Lungmen Guard Department / The Various Parties

Bai Ye steadily sheathed his sword, then pulled out a dagger to pry open a can. He found some bread and sat down at the workbench on the right side of the safehouse.

The workbench had been cleaned neatly. Tools could be modified on it, and the desktop terminal could be used as well.

Terminals on Terra were similar to computers and phones from Earth in his previous life. However, due to Catastrophes, this world had no satellites, and thus no World Wide Web capable of covering the entire planet.

In the fifth year after the game launched, a group of Players joined forces with several major NPC companies and governments in the game to launch the World Wide Web Project. Yet until Bai Ye transmigrated, the project had produced no tangible results.

After turning it on, Bai Ye connected to the intercity network through the terminal. This network technology was actually an invention based on Terra's ancient coding techniques—in fact, ancient civilization had been far more advanced than modern society.

As Bai Ye ate bread with canned food and a drink to fill his stomach, he operated the terminal. First, he needed to write a program so he could register his identity in the central database. Second, he needed to gather useful information and get a general sense of Lungmen's current situation, as well as that of the world.

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

Bai Ye was already starving. He coded while wolfing down the food, then packed up the trash. Finally, he fished out some supplies and Lungmen Dollars from the cabinets and placed them in his inventory.

"Time to go..."

Bai Ye put away the portable drive and stood there in thought for a moment. He did not leave immediately. Instead, he created a new document on the terminal, spent ten minutes typing a large block of text, then saved it and shut the machine down.

He then walked over to the coffee table in front of the sofa, took two boxes of Pocky from a drawer, stuffed one into his pocket, opened the other, and placed it conspicuously on the coffee table.

He was leaving a message behind.

Though this was a Zero Yuan Purchase, Bai Ye had no intention of taking things without saying anything. Even if the items he took were insignificant to Penguin Logistics and the Emperor, doing so still carried the implication of slapping them in the face—after all, the Emperor had yet to get used to outwitting Players.

Penguin Logistics had its own encryption method, using Pocky biscuits. It was a method thought up by the messenger Sora. In his previous life, Players who had joined Penguin Logistics had posted this code in strategy guides.

You would never imagine that the chocolate-covered and non-chocolate-covered ends of Pocky could form a cipher. The chocolate-covered end was a dash, while the plain tail was a dot. A peculiar form of cryptography.

After finishing everything, Bai Ye packed his belongings and finally left the Penguin Logistics safehouse.

Late at night, Ifrit did not rest in the Penguin Logistics building.

He drank coffee while browsing his personal terminal.

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

"Strange. This site was never reserved or registered. How was it activated?"

Ifrit checked the system while rubbing his chin in confusion.

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

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

"If you have time, go check out Site A-25."

After a moment, Texas's somewhat cold reply came through the earpiece. "Overtime pay. Triple."

Bai Ye took a deep breath. Even through the mask, he could breathe freely, without the slightest sense of stuffiness.

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

Once the mask was on, he loved no one.

His weapons and items had all been stored in his inventory. In the darkness, Bai Ye looked at the Guards Bureau building before him and fell into thought.

Charging into this map at level one was simply lawless. Even now, he was still hesitating.

However, Bai Ye quickly made his decision.

He had even been to Laterano Cathedral. Why would he care about this?

A demon beyond the law, terrifying indeed.

Lungmen Guard Department

Lungmen was a city that never slept. The lights of the metropolis were enough to illuminate the night like day. The city center was filled with clamor and prosperity, while the lower districts were covered in thorns and mud.

Of course, none of that had anything to do with the Lungmen Guard Department headquarters. It was very quiet here.

The building was brightly lit. One could imagine that quite a few officers were still working through the night inside.

Entering the Guards Bureau was no easy task. The place was tightly guarded, with flawless walls and high-voltage electric fences eliminating any possibility of climbing over and sneaking in.

However, it was not entirely impossible. Among the landscaping trees planted outside the wall, one had grown exceptionally tall, nearly surpassing the height of the electric fence atop the wall.

