Chapter 154
How could it be so similar!
Yu Xunge and Tu Lan sat on the steps of the backyard, finishing the soup dumplings sent by Shen Yushi.
Tu Lan couldn’t use a straw, but she wasn’t afraid of the heat. She grabbed a whole dumpling and stuffed it into her mouth. “Delicious!! A hundred times better than that foul-mouthed eel!”
Yu Xunge replied, “This is made by my grandma, of course it’s good.”
After saying that, she paused for a moment, wondering what she was so proud of…
Once they finished eating, Yu Xunge prepared to head out to find Zhao Shuying, and Tu Lan naturally followed along.
Recently, unless Yu Xunge asked her to, Tu Lan didn’t like staying home alone. Even if she wanted to play games, she would go out with Yu Xunge and sit on her shoulder to play.
This time, the meeting place was a bit more concealed. Following Zhao Shuying’s instructions, Yu Xunge first went to the largest amusement park in S City, then wound her way into a small shop selling balloons. Opening the freezer in the corner, she discovered a staircase leading down.
While searching for the freezer, Yu Xunge couldn’t help but complain.
[Yu Xunge]: “Are we dealing with a traitor here?”
[Zhao Shuying]: “Nope.”
[Yu Xunge]: “Then why are we being so cautious? Wouldn’t it be easier to just go to a police station or something?”
[Zhao Shuying]: “It’s about the sense of ceremony. Players who can take us to the underwater volcano like this kind of thing.”
Just as Yu Xunge stepped down the last stair, she found a small room connected to the freezer. In the dim light, a man sat in the center of the room.
Upon seeing Yu Xunge, he pulled out his cigarette and flicked the ash. “What are you doing here?”
Yu Xunge froze for two seconds after seeing his face—wasn’t this the infamous Gun King?
The man, the Gun King, frowned and reached for the gun at his side. “Miss, and that charming, dazzling Ice Dragon over there, I’ll give you one more chance to live.”
Tu Lan put down her phone, listened intently to the Gun King, and nodded seriously, indicating she heard him calling her.
Yu Xunge replied, “...I’m here to join the Blue Ze cruise trip for seven days and five nights.”
Gun King asked, “Ocean view room or interior room?”
Tu Lan quickly answered, “Volcano room.”
The Gun King relaxed his grip on the gun, stood up with a hearty laugh, “Come on, you’re just in time! You must be Yu Xunge, and this must be the great Tu Lan! Welcome, welcome, hahaha.”
Yu Xunge thought, “...”
It had been a while since she felt this kind of absurdity.
After following the Gun King for five minutes, the two of them and the dragon arrived at a nearly 200-square-meter basement, which was already filled with people—Yu Xunge estimated about a hundred.
Seeing Yu Xunge, Zhao Shuying walked over from the crowd, pulling her into a corner to discuss some important details.
With about ten minutes to go before the scheduled time, everyone was chatting in small groups, the atmosphere relaxed. No social butterflies were forcing everyone to introduce themselves; it was all about keeping it easy and comfortable.
Yu Xunge glanced at the Gun King and quietly asked Zhao Shuying, “Is that guy also from your Special Affairs Bureau?”
Zhao Shuying replied, “Not exactly. He came to us himself, saying he was being hunted shortly after the game officially invaded. He wanted the Bureau to help him hide, at least to make it impossible for people to find him through mysterious means. Other than that, he doesn’t need protection or a safe house. In exchange, he’ll complete three tasks for the Bureau each month. It’s a partnership, I guess.”
There was no need to hide this; many people in the Bureau knew about the Gun King, and even those hunting him were aware of his collaboration with the Bureau.
Yu Xunge thought, “...Great, did I create this mess?”
Curious, she asked, “Does he know who’s after him?”
Zhao Shuying replied, “We asked him. He said he doesn’t know. He has more enemies than friends, so it’s hard to narrow it down. Besides, he doesn’t see the need to investigate. He’s destined to be a dangerous yet charming bad boy… that’s his exact wording.”
Yu Xunge said, “...I can understand why they want to hunt him.” She was almost tempted to place an order.
Zhao Shuying agreed.
Standing in the corner, Yu Xunge used her ability to scan the nearby players. This group was different from the hundred-player team fighting the dragon; only a third were A-rank, while B-rank talents were more common.
Most talents had various special effects, and after checking less than a third, Yu Xunge could already form a rough idea of their uses in her mind. It seemed this group’s main task was to establish a stronghold in Zelan.
