Reincarnated NPC, But It's Arknights Chapter 9

"They aren't just a pharmaceutical company. They possess complete technology for treating and suppressing Oripathy, but they've been registered for less than three years. What's more, they have their own armed forces and have intervened in various Infected incidents multiple times over the past two years."

"Never mind that, let's go in and investigate first," Hoshiguma shrugged. "Though this place is nice. I didn't expect them to be neighbors with Li's Detective Agency."

Hearing the name "Li's Detective Agency," Chen Hui Jie's mind immediately conjured the image of a somewhat slovenly middle-aged Dragon, a figure so vivid it was hard to forget.

She vaguely recalled her elders mentioning the family behind that surname in the past, but she hadn't been back in a long time, and their relationship had essentially been severed.

Hoshiguma's voice cut into Chen Hui Jie's slightly wandering thoughts.

"By the way, are we just going straight in to investigate?" Hoshiguma quietly patted the police baton tucked at her side. They weren't wearing uniforms for this outing, and Hoshiguma herself hadn't brought out the shield known as "Hannya." To be honest, she felt rather unaccustomed to it.

Chen Hui Jie was unfazed. "Of course, we're going straight in. Since they're a 'legitimately registered' pharmaceutical company, we'll conduct our investigation and questioning 'legitimately' first."

"Aren't you afraid of alerting them?"

"As long as we keep a close watch, where can a single snake possibly escape?" Chen Hui Jie said softly. "Or rather, they've been too good at hiding themselves. This is precisely the kind of situation where they might slip up."

With that, Chen Hui Jie stepped forward and pushed open the door to the office.

Bai Ye looked towards the entrance with some surprise.

Standing at the doorway was Chen Hui Jie, whom he had clashed with once before. Behind her stood a tall Oni police officer.

Hoshiguma, an elite from the Lungmen Guard Department's Special Inspectorate. Despite her imposing stature, she was surprisingly boisterous and gentle, enjoying immense popularity among players.

In her previous life, some people had even formed a fan club called "Big Sister Hoshiguma Wants a Hug." These devoted fans, in their efforts to "preach" and "proselytize," had even ranked high in team-based competitive matches, standing out from numerous guilds and clubs. It could be said they had taken their passion to the absolute extreme.

The official promotion for Hoshiguma's merchandise, the "Retro Electric Fan," had even enlisted their help for promotion and advertising.

Ahem, I've gotten sidetracked.

Bai Ye stared intently at the two Guard Department officers before him.

He had every reason to suspect that these two were likely here for him.

After all, the commotion he caused yesterday had been quite significant.

What was interesting, however, was that neither of them was wearing a uniform, and it seemed to be just the two of them, with no surrounding area cordoned off.

This left Bai Ye rather perplexed.

Moreover, logically speaking, he hadn't left any traces yesterday. Even the residual traces in the database had been wiped by Ifrit.

He couldn't figure out how they had found this place.

'Could it be a coincidence?' Bai Ye remained outwardly calm. As a seasoned player, his composure was clearly excellent. At a moment like this, the priority was to understand their intentions. If he panicked first, he'd essentially be revealing himself.

In his previous life, he had caused a security alert level of five police stars in Columbia. This situation, by comparison, was a "minor incident."

Of course, he currently stood no chance in a direct confrontation with these two. He could still manage to spar or counter Chen Hui Jie alone with skill, but if Hoshiguma was added to the mix, it would be game over.

The basic stats of Oni were terrifying, excelling in physical prowess, and Hoshiguma was a prime example of this. Her strength was said to be measured in tons, making her a veritable humanoid tank.

Bai Ye's base stats were only 16 points. No matter how high his skill level, it couldn't bridge the gap in raw power.

Fortunately, Bai Ye soon relaxed, as he realized the two officers weren't here for him.

Their target, surprisingly, was Rhodes Island.

Officer Chen walked up to him, produced her badge, and addressed the receptionist at the front desk. "We are from the Lungmen Guard Department. Recently, there have been multiple incidents of illegal drug trafficking in Lungmen's lower city districts 22 through 29. We found the name Rhodes Island on the drug packaging. We have strong reasons to suspect your company's involvement."

Lower city districts 22-29 were, in fact, the slums.

Bai Ye blinked. He couldn't help but marvel at Officer Chen's ability to deliver such a long speech in one go. No wonder her tone was so cold; she was practically reading a script...

Since they weren't here to settle accounts with him, Bai Ye let out a quiet sigh of relief.

