No Life
China, holographic command center.
After Kaichu crawled out of the game cabin, he didn't even have time to shower. He just wrapped himself in a towel and rushed over. The neurosensor stuck to his hair, making him look rather pitiful compared to the others in formal attire.
There were two people sitting next to him, in the middle position, and their ranks were obviously much higher than his.
A man wearing silver-rimmed glasses, gentle yet aloof, is Shi Xizheng, the president of the Dragon Flame Guild's Lengbing City headquarters. His in-game ID is: Lu.
The other person had a much more serious expression, he was the leader of the Dragon Breath Group, Wei Gang.
He sounds like a mere team leader, but he's actually in charge of the entire guild's logistics, on par with Shi Xizheng. He was also rumored to have been a top player, but he's long since left the game, leaving no one with a known ID.
The three of them sat in silence, the atmosphere somewhat depressing.
In the middle of the conference table, the indicator light of the holographic projector lit up, and two figures finally appeared on the empty opposite side. In front of them, the emblem of the Gal Guild floated in the air and slowly rotated.
Formal contact between the two guilds was, at this point, a secondary diplomatic act. Shi Xizheng nodded to the recorder in the corner, signaling the start of the meeting.
Before he could speak, Wei Gang spoke.
"Both sides should have heard the general situation. Before we begin the negotiations, let me first mention a few points that everyone should be aware of."
Real-time translation headphones carried his words to everyone's ears.
"First, Cui Qing, also known as Crazy Blade, is dead. He wasn't even out of the game yet. His brain nerves were completely necrotic, which qualifies him as sudden death."
Kaiche suddenly widened his eyes.
Kuang Dao is dead?
He originally thought that Kuang Dao had just lost his game qualification, but he actually died?
However, he was the only one shocked. Shi Xizheng, President Gar, and Sventovit all looked calm.
This prevented Kaishi from asking any questions.
He suddenly thought of Ali.
Witt had said that Ali was dead. His words hinted at his brother's death at the hands of an unknown ghoul. Now, Frenzied Blade had encountered that ghoul... and died too.
A chill crept up my back as it was opened.
Wei Gang glanced at him casually and tapped the table with his finger. "Second, Cui Qing's son, Cui Gaoshan, whose game ID is Ba Tu, has been diagnosed by doctors as insane. We haven't been able to get any useful clues from him yet."
Kaichu swallowed his saliva.
Going crazy playing games... Did this happen before?
He couldn't help but observe the expression of the person opposite him.
President Gal frowned, and Witte's expression was more subtle, but he also frowned.
It doesn't look like a normal situation.
Fortunately... I felt inexplicably relieved after opening the chest.
"Third," Wei Gang continued, "after the incident, we sent people to their residence to investigate. I just received the news three minutes ago."
He paused, doing a good job of getting everyone's attention.
Shi Xizheng also turned his head to look over.
He was not aware of the third point mentioned by Wei Gang, and Wei Gang's well-timed pause indicated that he had made a significant discovery.
"The Dragon Breath Team originally didn't find any leads, but as they were leaving, they encountered the Western Province police who arrived, sealed off the Qingshan Farm, owned by Cui Qing, and arrested his wife."
"What?" Kairi blurted out.
He never imagined that this would be the information.
Shi Xizheng also asked: "Western Province? What crime?"
Wei Gang: "Police in Xi'an Province just dismantled a drug manufacturing operation this morning. They discovered the source of the raw materials from the criminal group, including Qingshan Farm. They did find a poppy field on the farm.
"Cui Qing's wife and all the farm employees have now been detained by the police, and some of them have confessed to the crimes."
"...Maybe it's just a coincidence?" President Gal asked thoughtfully.
"Whether it's a coincidence or not, you need to investigate." Wei Gang said, "The above three points are what I want to say. You guys can discuss the rest."
The meeting room was silent for a while. President Gar glanced at Shi Xizheng and spoke carefully, "Regarding the trial area..."
"We'll talk privately after the trial area." Shi Xizheng interrupted him, "The reason I invited you two here is to discuss the subsequent mission execution plan."
President Gar: "Mission?"
