A Spy Among Spies Among Spies

Xiezhi sat in his office, his face wreathed in smoke and etched with worry. He had just listened to Baili Dao's detailed description of the player known as 【Pending Death】, and the situation felt thorny.

First, anyone who could be friends with Zhuge Yue was definitely no novice. Baili Dao must have been deceived back then. To make matters worse, Baili Dao had just reported that he could no longer see the other party's level, suspecting his information had been blocked. This only confirmed Xiezhi's suspicions.

Second, the man's personality was too erratic. There was no obvious way to approach or win him over.

Money, houses, and cars all seemed a bit vulgar to offer someone like him.

As for items and equipment, anyone who was friends with Zhuge Yue certainly wasn't lacking in that department.

It was like trying to manage a rich kid with a trust fund, a mansion, and a sports car who decided to work a regular job. The boss wouldn't know how to incentivize him, let alone convince him to work overtime. People like that were the most troublesome.

There was simply no way to start.

"Forget it. I'll deal with Yan Shuangying first. He already qualifies for the Scramble." Xiezhi's expression eased with a hint of relief.

The heavy stone in his heart had finally lifted when Bei Lang walked out of the healing pod completely unharmed. Bei Lang had also quickly written a report detailing what happened in the Instance.

The analysis team evaluated the player, Yan Shuangying, based on his performance on Yin Fate Mountain and the Mary. They assessed him from the two aspects of character and ability.

The conclusion was that his strength was immense, estimated to be on the same level as Xiezhi, or perhaps even higher.

Given this level of ability, his erratic behavior on the Mary was likely a disguise. His act of leaving the team was both a test to see if Bei Lang would be a burden and a way to grant himself greater mobility to explore the Instance.

He was a meticulous, flexible, and intelligent person who didn't act rigidly.

Finally, his actions of betting against William and single-handedly drawing the ire of Lady Black Cat proved that Yan Shuangying's character was trustworthy.

After all, under those circumstances, a selfish player could have simply hidden under the protection of the Number Five Waitress and let Bei Lang face the risk of assassination.

But he hadn't. He shouldered all the risk himself.

Psychologically, he was an orderly player with a strong sense of justice and the courage to take responsibility. The final judgment was clear. Yan Shuangying was qualified to participate in the 【Relic Scramble】.

Thus, Xiezhi had sent a message to Yan Shuangying, but the other party had yet to reply.

"Boss! I want to apply for the Scramble too!"

After learning that Yan Shuangying might be going, Bei Lang's face was set with determination. He owed the man his life. In the 【Relic Scramble】, where great benefits were on the line, he had to repay Boss Yan Shuangying handsomely.

Xiezhi looked at Bei Lang with a complicated expression.

"This Instance may be opened by our Abnormal Affairs Bureau, but the internal competition for spots is still intense."

He continued, "You just reached Lv16. There's only one spot for your level bracket, which is under level 25. Are you confident you can get it?"

Hearing his boss's doubt, Bei Lang recalled the moment he had doubted Yan Shuangying himself. He remembered the trusting expression on Number Five's face as she said, "Sir will win."

He had to repay this favor.

He gritted his teeth.

"I will win! I will definitely win! Boss, you have to believe me!"

"Alright." Xiezhi smiled, his expression one of gratification. "I'll help you apply for a spot later."

He took a deep drag from his cigarette and exhaled a cloud of smoke.

"Don't bring shame upon me," he teased. "Don't let that bunch of bastards from the Capital laugh at Xiezhi's subordinate for being inferior."

"Don't worry, Boss!" Bei Lang replied with a smile. "Although I just reached level 16, I'm confident that I'm very competitive at my level. You're the one who shouldn't lose to those arrogant elites from the capital with their noses in the air."

Xiezhi stubbed out his cigarette. A rare look of disdain and dominance appeared on his face.

"Lose to someone from the capital? You've got to be kidding me."

He smirked. "At the same level, it's a guaranteed win for me."

"Wait a minute." Wu Wang asked, astonished. "The Scramble is an Instance the Abnormal Affairs Bureau can open themselves? It's not one where the Spirit Calamity Game just selects players?"

After Zhuge Yue had explained the 【Relic Scramble】, she added this supplementary information, which left Wu Wang a little confused.

Since the Abnormal Affairs Bureau could open this Instance privately, why didn't they just take everything for themselves? It couldn't be that they didn't have enough people, right?

"What else? In this country, the first large-scale organization of Closed Beta Players formed within the Abnormal Affairs Bureau."

"Most of the Relics in the Scramble were actually created after the Bureau gathered players from all over to fight against the descent of a certain Nightmare-level Instance."

"As the initiators of that event, the method to open the Instance was naturally passed down within the Bureau," Zhuge Yue explained casually.

In a sense, the 【Relic Scramble】 wasn't a complete Instance, but more like a Calamity Lair. It was a byproduct left behind after a Nightmare-level Instance ended, like the ancient battlefields in fantasy novels, filled with divine weapons left after a great war.

The hook-nosed man seemed to see Wu Wang's confusion and spoke disdainfully.

"Why do you think the Abnormal Affairs Bureau doesn't take it all for themselves? You think they could swallow it all?"

"Essentially, the Relics in there weren't just left by Bureau players. There are also Relics from the many Rogue Players they gathered."

"This isn't the old days when the Abnormal Affairs Bureau was the sole powerhouse. With the current three-way standoff, plus the countless Rogue Players, you think we'd let the Bureau eat this big cake all by themselves?"

Oh. Wu Wang understood now. It was like a game of Landlord. They couldn't stand to see one person win big, so everyone else wanted a piece of the pie.

What detestable human nature.

