Unexpected Developments in Reality

Early the next morning, before the sky had fully brightened.

Some players from the Militia Fifth Team logged in early. But the moment they appeared in the camp, they discovered that their tents were gone.

The entire camp was a mess, the ground covered in blade marks as if it had gone through a fierce battle.

They learned that just a few hours earlier, a Semi-Professional Level Ghost Spirit had invaded the camp. A brutal fight had broken out, and in the end, the Ghost Spirit had been killed by members of the Militia Team.

"A Ghost Spirit invasion? I've never even seen a ghost before. Are they like the ghosts in movies and novels?"

"You'd better hope you never do. I heard that some time ago, a Ghost Spirit hid in the village and killed quite a few people..."

When Dugu Feng logged in, the Fifth Squad members immediately gathered around him.

"Boss Dugu, did you hear what happened last night? A Ghost Spirit invaded our camp!!"

At the words "Ghost Spirit," he shuddered instinctively. Only when he spotted Gu Chenghu rebuilding tents in the distance did he finally let out a breath.

The old captain was nearby, which meant the Ghost Spirit threat in the camp had already been eliminated.

"Brothers, what exactly happened? Tell me everything."

After listening to their overlapping explanations, Dugu Feng finally understood what had happened last night. He could not help feeling grateful that he had not logged in.

The invader had actually been a Semi-Professional Level Ghost Spirit!

And the white mist released by the Ghost Spirit had enveloped the entire camp, leaving them nowhere to run.

In the end, Lin Yi had worked with Gu Chenghu, Old Fourth Gu, and the others to kill it.

Since when had Brother Qingshan become this fierce?

Even Chang Kongkuo, his good friend who was Ninth Rank, probably would not have had the nerve to attack a Semi-Professional Level Ghost Spirit head-on.

Could merely switching to a Half Spirit Artifact-grade longsword really grant such combat strength?

If he remembered correctly, Lin Yi had been holding back his Experience Points and was still only a Level 3 player.

The gap between Level 3 and Semi-Professional Level was simply too enormous.

Honestly, Dugu Feng still thought of Lin Yi as someone capable of killing a Level 5 Corpse Fiend without taking damage—in other words, someone with Level 5 combat power.

But no matter how much Lin Yi had improved over the past week or so, he should not possibly have gained the ability to deal with a Semi-Professional Level Ghost Spirit.

If Dugu Feng did not know that the Apocalypse Game had no cheats, he would have begun suspecting that Lin Yi was cheating.

Dugu Feng could not figure it out. He truly could not...

As time passed, all the members of the Militia Fifth Team arrived, and Old Fourth Gu had already begun putting them through drills.

Gu Chenghu was waiting for Lin Yi to log in. But Old Fourth Gu had already led the Militia Fifth Team deep into the valley to kill Corpse Fiends, while Lin Yi still had not appeared.

Gu Chenghu was starting to grow restless.

"Strange. Qingshan is rarely late. Did something hold him up?"

Just as Gu Chenghu had guessed, Lin Yi had indeed encountered an unexpected situation in reality.

After getting up that morning, Lin Yi had planned to log in early and inspect the Mist Wraith Spirit Stone he had obtained yesterday.

But when he went to the breakfast shop below his apartment for buns, Lin Yi, whose Spirit Power had greatly increased, immediately sensed someone watching him from afar.

For several minutes straight, the hidden person's gaze seemed to remain fixed on him.

Lin Yi was certain that person was tailing him.

Could it be Official personnel?

Had Liu Bo revealed that he was an Apocalypse player to the Official authorities?

Lin Yi's first thought was that Liu Bo had betrayed him, but after thinking it over, he felt that was impossible.

Even if they were Official personnel, there was no need for them to move so quickly and begin watching him first thing in the morning.

Besides, he had some faith in Liu Bo. Given their relationship, Liu Bo had no reason to do such a thing.

If they were not Official personnel, then who were they?

A Black Card Alliance member mentioned in Liu Hong's Diary?

But Liu Hong's matter had happened so long ago. Why would someone still be watching him?

Or perhaps someone had been watching him all this time, but only because his Spirit attribute had increased drastically in Apocalypse World last night, greatly enhancing his perception, had he finally noticed?

Though Lin Yi had many questions, he continued eating his buns slowly as usual and did not raise his head to search for the person watching him.