Shi Xizheng: "That's right. Kaicai has reported the details to me, including what happened to Ali. According to our Chinese records, there has never been such a close connection between sudden death cases. So -
"Long Yan formally invites Garl to form a joint mission execution team to investigate the SSS-rank ghoul."
-
The door of the dance hall was closed, the colorful lights were flickering, and An Rou and Paopao sat together, flipping through the screen.
After Crazy Blade failed the rankings, the gaming forums were unexpectedly quiet. After scrolling through several pages, I only found two posts, with few replies and no useful information in them.
"Kuang Dao has never been on the Destiny Ranking before, so not many people pay attention to him."
Paopao analyzed, "After all, everyone pays more attention to those with higher rankings. Also, although Longyan is a huge influence, they have always been very low-key. Unlike other groups, when a member makes the list, they can't wait to make a big announcement and send out announcements all over the world."
That makes sense.
However, An Rou was more concerned about Kuang Dao's offline situation, to see if the ending hinted by Jie Xin would really become a reality. She would have to wait until Paopao went offline to search for news about this.
Paopao asked the question again: "Boss, where are we going next? We just killed a Berserker. Even though the impact wasn't too big, we can't stay in Longyan's territory any longer, right?"
An Rou remembered Jie Xin's words. Chu Mo's absence meant that he had no intention of controlling the farm's whereabouts.
She shook her head and said, "No, I won't stay. Let's go to the Land of No Life as we originally planned."
"We're finally leaving! Every day I stay in Lengbing City, I'll be worried." Paopao breathed a sigh of relief. "Now, even if Long Yan sends people to investigate, they won't be able to find us."
He ran to the window and looked out. Yong'an Street was bustling with lights and decorations, but the sky above was pitch black and he couldn't tell the direction at all.
"Boss, Brother Baofu has been flying for so long, he should have flown out of Lengbing City, right?"
-
Whether out of consideration for national interests or taking into account Witt's wishes, President Gal had no reason to refuse.
Long Yangar jointly established a task execution team, and the composition of the team members was decided on the spot.
The Garr team was naturally led by Witt, while the Dragon Flame team was led by Kai Rib, who made amends for his mistakes. The two selected five members from their respective guilds as team members.
Shi Xizheng and President Gal jointly served as commanders.
Of course, with Long Yan's strong position and the fact that he was the first to propose the establishment of a joint group, Shi Xizheng has already taken the lead in this operation.
"Let's first analyze the important clues we have.
"First, a large area of land on the southern side of Cangling Mountain has been stripped away, and many buildings in the mountaintop town have been cut away. While the cause is unknown, one thing is clear: this ghoul is enormous, a madly transformed ghoul.
"Secondly, this isn't the first time a similar phenomenon has occurred. A week ago, after a massive ghoul wave erupted in Zhongsu Town in District 8, many buildings vanished. Judging from the traces at the scene, they were also cut away by a sharp weapon, like cutting a cake.
"Based on the above two points, this ghoul is most likely the same ghoul boss from Zhongsu Town. It's massive, possesses sharp bone blades, and matches the description given by the disqualified player from Zhongsu Town."
After listening to this, President Gar pondered, "President Lu's analysis makes sense, but it doesn't conform to the game settings. Why was this BOSS able to break free from its territorial restrictions and not be reclaimed by the system?"
Shi Xizheng: "This is the next investigation target of the joint team."
"One more thing," Guild Leader Gar said, "Except for Cui Qing and his son, all the other Dragon Flame players involved in this mission are still alive. Can they confirm the appearance of the ghoul?"
Shi Xizheng shook his head. "Everyone said they didn't see any SSS-rank ghouls. This is the clue I haven't mentioned yet. There are other ghouls at the mission site, and at least one of them is A-rank... This also fits in with the Zhongsu Town mission."
"So what we are tracking is not just one ghoul, but a group of them. It may be a small ghoul wave." Witt said.
"That's right. We asked Mantis about this during the Zhongsu Town mission review. He was a top player, but he was disqualified during the mission. He didn't encounter an SSS-rank ghoul boss, but he did encounter an A-rank and a B-rank."
Shi Xizheng's expression was calm, but his eyes gradually became serious. "Both ghouls are parasitic on the players. They are very good at camouflage and their IQ is significantly higher than other ghouls of the same level. And..."
