Chapter 14

Chapter 14

"What did you say? He's dead?" Carden stood up abruptly, his face grim, "Didn't I say not to use excessive methods?"

The person on the other end of the phone sounded aggrieved: "We didn't use excessive force. We just beat him for a few minutes, didn't even break his limbs. He killed himself! And the weirdest part is his body turned into ashes!"

Carden paced anxiously, his expression constantly changing.

Indeed, the order to kidnap the players was given by him. He had been very cautious, not only covering the players' eyes but also instructing his subordinates to never reveal Black Poker's identity. This was all to confirm a suspicion in his mind.

And now, it seemed everything was heading towards the worst possible outcome.

Carden had ordered his men to kidnap five players from different locations and interrogate them separately.

He had thought at least one of them might reveal something about Lain's true identity or their own origins, but things had gone contrary to his wishes.

This kind of loyalty... this fervor... and their bizarre behavior after death, all made Carden's uneasy premonitions seem more likely.

"Before he killed himself, did he do or say anything?"

"Yes, there was," the voice on the phone hesitated, "He seemed to say that Lain is a god...?"

Carden's heart sank completely.

……

The tattooed man was still interrogating Matcha Milk Green. Unable to extract useful information from her, he was growing increasingly irritable, pondering whether a little coercion wouldn’t be blamed by the boss.

Conveniently, the character card Matcha Milk Green used was a quite attractive girl. The tattooed man’s gaze swept lewdly from the blindfold covering her eyes down to her figure.

"So you're still not willing to talk, huh? Looks like I need to take some other measures."

As he spoke, the tattooed man approached Matcha Milk Green, who was completely oblivious due to her blindfold.

She was browsing through the forum's absurd developments and posts with great interest when she suddenly heard the sound of a door opening.

The tattooed man turned his head towards the door, his face showing surprise and delight: "Card..." as if about to say Carden, their boss.

He couldn't finish the name because Carden, seeing his lips move, flashed a ruthless look in his eyes, quickly stepped forward, covered the man’s mouth before he could speak, and then slammed his head against the wall.

The man groaned in pain, but Carden was unmoved. He glanced at the others in the room, clearly too afraid to move, and gestured to them.

The room was immediately filled with the men's screams of agony, confusing Matcha Milk Green, who was still blindfolded.

What's happening? What's going on?

It was a while before Matcha Milk Green’s blindfold was removed, allowing her to see what had transpired.

She saw several burly men lying on the ground, one with a tattoo even had his head cracked open, his condition unclear.

Carden had been thorough and ruthless to avoid suspicion, with many men bloodied and the scene resembling a massacre. However, Matcha Milk Green, having the visual protection on, saw everything pixelated and remained calm, curiously observing Carden.

Wow, not bad looking at all. This app's rating must be at least eighty.

Carden waited for the victim to speak, but after a long silence, with the girl just gazing at him with sparkling eyes and not uttering a word, he had to break the silence:

"Come with me. They might have others. Don't worry, I'm here to rescue you."

"Yeah, yeah, thank you!"

After being untied, Matcha Milk Green stretched her limbs and cheerfully followed Carden out of the room, completely unaware of the apprehension in Carden’s mind as he led the way.

Still that attitude of indifference to life and death…

Carden observed Matcha Milk Green's reaction coldly. Just like the reports from others, they seemed utterly unfazed, which was odd for one or two people, but a group...

He had only seen such a reaction in brainwashed zealots.

Matcha Milk Green, oblivious to Carden's thoughts, happily followed him while live posting about her current situation on the forum after being rescued.

So, this must be the start of the storyline!

Realizing she was free to move, Matcha Milk Green marveled at the game's realism, where players could directly participate in the storyline. Without hesitation, she asked, "Who are you exactly? Why did you rescue me?"

Finally.

Carden, walking ahead, felt a slight relief. He had thought this woman was so indifferent to life and death that she didn't care who had saved her, which would make his act pointless.

With this thought, Carden pretended to be vigilant about their surroundings while casually smiling and saying, "Don't worry, miss. We're not the bad guys."

Carden's initial plan was just to hide the gang's identity, kidnap a few people for interrogation, and figure out what was going on with that psychotherapy clinic and Lain. But who could have expected those people to be so fearless?

After a real death occurred, he quickly realized the situation was out of his control. If they were indeed residents of that other world with unimaginable powers, a fierce retaliation was inevitable.

Now, there was only one way to salvage the situation.

That was to shift the blame for the kidnappings onto another faction and portray himself as a savior.

Meanwhile, he also planned to use the rescue as an opportunity to confirm his suspicions. Although current evidence pointed to these people being likely cultists and Lain their deity, Carden was a man of extreme caution and suspicion. He trusted no one's judgment but his own.

He carefully chose his words, seeming to be on guard, but his peripheral vision stayed on Matcha Milk Green, not missing any slight expression on her face: "We are on your side. I, too, have been influenced by that person..."

