Investigation 02

“But I heard [Eye of the Abyss] hasn’t been very peaceful lately.” The Doppelganger leaned closer mysteriously. “Apparently, they’re planning to capture a human player.”

“Oh?” Zhu Yan pretended to be interested.

A human player, huh?

Anyone could figure out who they meant without using their brain.

“Exactly. So, boss, this is our chance!” The Doppelganger moved closer. “Boss, I heard that as long as we capture that human player alive—or take part in the hunt for them—we’ll have a chance of becoming a D-rank member of [Eye of the Abyss].”

Zhu Yan instinctively lowered his head and glanced at himself.

Capture himself?

“Boss.” The Doppelganger, convinced that it had successfully latched onto a powerful backer, happily edged even closer.

The two of them were crossing the enormous plaza in front of the [Hall of Mourning]. The vast, polished black stone tiles reflected the figures passing over them. All kinds of terrifying creatures came and went, while the air was tinged with the sulfurous smell of unknown origin.

“Don’t worry.” Zhu Yan patted it on the shoulder. “I’ll call you if I hear anything. I’ve got a lot going on lately… Just keep an eye on your phone.”

The human and the Doppelganger chatted happily for a while before finally parting with great reluctance.

…

By the time Zhu Yan had fully returned to Zhu Zeyu’s body, it was already the middle of the night.

The White Building seemed to be holding an emergency meeting. As [Mist] climbed up along the railing, Zhu Yan could hear hurried footsteps in the corridors.

But he no longer wanted to waste any energy eavesdropping.

Tonight had already been hectic enough. He needed to make good use of the surveillance forgery device and get a solid ten hours of sleep.

Zhu Yan slipped into the private shower room and took a thoroughly satisfying shower, washing his hair as well.

Only after he had finally scrubbed away every trace of [Carnival Land] did he drink the Witch’s potion and crawl into bed. The soft, floating sensation, as though he were lying among the clouds, once again caught and supported him.

Zhu Yan closed his eyes and finally sank into a deep sleep.

…

“Did you hear?”

Yang Zhanbai carried a tray through the crowd and squeezed into the seat across from Zhu Yan. He handed him a carton of yogurt, then frowned at the food on Zhu Yan’s tray.

“That’s all you’re eating? Don’t tell me you were so scared that your gastritis flared up again?”

Zhu Yan was already used to Yang Zhanbai blurting out ominous remarks at every opportunity.

He was more curious about what the other man had heard.

“Hear what?” Zhu Yan asked. “How are you so well-informed this early in the morning?”

Yang Zhanbai’s tray was piled high with food.

He began stuffing spare ribs, beef, and tofu pudding onto Zhu Yan’s tray. At the same time, he casually raised a hand and pressed down his unruly red hair.

“Because I’m not like you, Zhu Zeyu.”

“First of all, this isn’t early morning. It’s lunchtime.”

“Second, I came here for breakfast first thing this morning, and after breakfast, I even took part in a morning training mission.”

Zhu Yan picked up his chopsticks and fell silent.

Oh, right.

He had slept for ten hours straight, completely unconscious. After waking up, neither the [Player Forum] nor his phone had any messages notifying him to participate in any kind of training.

It seemed Jin Rongxu had completely pushed him to the margins.

Damn it.

“So you heard this from the other players?”

Yang Zhanbai’s expression turned serious, but he lowered his voice furtively.

“Yeah. Apparently, something major happened last night.”

He glanced around the room mysteriously, prompting Zhu Yan to do the same.

More than half the seats in the cafeteria were occupied. Some people were eating with their heads down, while quite a few others were busy whispering among themselves.

Zhu Yan pricked up his ears and caught a few scattered words and fragmented sentences.

“[Hunter]…”

“…must be incredibly strong. Why doesn’t the Alliance just bomb him…”

Yang Zhanbai cleared his throat.

“The [Hunter]’s profile has been updated. You know how he chopped off Captain Jin’s left hand…”

At the mention of this, his expression grew even colder.

“Apparently, he completely emptied Captain Jin’s accounts.”

Zhu Yan kicked him under the table. “Can you say that out loud?”

“Why not?” Yang Zhanbai sneered. “Oh, I get what you mean. Of course Captain Jin wouldn’t spread such an embarrassing story around.”

“Then how did you find out?”

A trace of awkwardness appeared on Yang Zhanbai’s face.

He looked left and right, as though checking whether anyone was listening.

“There’s no one nearby,” Zhu Yan said.

“Well… Guan En told me.” Yang Zhanbai’s voice dropped almost to a breath. “Apparently, he was dragged out of bed and called into a meeting in the early hours of the morning.”

“You two are pretty close, huh?”

“Not really.”

Yang Zhanbai glanced around again, then simply picked up his tray and moved from across the table to sit beside Zhu Yan.

“Zeyu, Officer Guan said the higher-ups are planning to have me join Captain Jin’s team.”

“Oh?” Zhu Yan was somewhat surprised.

The three [Walking Dead]—Pot Lid, the army medic, and Ma Dong—were still active. Captain Jin’s team wasn’t exactly short-handed.

“Yeah, so he told me this while he was at it.”

Yang Zhanbai was being completely honest.

“Yesterday, the [Hunter] went to the [Hall of Mourning]. No one knows what method he used, but he actually managed to escape in full view of everyone.”

“Do you know? The entire upper echelon here has gone completely crazy. They analyzed the incident all night and came up with even more information.”

Zhu Yan sighed. “He has plenty of tricks. Why are you still thinking about this?”

“You worked with him before, didn’t you?” Yang Zhanbai asked. “Tell me, why didn’t he chop off your left hand too? And why did he give you a knife?”

“I figure a top-ranked player like you should have at least a little money…”

Zhu Yan studied Yang Zhanbai’s expression.

The man’s face was utterly guileless. It showed nothing but relief that “Zhu Zeyu” had escaped with his life, along with open curiosity about the [Hunter]’s bizarre behavior.

“He probably wanted me dead,” Zhu Yan said, smoothly filling in the gaps. “At the time, he didn’t have the chance to chop off my hand. Besides, Captain Jin might have exchanged some of his human currency beforehand. Compared to that, how much money could I possibly have on me?”

“Just a few pennies. Not worth his time.”

Yang Zhanbai nodded heavily, his mind still weighed down by the matter.

Zhu Yan quietly continued eating. For a while, the two of them fell silent.

After quite some time, Yang Zhanbai finally spoke. “Um, Captain Jin wants you to go to his office after you finish eating.”

“Oh, okay.”

“…Be careful.”

“Sure.”

“He’s furious. He’s been targeting you both openly and behind your back.” Yang Zhanbai couldn’t help saying it outright. “He says you’re lazy, refuse to follow orders, and have caused a lot of trouble.”

“From what I could tell, he suspects you’re working with the [Hunter].”

Zhu Yan was astonished. “Can’t he read memories? Why does he suspect me? Is he sick?”

“I told him that, but he wouldn’t listen!” Yang Zhanbai grew anxious.

Then he lowered his voice again.

“Zeyu, take it easy. From what I’ve heard, they’re planning to take you to the [Hall of Mourning] soon.”

“Huh?”

Yang Zhanbai nodded gravely.

“I’m guessing it’s because of that collaboration. Captain Jin has gone through everyone internally and at the school, asking who might be involved. In the end, they decided to check people one by one—to inspect their account balances at the [Hall of Mourning].”

“Because the [Hunter] is incredibly crafty. There’s no obvious flaw on the surface.”

“They suspect he has some high-level item. For all they know, it might even be capable of forging player accounts.”