He paused. "Before Mantis went offline, both ghouls leveled up. The A-level one was upgraded to S-level, and then devoured the soul of a master player. I'm afraid its final level will be higher than S."
Witt pondered, "President Ritsu is saying that it could be the SSS-rank ghoul we're after?"
Two SSS-level BOSSes appeared in the same mission?
This inference gave Kaishi, who had been silent, a shock.
It's not that I'm afraid, but it's rare and unprecedented.
Fortunately, the guild leader shook his head slightly and said, "Although there's no precise categorization of ghoul levels, it can be roughly estimated. A. level just upgraded to S level, skipping SS and going directly to SSS. Just relying on a Mantis is not enough. Mantis is just a low-level player of the God level."
Kai Du breathed a sigh of relief.
Even so, this mission was a daunting one. An SSS-rank ghoul, ignoring territorial restrictions and wandering around with a few high-ranking ghouls? Isn't that just killing wherever they go?
Besides, our president said that they have very high IQs.
"In short, this is not an ordinary SSS-level mission. We must pay enough attention to it."
Shi Xizheng gave a preliminary conclusion and looked at Witt. "The above are the clues we have so far. Witt, since you were able to track them all the way to Sub-3rd District, you should have some important clues, right?"
Witt lowered his head and wrote something on the table, then raised his hand.
The tablet in my hand was also projected into a holographic image.
There are four lines of text on the screen, the top two lines are in foreign languages, and the bottom two lines are in Chinese translated by the software.
[Quest Clue: My traveler, what are you looking for? A mysterious paradise whose whereabouts are elusive?]
[Related Task: Night Boat (Relevance 20%)]
"You actually have a clue! Why don't you share it sooner?"
Kaichu suddenly felt a surge of rage, slamming the table and standing up. Unfortunately, he was surprisingly short in real life, and even standing up was not as tall as sitting. Compared to the tall and strong Witte across from him, he was completely lacking in imposingness.
Witt's face showed a sincere apology: "I'm sorry, this mission involves the cause of Ali's death. I didn't mean to hide it."
Shi Xizheng raised his hand and pressed the shoulder of the man who had been disemboweled.
Kairi withdrew his angry gaze and jumped onto the leather chair with a muffled sound.
Shi Xizheng: "Night Boat? There's an ancient book with the same name in China. I've read it."
Wei Gang interrupted, "Night Boat, Mysterious Paradise—these two words combined can roughly explain the large-scale traces left behind on Cangling Mountain. It also aligns with the enormous size of the ghouls we analyzed."
"We've ruled out another possibility," Shi Xizheng said, "that the land and buildings weren't devoured by the ghoul, but were first cut up and then moved onto its body. That's right..."
Shi Xizheng tapped his fingers on the conference table a few times, and a translucent holographic screen appeared above the table.
"This is the layout of Yong'an Farm that we reconstructed based on the data we collected during our review of the Zhongsu mission."
He brought up another screen. "This is a map of Zhongsu Town, accurately drawn according to the game. Including the mayor's mansion, a total of 45 buildings have disappeared from Zhongsu Town. And this time, 22 buildings disappeared from the trial town..."
Shi Xizheng pondered for a moment and said slowly, "If the ghoul were compared to a ship, it would be an unparalleled cruise ship. No, not a cruise ship... It's a mobile farm, comparable in size to a satellite town, Yong'an Farm!"
"Yong'an Farm?" The others couldn't help but open their mouths wide.
President Gar: "Impossible? How could the farm in Zhongsu Town move to your Longyan territory?"
"It's not the farm that has legs, it's the ghoul carrying the farm on its back." Wei Gang followed Shi Xizheng's analysis and thought, "Xizheng, there's one thing I can't say..."
Shi Xizheng stopped him with his eyes in time.
Shi Xizheng said decisively: "It is Yong'an Farm. I believe in my judgment."
He didn't give the other person time to refute and looked at the other party: "Witt, the clues you provided don't include any location information. I want to know how you tracked it to Sub-3 District."
Witt was silent for a moment, then answered truthfully, "Ali's transmission card."
Shi Xizheng suddenly realized.
