Brain Leaf / Hard Work Pays Off

At this point, Kong had just finished speaking.

"Sorry, I was thinking about something else and didn't notice."

Bai Ye finished the dessert in two bites at a time.

"Senior Bai Ye always seems to suddenly space out while we're chatting..." Sora chuckled, making a sarcastic remark.

"Was I like this in the past?" Bai Ye was a little unsure.

"Yes... most of the time 'Bai Ye Night. exe' is unresponsive." Exusiai had somehow gotten close to him.

"Especially since I came back recently," Croissant added.

"Maybe it's because I've been a bit tired lately, and I've been worrying about all sorts of things." Sora immediately saw the problem.

As an idol, she also experiences periods of excessive pressure that cause her to become slow to react.

"How about we stay here for a while and relax?" Exusiai suggested. "Why don't you come with us? It'll definitely be fun!"

"Isn't it even more tiring?" Kong, the only normal person at Penguin Logistics, couldn't help but complain.

Compared to the Exusiai, the lone wolf Siracusa, and Texas Croissant goes off on tangents with them, Sora is perhaps one of the few truly normal people—at least, if one doesn't focus on the girl's special feelings for Texas.

"Let's forget about Penguin Logistics— " Bai Ye couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"Huh?! Why is this happening?!" Exusiai looked frustrated.

"Hey kid, what do you mean? Is Penguin Logistics really that bad?!" Even the Emperor heard Bai Ye's conversation and couldn't help but come over and say.

"I just feel that following your pace might be more tiring..." Bai Ye explained, "Although it's really fun to cause trouble everywhere, you still have to pay compensation afterwards, which will only make you more mentally exhausted."

"Losing money? Just take the bill and pay it." Exusiai said, patting Texas on the shoulder. "Texas used to do this job."

"Forehead--"

Some unpleasant memories suddenly surfaced in my mind.

Back then, Bai Ye was tricked and deceived by the president into joining the "The Revelry Tea Party," and ended up being the one cleaning up all sorts of messes. She helped the eccentric president solve countless problems, big and small.

However, Bai Ye himself actually enjoyed it at the time.

Moreover, it wasn't just Bai Ye alone; there were many other members helping him. Their influence far exceeded that of Bai Ye, this lone wolf Players. They were mostly guild leaders of large guilds or star members of certain clubs.

Similar to Penguin Logistics, the solutions to problems in the end were mostly physical. Bai Ye's reputation as the "sharp blade of the tea party" was also "earned" through constant "exchange of opinions".

As a professional fighter, Bai Ye's PVP ability is in no way inferior to his PVE ability. However, he doesn't really like playing in the arena. He'd rather spend a whole day grinding levels than playing there.

Therefore, apart from a small group of people in the top circle, very few others know that Bai Ye's PVP skills are just as strong as his PVE skills.

Having ended the painful yet joyful memories, Bai Ye decisively declined the Emperor's invitation.

"What a pity... The previous missions were so easy if I had teamed up with Bai Ye." Exusiai with some regret.

"Uh..." Sora blinked. "It was so easy... Exusiai- neechan, are you referring to that time Bai Ye did all the work by herself and we just stood around watching?"

"Or did Bai Ye chase a gangster who had stolen goods for three blocks?"

"Ahem." Exusiai smiled awkwardly, even she was too embarrassed to say anything.

Bai Ye blinked.

Perhaps these guys really did misunderstand.

Because he rushed out on his own initiative.

Bai Ye, who had just arrived in Lungmen, had not yet finished harvesting experience from the Players and could only gain experience by killing monsters and completing quests.

In Arknights Online, the acquisition of experience points is based on an extremely complex and relatively fair algorithm. The old method of determining experience point ownership by the last hit is no longer effective.

However, the experience points gained will be reduced if the monster is not defeated solo.

Bai Ye wanted to enjoy the experience all to himself, which is why he bypassed the NPCs' help and went out to do things on his own.

He even completed many team missions solo, which helped him gain experience at the beginning and create a suitable build for himself at the start.

Bai Ye never expected that his strange actions, taken in pursuit of experience points, would be misunderstood by the messengers of Penguin Logistics.

It's something that can't be explained.

This misunderstanding can only be allowed to deepen.

Fortunately, these strange actions did not lead to any unusual rumors about Bai Ye, otherwise he would have been in a difficult position to defend himself.

After attending Penguin Logistics' party, Bai Ye was about to leave when Emperor Que suddenly stopped him.

"Bai Ye, don't go yet."

"Huh?" Bai Ye was holding a piece of Ah Pu Lu pie in his hand, and was about to eat it while walking when he was suddenly called out. He didn't react for a moment.

"If you have the chance, help me teach these little girls a lesson." The Emperor pulled Bai Ye aside.

"Huh?" Bai Ye was a little puzzled.

"They're all very talented kids. It's time to let them experience something higher." The Emperor looked at Exusiai and Croissant, who were still making a ruckus in the bar.

"The waters in the Lungmen Grey Zone are relatively shallow. For the four of them, there is really no difficulty or challenge. Even Texas has become quite lax in recent years."

"Next time you have the chance, you should teach them a lesson."

Chapter 81 Lobe

(I bought a computer; the original budget was 8,000, but it kept increasing and ended up costing 15,000.)

To be honest, the Emperor's request surprised Bai Ye.

After all, in his opinion, the current combat strength of Exusiai Texas and the others who have been active in Lungmen is definitely sufficient.

Even broadening the comparison to the Terra, every messenger in Penguin Logistics is among the best of their generation. Their combat prowess is also undoubtedly formidable.

