address or a special NPC. It's either a ghost or a human, or an extreme probability. However, I sent a gold to investigate, but didn't dig out the ghost mother, so I wanted you to go and take a look."
The young man on the sofa was silent and looked like he was dead.
President Lu sighed and said, "Alright, Kuang Dao has been performing well recently, I'll send him."
Unexpectedly, before he could finish his words, a gust of wind suddenly blew in the office and the sofa was empty.
"He moved." Chu Mo's low voice floated in his ears, but there was no one in the entire office.
In the air, strands of blue lightning flashed, activating President Lu's passive defense.
"he?"
President Lu lowered his head in thought for a while and shook his head.
No one in the Dragon Flame Guild, or in the entire Soul Song game, knows how to remove ink.
Only a few high-ranking officials knew that Chu Mo had already stepped into the "divine revelation".
President Lu withdrew his thoughts and looked at the light screen.
[President, Ouli Headquarters has sent out an old man, targeting Zhongsu Town.]
He suddenly realized that Chu Mo was talking about him.
"A wave of demons, a demon mother, a ban has been issued in Zhongsu Town, the third on the list is an old person, the first on the list is eliminated..." President Lu smiled slightly and whispered, "This is going to be lively now."
-
1. Three ghoul waves in one night set the forum on fire.
But the ban that followed was like a bucket of cold water, which discouraged the players.
Small quests weren't a big deal; even with their Life points halved, many players were still confident enough to try and get some. However, the forum post clearly stated three ghoul waves, each one fierce and rapid, with as many as 62 ghouls and hundreds of players resurrected from the dead.
Players who are relatively familiar with the situation have deduced that the ghoul tide is mostly a chain reaction, which means that the ghouls are also differentiated from the players. In addition to the players who were completely devoured, it is estimated that hundreds of players have completely lost their game qualifications in Zhongsu Town.
The premise of this data is that Zhongsu Town has not issued a ban.
If everyone's Life Points were cut in half and a ghoul wave erupted, wouldn't the casualties more than double? Luck was unpredictable, and it was very possible for it to multiply several times.
In an instant, the blessed land turned into a dangerous place.
The players who had not yet set off stopped to watch, while the players who had already arrived at Zhongsu Town began to return home one after another.
However, while out-of-town players had a way out, local players didn't. Captain Li, already worried about the headquarters sending out old members, immediately forgot about them and rushed to the mayor's mansion without stopping when he heard the ban.
He hadn't seen Heng Ba Tong for a long time. He came here yesterday just to block Tang Lang and didn't even step into the threshold.
Unexpectedly, Heng Batong did not get angry with him. He just smoked his cigar with a sullen face, and a shrouded in mystery within a meter.
Captain Li simply got straight to the point: "The mayor has suffered a severe blow, so I understand issuing a restraining order, but a restraining order for all personnel is unnecessary, right?"
A month ago, the ban was triggered by an NPC filing a complaint with the police station, targeting only individual players. The current ban applies to all players within the Zhongsu territory, regardless of level, and their Life Points are halved.
Captain Li: "The mayor's drastic measures have driven away all the Chosen Ones. If there are more ghouls, who can handle them? Are you going to rely on your musketeers?"
The approaching old friend made him anxious, and he was not paying attention for a moment and spoke rudely.
Hiss—the cigar lit up with a bright spark.
Thick smoke flowed out from the corners of Heng Baitong's raised mouth.
"Who can we rely on? Even if the outsiders leave, don't we still have Captain Li's Oli Gang? Didn't Captain Li say that it's your responsibility to protect Zhongsu Town from the ravages of the ghouls?"
Captain Li frowned, and Heng Batong sneered again.
"Since Captain Li is unwilling to contribute, this master will naturally not force it. Zhongsu has more than one gang right now, don't you agree, Gang Leader Tang?"
Tang Lang walked out from the inner door.
He exchanged glances with Captain Li, then turned to Heng Batong and replied with a smile, "The Yinlai Gang will do its best."
Captain Li's eyes darkened as he understood the current situation.
