There's Nothing Left for You to Do Here

She really was rather disappointed. Could that handsome NPC have been fooling her? There had been no results at all so far. More importantly, he had clearly said a group of people would be following her, yet she had not seen a single soul.

Just then, her vision suddenly went dark. She jerked her head up and saw two suspiciously dressed people standing in front of her.

Zhai Mao jumped in fright and instinctively covered her pocket—there was a sum of Lungmen Dollars inside.

That handsome NPC, Bai Ye, had promised her that if she failed to catch any fish, the money would be her reward.

The two exchanged a glance. Then one of them asked, "Little girl, are you Infected?"

Zhai Mao had originally wanted to nod immediately, but in the end, she chose to shake her head in denial.

NPC Bai Ye had said that being Infected was nothing glorious, and that she should consciously hide it if she wanted to make it convincing.

The other man seemed even more relaxed. He smiled and pointed at Zhai Mao's calf. "Heh heh, stop pretending. You're Infected."

It turned out that "by accident," Zhai Mao had exposed the black crystal on her ankle.

"Don't be afraid. We're not bad people..."

"We have miracle medicine..."

"Everyone who's used it says it works..."

"Blah blah blah..."

The two men seemed to have let down their guard and began using their tried-and-true routine to lure Zhai Mao in.

They had only just come out, and the little girl in front of them was probably one of the refugees who had arrived in Lungmen today. As an Infected, she had come to the slums looking for medicine. Sure enough, the rumors they had spread earlier had worked.

"Why should I trust you?" Zhai Mao touched the "hairpin" on her head.

"You can try it first. An Oripathy flare-up is terribly painful, and this miracle medicine can suppress it. It wasn't easy for us to get our hands on it. Look at the trademark—it's Rhodes Island merchandise..." As he spoke, one of them quietly patted his chest.

Zhai Mao put on a doubtful expression.

The two could tell at once that the little girl was tempted, so they prepared to take her somewhere secluded to inspect the goods.

"How did they know about Rhodes Island?" Flanka listened to the conversation coming through the monitor, somewhat puzzled.

Rhodes Island was still largely unknown. She had only been able to come to Rhodes Island for treatment because Blacksteel International had helped her find it. She had not expected to hear Rhodes Island's name in Lungmen's slums.

"Bai Ye, get ready to move."

Chen put away her terminal, while the Guards Bureau officers disguised in small groups nearby began closing in on the two men.

Those two had actually "thoughtfully" chosen such a secluded location. They were making things much easier.

"Bai Ye, where are you?"

But Flanka realized that in the blink of an eye, Bai Ye had vanished again.

"I'm above you," Bai Ye said softly through the communications terminal.

Flanka and Scythe looked up, only to see a figure standing atop an outdoor air-conditioning unit, as still as a statue.

"He can really hide..." Scythe could not help remarking.

Bai Ye did not answer. He merely watched the two thugs lead Zhai Mao into the secluded dead-end alley, frowned slightly, then swept his gaze toward the shadows in the corner at the alley entrance.

By the faint light, he saw that a patch of air there seemed slightly distorted.

Bai Ye's brows immediately relaxed. He said into the communicator, "Don't come out yet. Just seal off the exits."

With that, he leaped down.

His black trench coat billowed in the airflow like the outstretched wings of a night owl.

Without the slightest effort, he knocked out the two men beneath him. Then he suddenly turned and violently hurled the short blade in his hand.

At the same time, he lightly tapped the ground with his toes and charged in the direction the blade had flown.

Sshk—

Blood sprayed out, and a figure abruptly appeared out of thin air from the previously empty corner. He cried out in pain. Bai Ye's thrown short blade was embedded in his leg.

"Trying to play dirty, huh?"

Bai Ye was already close. He knocked the dagger from the man's sleeve with one palm, then grabbed his arm, twisted both hands behind his back, and pinned him to the ground.

In the blink of an eye, he had subdued all three.

He casually pulled the short blade from the man's leg, shook off the blood, and returned it to the sheath strapped to his thigh.

This short blade seemed better in both quality and feel than the one he had picked up during the Zero Yuan Purchase at Penguin Logistics. Although they were of the same grade, this one felt more comfortable to use.

"How did you... find me?"

The man gritted through the pain and asked with difficulty.

Bai Ye sneered. "Safra's invisibility technique is indeed impressive, but you had far too many flaws."

Optical Mimicry like this really was difficult to detect.

However, Bai Ye had seen far too much in his previous life.

Players used invisibility far more skillfully. The truly powerful ones were practically ghosts in PvP. A Safra like this one was simply too green; any experienced player could tell at a glance that something was off.

Zhai Mao, standing beside them, was already dumbfounded.

Just how many people had been following her...

No, wait, what had happened? Why had everyone suddenly gone down?

Who am I? Where am I?

The livestream chat, meanwhile, exploded. This was the first time viewers had seen Bai Ye make a move, and for most of them, it was also their first time witnessing a Terra native fight.

Comments and endless spam of "666" flooded the screen. They had been stunned silly by the display.

This was exactly the visual impact Bai Ye wanted. Only something cool enough could attract Players.

Whether one was strong depended on the current version, but being handsome lasted a lifetime.

There's Nothing Left for You to Do Here

Was Bai Ye strong?

In Bai Ye's own words, his potential was limitless, because as someone who had been through it all, he knew very well what path lay ahead.

Of course, at present, Bai Ye naturally could not compare with those monsters. He could neither ignite an entire city block with a single sword nor raise a second sun on the battlefield...

But the Players did not know that. They had only just entered the game, and the most they had seen were gang thugs brawling with each other. Under those circumstances, Bai Ye's series of moves perfectly fulfilled their fantasies of coolness.

