Reincarnated NPC, But Arknights Chapter 3

He steadily sheathed his sword, then used a dagger to pry open a can. Finding some bread, Bai Ye sat at the workbench to the right of the safehouse.

The workbench was kept very clean. It could be used to modify tools or operate a desktop terminal.

On Terra, terminals were similar to computers and mobile phones from his previous life on Earth. However, due to Catastrophes, this world had no satellites, so there was no World Wide Web covering the entire planet.

In the fifth year after the game's launch, a group of players, in conjunction with several major NPC companies and political powers within the game, initiated the World Wide Web Project. However, even before Bai Ye's transmigration, this project had yet to yield any tangible results.

Turning on the terminal, Bai Ye connected to the intercity network. This network technology was actually an invention based on the ancient coding techniques of Terra. In fact, ancient civilizations were far more advanced than the modern era.

While filling his stomach with bread, canned food, and drinks, Bai Ye operated the terminal. First, he needed to write a program to register his identity in the central database. Second, he had to gather useful information to understand the general situation of Lungmen and the world.

"The open beta is about a month away... there's still time."

Bai Ye was starving. As he typed, he devoured the food like a whirlwind, then packed up the trash. Finally, he grabbed some supplies and Lungmen Dollars from a cabinet and put them into his inventory.

"Time to go..."

Bai Ye put away his portable drive and stood there, thinking for a moment. He didn't slip away immediately. Instead, he created a new document on the terminal, spent ten minutes typing a bunch of text, and only then saved and shut it down.

Afterward, he walked over to the coffee table by the sofa and took two boxes of Pocky biscuits from the drawer. He stuffed one box into his pocket and opened the other, placing it in a conspicuous spot on the coffee table.

He was leaving a message.

Although it was a "Zero Yuan Purchase," Bai Ye didn't intend to take things without saying anything. Even if what he took was insignificant to Penguin Logistics and the Emperor, doing so carried a subtle implication of defiance—especially since the Emperor wasn't accustomed to engaging in battles of wits with players.

Penguin Logistics had its own encryption method, which used Pocky biscuits. This was a method conceived by the messenger, Sora. Players who had joined Penguin Logistics in his previous life had posted this cipher in strategy guides.

You would never guess that by using the two ends of Pocky—one with chocolate and one without—a cipher could be formed. The side with chocolate represented a long signal, and the tail was short. It was a peculiar cryptography.

After completing all this, Bai Ye tidied up his belongings and then left the Penguin Logistics safehouse.

Late at night, inside the Penguin Logistics building, Ifrit was not resting.

He was browsing his personal terminal while sipping coffee.

Suddenly, a message flashed across the screen on his desk.

"Strange, this site wasn't booked or registered. How was it activated?"

Ifrit rubbed his chin in confusion as he checked.

After a while, he opened his personal terminal and contacted Texas, who was currently on a mission.

"Miss Texas, have you finished delivering the goods?"

"If you have some free time, you can go and check out Outpost A-25."

After a moment, Texas's slightly cold reply came through the headset: "Overtime pay, triple."

Bai Ye took a deep breath. Even through the mask, he could still breathe freely without feeling stuffy.

This was a standard A1 Portable Mask, equipped with night vision and air purification functions. However, for Bai Ye, the most important aspect was concealing his identity.

Put on a mask, and no one will love you.

His weapons and items were all stored in his inventory. In the darkness, Bai Ye looked at the Lungmen Guard Department building before him and fell into thought.

To infiltrate this map with a level 1 identity was practically lawless. He was still hesitating.

However, Bai Ye soon made up his mind.

He had already been to the Laterano Cathedral. What was there to fear about this place?

A lawless demon, terrifying indeed.

Chapter 5: Lungmen Guard Department

Lungmen was a city that never slept, its lights bright enough to illuminate the night, making it seem like day. The city center was filled with hustle and bustle, while the lower districts were covered in thorns and mud.

Of course, none of this pertained to the Lungmen Guard Department headquarters. It was very quiet here.

The building was brightly lit, suggesting that many officers were working through the night.

Entering the Guard Department was quite difficult. The defenses were tight, with seamless walls and high-voltage fences eliminating any possibility of infiltration by climbing over.

