Free Shopping Spree / Exposed

Bai Ye did not want to waste time. He had a better way.

A method that was illegal, but effective—and as long as he did not get caught, there would be no problem at all.

Bai Ye was preparing to infiltrate the Lungmen Guard Department.

Beneath the Lungmen Guard Department was the Lungmen Central Database. Once Bai Ye got in there, he could alter and upload his own data, gaining legitimate identification from then on.

Bai Ye had completed similar missions in his previous life, so he was quite familiar with the whole process.

Still, this really took nerve—after all, not even Outlaw Zhang San would dare charge straight into a police station.

The Lungmen Guard Department served much the same function as the police, except it was more like a special police force and counted as Lungmen's public armed force.

It was not somewhere just any random person could casually break into.

Of course, Bai Ye had another option besides this: join an organization and obtain an identity through them.

For instance, Penguin Logistics. (Why did that sound so familiar?)

It was an underground logistics organization in Lungmen that had practically monopolized all of the city's gray-market delivery business. Supposedly, it could transport any goods, including Lungmen's lions, and guarantee they arrived absolutely on time and safely.

The owner of this private Courier Company, the Emperor, was a mysterious penguin with a very special identity. He was also one of Lungmen's higher-ups, and Players and world-quest storylines had confirmed that he could chat and laugh with Lungmen's chief executive, Wei Yenwu.

He was no ordinary boss.

If Bai Ye could join them now, he would be set—high pay, logistical supplies, weapon procurement channels, and all sorts of missions...

The thought alone made his mouth water.

Unfortunately, the organization was extremely difficult to enter. Not only did one need exceptional skills, one also had to catch the Emperor's eye.

It was not until the third year after launch that a Player successfully applied to join Penguin Logistics.

With Bai Ye's current level-one blank-slate stats, getting into Penguin Logistics was nothing but a pipe dream.

"Hmm... perhaps it is not impossible with my personal charm."

With both hands in his pockets, Bai Ye briskly walked down Lungmen's streets.

He really was strikingly handsome. Quite a few young girls he passed could not help turning around for another look.

People were visual creatures, and this world was ultimately one that judged by appearances.

If he went to see the Emperor now, he might even be able to become a "poster girl"...

Besides Penguin Logistics, if Bai Ye wanted to make his way through the underground world, he could also choose Li's Detective Agency.

It was a jack-of-all-trades shop in Lungmen's gray zone. Its leader was Old Li, who was said to have come from Yan and possessed a very special identity.

If he wanted to go even darker and deeper, the various gangs in the slums of Lungmen Lower City would also be a fine choice.

A great many undocumented people gathered there. It was dangerous, but at least he could develop himself early on.

However, the deeper one got involved, the harder it became to leave.

Bai Ye did not want to do that for the time being. In his plans, those were all Plan B. He would only consider them after Plan A failed.

Bai Ye had never had a choice in the past. But now, he wanted to be a good person—at the very least, he needed an identity that looked respectable.

Players considered only a few simple things—cost, efficiency, risk, and reward.

As long as Bai Ye had enough confidence in his own skills, he would choose the most extreme route with the greatest returns.

Even if he got caught after messing up, Bai Ye had a backup plan. It would be more troublesome, but there was absolutely no danger to his life.

Of course, if he wanted to earn the achievement of becoming an "Outlaw" by infiltrating the Lungmen Guard Department, he could not possibly go there empty-handed. That would be suicide.

He had to go make a Zero Yuan Purchase first.

Bai Ye could not help smiling. He had just said he wanted to be a good person, yet what he was about to do had absolutely nothing to do with being good.

Zero Yuan Purchase

Zero Yuan Purchases were something Players did often. Rummaging through boxes and cabinets was something they had done plenty of when the game first launched.

It had been like this in games since the old era.

It was a sense of superiority unique to higher-dimensional descendents, because some Players believed they themselves stood a tier above this world.

It was a game, after all. Games were meant to be played.

Then they got put in their place in Arknights OL.

Only then did Players truly understand what a next-generation fully immersive game was.