However, the others looked puzzled.
It's no wonder they're playing it. The Soul-Calling Song has a complex background, and the props are even more numerous. Among them, the Teleport Card, which serves as an auxiliary prop, is unfamiliar to many people.
Firstly, they were scarce. Teleportation Cards were produced in the Spirit Realm, requiring a complex manufacturing process. Production was already limited, and they were scattered across various factions, making them even harder to come by.
Secondly, the market price of these cards was high, with a pair costing 100,000 gold, and they were single-use items. Most people would rather use a communication card to contact their companions, then use a teleportation array or other means to reach them.
Therefore, few people know that in addition to one-time transmission, the transmission card also has a hidden function: positioning.
When two players bind a pair of teleportation cards, they are deemed activated. As long as the teleportation cards are not used, both players can view each other's positions on the minimap.
When Shi Xi finished explaining, President Gal immediately scolded Witt in a low voice: "Such an important clue, why didn't you report it!"
Witt lowered his eyes: "I hope to find out the cause of Ali's death by myself. President, I'm sorry."
"It's human nature. You don't have to be too harsh on Witt."
Shi Xizheng smoothed things over, "Witt provided the two most important clues. Next, the joint team will track the ghoul by locating it."
-
In the dance hall, light and shadow intertwined. Two wine glasses collided with each other, the rims of the glasses touched each other, and the ice cubes in the glasses hit the glass. Each sound was crisp and pleasant.
Now that the farm has electricity, the ice machine in the dance hall can be used.
"Cheers!" Paopao cheered, "From now on we can go wherever we want and don't have to worry anymore!"
An Rou poked his forehead and said, "You wish. How many days can a hundred souls feed Zhang Da? If they run out of food, shouldn't they find a way to earn more?"
"Oh..." Paopao scratched his head and drank the whiskey in the glass in one gulp.
Then he choked several times and his face turned red from coughing.
He was so embarrassed that he immediately poured himself another glass and said stubbornly, "I just turned eighteen, I'll get better with practice."
An Rou didn't say anything, but looked at him with a smile.
The atmosphere suddenly turned cold.
Paopao didn't know what she was thinking and took small sips of wine.
"Run." An Rou suddenly called him.
Paopao took a sip of wine and turned his head to look.
"Your brother is the president of Long Yan, right?"
Paopao was choked again, and this time it was even more severe. It took him a while to calm down.
He lowered his head, not daring to look at An Rou: "Boss... I didn't mean to hide it from you..."
An Rou's eyes widened: "Really?"
Paopao was dumbfounded. After drinking, even his eyes were blank.
"...Boss, are you deceiving me?"
An Rou quickly suppressed her surprised expression, smiled and shook her head: "Not really, I guessed half right. I don't know anyone in the holographic command center, and after thinking about it, I could only think of President Long Yan, so I might as well give it a try."
I didn’t expect it to be true.
“…Even I am being teased.” Paopao muttered in a low voice.
"Are you angry?"
Paopao glanced at Anrou with resentment: "No... Actually, even if the boss didn't ask, I was going to tell you."
It was hard enough to feel a human heart separated by a layer of belly. He didn't like the feeling of being pulled apart by the so-called secrets.
His words did not surprise An Rou.
Having just overcome a difficult situation, one is at the most relaxed stage. Drinking together in a place like a dance hall provides a suitable atmosphere for exchanging secrets.
An Rou smiled and looked into Paopao's eyes: "I've seen your brother on TV. His name is Shi Xizheng, right? What about you, Shi Paopao?"
"...That sounds terrible." Paopao Bulao said happily, "My name is Shi Ximing. Boss, just remember these three words 'Shi Ximing', don't write it as 'Chairman Long Yan Shi Xizheng's younger brother'."
"Nice to meet you, Shi Ximing." An Rou stretched out her hand. "My name is An Rou, and I'm your boss, an NPC."
Paopao stared at the hand and continued to be unhappy: "Boss, please stop messing with me."
An Rou smiled: "I'm not kidding, I'm really an NPC, not a player."
-
“There is no location right now.”
Shi Xizheng frowned slightly and looked at Witt: "Why?"
