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Mu Family Villa.
Mu Ke drew in a slow breath and looked toward Mu-fu, who had just ended the call.
“Father, did the professional hackers you contacted manage to trace the GPS location of those people? Who exactly are they?”
(T/N: ~fu → Father [name]. Mu-fu → Father Mu. His actual name is Mu Jingwu, but the narration mostly refers to him as Father Mu.)
“No.” Mu-fu frowned deeply, his expression grave with thought. “The other side has extremely strong protection in place. There’s no way to pinpoint their physical location.”
Mu Ke’s eyes shifted rapidly from side to side, a habitual movement whenever his mind was racing. A moment later, he lifted his head again.
“If we can’t locate their headquarters, what about tracking a specific individual? Is that possible?”
Mu-fu spoke several sentences in English into the phone before turning back to him.
“It’s possible. But we would need identifying information—something like a phone number, a name, or a photograph. The problem is that we have none of those. They used a signal jammer when they came here, so we couldn’t take any pictures. The surveillance system was also disrupted, and all of them were wearing tightly fitted masks...”
“I can draw them.”
Mu Ke interrupted him abruptly, his eyes burning with an almost frightening brightness.
“A 3D reconstruction of their facial bone structures should be enough to identify them through a database scan. I can recreate that.”
Mu-fu fell silent for a brief moment.
“You memorized every one of their facial structures in those few minutes?”
“Yes, Father.”
Mu-fu murmured several more instructions into the phone before ending the call completely.
“Fine,” he said at last. “Is there anything specific you want me to investigate?”
“Yes.” Mu Ke spoke extremely quickly. “Among those people, are any of them short on money? Do any of them have bad habits—drinking, gambling? Maybe someone’s preparing for a wedding, or just had a child, or has elderly relatives with serious medical expenses.”
His breathing grew heavier as he continued.
“Anyone likely to face major financial pressure soon. I need someone who can be swayed by money or material benefits—someone willing to sell information.”
Mu-fu nodded in understanding before relaying the request to the people on the other end.
After hanging up, he turned back to Mu Ke, his gaze complicated.
Mu Ke’s chest rose and fell sharply, his breathing uneven and strained.
“This Bai Liu...” Mu-fu said quietly. “Aside from saving your life, he’s done much more for you, hasn’t he? Xiao Ke... do you truly have to involve yourself with him?”
“It’s not that I have to.”
Mu Ke slowly opened his eyes. The rapid, airy sound of his breathing made him appear fragile, almost sickly.
“It’s just that... he makes me feel alive. If he dies, then my soul will die with him.” He paused softly. “He’s very, very important to me.”
Mu-fu remained silent for a long while before finally patting Mu Ke on the shoulder.
“I’ll help you,” he said. “You need cash, don’t you? I’ll have someone withdraw it immediately. How much?”
“That depends,” Mu Ke replied calmly, “on how much it takes to buy the people who came to take me away.”
————————
Inside the Kings Guild.
Wang Shun stared blankly at the red system notification hovering before him.
[System Notification: A high-authority player from the Kings Guild has anonymously sent you a meeting invitation, sincerely requesting your presence at the Game Login Point.]
Privacy Settings
[Meeting Passphrase: Long time no see, old friend.]
A summons from a high-authority guild member was not something a mid-level member like Wang Shun had the right to refuse.
Filled with suspicion, he headed toward the Game Login Point.
But when he arrived, he saw none of the familiar upper-level guild members he had expected. The only recognizable face there was Mu Shicheng.
Mu Shicheng noticed him as well. He lifted a hand with a false smile.
“Long time no see, old friend.”
Wang Shun instinctively raised his own hand in greeting—only to abruptly realize something was wrong.
At the same moment, he felt something press against the small of his back.
Before his brain could even fully process the fact that players could not harm each other inside the Game Lobby, Wang Shun had already raised both hands in surrender.
A sweet, smiling young girl’s voice sounded from behind him.
