Chapter Thirty-Three: The Inquiry

Chen Shi had just finished investigating a missing person case and returned to the base.

Ever since becoming a Traveler of the Otherworld, he had rarely had a peaceful day; a multitude of cases were constantly pushed onto him.

Now, he needed to register information about the Calamity Messenger and the Nightwalker, especially their Alignment details, which were crucial for equipment distribution and access to various sections of the forum.

Glancing down at the New Sun Game in his hand, Chen Shi was startled!

One highlighted message after another popped up!

The Master of Hounds' Gaze, the First Tracing Squad, the Hellhound, the Medic Hound, the Flower Witch's Potion…

Chen Shi instantly sobered, his expression growing serious.

The Master of Hounds was his direct superior in the game. Since becoming a Traveler, he had been working for the Master of Hounds, receiving several missions from him as well.

In fact, the tasks from the Master of Hounds were his main source of income.

Judging by the flurry of messages, there was no doubt: this was the biggest mission he had received since becoming a Traveler.

The cash reward promised by the Master of Hounds alone reached as much as five White Day Coins!

His daily salary in the game was only two Moon Silver Coins.

With those five coins, he'd finally be able to shed his Tracer identity and become a "Corpse Burner."

Once he became a Corpse Burner, he should be able to keep those two newcomers in check!

But what exactly did the Master of Hounds want?

Chen Shi shook his head, quickly regaining his composure after the lure of money. The higher the reward, the greater the risk.

Besides, trying to snatch something from the hands of a monster like the Master of Hounds was not his style. In the New Sun Game, he had always played it safe.

…

Meeting Room.

Lin Yuxing sat upright on the sofa, a beginner’s magic staff in her hands as she practiced channeling spiritual energy into it.

The Calamity Messengers had a sophisticated training system; as long as she followed her mentor’s guidance, she would receive appropriate rewards for each learning stage.

“A pigeon?”

Lin Yuxing glanced outside the window. A white pigeon was perched on a branch, watching her.

Chen Qi entered the room, his right eye shimmering with white light, and his vision split in two.

With practice, he was gradually able to distinguish between these two perspectives.

From the pigeon’s view, he saw even more detail.

On Lin Yuxing’s magic staff, he could clearly see a stream of white energy flowing from her hand into the staff, finally gathering at the tip and mutating once more.

This must be the Pigeon’s Vision described in the White Dove’s Eye, which allowed him to see the flow of spiritual energy.

As he grew accustomed to this sight, Chen Qi found it ever more wondrous, as if all his senses were evolving.

He stepped outside, and while Lin Yuxing wasn’t looking, he called the white pigeon back into his eye, retracting the White Dove’s Eye.

If he could master this skill, it would be a powerful asset in both reconnaissance and combat.

Lin Yuxing, seeing Chen Qi enter, successfully demonstrated a small wave of spiritual energy using her staff.

Then she fixed her gaze on Chen Qi, then on her staff.

Is she waiting for praise? Chen Qi smiled slightly:

“Cool! I haven’t even learned the basic spells yet.

By the way, Calamity Messenger, do you have any spellbooks to trade?”

Chen Qi also had a Ravenfeather Staff, but apart from the staff’s own spell, he couldn’t use any others.

Given the Bloodblade Fruit’s abilities, he was supposed to be a melee fighter, yet he happened to have a staff.

By now, Lin Yuxing had grown quite familiar with the other Travelers and replied with a faint smile:

“No, I’m still an apprentice in the game. I need to collect enough points to exchange for books. If I get any new ones, I’ll let you know—but you’ll have to trade something good for them!”

Points, huh…

No spellbooks for now. Chen Qi shook his head, realizing he could only focus on digesting the Bloodblade Fruit.

Just then, Chen Shi entered the room. He needed to register information for the two newcomers; their identity details had already been collected and stored in the database.

Now, he had to note down their vital game talents and alignments, especially the latter, which was extremely important.

Chen Shi sat down and asked the two for the relevant information.

The Calamity Messenger spoke first:

“First talent, rare, profession-related;

Second talent, rare as well—Gift of the Morning Star, adds inspiration.”

Chen Qi was surprised. The Calamity Messenger was even more tight-lipped than the group chat!

Was it really okay to reveal so little?

