MAO-A Gene

Qin Shang obediently nodded.

Now that his identity as a fraudster had been exposed, Qin Shang no longer felt quite so restrained around the Red-robed Cult Master.

At the very least, he could be certain that this woman harbored no ill will toward him.

As a result, he relaxed a little in both speech and manner, speaking frankly.

He really was a newbie player of the Divine Path!

Snap—

Only then did the Red-robed Cult Master light her cigarette.

"Since you helped deliver a message, go ahead and ask whatever you want."

"As a new player, you must have quite a few questions about the Divine Path, right?"

"My Ten Thousand Treasures House sells intelligence and items, and also takes on some gray-area business."

"Normally, even newbies have to pay when they come to me for information. But for the sake of that little brat today, you can ask whatever you want..."

Hearing this, Qin Shang felt a wave of gratitude toward Grandpa Niu for no apparent reason.

He desperately wanted to make contact with veteran players and learn more information about the Divine Path game.

But it was obvious that veteran players like Eagle of Justice and Buddha Saves the Predestined would probably attack him and take his head for the bounty the moment they learned he was a fraudster.

Let alone a high-level player like the Red-robed Cult Master!

Qin Shang could guarantee that the Red-robed Cult Master's level was far higher than Eagle of Justice's. Fortunately, she harbored no ill will toward him.

"Then my first question is..."

"What is the Ten Thousand Treasures House?"

Qin Shang cleared his throat, thinking he should start with something harmless.

At that, the Red-robed Cult Master's expression twitched.

"Didn't you hear what I just said? The Ten Thousand Treasures House is a place that sells intelligence and items related to the Divine Path."

"It's one of my businesses, specifically established to serve Divine Path players."

Qin Shang gave an "oh." This was a very well-chosen target market!

If only he had become a Divine Path player sooner.

Divine Path players' money really was easy to earn.

After clearing the Death Train, he had received a full twenty-five points.

Converted into RMB, that was an astronomical sum Qin Shang had never dared to imagine before.

"What exactly is the Divine Path? What kind of people become players? What are the criteria for issuing Character Cards?"

"And are professions fixed..."

Qin Shang took a deep breath. Noticing the contempt in the woman's eyes, he realized that she probably looked down on him.

The Red-robed Cult Master's face practically said, How did this idiot who asks such basic, brainless questions manage to clear the trial dungeon?

At this point, Qin Shang stopped hiding his ignorance and pretending to understand. He honestly asked the several questions that concerned him most.

Only then did the Red-robed Cult Master, whose hands had remained steady on the steering wheel, slightly part her red lips and reveal an amused smile.

"I thought you were an idiot. Looks like your brain isn't too bad after all. I knew a moron couldn't possibly clear a fraudster's trial dungeon..."

"What the Divine Path is—no one can explain that clearly to you."

"Even if you went and asked players in the Rule Realm, they couldn't explain the nature of the Divine Path. All we know is that it's a game, one that looks somewhat like virtual reality but can actually cost people their lives."

"Every time players are matched with a dungeon of Rank A or above, they might die!"

"But the rewards for clearing dungeons are also unimaginably generous, aren't they?"

"The point and item rewards are enough to let you rise from the bottom and sing triumphantly in the real world. You should have experienced that already, young fraudster of the Order Realm."

"For example, your Inheritance skill. Find an elderly person with no children and activate the skill. Tsk, tsk, tsk... The assets under your name will swell at an extraordinarily exaggerated rate..."

Hmm!?

At those words, Qin Shang froze.

He knew that Divine Path skills could be used in the real world.

But he had never imagined that Inheritance could be used this way.

"Is the Red-robed Cult Master also a fraudster?"

"Me? I'm not..."

The woman in the red dress smiled with pursed lips.

"Don't be so surprised. As a public enemy of all humanity, every one of the fraudster's skills has been experienced by veteran players. They really are heaven-defying!"

Heaven-defying?

Inheritance was indeed pretty damn powerful.

But it didn't seem worthy of being called heaven-defying, did it?

Qin Shang was stunned.

"Your second question: what kind of people become players..."

"Hmm, that depends on the group and profession. I can answer that together with your third question!"

The next moment, the Red-robed Cult Master spoke calmly.

"People from every walk of life might become players. But I can give you one important piece of information for free: among fraudsters, a high proportion carry the MAO-A Gene."

"I don't know how well you studied biochemistry..."

"I dropped out of vocational school!"

Hearing those four words, the Red-robed Cult Master tactfully asked no more questions.

Dropping out of vocational school meant he had never attended university.

"Biology" and "chemistry" were still separate subjects in middle and high school.

Even among undergraduates, unless they were in a related major, not everyone would study "biochemistry."

Qin Shang had definitely not been stupid to clear the fraudster dungeon.

He simply had not been unable to learn.

For someone like him to drop out of vocational school, there was an eighty percent chance that he had an unpleasant past he could not bear to recall.

The Red-robed Cult Master was not interested in that.

"Oh, then I'll give you a simple explanation. The MAO-A Gene is also known as the violence gene. Among people who possess it, the crime rate is far higher than among others."

"According to incomplete statistics, among players who receive the fraudster Character Card, seventy-seven percent carry the MAO-A Gene. They are already a high-crime group."

Qin Shang's heart trembled. The scene of his confrontation with the fraud ring called Skull suddenly surfaced in his mind.

At the time, he had stubbornly wanted to destroy it through his own efforts.

He actually knew that doing so could also be considered a crime.

Yet he had still chosen to act so recklessly!

It was difficult to say that the so-called MAO-A Gene mentioned by the Red-robed Cult Master had not played a part.

In an instant, Qin Shang felt as if someone had ripped away the fig leaf covering his nakedness.

"So... people become fraudsters simply because they carry a gene associated with a high crime rate?"

The Red-robed Cult Master shook her head.

"No. According to incomplete statistics, half of the fraudsters I know have gone to prison for committing crimes. More accurately, the Divine Path issues this profession's Character Card by selecting criminals!"

"Of course, fraudsters are a mixed group. The MAO-A Gene only determines the probability of violent behavior. It does not necessarily determine criminal behavior."

"For example, people who abuse small animals or drown anthills by urinating on them because it gives them pleasure."

"The MAO-A Gene is also highly active in this group. Possessing this gene does not mean someone will commit crimes. It merely means their crime rate is higher than that of ordinary people!"

After saying this, the Red-robed Cult Master smiled.

"The profession on the Character Card issued by the Divine Path is merely a reflection of a person's underlying personality."

"As for what that person is truly like in reality, none of us dares—or can—make a judgment based solely on clearing a silver-white card!"

That statement struck a chord with Qin Shang.

He pressed his lips together and nodded, acknowledging the Red-robed Cult Master's words.

"Any other questions?"