People never feel tired when they’re up to no good.
Zhu Yan left right after Guan En, controlling “Zhu Zeyu” as he followed Captain Zheng into the elevator.
“Do you know what our mission is?” Captain Zheng asked in a lowered voice.
What he didn’t know was that a wisp of invisible [Fog] was spilling out from beneath Zhu Zeyu’s feet.
The [Fog] soon drifted through the crack beneath the elevator doors and floated toward Level -23.
“Yes.” Inside the elevator, Zhu Zeyu lowered his voice as well. “Captain Guan said we’re supposed to protect Director Jin.”
Captain Zheng glanced around but didn’t answer Zhu Zeyu right away.
A little over ten minutes earlier, Captain Zheng had received a private message from Director Jin through the [Player Forum]. In a mysterious tone, Director Jin had instructed him on a few matters and repeatedly emphasized that he must avoid too much verbal communication with the others.
“Log in to the Player Forum now,” Captain Zheng said. “The [Hunter]’s abilities are impossible to predict. It’s safer to communicate through the forum.”
Zhu Zeyu said nothing and promptly logged in to the [Player Center].
Two messages Captain Zheng had just sent were waiting there, written in a very conversational tone.
“Zhu Zeyu, I’m going to send you a private message with the details. You cannot leak a single word.”
The elevator doors opened.
“Our job, besides protecting Director Jin, is to keep an eye on Captain Jin.”
Zhu Zeyu followed Captain Zheng out of the elevator.
A sign marked “Level -13” was clearly posted beside the elevator doors.
Through the gaps between the scarlet words floating in his vision, he carefully surveyed the floor.
The corridors here crisscrossed in a confusing maze, and the place was far larger than the White Building.
Identical white light strips illuminated the corridors, while security doors stood in neat rows along both sides.
A card reader was installed beside every door, and entry was only possible with an authorized access card.
The only difference was the number on each door. Zhu Zeyu observed them carefully. Distinguishing the room numbers was practically the only way he could avoid getting lost.
“Captain Jin?”
On the forum, Zhu Zeyu pretended to sound surprised as he replied to Captain Zheng.
“Come to think of it, Captain Jin is still my direct superior. Shouldn’t he be leading us on this mission, Captain Zheng?”
“Could it be that his hand still hasn’t healed?”
Captain Zheng replied quickly.
“I heard that, as a special talent, Captain Jin underwent an augmentation experiment conducted by the military.”
“That matter is highly classified within the organization.”
That’s right, that’s right.
Zhu Zeyu would keep it highly classified too.
“All right, Captain Zheng. Then what do we need to do?”
Captain Zheng didn’t seem to know his way around very well either.
He led Zhu Zeyu back to a fork in the corridor, then turned into a narrower passageway.
“Captain Jin is in Room 1356,” Captain Zheng replied, his expression growing increasingly grim.
“Look at this corridor. See it?”
Zhu Zeyu did.
The narrow corridor had been sealed off by a security door. A thick glass window had been set into the door.
Through the glass, they could see the scene beyond: more white light strips and several tightly closed doors. It looked utterly unremarkable.
“Director Jin is on the other side, in Room 1380.”
Another line of scarlet text appeared in his vision—a private message.
“Room 1356 is top secret. We can’t enter casually either, so we can only patrol the corridor outside.”
“Captain Jin is already inside. There’s also a metal-type specialist. When they enter, they’ll announce themselves and swipe their cards.”
Zhu Zeyu sent back a message to indicate that he understood.
“You’ve met the other members of Captain Jin’s team.”
Captain Zheng raised a hand and patted him on the shoulder.
He had said that part aloud. It seemed the important information had already been conveyed through private messages.
“The arrangement is for my squad and Captain Jin’s squad to take turns standing guard.”
“I’m responsible for the other side right now. The military doctors will be coming up later. You’ll stay here and keep watch.”
“Understood,” Zhu Zeyu said.
“Don’t wander off. Keep the Player Forum open. When the time comes, the two sides will switch shifts.”
Captain Zheng stared into Zhu Zeyu’s eyes to make sure he had understood, then emphasized the point again.
“Pay attention to every single anomaly—every single one! We’ve already installed detectors, but you should know that detectors aren’t omnipotent.”
Indeed, they weren’t.
For example, the detectors had no way to detect the [Fog], which had already reached Level 23 and was drifting about in an invisible state.
“No problem, Captain,” Zhu Zeyu said solemnly. “I will absolutely fulfill my duty and make sure no one gets hurt!”
The red mission text for the [Hunter] suddenly flickered.
“The little liar who lies through his teeth.”
It said that, then flickered again and returned to normal.
Zhu Yan let out a long, silent whistle in his mind.
Captain Zheng laughed heartily and gave Zhu Zeyu’s shoulder a heavy pat.
