"It wasn't merely a pharmaceutical company. They possessed complete technology for treating and suppressing Oripathy, yet they had been registered for less than three years. They also had their own armed forces and had intervened in various Infected-related incidents multiple times over the past two years."
"Whatever. We'll go in and investigate first." Hoshiguma shrugged. "Still, this place is pretty nice. I didn't expect them to be neighbors with Li's Detective Agency."
At the mention of "Li's Detective Agency," the first image that came to Chen's mind was that of a somewhat laid-back middle-aged Dragon man. His appearance was so distinctive that he was difficult to forget.
She had once heard the elders in her family mention the clan behind that surname, but she had not gone back in a long time. Their relationship had essentially been severed.
Hoshiguma spoke, interrupting Chen's slightly wandering thoughts.
"By the way, are we just going straight in to investigate?" Hoshiguma discreetly touched the baton tucked at her side. Neither of them had worn uniforms this time, and Hoshiguma had not brought the shield known as "Hannya." To be honest, it felt rather unfamiliar.
Chen was unconcerned. "Of course we're going straight in. Since they're a 'properly registered' pharmaceutical company, then we'll conduct a 'proper' investigation and inquiry first."
"You're not worried about alerting them?"
"As long as we keep our eyes on it, where can a snake run?" Chen said softly. "Or rather, they usually conceal things too well. This is exactly what we need to make them expose themselves."
As she spoke, Chen stepped forward and pushed open the office door.
Bai Ye looked toward the entrance in surprise.
Chen, whom he had fought once before, was standing right at the door. Behind her stood a tall Oni police officer.
Hoshiguma, an elite of the Guards Bureau's Special Inspectorate Team. Despite her large build, she was unexpectedly forthright and gentle, and she was extremely popular among Players as well.
Apparently, in his previous life, some people had even formed a fan club called "Big Sister Hoshiguma, Please Hug Me." In order to "preach" and "spread the faith," they had even fought their way onto the rankings in team arena competitions, standing out among numerous guilds and clubs. They had truly taken their devotion to the extreme.
When the officials promoted Hoshiguma merchandise, the "retro electric fan," they had even recruited that group for publicity and promotion.
Ahem. He had gotten off track.
Bai Ye stared seriously at the two Guards Bureau officers before him.
He had every reason to suspect that the two of them might have come for him.
After all, he had caused quite a commotion yesterday.
Yet interestingly, neither of them was in uniform, and there appeared to be only the two of them. The surrounding area had not been sealed off either.
That left Bai Ye rather confused.
Besides, logically speaking, he had not left any clues yesterday. Even the traces remaining in the database had been erased by Ifrit.
He had no idea how they had found this place.
Could it be a coincidence? Bai Ye remained calm. As an experienced Player, he clearly had excellent mental fortitude. At a time like this, he first needed to determine the two women's intentions. If he panicked first, he would be exposing himself.
In his previous life, he had once caused a five-star police alert in Columbia. This was merely a "small scene" by comparison.
Of course, he had no chance of defeating these two head-on for the time being. If it were only Officer Chen, he could still maneuver around her or contend with her through skill. But if Hoshiguma was added to the mix, he would be barbecue.
The Oni had terrifying base attributes and were renowned for their physical prowess. Hoshiguma was among the best of them. Her strength was supposedly measured in tons—a proper humanoid Gundam.
Bai Ye's base attributes were only at sixteen points. No matter how skilled he was, he could not bridge the gap in raw power.
Fortunately, Bai Ye soon relaxed, because he realized that the two officers had not come for him.
Their target was actually Rhodes Island.
Chen walked over beside him, took out her identification, and said to the receptionist at the front desk, "We are from the Lungmen Guard Department. Recently, multiple incidents involving the sale of prohibited drugs have occurred in Lower City Districts 22 through 29 of Lungmen. We saw Rhodes Island's name on the drug packaging. We have sufficient reason to suspect that your company is connected to this."
Lower City Districts 22 through 29 were, in fact, the slums.
Bai Ye blinked. It was really hard on Sir Chen—she had said such a long passage in one breath. No wonder her tone was so cold. So she had been reading it stiffly...
Since they had not come to settle scores with him, Bai Ye quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
But prohibited drug trafficking...
