Preparations: Information Broker, Café, Snail Statue

Early the next morning, on a pedestrian walkway in Whitewash City's Canal District.

The sky was overcast, heavy lead-gray clouds piling up on the distant horizon. The frigid wind, wrapped in snow and moisture, seemed to carry a faintly gray, murky scent. Several crumpled, blackened newspapers were swept up by the wind before rolling past a pair of sneakers.

"The meeting place I agreed on with White Line is up ahead—the Milk-Foam Café."

Xia Lun stood like a shadow in the alley's darkness, silently surveying the hurried pedestrians on the street. Then he raised his head and looked toward the café at the corner.

The café looked fairly ordinary. The only noteworthy feature was that the wall facing the pedestrian street was almost entirely made of transparent glass.

Xia Lun narrowed his eyes slightly, looking past the snow on the street and through the glass windows into the café.

There were many customers inside, making it seem like a poor place for a secret transaction. Most of the customers were gathered in groups of three or five, and no one looked as though they were waiting for someone.

After pondering for a moment, he pulled an old-fashioned black flip phone from his pocket and reread the text message White Line had sent yesterday.

"I happen to be in Whitewash City, so we can meet. I currently have some 'special goods,' with the price open to discussion. If you agree to meet, come to the Milk-Foam Café in the Canal District at around 9 a.m. tomorrow. Once you arrive, you'll see me."

The location was correct. There were just still several minutes until nine.

"Maybe he hasn't arrived yet."

As he thought, Xia Lun recalled what he knew about White Line.

White Line was an information broker active around the Grand Alliance's frontier regions, especially the Herno Strait. His intelligence network was both vast and tightly woven. Many times, he could even learn of an "unexpected incident" days in advance, including its ultimate outcome.

Because this information broker had countless connections with frontier warlords and separatist activists, the Grand Alliance's Internal Affairs Department had once placed him on its wanted list. Yet only days after White Line was wanted, the warrant was withdrawn under highly strange circumstances.

There were countless theories regarding White Line's brief stint on the Internal Affairs Department's wanted list.

Some said White Line himself was an Internal Affairs Department intelligence agent carrying out special assignments, and the warrant had simply been a misunderstanding.

Others said White Line had already pledged allegiance to the Internal Affairs Department, which was why the warrant had been withdrawn.

There were even some particularly wild rumors claiming that the Internal Affairs Department official who issued the order to hunt White Line had been mysteriously dismissed only hours after giving the order.

But no matter what, the final result was clear: White Line, who worked in the gray business of selling intelligence, had ultimately gained legal backing and official recognition from the Grand Alliance.

More than a decade ago, through an extremely coincidental turn of events, Xia Lun had accidentally saved White Line's life. It was thanks to that favor that he gained access to White Line, who had been steadily making a name for himself at the time.

It could be said that Xia Lun's rapid rise in Whitewash City had depended not only on his own abilities and indispensable luck, but also on the channels and aid of the remarkably capable information broker White Line.

Over more than a decade of dealings, they had helped each other countless times and formed a deep friendship. Specifically, the Investigator game chip Xia Lun had used to save his life, as well as the Voidwood Box, had both come through White Line's channels.

Overall, White Line was a trustworthy partner. Xia Lun was not worried that he might be a member of the Foresight Club, so he had not brought bodyguards or any other personnel with him.

However, despite their deep friendship, White Line had one eccentric habit: he never showed his true face to anyone. In other words, he loved disguising himself as other people or wearing masks.

At that thought, Xia Lun checked his watch and found that it was already nine o'clock. He then looked through the window at the café again, but there was still no one inside who looked like White Line.

"Forget it. I'll go take a look." He shook his head and walked straight into the Milk-Foam Café.

"Ding-a-ling."

The brass bell rang as Xia Lun pushed open the door. The moment he stepped inside, the bleak, piercing cold unique to winter streets was swept away, replaced by warm air and the fragrance of freshly ground coffee beans.