“Relax. I can’t hurt you here. But this is the Game Login Point. I can drag you into a game whenever I want.” Her voice curved into a smile. “And once we’re inside, doing whatever I want to you becomes very easy, Wang Shun.”
Cold sweat instantly soaked through his back.
Wang Shun recognized the voice immediately. Lowering his head obediently, he slowly put his hands down.
“Little Witch, the Queen of Hearts is looking for you. Whatever you want from me, we can discuss it properly. I’ll cooperate fully—you’re an important member of our team, after all. But shouldn’t you speak with the Queen first?”
He paused deliberately.
“She doesn’t seem to be in a very good mood because of your situation.”
The implication beneath his words was obvious: he was trying to use the Queen of Hearts to pressure Liu Jiayi.
But Liu Jiayi remained completely unmoved.
She merely sneered and shoved Wang Shun forward with the object against his back, forcing him toward Mu Shicheng.
Mu Shicheng immediately hooked an arm around Wang Shun’s neck. From a distance, it looked like a familiar greeting between friends, but the force hidden beneath it was enough to drag Wang Shun bodily into a nearby corner.
The moment they reached the shadows, Mu Shicheng slammed him against the wall and slowly tightened his grip around his throat.
His voice was cold and emotionless.
“We’re going to ask you something. Tell us everything you know about the [Withered Rose Hunter]. Name. Address. And the core desire that drove him into the game.”
Mu Shicheng lowered his eyes toward him.
“With your skill, you should be able to find all of that, right?”
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“Cough—cough!”
Even knowing he could not actually be killed, Wang Shun still felt suffocated under the crushing pressure around his throat.
The oppressive aura radiating from Mu Shicheng was terrifyingly real. It pressed down on Wang Shun’s chest until breathing itself became difficult.
He grabbed Mu Shicheng’s wrist and tried to pry it away, but it did not move even slightly.
“I can’t tell you!” Wang Shun rasped hoarsely through violent coughing. “That would count as betraying the guild!”
“Then choose.”
Mu Shicheng lifted him straight off the ground by the throat, his eyes filled with icy violence.
“Betray the guild... or I kill you the moment we enter a game.”
His gaze darkened.
“I don’t have the patience to waste time on you. Are you talking or not?”
Liu Jiayi stood nearby with her hands clasped behind her back, head tilted slightly to one side, her tone sweet and innocent.
“I haven’t carried you through a Level Two game before, Wang Shun.” She smiled. “Want me to do it this time?”
Carry him where?
Straight into hell?
Wang Shun looked into Mu Shicheng’s eyes. The emotions churning there resembled a black vortex, dragging him inward. A wave of dizzying vertigo struck him.
Mu Shicheng genuinely intended to kill him inside a game.
“Cough—cough! Put me down first!” Wang Shun struggled frantically. “I can’t talk like this!”
Only then did Mu Shicheng finally loosen his grip.
He shoved both hands lazily into the pockets of his tracksuit jacket and looked down at Wang Shun with obvious disdain as the latter crouched on the ground coughing miserably.
“I barely even touched you.”
Wang Shun swallowed the humiliating response lodged in his throat.
It wasn’t the force that scared him. It was Mu Shicheng himself.
Because of his [Know-it-all] skill, Wang Shun was far more sensitive to emotional fluctuations than ordinary people. The murderous hostility pouring from Liu Jiayi and Mu Shicheng moments ago had made every hair on his body stand on end.
So he wisely chose to cooperate.
“I don’t know every detail about the person carrying the [Withered Rose Hunter] identity,” Wang Shun said between breaths.
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Mu Shicheng shot him another dangerous look.
He had already begun pulling one hand from his pocket again when Wang Shun immediately retreated several steps and spoke much faster.
“But I do know something that might help you!”
Mu Shicheng narrowed his eyes.
“What?”
Wang Shun cautiously held both hands in front of his chest in defense.
