Baiyi returned to the shop and started distributing salaries to the employees: Aileen received one hundred Gold Coins, Luoning two hundred Gold Coins, and another person thirty Gold Coins.

Under the surprised gazes of the staff, Baiyi walked into the laboratory. He needed to plan how to extricate himself while they were investigating the Black Night Rose.

He opened the forum and searched for the Guard Brigade's live broadcast room. Baiyi was somewhat surprised to find that it was actually closed?

Just thirty minutes ago, it was clearly still on...

Skipping over some bizarre posts like [A player killed an ordinary NPC's chicken because they couldn't find a monster, and got killed repeatedly at the respawn point…], he clicked into the Guard Brigade's homepage.

As always, it was serious there. Apart from science popularization and operation showcase videos, the only new update was an announcement, generally stating that he was on a secret mission and would make a video to explain once the mission was over.

Baiyi thought for a moment and walked out. Since the Guard Brigade wasn't there, he would look for other high-level players. The task could be done by anyone.

"Boss, are you going out again?"

Luoning enthusiastically said, "Do you want me to do a fortune-telling for you?"

She was now setting up a small fortune-telling stand next to the counter. The stand had a star chart on which there was a crystal ball with a diameter of thirty centimeters. Although it looked a bit simple, it was quite decent.

Baiyi became interested, "Did you spend your salary on this ball?"

"Hehe, for fortune-telling, you need some props." Luoning giggled, "Boss, come quickly, my predictions are very accurate, and the clients all say they're good!"

"Then give it a try, how do you do it?" Baiyi curiously examined the crystal ball. He hadn't engaged much in fortune-telling; when he was a player, no one went to NPCs for it.

Now that he had become an NPC, because of his transmigration, he had some skeletons in the closet, so he wouldn't go for it.

So this was actually his first fortune-telling.

"Extend your hand; I will first foresee your destiny."

Baiyi extended his hand, and Aileen, also interested, looked over. She had been fortune-told too, and it was said that she lacked fortune, though she insisted Luoning must be an amateur, she was still a bit anxious.

Now that Baiyi was getting a fortune-telling, she was expecting something as well.

Luoning stared at Baiyi's palm lines, observing them carefully for a while. She frowned and mumbled softly, "That's strange…"

She then stretched out her two hands to grasp Baiyi's hand and closed her eyes.

Baiyi only felt something entering his body from Luoning's cold hands.

After a while, Luoning's frown deepened as she slowly lifted Baiyi's hand over the crystal ball.

Then, the stars on the star chart lit up and extinguished rapidly. As Luoning's face turned pale, the star chart gradually stabilized, and a red star flickered unsteadily, barely maintaining its brightness.

As Luoning released Baiyi's hand, she opened her eyes, and suddenly within her sight, a shadow appeared in the crystal ball, with a sharp gleam flashing by.

She quickly let go of Baiyi's hand, staring at him with a pale face.

"What's wrong?" Baiyi pulled back his hand and asked curiously.

"The Geng Metal Star is constantly shining; this star is mainly for killing, and I just saw a power of shadow and a sharp light. Boss, someone is going to cause you trouble!" Luoning nodded affirmatively.

Baiyi was truly surprised. Could Luoning actually ignore tiers to foretell powerful individuals? When divining someone stronger, shouldn't she see a blank instead?

But then he remembered what he had to do, which involved the Black Night Rose.

And at the end of the Scarlet Sect, the golden advent of the Black Night Rose was a Shadow Assassin, Golden Tier!

He was silent for a moment, then smiled gently, "Don't worry, it's nothing. You didn't even see me, did you? Thanks for the warning, Luoning. Recently, you all should best stay indoors."

Saying this, he patted Luoning's head, turned, and walked out, "Aileen, take care of Luoning, and make sure she goes out less often. Dongwu City is going to be restless again....."

Saying this, Baiyi turned and walked into the alley beside the shop.

Luoning, on the other hand, looked at the crystal ball with a face full of worry. She closed her eyes and placed her hands on the crystal ball, quietly starting to investigate her own destiny.

"Don't worry, nothing will happen. The boss is a multimillionaire, and a super genius. We should be worrying about ourselves. Like, when will he give me a raise?"

Aileen tried to shift the topic, but Luoning uncommonly didn't respond, quietly releasing her power. She didn't want the home she had only recently found to just disappear like that.

-----------------

Meanwhile, outside the City Lord's Mansion.

Demacia, the Guard Brigade, and three top-notch players were intentionally or unintentionally watching a very pretty Human Race girl.

The girl was dressed in a loose-fitting black uniform, carrying a vegetable basket, and walked towards the market on another street without glancing sideways.

They could imagine she was out shopping for groceries.

Demacia and the experienced players followed unhurriedly behind, unable to help but complain in a low voice, "Is there really something unusual? It's been two days, and she's just like any ordinary chef."

The other three nodded in agreement. They couldn't enter the City Lord's Mansion, but this girl named Yali came out every day to buy vegetables, acting very naturally. If it weren't for the existence of their task, they wouldn't pay much attention to this girl.

"That's what's most terrifying. Think about the backdrop of this era."