Xia Lun looked up, and his pupils contracted slightly.

A person wearing a white wide-brimmed hat and a black carbon-colored mask sat calmly at a table by the window. At his feet rested an enormous suitcase.

Incredibly, despite his bizarre appearance, the surrounding customers and servers all seemed blind to both him and the huge suitcase at his feet. Everyone consciously avoided the area.

The man had been constantly playing with a coin in his hand. His fingers were remarkably nimble, and the coin fluttered up and down as though it were Alice falling into a rabbit hole.

Apparently hearing the brass bell at the entrance, the man who practically had I have something suspicious going on written across his face stopped fiddling with the coin and slowly raised his head.

"Psychological Invisibility. Amazing, isn't it?" A mechanical, mixed voice emerged from behind the black mask as he stood. "Long time no see, Xia Lun."

Xia Lun pulled out a chair and sat opposite White Line with a calm expression. In the same casual tone, he tossed out a question. "Psychological Invisibility?"

"Psychological Invisibility means people see you, but psychologically choose to ignore you. You've entered its range too, so we can speak freely."

White Line pointed outside the window, then shook his head. "But still, shouldn't you show at least a little surprise or disbelief upon seeing something supernatural like this?"

"I already played through one round of the game," Xia Lun explained. "My worldview has already taken the hit. Seeing supernatural phenomena in reality now doesn't surprise me that much."

"What would you like? Black coffee or coffee with milk?" White Line asked as he walked to the counter and casually returned with two freshly made coffees. "Here, here, here's a packet of sugar."

As he spoke, he picked up the coffee with milk and began drinking it himself.

"Big-shot merchant, aren't you going to pay?" Xia Lun asked in disbelief.

White Line shook his head. "This is the honest, down-to-earth Whitewash City. I need to adapt to the local customs too. You know, in the intelligence business, the most important thing is blending in with the crowd—in Whitewash City, taking some coffee doesn't count as stealing."

"..." Xia Lun fell silent for a moment, then took several large-denomination currency notes from his pocket. He stood, walked to the counter, and fed them into the cash-counting machine.

"I'm guessing you have plenty of questions about the game Investigator." White Line sipped his coffee and began explaining on his own initiative. "Ask whatever you want. I have plenty of time today. You can look at the 'special goods' later."

"Did your supernatural ability, Psychological Invisibility, also come from the game?" Xia Lun picked up his coffee cup and watched the steam rising from it.

The bitter scent of roasted beans spread with the damp white vapor. If one smelled carefully, there was also a rounded sourness beneath the bitterness, along with a faint, almost imperceptible sweetness.

"Of course. I've played this game for over twenty years." White Line nodded, then casually took a plate of croissants from the counter. "You weren't a player before, so I couldn't tell you. But now that you play too, it doesn't matter.

"Though you definitely haven't encountered supernatural abilities yet, I still have to tell you this: supernatural abilities gained in the game can be used in reality. Psychological Invisibility is arguably the skill most suited to this game's style of play."

At that point, the information broker tapped the table, and his tone suddenly grew serious, like a teacher giving a lesson.

"Listen carefully, my friend. After experiencing one round of the game, I believe you already understand its basic gameplay—investigate, evade, sneak, communicate, gather information while maneuvering and dealing with enemies, acquire resources, and ultimately find that slim path to survival."

"..." Xia Lun seemed to want to say something, yet held back.

After all, based on his personal experience, it did not seem necessary to be so restrained—kill Monsters, kill pirates, kill the coward faction, kill Walking Corpses, kill everything blocking the way. That seemed capable of clearing the game too.

But from another perspective, White Line was right. After all, killing everyone probably, perhaps, maybe counted as a form of stealth too.

"A friendly reminder: once you accumulate enough Memory Points, you must prioritize upgrading your Information Panel. The upgraded Information Panel is endlessly useful." White Line lifted his coffee cup, aligned its rim with the edge of his mask, and took a light sip. "Only after upgrading the Information Panel can different players exchange Manifestation Authority."