However, illegal drug trafficking...

Bai Ye recalled someone sharing a walkthrough for this quest on the forums in his previous life. It seemed quite suitable for beginners. If handled properly, it wouldn't even require direct combat; one could simply enlist the help of the influential figures in Lungmen's slums, and their dispatched experts could easily resolve all the issues.

That's right, Arknights OL was an incredibly free and realistic next-generation fully immersive game. As long as you found a way, you could find native NPCs to help you complete quests. Theoretically, if you managed to latch onto a sufficiently powerful ally, you could coast from the start all the way to the late game.

There was even a PVE playstyle called "mooching," but unfortunately, most people with this theoretical knowledge rarely found truly powerful allies, making them quite the entertainment on the forums.

Bai Ye mused, recalling these details, and began to ponder.

Although it was an early-game quest, it was quite challenging for a completely clueless newbie, involving exploration, intelligence gathering, clue tracking, and more. In the end, it required confronting an entire gang and apprehending them with evidence in hand, making it an exceptionally difficult task.

For Bai Ye, this presented an opportunity.

If he were to simply complete the quest, it would be too easy. Bai Ye felt that doing this quest felt somewhat like a waste.

While the quest rewards and experience were substantial, this quest clearly had higher potential value.

For instance, this quest involved not only the Guard Department but also Rhodes Island and the slums.

Furthermore, with the official launch just around the corner, Bai Ye needed to find a way to connect with players for the grand vision he and the Emperor had planned. This quest seemed like a good starting point.

Bai Ye had a rough plan forming in his mind.

After a moment's thought, he blurted out, "Officer, there might be some misunderstanding. Rhodes Island has never publicly sold any drugs."

Chapter Sixteen: Win-Win

Bai Ye's words immediately drew the attention of Chen Hui Jie and Hoshiguma.

When Officer Chen first entered, she had already noticed him.

Or rather, it was difficult to ignore this guy; Bai Ye's presence was just too overwhelming. Perhaps only when he stood next to Exusiai could the fluorescent lights above the girl's head dim his brilliance.

Chen walked over to the young man standing beside her.

She frowned slightly, her keen intuition telling her that she seemed to have seen this exceptionally good-looking young man somewhere before.

Especially that "Officer," it felt so familiar.

However, Chen quickly dismissed the feeling as an illusion, or perhaps a sense of déjà vu, because if she had met someone this attractive before, she wouldn't have forgotten.

Moreover, the person in front of her gave off a very comfortable vibe, naturally evoking a sense of goodwill. What bad intentions could such a person have? He definitely wouldn't do anything wrong.

Bai Ye was unaware that his high Charm attribute had saved him from Officer Chen's suspicion. It could only be said that his harmless appearance was incredibly deceptive, more terrifying than a succubus.

He spoke only to attract the attention of the two officers and establish a connection.

"You are...?" Chen asked.

"I am Bai Ye, a passing traveler, part-time private detective, and courier."

Bai Ye had dozens of fake identities in his database, but 99% of them were decoys. Only the one he just gave was his officially prepared identity.

In fact, this identity was almost a natural fit for him.

"You just said that Rhodes Island doesn't publicly sell medication?" Chen heard a rather interesting piece of information.

A pharmaceutical company that doesn't sell medicine, what kind of company is that... What is their main source of revenue? Could it be that all their departments are just minting gold bars?

Bai Ye nodded, "That's right, because the market for Infected medication is turbulent, Rhodes Island, as a 'small' company, doesn't want to get involved in the mess."

What a joke, "small" company.

Bai Ye's tone was a bit strange, but he wasn't lying.

Rhodes Island did not publicly sell medication; all their drugs were used for internal medical care, and Infected individuals received them for free when providing external aid to disaster-stricken Infected.

Rhodes Island's special inhibitor drugs were the most effective among similar products, but they never sold them.

Bai Ye knew this because in his past life, some people wanted to wholesale special drugs from Rhodes Island to sell in other countries. This was common, as players naturally had excellent conditions for being couriers due to their inventory.

However, they later discovered that Rhodes Island's drugs were not for sale. Rhodes Island could provide drugs to the Infected for free, but they would never sell them.

If things had ended there, at most it would have been posted on a forum for complaints and wouldn't have become common knowledge. What happened next was the most interesting part: these players later had wicked ideas and went to steal and rob Rhodes Island's overseas camps for their Originium inhibitor special drugs.