However, there wasn't a completely foolproof method. Among the green trees planted outside the wall, one grew particularly tall, almost reaching above the electric fence on the wall.

Logically, such a security hazard should have been investigated. However, since the establishment of the Guard Department, no one had ever dared to be audacious enough to infiltrate it, so this loophole had been overlooked.

"There are several ways to access the central database. This one, through the Lungmen Guard Department... requires authorization from the upper echelons of the Guard Department."

Bai Ye glanced at the still brightly lit office on the upper floor of the Guard Department, then nimbly climbed the tree trunk. He leaped over the wall using the branches and landed in a bush.

"My stats are too low, that hurt a bit..."

Although the green belt had cushioned his fall and he had rolled to dissipate the impact, it still hurt. Bai Ye rubbed his backside. Without standing up, he skirted several surveillance cameras along the shadows of the green belt and infiltrated the Guard Department building through blind spots.

In the early stages of the game, not many players had the opportunity to enter the Lungmen Guard Department building, but there were ways.

Some players would find opportunities to blend into the Guard Department during the day, then log out in a secluded corner before logging back in late at night, allowing them to explore the building under the cover of darkness.

This method was consistently effective. Through the players' perseverance and persistence, they had actually managed to map out the entire building's layout and defenses.

Although Bai Ye had seen that map, he wasn't a photographic memory expert who could recall every detail. However, he had guided many clients through the dungeon "Guard Department Building Defense Battle" so many times that he was sick of it; he could navigate it with his eyes closed.

Having a staff weapon would probably make things much easier, as Originium Arts could be used for stealth. However, the Lungmen Guard Department's corridors were equipped with Originium energy detectors, and any fluctuation in Originium Arts would be enough to trigger an alarm.

Climbing up the fire escape to the second floor, Bai Ye found an open window and pulled himself inside.

No one.

The corridor was pitch black. Most of the officers had already finished their shifts, with only a few remaining in their offices to handle work.

In the narrow hallways, the surveillance cameras had almost no blind spots, but Bai Ye didn't pay them much mind. The Lungmen Guard Department building had been too peaceful for too long. He could imagine the officer in the surveillance room now, perhaps drinking coffee, browsing their personal terminal, or tiredly rubbing their eyes as they calculated the time until their shift ended.

Bai Ye sprinted up to the higher floors in one go, then turned into a restroom.

"Ops..."

This time, Bai Ye's luck wasn't so great.

An unlucky female Lungmen Guard Department officer was in the restroom when Bai Ye suddenly burst in, startling her.

Fortunately, she was just washing her hands, so nothing more awkward happened.

"What—Hmph!"

Bai Ye had no interest in getting into a prolonged fight with these agile Lungmen Guard Department officers, even if the one before him was a civilian officer.

The moment he saw the officer, Bai Ye grabbed his stun baton and pressed it against the poor young lady.

How to quickly switch to the required item from the inventory without any delay was a mandatory skill for combat players. Skilled players could switch to five loaded crossbows and fire in different directions in the blink of an eye.

Bai Ye was naturally adept at this.

Accompanied by an involuntary twitch, the high-voltage pulse instantly knocked the officer unconscious, and she fell to the ground.

"This uniform is nice. Too bad, if it were a male officer, I wouldn't hesitate to claim my spoils..."

Bai Ye blinked.

He still had some semblance of decency.

"So much experience from defeating an opponent above my level... Unlucky fellow, hope you can hold out for a while longer."

Bai Ye wasn't sure how long it would take for this person to be discovered. Once discovered, it would mean his actions were exposed. The Lungmen Guard Department would become tense and vigilant, like a disturbed beast.

Exposure was inevitable, and he had plenty of ways to escape, it just required time.

Retrieving his stun baton, Bai Ye locked the unconscious officer in a stall, then entered another stall, took out his sheathed longsword, and pried open the ceiling.

The Lungmen Guard Department building was constructed twenty years ago and had a distinct Victorian steam-punk style. The ventilation pipes were large enough for an adult to crawl through.

Bai Ye stepped on the toilet to climb up. Through the pipes, he could enter Officer Chen's office.

Officer Chen, Chen Sir, or rather, Chen Hui Jie, was an extremely important NPC in "Arknights OL" and the leader of the Lungmen Guard Department's Special Inspection Team. She was a top-tier figure, and her office possessed an access card.