After finishing his meal, he canceled his plan to enter Apocalypse World that morning to farm Corpse Fiends. He called a ride-hailing car and headed for the Workshop.

At the same time, on the second floor of a shop not far away, a man holding binoculars lowered them and typed out a message on his Phone.

"Number 1, this guy seems pretty normal. After breakfast, he called a ride-hailing car and disappeared. Looks like he went to the game Workshop under his name."

Very soon, the person known as Number 1 replied, "Keep watching him for now. This Lin Yi is not only close to Liu Hong, but also has a close relationship with Liu Bo. If Liu Bo got the Activation Code Liu Hong left behind, this Lin fellow may know something."

"Number 16, while he's out, go take a look at where he lives."

"Understood, Number 1."

Inside a luxurious skyscraper beside the Huangpu River in Donghai City, Zhao Yilong slowly set down his Phone. He was Number 1, the Number 1 member of the Black Card Alliance.

He was in his forties, dressed in a light gray suit. His refined face was framed by a pair of gold-rimmed glasses.

Not only was he a famous businessman in reality, but he was also a High-level Player in Apocalypse World.

As one of the earliest players to enter Apocalypse World, Zhao Yilong had already reached Professional level.

A few months ago, backed by his vast financial empire, he had founded an underground organization in the country called the Black Card Alliance.

The organization's purpose was to unite non-Official players, explore Apocalypse World together, and exchange information and resources.

Anyone who joined the Black Card Alliance received financial subsidies in reality. Furthermore, the Black Card Alliance had no hierarchy; everyone was simply a member.

Of course, to distinguish individuals, they addressed one another by number. Since Zhao Yilong had founded the Black Card Alliance, he was naturally Number 1.

Although the Black Card Alliance presented itself as a "law-abiding" organization, it was still a private organization outside Official control. As its leader, Zhao Yilong was often invited by the Official authorities for a chat.

Only after Zhao Yilong broke through to Professional level did such incidents gradually become less frequent.

This time, he had sent members of the organization to Linhe City naturally because of Liu Hong's Activation Code.

That Activation Code, which was rumored to have an extremely low number!

As one of the first players in Apocalypse World, Zhao Yilong knew many hidden secrets of Apocalypse World.

For example, the secret of Activation Codes.

Half a year ago, Apocalypse World had suddenly opened, and some force had randomly selected 108 people from Earth to enter Apocalypse World.

Those 108 people were the first batch of players. They possessed numbered Activation Codes, with numbers from 1 to 108.

Activation Codes numbered 1 through 10 were extremely special. They were made of gold-colored material, and it was said that players who activated them gained all sorts of unimaginable powers.

Activation Codes in the Sequence from 11 to 108 were second-class Activation Codes, made of blue paper. Players who activated them also received different special rewards.

The Activation Codes issued afterward no longer had rankings or numbers, and they were all ordinary white Activation Codes.

The reason Zhao Yilong had become Professional level in only half a year, surpassing 99% of players, was precisely because he had been among the first batch of selected players and had obtained Activation Code Number 102.

The reward for Activation Code Number 102 was: immunity to three deaths in Apocalypse World.

Immunity to three deaths—what an enviable ability!

It meant he had three lives in Apocalypse World.

However, Zhao Yilong knew that his Activation Code was not the best. The Activation Codes that could truly allow someone to rise to the top in a single leap were those ranked in the top ten.

By chance, he had learned about Liu Hong and discovered that Liu Hong's Activation Code had a very low number.

He did not know exactly what number Liu Hong's Activation Code had, but he began trying to contact Liu Hong, hoping to recruit him into the Black Card Alliance.

Unfortunately, over the past half month, he had been tied up with all sorts of matters in both reality and Apocalypse World.

By the time he paid attention to Liu Hong again, he discovered that Liu Hong had already died in an accident in reality, and Liu Hong's Activation Code had vanished without a trace.

A week ago, Zhao Yilong began investigating information on Liu Hong's family and friends. Liu Bo, Lin Yi, Liu Hong's ex-wife... all fell within the scope of his investigation.

In the end, he learned that Liu Bo had already become an Apocalypse World player and had been sent to the Official headquarters in Capital City for training. At that point, he became seventy percent certain that Liu Hong had left his Activation Code to his son.

After all, he had interacted with Liu Hong in the Apocalypse Game.