The number of members in Yinlai Guild is just over a thousand, which is far less than that of the Ouli Zhongsu branch. However, Zhongsu Town is not that big, so it is more than enough to deal with the ghouls.
Tang Lang is the foundation of Hengbatong.
If the ban drives out players from outside the area, and Ouli is also forced to evacuate, all the densely packed missions in Zhongsu Town will fall into Yinlai's pocket. At that time, Yinlai will recruit new members and grow stronger, making it unstoppable.
Hengbatong became Tang Lang's confidence.
Captain Li had long seen Tang Lang's ambition, but he hadn't expected it to manifest so early. It happened to coincide with the crucial inspection by headquarters, catching him off guard.
It was he who brought in Yinlai, and it was he who introduced Tanglang to Hengbatong. The Chinese idiom "letting a wolf into the house" is exactly this.
Captain Li closed his eyes tightly and let out a breath silently.
"Oli is naturally the same as always," he said. "If the mayor has any instructions, please feel free to tell me."
Heng Batong snorted and laughed, raised his hand to wave away the smoke, revealing a sinister face.
"Kill An Rou for me!"
-
While the town is turbulent, the East Suburb Farm is as quiet as a paradise.
But beneath the calm surface of the lake, there is also a silent whirlpool hidden.
An Rou and Wang Da stood opposite each other, looking into Wang Da's inexplicably deep eyes.
"A ghoul wouldn't think about who I am, or where others come from or where they will end up. These are things only humans would think about. Wang Da, you don't look like a ghoul."
"But I don't look like a human either." Wang Da's words were both a question and an answer. "You're not afraid of ghouls, nor are you afraid of people, but I'm neither, so don't trust me."
He kept smiling, but a hint of melancholy flashed in his eyes: "It's a pity, I don't even know what kind of existence I am."
An Rou became more and more terrified.
Even now, Zhang Da's words, actions, and every expression are still at the stage of imitating a living person. But Wang Da can already show a detailed and vivid look on his own initiative.
She had always believed she was wary of Wang Da because he was becoming more and more like a human. But Wang Da's words revealed a deeper reason: she didn't know what she was facing.
Hengbatong is an NPC, has she ever been afraid of him?
There are so many human players in Zhongxu Town. Has she ever been afraid?
No, even though I once trembled with fear when I saw the light in front of me, that was just a normal reaction when facing death.
Wang is different.
An Rou narrowed her eyes slightly, staring at the creature in front of her that always seemed strange to her no matter how long they had been together.
Yes, there was another person who gave her a feeling very similar to Wang Da.
The mysterious man who crushed the SS-level blood-winged ghoul to death with his bare hands.
He is acquainted with the top-ranked super player Chumo, but he doesn't take Chumo seriously at all in his words and deeds!
But...Wang Da couldn't be him.
Wang Daming was clearly the one who became rich through her own eyes. She saw it all, step by step, learning to imitate living people and improving its level.
Unconsciously, An Rou opened her eyes and connected with Wang Da's consciousness.
It was as if I had stepped into a dark valley with no end in sight, and there was complete silence. But if I listened carefully, I could still hear the faint moaning of a mosquito somewhere in the valley.
[It’s so cold, so cold…]
Since entering the game, An Rou has connected with the consciousness of hundreds of ghouls. In each of them, she has heard the same groaning.
At first, she thought this sentence was just like "I'm so hungry," a cry of ghoul desire. But gradually, she realized it wasn't.
It's more like background music, buried deep underground in the valley of consciousness, while "I'm so hungry" floats on the surface, like the endless mountain breeze circulating in the valley.
This difference is even more obvious in the consciousness of high-level ghouls like Bao Fu and Wang Da.
Wang Da's voice suddenly drowned out the background noise.
[Don't worry. ]
[You are not required to trust me, and you can kill me if you feel the need.]
The voice was gentle yet firm, revealing unreserved sincerity. However, this overly sincere sincerity made An Rou increasingly aware of the danger.
An Rou: [Kill you? Aren't you afraid of disappearing? If I kill you, you won't exist in this world anymore.]
Once upon a time, it was the fear of "disappearance" that made the rich bow his head to An Rou.