As Bai Ye slowly crawled above Officer Chen's office, the young leader of the Special Inspection Team had not yet finished her shift.

Bai Ye made his breathing as long and slow as possible, squinting to avoid direct eye contact, and tried to lower his presence to avoid startling the sharp-sensed young officer.

This was not magic, but a technique taught by an Eastern Country ninja in the past. With this skill, Bai Ye had survived the chaotic battlefields of the Eastern Country and completed that urgent mission of crossing the front lines.

Resting with his eyes closed, he didn't know how much time had passed before Chen Hui Jie finally got up from her chair. She stretched and began to tidy up the scattered documents and files.

Bai Ye remained still, his breathing long and steady, quiet, like a plant hidden in the shadows where sunlight couldn't reach.

"Bang—"

Chen Hui Jie's movements were quick; she was the type of decisive young woman, so she soon left the office.

"Phew... I almost couldn't breathe."

Bai Ye quickly regained his vigor, pried open the cover plate on the ceiling, and landed lightly.

Although his attribute values weren't high, Bai Ye possessed rich techniques for applying force. He knew how to utilize his body.

His status as a veteran player was Bai Ye's confidence in daring to infiltrate the Lungmen Guard Department; the items and weapons obtained from Penguin Logistics' Zero Yuan Purchase were merely supplementary.

Bai Ye rummaged through Chen Hui Jie's office. He had been here a few times in his previous life, but this time seemed to be the most thrilling.

A thief, stealing into a police office.

"Hmm... A very powerful weapon, sharper than my sword. Too bad I can't use it even if I took it."

"Files, documents, might be useful, but no need to examine them."

"In the drawer... not this one, hmm, the third layer, it's here."

Bai Ye quickly and accurately found what he was looking for. He didn't linger or think about looting more spoils. He darted out the door and ran towards the fire escape.

From there, he could reach the underground level and access the central database.

Chapter Six: Various Parties

The evening breeze blew towards Chen Hui Jie, carrying the warmth of late spring, the best solace for a tired night owl.

Occasionally, she would look up at the starry sky at night, but she clearly didn't know that the arrangement of the stars had long been chaotic and could no longer provide guidance or enlightenment.

Chen Hui Jie prepared to return to her dormitory to rest. She didn't own her own house, and she hadn't been back to the old Chen family residence in a long time.

However, at the entrance of the Guard Department building on the first floor, she saw a junior officer anxiously pacing in circles.

"Officer Lin, why aren't you home? I remember you're not scheduled for duty today."

"Ah... Officer Chen!"

Seeing the important figure walk up to him, the junior officer quickly stood at attention and saluted, then explained, "I'm waiting for Jia Hui... Honestly, she said she was going to the restroom and still hasn't come back."

Chen Hui Jie frowned upon hearing this, "How long has she been gone? What's going on?"

"It should be about an hour. I don't know where she went. Ah... Officer Chen, please don't be angry with her..."

Junior Officer Lin said softly. Chen Hui Jie rarely smiled and always had a stern expression, exuding a powerful aura. Now, with her subconsciously furrowing her brow, it was natural for her subordinate to feel a little scared.

"Find her first." Chen Hui Jie's sharp intuition made her realize something was wrong.

However, even she wouldn't have expected someone to be audacious enough to infiltrate the Guard Department and attack officers. After thinking for a moment, she withdrew her thoughts and looked at the junior officer frozen in place.

"Hurry up and move. What's the use of standing there anxiously pacing when something happens? You should have gone looking for her long ago." After all, he wasn't one of the Guard Department's elites, Chen Hui Jie felt this guy had become dull from sitting in an office.

"Yes... Yes!"

"I'll go with you."

As Chen Hui Jie led her subordinate to look for the person, the two messengers from Penguin Logistics also met at the safe house.

"Texas, Ise asked you to investigate, why did you drag me along too?"

Exusiai got out of the car and stood by the street, looking at the warehouse before her. She had been here before and hadn't noticed anything unusual.

Exusiai was a Laterano, referred to by players as an "angel."

She had a halo on her head, emitting a bright glow. With her present, it was clearly impossible for anyone to launch a sneak attack.