Liu Hong was a very traditional man and cared deeply about his son. If he had something valuable, Liu Hong would definitely leave it to his son without hesitation.

After learning that Liu Bo had finished his training and returned to Linhe City, Zhao Yilong hurriedly sent people to Linhe City to approach Liu Bo. That was what led to today's events.

Inside the skyscraper, Zhao Yilong stood before a floor-to-ceiling river-view window with a wide-open view and took out a photograph of Liu Bo from a drawer.

In the photo, Liu Bo wore a training uniform and stood outside Tiananmen with a smile on his face.

Clearly, Zhao Yilong had considerable influence to obtain internal photos of trainees.

"Kid, you do resemble your father somewhat. But I hope you won't be as ungrateful as he was..."

About half an hour later, Number 16 sent a message: "Number 1, I roughly searched Lin Yi's home. There wasn't anything useful, and his computer was completely clean. Other than an unopened ornamental Longquan Saber in the bedroom, there was nothing special. I don't think Lin Yi seems like an Apocalypse player."

After reading the message, Zhao Yilong frowned.

"Fine. Number 16, focus on Liu Bo for now. The boy has only just become an adult. See whether you can make contact and invite him into the Black Card Alliance."

"Understood, Number 1."

At that moment, Lin Yi was in the Workshop, overseeing his members' gold-farming work.

Although he had not visited the Workshop very often lately, his employees' enthusiasm did not seem to have diminished much. That made him rather relieved.

After ordering coffee for every employee on his Phone, Lin Yi suddenly received a message from Liu Yuxi.

Lin Yi had added Liu Yuxi on WeChat when they happened to run into each other a few days ago.

"Brother Lin, are you at home? Why do I hear movement in your room? I remember you seemed to have left this morning..."

Seeing the message, Lin Yi immediately guessed that someone had entered his apartment room, and that it was very likely the person who had been watching him earlier.

That person was really bold!

Fortunately, Lin Yi never left any information related to Heavenly Revelation at home. Anything he wrote on paper would immediately be burned, and he deleted all browsing records from his computer before every shutdown.

"It's nothing. Maybe it's a friend of mine."

After replying to Liu Yuxi, Lin Yi thought it over and decided to contact Liu Bo.

He was currently unsure who had targeted him, but the best way to resolve such a matter was to borrow the Official authorities' power.

Liu Bo was in a meeting at the Linhe City Police Bureau. Captain Zhang Baichuan was training them on police force regulations and emergency responses to special incidents.

Upon seeing Lin Yi's message, Liu Bo's expression gradually became grave. He quickly replied, "Brother Yi, don't panic. Try not to reveal anything unusual. I'll find time to come over at noon."

"Okay. Should you inform your team?"

"No need. I should be able to handle this."

Lin Yi nodded. He did not want to alarm Zhang Baichuan either. After all, this man was not only an experienced Official operative, but also a High-level Player of at least Level 9.

If his identity as an Apocalypse player were exposed to Zhang Baichuan now, Zhang Baichuan would inevitably start drawing too many connections. He might even discover that the source of Lin Yi's Activation Code was unusual.

During the remaining time that morning, Lin Yi found time to enter Apocalypse World.

He told Gu Chenghu that he was safe, then postponed today's Corpse Fiend hunt.

Of course, after returning to his tent, Lin Yi also took the opportunity to inspect the Mist Wraith Spirit Stone he had obtained yesterday.

Gu Chenghu had not asked about it earlier, and Old Fourth Gu was not in the camp, so Lin Yi decided to study it.

But the moment he brought the Mist Wraith Spirit Stone near his heart, he felt the Strange Stone in his chest begin to stir again.

At the same time, the Strange Stone conveyed an intense craving, as though it desperately wanted to devour the Mist Wraith Spirit Stone. The feeling was far stronger than when it absorbed Ghost Spirit Ashes.

Lin Yi hesitated. This was the Core Material dropped by the Mist Wraith. Could it really be eaten?

Especially since the right to distribute this item had not yet been decided. It did not fully belong to him.

But when Lin Yi placed the Mist Wraith Spirit Stone into his backpack, a sense of loss welled up within him, as though he were about to miss some enormous opportunity.

"Damn it, I'll let you eat it. But don't disappoint me!"

Lin Yi made up his mind and slowly placed the Mist Wraith Spirit Stone against his chest.