Man Proposes, Heaven Disposes

At the same time.

Four Continents, City Administration Bureau.

"Are you really sure?"

Yan Fushou stood before the conference table, stroking his increasingly endangered hairline as he looked at Li Shengkai, who stood not far away in a simple dark suit. "That Constructor is really in Four Continents?"

"Sure."

Li Shengkai nodded. "I trust my informant. And even if they're wrong, there's no harm in checking out the Lu Xius in this city first."

"I'm worried your informant deliberately fed you false intel. After all, he demands more money every day, like some kind of double agent... and you give it to him every time, like a total sucker. It wouldn't be strange if he tricked you once in a while, would it? You really have terrible judgment."

"..."

Veins bulged on Li Shengkai's forehead. "Yan Fushou, although my informant is morally bankrupt, greedy, lecherous, and utterly lacking in professional ethics... he is absolutely loyal to me!"

"So, did you give him more money this time?"

"...I did."

"Then how can you say he's absolutely loyal? That just makes you a complete sucker."

"Damn it."

This mild-mannered middle-aged man, Li Shengkai, finally snapped. "They'll go on strike if I don't pay them more!"

"That makes you even more of a sucker."

Yan Fushou slowly nodded, then said earnestly, "Your situation is basically like that of a simp. You always think the other person is sincere. You always think that as long as you treat him well, he'll be utterly loyal to you. So you keep giving him more money, over and over again, while telling yourself over and over that he really has it hard, that he really is absolutely loyal to you."

"Before asking for more money, does he always complain first? About how hard things are for him? How difficult things are at home? How the last payment wasn't enough?"

"Doesn't that sound especially familiar in a different context?"

Li Shengkai: "..."

Could it be that he really wasn't loyal?!

No! That couldn't be!

He would never betray me!

On the other side, the silver-haired girl could no longer bear to watch the two middle-aged men drift further and further off topic. Slender and graceful, she stood quietly with an innate air of detachment.

She stepped forward, drew her blade, and stood before Yan Fushou.

Yan Fushou: "..."

It seemed he had no right to laugh at anyone else.

Rather than worrying about someone else's subordinate, he should worry about his own first.

He sighed and explained, "Put the knife away. The Administration Bureau has already sent people out. They're checking every resident named Lu Xiu, but there are quite a lot of them—more than seventy in total.

"And since these are household registration records from before the gamification, the address update rate is extremely low. Some people moved without updating their information, some registered their ancestral hometown, and some never lived in Four Continents at all—they just have their household registration filed here.

"Otherwise, what do you think we're waiting for? We're just anxious and finding it hard to wait for news, so we're talking nonsense.

"The Construction Society can't send people to conduct a large-scale screening. Just wait patiently. We should have news before the end of today."

Yan Fushou had come to Four Continents because he had received news from Li Shengkai's informant: the Construction Society had actually found Lu Xiu by filtering the visitor lists of civilian instances.

Lu Xiu's ID had entered a civilian instance.

That instance had been created by a Constructor from Four Continents, and it had only been promoted in Four Continents.

This basically confirmed that Lu Xiu, the Constructor of [Resident Evil], was in Four Continents.

Yan Fushou and Li Shengkai had immediately come to this small southern city.

"..."

The silver-haired girl glanced at him upon hearing that but said nothing.

Still, she put her blade away.

Then she lifted her head and looked out the window.

Dusk was gradually approaching. Heavy clouds hung low, and orange-red light spilled through gaps between them, staining the entire city an ambiguous dark gold. It was impossible to tell whether the weather was good or bad.

Yan Fushou breathed a sigh of relief and looked outside as well.

But soon.

His system's built-in communication interface popped up.

Yan Fushou frowned and immediately accepted the call.

Then—

"What do you mean? What do you mean the frontline soldiers are coming to Four Continents? What do you mean the city is being sealed off?"

"Huh? Lu Xiu released a new instance?"

"Huh? Its rating is SS-rank?"

"Wait! Let me sort this out!!!"

In theory.

The construction group couldn't possibly send people out to conduct large-scale screening.

And with a mole in the mix, there was no way they could be faster than the Coordination Bureau.

What's more, the Coordination Bureau was taking this seriously this time.

