You'll Regret This / Bai Ye's Obsession

In short, after an exchange that had not exactly been smooth or friendly, neither Bai Ye nor Dr. Kal'tsit could make sense of the other's hidden cards.

"So this tube of blood was drawn from you?!"

After sitting back down, the blood demon girl spoke first. Her eyes were locked tightly on Bai Ye, filled with a dangerous, yearning gleam.

Only then did Bai Ye recognize her. The blood demon who had charged recklessly through the corridor earlier was this very person—the one Typing Girl had called Warfarin.

It was hard to imagine that such a slender, petite girl possessed such terrifying physical mobility and strength.

Judging by her armband, she seemed to be from the Medical Department as well?

Damn it, were all Rhodes Island doctors this hard to deal with? Bai Ye increasingly suspected that rumor from his previous life might have been true: Rhodes Island Medical Department operators were the best fighters.

They really had not been lying!

While Bai Ye observed this "young and beautiful" blood demon, the girl kept chattering at Dr. Kal'tsit. "His body and blood are simply too special. They would absolutely help advance the development of a new generation of medicine, and there may even be a chance of completely curing Oripathy. Kal'tsit, could you discuss it with him and have him come to me for regular examinations? I only need to draw a little blood. It won't affect him at all."

"..."

Bai Ye rolled his eyes. Was it really okay to say that right in front of him?

"Go ask him yourself." Dr. Kal'tsit remained unmoved, apparently unwilling to keep arguing with the blood demon over this matter.

"Damn it, why aren't you surprised at all? This is—" Warfarin frowned, deeply dissatisfied with Dr. Kal'tsit's attitude.

Dr. Kal'tsit shook her head without speaking.

In truth, compared to what Warfarin was dwelling on, there were far more things about Bai Ye that surprised her. By comparison, his blood was already quite insignificant.

Seeing that Dr. Kal'tsit would not budge, Warfarin could only turn to Bai Ye. She forced an incredibly comical, ingratiating smile onto her face, seemingly thinking of how to persuade him.

"We still have matters to discuss. You two can leave first." Dr. Kal'tsit glanced at the blood demon girl. "Let me warn you in advance: you are not allowed to obtain Mr. Bai Ye's blood samples through deception, coercion, or any other improper means unless he volunteers."

Dr. Kal'tsit seemed to have seen through Bai Ye's concerns. No one wanted to become an experimental sample. Though, given the proper procedures, Bai Ye clearly would not be in mortal danger and might even receive preferential treatment, that was not the kind of treatment he wanted.

"Okaaay..." Warfarin dragged out her voice like a child before walking out.

Typing Girl, the angel, followed her out as well. The look she gave Bai Ye had become even stranger.

Dr. Kal'tsit did not care about Bai Ye's blood, while Red simply had no concept of such things. As a normal person, she understood very clearly how valuable Bai Ye's blood was. She had never expected the visitor she was receiving to have such an extraordinary background.

"Red, you should go out too." Dr. Kal'tsit stroked the hair of the Lupo girl guarding her side, who had not relaxed for even a moment.

Red shook her head, still staring at Bai Ye and the sheath with the short blade stuck into his leg.

"Don't worry about him. He won't make a move."

"Red understands."

In the end, the girl obediently left. She slipped out of the office along the wall, her fingers brushing over the scratches Bai Ye had left there, as though feeling the strength and speed behind his attack.

At last, the office door closed, leaving only Bai Ye and Dr. Kal'tsit in the room.

"You know my name?" Bai Ye spoke first.

Dr. Kal'tsit nodded. "PRTS has already sent the information you submitted to my terminal. Though we both know how reliable that information actually is."

"I think I'm probably trustworthy." Bai Ye pointed at his face, emphasizing how harmless he looked.

"That assumes you trust us as well. Human trust goes both ways." Dr. Kal'tsit's words carried a deeper meaning. "In fact, I still do not know why you sought out Rhodes Island with such precision and such a strong sense of purpose."

"Then let's be frank. I came to seek cooperation with Rhodes Island, and I happen to know a little about you." Bai Ye completely relaxed, leaning back in his chair and finding a comfortable position.

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You'll Regret This

Bai Ye had always been socially anxious, and for certain reasons, he had no resistance to older women. He was weak.

However, the president of The Revelry Tea Party in his previous life had taught him that if he wanted an advantage at the negotiating table, he first had to trust himself completely.

