Chapter 57: Chapter 57: That Welcome... Is It a Proper One?
"That Lone Ranger guy broke my camera."
Hearing Little Fatty’s exclamation, Duan Fei immediately leaned over. One of Little Fatty’s monitor screens had turned to static.
"Can you see the earlier footage?"
"Yeah."
He had Little Fatty pull up the previous footage. Duan Fei saw the Lone Ranger standing blankly on the fog-filled street for half a minute before suddenly striking out and destroying a nearby camera.
And not just that one, but all of them along his route.
Judging by his actions and his route, his final target was here.
"Why would that guy destroy the cameras? Does he know we can watch him?" Duan Fei asked.
"Hard to say," Little Fatty said with a frown. "The Lone Ranger’s Profession is Shadow Assassin. People on the forums have analyzed it, and that Profession has a lot of Skills related to intuition. He might have sensed we were watching him and destroyed the cameras because of it."
"That’s a little weird, then. We weren’t actively monitoring him. Normally, if another player found out, they’d probably be a little pissed off and then try to contact us to clear up the misunderstanding."
"Probably because the Lone Ranger is just an asshole. He’s likely still holding a grudge because I was talking about him earlier, so now he’s coming to kill me."
Little Fatty recalled how just moments ago, merely mentioning the Lone Ranger had earned him a threat with a Sleeve Sword to his face. He said with a sigh, "I noticed it when I was browsing the forums. There’s a ton of discussion about the Lone Ranger. Sure, other star players get talked about a lot, too, but not like him. The comments about him are all so... consistent."
"Everyone’s flaming him?"
"Exactly. The vocabulary is scathing, the language is vulgar... it’s a beautiful display of the English language’s most colorful words, honed over centuries."
"Alright, I’ll have to get on the forums later and take some notes."
"...What exactly are you planning to study?"
"Don’t worry about it. Just keep going."
Little Fatty glanced at Duan Fei. ’It feels like we’re never on the same wavelength.’
’That’s the difference between a normal person and a twisted genius, I suppose.’
After a moment of reflection, Little Fatty continued, "The Lone Ranger is a special case. He’s always worked alone, so Madhouse has only been able to observe a few of his Skills from a distance. Plus, he has a terrible personality. Anything can set him off and become a reason to attack someone. Countless players have died at his hands."
Stroking his chin, Duan Fei found it more and more suspicious the more he thought about it.
Turning to Jinghong, Duan Fei asked, "Jinghong, if you wanted to kill someone, when would you make your move?"
Jinghong glanced at Little Fatty. Her icy gaze sent a shiver down his spine, making him feel like he was her intended target.
"It’s not just a feeling. You *are* my hypothetical target," Jinghong said.
"Yikes! You can read minds?!"
"You’re just too easy to read. If I was annoyed and wanted to kill someone, I’d pretty much do it right then and there."
"Exactly," Duan Fei said with a nod. "From Little Fatty’s description, the Lone Ranger is supposed to be a hothead who gets his revenge on the spot. But based on our earlier encounter, he didn’t do that. Instead, he waited for a while before making a move. Why?"
Now that Duan Fei brought it up, Little Fatty also felt that something was off.
The four of them paused the movie and started discussing the issue, but it felt like they were just talking in circles.
Just then, Jack, who was waiting to watch the movie, leaned in. "I don’t really know what you’re all talking about, but I think I can guess a few things. This guy you’re talking about... could he have a special quirk?"
"Tell me more," Duan Fei said, encouraging him. He hoped to get a fresh perspective from an NPC to spark some ideas.
"It’s like how before I watch... *videos*... I have to lock the door and get my ’disguise’ browser set up in just the right spot before I start. So I suspect this guy you’re talking about probably has a whole ritual he has to go through before he kills someone, just to satisfy his own weird little kink."
"I think your analysis makes a lot of sense, but could you maybe use a different example next time?" Duan Fei said, exasperated.
"Huh? What’s wrong with my kink? My kink is perfectly normal, isn’t it?"
"I’m not talking about your kink! And the fact that you’d just say it out loud like that is what’s not normal."
Still, Jack’s reminder gave Duan Fei an idea.
’That Lone Ranger guy might be a fraud.’
’He’s not nearly as reckless as he seems. His ’madness’ is just a tool to hide his real objective.’
’If I were in the Lone Ranger’s shoes,’ Duan Fei thought, ’I’d probably make a similar choice.’
’So, can I use this to my advantage?’
Duan Fei glanced at Little Fatty, then at Bald Qiang, and finally let his gaze rest on Jinghong.
"Jinghong, you’re here for a Profession, right? What are the requirements for you to get the one you want?"
Jinghong didn’t know why Duan Fei had suddenly changed the subject, but she answered seriously, "My luck has never been very good, and the Profession token I want comes from treasure chests. So I estimate I’ll need about ten of them to be safe."
"So in other words, you need to complete at least ten ’weird tales’."
"More or less."
As he continued to think, Duan Fei realized Jinghong probably wouldn’t be able to complete ten.
The trigger rate for these weird tales wasn’t very high, and they seemed to be assigned randomly.
He could just steal completions from Little Fatty and Bald Qiang by changing his name, but snatching rewards like that was beneath him. Besides, he got along well with them and didn’t want to do that.
The only person who was strong, skilled, and whom he’d have no qualms about exploiting... was the Lone Ranger.
After a moment’s thought, Duan Fei sat down, closed his eyes, and sank into contemplation. He unconsciously tapped his temple with his right index finger, muttering under his breath.
Seeing this, Little Fatty asked, confused, "What’s that Duan Fei guy doing?"
"Be quiet. Someone’s about to have a very bad day."
"Who?"
"I told you to be quiet!"
Turning his head, Little Fatty saw Jinghong staring obsessively at Duan Fei, a feverish blush creeping across her face, which was usually as clear as an ice crystal.
Covering her hot cheeks, Jinghong muttered to herself, ’No matter how many times I see this, I could never get tired of it.’
Little Fatty took a few fearful steps back. ’The biggest ’weird tale’ in this dungeon isn’t some monster,’ he thought, ’it’s Jinghong right in front of me.’
Tugging on Bald Qiang’s sleeve, Little Fatty asked, "Aren’t you going to, like, call down a spirit or something? See if she’s been Possessed by some evil entity?"
"Be quiet! What kind of evil entity would dare possess *her*?" Bald Qiang whispered, also shrinking away in fear.
Before long, Duan Fei finally stood up.
He stretched his stiff limbs and said to the others, "The Lone Ranger is on his way. Let’s get ready to give him a warm welcome."
"This ’welcome’ of yours... is it the ’friendly’ kind?" Little Fatty asked nervously.
"That depends on the Lone Ranger."
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