Indeed, no matter how powerful the Abnormal Affairs Bureau was, it couldn't stand against all other Spirit Calamity Players.

But according to the history Xiezhi had explained, the seniors who founded the Bureau must have paid a heavy price a hundred years ago when society was in turmoil. That era was plagued by both internal and external troubles.

Anyone could guess that the Abnormal Affairs Bureau's ability to dominate a chaotic world a century ago certainly didn't rely on pure strength. It relied on truly winning the hearts of the people.

The players who answered the Bureau's call back then had, in effect, tacitly agreed to join them to protect their country. After all, besides facing the Spirit Calamity, they also had to face invasions from other nations.

Now, the Relics of their predecessors were being carved up bit by bit, and there were even foreign players among the vultures.

Wu Wang didn't know what the Abnormal Affairs Bureau thought about it, but they definitely weren't happy.

"There are a total of 100 spots for the Scramble," Maitreya Buddha said with a wide smile. "The Abnormal Affairs Bureau takes 30 for themselves, gives 15 each to the Tarot Society and the Tower of Order, and the remaining 40 spots are for Rogue Players to compete for."

"They say there are 40 spots, but in reality, the three major organizations will also approach qualified Rogue Players to cooperate and secure the right to trade for any 【Relics】 they obtain."

"In the truest sense, very few Rogue Players enter on their own."

After hearing this, Wu Wang instantly understood what Xiezhi meant.

This was a gesture of goodwill from the Abnormal Affairs Bureau. They were quietly giving him a Rogue Player spot while also having him enter a cooperation agreement with them. This way, they didn't violate their agreement to provide 40 spots, and it would make it easier for them to obtain more 【Relics】.

In this situation, cooperation between Rogue Players and organizations was indeed a win-win.

"I can agree to your Calamity Cult's cooperation, but besides returning the school uniform to me, you have to agree to one more request," Zhuge Yue said, her eyes narrowed.

Maitreya Buddha replied with a grin.

"Please, go ahead."

"And that is to find a spot for this guy too. I want to take him in!"

Zhuge Yue suddenly pointed at Wu Wang. She grinned, laughing madly.

"How about it? Wanna go in and play? There's a lot of good stuff inside! I'll get you a spot, and you tell me a secret."

Wu Wang pondered for a moment, then nodded.

He didn't actually need a spot from the Calamity Cult. He could get in through the Abnormal Affairs Bureau using his identity as Yan Shuangying. But if he agreed to this…

In the eyes of the Calamity Cult, he would be on Zhuge Yue's side, and by extension, their side in the Scramble. In reality, he had also reached an agreement with the Abnormal Affairs Bureau.

He could play both sides and, at a critical moment, backstab the Calamity Cult from the inside.

What's more, the Calamity Cult seemed interested in some 【Myriad Treasures Business Scroll】. That meant he would most likely get to see the Black-hearted Penguin. He could find a way to make the penguin think that the "little red tentacle thief" was one of the Calamity Cult's people.

This was called diverting disaster. It was practically a triple win.

He was winning three times.

So now, standing before them was the Calamity Cult's trusted contestant, the Abnormal Affairs Bureau's strategic partner, and the Black-hearted Penguin's designated little red tentacle thief.

A spy among spies among spies.

"No problem. A pleasure doing business with you," Maitreya Buddha said with a smile, taking out a contract.

The hook-nosed man, however, looked at Wu Wang with displeasure.

He cursed, "Damn it, wasting a spot on trash like this..."

"What did you say?"

Zhuge Yue's gaze turned fierce. No matter what, Wu Wang had come with her. She had promised to show him the ropes and wouldn't let someone else slap her in the face. Besides, she was already very annoyed with the Calamity Cult.

But the hook-nosed man was a stubborn mule. He pointed a finger at Wu Wang's nose and cursed sinisterly.

"I said, he's a piece of trash. He doesn't even know about the 【Relic Scramble】, so how high can his level be?"

"If I ran into garbage like this in an Instance, I could casually rip out his intestines and make a dish out of them."

Pfft.

The moment he finished speaking, the sound of a sharp weapon sinking into flesh rang out.

Zhuge Yue and the two from the Calamity Cult turned their heads stiffly. They stared at Wu Wang, who was still standing.

His expression was unchanged. He had lifted his shirt, taken out a knife, and stabbed it into his own abdomen. With a forceful sideways pull, he tore the wound open.

He reached inside, pulled out a bloody, strip-like organ, and placed it on the table.

He spoke calmly.

"Cecum, ascending colon, right colic flexure, transverse colon, left colic flexure, descending colon, sigmoid colon, rectum, duodenum, jejunum, and ileum."

"Which section would you like, sir? I can cut it for you now."

Everyone stared, their minds blank with shock.

The corners of the Heng and Ha Generals' mouths twitched uncontrollably. Even the smile on Maitreya Buddha's face couldn't hold. He cast a reproachful look at the hook-nosed man.

Bro, are you satisfied now? He really pulled out his own intestines.

The hook-nosed man's expression grew even more complicated.

Damn it! No wonder he hangs out with Zhuge Yue! Turns out he's a psycho too! Oh no, are we the only normal people from the Calamity Cult in this room?

The Spirit Calamity Plaza rules forbade harming other players, but they didn't say you couldn't harm yourself. Wu Wang's action didn't attract any punishment NPCs, it only earned him the "psycho" label from everyone present.

"If there are no more problems, let's continue with the official process."

Wu Wang's tone didn't even tremble. He silently reached out, grabbed his intestines, and stuffed them back into his stomach. Then he pulled up the zipper of his jacket to cover the wound, preventing anyone from noticing it would instantly heal when he revived from blood loss in a moment.

This time, the Heng and Ha Generals had no more objections.

They didn't dare to have any.