Dreaming of vacation, dreaming of rest, dreaming of setting sail.
Inside the Huagu City church, Zhou Qi’an strode quickly towards Shen Zhiyi. The white dove on the door, formed by rough lines, was about to take flight. A different, brighter life awaited him in the future.
The distant and solemn bells faded.
But just as their hands were about to clasp, Zhou Qi’an’s steps suddenly halted.
An invisible suction force attacked from mid-air without warning, with a desperate tendency to pull him into another space.
What new trouble is this?
Zhou Qi’an’s pupils slightly dilated. He looked at Shen Zhiyi, who frowned slightly. Then, as if thinking of something, his expression became a little strange.
A familiar mechanical voice broadcasted one after another:
[Detecting abnormality…]
[Player detected matching player ID remotely…]
Hearing the prompt, Zhou Qi’an’s expression also changed.
Originally, after clearing the game, he should have gone directly to the new world, but he had returned to Huagu City first.
The game’s data probably hadn’t been adjusted yet, or rather, this was a pitfall left by the black-hearted game.
During the teleportation, there was an additional note in the prompt: once he went to a region outside of Huagu City, the consequences would be his own to bear.
By reverse deduction, without considering the consequences, he could still go to other dungeons.
In this situation, it was not surprising that a player using the highest quality team-up item could successfully achieve a remote match.
“…Heh.”
Zhou Qi’an sneered coldly.
Damn game, I’d like to see how you fill this hole, to justify a player who has cleared the game being forced into another dungeon.
In short, he would never forgive it.
[Bzz… Bzz…]
The prompt began to be mixed with static, clearly the system had also calculated this bug.
[Generating solution, please wait.]
[Automatically matching player with a one-star dungeon.]
[Huagu City’s basic public facilities have been upgraded to level two.]
[Compensation item Soul-Nurturing Bottle*1 has been issued.]
[Soul-Nurturing Bottle: An excellent choice for repairing souls.
Usage Guide: Put it in to repair, until it’s fixed.
Quality: Limited item, rental prohibited, uses 0/3]
Zhou Qi’an, who a second ago had no reconciliation with life, fell silent for a moment in the face of practical benefits.
A one-star dungeon had almost no risk, and the other two things were beneficial, one for Huagu City and one to solve an urgent problem. Jin Zhi only had a wisp of a remnant soul left. Even if Miss Qi came, she might not have a way to save her.
The Soul-Nurturing Bottle was different. A game item, its quality was guaranteed.
Zhou Qi’an nodded slightly.
Good game, you filled the hole well.
[…]
Before the teleportation fully descended, Zhou Qi’an suddenly felt a slight itch. He looked down, and a black yin energy extended from Shen Zhiyi’s direction.
One section transformed into a tentacle-like shape, wrapping around his wrist, coil after coil.
The extreme black and white intertwined, creating an indescribable visual impact.
He couldn’t help but feel his skin heat up.
He knew this was the other party’s way of locating his position, to follow him into the dungeon together, but it clearly didn’t have to be so flashy.
Zhou Qi’an coughed lightly, reminding him that his mother and superior were still watching from behind. Before he could cough twice, his whole body was completely swept into the vortex of suction in mid-air.
After an unknown amount of time, in the familiar darkness, Zhou Qi’an once again felt a falling sensation.
The feeling of the world spinning gradually faded. Opening his eyes, he sighed lightly, “As expected…”
Rest was impossible.
System prompts followed one after another:
[Dungeon: Best Undercover (Role-playing Dungeon)
Dungeon Difficulty: One Star
Main Mission: Since last year, several popular artists from Wang’s Entertainment Company have mysteriously disappeared. It is said to be related to a drug called Xuanxuan Meiling Pills. Please find the mastermind behind the sale of Xuanxuan Meiling Pills and report them in the company’s anonymous suggestion box.
Character Identity: You are an undercover agent sent by a rival company. After a month of hard work, you have finally been promoted.
Dungeon Time: Within three days.
Number of Participating Players: 6 (two times three is six).]