Logically, such a security risk should have been inspected. However, since the Guards Bureau's founding, no one had ever been brazen enough to infiltrate it, so this loophole had been overlooked.

"There are several routes into the central database. The Lungmen Guard Department route... requires authorization from the upper ranks of the Guards Bureau."

Bai Ye glanced at the still-lit offices on the upper floors of the Guards Bureau. Then he nimbly climbed up the tree trunk, jumped over the wall along its branches, and crashed down into the bushes.

"My attributes are too low. That hurt a little..."

Though the greenbelt had cushioned his fall and he had rolled to disperse the impact, it still hurt quite a bit. Bai Ye rubbed his butt, did not stand up, and instead circled around several cameras through the shadows of the greenery before slipping into the Guards Bureau building through a blind spot.

During the early stages of the game, not many Players had the opportunity to enter the Lungmen Guard Department building, but there were still ways to do it.

Some Players would find a chance to blend into the Guards Bureau during the day, log out in an unoccupied corner, then log back in late at night. Under cover of darkness, they could explore the building.

This method worked time and again. Through the Players' perseverance and persistence, they had actually mapped out the entire building's layout and defenses.

Bai Ye had seen that map, but he did not possess such an extraordinary memory that he could recall every detail. Still, he had carried plenty of clients through the Guards Bureau Building Assault and Defense instance. He had run it so often he was sick of it; he could navigate the place with his eyes closed.

Having a staff might have made things much easier, since Originium Arts could be used for stealth. However, Originium energy detection devices had been installed in the Guards Bureau corridors, and fluctuations from Originium Arts would be enough to trigger an alarm.

Climbing up to the second floor along the fire pipes, Bai Ye found an open window. He grabbed the sill and flipped inside.

No one was there.

The corridor was pitch-black. Most officers had gone home, with only a few remaining in their offices to handle work.

In the narrow hallway, the cameras left almost no blind spots. Yet Bai Ye was not overly concerned. The Guards Bureau building had been peaceful for too long. One could imagine that the officer currently sitting in the surveillance room might be drinking coffee, browsing his personal terminal, or rubbing tired eyes while calculating when it would be time to get off work.

Bai Ye ran straight to the upper floors, then turned into the restroom.

"Oops..."

This time, Bai Ye was not very lucky.

An unfortunate female Guards Bureau officer was in the restroom. Bai Ye's sudden intrusion startled her.

Fortunately, she had been washing her hands, so nothing more awkward had happened.

"What—mmph!"

Bai Ye had no interest in tangling with these nimble Guards Bureau officers, even if the one before him was merely a desk officer.

The instant he saw the officer, Bai Ye grabbed an electric shock device and pressed it against the poor young woman.

How to swiftly and seamlessly switch the necessary items out of one's inventory was a required skill for combat Players. Skilled Players could pull out five loaded crossbows in the blink of an eye and fire in different directions.

Bai Ye was naturally one of the best at it.

Amid unconscious convulsions, the high-voltage pulse generated in an instant knocked the officer unconscious, sending her to the floor.

"This uniform is pretty nice. Too bad. If it were a male officer, I'd have claimed my spoils without hesitation..."

Bai Ye blinked.

He had at least retained some moral integrity.

"The experience for defeating someone above my level is really generous... Poor bastard. Hope you can hold out a little longer."

Bai Ye did not know when exactly this person would be discovered. Once she was, it meant his operation would be exposed. The Guards Bureau would become tense and alert, like a beast stirred awake.

Exposure was only a matter of time. He had plenty of ways to escape; he merely needed time.

Putting away the shock device, Bai Ye locked the unconscious officer inside a stall. Then he entered another stall, took out his sheathed longsword, and jabbed open the ceiling.

The Guards Bureau building had been constructed twenty years ago and bore an obvious Victorian steampunk style. Its ventilation ducts were large enough for an adult to crawl through.

Bai Ye climbed up by stepping on the toilet. Through the ducts, he could enter Officer Chen's office.

