Although a faint, inexplicable irritation still simmered inside him, Yin Chen had not forgotten about the important matter at hand.
He considered himself an extremely efficient assistant, and in fact, he had already assigned the investigation to Zhang Ming Shen.
Zhang Ming Shen was living fairly well these days. The seriously ill elderly mother belonging to his assigned role had successfully been admitted to the best ICU ward in Dragon Nation thanks to his income from two jobs and the windfall he had made reselling Dragon-Tongue Incense. The family’s financial burden had eased considerably.
There were medical subsidies, but they were still nowhere near enough to cover the long-term treatment costs that would follow.
So Zhang Ming Shen continued reselling Dragon-Tongue Incense at high intensity with a perfectly clear conscience.
Of course, his real objective was actually to investigate the mysterious, extremely wealthy buyers purchasing all that Dragon-Tongue Incense.
He had developed several stable long-term customers, all of whom spent lavishly every time they purchased a new batch.
But whenever Zhang Ming Shen followed the payment records in an attempt to trace the source of the money, he found only a long chain of debit cards registered under layers of different names. Eventually, the trail led back to ordinary people who had never purchased Dragon-Tongue Incense at all.
That meant the people behind these transactions knew exactly how to cover their tracks and evade investigation. There was definitely something wrong behind the scenes.
So after receiving Song Zang’s investigation assignment, Zhang Ming Shen opened for business again that very night and urgently dumped a large quantity of “defective” Dragon-Tongue Incense onto the market.
Once the goods were sold and the money was in his hands, Zhang Ming Shen put on an overjoyed, greedy expression and pretended to count his cash as he turned and left. In reality, he did not go far at all.
Taking advantage of the darkness, he quickly disguised himself, quietly mounted his little electric scooter, and silently began following the truck transporting the goods.
As he continued tailing it, he unexpectedly stumbled across a major secret.
—The Dragon Nation Police Bureau again.
More specifically, a secluded training ground deep in the mountains reserved exclusively for special police officers.
That was right. Employees with a few connections inside the Agency all knew that the Dragon Nation Police Bureau had established a closed training facility deep in the mountains specifically for training elite police officers with abilities.
Its purpose was to “restore the Police Bureau’s former glory.” They hoped their special police officers could eventually surpass the Agency’s combat teams in fighting strength… Unfortunately, they had never succeeded. Over time, the whole thing had instead become an inside joke at the Agency.
No one would have imagined that the training facility concealed a secret this deeply buried.
It was already nine at night in Dragon Nation, and the foot of the mountain was swallowed by eerie darkness.
For safety, Zhang Ming Shen started another video call so Yin Chen and the others could help keep an eye on his surroundings.
On the other side of the screen, everyone was noisily eating hotpot. Watching them made Zhang Ming Shen hungry, so he decided to finish the job as quickly as possible.
Standing in the darkness, he clenched a copper coin in his hand and abruptly tossed it into the air.
—The coin bounced around on the ground for quite a while before landing tails-side up.
“Mmph…” Zhang Ming Shen frowned and slowly shook his head.
Song Zang watched curiously. “What does that mean?”
Yin Chen was cooking tender slices of beef for Song Zang. Hearing the question, he glanced at the screen and explained, “It’s his permanent item, the Divination Coin. Heads means the matter is feasible. Tails means absolutely not—if he goes through with it, he’ll almost certainly die.”
“Thanks… What if it lands on its edge?”
“Then it’s up to fate. Pure luck.”
“That’s amazing. I see.” Song Zang felt enlightened and became extremely curious about the ancient-looking copper coin.
Unexpectedly, Yin Chen suddenly sneered. “You call that amazing? Nothing I do can kill me.”
Song Zang: …
“All right. You’re the most amazing.” Song Zang agreed, amused and exasperated.
Satisfied, Yin Chen fished the beef out of the hotpot without even bothering to eat any himself, then cheerfully began cooking tripe.
Forced to listen to that bizarre exchange, Lan Yu Heng and Ning Yan simultaneously fell silent beside them.
Lan Yu Heng in particular quietly picked up a slice of tender beef, still completely unable to understand the tangled love-hate drama going on inside her boss’s head.
As for Zhang Ming Shen, there was genuinely nothing he could do alone. He could only mark the location for now and return later when everyone was together to investigate.