“Good boy,” he said. “Make sure you protect yourself too. Remember the lesson the [Hunter] taught you last time. You must be careful.”
“Yes, Captain!”
Captain Zheng gave him an encouraging look, then turned and left.
Zhu Zeyu leaned against the corner beside the door, standing ramrod straight.
While pretending to stand guard, he manipulated the [Fog], letting it drift through the utterly different corridors on Level -23.
Level -23 wasn’t entirely cold and impersonal white.
There was even a separate kitchen.
Inside a sealed security door, several chefs in white uniforms were working tirelessly over their woks.
Zhu Yan pressed himself against the glass and could almost smell the food.
He waited for a while, watching as the people inside plated several beautifully presented dishes, covered them with silver lids, and pushed out a food cart. Then they opened the security door.
“Who exactly is the big shot living in here?” one of the delivery workers asked.
“No idea,” another replied.
The [Fog] gently settled over the food cart.
“Don’t ask. We’ve been told not to.” He lowered his voice. “Anyone who can live in a place like this isn’t an ordinary person.”
The young delivery worker was still unwilling to let it go. “I heard the person’s surname is Qiu?”
Qiu Lingxiao?
Zhu Yan considered the possibility.
Was Qiu Lingxiao really living here, or was that poor Qiu Lingxiao merely being used as cover for Jin Rongxu?
Director Jin and Jin Rongxu had probably already learned that Qiu Lingxiao’s family had a [Hunter].
Would they really dare take such a risk?
“What business is it of yours what his surname is?” the other person rebuked him in a low voice. “That’s a violation of the rules, you know?”
“This is such a good job. In times like these, do you really want to get yourself fired and then force your family to risk their lives outside just to earn enough to survive?”
“But those monsters will come eventually—”
“Stop talking about that! Spit!” The other man cut him off. “With the Alliance here, and a shelter this secure, what could possibly come?”
They stopped in front of a thick, sealed security door. The older chef extended his hand and moved the metal ring on his wrist toward the card reader.
There was no glass window in this security door, so Zhu Yan didn’t see what lay beyond until it had opened completely.
Unlike the cold white outside, the room beyond was covered in a thick, warm yellow carpet that stretched all the way to the end of the corridor.
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
s + Rent Collection Wealth】 At the start, he inherited a rundown house in the urban village from his grandfather. The house had no tenants, but the moment he was diagnosed with a terminal illness, a self-proclaimed empress from the Tianxuan Continent arrived as his first tenant. Ye Chuan soon discovered that with every new tenant moving in, not only did he receive massive daily payments, but he also obtained unique items related to their backgrounds. 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Tiger Strength Pill—dramatically enhances physical power!】 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Deer Blood Pill—significantly boosts vitality!】 …… From that day on, all sorts of bizarre tenants began appearing in the house: the empress from Tianxuan Continent, an apocalyptic sorceress from the Magic Realm, a mysterious scientific girl who fell through a spacetime rift… Every single day, he received strange, powerful items and endless money. Then one day, he suddenly realized—he had become invincible. Enough, enough! Stop giving me more!
he colors of other people’s emotions. Light red meant anxiety. Gray meant exhaustion. Orange meant excitement. Yellow... meant repression. At the same time, he could gain unlimited control over one of those colors. Pale cyan: relaxation. Using this ability, he started offering “two-yuan hugs,” spending an afternoon exchanging emotional-color experiences with others. Then came his final female customer of the day— a girl whose emotional color was pure black... —— A week later, Xu Chuan had become skilled at using pale cyan—Relaxation—treating it like a bottle of menthol balm whenever he needed it. That was when he discovered he had unlocked another unlimited emotional color: Purple, the color of fear. So these emotional colors refresh every week? Fine, I take it back—I’ll never call you useless again... —— Much later, after Xu Chuan had accumulated countless emotional abilities, one night, he suddenly found himself inside someone else’s dream. There, he could use the emotional colors he possessed to paint. And in her dream, he painted her a shower of pink shooting stars, spreading across the depths of the night sky...
ine. During your journey, you save an abandoned baby girl and become her elder brother】 【You rely on each other, becoming each other's support】 【At the end of the simulation, you shield the now-grown girl with your life, sacrificing yourself to block numerous demonic cultivators. You die, and the light in the girl's eyes fades】 …… 【Second Simulation: You are transported to a world where steam and magic coexist】 【You immerse yourself in the study of magic, obsessed with its research. One day, while out, you encounter a half-blooded demon girl wandering the streets. You take her in as your student】 【You teach the demoness what it means to be human, show her the beauty of the world, and nurture her into a miracle that surpasses even the gods】 【At the end of the simulation, you die of old age in front of the nearly immortal demoness due to your mortal lifespan】 …… One simulation after another, one encounter after another. Xu Xi suddenly felt something was off: "Wait, you said you're coming to the real world to find me?"
