Chapter 168

Chapter 168

Qidao had no intention of joining Nightfall, but Fangzhou gave him the option. As long as he re-entered the amusement park and made contact with his so-called companions on the other side, she could obtain information from them.

As for Buci... his ability and attack power were decent, so Fangzhou planned to arrange him in the Iwaki branch.

She would enter the headquarters with Xuyunshu.

Just as Qidao didn't think that Nightfall's recruitment was a logical entry point given by the game's official, he would find it suspicious if she and Xuyunshu were directly assigned to the headquarters.

So what? Fangzhou didn't have the time to deal with players like Qidao now. If she couldn't manipulate the players' minds and extract information without revealing her identity, she wouldn't go through all this trouble.

So even if he didn't plan to join Nightfall, she would present him with a straightforward opportunity. As long as his initial plan, as he had told her, was genuine, and his companions genuinely wanted to pass on information to her, he wouldn't miss this chance.

"Have you seen the Third Board?" This was Qidao's first question when the three of them met.

To facilitate the conversation, they each entered Qidao's car, with Xuyunshu and Fangzhou sitting in the back seat.

"Yes, have you heard about Nightfall issuing permits to everyone?" Fangzhou asked.

"I think it's quite good. Everyone has a chance," Xuyunshu had a good attitude. Today, she tied her hair up in a ponytail for convenience.

"It's a bit different from what I expected, but I still don't think it's the entry point for outsiders given by the game's official." As a sign of sincerity in forming a team, Qidao revealed some useful information this time. "According to the information my companions have obtained, the location of Nightfall's headquarters is likely to have been communicated to the players who landed in it and then passed on to the central authority. The appearance of sudden traitors within the organization without any warning definitely hasn't escaped Fangzhou's notice. This recruitment is probably aimed at the players, but this explanation has many unverifiable aspects."

Hearing him say this, Fangzhou narrowed her eyes and asked, "Is this a possibility your companions deduced?"

Qidao tugged at his collar, admitting, "Yes."

Qidao and his companions didn't just get to know each other after entering the game; they were acquaintances in the outside world. After entering the game, they connected to the orbit through the prearranged signal from the Third Board. So, there was no secrecy in their communication.

The decision to have Xuyunshu and Xunzhou join was a last-minute idea by Qidao.

Players were split into teams, making it difficult to transmit information from the central authority. Moving forward within the central authority was challenging for companions. All of this made Qidao realize that they needed another option.

"What do you think?" Fangzhou looked at Xuyunshu.

Xuyunshu propped her chin with her fingers, mentioning her favorite character. She became more enthusiastic and said, "Qidao's reasoning makes sense. Given the current pattern we've experienced, as long as the game's official hasn't introduced data bugs, Fangzhou will definitely notice if I try to deduce things based on my understanding of her. Perhaps this Nightfall recruitment operation is meant to test our true identities..."

The thought of this possibility sent shivers down Xuyunshu's spine, and she couldn't help but break into goosebumps.

She rubbed her arms and looked at them. "Is this speculation too bold? It can't be, right?"

This speculation had already ventured into the territory of game NPCs realizing the truth of the world. Could the game developers be playing on such a grand scale?

"I think... it's a reasonable guess," Qidao said. "In any case, if you two join Nightfall, you can investigate."

"Are you going to join?" Fangzhou asked him.

Qidao shook his head. "I have other things to do. Joining Nightfall inevitably puts you under the organization's surveillance, and if our speculation is correct, everyone who chooses to join will be under Fangzhou's 'monitoring.' My actions would be restricted."

Xuyunshu: "Th-this sounds a bit exciting."

Qidao: "..."

It had to be said that Fangzhou was almost tempted to applaud them.

Players had a natural advantage with their "god's-eye view." As long as they could break free from the game's perspective, in Qidao's case, with some intelligence, they could indeed deduce the most plausible guesses based on the clues.

But this god's-eye view also confined them, trapping them in the game's mindset and preventing them from coming up with more daring ideas. That's why Fangzhou dared to join the players' camp so openly, bearing a name with the character "zhou" and showcasing her A-rank speed enhancement.