The NPCs here were practically indistinguishable from real people. They were nothing like those stupid, easily fooled characters in older games.

It was precisely because of this that, even though the game was genuinely difficult and could even make Players feel as though they were being played by the game, Arknights OL remained immensely popular.

Because this place was like a second world. Here, Players could experience brand-new kinds of fun that were difficult to find in real life.

Well, not absolutely anything they wanted—after all, Arknights OL was a proper game approved by the censors, so there were certain things Players could not experience.

That said, it was exactly because there was difficulty that a group of persistent Players began figuring out how to make Zero Yuan Purchases.

These lawless people took joy in petty theft. Every day, they matched wits against anti-theft systems and security personnel, then posted all sorts of guides and tips on the forums.

It was somewhat shameful, but very useful—especially to Bai Ye right now.

Bai Ye's target was a Penguin Logistics safehouse.

Players were strange creatures. They could worm their way anywhere, could not die, feared nothing, and were restrained only by their moral limits and the laws within the game.

But they had extraordinarily strong mobility. Once their strength grew in the late game, that incredible ability to act was brought to its fullest extent.

Players had thoroughly mapped out how many safehouses Penguin Logistics had and which ones were easier to infiltrate. There were no secrets left at all.

Penguin Logistics safehouses were scattered throughout Lungmen, storing food, weapons, supplies, and all kinds of equipment.

The pleasure-loving boss even placed entertainment equipment inside some of them.

Some safehouses were heavily guarded with airtight security measures. Others could be entered even by ordinary Siracusan gangs, who could even plant bombs inside.

Bai Ye's target was one of the latter.

As it happened, he knew one nearby.

Along the way, he ran into a few girls with animal ears. Bai Ye was an old Player and had seen plenty before, so there was nothing new about them, but he still liked looking. After all, he was an LSP.

By the time he arrived at his destination, it was already late at night.

Twin moons hung high in the night sky, occasionally hidden by clouds and faintly visible through them.

Bai Ye quietly ran up to a warehouse. A large lock hung from its front gate.

He ignored the lock and went around to the side instead. After pondering for a moment, he lifted a hatch from the ground.

It was an entrance used to clear the sewers, and Bai Ye crawled right in.

Contrary to what he had imagined, there was no overpowering stench or damp gloom. Though it was pitch-black after he descended, the place was dry and ventilated, with fresh air. It had clearly been specially renovated, and the safehouse was hidden inside.

Bai Ye remained where he was for a while, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the darkness before heading deeper through the passage.

As he walked, Bai Ye reached out and tapped along the walls. The clanging sounds echoed continuously through the passage.

After roughly ten steps, Bai Ye stopped and pressed down hard on a particular spot on the wall.

With a series of clicking sounds, a screen popped out from the wall. It was obviously asking for a password.

Some safehouses required work-ID verification, while others only needed a password. Bai Ye had specifically sought out the latter.

0601

Bai Ye tried entering the password, and it worked on the first attempt.

According to intelligence from his previous life, Penguin Logistics' beloved mascot was a girl named Texas, and many access passwords had been set using her birthday.

In his previous life, Players who called themselves the "Thieves' Guild" had repeatedly succeeded with that password. Yet the Emperor had somehow found enjoyment in it, beginning a battle of wits with those Players and constantly upgrading his security systems while waiting for them to crack them.

That prankster Emperor had even deliberately established several "safehouses," placing equipment, Lungmen Dollars, and supplies inside as rewards for Players to crack.

It was an open scheme, but it drew Players' attention and kept them from disturbing the safehouses that actually needed to be used. In the end, Players got equipment and had their fun, while the Emperor could use them to discover vulnerabilities in his security systems... it was a win-win situation.

What was even more amusing was that Penguin Logistics' most profitable business eventually became its constantly updated, high-performance security products...

In truth, some Players did not engage in petty theft for equipment at all. They did it to enjoy the tense thrill of the process, an experience impossible to obtain in reality.

The stray thoughts lasted only an instant. Before Bai Ye, the wall slowly slid aside, revealing a door. Beyond it was a small Penguin Logistics outpost.

This was what a Zero Yuan Purchase meant.

