I heard the City Lord's Residence is recruiting Shadow Guards

"Deng Libuduo, was the marketing idea yours?"

"You're a marketing genius! I listened to it twice, and now that damn voice is all I can hear in my head."

"How much does this place make in a day?"

"One side of the couplet has seven characters and the other has six. How did you convince the owner to do that? What's the missing character?"

"Is there really a Ghost in the restaurant?"

[Bitter Gourd Vine] and the others surrounded [Deng Libuduo], pelting him with questions from all directions.

They got here fast!

Good thing I prepared ahead of time.

[Deng Libuduo] glanced at Lin Bai, who was taking it easy in the shade of a tree, and said, "That's right, the marketing idea was mine. Please don't block the entrance. If you hurt business and the boss fires me, I'll have nowhere to plead my case. Making a little money in this game isn't easy."

That was right.

To keep Lin Bai all to himself, he shamelessly claimed all the credit.

Among Jiamao City's NPCs, Lin Bai shone far too brightly. Unless he hid that brilliance, every player would probably come scrambling for his juicy piece of meat.

Lin Bai could only be his.

At least until he became Lin Bai's disciple, he couldn't share him with anyone else.

As for afterward?

I'll already know the Dragon-Subduing Palm. What'll I have to fear? Worst case, we'll settle it in PvP!

A bunch of scrubs.

[Deng Libuduo] even kindly offered everyone advice. "Guys, the NPCs in this game are incredibly intelligent. If you can persuade them, you have a very good chance of winning their trust. If you don't know how, go read a few transmigration novels, see what the protagonists do, and copy them. An expert on the forums made a really good point: we should think of ourselves as transmigrators, not players."

The players looked thoughtful.

[Bitter Gourd Vine] asked, "Deng, you planned this whole huge marketing campaign for him. How much is the boss giving you? Those lyrics are seriously catchy. I think you could even use them in real life."

Watching Lin Bai approach, [Deng Libuduo] proudly puffed out his chest. "Not that much. A thirty-percent equity stake without putting up any capital!"

What the fuck!

Who gave you the nerve?

A thirty-percent stake for nothing?

Qingfeng Daoist put up three thousand taels and only got ten percent!

Still, since the players were talking in a private channel, Lin Bai couldn't very well expose his employee. After all, he was still helping Lin Bai make money. A little private boasting was nothing!

"A thirty-percent stake—that must get you at least ten taels of silver a day!"

"That's fucking incredible!"

"Boss, carry me! Let me join your party. Does your restaurant still need waiters? Count me in. I can work nights, and I don't need much pay. Ten taels a month is enough. I'll definitely be more dedicated than an NPC."

"We're not hiring." [Deng Libuduo] coldly rejected the players asking to team up. "Guys, time to move along. You're blocking the entrance and hurting business. Whatever you want to discuss, we can talk privately. I finally managed to get something going here. Don't wreck it for me."

"One last question. Is this really a haunted house?" [Chronic Laziness] asked.

"It is, but the Ghost inside is an NPC too. We'll be starting Night Service in a couple of days, so forget about it being an instance." Lin Bai had already reached them. [Deng Libuduo] hurried through his explanation, then quickly greeted him. "Hello, shopkeeper."

"Xiao Deng, are these all your friends?" Lin Bai swept his gaze over the players, his eyes smiling.

"They're some people from my hometown!" [Deng Libuduo] shot the players an irritated glare, then put on a smile. "They heard I was working here and came to take a look. Shopkeeper, I don't really know them. If they're affecting business, I'll send them away right now."

"Xiao Deng, that's where you're wrong. Every extra friend is another road you can take. You never know when you might run into trouble and need a friend to give you a hand!" Lin Bai smiled at the crop of chives ripe for harvesting before him.

"The shopkeeper's right. Brother Deng, you're just too stingy." [Jing Buyi] gave [Deng Libuduo] a teasing look and smiled. "Shopkeeper, do you still need workers? I don't have much going for me except a strong pair of arms. Pay me whatever you think is fair. I don't want anything else, just a job!"

"..." [Deng Libuduo] glared furiously at [Jing Buyi], knowing full well that his lie hadn't fooled the person before him.

"We don't need anyone else." Lin Bai took in all their expressions and smiled. "Besides, what future is there in working at a little restaurant? I just heard over by that crowd that the City Lord's Residence is recruiting Shadow Guards. Now, getting into the City Lord's Residence as a Shadow Guard—that's a real iron rice bowl..."

Shadow Guards at the City Lord's Residence?

Lin Bai's words immediately piqued the players' interest.

"Shopkeeper, is that information reliable?" [Crazy Guy] asked.

"Who knows? I only heard it from someone else." Lin Bai gave an ambiguous answer. "Apparently, someone was arrested in the city over the last couple of days, and the city lord discovered that they had exceptional aptitude. So now they're looking for similar young people in the city. I didn't catch all the details..."