[Please note, each player has only one chance to report. If the report is successful, the dungeon ends. If the report fails, the reporter dies.]
[Please note, in this dungeon, attack-type items of four stars or higher will be disabled.]
[Please note, this dungeon is not equipped with staff. There is no need to clock in at the company at midnight.]
Zhou Qi’an’s mouth twitched. At least when he participated in the six-person dungeon, they knew to add a note like ‘six six brings luck.’ The game was really perfunctory with low-star dungeons.
But…
A one-star dungeon.
Mom, my dream has come true.
The same large map exploration type, with infinitely reduced difficulty, and no need to clock in at a fixed point. What a wonderful game mechanism. In an instant, the darkness before his eyes seemed to become much more pleasing.
How that song interlocked.
As the prompt ended, the smell of disinfectant drifted over, making one wrinkle their nose.
“…”
So stinky.
Zhou Qi’an opened his eyes and saw he was wearing plastic gloves.
“What the hell?”
After reacting for two seconds, he immediately determined his environment: a toilet.
Zhou Qi’an’s mouth twitched slightly. This is…
After entering the dungeon selling rice at the beginning, and job-hopping three or four times, through an unyielding life struggle, he finally ended up as a janitor.
Just as he was about to habitually observe the environment, he suddenly felt a gust of wind brush past him.
A mysterious figure appeared behind him, holding a sharp weapon, aiming for a vital spot in a sneak attack. Unfortunately, even with an acceleration item, the attacker was still not as fast as Zhou Qi’an, and even lacked in strength.
In less than a few tenths of a second, before the sharp weapon could reach his throat, the person in front of him had disappeared.
At the same time, a chill came from behind. A vulnerable node on the attacker’s spine was pressed hard, and he almost collapsed to the ground instantly.
Amidst a scream, Zhou Qi’an looked down and seriously examined the attacker.
“Visca?”
Instantly, he completely understood what had happened.
Being suddenly pulled into a dungeon must have something to do with this Mr. Dung Beetle. But with Visca’s ability, how could he possibly be matched into a one-star dungeon?
Coincidentally, the two of them met in the toilet.
“How did you…”
The three words ‘so fast’ didn’t come out.
The pain from his back made it very difficult for Visca to speak. His eyes, looking at Zhou Qi’an, were filled with shock and a trace of horror.
Just now, the other’s counter-attack speed had clearly surpassed that of a human.
Compared to when they met in the school dungeon, Zhou Qi’an’s strength seemed to have skyrocketed.
What he couldn’t understand the most was why, after spending a huge amount of points to pull the person into a dungeon, he was actually matched into a one-star one.
“What a crappy fate,” Zhou Qi’an said with a smile. “Visca. You were blown up in a toilet back then.”
Familiarity breeds affection. After spending a long time with the university student, a short essay came out of his mouth:
“At that time, an unknown liquid dripped from the corner of your handsome head, down your chin to your shoulder. On your tattered clothes, it even had the effect of sparkling gold…”
His belly full of doubts was replaced by anger. Visca glared at him with a murderous gaze.
“So confident in pulling me into a dungeon. Did you find some powerful offensive item?”
Unfortunately, this dungeon restricted attack items of four stars or higher.
Too lazy to bother with him, without waiting for an answer, Zhou Qi’an turned and waved his hand:
“After this dungeon, use a contract item to promise you will hand over the good stuff to Ying Yu. If you do that… I’ll let you leave alive.”
Visca became angry from embarrassment, a dark light flashing in his eyes.
However, he had just picked up the item in his hand when the person in front seemed to have grown eyes on his back, directly kicking him three meters away.
Under the pain that made him see stars, Visca’s face completely changed.
This wasn’t normal. Even with a strength-boosting item, he couldn’t reach this level.
Zhou Qi’an repeated the matter of handing over the items and shook his head as he walked out.
In the future, he still had to rely on Ying Yu to take care of the university student. If he could use Visca’s items to offer to another, it would at least count as some sincerity.
For the sake of the university student, he was about to give up a high-quality item. This was truly a huge investment.