Just then, inspiration struck Song Zang. He put down his chopsticks and called out, “Mr. Zhang, wait. I’ll authorize you to retrieve a C-rank anomaly called the 【Myriad Phenomena Compass】 from the Containment Center. It can remotely determine whether there are anomalies inside that mountain.
“Make sure you remember its containment conditions. You can’t smoke around it, you can’t submerge it in water, and after using it, you have to say thank you. If the compass needle starts shaking particularly violently, that means the anomaly inside is at least B-rank or higher.”
Even if entering the mountain directly was unsafe, using an anomaly from the Containment Center to investigate could still leave behind legally valid evidence, making it easier to settle all of the Dragon Nation Police Bureau’s crimes later.
“Mmph, mmph!” Zhang Ming Shen looked at Song Zang in delighted surprise and made a muffled sound of agreement.
They acted immediately. Song Zang took out a blank authorization form, wrote Zhang Ming Shen’s name on it, quickly stamped it with the Director’s Seal, scanned the document with his phone, and transmitted it back to the Agency.
Zhang Ming Shen sped off wildly on his little electric scooter. Before long, he obtained the compass and returned.
He had not even reached the foot of the mountain. The moment he entered the vicinity of the deep mountain range, the compass needle immediately began swinging with startling sensitivity.
The closer he drew, the more violently the needle trembled, as though it were terrified of something. It looked almost ready to tear itself free from the compass and flee on its own.
…There really was an anomaly inside the mountain, and its rank was definitely anything but ordinary.
This reaction did not match the description.
Zhang Ming Shen stopped the scooter, slowed his steps, and cautiously approached the foot of the mountain on foot. Then, without warning, there was a sharp snap, and the compass needle began cracking apart section by section.
“Mmph, mmph!”
Zhang Ming Shen raised his voice, but unfortunately no one could understand what he was saying.
He cautiously began to step backward, but he was already too late. The situation abruptly escalated. Not only did the needle shatter, but the surface of the compass suddenly cracked apart as well. Highly contaminating powder scattered in every direction, as though trying to escape on the wind.
Fortunately, Zhang Ming Shen was also tough enough that this degree of contamination did not frighten him.
Wincing, he rubbed his hand, which had been painfully struck by the explosion, and could not resist tossing the Divination Coin once more to check the situation.
This time, the coin did not even roll. It hit the ground and landed decisively tails-side up.
As though responding to the coin, the entire compass immediately snapped into two pieces, and thick blood began strangely welling from the broken cross-section.
“Mmph, mmph!” Zhang Ming Shen shook the sticky liquid from his hand and helplessly shook his head.
No. He absolutely could not go inside. He really might die in there.
“That’s enough evidence. We have the video recording too. Old Zhang, head back for now, and be extremely careful.”
Lan Yu Heng heard the successive noises through the call and became worried, so she hurriedly spoke up.
“Mmph!”
The video call ended.
The players looked at one another.
There was something seriously wrong with the origins of Dragon-Tongue Incense, and there was just as much wrong with where the black-market incense was ending up. The Dragon Nation Police Bureau was not only illegally keeping anomalies and secretly purchasing Dragon-Tongue Incense, but it was even hiding something terrifying inside its secluded training facility.
Dragon Nation really could not withstand close scrutiny. The moment they started digging, holes appeared everywhere. There was something wrong no matter where they looked.
“Do we investigate the Police Bureau now, or wait until we deal with the Deep Sea and return to Dragon Nation?” Ning Yan coughed and asked dryly.
Lan Yu Heng frowned. “Wait. I think we should quickly find a reasonable excuse to bring one of the Police Bureau’s higher-ups to Carp Nation for questioning.”
Ning Yan scratched his head. “That’s easy. Just tell them to send their maritime police over to help with the salvage operation and clean up the Dragon-Tongue Incense ash on the seabed. That’s a perfectly legitimate reason.”
“I support it!” Song Zang said before lowering his head and continuing to eat tripe.
Spicy hotpot really suited his tastes, and he still had not eaten enough.
Ning Yan’s suggestion received unanimous approval. After all, the genuinely urgent matter at the moment was clearing away the Dragon-Tongue Incense ash as quickly as possible.
Actually carrying out such a massive cleanup project, however, would not be simple.
