Modified Pistol

Zhu Yan flew out of the dormitory and sprinted toward the Four-School Passage at a hundred-meter pace.

He needed to ask Dragonfly… no, Feining, for a way to order online.

The Four-School Passage would close this afternoon. What would he do about his delightful little gadgets after that?

Zhu Yan didn’t care who saw him. He dispersed into a cloud of mist and surged down the passage, rolling forward.

Ten minutes later, he wriggled through the gap in Dragonfly’s door, panting as he condensed back into human form.

Feining was lying in its rocking chair, eyes closed in bliss.

When Zhu Yan arrived, its eyelids twitched. Then it let out two extremely loud snores.

Zhu Yan narrowed his eyes.

“I won’t interrupt your vacation,” he said. “You’ll even get a show.”

Feining’s pale-gray eyes flew open.

It sprang to its feet, making the rocking chair sway violently.

“Hurry!” Feining cried, frantically. “What show? Tell me!”

Zhu Yan gave it a knowing smile.

“I need a large quantity of puppet-repair agent and memory-altering potion made by witches.”

Feining swallowed.

It leaned against the counter with its arms folded, its pale-gray eyes studying Zhu Yan inquisitively. It seemed to have figured something out.

“You… who are you trying to deceive?”

“The things you wanted last time… and the things you want this time… Did you infiltrate one of those orderly human player organizations?”

“Or are you trying to deceive some powerful player?”

“Oh, that.”

Zhu Yan still remembered what had happened to Dragonfly.

With a few casual words, he had obtained all the information he wanted.

So telling Feining was out of the question. He was merely dangling bait to wake it up.

“I don’t know. I just need them,” he said. “It’s not like you have to make anything by hand. Oh, wait.”

There might actually be something that required handiwork.

Zhu Yan still remembered the Seer’s prophecy.

She had said, “A shot was fired, or a knife was stabbed. I couldn’t see clearly.”

On the surface, Zhu Yan had already given that fake “Level 13 military knife” to Jin Rongxu. Naturally, he couldn’t let the Hunter produce another identical knife.

So…

After thinking it over, Zhu Yan took out Guan En’s pistol.

“There’s something I need to ask you to do. Take a look. This gun has some very unusual attributes.”

“Could you temporarily twist those attributes back into a normal state, so that this thing can hit people with perfect accuracy or something?”

Seeing Feining’s expression gradually turn cold, Zhu Yan added:

“I’ll pay you double. You can keep enjoying your vacation.”

Feining’s expression returned to normal.

It happily accepted the pistol and examined it carefully.

“Hmm. An additional attribute… Your luck isn’t very good, young man.”

“Sixty bone coins. Double makes one hundred and twenty bone coins.”

“I know your address. I’ll send it straight to your bed. Room 303 of the dormitory, right?”

Zhu Yan nodded. Feining continued to fiddle with the pistol, chattering all the while.

“I can twist it for a while, but it definitely won’t last a whole month.”

“Longer than five days will do,” Zhu Yan said. “Seven days or more would be best.”

Feining nodded to indicate that it was no problem.

Its gray eyes narrowed halfway.

“So, about your show…”

“There is no show.”

Dragonfly finally understood.

A string of incomprehensible curses spilled from its mouth, but Zhu Yan ruthlessly fired back.

“How can you pry into a customer’s privacy? By the way, I need an online ordering method for members.”

“There’s no online ordering.”

Feining’s tone was thoroughly unpleasant.

It walked behind the counter and opened a hidden compartment. From inside, it pulled out two wire baskets.

“Thirty bottles per basket. Both types cost one bone coin per bottle.”

“Sixty bone coins. Pay up.”

That was a bargain.

Zhu Yan held out his palm, displaying his player mark. Feining fidgeted for a moment before opening its mouth again.

“My dearest customer baby!”

This time, it held up a brand-new roll of parchment and waved it at Zhu Yan.

“Look, I’ve never given any other member a special ordering route—much less an ordinary customer.”

“For the sake of our wonderful relationship, give me just a little information. Just a little.”

“Who exactly did you deceive? Tell me, and I’ll restock you for free.”

“You’re going to participate in the upcoming large-scale open-beta dungeon, aren’t you?”

Zhu Yan wasn’t falling for it.

There was no other reason. What he was planning was simply too dangerous, so he had to be as cautious as possible.

Jin Rongxu was, to him, a shortcut to advancement within the Human Alliance.

His plan was to impersonate Jin Rongxu and muddle through inside the Human Alliance. Perhaps he could even earn their trust, receive important assignments, and rise through the ranks.

But to impersonate Jin Rongxu, he had to wait until the next large-scale open-beta dungeon opened.

As a Hunter, he did indeed have the privilege of spending money to seize abilities.

However, the Human Alliance’s waters appeared to run deep. If Jin Rongxu were suddenly dragged into some strange little dungeon, it might alert more people and put them on guard.

The open-beta dungeon was the safest opportunity he had to seize Jin Rongxu’s abilities.

Zhu Yan glanced at Feining and swiftly snatched the roll of parchment from its hands, then unrolled it.

“Hey!” Feining protested angrily.

This was the Member Customer Purchase Catalog. It was densely covered with the names of all kinds of products.

At the very bottom was a completely blank section labeled “Custom Product Request.” A note beside it explained that as long as customers filled in their requirements, the Lazybones Craft Shop could provide custom-made products.

“Thanks, friend.” Zhu Yan smiled brightly. “This is exactly what I need.”

“I’ll tell you next time. If I really participate in the upcoming dungeon, I’ll definitely come looking for you.”

He knew nothing about Jin Rongxu’s abilities, his exact ability level, his fighting style, or his family relationships.

He also knew nothing about the complicated web of connections surrounding Jin Rongxu within the Human Alliance.

After checking the information at the Nightmare Bookstore, he would still have to lie low and observe for a while before making his move, just to be safe.

Feining wilted.

It could only watch as the cunning Hunter transformed into mist and slipped out through the crack in the door, rolling toward the Four-School Passage.

“All right,” it called after him disappointedly. “Remember to give me a little information…”

…

Zhu Yan raised his head and looked at the enormous lump of Slime above him, as steady as a mountain.

After two days apart, the Slime had acquired a new outfit.

A tattered women’s floral dress had been pulled over that mass of minced flesh and fat. It was soaked through with grime, leaving only the faintest trace of its original peach-pink color.

“How much?!” Zhu Yan asked incredulously.

“One thousand bone coins!”

The Slime’s voice was even louder than before.

It had installed two enormous eyeballs on top of its head. Whenever it spoke, the eyeballs rolled upward in perfect emphasis, presenting Zhu Yan with nothing but their whites.

“Do you think the second-generation leader of the Human Alliance was easy to investigate?”

“People like him are engaged in shady business, just like you Hunters!”