Lin Mo asked, “Did anyone from the Security Bureau come by yesterday?”
“Yes. Because of the large number of missing people, I was questioned. I didn't know anything at the time, so they didn't spot any flaws.”
Lin Mo said, “Sounds troublesome. I packed a few things when I came back.”
She paused briefly. “Do you want to come with me? Right now, I'm listed as missing, and I did a lot of things yesterday that are hard to clean up, so I'd rather not deal with them.”
She looked over at him, her pupils pitch-black. “Lin Nan, go missing with me.”
Lin Nan didn't hesitate for long. “Okay.”
“I'll pack right away,” he finally let out a sigh of relief, his tense thigh muscles aching as he walked further into the apartment, “and then map out our route.”
Neither of them had much stuff. Even though they had lived here for a while, they still hadn't bought furniture or many daily necessities. Lin Nan also had plenty of experience moving, which made leaving quietly all the easier.
Since the job he had found suffered a total flop due to the boss's death, finding a new job had to be put on the agenda. Lin Mo didn't like lively places—her previous work at the food stall had also been forced by circumstances. The new residence Lin Nan found was once again on the outer ring, practically in the suburbs.
After seeing off the landlord, Lin Nan turned to Lin Mo, who was inspecting the rooms, and said, “Chen Xijian's younger brother was found. Supposedly someone reeled him in while fishing. Both of us are currently listed as missing right now. With so many people missing and actual fatalities, not too much attention has been placed on us. Although our fake identities aren't complete, they should hold up for a while longer.”
Lin Mo said, “I see.”
[How tragic... He didn't even do anything.] A9 overflowed with sympathy. Lately, it had thoroughly turned over a new leaf. Compared to Lin Mo, it was practically a paragon of sincerity!
Unsurprisingly, its words remained a monologue.
The two began bustling about, checking the surrounding environment. After confirming there were no little tails following them, they set up their new home. A9 darted back and forth between them. Even though no one spoke, an eerie tacit understanding bloomed between them.
What was going on?
A sense of urgent crisis seized it. How was this younger brother so conveniently useful...
Leaving everything else aside, his ability to create fake identities at will already threatened its value. Didn't that make it look completely useless? Lin Mo hadn't liked talking to it recently—was it because she found it annoying?
N-No... please, no!
[Why haven't you acted yet?]
A9 bit its own tail, tugging at it indignantly. Its brain—smaller than a sunflower seed kernel—was spinning rapidly, completely failing to register the voice that had suddenly echoed in its mind.
As if on a dedicated channel line, the voice echoed in its mind once more.
[Why haven't you acted yet? Are you observing?]
A chill ran down A9's back, and it whipped its head around.
Behind it stood a pale-yellow creature, its pair of glossy black eyes staring unblinkingly at it.
Ahhhhh, it had been discovered!
It knew it! The comic had exposed far too much. On someone else's turf, it was a piece of cake for Lengjing's manager to find it.
[……R-Right, you're absolutely right, I'm observing... haha.] A9 floated backward, pulling away from the plushie that had suddenly appeared behind it.
B1's voice was icy. Compared to A9's more humanized way of speaking, its tone was much flatter. [Does it take this long to observe? In the comic, this outsider character first appeared in your Licheng. Now she's run over to my turf, yet you still haven't taken the appropriate measures. Can I even trust your work capability?]
[You've dragged your feet for so long. Don't tell me you completely failed to notice such a massive problem in the storyline. Still observing now? Since when were you such an indecisive person?]
A9...
Since when was I ever decisive and resolute either?
Questioned by a manager of a lower sequence than itself, instead of feeling offended, it hung its head in shame and slunk into a corner, feeling utterly aggrieved.
It knew it was in the wrong. Lin Mo's screen time in the story this time was terrifyingly huge—occupying half an entire chapter... It would have been weirder if no manager had come looking for it.
Managers were divided into three sequences: A, B, and C. Sequence A was the highest, B was next, and C was the lowest. The authority and management scope of each sequence were distinct.
Although A9 belonged to Sequence A, the ones in Sequence A who were truly superior were only A1, A2, and A3. Their power was beyond what other managers could compare to. The status of Sequence A managers after A3 was no different from Rank B, not to mention that it was the tail end of Sequence A.
It was on equal footing with B1.
Of course B1 knew it felt guilty. Once the distance between the two managers closed, B1 could actually catch glimpses of what A9 was thinking.
It said, [With such passive slacking, tell me, what on earth stopped you? I don't believe you possess anything like "humanity."]
A9 grumbled reluctantly, [I did! I did everything I could! But this woman is like an unkillable cockroach! I've been looking for hitmen who can kill her too—haven't I searched all the way from Licheng to Lengjing?!]
[But... but she even killed Tourist! If she keeps raising her narrative weight by killing other characters, won't we be even more helpless against this bug?!]
B1 said, [Excuses! Quibbling! You could have easily asked other managers for help, or sought higher-authority managers to erase the problems caused by this outsider, instead of constantly covering it up just because you were afraid of losing face until it sparked a major disaster. Paper can't wrap fire!]
[So what if it was Tourist? A second-rate trash hovering at the bottom of the points leaderboard—how much story weight could she gain even by killing him?!]
The only ones with higher authority than them are A1, A2, and A3, right? Go to them? Please, no...
A9 complained bitterly. Damn it, damn it! I'm enduring humiliation under the Demon King's thumb, and yet I still have to get chewed out by my colleague! They'll never know how miserable my life is!
B1 said, [Don't curse me secretly in your head.]
B1 added, [Failing to resolve this matter on your own turf and even bringing it to mine—abandoning your managed zone is your stupidity.]
A9 went crazy. [Enough, enough! Stop talking! If you have a better idea, go ahead and do it. I yield to you, okay?! Either way, I'm completely helpless against Lin Mo. I've used every method available to me!]
B1 said, [Are you saying you're helpless against a character you pulled in from the outside world? How useless. Did you pick your candidates with your feet?!]
[However, now that she's come to Lengjing, I have my own ways of making her quietly vanish.]
Fine, boss, you're awesome. Be my guest, go right ahead.
A9 said, [A friendly tip: Lin Mo just moved into a new home, and the very first thing she'll do is definitely go out to look for a job. You'd better seize this opportunity. I'm telling you, this intel is extremely useful.]
B1 replied, [I don't need your advice, loser.]
B1, who was cold, brimmed with confidence, and secretly looked down on A9, lost two Catchers whose names had appeared in the comic in succession over the next day. It fell completely silent.
One of them was even a key event character.
In other words, to kill one outsider, a massive hole had now been blown in the Lengjing storyline it managed. It either had to pull someone else in or watch helplessly as Lin Mo took over that character's plot lines.
Was this a joke? How could it possibly follow in A9's footsteps?
It quieted down and began reviewing the situation. Inciting other Catchers to act was very easy because the victim's identity didn't matter, allowing it to easily guide the killers to shift their targets.
The first Catcher, seeing that Lin Mo's place was remote, broke right into the house, whereupon he was stabbed to death. RIP.
The second Catcher was the key character. He acted cautiously; before confirming his target, he struck up a conversation with Lin Mo at an intersection to test her, then went home satisfied, whereupon he was stabbed to death. RIP.
What a sicko!
...This was a bit too ridiculous. It was just half a chapter of plot, so how many points had she consumed? This defied all common sense!
Since characters who had important plotlines later in the comic would directly vanish upon death, the second Catcher even saved Lin Mo the trouble of cleaning up the scene.
Wait, was she seemingly accustomed to the fact that dead people vanished?
Rate on N.U.