But sometimes, no matter how carefully people planned, fate had other ideas...

Wang Baosheng was home today. Ever since submitting the access data for his instance dungeon, he had put the matter out of his mind.

Although he later guessed that the Spirit Pivot Construction Group's higher-ups were collecting data to find the constructor of [Resident Evil], he had always felt that it had nothing to do with him.

After all, these past few days, every senior member of the construction group had been obsessed with finding the constructor of [Resident Evil]. Everything else had to make way.

As a result, Wang Baosheng had gotten some rare free time.

For the past few days, he had stayed at home with his elderly mother.

It was quite a rare occasion, really.

Still, there was one thing about being home that annoyed him immensely: being pressured to get married.

The world had become gamified, monsters had begun appearing, survival points had become lifelines, reports from the front lines aired every few days, and even average life expectancy had become an uncertain figure.

Yet marriage pressure had somehow endured through every change of era, thriving without end.

"Mom, I know, I know."

Wang Baosheng looked helplessly at his displeased mother. After coaxing and placating her with great difficulty, he finally got her to go cook. Then he went to the balcony, pulled out a pack of cigarettes, rubbed his brow, and gave a bitter smile.

Before he could light one.

Knock, knock, knock.

A sudden knock sounded at the door.

Wang Baosheng frowned, tucked the cigarette behind his ear, and walked back in from the balcony.

"Baosheng," Old Madam Wang called out.

"I know."

Wang Baosheng answered and pulled open the door.

Seven people stood outside.

Five men and two women, all dressed plainly, with unremarkable faces. They were the sort who could be thrown into a crowd and no one would spare them a second glance.

However, they were all extremely well-built. Even through their clothes, the outlines of their muscles could be seen. The two women were no exception.

Leading them was a young man in a suit. The suit did not fit him well and hung loosely on him, making him look like an insurance salesman.

Especially with the briefcase in his hand and the pair of cheap-looking glasses on his face.

That made him look even more like one.

"Mr. Wang?"

The young man in the suit smiled. His teeth were very white, and he looked utterly harmless. "You're Mr. Wang Baosheng, correct?"

Wang Baosheng looked at the seven of them, somewhat surprised. "I am. And you are...?"

"My name is Chen Xiujie."

The young man in the suit introduced himself, then continued, "You're a local of Four Continents, right? I need your help."

"Help with what...?"

Wang Baosheng had just started to ask.

The man who had introduced himself as Chen Xiujie opened his system panel and showed Wang Baosheng an internal group chat.

Wang Baosheng's expression shifted slightly.

Spirit Pivot Construction Group, Guard Corps member.

So-called Guard Corps members were people within the construction group who focused on the player-side style of play.

Although the construction group's higher-ups all believed constructors were the future, that did not stop them from betting on player-side gameplay as well.

These players, who were fully supported by the Spirit Pivot Construction Group, were known as Guard Corps members.

They were essentially the construction group's combat force.

"Time is tight, so I'll keep it brief."

Chen Xiujie closed the system interface, then smiled again, flashing his snow-white teeth. "You know the group has been looking for someone recently, right? The constructor of [Resident Evil]. Her name is Lu Xiu, and her ID is 15******. We recently screened access data from civilian instance dungeons and found that she should be living in Four Continents.

But I don't know which traitor leaked the news. The Four Continents Administration suddenly sprang into action and even recalled soldiers from the front lines. I suspect people from the Coordination Bureau have already arrived in Four Continents. You're a local, so we need to hide..."

Before he could finish.

Footsteps sounded from behind Wang Baosheng.

Old Madam Wang came out of the kitchen, still wiping her hands on her apron. Seemingly having overheard Chen Xiujie, she asked in an extremely casual tone, "You know Lu Xiu?"

Hearing that, the seven of them turned their heads at once and looked at Old Madam Wang.

Chen Xiujie froze.

Then he slowly turned back to look at Wang Baosheng again and smiled, flashing his snow-white teeth as he drawled teasingly, "Oh?"

In that instant, Wang Baosheng felt his heartbeat... suddenly skip half a beat.

Two more chapters. I'll finish the Spirit Pivot Construction Group arc today. I can't worry about the new book period for now.