"That person?" Matcha Milk Green tilted her head.

"Yes, the owner of that psychotherapy clinic, Lain..." Carden said, silently mouthing the name.

GOD

God.

Matcha Milk Green's eyes lit up, and she nodded eagerly: "Are you his followers?"

Carden: "..."

He managed a strained smile: "You could say that. I deeply wish to serve before Him. Unfortunately, He might not deem me worthy. But we strive to fulfill every wish of His..."

However, Matcha Milk Green didn't catch Carden's subtle cover-up, lost in her excitement.

She knew it! Black Cat's theory was right!

Here it was, a force belonging to Lain. They had indeed been caught up in a factional struggle!

Carden then probed Matcha Milk Green for more information about her and her companions. Knowing he was a follower of Lain, she shared everything she knew.

The more Carden talked with her, the more alarmed he became.

They all came from different places.

All to meet Lain. (Players cannot mention the words 'game', 'player', or 'NPC'.)

When she spoke of visiting another location but sadly not finding others who were kidnapped, possibly silenced, her face showed no reaction to death, not even dimming her smile.

Carden's wariness reached its peak.

It was as if the bubbly young girl walking beside him was some prehistoric behemoth.

In fact, that's exactly what he thought.

He would never forget what that religious fanatic had done. Treating these zealots, one couldn't use normal human logic; even a hint of disrespect towards their deity in conversation could be the trigger.

Thus, Carden's words became increasingly reverent, praising Lain like a true believer.

Eliciting curious glances from Matcha Milk Green.

Wow, this NPC is so fanatical, just like a true cultist.

They hadn't walked far, just beyond the perimeter of the abandoned warehouse where Matcha Milk Green was held captive, when a large group of armed people hurried towards them, asking Matcha Milk Green, "Where are the people who kidnapped you?"

"This gentleman here took care of them; everything's fine now!" Although Matcha Milk Green couldn't see her surroundings, she had already sent out her coordinates on the forum for help, and here the players were, rushing to her aid.

Calence greeted the group with a smile, though he was secretly alarmed.

"How did they find this place so quickly?" he wondered. The blonde woman had just been freed and under his watch. Calence was certain she hadn't sent any distress signals; he had checked her earlier for any tracking devices.

Disappointed at the lack of foes to fight, the players' leader curiously turned to Calence, "And who might you be?"

"Oh, he's the one who saved me, his name is Calence," Matcha Milk Green hinted with a blink, "He's on Lann's side."

[Player Channel:

Matcha Milk Green: He might be the one mentioned on the forum, belonging to Lann's forces!]

The leader of the players looked at Calence with renewed interest.

[Player Channel:

Player A: A new NPC?

Player B: Very likely. Should we ask if he'll give us a quest? (eager)

Player C: If factions are making an appearance, does that confirm Lann as a deity of evil? But usually, wouldn't investigator organizations be the first to appear? (scratching head)

Player D: Could it be that we players can choose to join the deity's side?

Player C: Awesome! I'll defect on the spot! I want to be her loyal follower!]

What are they… communicating about?

The smile on Karen's face became rigid. The blonde woman he had saved and this group of strangers who appeared out of nowhere suddenly stopped talking. They exchanged silent looks, seemingly sharing information known only among themselves.

Was it telepathic communication? Or some special method of communication known only in cults? Had they discovered his scheme? Were they discussing how to deal with him?

Anxiety gnawed at his heart like ants. Karen felt like a criminal on trial, waiting for his sentence. He hesitated, torn between fleeing immediately or fighting to the death.

Finally, Matcha Milk Green and the others ceased their silent communication and turned their gaze uniformly towards Karen.

"Mr. Karen, we plan to go back and look for clues, as one of our companions has been attacked," the lead player asked amiably. "Would you like to join us?"

Karen replied without changing his expression, "No, I have other matters to attend to... Aren't you afraid they might strike back if you just return like this?"

"Oh, wouldn't that be better?" the lead player said as if it were obvious, and the other players nodded in agreement, smiling.

After all, they came to these coordinates to fight monsters. This game was unlike most online games with designated monster spawn points; finding battles was not easy.

"...I see, then I wish you luck in achieving your goal," Karen said, not sure what else to say, just relieved that his recent clean-up work had been adequate.

Glad he hadn't run into these lunatics directly.

Let them investigate if they want, he thought. He had already prepared a scapegoat. Once this was over, Karen decided to immediately have the Black Poker gang withdraw from this district. He would also convince the boss to give up the protection fee for this area. If they couldn't confront it, couldn't they just avoid it?

As the two groups passed each other, Karen finally breathed a little easier.

Suddenly, the players stopped in their tracks, and Matcha Milk Green opened a newly posted quest.

[Daily Quest: Lain's Commission.]

"Please wait a moment, Mr. Karen," said Matcha Milk Green, turning around.

"Lord Lain wishes to see you."