They were dealing with a sea more than ten thousand meters deep. At present, only Dragon Nation’s specially manufactured submarines could reach those depths. Ordinary people had absolutely no way to venture down there.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, the players ate hotpot while discussing the situation and soon settled on their final plan.
—In the name of the Anomaly Containment Agency, they would demand emergency cooperation from the Dragon Nation Police Bureau. The Bureau would be required to dispatch a large fleet and submarines to assist the Agency in cleaning up the contamination on the ocean floor.
Under Dragon Nation law, any Police Bureau official qualified to command a naval force of that size would have to be at least around Commander rank.
Once the officer leading the Police Bureau contingent arrived, they could conveniently find an opportunity to test whether that person knew anything about the secret hidden inside the mountain training facility.
With the plan settled, everyone finished eating and returned to their rooms.
＊
Dragon Nation took the Agency’s request extremely seriously. After Song Zang briefly explained Carp Nation’s situation in his capacity as Director, approval arrived that very night.
The Police Bureau responded with remarkable speed. By noon the following day, Dragon Nation’s golden national flags could already be seen approaching along the distant coastline.
Watching the enormous fleet of warships sail in, the Carp Nation workers operating large vessels to extract oil nearby were delighted. They volunteered to help and brought their heavy machinery over to assist with removing marine debris.
They were deeply grateful. They said that without Dragon Nation’s help, their children at home might really have turned into fish. They had never expected Dragon Nation to be willing to send warships too, so as citizens of Carp Nation, they could hardly sit back and enjoy the benefits without contributing themselves.
The ordinary people of Carp Nation felt tremendously reassured. Zhang Ming Shen, on the other hand, suddenly sent the players another message to warn them.
【AAA Old Zhang · King of Dragon-Tongue Incense: Be careful. This fleet definitely has some other objective. Something isn’t right!】
Why would he say that?
Naturally, because Zhang Ming Shen had been too worried to go home the night before.
He had secretly booked a room at a rundown inn outside the mountain and kept watch throughout the entire night.
According to Zhang Ming Shen, at around four in the morning, two trucks with their license plates concealed had driven out of the deep mountain forest. One truck was fully loaded, and all of its cargo had been delivered to Police Bureau headquarters. The other truck… had been parked directly on the deck of a warship.
That was right. It was one of the warships being sent to Carp Nation to assist them.
Zhang Ming Shen had seen it with his own eyes, but because of his assigned identity, he could not personally approach the ship without risking alerting the enemy.
Everyone kept that suspicious detail firmly in mind.
Before they could even finish discussing how they might infiltrate the warship to investigate, an extremely suspicious individual appeared in the hotel lobby.
—Long Jian Feng, Deputy Commander of the Dragon Nation Police Bureau, had actually come in person.
He wore a formal police uniform and cap, looking imposing with his sharp brows and striking eyes. He had even gone out of his way to wear a handsome cape, giving him an exceptionally impressive appearance.
Long Jian Feng was extremely outgoing and talkative, and laughter repeatedly broke out among the employees chatting with him in the lobby.
The Agency’s NPCs were remarkably cooperative with him, almost as though they possessed an unusual degree of trust in Long Jian Feng.
Curious, Song Zang secretly listened in for a moment and unexpectedly heard someone remark that… one look at Long Jian Feng was enough to tell that he descended from Dragon Nation’s true bloodline.
“So his status is really that high in the eyes of Dragon Nation’s people?” Song Zang murmured thoughtfully.
He had originally considered quietly killing this great fraud in the middle of the confusion. Looking at things now, however, he decided against it. Doing so could easily destabilize morale.
“Why are you paying so much attention to him?”
A voice suddenly sounded beside his ear, making Song Zang instinctively tense before turning his head.
…It was Yin Chen, who had somehow appeared silently behind him without Song Zang noticing at all.
Song Zang froze. Realizing that he had completely failed to detect Yin Chen’s approach, he experienced the rare sensation of a chill running down his back.
Silently raising Yin Chen’s danger rating by several levels, Song Zang kept his expression unchanged and forcibly maintained a blank, innocent look.
He answered almost immediately, without even needing to think. “Hm? Because I suspect Long Jian Feng isn’t a good person.”
At those words, Yin Chen’s gradually darkening expression instantly returned to normal, and even his tone abruptly softened. “I see. Teacher, would you like me to help you kill him?”