"Thanks for the reminder. So that's how it is." Though he was struggling not to lose his composure inside, Xia Lun still sincerely played along.

White Line nodded slightly and gently set down his coffee cup. "The Memory Points required to upgrade the Information Panel are no small amount. Most players are lucky to earn the base reward of one hundred Memory Points in their first scenario, so don't worry. Generally speaking, it's enough to upgrade the Information Panel before the fifth round—oh, right. What questions did you want to ask?"

"Does the game have any hidden rules? For example, players have to log in once every few months or they'll be erased?" Xia Lun asked.

"Of course not." White Line shook his head, his tone calm. "This game is certainly not merely a game, but it does not impose any mandatory requirements on players either. Whether you play is entirely voluntary. Most people play because the game is profitable."

Xia Lun continued, "Then what do the game's proficiencies, talents, and skills respectively represent?"

"Taken together, they determine how hard you can struggle." White Line sneered. "Take a competitive game as an example. Proficiency represents your gameplay skill. The higher your proficiency level, the more strength you can bring out."

"Talents, meanwhile, represent your stats. If you upgrade your Information Panel, you can see your attribute values. Those attributes can only be improved through talents, aside from training in reality."

"But no matter what, do not try to fight the sinister Monsters in the scenarios." White Line's tone grew serious again. "No matter how refined your technique is or how high your stats are, you cannot contend against those bizarre, sinister things."

At this point, the information broker paused briefly before continuing. "Here, here, here's another example. There's a sinister entity called an Abyssal Hand. Not only are they far stronger than ordinary people, they also possess the ability to mentally corrupt others. Even a mere glance can drive someone into madness."

"I once knew an extremely formidable martial artist." White Line picked up a croissant and dipped it into his coffee. "He entered the game in pursuit of greater martial mastery. Then, during his third round, he encountered an Abyssal Hand. After returning, he briefly described what had happened to him and then completely lost his mind, becoming a pitiful lunatic."

"..." Xia Lun fell silent.

The Monster from his previous scenario seemed to have been an Abyssal Hand. That thing had not seemed particularly hard to kill, though?

Although he did not entirely agree with White Line, Xia Lun had no intention of refuting him. After all, White Line was telling him this entirely out of goodwill.

At the same time, as someone who had lived two lives and possessed a rather advanced mental age, Xia Lun had long passed the stage of showing off simply for the thrill of it. If showing off was not meant to build momentum or accomplish a deeper goal, it was meaningless.

"I see. I'll remember that." Xia Lun maintained a humble attitude and thanked him sincerely. "Now that you've explained proficiencies and talents, what about skills?"

"Skills?" White Line's tone suddenly turned strange. "Skills are mechanics. Every skill is extremely powerful. Only with skills do you have the capital to contend with those terrifying sinister entities."

As he said this, he gave Xia Lun a barely noticeable sidelong glance from behind his mask. "Obtaining skills is something for much later. You'd better not aim too high. First save enough Memory Points to upgrade your Information Panel—and obtaining skills may not necessarily be a good thing. For those with weak minds, skills can severely erode their will."

Although he had the skill Heightened Focus from the start, Xia Lun still did not argue. He nodded and continued asking for guidance. "Then aside from upgrading the Information Panel, what should Memory Points be invested in first?"

"Xia Lun, do you know what I appreciate most about you?" White Line raised a hand. "You always grasp the heart of an issue so quickly. Memory Points must be used to manifest items first. Items provide the most obvious boost to one's ability to protect oneself. Investing Memory Points in proficiencies or talents is not wise."

"Why? Please explain in detail." Xia Lun gave him an opening and continued playing along.

"First, whether proficiency memories or talent memories, they are both extremely expensive," White Line said. "Many players may need the earnings from two scenarios just to improve themselves once.

"But even at such a high price, their effects are rather mediocre. That is because the talents and proficiencies we can obtain in scenarios are all pretty terrible.