Just as he reached the door, Zhou Qi’an suddenly turned back with a sinister smile. “By the way, Victoria, this place is about to have a biogas explosion.”
Although he knew he was eighty percent just trying to scare him, the shadow of the last time was too deep. Visca’s face changed. He endured the pain, held onto the edge of the sink, and escaped in a half-crouching, half-standing posture.
By the time he finally got out of the toilet, Zhou Qi’an had long since disappeared.
On the floor of the empty, dark corridor was a pair of plastic gloves. The other four fingers were folded down, leaving only the middle finger exposed.
Two middle fingers were pointing at him.
In shock and anger, Visca cursed a string of profanities.
Also, his name was Vict… bah, Visca.
The curses echoed in the empty corridor, floating lightly into Zhou Qi’an’s ears in front. He chose to let them go in one ear and out the other.
Every certain distance he walked, he could see photos of currently popular artists on both sides of the wall. All the artists launched by Wang’s Group debuted in groups.
Just as Zhou Qi’an stopped under a photo, an angry rebuke suddenly came from ahead:
“What are you two doing sneaking around my office door?”
Attracted by the voice, Zhou Qi’an quickly went forward and quietly poked his head out from around the corner.
In a stylish office around the corner, a middle-aged fat man with glasses was staring intently at a man and a woman in front of him.
The two were so scared they couldn’t speak. There was also a paperclip on the floor next to them.
The reflection shone in the middle-aged fat man’s eyes, and his face instantly became even more ferocious. The temperature in the corridor kept dropping. Just as the middle-aged fat man was about to do something, a clear voice came—
“Excuse me…”
The middle-aged fat man abruptly turned his head, his sinister gaze stabbing over.
A young man with an exceptionally outstanding temperament stood at the entrance of the corridor. His features were cool and detached, and the smile on his lips was mixed with a hint of natural coldness.
The two players, who thought they were dead for sure, were stunned. The inhuman beauty subconsciously made them think he was an NPC. But after a moment of daze, their thoughts aligned with the middle-aged fat man’s. A thought subconsciously popped into their minds:
What a cute piece of useless pastry!
Zhou Qi’an had a small strawberry hairpin on his head. The red strawberry tip looked very fresh. Such a hairpin on his ice-blue long hair should have been very out of place, but everyone automatically ignored this point.
[Strawberry Hairpin].
The settlement fee from Chen Su. Wearing it can increase the ‘sweet’ attribute, making people think he’s a cute but useless person.
The smile on Zhou Qi’an’s lips widened.
It was a reusable item anyway, perfect for this dungeon. Otherwise, with a more aggressive appearance, it would be inconvenient to carry out secret operations wherever he went.
From the photos on the wall just now, this company’s artists leaned towards the cute route.
The middle-aged fat man’s eyeballs were about to fall out and stick to Zhou Qi’an.
He also liked the sweet type.
This was an uncarved, natural sweetheart beauty, who looked very easy to handle, with no temper at all.
The little pastry that fell from the sky spoke with an innocent face: “Hello, do you need cleaning?”
As he spoke, he blinked shyly. “I’m new here, I just finished cleaning other places… I didn’t dare to just enter an office. Excuse me, does this place need cleaning?”
From his timidness, the middle-aged fat man once again saw that he was easy to manipulate. He asked directly, “Do you want to be a star?”
Zhou Qi’an opened his mouth in surprise.
The middle-aged fat man smiled so much that the flesh on his face piled up. “Being a star is much better than being a janitor. The income is double that of a janitor.”
“…” I’ll hang you with a white silk sash.
Caught red-handed, facing one of the suspects, Zhou Qi’an nodded accommodatingly, looking flattered.
The middle-aged fat man showed a malicious smile. Considering Zhou Qi’an was currently wearing a janitor’s uniform, he called a makeup artist over. “Hello…”
While he was bossily talking on the phone, Zhou Qi’an looked at the two new players and raised an eyebrow. “Still not leaving?”
The male and female players were stunned for a moment, a bit panicked and disoriented.