Bai Ye remembered that someone had apparently shared a guide for this quest on the forums in his previous life. It seemed especially suitable for beginners. If handled properly, they would not even need to fight personally. They only needed to ask the person in charge of Lungmen's slums to step in, and the capable people he dispatched could easily resolve every issue in the chain.
That was right. Arknights OL was an incredibly free and realistic next-generation full-dive game. As long as Players found a way, they could ask native NPCs to help them complete quests. In theory, if they latched onto a sufficiently powerful benefactor, they could coast from the beginning all the way into the late game.
There was even a PVE playstyle called the "freeloader build." Unfortunately, these people possessed abundant theoretical knowledge but rarely managed to find a truly powerful patron. They were something of a joke on the forums.
As Bai Ye recalled this, he began to think.
Though it was an early-game quest, it was highly challenging for clueless newcomers. It involved exploration, intelligence gathering, clue tracking, and more. In the end, they would have to confront an entire gang, catch them red-handed, and collect all the evidence. It was absolutely an extremely difficult quest.
For Bai Ye, this was an opportunity.
If he simply completed the quest, it would be too easy. Bai Ye felt that doing it that way would be rather wasteful.
The quest rewards and experience alone were generous, but this quest clearly had greater value to exploit.
For instance, it involved not only the Guards Bureau, but also Rhodes Island and the slums.
And the public beta was about to begin. For the grand promise Bai Ye and the Emperor had painted for themselves, he definitely needed to find a way to connect with Players. This quest seemed like a good hook.
A rough plan formed in Bai Ye's mind.
After thinking it over, he blurted out, "Sir, there may be some misunderstanding here. Rhodes Island has never publicly sold any medicine."
Win-Win
Bai Ye's words immediately drew Chen and Hoshiguma's attention.
In truth, Sir Chen had noticed him the moment she entered.
Or rather, ignoring this guy was rather difficult. Bai Ye's presence was simply too strong. Perhaps only when he stood beside Exusiai could the fluorescent lamp above the girl's head obscure his radiance.
Chen turned to look at the young man standing nearby.
She frowned slightly. Her sharp instincts told her that she seemed to have seen this exceptionally handsome young man somewhere before.
Especially that "sir." It sounded strangely familiar.
But Chen quickly classified the feeling as an illusion, or perhaps a sense of déjà vu, because if she had met someone this handsome before, she would not have forgotten him.
Besides, the person before her gave off a very comfortable feeling, naturally making people like him. What bad intentions could someone like that possibly have? He definitely would not do anything bad.
Bai Ye had no idea that his high Charisma attribute had allowed him to evade Sir Chen's suspicions. All he could say was that his harmless appearance was simply too deceptive—more frightening than a succubus.
He had spoken merely to draw the two officers' attention and establish a connection.
"You are...?" Chen asked.
"I'm Bai Ye, a traveler passing through. I work part-time as a private detective and a messenger."
Bai Ye had placed dozens of false identities in the database, but ninety-nine percent of them were merely smokescreens. Only the identity he had just introduced was the one he truly intended to use officially.
In fact, this identity was practically him playing himself.
"You said just now that Rhodes Island does not publicly sell medicine?" Chen had heard a rather interesting piece of information.
A pharmaceutical company that did not sell pharmaceuticals—what kind of company was that...? What did they use as their primary source of revenue? Surely every department was not busy making gold bars?
Bai Ye nodded. "That's right. The market for Infected medicine is full of hidden currents, so Rhodes Island, as a 'small' company, doesn't want to wade into those waters."
What a joke—a "small" company.
Bai Ye's tone was somewhat strange, but he truly was not lying.
Rhodes Island indeed did not publicly sell medicine. All its medicine was used for internal treatment, or provided free to Infected people during external relief operations.
Rhodes Island's special-effect suppressants for Oripathy were the most effective products of their kind, yet they had never sold them.
Bai Ye knew this because, in his previous life, some people had wanted to buy special medicines wholesale from Rhodes Island and sell them in other countries. This was common, because Players had inventories and thus naturally possessed excellent conditions for working as messengers.
But later, they learned that Rhodes Island's medicine was not for sale. Rhodes Island could provide it free to Infected people, but it would never sell it.
If that were where the matter ended, it would at most have been posted on the forums for people to complain about. It would not have become common knowledge. What happened next was the truly interesting part: those Players later got greedy and went to steal and loot special Oripathy suppressants from Rhodes Island's overseas camps.
At first, they really did make a fortune. But later, they were wiped out by an elite operator squad dispatched by Rhodes Island.