That trick worked well. At the very least, Bai Ye could now face Dr. Kal'tsit directly without lowering his head before her.

Though deep down, Bai Ye still had the illusion that he was facing an elder. So even though Dr. Kal'tsit's off-the-shoulder outfit was genuinely seductive, Bai Ye himself could not get worked up over it...

He had not experienced that feeling in a very long time.

"I own a courier logistics company, and I plan to recruit a group of special employees. However, we lack reliable navigation maps and stations. I heard that Rhodes Island has offices all over the world, so I would like to cooperate with your company—comprehensively and deeply."

Bai Ye spoke first.

Bai Ye felt as though he was scamming both sides. First, he had told Miss Swire that he wanted to cooperate with Rhodes Island, and now he was using the resources from that side to seek cooperation with Rhodes Island.

He did not even know whether Miss Swire had registered the company yet, and the Players had not officially arrived. Even if it had been registered, it would only be a shell company.

Thinking about it now, what he was doing really was outrageous. All he could say was that he had a lot of nerve.

"Cooperation?" Dr. Kal'tsit pondered for a moment and nodded. "We can discuss it. However, matters concerning Rhodes Island are not something I can decide alone. A business specialist will conduct an assessment later."

"Actually, we both know that your opinion is extremely important."

Bai Ye used an honorific.

"Besides cooperation, it seems you also want to join Rhodes Island?" Dr. Kal'tsit neither confirmed nor denied it, instead changing the subject.

Bai Ye nodded. "In fact, I personally came to apply for a position at Rhodes Island. I hope to become the director of Rhodes Island's External Operations Department, responsible for matters related to overseas offices."

As he spoke, Bai Ye began rattling off his résumé, a script he had prepared overnight.

"In fact, that falls under the Human Resources Department..." Dr. Kal'tsit did not interrupt Bai Ye. She only spoke after he had finished reciting his script.

Bai Ye nodded. "As I said, your opinion is very important."

"So that is the image you have of me." Dr. Kal'tsit suddenly said.

"No one could believe that a fourteen-year-old girl is the actual leader of your company. In fact, I heard someone call you Empress Dowager Kal'tsit..."

He said it!

The death-seeking spirit within Bai Ye blazed fiercely.

Perhaps Players were born with a death-seeking gene.

"..." Dr. Kal'tsit fell silent.

In truth, she had misunderstood Bai Ye's meaning.

In her understanding, the term "Empress Dowager Kal'tsit" seemed to indicate that Bai Ye knew about Rhodes Island and its predecessor, perhaps even that he understood Amiya's origins.

—Amiya could be regarded as the heir to the Demon King. In other words, in a certain sense, Rhodes Island's predecessor could be considered Kazdel's government in exile?

Viewed that way, Empress Dowager Kal'tsit was not entirely wrong. After all, Dr. Kal'tsit was Amiya's guardian and foster mother.

"Actually, I think you need a guardian as well..." Dr. Kal'tsit suddenly said. "I must prepare myself mentally for the fact that Rhodes Island is about to gain another troublesome child."

"It's not that exaggerated... right... uh..."

Bai Ye had just wanted to argue when he followed Kal'tsit's gaze to the blade marks carved into the wall.

"I had also intended to keep you at Rhodes Island. Compared to your kin, you are far too young, and I am worried that you may fall into the hands of other forces. You should understand your own uniqueness now as well." Dr. Kal'tsit continued.

One of her identities was that of a scholar—a Laterano scholar, a Columbia scholar, an Ursus scientist... She had witnessed many experiments that exceeded human morality and ethics.

She did not want Bai Ye to experience such things, not merely out of nobility or morality. It was also because if someone like Bai Ye became mentally twisted by dark experiences and developed hostility toward humanity, the destruction he could cause would be enormous, no less than a Catastrophe.

"It's hard to imagine you could be this kindhearted—but I want to say that anyone might seem young in front of you..." Bai Ye continued courting death.

Dr. Kal'tsit ignored him.

"What do you want me to do?" Bai Ye continued asking.

"If the business cooperation you mentioned succeeds, Rhodes Island will naturally receive the share it deserves."

"What about the part concerning your goodwill?" Bai Ye pressed on.

"I once heard a theory." Dr. Kal'tsit looked at her hands. "The emotions humans speak of will eventually develop cracks. They are a sophistry, easily twisted by people's interests and capable of giving rise to betrayal."