"Nightferry," Witt said, "Last night and tonight, the teleportation card's positioning function failed. I guess it's because the ghoul's movement skills block positioning."
"Ghost magic." Shi Xi was thinking and reading out the two words.
Of all the people present, only he and Witte could follow each other's train of thought. Even Wei Gang, having been out of the game for so long, was unable to fully grasp the meaning of their words.
The higher the level of the task, the more information is revealed in the task clues, but it is also more vague.
Shi Xi thought for a moment and nodded, "Vitt, your speculation should be correct. In some high-level mission cases, the ghost arts of high-level ghouls can indeed block positioning and communication.
"The Yong'an Farm in Zhongsu Town disappeared at night, and today's Cangling Mountain ghoul wave also occurred at night. Also, you said you lost track of Yali last night.
"Combining all of this, it's basically certain that this ghoul has a technique related to movement, and it can only be performed at night."
Witt completely agreed: "So we can only wait until daybreak, for the positioning to reappear."
Shi Xizheng: "The premise is that the other party doesn't find the transmission card tonight."
Witt: "Probably not. Ghouls can use items, but they can't discern their hidden functions."
Shi Xizheng: "No, it's possible. You may not know much about the Zhongxu Town Super Ghoul Tide quest. Yong'an Farm has not disappeared, which means its owner, An Rou, has not disappeared either. She is... an NPC."
Shi Xi was subconsciously hiding an adjective: special.
Not long ago, he had privately mocked the Oli Guild, saying that the so-called special address and special NPC did not exist.
Even at this point, Shi Xizheng was a little shaken, but he still refused to acknowledge the NPC's uniqueness. After all, An Rou had always been accompanied by a player, and a little research would reveal it.
The so-called "special" is probably all caused by this player, through some unknown means.
Since a joint team has been sent out, the team members need to know themselves and their enemies, so Shi Xizheng told them this information.
"There are still players on Yong'an Farm. Are they wild guests?"
It is surprising that ghouls, NPCs, and players, the three most important characters in the game, coexist peacefully in the same place.
"It's indeed a wild guest, his ID is 'Paopao'."
Shi Xi was writing this ID on the desk. The two words, along with the translated foreign language, appeared on the light screen.
"I once thought he had died in the ghoul wave in Zhongshu Town, but now it seems that there is a high possibility that he is still in the game."
Kairi whispered, "Since we know the ID, why not find a reason to issue a server-wide wanted order?"
Shi Xizheng rejected the idea. "Changing your ID is just a name change, it's not very meaningful. Speaking of which, I need to emphasize that the mission at Yong'an Farm must remain confidential. My secretary will send you a confidentiality agreement later."
This mission was not only high-level, but also involved the cause of a player's sudden death, making it a serious matter. Guild Master Gar naturally wouldn't object.
Kaiche finally reacted belatedly.
Being able to participate in this negotiation and serve as the leader of the Longyan group, he finally stepped into the core of the secrets.
"Anyway," the sound of Shi Xizheng's knuckles tapping on the table brought Kaipi back to his senses, "we don't have a location yet, so we don't know where to start. This is a good time to complete the preparations for the joint team."
He glanced at Witte and Kairi separately. "Given your levels, I believe you two have the strength to deal with top-tier ghouls. But I want to warn you: no matter what happens, you must not take it lightly. This time, your opponents will not only be high-level ghouls, but also players who are extremely skilled at concealing their strength."
According to Mantis's confession, the wild player named Paopao was not of a high level.
Shi Xizheng was deeply skeptical about this.
-
Shi Xizheng, like his own brother who was facing a powerful enemy, almost dropped his jaw to the ground at this moment.
After running for a while, he finally found his voice: "Boss, what did you say? You are an NPC? This, that NPC? The same as outside?"
An Rou's smile remained faint and she blinked.
"Now, are all the things you couldn't figure out clear now?"
It is precisely because she is an NPC that she needs to tread carefully at all times.
It is precisely because she is an NPC that she never needs to log off.
It is precisely because she is an NPC, a part of the entire game system, that she can see through other people's light screens, connect with the consciousness of ghouls who are also "NPCs", and master so many incredible bug-like skills...
"...It works." Paopao nodded hesitantly, then shook his head fiercely, "No, it doesn't work! Why?! How did the boss become an NPC?"