She glanced at the communicator's time and said to the two, "The reporting time set by Nightfall is almost here. We should head over. We'll contact you after we see Nightfall's final arrangements."

Qidao nodded. "Okay."

Afterward, he gave them a communication code and continued, "You can contact the owner of this code once you're inside."

Fangzhou silently noted the communication code Qidao provided. With this code in hand, she didn't need Qidao to reveal the person's identity. As long as this code was still in use and within the range of the Wall Rat's ability, Fangzhou could deduce the person's identity.

She flashed a gentle smile. "I've noted it. Thank you."

Xuyunshu chimed in, "I've noted it too."

Then, Fangzhou and Xuyunshu headed to the address provided in the notification.

Xuyunshu and Buci had been arranged by her to enter the amusement park. Unlike the other players who remained in the external branch of the park, they now needed to meet Li Baizhi, who would guide them into the amusement park.

The meeting place was an inconspicuous little shop on Luli Street. When they arrived, apart from the two of them, there was only one person who had arrived early, Buci.

Compared to his conspicuous appearance from yesterday when he seemed fearless, Buci now appeared somewhat wilted. His injuries had not fully healed yet, and there was a visible wound on his neck. Upon seeing the two of them, he nodded politely but didn't rush to team up with anyone like he did yesterday.

Xuyunshu recognized him, and seeing his current condition, based on what she had learned from the Third Section yesterday, she could more or less guess what had happened.

They were somewhat in the same boat now.

But she didn't approach him to strike up a conversation. If someone initiated a conversation with her, she could instantly transform into a cheerful and sunny girl, but initiating a conversation herself was out of the question...

After waiting for a while, it was still just the three of them. Xuyunshu felt a bit puzzled. According to the information from the Third Section yesterday, there should have been more people.

Buci had checked the address with a few other players who had originally planned to team up with him before coming and found that his address was different from the others. He was prepared for this.

Not long after, Li Baizhi came out of the room inside. Her gaze met with Fangzhou's and naturally shifted away. She smiled kindly at the group.

"Hello, welcome to Nightfall. You can call me Butterfly. Based on the results of yesterday's interview, I will now take you into the amusement park."

For the players, Li Baizhi was not a new face. This was the first time Xuyunshu had seen an NPC related to the main storyline since entering the game! And she had been directly assigned to the amusement park!

This result exceeded her imagination, and she glanced excitedly at Fangzhou. It was only now that she truly felt like she was playing a game.

After introducing herself, Li Baizhi handed each of them a black eye mask and gestured for them to put it on.

Xuyunshu didn't hesitate to put it on, and after a moment of hesitation, Buci followed suit.

Xixiang's designated location outside the amusement park was fixed, and as a precaution, they still had to ensure that they didn't remember the specific location.

Following the principle of acting until the end, Fangzhou also put on the eye mask.

Li Baizhi hesitated on the side: ...As long as Fangzhou is happy.

The few of them got on the car, and during this time, everyone maintained silence as if by tacit agreement. After a bumpy ride of who knows how long, the vehicle stopped. Li Baizhi directed them to get off the car and opened the passage to the transfer station, leading them into the pitch-black tunnel.

After entering the transfer station, Xixiang, who had received the message about the passage opening, came to the station to pick them up. When he saw them, he glanced at Li Baizhi inquiringly.

"They are new members," Li Baizhi explained. "The two of them are going to headquarters, and he's going to the branch."

Directly taking new recruits to headquarters, especially after the turmoil they experienced yesterday, Xixiang would naturally be cautious and suspicious. Li Baizhi made some lip movements, [It's Fangzhou's arrangement.]

Seeing her say that, Xixiang dispelled his doubts.

Next, Fangzhou and Xuyunshu entered the passage to headquarters, while Buci entered the passage to the branch.

Upon reaching the headquarters location, Li Baizhi's voice rang out again, "You can take off the eye masks now."

Xuyunshu obediently removed the eye mask that had been covering her vision.

Xixiang had opened the location on the underground level.