"And so-called nobility is merely an impractical ideal. Expectations lead to betrayal, betrayal leads to anger, and then one tries to force the other party to act according to one's wishes. Thus, the more noble one's ideals, the more easily one falls into madness. Most tragedies are probably like that."

As she spoke, Dr. Kal'tsit sighed. "Of course, this is only one theory. Everyone has their own understanding. What I mean is that if the benefits are great enough, betrayal becomes much harder to produce."

"Very interesting." The theory Dr. Kal'tsit described was actually quite similar to a Player's mindset.

Whoever gave me more benefits, I listened to them.

Of course, it could not be denied that some Players would develop feelings and a sense of belonging toward a faction. In the end, they would choose to follow their hearts, ignore their actual gains, and do something crazy.

For example, there had been a famous game in his previous life called "Arcadia Gate." Some Players joined the NPC faction known as the "November Principality" in the first version. When the principality was on the verge of destruction in the eighth version, many Players still chose to remain before the main gate of the principality's castle and become members of the knight order.

In the end, all of them shouted, "For the Grand Princess!" and charged at enemies several times their number. Every single one lost at least five levels and a pile of top-tier equipment.

Their efforts did not change the outcome. The principality was destroyed all the same, and the Grand Princess sacrificed herself to send her younger sister into the "Promised Land." What those Players did seemed meaningless, and from the standpoint of profit, they had suffered huge losses. Everyone knew what five levels meant in the later stages. Not to mention all that equipment...

Yet no one regretted their losses. That was the charm of full-dive games: they reflected the side of Players that they lacked in reality or longed to achieve in their hearts, allowing them to cast everything aside and play the person they ideally wanted to be.

Perhaps darkness, perhaps light.

After some thought, Bai Ye chose to accept Dr. Kal'tsit's proposal.

Either way, he was not losing out.

Besides, that had been his original plan.

It was just that what Dr. Kal'tsit had said reminded him of many things he had been unwilling to think about.

"Go complete Rhodes Island's onboarding procedures first." Dr. Kal'tsit nodded at Bai Ye.

Bai Ye left Dr. Kal'tsit's office, only to see Warfarin rush inside.

A while later, an argument broke out in the room.

"You'll regret this, Kal'tsit!"

"I am the head of Rhodes Island's Medical Department, Miss Warfarin."

"Hmph!"

"Now this is what the usual atmosphere feels like..."

Dr. Kal'tsit had been far too serious.

She had nearly thrown off Rhodes Island's true nature as a comedy troupe.

Bai Ye's Obsession

"You really are brave..."

Seeing Bai Ye emerge from Dr. Kal'tsit's office, Typing Girl, who was responsible for receiving visitors, could not help commenting.

"You're not bad yourself. So much happened, yet you're still this calm." Bai Ye found this Laterano girl genuinely interesting. Despite all the chaos, she still wore an expressionless face.

Typing Girl shook her head with the air of someone who had seen it all. "If you stayed in Laterano for a month, you'd stop finding things strange too. Especially after seeing a group of people try to play rock music at the cathedral entrance, or watching something get blown into the sky every so often..."

Bai Ye was somewhat puzzled. "Why do your incidents always happen at important moments, like graduation ceremonies or the Pope's speeches?"

In his previous life, he had heard many rumors about angels and had personally visited Laterano, but he did not understand how these people thought.

Typing Girl suddenly understood. "You probably don't know. In Laterano, at important occasions like those, we have to carry loaded guns to show respect."

"And then, well, you know. 'Carry loaded guns'..."

Even she felt a little embarrassed saying it. What other race messed around so wildly? It was hard to put into words.

Bai Ye rolled his eyes. Still, he thought that she would meet even stranger people later. At least Laterano people dressed like human beings during serious occasions...

He believed the Players' bizarre sense of fashion would bring a different kind of trend to this land.

"I'll take you for your onboarding assessment first." Typing Girl gestured for Bai Ye to follow her.

Bai Ye was very curious about Rhodes Island's famously mysterious onboarding assessment. "What does an onboarding assessment usually involve?"

"Do I have to face a huge swarm of Originium Slugs alone, or defeat a pureblood Wendigo by myself?" Bai Ye sounded intrigued, seemingly delighted by the coming challenge.

"A Wendigo?" Typing Girl felt that something was off, but judging from Bai Ye's tone, he did not seem to be joking. "I don't know where you heard those rumors. But Rhodes Island is only an ordinary pharmaceutical company. Even though we have independent armed forces, it wouldn't be that outrageous."