Song Zang: ?
Before he could respond, Lan Yu Heng happened to walk past and spoke in astonishment. “Boss, act normal!”
Only Yin Chen understood what she meant.
—Just last night, he had claimed he did not like Song Zang and hated him so much he wanted to hack him to death. Yet now he was eagerly volunteering to kill a bad person for him. What exactly was he trying to do?
Yin Chen’s smile stiffened, and the curve of his lips faded slightly. The look he cast toward Lan Yu Heng contained a faint warning. “Then we investigate him first. Interrogate him afterward. If there’s a problem, kill him.”
Unfortunately, Lan Yu Heng still could not see any of it.
She was in a hurry to get to the kitchen and grab a freshly made fruit parfait. She merely shrugged, said, “Understood,” and hurried away.
Song Zang watched the undercurrents passing between the two of them and became thoughtful. Apparently, Lan Yu Heng and Yin Chen had a pretty good relationship. Yin Chen was not completely incapable of listening to other people’s advice either.
If he ever needed help in the future—or if Yin Chen inexplicably bullied him—perhaps he could ask Lan Yu Heng for assistance.
…Of course, no matter how imaginative Song Zang might be, he could never have guessed what was really going on.
For now, however, the Deputy Commander of the Dragon Nation Police Bureau had only just arrived. As Director, Song Zang could hardly refuse to show his face the entire time. He sighed. Once again, he was being forced to participate in social interaction.
He adjusted the soft scarf wrapped around his neck, making certain no one could see the fish scales that had yet to disappear. Then he pushed open the door and offered a faint smile. “Commander Long. A pleasure to meet you.”
Long Jian Feng had been enthusiastically chatting with the researchers in the lobby. Hearing Song Zang’s voice, he quickly stood up on his own initiative and greeted him with a broad smile.
“Director! Ah, hello, hello, hello!
“I’ve always regretted never having the opportunity to personally visit you before, so this time I volunteered to lead the fleet out to sea myself. At last, I finally get to meet you! Director, you truly are young and accomplished, a remarkably distinguished man.”
Long Jian Feng’s voice was loud and enthusiastic. There was absolutely no sign that… he had once said those things about Song Zang behind his back.
“You flatter me. It’s an honor to meet you.”
Song Zang likewise pretended not to know the man’s little secret. Wearing a refined, gentle smile, he naturally sat down beside Long Jian Feng and chatted briefly with him about the Deep Sea’s environmental problems.
During the conversation, Song Zang quietly began testing how high the fraud’s Resistance might be.
Without changing his expression, he started bringing up all kinds of statements that violated common sense. For example, sea shrimp naturally had thirteen legs, whales were not actually mammals, oyster shells tasted even more delicious than the oysters themselves, and drinking cola could make people live longer… His entire strategy was to spout nonsense without engaging his brain.
Then Song Zang discovered that confusion flickered through Long Jian Feng’s eyes from beginning to end, without even the slightest trace of resistance or struggle. No matter what Song Zang said, the man believed him.
Was he really that easy to fool?
Or was his own acting as a con man simply that outstanding?
Song Zang was somewhat astonished, but he did not completely lower his guard.
To ensure that the upcoming Dragon-Tongue Incense ash cleanup proceeded smoothly, without mishaps or delays, Song Zang still needed to conduct another test.
After all, if the results failed to satisfy the Deep Sea, every piece of land in this world could potentially be swallowed by a tsunami. They had to remain cautious.
With that thought, Song Zang touched his scarf and, without hesitation, ripped a fish scale from the side of his neck.
Hiding the bloodstained scale in his palm, Song Zang’s smile deepened as he proactively shook Long Jian Feng’s hand.
The contamination took effect in an instant. Long Jian Feng’s expression stiffened slightly as he immediately sensed strange changes occurring in his body without his permission.
He lowered his head toward his unbearably itchy palm and watched in horror and helplessness as fish scales grew across his wrist before his very eyes.
“W-what’s happening? Director Song, I…” Instinctively panicking, he moved closer to Song Zang in search of help.
Song Zang, however, calmly stepped backward and positioned himself beside Yin Chen.
“Until the Dragon-Tongue Incense cleanup operation is complete, the Agency will not provide you with any treatment. Please make absolutely certain that the fleet and submarines maintain their work efficiency, and mind your words and actions.”
