Relevant Department

"Uh... don't you think this looks pretty festive?"

Holding the speaker in her arms, Night Owl spoke weakly.

"I don't know whether it's festive or not, but I do know that having this conversation with Zhu Bajie Carries His Wife playing makes us seem incredibly stupid."

"Um... should I switch to another song?"

Night Owl raised a hand, looking exceptionally cautious.

"I'll do my best to pick something suitable..."

"Here, headphones."

Before Night Owl could finish her sentence, Bai Zhi decisively handed her a pair of Over-ear Wireless Bluetooth Headsets.

"...Just what exactly have you stuffed into your Inventory?"

Looking at the headphones he had pulled out, Temperance Gentleheart's mouth twitched violently.

"The starter Inventory only has thirty slots..."

"Essential exploration supplies. I've also got homemade White Phosphorus Incendiary Bombs and Digestive Aid Tablets. Want any?"

Bai Zhi looked utterly justified.

"..."

"A large Backpack can hold a lot of things, and that large Backpack only takes up one Inventory slot... This information is publicly available for free on the Player Forum on the Dark Web."

After letting out a breath, Beard Guy suddenly spoke up.

"Fine, let's be open and honest. I'm a newbie player from an official state organization. Before entering this Novice Quest, I obtained equipment support through loans and collateral to ensure I could clear it."

"An official organization? A Player Forum?"

At Beard Guy's words, Temperance Gentleheart and Night Owl both instinctively turned to look at him, while Bai Zhi did not.

"That's right. I obtained Player Qualification seven days ago, was discovered by the state four days ago, and voluntarily chose to join the official organization."

Since he had decided to be open, Beard Guy naturally had nothing more to hide.

"You all know about the various Anomaly Incidents that have been occurring frequently around the world, right? These frequent Abnormal Events began three months ago. Players first appeared three months ago as well. With the power of the State Apparatus, it naturally wouldn't ignore something like this. Basically, every country in the world has established corresponding Official Forces to deal with these sudden situations."

"China Dragon Group?"

Night Owl raised a hand, her eyes lighting up.

"...No, its full name is the Relevant Department."

Beard Guy looked pained.

"In short, joining the Relevant Department comes with many benefits. With the world becoming increasingly dangerous and more and more unsolvable Anomaly Incidents appearing, Players—the only ones with the power to fight them—have become extremely important. If you want to join, I can give you a phone number. Once this Novice Quest ends, call it and someone will handle everything."

"Let's set that aside for now... What equipment did you rent?"

Bai Zhi looked at him.

"Logically speaking, renting equipment shouldn't be cheap, right?"

"That's right. Although this kind of life-saving equipment is useful, if a Player dies in a Novice Quest, the equipment is lost as well. The authorities have to take quite a substantial risk."

After hesitating for a moment, Beard Guy nodded.

"For this Novice Quest, I spent one million to rent a Rare-grade life-saving item."

"One million... Renting equipment is that expensive?"

Night Owl did not react much to the price, but Temperance Gentleheart was visibly shocked.

"For Players, money is no longer the issue. What matters are Level, equipment, and Game Coins. And more importantly, my equipment is a little special..."

Shaking his head, Beard Guy took a small, exquisitely made doll woven from Bamboo Slices out of his Inventory.

[Name: Puppet Doll]

[Type: Special Equipment]

[Quality: Rare]

[Description: A Puppet Doll woven from Bamboo Slices. It automatically splits off one Subordinate Body every 72 hours, with a maximum of four Subordinate Bodies existing at once. Within 200 meters of the Mother Body, a Subordinate Body can absolutely block any single attack. It is scrapped after use.]

[Equipment Condition: Intelligence greater than or equal to 11]

[Note: Everyone who has used it says it's good.]

In a sense, the practicality of this Special Equipment was worth its exorbitant rental price of one million.

"So earlier, you were..."

Looking at the description of the Special Equipment, Temperance Gentleheart could not help looking rather astonished.

"That's right. I got lucky. When I rented this Special Equipment, it came with four extra Subordinate Bodies. I currently have three Subordinate Bodies left that I can use."

Beard Guy nodded bluntly.

"Compared with losing one chance to save my life, losing a Teammate right at the start was something I absolutely couldn't accept. Originally, I wanted to use this life-saving equipment to see if I could get an S-rank evaluation in this Novice Quest. But judging from the current situation, if I keep hiding things, it's possible we'll all be wiped out here."

As he said this, Beard Guy gave Bai Zhi an extra glance.

"Good. Since the problem is resolved, let's continue moving."

Bai Zhi snapped his fingers.

"Everyone, be careful not to get close to reflective surfaces. The risk on the first floor has been reduced to a minimum, but the Second Floor may be another matter. We've found two Human Body Puzzle pieces so far, and there should be about four more missing. Since we don't have any leads at present, let's first find all the Corpse Puzzle Pieces and try laying them to rest."

"We have to go look for those things again..."

With a bitter expression, Night Owl stood up from the Sofa. After thinking for a moment, she decisively put the Over-ear Wireless Bluetooth Headset Bai Zhi had handed her earlier over her head, using it as a barely adequate source of comfort.

"Wait, you don't want those Subordinate Bodies..."

Seeing that the others were preparing to continue, Beard Guy could not help looking somewhat stunned.

By his understanding, there was no way the others should be indifferent toward something that could preserve their lives at a critical moment.

"You can still use them on us while they're in your hands, can't you? Thank you very much for saving me earlier."

Temperance Gentleheart stood up from the Sofa as well and smiled as she held out her hand to him.

"Let's all work together and clear this Novice Quest!!"

After a moment of silence, Beard Guy reached out and shook her hand.

"Then I'll assign the tasks from here."

Turning to glance outside the window and roughly estimate the time, Bai Zhi spoke.

"The first floor has been mostly explored. We currently have two corpse fragments. Based on the concept of Five-Horse Dismemberment, we need to find the remaining four fragments on the Second Floor and the Top Floor. Night Owl and I will handle the Second Floor. You two will handle the top floor. Any objections?"

Before anyone else could answer, Night Owl, who stood beside him holding the speaker and wearing headphones, completely out of place with the surrounding atmosphere, began muttering to herself.

"Ah... searching for corpses in an abandoned Mountain Villa on a Downpour night... I feel like we're all perverts..."

Bai Zhi turned to look at her, reached out to remove the headphones from her head, then spoke to her with a solemn expression.

"No, be more confident. Remove the 'like.' We are perverts."

"..."