Judging from their words, actions, and the feeling of getting along with each other, the boss is clearly a real person! And he's from the same hometown as him!
An Rou looked away and took a sip of wine.
The moving spots of colored lights made her expression flicker and it was hard to see clearly.
"I don't know why," she whispered. Turning her head, a smile appeared on her face again. "The past doesn't matter to you or me anymore. Anyway, I'm just a fragile NPC with only 100 health points now."
"Shi Ximing, this is my biggest secret, I'm telling you."
Paopao couldn't get any more questions.
He stared at An Rou in a daze, and belatedly realized that it was because of his childish quarrel with the boss in the Trial Town that she revealed this secret.
He felt like crying.
The boss is not as cold and heartless as she says.
An Rou seemed to have expected this and stuffed a glass of wine into his hand: "Don't cry, you are an adult man, you have no right to cry."
Paopao sniffed and held back his tears: "Yes, the victims didn't cry."
An Rou burst out laughing.
"What a miserable person! What's wrong with the Soul Realm? I own such a large farm and a mountain of gold and silver. I'm so happy that I can't contain myself. I can't wait to hang all the props on my body and show off my wealth every day."
Paopao also laughed, but it was uglier than crying.
"Now that we've left Lengbing City, there's no one around, so the boss can show off his wealth every day. I'm going to go find some passive items now!"
He put down the cup and walked out, but An Rou grabbed his collar.
"How can you say wind is rain?"
An Rou shook her wine glass. "It's already late at night. Finish this drink quickly and go offline to sleep. Officially inform you, Shi Ximing, now that I know your little secret, you still have tasks to do offline."
"What mission? Oh, to find out the news about Qingshan Farm?"
"That's just one of the reasons. The more important thing is to learn about Long Yan's movements through your guild master."
Paopao drank the whiskey in one gulp. This time he didn't cough and patted his chest: "Leave it to me!"
-
The negotiations were basically over, and Shi Xizheng's secretary knocked on the door and handed in two drafted agreements: "Cooperation Agreement between the Longyan Guild and the Gal Guild Joint Execution Group" and "Mission Information Confidentiality Agreement".
President Gal glanced through it briefly, raised no objections, and hurriedly logged off to submit it for review.
Shi Xizheng instructed his secretary to go through the special approval process immediately, and then looked at Kaichen who was hesitant to speak.
"I know you have a lot of questions, but I can't. Frankly speaking, appointing you as the leader of the Dragon Flame Group is beyond my authority. I still need to review it."
"President..."
Shi Xizheng shook his head. "Since you're already involved, you'll know what you need to know sooner or later. Go and get ready. At daybreak, you'll be meeting up with Garr with your team. The secretary has a list of team members. You can pick from it yourself."
It feels very bad to open the body.
Shi Xizheng's words were clear: who could access confidential information was strictly screened. The problem was, with his eighth-place ranking on the Destiny List, how could he not even make the list?
Could it be that he failed the background check?
Kairi pondered and left the meeting room.
Wei Gang looked at his unusually short stature. After the man disappeared, he shook his head and said, "He's a clever kid. Lu, to be honest, I'm not optimistic about this candidate."
Shi Xizheng didn't care: "He can bring Witt into the trial area without permission. There are many things that can't be hidden. It's better to just drag him into the game."
Wei Gang thought for a moment and nodded, "Your concerns are valid. However, what you said isn't quite accurate. As number eight on the list, he's already in the game."
Shi Xi was forcing a bitter smile.
Seeing this, Wei Gang changed the subject: "What happened just now? Although it's highly likely that the Night Boat is Yong'an Farm, there's one thing that doesn't make sense. Are you so sure?"
"Which point?"
"You're asking anyway, even though you already know the answer?" Wei Gang lowered his voice unconsciously. "I've received the video report from the trial team. You should have seen it long ago, right? If it really was Yong'an Farm, how could there not be any trace of it in their description?"
Shi Xizheng shook his head and said, "No, the fact that they couldn't find any traces shows that there's something wrong with their report."
"You suspect they're hiding clues? They're all low-level players, what's their motive? Besides, is it possible for over 300 people to conflate their testimony in such a short period of time?"