But Wang Da said that she could kill it at any time.
Wang Da: [The reason I am who I am is because of you.]
An Rou: [What do you mean?]
Wang Da laughed helplessly: "I don't know what it means, but that's just how I feel."
An Rou: [So you don’t care if I kill the ghouls you created?]
A large number of the ghouls differentiated by Wang Da died as temporary employees in the fish-eating business.
Wang Da: [Since it's called a ghoul, does it mean death? — Sorry, I don't know what this sentence means either, but it's stuck in my head. I believe it.]
This conversation was so mysterious that An Rou guessed that she might have touched upon the deeper settings of the game.
But neither she nor Wang Da could get in.
But one thing gradually becomes clear: people who are parasitized by ghouls are called living dead. The parasite is alive, and the word "death" naturally represents ghouls.
So ghouls are not afraid of death, but are afraid of disappearing?
The wheels rolled over the dirt road, the sound coming from far away, and An Rou withdrew from Wang Da's consciousness.
I turned and looked towards the farm gate, and waited for a moment, but no one came.
She realized that the sound was heard through Wang Da's ears, which could hear any movement within a radius of 100 meters.
"Here it comes." said Wang Da.
Two pairs of feet appeared under the iron gate and there was a knock on the door.
An Rou walked over and opened the door, and saw that it was Manager Jin and Mei Hong. There was a tricycle parked in the back, and the driver was looking at her curiously.
An Rou signaled the two to shut up and went in to talk.
As soon as the door closed, Shopkeeper Jin started to fuss, "Boss, the mayor has issued a ban. No one is welcome to come after the Chosen One. Business has dropped by more than half!"
Meihong was much calmer: "It's the same at the barber shop. After I left, I went to a nearby bathhouse and it was the same."
An Rou reacted very calmly.
The reason for suspending the fish business for two days was also due to the ban. Hengbatong was powerful, and after suffering a great loss and being unable to seek revenge, he could only use his power to vent his anger.
She smiled faintly and said, "The power to issue orders lies with the mayor. What's the point of you being so anxious? The store has been busy for so long, so I'll treat it as a rare opportunity and give you two days of leisure."
Shopkeeper Jin didn't expect that his punch would hit the cotton and his mouth opened wide.
An Rou said to him, "You go back first. If the store is overstaffed, we can take turns giving people a holiday. Don't worry, it's paid leave. - Meihong, you stay for a while."
Shopkeeper Jin's face immediately lit up with joy. After saying goodbye in all possible ways, he happily left on his tricycle.
Meihong stood by the gate and glanced inside inadvertently. Her gaze seemed to have touched a branding iron, and she hurriedly retracted it.
Wang Da was standing next to the sauerkraut shed, looking over and smiling at her.
Meihong thought she had gotten over her wishful thinking, but she didn't expect Wang Da to change even more. The once dull country boy had somehow become a modest gentleman.
Even if she is dressed as a farmer, it cannot hide her unique temperament.
The embarrassment unknowingly came back to my mind.
"The boss has something for me to do?" Meihong diverted her attention.
"There's a celebration party tonight, and I'd like you to come." An Rou couldn't see through her awkwardness, so she smiled and said, "My dad praised your cooking skills. Please help me cook, and I'll help you."
When An Younian mentioned this, An Rou was quite surprised. You can't judge a person by appearance. Mei Hong, a proprietress who has never done any housework, can actually cook such a good dish.
"Don't worry, I'll let Paopao take you home in the evening."
Meihong nodded in agreement and asked, "Then why don't you ask Manager Jin to stay as well? He manages the restaurant very diligently... I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked."
An Rou smiled noncommittally and led her towards the bungalow.
If she could get the shopkeeper Jin, An Rou would have brought An Younian along too. However, the people attending the celebration banquet were all ghouls, and if something went wrong, they would be frightened to death.
The reason why Meihong was left behind was, firstly, that Anrou knew that her cooking skills were not good, and secondly, she and Paopao were the only two living people in the room, which would be boring.
Meihong was able to stay because she knew more than anyone else. She was responsible for spreading the clues for the missions at the barber shop and the bathhouse.