It was also because of that incident that Players learned just how powerful Rhodes Island's armed forces were. They were no joke. And the most capable fighters among them were actually doctors from the Medical Department. A Player had recorded a video in which a medical operator drew her sword on the spot. A flash of light passed, and a Player's vehicle was split in two from afar.
But only Players could deal with Players. In the end, that group was wanted by Players from the righteous faction, killed until they publicly apologized and deleted their accounts. Bai Ye had even camped them back then and earned himself a bounty.
Sir Chen naturally did not know the details, but she mistook the person before her for someone from Rhodes Island and asked Bai Ye quite a few questions.
Bai Ye answered them one by one.
The real Rhodes Island receptionist stood nearby, completely bewildered.
Weren't they here to investigate Rhodes Island?!
Why had the two of them started chatting instead?
Oh, and that incredibly handsome young man over there—just who was he? He had clearly not joined Rhodes Island yet, so how did he know so much about their company?!
Bai Ye naturally did not know what the poor receptionist beside him was thinking. He was merely making himself familiar to Sir Chen.
At last, he revealed his true intentions. "Sir Chen, if possible, I can help investigate this matter. Since Rhodes Island's name has appeared in it, I want to find out what exactly is going on as well."
Chen nodded readily. "No problem. We also need the help of professionals like you."
Bai Ye blinked. It seemed his goal had been achieved, but... there seemed to be something off about that wording.
Chen's tone was earnest.
Otherwise, Bai Ye would have thought this sir was mocking him.
A professional, my ass... Bai Ye had not even joined Rhodes Island yet!
"Um... he can't represent Rhodes Island, because he hasn't officially joined yet." The receptionist beside them grew anxious as well and hurriedly stepped out to correct the mistake.
Well, this was awkward...
Chen looked at Bai Ye with an odd expression after hearing that.
This guy had just spoken with such authority, yet he was not even from Rhodes Island?
"Ahem, I came here today to apply for a job. I want to work at Rhodes Island, so I gathered a 'small' amount of information about Rhodes Island beforehand," Bai Ye explained.
He felt a little awkward himself. Somehow, as they talked, they had left the Rhodes Island staff aside—despite Chen and Hoshiguma having come to see Rhodes Island.
"But most of what he said was correct." The receptionist was somewhat red-faced and embarrassed as well. There were things Bai Ye had mentioned that even she had never heard of.
In truth, Rhodes Island's overseas offices basically recruited local staff. Only messengers responsible for liaison work and dispatched operators came from Rhodes Island's headquarters.
Some office staff had never even been to Rhodes Island's main ship.
"If I can help resolve this matter, then I'll have a better chance of joining Rhodes Island."
Bai Ye displayed his desire to join Rhodes Island, as though he truly only wanted such a job.
"Hmm... how about this? A dispatched operator will arrive in Lungmen in the next few days. I'll tell her, and you can act together. How does that sound?" The receptionist thought for a moment before making the suggestion.
"As long as we move quickly... We need to resolve this matter as soon as possible."
Naturally, Chen had no reason to refuse assistance that had been delivered right to her door.
"I don't have a problem with that either."
Bai Ye blinked. There was actually such a good deal? He could raise both his favorability with the Guards Bureau and his favorability with Rhodes Island. Wasn't that a win-win?
He was going to win twice!
Leveling Up
Because of Chen's sudden arrival, Bai Ye's original plan to apply to join Rhodes Island was postponed, but that did not interfere with his own arrangements.
According to the receptionist, Bai Ye could investigate alongside Rhodes Island's dispatched operator afterward. It would also count as an early assessment.
The assessments for joining Rhodes Island included psychological tests and combat tests. Beyond that, there were professional skill tests and various other types of evaluations.
The positions Bai Ye favored were messenger and dispatched operator, as those would make it easier for him to encounter Players all over the world. However, he did not know what Rhodes Island's employment assessments were actually like.
The Players themselves had come up with some memes, such as the famous "Subject One" and "Subject Two." The former required facing a swarm of Originium Slugs, while the latter required consuming one Patriot.
Very mysterious.
After leaving the Rhodes Island office, Bai Ye realized that he seemingly had nothing to do for the moment. Checking the time, he felt it was still too early to return directly to Penguin Logistics, so he headed toward Lungmen's slums instead. He had enough time to earn a little experience.
Before you continue