The players set off in high spirits, forming teams of three to five. Carrying the backpacks issued by the Investigation Bureau, they marched into the wilderness surrounding the city.
One player started a live stream, pointing the camera at the murky gray sky and the desolate landscape.
A flurry of comments zipped across the screen.
“No matter how many times I see it, the scenery in this game is just too realistic.”
“Be careful, streamer. Don’t get one-shot by a trash mob.”
“Don’t jinx him! Go for it, streamer!”
As he walked, the streamer explained to the camera, “This is a mission from the Bureau. They want us to explore the danger zones. There might be mobs lurking around. Hit that follow button, folks; I’ll keep the updates coming.”
A wind blew across the fields, carrying an indescribable scent. In the distance, the silhouettes of abandoned buildings flickered in and out of view.
Several players led the way, scanning the area with detectors, while those behind them snapped photos incessantly.
They didn't care in the slightest how dangerous the mission was. In their minds, the monsters in the danger zones were just game mobs. If they couldn't win, they’d run; if they couldn't run, they’d die. And if they died, they’d simply start over at the respawn point.
If they lost their gear, they’d get more from the Bureau. If their level dropped, they’d grind it back up. Once they respawned, they’d just get right back to it.
This mindset allowed them to exhibit a level of calm and madness that ordinary people found impossible to comprehend when facing danger.
The regular investigators of the Bureau watched the groups of laughing, chatting young people head into the wilderness. They remained silent for a long time before one finally spoke: “I have no words. Good luck to them.”
Long Jianguo stood in her top-floor office at the Bureau building, looking out toward the city’s outskirts through the floor-to-ceiling windows.
Only the gray horizon and the dense silhouettes of buildings were visible; she couldn't see the players themselves, but she knew they had departed.
She replayed Yue Shi’s words in her mind—about how to utilize the otherworldly visitors by setting short-term goals and using reward mechanisms to guide their behavior, leading them to unknowingly make massive contributions to the city.
She didn't want to admit that an evil god made sense, but she had to concede that his advice was effective.
Gathering the otherworldly visitors wandering the city and casting them outside the walls to explore danger zones, cull the monster population, and map out the distribution of contamination sources was an efficient way to maintain stability within the city. It also bought the Bureau more time to react.
But why would an evil god be so helpful?
Compared to that bunch of lunatics from another world, the evil god was an even deeper pit.
What exactly was he planning?
...
In the corridors of the Liming City Investigation Bureau, several players who had just finished their onboarding stood by a water dispenser, clutching disposable paper cups and chatting idly.
Sunlight filtered through the frosted glass, stretching their shadows into blurry patches of color.
【Ma Huateng】 crushed his paper cup and tossed it into the trash. “Hey, man, what level are you?”
【Braised Strawberry】 looked up from his system interface. “Level 3. You?”
“About the same,” 【Ma Huateng】 replied, leaning against the wall. “The second batch of closed beta players will be here soon. We first-batchers haven't managed to build much of a level lead at all.”
【Give a Hundred Billion】 walked over from the other end of the hall, holding a temporary assistant supervisor manual he had just picked up from the front desk. Overhearing them, he chimed in, “We need to find a grinding spot first to farm some XP off mobs.”
【Chu Nettle】, who had been squatting in the corner looking at her phone, stood up and asked, “Where do we go to kill mobs?”
【Evil Man Oiran】 spoke up nearby. “The danger zones. I saw the Bureau’s notice; the danger zones outside Liming City have mutated creatures. Those should count as game mobs. Plus, exploring danger zones or killing mutants and bringing back their corpses earns rewards from the Bureau.”
Another player, 【Golden Flash】, voiced his concern. “Is our level high enough? The forums say mutated creatures are hard to kill. You get one-shot the moment you engage.”
“We have to try regardless,” 【Give a Hundred Billion】 said. “We need to level up quickly and obtain cultivation techniques. Otherwise, our current status will only hold us back. The Bureau seems to have a way to identify players; they’re clearly using us as cannon fodder.”
The players fell into thought. They had also sensed what 【Give a Hundred Billion】 was analyzing. The Bureau only gave them temporary roles, with contracts stating that 'those with good performance can become formal employees.' It was an obvious carrot on a stick.
Most players just didn't care that much. After all, even as temporary workers, they received salaries and equipment.
【Golden Flash】 asked, “Is it too late to quit the Bureau?”
【Ma Huateng】 shook his head. “I went back to the Tulip Security Company earlier, only to be told that my employment had been terminated. They kicked me out.”
“The company’s second-in-command said that since I’m now a temporary investigator for the Bureau, it’s not appropriate for me to work part-time, let alone be associated with a private company.”
“He also whispered to me that if I quit the Bureau, I’d likely be targeted by them and have trouble at every turn.”
“In short, once you're a Bureau man, you're a Bureau man for life.”
【Chu Nettle】 looked stunned. “That’s way too overbearing!”
【Ma Huateng】 continued, “Most of the closed beta players in Liming City have joined the Bureau now. A few are with Tulip Security, and only a tiny fraction are still freelancers. While we’re technically temporary investigators, it feels more like we’re being rounded up for surveillance.”
Everyone frowned; they were starting to feel the same way.
【Golden Flash】 said, “The local Bureau seems to be targeting players. Has our identity been leaked?”
【Ma Huateng】 gave him a look. “The NPCs in this game are incredibly smart, and players have too many flaws. The Bureau might not know we’re ‘players’ per se, but it only takes a simple check to see how weird we are.”
“A massive number of people with no residency records, no ID, and no social ties suddenly appear in the city. They don't look for jobs or rent houses; they just wander the streets all day and occasionally do things no normal person would do. If you were with the Bureau, wouldn't you be suspicious?”
【Golden Flash】 sighed. “The game difficulty is too high. I’m starting to want to quit.”
【Ma Huateng】 patted his shoulder. “Brother, you’re thinking too small. The hype for this game is through the roof. Countless people online are begging for a closed beta slot. Don’t throw away your luck.”
“Besides, the game has a streaming function. Even if you do nothing but stream the scenery, you can rake in massive traffic and make a fortune.”
“The realism is incredible. 《Deep Red Continent》 might be the next big gold mine. Even a pig can fly in a hurricane like this; don't throw away your fortune.”
Hearing this, 【Golden Flash】’s mood instantly brightened. “Hey, do you think the NPCs would have a reaction if they knew this world was just a game?”
【Chu Nettle】 pulled the topic back. “Who cares about the NPCs' reactions? We need to figure out what to do now.”
【Give a Hundred Billion】 said, “The priority is to level up as fast as possible. We need to find a way to get promoted from temporary to formal status and make a name for ourselves in the Bureau.”
“If the Bureau keeps blocking our promotion, then we’ll just have to wait until we level up and leave the newbie village to develop in other regions.”
【Golden Flash】 added, “I don't think we even need to worry about the promotion. We’re here to play a game; who wants to work like a horse for the Bureau forever?”
【Give a Hundred Billion】 nodded. “Either way, we level up first. We’ll worry about the rest later.”
Rate on N.U.