Of course, these clues are very limited, and after repeated deductions by An Rou, they are isolated from the farm.
After tonight, that may not be the case.
-
Yinlai Guild Hall.
With the two sides at loggerheads, Tang Lang naturally didn't dare to go to the Ouli Club, but Captain Li was fearless.
After all, the number of Ouli members in the Zhongxu branch is more than seven times that of Yinlai.
"Tang Lang, are you really going to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs?" Captain Li looked at him coldly, "You should know that killing An Rou is equivalent to destroying the high-frequency mission area!"
Tang Lang's face was filled with frustration.
The moment he stepped out of the mayor's mansion, his determination to win was gone, and he looked as if he had been wronged.
"I don't want to either, Minister Li. You should be able to tell that I was just acting for Heng Ba Tong! I don't know why he was so ruthless, forcing us to choose between the two by using the gang's resettlement power!
"I admit that I had some unreasonable thoughts, but am I a person without self-awareness? Yinlai only has a little over a thousand people, how dare they fight Minister Li head-on?
"Minister Li, you don't know how expensive it is until you run a household. You should also understand the difficulties faced by a small guild like ours with no background. Well, let's not talk about that. Let's talk about Heng Ba Tong's plan to kill An Rou. Whatever you say, I'll do it!"
Captain Li narrowed his eyes and looked at him for a while.
If Tang Lang hadn't been so unexpectedly frank, he would have thought he was just blinded by ambition. It seemed like Heng Batong had probably forced him into this.
Captain Li frowned.
The ban on all personnel was Heng Batong's ultimate weapon. Being pushed to this point, he certainly wouldn't give up. However, taking a step back, whether killing An Rou or disobeying Heng Batong, would be a significant detriment to the positive cycle of Zhongsu Town's high-frequency mission area.
An Rou died and the mission was lost.
If Anrou's immortality ban is not lifted, the player will be gone. With bad luck, the risks for guild members will be higher when completing quests, and the rewards may not necessarily match.
"At this point, there are only two solutions." Captain Li said slowly.
Tang Lang perked up: "What's the solution?"
"First, replace the mayor and solve the problem once and for all. Second, let An Rou fake her own death. NPCs don't leave behind corpses after death anyway, so we can just give Heng Ba Tong a pass."
Tang Lang seemed not to have heard the first solution and hesitated, "Fake death? Would it work? It would also require An Rou's cooperation, right? Besides, fake death is fake after all. How long can it fool Heng Ba Tong?"
Captain Li glanced at him silently.
"Then we can combine the two methods. First, let An Rou fake her own death to buy time, while at the same time, we can find a way to kick Heng Ba Tong out of office once and for all."
Tang Lang opened his eyes.
He wasn't a fool. He didn't want to kill someone when Heng Batong asked him to, so he certainly considered faking An Rou's death. But Captain Li kept talking about replacing the mayor, and his vision was much longer-term than his.
The structure of large and small guilds clearly shows their superiority.
Captain Li said meaningfully, "Why, you don't agree? Didn't you say you'd listen to me?"
"No, no, Minister Li misunderstood." Tang Lang explained with admiration, "I've heard of NPC internal strife leading to power changes, but for us, standing on the player's side, to interfere with NPC management... this is the first time I've heard of it. I'm really uninformed.
"Minister Li, we want to change the mayor. How do we do that?"
Captain Li: "You don't have to worry about that. Let's take the first step and fake An Rou's death. Prepare a hundred Yinlai members to stand by, and we in Ouli will do the same. Use two hundred Chosen Ones to build momentum and reassure Heng Batong."
"No problem!" Tang Lang agreed, and then asked, "Where are we going to build momentum?"
Captain Li asked back, "Where is An Rou usually?"
"East Suburb Farm?"
Captain Li nodded: "The first step of the first step is to destroy Yongan Farm."
After the discussion was completed, Captain Li left the Yinlai Club. Before leaving, he turned his head and casually glanced at the Yinlai members standing by the wall.
The worker blinked quietly.