"Most talents, such as Alcohol Addiction, not only fail to provide stats, but instead weaken them. Most proficiencies also remain at beginner or basic level. Such improvements are barely worth mentioning.

"And most importantly, even if you happen to obtain useful proficiency or talent memories and choose to improve them, players must pay a terrible mental price in addition to Memory Points. No matter how resilient a person is, if they keep entering dreams, they will inevitably struggle to distinguish reality from illusion."

"In Investigator, mental health is no less important than physical health. From a certain perspective, becoming a madman is no different from dying. So it is best not to invest Memory Points into proficiencies or talents."

Xia Lun suddenly asked, "Is the order of proficiency levels Uninitiated, Beginner, Basic, Proficient, Mastery, and Grandmaster?"

"Yes, that's right," White Line answered crisply. But the next moment, this veteran player froze. "Wait, no. How did you know that?"

"Just some simple deductions." Xia Lun smiled and gave a vague reply.

"Ah, I understand." White Line seemed to have figured something out. He lifted his coffee cup and took a sip. "I remember your shooting is quite good. By the game's standards, you should have Firearms Use at the Proficient level, right?"

"Not Proficient. Mastery," Xia Lun said, shaking his head.

"?" White Line abruptly raised his head. Brown coffee slowly flowed from beneath his mask, and disbelief filled his voice. "Mastery?! You have Mastery-level marksmanship?"

"Is Mastery level very high?" Xia Lun blinked and asked as though he did not understand.

"..." This time, it was White Line's turn to fall silent. He took a long while to recover before speaking again.

"The value of having a proficiency reach Mastery is immense, Xia Lun." White Line took a deep breath, the hand holding his coffee cup trembling slightly. "Over the past twenty-odd years, I've experienced more than thirty scenarios, and I've only seen a few scenario characters with Mastery-level proficiency."

"I understand." Xia Lun smiled and nodded, then abruptly changed the subject. "White Line, I've finished asking my questions. Now let's talk about something else—I have a proposal."

"What proposal?" White Line asked instinctively.

"I want you to invest in me." Xia Lun said it openly. "Lend me Memory Points, items, Manifestation Authority, and the like. In half a year, I'll give you above-market returns. How about a monthly interest rate of twenty percent, compounded? Give me one million Memory Points, and in half a year, I'll return three million."

He was currently afflicted by the Withering curse. If he could not find a way to survive within half a year, he would simply drop dead. Naturally, there would be no question of repaying any debt.

"Huh?" White Line was stunned. He had never expected Xia Lun to say something like that—he had clearly come to sell goods, so how had the situation been reversed?

"High risk, high reward." Xia Lun continued his pitch, smooth-tongued as ever. "I have a Mastery-level proficiency, so my growth rate will definitely be fast. The odds of earning it back are very high.

"Besides, we've had a life-and-death friendship for more than a decade. You know my reputation and character very well. If you invest in me, not only will you get normal returns, but once I grow stronger, I can help you in turn. The hidden benefits behind that will be even greater.

"And even if I die halfway through and your investment fails, you'll still have helped a friend, right? At the very least, you'll gain the moral comfort of a clear conscience. What do you think?"

"Not much. Only an idiot would believe in interest rates that high. Besides, Memory Points cannot be traded, so the foundation of your proposal doesn't even hold up." White Line rejected him cleanly. "And even setting that aside, one million Memory Points is absurd. You have no basic understanding of the purchasing power of Memory Points. That's an astronomical figure—the equivalent of a normal player completing ten thousand scenarios!"

"Then let's take a look at the 'special goods' you brought." Xia Lun was not upset by his failed attempt to talk him into investing. Instead, he smoothly changed the subject.

"..." White Line fell silent once more. He took a deep breath, stood up somewhat unsteadily, then opened the enormous suitcase beside him and took out four palm-sized boxes.

"These are the 'special goods' I brought this time." Information broker White Line composed himself, and his tone returned to calm. "Now, allow me to introduce the name of this item—the Snail Statue."