His voice was soft and gentle, but the words themselves were extraordinarily forceful and showed no courtesy whatsoever.
Yin Chen even cooperatively drew his gun. He did not point it at Long Jian Feng, merely flicked off the safety with casual indifference and spun the weapon twice around his finger.
That was right. The two of them were openly threatening him.
After all, who told this man to spread rumors behind Song Zang’s back that he had slept his way into his position? Anyone who spread sexual rumors like that did not deserve polite treatment.
The hotel lobby fell silent. The employees all looked away and pretended nothing had happened. Hierarchy within the Agency was strict, and if the Director acted this way, he must naturally have his reasons.
Long Jian Feng stood frozen in disbelief, utterly speechless.
It was obvious that this respectable-looking Deputy Commander had a great many obscenities bottled up inside his head.
But he did not dare voice even one of them.
He could feel the already scorching air around him becoming increasingly dry. His skin writhed as it developed a strange craving for water, while his eyeballs slowly began bulging outward because they were “unable to adapt to the pressure”…
Long Jian Feng had no idea what bizarre method Song Zang had used. All he knew was that if he refused to cooperate with these lunatics from the Agency, he might genuinely die in a foreign country.
With no other choice, Long Jian Feng, his face flushed red from dehydration, obediently nodded and solemnly guaranteed that he would complete the mission.
The submarines descended into the sea in force, and the massive contingent brought by the Dragon Nation Police Bureau became extremely busy.
With all the dirty and exhausting work left to the professionals, the players somehow found themselves idle again.
Ning Yan stretched. “I’m hungry. What are we having for lunch?”
Lan Yu Heng said, “No idea.”
Meanwhile, Song Zang stared thoughtfully at the iron wok in his inventory.
He had actually been wondering for a long time: if eating monsters inside an instance could increase Base Stats, why did no other players ever eat them?
For example, back at the Agency, when Ning Yan killed that crocodile anomaly, he had simply abandoned the corpse and immediately run off to shower. He did not seem interested in any part of the creature whatsoever.
Other than Yin Chen and himself, Song Zang genuinely had never seen a single player show any desire to eat the monsters that appeared in the game.
Song Zang had once tested Ning Yan by mentioning that the fish roe he had “accidentally eaten” in Tianhai City could increase Resistance. Ning Yan had been so frightened that he almost fell off the sofa.
“Why would you dare eat something that filthy?! Oh, right… because your Resistance is ridiculously high. As expected of a future big shot!”
The succession of expressions that had crossed Ning Yan’s face—from shock, to fear, to effortlessly convincing himself—had left a lasting impression on Song Zang.
Clearly, eating random things was not something every player dared attempt.
At the time, Ning Yan had even told him about one miserable case he had personally witnessed, specifically warning Song Zang to be careful in the future. During one instance, an unlucky player had killed a monster and accidentally swallowed some of the blood that splattered from it.
Only a tiny amount of blood had entered his mouth, yet the consequences had been horrifying beyond description. Before the instance had even ended, the player inexplicably grew two additional heads, each of which had four eyes…
At first, the player remained mentally normal, but his physical mutation was extremely severe. Worst of all, he could not find any way to return to normal. Even after leaving the instance, he remained unchanged, with three heads still growing from his neck!
Because his appearance had become so grotesque, a neighbor accidentally discovered him, panicked, filmed him, and reported him. Special police immediately surrounded the player and hauled him into custody.
During interrogation, he eventually broke under the pressure and tried to reveal the existence of the Infinite Game. Unexpectedly, the instant he managed to utter the first word, he suffered a fatal cerebral infarction… and met the fate of being forcibly erased by the system.
Remembering that horrifying story, Song Zang plucked another fish scale from his body and popped it into his mouth.
Chew, chew, chew. Delicious. If he put one into the iron wok, it even turned into shrimp-flavored chips.
Song Zang remained firmly convinced that the path of eating monsters to become stronger was still viable.
This iron wok was a permanent item awarded for a Legendary Achievement. Its abilities definitely could not be limited to automatic cooking.
But before serving food from the wok to good people, he needed to find a test subject first.
No sooner thought than done. Song Zang boiled a bowl of seawater, and delicious, thick, milky-white fish soup immediately emerged from the wok!