After Zhai Mao obtained the footage recorded by Officer Chen's drone and played it in the livestream, the viewers finally saw the complete recording of Bai Ye's entire fight.

Justice descended from above, enemies dropped with a single strike, and he pulled an invisible ambusher out of thin air... There had not been a single pause in between. His movements were fluid, precise, and elegant. Most importantly, Bai Ye had not deliberately tried to show off, so it looked incredibly natural—no acting, all real.

Before he fought, Bai Ye had only left the viewers with the impression that he was handsome and good-looking. Now, he was handsome and strong. It was hard to imagine that such terrifying explosive power lay within that lean body.

That extremely obvious contrast instantly established Bai Ye's "character setting."

On the Players' forum, someone quick-handed had already edited the footage:

"Zhai Mao Recording Team—One Minute to Show You Just How Strong NPC Bai Ye Is"

The post's popularity quickly rose to second place, while first place was the clip from Bai Ye's first appearance. Not only that, but the number of comments beneath the video was soon about to surpass the top post.

In the Players' eyes, whether an NPC was handsome depended on the artists, while the most important part of a game was whether it was fun to play.

Therefore, beneath the video of Bai Ye fighting, the comments with the most likes and replies were not from appearance-obsessed fans praising how handsome he was, but from hardcore Players seriously analyzing the scene.

Mochi Youmu: NPC stats are just stronger than ours. He jumped down from that high up without even needing to cushion the landing. It should be related to the Constitution stat, right?

Malfoy: He only knocked them out, didn't he? Boring. I want to see blood flowing like a river.

Lemon Dove: No need for that. But if he hadn't thrown that knife at the invisible guy at the end, I wouldn't have even realized someone was standing there.

I Am Shafurin: Terrifying, truly terrifying.

Before long, more videos about Bai Ye would surely appear on forums and video sites. He had clearly become a traffic magnet, and quite a few people browsing online already knew his name to some extent.

That was a good thing. As long as Bai Ye had fame, he would attract more and more useful pawns.

However, Bai Ye had no time to browse the forum for now. He handed the Safra he had captured over to Officer Chen.

"Those two probably aren't important. Focus the interrogation on the one who can turn invisible." Bai Ye spoke while watching the Guards Bureau officers carry over the other two unlucky men he had knocked unconscious himself.

Officer Chen checked the group's belongings and, as expected, found prohibited drugs in the two men's pockets.

"They merely changed the packaging. Inside, it's still an addictive banned substance. Its so-called medicinal effect only numbs the sensory nerves, creating hallucinations to deceive those who take it." Bai Ye took one look and spoke flatly.

An Oripathy flare-up was incredibly painful. This drug could indeed relieve that pain to some extent, but it did not suppress Oripathy. It merely created hallucinations.

Flanka's expression darkened. As an Infected herself, she was clearly furious. It was the first time Bai Ye had seen such an expression on the fox girl's face. Scythe, beside her, tugged at her sleeve.

Officer Chen's face had also visibly taken on an angry expression. The Guards Bureau officers merely assumed their superior was righteously indignant. However, of everyone present, only Bai Ye knew why Chen was so angry.

Because she herself was Infected.

Bai Ye nudged the Safra lying on the ground with his foot.

"He's a cleaner."

The mastermind would never sell the drugs personally. They would only find insignificant gangs to serve as cover. And the way to ensure the trail never led back to them was to send out cleaners.

These people would erase clues before anything went wrong, preventing anyone from following the trail to implicate the big shots behind it.

Usually, the organization's elites served as cleaners.

Yet even this cleaner probably had not expected his consistently reliable Optical Mimicry Originium Arts to be seen through so easily, especially on a dimly lit night.

There was no need for Bai Ye to handle the interrogation personally. The officers of the Guards Bureau's Special Inspectorate Team were all skilled at that sort of thing.

Flanka walked over to Bai Ye with a smile and lightly patted his shoulder. "Not bad. Where did you learn stealth techniques like that?"

In her eyes, Bai Ye's frightening quality was not his combat ability or eyesight, but his terrifying stealth techniques. After all, he had not used any Originium Arts at all.

"I learned it in Hawaii," Bai Ye said casually.

"Huh?" Flanka blinked. "Hawaii? Where's that?"

"Don't worry about it." Bai Ye casually made a reference.

He had now discovered that his NPC identity was genuinely useful. No matter what he did, he could make the game's developers take the blame.

For example, the reference he had casually made just now would not be a big deal even if the Players heard it.

An NPC broke the fourth wall?

No problem! It was an easter egg set up by the developers!

An NPC was making references?

No problem. Do you know what a tribute is?!

Just pin it all on the developers!

Humans only saw what they believed.

Bai Ye opened the game interface and gave Zhai Mao the reward for the second stage of her quest. Since the useful pawn's mission and the promotional objective had already been accomplished, it was time to send her away.

She would not be needed for the final stage. This girl was too weak and had no combat ability. Bai Ye did not want to be distracted during the upcoming fight.

Of course, while that was what he meant, Bai Ye still had to make use of the art of speaking.

After thinking for a moment, Bai Ye pulled Zhai Mao aside and gave this useful pawn the short blade provided by the Guards Bureau as her quest reward.

This thing was only green quality, inferior to the blue-quality dagger Bai Ye had acquired earlier from Penguin Logistics. That one came with a casting unit and could be used to unleash certain Originium Arts.

"Thank you very much for your efforts. The next mission is far too dangerous. You've already done very well, so don't take any more risks."

At once, a crisp notification sounded on Zhai Mao's game interface:

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