“My personal skill is called [Know-it-all]. Its ability allows me to investigate a target’s basic information. But it isn’t omnipotent. I can’t access everything about a person whenever I want. Certain conditions have to be met first.”
Mu Shicheng’s impatience became obvious.
“What conditions? Stop wasting time and get to the point.”
Wang Shun’s gaze flickered.
“To me, every person is like a computer system. I’m like a hacker. If I want to steal information, I first have to bypass the target’s internal Firewall.”
“But everyone’s Firewall strength is different. Emotional state and focus also affect it. Take God Mu as an example. Earlier, I couldn’t extract information from you because your emotions and concentration were extremely stable. Your Firewall was solid and difficult to penetrate.”
At those words, Liu Jiayi’s pupils abruptly contracted.
She spun around and shouted sharply:
“Idiot! Calm down! He’s stealing information directly from your mind!”
“Huh?”
Mu Shicheng had not reacted at all. He had been unconsciously following Wang Shun’s rhythm from the beginning.
“But now your concentration has developed a flaw—”
Wang Shun’s expression changed instantly.
He yanked a notebook from his system panel.
“I’m sorry, God Mu.”
The notebook resembled a computer terminal. Streams of characters flooded across its pages like lines of code.
Wang Shun’s eyes moved at astonishing speed as he scanned the information.
Before Mu Shicheng could seize him again, Wang Shun had already seen what he needed.
Mu Shicheng’s face darkened violently.
“You little—!”
He slammed Wang Shun against the wall once more.
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Wang Shun exhaled sharply and immediately raised both hands in surrender.
Then he looked directly at Mu Shicheng.
“You want to save Bai Liu, don’t you? He’s already been captured.” Wang Shun steadied his breathing. “If that’s your goal, then maybe we can make a deal.”
“Put him down,” Liu Jiayi said [N O V E L I G H T] expressionlessly. “We already lost the initiative.”
Mu Shicheng clenched his jaw hard, but eventually released him.
Wang Shun slid to the floor before climbing back up and brushing nonexistent dust from his clothes.
“I’ll tell you what I know,” he said. “But after you save Bai Liu, I need a guarantee from him.”
Liu Jiayi frowned.
“What guarantee?”
“If the Kings Guild discovers I leaked information to you, I’ll be labeled a traitor.” Wang Shun gave a bitter smile. “And I know far too much. The Queen will absolutely hunt me down.”
He lifted his head.
“So if Bai Liu is willing to take me in and protect me afterward... that would be enough.”
“...That’s all?” Liu Jiayi’s brows furrowed deeper. “You’re willing to risk being branded a traitor just to help us save Bai Liu? Do you understand what betrayal means in the Kings Guild?”
“No one understands it better than I do.”
Wang Shun inhaled slowly.
“I’ve screened countless high-potential rookies for the Kings Guild. Using my skill, I identified the desires hidden deepest inside them, then helped the guild manipulate those weaknesses to recruit them.”
His expression dimmed.
“I’ve seen too many players realize they were deceived only after joining... and then attempt to betray the guild.”
He fell silent briefly.
“Most of those people disappeared from the game afterward.”
Liu Jiayi looked at him carefully.
“Then why are you helping us?”
Wang Shun answered quietly:
“Because out of every player I’ve ever screened, Bai Liu is the one I like the most.”
He paused.
“And up to now... he’s the only player whose Firewall I’ve never managed to break.”
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There was something unusually sincere in his tone as he spoke.
“I’m looking forward to the day he becomes a god.”
“...So you’re basically Bai Liu’s fan?” Mu Shicheng looked at Wang Shun strangely.
Wang Shun shrugged with a carefree smile.
“You could say that.” He laughed lightly. “I’m his number one loyal viewer. I want to watch his screen remain lit all the way to the end.”
His eyes narrowed slightly.
“Maybe even long enough to see him defeat the Kings Guild.”
Wang Shun looked at the two of them seriously.
“So if you want that future to happen...”
“You’d better bring him back alive from the Rose Hunter.”