He poured the soup into a bowl and carried it straight over to Wang Shu without the slightest hesitation.
Song Zang smiled brightly. “I’m in a good mood today. You get an extra meal.”
“…What?” Wang Shu stared at Song Zang as though he were an idiot and refused no matter what.
“Yin Chen, help me out.” Song Zang continued smiling.
“Of course, Teacher.”
Yin Chen’s lips curved upward. He grabbed Wang Shu’s cheeks, forced his mouth open, lifted the bowl, and poured the soup straight down his throat.
“Gulp, gulp… cough, cough?!”
Wang Shu had been struggling violently, trying to cough the fish soup back up, but after only two coughs, he suddenly froze.
Then he remained completely motionless, his slightly bulging eyes staring fixedly at empty space in front of him.
“You saw a system notification, didn’t you? Resistance increased by one, right?”
Song Zang tilted his head, sounding completely certain.
“How did you know? Heh. Even if you poisoned me, I still wouldn’t die. This is the blessing of the Earth Mother Goddess!” Wang Shu gave a smug, sinister grin, then closed his eyes and began devoutly murmuring scripture.
Tsk. This guy was still insane.
Speechless, Song Zang had the researchers conduct a complete contamination scan on Wang Shu.
Once they confirmed the fish soup had not caused any contaminating mutation and Wang Shu remained perfectly lively, Song Zang knew the method definitely worked.
He immediately ladled up all the fish soup remaining in the wok and handed the whole lot to Ning Yan. “Drink this. Have plenty.”
“Hm? This is good! Holy shit…”
Ning Yan did not think much of it. He picked up the bowl and took a large gulp, only to freeze in stunned disbelief as system notifications rapidly flashed before his eyes.
“I have a permanent item,” Song Zang explained quietly, lowering his voice. “As long as something fits inside the iron wok and the lid can close, no matter what it is, the wok can turn it into harmless food.”
“That’s incredible. It’s the ultimate wilderness-survival tool… Brother Song, my dearest brother, let me play with it too!”
Ning Yan was overjoyed, although he had completely missed the important point.
He enthusiastically called Lan Yu Heng over to watch the fun and also borrowed a wooden chair from the hotel.
Then Ning Yan personally chopped off a small section of one chair leg, rubbed his hands together excitedly, and asked Song Zang to put that piece of wood into the iron wok as well to see what else it could produce.
Since there was nothing else to do, Lan Yu Heng and Song Zang were both amused and exasperated and simply let him experiment.
Before long, a fragrant plate of stir-fried blue-staining boletes appeared inside the wok, and the aroma nearly made all three of them delirious.
Elio’s Notes: Jianshouqing, literally “turns blue when touched,” is a common Chinese name for several wild boletes whose flesh bruises blue. Some varieties can cause poisoning or hallucinations if not cooked thoroughly.
“That smells so good…”
“It really does.”
“Your opinions don’t count. As the witness here, I can confirm that these mushrooms genuinely smell amazing!” Lan Yu Heng declared with absolute conviction.
The three of them stared at the iron wok for a moment. Then Ning Yan suddenly shot to his feet and marched away with tremendous determination. “Wait right here, my dear brother and sister! I’m going to get some rice for the two of you!”
The moment Ning Yan opened the door, he ran straight into Yin Chen, who had just finished a phone call with Zhang Ming Shen.
The fresh, savory aroma filling the room surged outward the moment the door opened. Even the merpeople splashing around in the inflatable pool were practically crying from hunger.
Only Yin Chen remained completely unaffected as he stood expressionlessly in the doorway.
Song Zang had gradually learned how to read his moods. One look was enough to tell him that Yin Chen was actually in a bad mood.
“You…”
“We’re just testing an item. My iron wok seems capable of making all kinds of food.” Before Yin Chen could finish, Song Zang hurriedly explained.
Yin Chen tilted his head and looked at him. “Why could Wang Shu have some of the fish soup, but I couldn’t even have one sip?”
Song Zang said, “But you probably don’t need—”
“I don’t need it, so I don’t even get a sip?” Yin Chen asked softly.
He was not throwing a tantrum, but the sheer calmness of his voice was somehow unnerving.
Song Zang fell silent for a moment and inexplicably felt a trace of guilt, as though he were some faithless lover.
So he “laboriously” raised the iron wok and shook the freshly cooked blue-staining boletes inside it. “Do you want some?”