The Guard Brigade whispered, "In the despairing backdrop, someone or even an organization has infiltrated the City Lord's Mansion and is responsible for the City Lord's diet. What does this signify?"

"We all know that, but let's just take action, scare the snake, we have to beat the grass first!" Demacia said with discouragement, "With this time, I could have completed several tasks."

"Wait a little longer, the results should be out soon." Guard Brigade noticed that the girl Yali disappeared around the corner and quickly sped up his pace, making their actions stand out among the group of NPCs.

"Are you thinking..." Demacia looked at Guard Brigade's actions, a trace of understanding appearing in his eyes.

"Exactly, stirring the grass to alert the snake isn't just what we're doing, play it well." Guard Brigade whispered, and the group quickly resumed a stealthy stance, blending in with the nearby NPCs despite having lower levels.

If you weren't very familiar with the players, you wouldn't be able to tell that these people were players at all.

[How do you confirm that girl Yali is part of an organization? If not, aren't we just putting on a show for no one?]

Guard Brigade and the other three looked at the questions sent by their friend on the panel, and Guard Brigade smiled. Teaming up with expert players was really easy; no one would cause trouble, and as soon as there was an intention, cooperation was pretty much guaranteed.

Guard Brigade typed a sentence: [No? Do you believe that? Spread out, keep tabs, record from a third-person perspective, and meet up in two hours!]

Guard Brigade and the other four exchanged a glance and then split up tacitly, slowly following Yali and monitoring the girl's every move from different directions.

The girl seemed completely unaware of the surveillance, entering a supermarket naturally, purchasing some advanced groceries, and then heading back.

Time slowly passed, and as dusk descended, the five master players reconvened.

[How did it go?]

They didn't speak but communicated through the panel, continuing to move toward a more secluded corner.

Demacia was silent: [You were right, I underestimated this game. This organization is much more powerful than I imagined. Look at this.]

Demacia sent a picture, showing a fish vendor staring at Demacia's back. Although nothing seemed unusual, if you looked closely, you'd find that the fish vendor had an expression almost similar to that of a player.

It was an expression of playing a game with a loftier-than-thou demeanor, mocking those they were manipulating.

[The same. (Picture)]

[The same. (Picture)]

[The same. (Picture)]

All four pictures were at the market, and each shop owner appeared very natural. If not for a different look in their eyes, it'd be impossible to detect anything abnormal about them.

Even the different eye expression seemed more like an illusion because whenever customers were around or caught their gaze, their eyes were always humble with a hint of flattery.

These people simply did not expect that this group surprisingly had 360-degree wide-angle video recording. The change in their gaze from humble to aloof was relatively clear.

Guard Brigade: [These are the shops where the girl frequently purchases items. Although the city lord is known to be powerful, the food should be fine, but the means in this world are too varied, and this level of infiltration is quite chilling.

If I'm not wrong, we'll die tonight, and that girl might even find a reason to resign.]

Feng Chen: [I generally understand your approach, but we can't die meaninglessly. If we bring this game into the real world, it's hard to imagine the energy this organization might possess, explaining why the mission's difficulty is set to hell.]

Demacia looked at Feng Chen, an orc who likely specialized in warriors, the most powerful and enduring character among them.

Demacia: [Only we know about this. We need to figure out a way to make things more noticeable. The greater the attention, the simpler the mission becomes.]

Guard Brigade looked relaxed: [In this city, what draws more attention than the Dawn Potion Shop? We can just hang around outside it tonight, where their surveillance can see us. (dog head jpg)]

Demacia: [Uhh, wouldn't that be bad? I feel the power of this organization is too much for Baiyi to withstand?]

Reversal: [Afraid of what? We're just taking a break, not causing trouble.]

Guard Brigade: [Hehe, don't panic... uh, what's this?]

Just as Guard Brigade was about to say something, he felt something on his head. He grabbed it and immediately heard the notification sound from the panel.

[You have obtained a special mission item [Black Night Invitation].]

Guard Brigade: ???

He posted the screenshot in their group, astonished: [Does this game just drop mission items from the sky?]

The expert players all looked up, equally surprised.

Demacia: [There seem to be two cards. Check what the other is.]

Guard Brigade was a bit confused, took out the second card. This one didn't have the black rose emblem.

Guard Brigade examined it closely, and upon opening the second letter, information about an organization appeared clearly before them, disappearing in a flash as the paper in their hands spontaneously combusted to ashes.

Fortunately, they all had the habit of automatic recording.

When they retrieved the screenshot, all of them were astonished.

[Black Night Rose, an elusive organization hidden in the Dawn Federation for over five hundred years. More than half of the cities in the Federation are infiltrated, possessing enormous power. They do not allow anyone to know of their existence, their secrecy unparalleled.

The only sign: After death, the soul will emit an ominous black aura.]

Guard Brigade and the others exchanged glances, simultaneously thought of something, and a screenshot appeared in their group.

It was a scene from the promotional video, with Baiyi dragging Old Wolf along, and behind Baiyi, in a distant location, there were several twisted shadows. From afar, these shadows formed the pattern of the black rose!

"Oh, this..."

Guard Brigade suddenly didn't know what to say. He hesitated a bit before opening the special item, and the panel's notification rang, shocking Guard Brigade. It turned out to be... a main quest!

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