Chen Shi saw Chen Qi’s puzzlement and said, “You can keep it simple, that’s fine.”

He then glanced outside, a hint of sorrow in his eyes.

“Have you two heard about the Grand Joint Operation of the Holy Calamity Society?”

The Grand Joint Operation of the Holy Calamity Society? What was that?

Chen Qi and the Calamity Messenger exchanged curious glances.

Chen Shi explained.

The Holy Calamity Society’s Web of Shadows, the Crow Flock, and the Butcher had launched a grand joint operation.

Web of Shadows infiltrated networks, stealing massive amounts of Travelers’ talents and location data, then passed that on to the Butcher and the Crow Flock.

The Butcher would then carry out terrifying threats against the Travelers’ families, while the Crow Flock, based on the stolen talent and level information, orchestrated a massive series of kidnappings!

This event had a devastating impact on Travelers worldwide.

Over a thousand players’ families received threats from the Butcher; forty-five rare-talent players and above were kidnapped and reduced to slaves of the Crow Flock—and many Travelers lost their parents because of it!

During operations, various Traveler organizations were repeatedly undermined by the Web of Shadows, sowing seeds of discord everywhere.

Because of this incident, many organizations now preferred to keep talent registration vague.

The Daywalkers’ Guild also encouraged players not to share their real locations or names online, to use code names, and to pay extra attention to privacy and safety.

On the Daywalkers’ forum, a privacy reminder popped up every fifteen minutes.

Such a variety of ruthless tactics—their methods were truly cruel, Chen Qi thought, wondering if the Crow Flock would try to retaliate against him for the death of the Umbrella Bearer.

Chen Shi continued.

Moreover, the top one hundred special-rank players all liked to hide their talents, which led others to conceal or lie about theirs as well.

Their branch’s management was fairly relaxed, so they tended to turn a blind eye regarding talents.

Hearing this, Chen Qi let out a long breath of relief—he wouldn’t have to waste effort making up a talent.

Chen Shi spoke earnestly:

“For your safety and your families’, we’ll create new identities for you online, to fend off doxing attacks from the Web of Shadows.

This might damage your original image, so I ask for your understanding.”

Chen Qi nodded to show his agreement.

Chen Shi then asked, “Please tell us your Alignments. This is very important for the Daywalkers’ forum.

Many sections form small cliques—Shell Alignment auction houses, Lamp Alignment secret societies, and so on. Alignment is crucial; access to many sections is restricted to certain Alignments only.”

The Calamity Messenger thought for a moment, then answered briefly: “Shell and Lamp.”

Shell? That Alignment was said to allow one to see the hidden value of objects.

Chen Qi considered, then said, “Blade and Lamp.”

Blade! Lamp!

Chen Shi bit his lip. No wonder this newcomer was so fierce! Paired with a rare talent, it started to make sense.

According to the White Dove Inn’s statistics on Alignment mortality, Blade ranked first for liking to fight above one’s level—the undisputed number one ‘death-seeking’ Alignment.

Lamp was second, due to players’ penchant for exploring dangerous dungeons—also well deserved!

Statistics showed that once Lamp Alignment was triggered, eighty percent of players would choose to advance.

And of those, eighty percent deeply regretted it afterward.

Having both these “dragons and phoenixes among fools” in one person meant double the risk—this was the deadliest Alignment combo!

Not wanting these rare-talent newcomers to perish so soon after joining, Chen Shi gently reminded them:

“Alignment does provide bonuses, and choosing your playstyle based on it is wise, but don’t rely on it blindly.

Being reckless gets you killed in any game—and we only have three lives.”

I’ll try to be less reckless, Chen Qi nodded. His talent had traded for an extra life, but now he only had two left.

Having finished collecting information, Chen Shi prepared to leave.

Chen Qi checked the New Sun Game; the repair of the Shadow Dagger would be done soon, and the Debt Collector should be back any minute.

Chen Shi was a Tracer, which meant he was connected to the Master of Hounds, and likely knew his whereabouts.

He needed to confirm this.

Chen Qi glanced up at Chen Shi and asked:

“Senior Chen Shi, are you a Tracer?”

Chen Shi turned, eyes full of confusion. By rights, he shouldn’t be able to see his own profile panel.

Why was he being questioned? How did this person know he was a Tracer?