“Yes.” Yin Chen looked at him and naturally took the wok from his hands.
Song Zang’s expression remained unchanged as he just as naturally began assigning him work. “Then help me get some seawater. The fish soup will be ready quickly. We’ll make another two dishes afterward, and that should be enough for everyone.”
“All right.”
After being sent off to do errands, Yin Chen visibly became a little happier.
Ning Yan and Lan Yu Heng exchanged bewildered looks, completely unable to understand when these two had developed this particular way of interacting.
“Bro, you’re amazing.” Ning Yan silently mouthed the words to Song Zang and discreetly raised his thumb.
Five minutes later, the meal began without incident.
The blue-staining boletes remained the most popular dish on the table.
The problem was that the ingredients for this dish had been ordinary wood, so no matter how much they ate, it did not provide any Stat increases.
Ning Yan was devouring it because he simply loved food, but Yin Chen looked ready to fight Ning Yan with his chopsticks over every bite… Song Zang genuinely could not understand what he was doing.
Lan Yu Heng kept her head down and quietly reaped the benefits, drinking her entire share of the fish soup.
After finishing, she specifically warned Song Zang that until he possessed enough strength to protect himself, he absolutely must not reveal the wok’s abilities to any other players.
Permanent items could be stolen by other people too.
Song Zang obediently agreed, although he was personally quite confident in his ability to protect himself.
While hiding from people trying to kill him, he had traveled through all kinds of remote wilderness without surveillance, isolated towns, and deep mountain forests.
The robbers and burglars he killed in self-defense had also once been Song Zang’s most reliable source of income… until he began raising a dog and stopped engaging in the dangerous habit of deliberately baiting criminals into attacking him.
Now Xiao Bai was lying safely in a freezer, so Song Zang did not need to worry about protecting him. In that case, would it not be even more profitable to continue baiting people inside the Infinite Game and steal their items instead?
Besides, deliberately inviting wolves into his home could add a little excitement to his otherwise uneventful daily life.
Song Zang eagerly looked forward to the next attempt to rob him. Unfortunately… as long as Yin Chen stood beside him with that cold expression, no mentally normal player anywhere in the world would dare casually steal anything from Song Zang.
If this continued long enough, he would eventually have to find a solution.
No one knew that Song Zang had already silently begun considering how he might “untangle” himself from Yin Chen in the future.
＊
With their stomachs full and no major anomaly crisis for the moment, everyone was in a good mood.
Everyone except Yin Chen.
Expressionless, he controlled himself long enough to leave the restaurant, change his clothes, and walk away from the hotel beneath the brilliant golden midday sunlight.
His emotions were even more restless than the heat beneath the two suns hanging overhead.
That faint irritation had initially come from the few fish scales still remaining along the side of Song Zang’s neck.
Song Zang was worried that his fish scales might become a source of contact-based contamination, so for the past few days he had firmly refused to let anyone touch his skin.
In the interest of treating everyone equally, that included Yin Chen.
From that moment onward, Yin Chen had been suppressing the faint irritation in his heart.
Instead of fading, it only grew stronger the more he suppressed it.
Yin Chen had always known perfectly well that, in everyone else’s eyes, he was an emotionally unstable lunatic.
Which made it even harder for him to understand why he was now actively trying to control his emotions in the first place.
Naturally, he was finally reaching the point where he could no longer control them.
—He would kill a few anomalies first and barely scratch the itch.
Once he started scratching that itch, he kept killing until midnight.
Lan Yu Heng was staying up late to prepare their plans for the next stage of the operation.
After casually chatting with Zhang Ming Shen for a while, she got up and went outside for some air, planning to buy a cup of coffee while she was at it.
She had only just reached the ground floor when she ran into Yin Chen, covered from head to toe in blood.
He casually carried a dripping long blade in one hand. His blood-soaked coat fluttered lightly in the wind, while cold white moonlight washed over his handsome face.
“Boss, who did you sneak out and kill this time?” Lan Yu Heng hurriedly covered her nose. “What, were you in a bad mood?”
“No. I’m in a very good mood now.”
Yin Chen curved his lips and casually put away the stained long blade.
It was his permanent item: Knife.
Ability: It could cut through anything.
Cost: Every slash cost him one day of his lifespan.
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