The two sides' eyes met and then separated. Captain Li walked out of the door and Herring immediately came to meet him.
"Did the old guy show up?" Captain Li asked in a low voice.
Herring shook his head. "Logically, even without the teleportation array, with his mobility skills, he should have arrived long ago. But no one's waiting at the guildhall. Minister, did he go straight to check for clues?"
Ouli's headquarters was located in a Level 1 security zone, quite a distance from the remote Zhongsu Town. However, even with the teleportation array and mobility skills, it could be reached in under an hour.
Herring's guess is probably correct.
Captain Li's brows, which had just relaxed for a moment, began to frown again.
The old man was different from Chiqian Yiming. Chiqian belonged to the Huaiyin branch, and no matter how much he looked down on Captain Li, he was still lower in rank than him. But the old man was under the headquarters, and those sent by the headquarters were called special dispatches, and they were not subject to the constraints of the local branch.
Simply put, even if they met, Captain Li would have no way to deal with him.
What's hateful is that Captain Li dared to conclude that the headquarters sent the old people out of some people's selfish motives, and it was even possible that old man Sangtian from the Huaiyin branch was instigating it behind the scenes.
"Minister, what should we do?"
"We must find a way to stop it. Even if headquarters wants to send someone to investigate the Ghost Mother, there's no need to send the highest-ranking veterans." Captain Li said, "I've already told Tang Lang to prepare a hundred men. You should also immediately pick a hundred men from the guild hall and reunite with Yin Lai. Together, we'll—parade through the streets!"
"Parade?"
"Yes, try to disrupt the old people's sight and hearing. Once it gets dark, have the 200-man army attack Yong'an Farm and destroy it."
Herring became increasingly confused. "Why? Didn't the Minister say it's best to follow the wishes of special NPCs?"
An Rou will definitely be angry if the farm is destroyed.
Captain Li took a deep breath and said, "We have to obey her wishes, but only if she can survive the hands of her former enemies. When we get back to the guild hall, I'll discuss the action plan with you. Then, I'll hand over the command of the branch to you."
"Leave it to me? What about you, President?"
"I'm going to the farm in advance to take An Rou away before the old ones do."
Herring nodded. Taking control of the special NPCs first was indeed the safest approach.
He suddenly remembered something: "By the way, Minister, isn't today your daughter's birthday? You didn't log off last night, and... you also missed your son's birthday last month..."
Captain Li was stunned and silent for a moment.
"There will be many more birthdays to come," he said.
-
After Paopao finished packing and walked out of the arena, he had just arrived home when his brother came back.
He looked up at the clock on the wall and swallowed the dumplings in his mouth: "Brother, it's only two o'clock in the afternoon, why did you get off work so early?"
Shi Xizheng saw him frowning as well: "Don't worry about me for now. If you're not in school, what are you going to do at home?"
"Someone set fire to the school. Classes are suspended for the next two days."
Shi Xizheng took out his cell phone and saw the news that someone had deliberately set fire to the cram school. A trace of worry flashed in his eyes.
"There are still three months until the college entrance examination. You might as well study at home during this time."
Paopao shook his head: "No, there's no learning atmosphere at home like at school. Don't worry, brother, I will take care of myself. I even carry a stun gun in my backpack."
Shi Xi was about to say something when Paopao suddenly changed the subject: "By the way, brother, I heard on the news that a tripartite meeting was held today. Is the operating rights of the train station going to be changed? Did Gar get it, or did Long Yan take it back? Oh, brother, you came back so early, are you planning to attend the meeting?"
"Eat your meal and read your book."
Shi Xizheng threw down a sentence and went straight upstairs. When he came down again, he had changed into a neat suit.
Paopao watched him leave, then ran to the window and looked out. Sure enough, he saw the holographic command center's special car. The driver and bodyguard was a soldier he had seen several times.
"It seems I guessed right." He muttered and suddenly laughed.
Who would have thought that the T21 mission led to the change of management rights of the Lengbing City Railway Station, which in turn caused diplomatic disputes, and that he had a small contribution behind all this?
The boss chose today to hold the celebration party, it’s amazing!
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