They did make a fortune at first, but later they were wiped out by a team of elite operators dispatched by Rhodes Island.

It was also because of this incident that players realized how strong Rhodes Island's armed forces were. It was no joke, and the most formidable among them turned out to be the doctors from the medical department. Some players took videos of a medical operator drawing their sword and, with a flash of light, splitting a player's vehicle in half from a distance.

However, only players could deal with players. In the end, these people were put on a wanted list by players from the righteous faction, forced to publicly apologize and delete their accounts. Bai Ye had also staked out some people at the time and earned a bounty.

Officer Chen, of course, didn't understand the intricacies, but she mistakenly believed that the person in front of her was from Rhodes Island, so she asked Bai Ye many questions.

Bai Ye answered them one by one.

The real receptionist from Rhodes Island stood by, completely bewildered.

Didn't you say you were here to investigate Rhodes Island?!

Why are you two chatting instead?

Oh, and that handsome young man over there, who exactly are you? You haven't even joined Rhodes Island yet, so how do you know so much about our company?!

Bai Ye, of course, was unaware of the thoughts of the poor receptionist next to him. He was merely trying to get acquainted with Officer Chen.

Finally, he revealed his true intentions: "Officer Chen, if it's possible, I can help investigate this matter. After all, Rhodes Island's name has appeared, and I want to understand what's going on."

Chen readily nodded, "No problem, we also need the help of professionals like you."

Bai Ye blinked his eyes. It seemed his goal was achieved, but... this statement seemed a bit off.

Chen's tone was serious.

Otherwise, Bai Ye would have thought this officer was mocking him.

God (TM) professional... Bai Ye hadn't even joined Rhodes Island himself!

"Um... he can't represent Rhodes Island because he hasn't officially joined yet," the receptionist lady nearby became anxious and quickly stepped in to correct the mistake.

Oh, this...

Chen looked at Bai Ye with a strange expression upon hearing this.

This guy was talking so eloquently just now, but he wasn't even from Rhodes Island?

"Ahem, I'm here today to apply for a job. I want to work at Rhodes Island, so I 'slightly' gathered a bit of information about Rhodes Island beforehand," Bai Ye explained.

He himself felt a bit awkward. It seemed that in the process of talking, he had completely disregarded the people from Rhodes Island—even though Officer Chen and the others were looking for Rhodes Island.

"But what he said just now is basically all correct," the receptionist lady was actually a bit embarrassed. She hadn't even heard of some of the things Bai Ye mentioned.

Actually, Rhodes Island's overseas offices mostly hired locally. Only the couriers responsible for liaison and dispatched operators were from Rhodes Island's headquarters.

Some people in the branch offices haven't even been to Rhodes Island's main vessel.

"If I can help resolve this matter, then my chances of joining Rhodes Island will be even greater."

Bai Ye showed his longing for Rhodes Island, as if he genuinely just wanted such a job.

"Hmm... How about this? An dispatched operator will arrive in Lungmen in a few days. I'll mention it to her then, and you can act together. How does that sound?" the receptionist suggested after thinking.

"As long as we hurry... We need to resolve this matter as soon as possible."

Naturally, Chen had no reason to refuse the offered assistance.

"I have no problem with that either."

Bai Ye blinked his eyes. What a stroke of luck! This way, he could gain favor with the Guard Department and Rhodes Island simultaneously. Wasn't that a win-win?

He wanted to win twice!

Chapter 17: Leveling Up

Due to Chen's sudden arrival, Bai Ye's original plan to join Rhodes Island was postponed, but this didn't disrupt his own schedule.

According to the receptionist, Bai Ye would later investigate alongside a dispatched operator from Rhodes Island, which could be considered an early assessment.

The assessment to join Rhodes Island included psychological tests and combat tests. In addition, there were professional skill tests and various other types of assessments.

Bai Ye's preferred positions were Messenger and Dispatched Operator, as these would allow him to interact with players all over the world. However, he was unsure of what Rhodes Island's entry assessment entailed.

Players themselves had even made some jokes, such as the famous "Subject One" and "Subject Two." The former involved dealing with a swarm of Originium Slugs, while the latter required defeating Patriot.

It was quite mysterious.

After leaving the Rhodes Island branch office, Bai Ye realized he seemed to have nothing to do for the time being. Checking the time, it seemed too early to return directly to Penguin Logistics, so he headed straight for the Lungmen slums. This would be enough time for him to earn some experience.