The headquarters had just been relocated, and most of the facilities had already been set up, but they were still under construction. Some of the defense systems were certainly not as advanced as the ones in the original headquarters in Qianjiang City.

Xuyunshu didn't dare to look around too much; she could only silently scream in her mind.

What's going on? Has she been directly assigned to the headquarters?!

"Take them first for identity registration and physical examination," Xixiang instructed the people nearby.

It's inevitable for newly joined members to undergo detailed physical examinations, including iris, fingerprint, and DNA registration.

Seeing that Fangzhou didn't move, Xixiang, who hadn't seen her new disguise, looked at her sharply. Just as she was about to ask why Fangzhou was standing there, Fangzhou spoke up, "It's me."

This familiar "It's me" made Xixiang momentarily halt her actions, and her expression became somewhat helpless. "Boss, what are you up to again?"

Facing the boss's death, Xixiang had accepted a new leader, and her way of addressing Fangzhou had changed.

Fangzhou shrugged. "I'm not playing around; I'm working."

She looked in the direction where Xuyunshu had left and said to Xixiang, "After she's done with the examination, give her an assessment task as a test. Then, she'll be assigned under your command."

"Who is she, and can she be trusted?"

"She can be trusted, I'll keep an eye on her."

"Alright, I understand."

After temporarily handing Xuyunshu over to Xixiang, Fangzhou went to find the Doctor. Following her instructions from yesterday, the Doctor had drawn an extremely clear layout of floors 156-166 from her memory, including the layouts of those levels known to Liwa.

She had spent quite some time in the Tower, and she remembered the layout of these ten floors very well.

"You... did it very clearly." Even Fangzhou hadn't expected it to be this precise.

"Us researchers may not be good at many things, but our memory is unquestionable," the Doctor said lazily. "I need to emphasize again, this is the layout from several years ago, and there may have been new changes internally. If you plan to infiltrate these floors, it's best not to rely too much on the layout I've drawn. Use it as a reference."

"I understand, thank you, Doctor," Fangzhou smiled.

"I'm not just helping you; I'm helping myself too."

Just as the Doctor finished speaking, Fangzhou's communicator in her pocket vibrated, indicating a new communication request. She glanced at the number; it was Wuyuan Bai.

Fangzhou put away the Doctor's layout map and playfully shook her communicator at the Doctor. "I have to take a call."

"Please, go ahead."

Fangzhou entered the nearby room and answered the video call from Wuyuan Bai.

"You're quite bold, contacting me directly within the Defense Union," Fangzhou quipped as she saw the backdrop of the Union Defense Bureau Director's office on the screen.

"I know you'd wipe our records clean," Wuyuan Bai poured himself a cup of tea and adjusted the plaque on his desk. The sign on the desk had the word "acting" removed.

"Congratulations," Fangzhou praised with a smile. "But I assume you didn't contact me just to show that. Is there something happening with 'the Tower'?"

Wuyuan Bai replied, "I've received information that 'the Tower' will start a full day of defense system upgrades at midnight the day after tomorrow."

As Fangzhou suspected, after the Central blockade operation failed, 'the Tower' immediately began a comprehensive upgrade of its defense systems, along with personnel rearrangements. However, they acted even faster than she expected, initiating the arrangements almost immediately after resolving the incident.

Fangzhou asked, "What about the specific new functionalities after the upgrade?"

Wuyuan Bai replied, "I don't know that. Until the upgrade is complete, the Defense Union will be on guard outside the Tower all day."

Wuyuan Bai was the most suitable partner Fangzhou had ever met. Her abilities allowed her to convey the right information to Fangzhou. The last time she mentioned Agatha, it led Fangzhou to make an early decision to relocate. This time was no different.

It was likely to involve internal ability restrictions. Fangzhou understood that if she wanted to enter the Tower and eliminate the ruling officials, she had to act before the comprehensive defense system upgrade was completed.

Fangzhou was already moving quickly, but there were always enemies chasing her, telling her, "No, you're not fast enough; you need to be even faster."

This time she turned around, ready to counter the hunters who had been chasing her, wishing they could run a bit faster.