Officer Chen, Sir Chen, or Chen Hui Jie, was an extremely important NPC in Arknights OL. She was also the leader of the Guards Bureau's Special Inspection Unit and an absolute member of the upper ranks. Her office contained an access card.

When Bai Ye slowly crawled above Officer Chen's office, the young leader of the Special Inspection Unit had not yet left work.

Bai Ye made his breathing as slow as possible, narrowed his eyes to avoid staring directly ahead, and tried to reduce his presence as much as he could, lest he alert the sharp-sensed young police officer.

This was not a spell, but a technique taught to him by a Higashi ninja in the past. With this skill, Bai Ye had survived the chaotic battlefield in Higashi and completed that emergency mission crossing the front lines.

He rested with his eyes closed. He did not know how much time had passed before Chen finally rose from her chair. She stretched and began gathering the scattered documents and files.

Bai Ye did not move. His breathing remained long and quiet. Like a plant, he hid in a shadow untouched by sunlight.

Bang—

Chen moved quickly. She was the kind of young woman who acted with decisiveness, so she soon left the office.

"Whew... I almost ran out of air."

Bai Ye quickly regained his vigor, pried open the ceiling panel, and dropped down lightly.

Though his attributes were not high, Bai Ye possessed extensive knowledge of how to exert force. He knew how to make use of this body.

His identity as a veteran Player was what gave Bai Ye the confidence to infiltrate the Guards Bureau. The tools and weapons acquired through his Zero Yuan Purchase from Penguin Logistics were merely supplementary.

Bai Ye searched through Chen's office. He had come here several times in his previous life, but this time seemed to be the most thrilling.

A thief, stealing from a police officer's office.

"Hmm... A very impressive weapon, sharper than the sword in my hand. Too bad I couldn't use it even if I took it."

"Files, documents... They might be useful, but there's no need to look through them."

"In the drawer... not this one. Hmm, the third level. Here it is."

Bai Ye swiftly and accurately found what he wanted. He did not linger, nor did he intend to continue looting spoils. He darted out the door and ran toward the fire escape.

From there, he could go directly down to the basement level and reach the central database.

All Sides

The evening breeze blew toward Chen, carrying the warmth of late spring. It was the best comfort for someone exhausted from staying up late.

Sometimes, she would look up at the starry sky at night. However, she clearly did not know that the arrangement of the stars had long since fallen into chaos and could no longer offer people guidance or enlightenment.

Chen was preparing to return to the dormitory to rest. She had not bought a home of her own, and she had not returned to the Chen family's old residence in a long time.

However, at the entrance on the first floor of the Guards Bureau building, she saw a young officer anxiously pacing in circles.

"Officer Lin, why haven't you gone home? I remember you weren't assigned a shift today."

"Ah... Officer Chen!"

Seeing the big shot approach, the young officer quickly stood straight and saluted before explaining, "I'm waiting for Jiahui... Honestly, she said she was going to the restroom, but she still hasn't come back."

Chen frowned at his words. "How long has she been gone? What happened?"

"About an hour, I think. I have no idea where she went. Ah... Officer Chen, please don't get angry and blame her..."

Officer Lin spoke softly. Chen rarely smiled and always wore a tense expression, carrying an imposing presence. Now that she had unconsciously frowned again, it naturally made her subordinate somewhat afraid.

"Find her first." Chen's sharp instincts told her something was wrong.

However, even she would never have imagined that someone would be bold enough to infiltrate the Guards Bureau and attack an officer. After thinking for a moment, she set those thoughts aside and looked at the young officer standing there blankly.

"Move. What's the point of standing around in circles in a panic when something happens? You should've gone looking for her already." He was not one of the Guards Bureau's elite. Chen felt that sitting in an office had made this guy stupid.

"Yes... yes!"

"I'll go with you."

As Chen led the young officer under her command to look for someone, the two Penguin Logistics messengers also met outside the safehouse.

"Texas, Ifrit 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 stopped by earlier and had not noticed anything wrong.

Exusiai was a Laterano native, what Players called an "angel."

A halo floated above her head, radiating bright light. With her around, secretly ambushing someone was obviously impossible.