After all, they don't need to fight enemies beyond human imagination; their strength is sufficient when facing ordinary enemies.

Aside from individual players, in terms of team composition, Penguin Logistics has support, front-line tanks, marksmen, and assassins capable of single-target attacks, making for a rather luxurious lineup.

Even more so, Penguin Logistics has Mostima as a safety net.

However, Bai Ye understood the Emperor's concerns—the environment in Lungmen was too comfortable, making these young messengers lack a sense of crisis.

Amidst the noisy missions and battles, they seemed to be having fun and enjoying life. Although they were aware of the need to train, they inadvertently wasted their potential.

Normally, this situation wouldn't matter. However, the Emperor knew that with various hidden crises accumulating to a critical point, coupled with Bai Ye's various activities, the fate of this land was about to undergo a major change.

Oceans, ice fields, Catastrophe, foehn winds, Burning Wind Wasteland...

We must prepare before a crisis strikes.

The Emperor wanted Bai Ye to put enough pressure on Penguin Logistics so that they could make progress later.

Bai Ye naturally wouldn't refuse the Emperor's request; he also wanted his apprentice to intern at Penguin Logistics.

"I understand. I will teach these young girls a lesson when the time is right."

"Then I'll have to trouble you." The Emperor said, tossing a few bottles of wine to Bai Ye.

"What's this?" Bai Ye easily took all the bottles.

"I've heard that you're collecting all sorts of fine wines?" the Emperor asked with a smile.

Bai Ye nodded.

He hadn't forgotten the Akahula region in the Sargon Rainforest, which was currently being mined by Players.

According to his speculation, there should be an underground kingdom called Durin beneath the entire rainforest.

After collecting the wine from the ground, Bai Ye planned to visit his underground neighbors.

In addition to purchasing large quantities of high-quality wines, Bai Ye is also collecting various rare and rare wines as gifts for important figures in the Durin Clan.

For example, he previously found Captain Morgan's Vintage, which originated in Iberia and is now discontinued. It was a treasure he salvaged from the cave of Bishop Quintus in Saltwind City.

I never expected that the Emperor would also know about this. Perhaps the High Priest told him?

Looking down, Bai Ye was surprised to find that one of the three bottles was Royal Liqueur.

This is a fine wine from the now-defunct Gaul. With the destruction of Gaul, the wine's production area was annexed by Laterano, and the production process has been lost.

This wine has now become a rare and highly sought-after item among collectors, commanding a considerable price.

"Thank you." Bai Ye was always impressed by the Emperor's generosity; he was far too generous.

"Consider this a deposit. Hiring Great Beast- level being as an instructor naturally comes at a price." The Emperor was also pleased.

Bai Ye blinked, and before leaving, he mysteriously reminded him:

"Mr. Emperor, did you recently get a case of vinyl records from Columbia?"

"I suggest you find another place to hide them."

"Watch out for the 'candy'."

After Bai Ye finished speaking, he left.

That's all the advice he could offer.

"Damn it, riddle teller! * Lungmen profanity *!" The Emperor was completely stumped.

He didn't have time to think too much about why Bai Ye knew about Black Pepper Records.

However, Bai Ye's series of riddles left even the Emperor bewildered.

However, trusting Bai Ye, the Emperor decided to move the vinyl record from the safe house to another location.

Okay, just leave it in this bar.

The World's End should be absolutely safe in Lungmen. After all, no one would be stupid enough to run wild on the Emperor's own territory, right?

Bai Ye left Penguin Logistics, intending to first take a look around his businesses in Lungmen.

He has a research institute in Lungmen that is known as "Lobotomy".

Chen and Swire considered the usual Bai Ye naming conventions to be nonsensical and inexplicable.

However, this name is at least better than something like "Institute of Human Foundation History," at least it gives the impression of a "Columbia- style" tech company. Although the current research direction of "Lobotomy" is also Powered Armor, well, you can understand it as "coming to fight the system."

Bai Ye had a strange sense of déjà vu; the Institute of Human Foundation History was definitely a more fitting name. Unfortunately, however, this name was unanimously rejected by Chen and Swire.

Back then, Bai Ye was weak and alone in Lungmen, and needed Swire's funds and Chen's support, so the plan was abandoned.

Although Bai Ye didn't care much about names, he certainly wouldn't rush into creating a Powered Armor system. Besides, the first tester of this thing was his apprentice, and Bai Ye wouldn't let Melantha's body become like a pineapple.

Bai Ye walked into the technologically advanced Lobotomy Building.

This place is located on the edge of Lungmen Science and Technology Park. Because he arrived a bit late, the central area had already been occupied, so he could only settle on the outskirts.

However, with the secret help of Wei Yenwu and Chen, Bai Ye quickly gained a foothold here, and the scale of the research institute continued to expand.

This newly built building is the best proof of that.

In the past, there was only Snowsant here. He was a researcher that Bai Ye had tricked and recruited from Columbia. When he was recruiting people, Bai Ye claimed that he had "abundant funds", "a professional team and professional research facilities", and "high salaries".

Perhaps it was this last point that moved Snowsant, and the poor girl followed Bai Ye to Lungmen.

When they arrived, they discovered that what Bai Ye had said might be slightly different from the truth.

For example, the professional team refers to Snowsant alone, because Bai Ye found Snowsant, an honest, capable, and willing vengeful person who was willing to come along.

Fortunately, the company's strong financial backing and the high salaries were genuine, which is why Snowsant stayed.

Chapter 82 Heaven Rewards Diligence

(Happy May Fourth Youth Day, comrades!)