During this time, she couldn’t help but scan the Gun King again. His real name was Bao Que Shen… Yu Xunge couldn’t help but suspect he was related to Bao Pai Jiu…
However, seeing Bao Que Shen’s divine talent, she understood why the Bureau was willing to collaborate with him, even if he clearly wasn’t a model citizen.
[Divine Talent] The Prodigal Son (B-rank)
[Skill 1] Young Prodigal: Only a prodigal in need of retirement will turn back. The young prodigal can leave at a moment’s notice. As long as you have a photo, you can touch any point on it, and using this skill will allow you to instantly arrive at the location you pointed to. The weight of living beings you carry (kg) cannot exceed the sum of your four main attributes, with a cooldown of 5 hours.
[Skill 2] Old Prodigal: A prodigal returning is worth more than gold. When you use this skill to turn and flee, no skill or item in the world can block your path. During this skill’s duration, your health bar is locked. This is the determination of a prodigal! Duration: 1 minute, cooldown: 5 minutes.
The Young Prodigal is a godly skill; just its ability to allow the user to carry living beings makes it as precious and unique as Yu Xunge’s [Happiness Again].
Moreover, when used in conjunction with the Old Prodigal, killing Bao Que Shen would require a guaranteed instant ambush and a single fatal blow, or his skills would have to be on cooldown. Otherwise, no matter the predicament, as long as he had a photo, he could escape in an instant.
No wonder he wasn’t worried about being hunted…
His willingness to collaborate with the Bureau might just be to reduce the hassle caused by mysterious skills; he wasn’t afraid of a direct pursuit at all.
Yu Xunge nodded to herself, realizing how powerful this divine talent was…
But halfway through her nod, she suddenly remembered that the weight of living beings he could carry couldn’t exceed the sum of his attributes!
Bao Que Shen was only level 5, with attributes totaling just 51!
This gave Yu Xunge an ominous feeling… She looked around at the players in the basement again.
Hmm? She also noticed a player with a talent that could monitor and intercept emails… It seemed the Bureau’s reluctance to use email for transporting resources was more complicated than Zhao Shuying had casually mentioned.
Soon, she spotted a familiar face in the corner—a short-haired woman.
A short-haired woman who could turn players into cockroaches…
She stood in the corner, a benevolent smile on her lips as she surveyed all the players in the room, cradling a transparent jewelry box.
Perfect! Yu Xunge tapped Zhao Shuying and pointed at the five-tier jewelry box. “Wow, that can’t be where we’re staying during the trip, right? It’s too luxurious! Do I deserve to stay in such a nice place?”
Zhao Shuying focused on fixing her hair, not daring to meet Yu Xunge’s eyes. “Yeah, didn’t I tell you?”
Yu Xunge: “…”
Zhao Shuying: “Ahem… I managed to get you and Tu Lan a single room. Don’t worry, you won’t be sharing with any other little creatures.”
Tu Lan looked up from her game. “What single room?”
Yu Xunge didn’t need to answer; a line had already formed in the corner where the short-haired woman stood. The sooner you transformed, the sooner you could choose a room…
Tu Lan watched as the short-haired woman turned a Blue Star person into a clown bug.
She quietly put away her phone and said to Zhao Shuying and Yu Xunge, “I think I’ll pass; I have a place to stay.”
With that, she dove straight into Yu Xunge’s pet space.
Yu Xunge’s hand grasped at empty air on her shoulder, her fist slowly tightening: “!” Didn’t we agree to share the blessings?
Zhao Shuying tightly linked her arm with Yu Xunge, pulling her toward Xiao Zhang. “Now that we’re here… Xiao Zhang is waiting. The earlier you line up, the sooner you can choose a room. There aren’t many single rooms, just so you know.”
She glanced at the short-haired woman’s second skill.
[Unkillable, Absolutely Unkillable]: You can designate an area defined by high intelligence, long constitution, and wide strength (unit: meters) for comprehensive transformation, making the survival environment in that area what you desire. This lasts until you actively cancel the skill. The area can move, consuming 2% of your mana for each move, and the maximum distance (unit: meters) cannot exceed your agility.
It was precisely this skill that gave the Bureau the confidence to establish a new stronghold near the underwater volcano.
According to Zhao Shuying’s earlier explanation, that area was one of Zelan’s well-known danger zones.
The underwater volcano typically lacked magical energy, and it erupted almost every month. Before and after each eruption, the fire magic fluctuations in that area became extremely unstable, which the merfolk despised the most.
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