Bai Ye was naturally not doing it for thrills. He needed to "borrow" some of Penguin Logistics' resources.

Well, it certainly was immoral, but he had no choice right now—he was penniless and lacked a legitimate identity. All he could do was make a Zero Yuan Purchase or bluff his way through.

The door opened, but Bai Ye did not enter immediately. He first poked his head in to observe, then crouched down to inspect the ground.

"Someone has been here..."

After thinking for a moment, Bai Ye walked inside.

This safehouse was not particularly large. Bai Ye pressed a switch on the wall and turned on its lighting system.

Closing his eyes to avoid the sudden brightness, Bai Ye looked around and examined the Penguin Logistics outpost.

His first impression was that it was messy.

All sorts of things were piled around haphazardly, and the furniture styles were equally chaotic. Everything gave off a casual atmosphere that suited Penguin Logistics' comedic temperament.

Although the outpost had been built underground, it did not feel enclosed or oppressive. The walls were covered with wallpaper resembling windows, and modern projection technology permanently fixed the view outside at what Penguin Logistics considered the best delivery time—night.

On the left side of the room was a storage cabinet holding small odds and ends such as speakers, coin jars, documents, and signed CDs. Beside it stood an old-fashioned record player.

Bai Ye knew there was almost nothing useful there.

The clue board hanging on the wall, however, was useful.

The squads formed by Penguin Logistics' couriers had astonishing combat power, but usually, they each grabbed a job and completed it on their own. Only when they encountered troublesome missions would they gather together.

Bai Ye checked the registration sheet on the wall. This safehouse appeared to have last been used two days ago.

Exposed

Bai Ye did not continue wasting time. Though he had plenty of time, this was not the moment to wander around sightseeing.

He quickly headed to the right, where he found the weapon locker and stored supplies.

This was it.

Bai Ye first opened the wardrobe. Inside were uniforms of all kinds.

Couriers faced diverse and complicated environments, so they had uniforms suited for different conditions depending on mission requirements.

Although Penguin Logistics' couriers were all women, the uniforms leaned toward a neutral style. Bai Ye had an average build and a rather slender frame, so they fit him quite well.

Bai Ye had no resistance to wearing women's clothes. Equipment was meant to be used, after all. As the saying went, the stranger the outfit, the faster the monsters died.

Of course, he needed something ordinary now, nothing too eye-catching.

After searching through the wardrobe for a while, Bai Ye selected a lightweight outfit suitable for nighttime movement.

Then came the weapons. What Bai Ye really wanted was a firearm, but those were difficult to get. There were ways to acquire handguns, but long guns were controlled by Laterano, and those outside official channels had all been stolen.

Penguin Logistics had a Laterano woman who could use firearms, but she carried her guns with her at all times. How could there possibly be firearms here?

There was a light semi-automatic crossbow, though. Bai Ye chose one that felt comfortable in his hands. It appeared to be made by R.G. Industries, so its quality was guaranteed.

However, Bai Ye planned to modify it once he obtained the proper tools. For now, he could only make do with it.

He did not find an Originium staff. That was because Penguin Logistics' Squad Five had no pure casters. Sora was the only one who used an Originium staff, and she definitely carried it with her.

Fortunately, Bai Ye quickly found what he wanted most—a sword and a dagger.

The weapon Bai Ye had habitually used in his previous life was a straight sword. Later on, he would also use floating swords, controlling several at once and fighting with a computational terminal linked to his nerves.

Bai Ye took the straight sword from the locker. It was also a standard-issue straight sword made by R.G. Industries, equipped with an Originium guidance device that could activate a portion of Originium Arts.

Holding the weapon in his hand, Bai Ye felt its weight. It was not merely the heaviness of metal—wielding a tool for killing required resolve. It could never be done out of vanity or curiosity.

After casually swinging it a few times, Bai Ye had grown familiar with the straight sword's weight. In his previous life, he had swung blades countless times, and his swordsmanship had long reached perfection. Now, he merely needed time to familiarize himself again—to turn experience into muscle memory and slowly integrate the virtual game's sensations into his real body.