Zhou Qi’an pointed in a direction, and the two quickly ran off with soft limbs and light steps.
After a while, the middle-aged fat man finished his call and stared lecherously at Zhou Qi’an.
The makeup artist arrived quickly. After giving a few instructions, the middle-aged fat man looked at Zhou Qi’an again. “Come find me after you’re done with your makeup and styling.”
Zhou Qi’an acted very obediently and went with the makeup artist.
The middle-aged fat man’s gaze followed them until they left before looking away. When he came to his senses, he found that the two suspicious people from before were gone.
He sneered, “Consider yourselves lucky.”
Around the corner, where Zhou Qi’an had walked past, the two players who had narrowly escaped death were panting heavily. This was only their second dungeon, and they lacked experience.
“I thought we were dead for sure.” The male player couldn’t help but tremble a little. “Luckily, that person reminded us.”
As he spoke, he carefully peeked out and happened to see the scene of Zhou Qi’an leaving with the makeup artist.
The corridor was long and narrow. The star photos on both walls gave off an inexplicably creepy feeling. In the middle of the passage, that slender back was leaving very calmly with the NPC, showing no trace of apprehension or nervousness throughout the process.
“If he’s a player, he’s a bit too calm.” The male player nervously pursed his lips. “Who on earth is he…”
…
At the entrance of the entertainment company.
Having just completed security personnel training, a group of people in uniform were standing in a neat line here.
The security captain was giving a speech:
“Remember, your primary duty is to do a good job of protecting the artists’ safety. There’s a street performance this afternoon, there can be no mistakes!”
While giving his passionate speech, the security captain suddenly frowned. “Hey, what are you spacing out for?”
The person he pointed to was standing at the side of the line.
The crisp black uniform and light-colored hair formed a perfect contrast. Shen Zhiyi’s mood was clearly not very good at this moment, his whole body exuding a gloomy aura, to the point that even ordinary NPCs could notice his presence.
“…What kind of crappy dungeon is this?”
He narrowed his eyes unhappily.
It actually forcibly separated his and Qi’an’s teleportation points.
Amidst the security captain’s scolding, the already annoyed Shen Zhiyi gave a cold glance.
And in that one glance, his entire person and his shadow suddenly froze together.
A group of trainees, forced to dress up flamboyantly, had just walked out of the company’s main entrance.
Zhou Qi’an blended in with the crowd, not taking the middle-aged fat man’s bullshit about finding him to heart at all. He was completely at ease, looking around from time to time. As if sensing something, he looked up ahead.
When he saw a familiar figure, Zhou Qi’an immediately smiled.
Shen Zhiyi was almost melted by this smile.
The cute moose antler hair accessory made the person opposite look a few years younger. Zhou Qi’an was looking around with a pair of seemingly innocent big eyes, slightly curious.
The makeup artist, using some unknown method, had made his eyes look rounder, weakening the inherent sharpness of his gaze. A small red dot was dotted on his upturned nose, and a little blush was applied to his cheeks, making his cold white skin rosy.
At this moment, the small strawberry hairpin was clipped to his fluffy hair. Under the sun, his whole person looked just like a small cake.
…A small cake with antlers.
Shen Zhiyi’s throat moved suspiciously.
The love of beauty is common to all. Many of the security personnel were attracted by the new trainees. The security captain, standing with his back to the main entrance, didn’t know the situation behind him and continued to scold Shen Zhiyi: “Hey! I’m talking to you, are you listening?”
Shen Zhiyi stared intently at the person in front. This time, he actually answered his question, repeating, “As a security guard, one must do a good job of protecting the artists’ safety.”
The security captain nodded and raised his voice to continue asking, “If you encounter troublemakers…”
“Kill them all.”
“??”
The sun was a bit strong today. Zhou Qi’an hadn’t been out for long, and his face was already flushed from the sun.
After noticing this, Shen Zhiyi’s gaze suddenly became a bit terrifying. “The company’s upper management agrees to let its artists perform outside in high temperatures, harming their health. Kill them first.”
The security captain: “!!!”