"Quite a few players have been arrested for causing trouble in town," [Bitter Gourd Vine] said, switching to the private channel. "That makes it very credible."

"Exceptional aptitude fits what players are like, too," [Chronic Laziness] said, glancing at [Deng Libuduo]. "Looks like every game has its lucky bastards!"

[Deng Libuduo] wore a faint smile and said nothing. Go on, all of you. Go become Shadow Guards, as long as you don't fight me over Lin Bai. The shopkeeper really was his lucky star. A few words had kicked an entire crowd of rivals out of his way.

"You're not seriously planning to apply to become Shadow Guards, are you?" Lin Bai looked at the players in surprise, asking a question whose answer he already knew.

"Why not? What if we get in?" [Chronic Laziness] said.

"No harm in trying." Lin Bai smiled. "Young people should look to the long term. If any of you really do become Shadow Guards, don't forget my part in pointing you there."

"We won't, we won't." [Jing Buyi] smiled. "If we really become Shadow Guards, we'll certainly come back to support Xiao Deng's business."

A bunch of idiots!

[Deng Libuduo] snorted disdainfully. You have no idea what you've just lost!

"Business is secondary." Lin Bai smiled. "If you really become Shadow Guards, you can eat and drink here for free. Like I said, every extra friend is another road you can take!"

"You're a generous man, shopkeeper," [Bitter Gourd Vine] couldn't help praising him.

They had been playing for two days, and not a single NPC they had met was easy to deal with. Only here, with Lin Bai, had they learned the inside scoop about the City Lord's Residence recruiting Shadow Guards and even gained a chance to eat and drink for free.

How could they describe that feeling? It was like basking in a spring breeze, making them feel comfortable for no reason they could explain.

[Deng Libuduo] really had stumbled into a pile of dog-shit luck, running into such an easygoing NPC...

With the lure of becoming Shadow Guards at the City Lord's Residence, Lin Bai's Chef God Restaurant immediately lost its appeal to the players.

After the players conferred privately, [Chronic Laziness] said goodbye to Lin Bai. "Shopkeeper, you're pretty busy today. We'll go take a look at the City Lord's Residence and stop disturbing your business. We'll be on our way!"

Lin Bai cupped his hands. "I wish you all futures bright as brocade and success the moment your horses arrive."

"And we wish you booming business, shopkeeper." [Bitter Gourd Vine] laughed and returned the salute.

Lin Bai watched the players leave, his eyes smiling.

What an adorable bunch of players!

Lord City Lord, I've sent you such a generous gift. I wonder whether you can swallow it.

"Master, is the City Lord's Residence really recruiting Shadow Guards?" [Deng Libuduo] asked.

"Yes." Lin Bai turned to [Deng Libuduo] and asked with a smile, "Are you thinking of trying too?"

"I'm going to follow you wholeheartedly until you agree to take me as your disciple. I couldn't care less about becoming some Shadow Guard at the City Lord's Residence!" [Deng Libuduo] declared firmly.

He had spent two days at Lin Bai's side. No one understood his future master's personality better than he did.

He was the sort who would pluck feathers from a goose flying past!

Since when had he ever pleasantly recommended a job to anyone?

And a Shadow Guard at the City Lord's Residence, at that?

The name alone marked it as a secret organization.

How could an organization like that recruit by blabbing in the streets, letting someone overhear so easily?

A bunch of brainless fools. They wouldn't even know they'd been sold out...

Suddenly, [Deng Libuduo] froze. Wait. Everyone I was talking to just now was a player, and none of them had shown anything particularly special. Why would Lin Bai reveal the Shadow Guard business to them out of nowhere?

"Xiao Deng, what are you thinking about?" Lin Bai's voice drifted into [Deng Libuduo]'s ears. "Do you think what I just did was strange?"

"No." [Deng Libuduo] instinctively shook his head.

"None of you are from this world, are you?" Lin Bai smiled faintly and suddenly asked.

"Shopkeeper, you..." [Deng Libuduo] looked stunned.

"Don't look so surprised. You caused such a commotion over the past two days. Do you really think the city lord is an idiot?" Lin Bai smiled. "Three years ago, my master told me that a group of Chosen Ones would appear in the future and stir up the winds and clouds of this world. The moment you appeared, all the major powers noticed you. Otherwise, why would I suddenly come to Jiamao City to open this little restaurant? It was all to lay my plans in advance..."

"Chosen Ones?" [Deng Libuduo] let out a quiet breath of relief. All right, that does fit the game's setting. Good thing he didn't call us players.

Otherwise, they would probably have found the whole world against them the moment they appeared.

Then.

[Deng Libuduo] was startled by his own thoughts.

Calling us players wouldn't matter, would it? This is just a game. Could the Game Company really let NPCs control the players' fates? How the hell would they make any money then?

Since when had he subconsciously begun treating this as a real world?