"Impossible, they didn't intend to hide it."
Wei Gang frowned: "What do you mean?"
"Everyone gave a very clear account of what happened, but no one, not a single one, mentioned any names. No one knew the names of the people they met at the mission site, the buildings or shops they saw, or even the street where they said the banquet was held."
Most people who watched the video focused on the course of events, and Wei Gang really didn't notice this detail.
He couldn't figure it out for a moment and gave her a puzzled look.
"Then let me ask you another question," Shi Xizheng said, "Many members claim to have sent out messages asking for help, but no one outside has received any of them. Why is that?"
"Isn't it because of the ghoul's magic? Just like blocking the location, it blocked the communication?"
"That's a possibility." Shi Xizheng nodded, a puzzled look on his usually calm face. "I'm more inclined to believe that the details of their memories were specifically erased."
Wei Gang was startled and stood up suddenly: "Shenqi? This sudden death case involves Shenqi?"
He slowly sat back in his chair and said, "No wonder you interrupted me. If Gar knew your suspicions, he wouldn't give up control of the mission so easily."
Shi Xizheng sneered, "Even if they don't want to, we have to give in. It's just that the guild can't coordinate, which will definitely delay the progress of the mission. There's no need for that."
Wei Gang agreed, his tone suddenly rising: "Then sending out Kaishi alone won't do the trick! To be on the safe side, let Chumo join as well. Although that guy's personality doesn't make him a team leader, he can be a non-staff member. With him around, the mission will be much easier."
"I have already informed him that he will be a non-staff member." Shi Xizheng said.
But Chu Mo hasn't replied yet.
But Shi Xizheng was not worried at all. He was the only one who knew about the plan to remove the ink. Since there was an SSS-level ghoul, the ink removal would not be absent.
-
Chu Mo stood in a black fog.
The black fog rolled like a dark cloud, and from time to time, a bright white lightning flashed out. Zhu Mo stepped on the flying sword Youqi and his body changed position accordingly.
Not a single bolt of lightning—or to be more precise, not a single bone blade—could touch him at all.
The ghost magic of night travel is not about getting rich overnight and simply carrying the farm on its back and flying. It is more like the externalization of the void, wrapping the entire farm in it.
This is get-rich-quick territory.
However, it can't hurt a hair of the ink remover. Even so, the efforts to get rich quickly never stopped, as if tireless.
Likewise, Chu Mo showed no signs of annoyance. Lightning flashed in his dark eyes, allowing him to easily penetrate the black fog and look at the commotion below.
There was a banquet in one mile, with hundreds of people drinking together, cups and plates in a mess, and there was a sense of joy of a great harvest.
In the neon lights, colorful smiles are climbing up more and more gray faces.
Qi Mo shifted his gaze to the light screen in front of him.
It was Lu's summons, as expected.
It was also expected that Lu chose to block the news and carry out the mission in secret.
However, the fact that Long Yan and Gar formed a joint execution team exceeded his expectations, but it did not surprise him.
Ali's brother Sventovit is the number one player in Gal. It is normal for Vitt to insist on finding out the cause of his brother's death.
The next question is what he will do and how long he can delay.
Jie Xin's annoying voice sounded in my ears.
"Can you ignore the directive from your immediate superior?" Xie Xin feigned surprise. "At least you should reply with 'got it' or 'OK', right?"
Chu Mo was naturally too lazy to respond to such a boring question. He closed his eyes and turned off the light screen.
Jie Xin had no idea he was being a bore. He smiled and said, "Isn't this kind of happy reunion scene exactly what you wanted? You should at least go down and have a drink. If the residents knew, one drink per person, the number one on the Destiny Ranking would definitely get drunk tonight."
"I didn't let her take the farm."
Xie Xin raised his eyebrows and said, "Then it doesn't suit your taste. Why don't you go and settle the score with her?"
Chu Mo stopped talking.
Xie Xin smiled knowingly, "Of course I don't know your little tricks. Isn't it because the two of them, one man and one ghost, are invincible together, so you want her to have more burdens? Chumo, Chumo, you've learned bad habits."
Chu Mo glanced at him without any emotion and disappeared into the thick fog.
As soon as he left, the sudden wealth of Bone Blade also ceased.
"This treatment..." Xie Xin smoothed the long hair hanging down from his forehead, not knowing for a moment whether he was being treated preferentially or unfairly.
His gaze fell downwards, and he sighed softly, "She's a bit of a bodhisattva, I really didn't see that."
It sounds like there is a hint of schadenfreude hidden among the sighs and regrets.
-
The buffet finally ended.
It wasn’t too late, the fluorescent clock on the wall of the dance hall had just reached ten o’clock.
After running away, An Rou has been drinking alone until now. Hearing the voices outside gradually dissipate, she opened the door and took a look outside.
Yong'an Street is shrouded in colorful neon lights, and the street is clean.
The cleanup was done so quickly, probably because the new residents helped out. It's a good thing that the old and new get along so well.
The buildings moved from Trial Town can't be repaired until Paopao goes online tomorrow, so tonight, new and old residents will have to squeeze in together for the night. With Tian Rui and his men watching over them, there's no need to worry about anyone doing something shady.
However, there were many people and eyes in the villa, so An Rou planned to spend the night in the nightclub.
She took the last sip of wine, put down the glass, thought for a moment, and took out an unopened bottle of foreign liquor from the wine cabinet.
"Violent."
An Rou stepped into the crack with a bottle of wine in her hand.
The tentacles of the void surged over and gently carried her into the deepest part of the void.
Along the way, tiny points of soul light emerged from the ends of the tentacles, lighting up a dream corridor dotted with broken stars for her.
Compared to before, the soul light spot is obviously brighter, probably because it has swallowed up Kuang Dao's soul.
An Rou stopped, supported the soft tentacles with one hand, and sat down. Her upper body tilted slightly, and her beautiful face was slightly flushed because of the wine, and the area around her eyes seemed to be covered with a layer of peach pink eyeshadow.
There was a hint of drunkenness in his eyes.
Spots of light surged, and a pure white figure appeared in front of him.
An Rou pinched her thumb and index finger: "Bao Bao, pen refill."
The figures scattered and turned into countless points of light, which surged again and pieced together into a huge heart of love.
An Rou reached out and pressed it.
She couldn't describe the feeling, but she felt it was softer than any kind of cotton or down in the world.
But she began to shake her head: "No, Baobao, this heart is not right... It won't beat, it's not a real heart."
As soon as he finished speaking, the pure white heart suddenly shrank a circle, and then expanded to its original position.
An Rou's face was full of surprise.
"Again!" she said.
"One more time, no, one hundred times!" she said again.
In the vast and empty space, a huge heart of love began to beat for her.
Not only that, the light spots on An Rou's head, sides, behind her, and other void tentacles began to combine one after another, turning into hearts of different sizes.
All hearts beat for her with the same rhythm.
An Rou's smile suddenly disappeared, replaced by a confused look.
Everyone has a heart.
She remembered a sentence in a prose she read aloud on the balcony one morning when she was little:
"There are millions of hearts in the world, but only one beats for you. You have to find it."
Her father, a teacher, heard this and severely criticized her view. Finally, he said to her, "Anrou, a person's heart can only beat for himself, and yours is no exception."
When she was young, she thought she understood what her father meant, but when her father donated everything he had to rebuild the school, she felt that she didn't understand.
It was not until her parents passed away and she met Yan Shou, who lived next door, and they stayed together for ten years that she felt she understood everything again.
Yan Shou left without saying goodbye, and all her beliefs collapsed. An Rou didn't understand. But it didn't matter anymore. She felt that her initial understanding of her father's words was correct.
Humans are selfish animals, and each chest cavity is destined to allow only one heart to beat.
A person's heart can only beat for himself.
This belief lasted for the next five years until this moment, when a crack as thin as a spider web appeared again.
Hundreds and thousands of hearts are beating for her.
At this moment, she understood the sentences in the essay and her father's words at the same time.
They are both right, no one is wrong.
A person's heart beats for himself, but a monster's heart does not.
An Rou opened her arms and hugged the largest white heart in front of her, rising and falling slightly with the rhythm.
"Baobao, is your heart beating for me?"
"Yes, Master."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
