Chapter 28

Chapter 28

In the gamers' forum

"Silence, Even the Main Character Not Appearing, Three Men Battle Over Me in a Shura Field"

"Brothers, gather around for the spectacle!"

"Can someone call Oger over? I want to see bloodshed!"

"Sorry, I've betrayed the Olan pairing. I'm now for Team All-Lann."

If there's anything that can ignite an extraordinary passion among players, besides main quests, it's gossip. Especially when it involves Lann, the most popular figure on the forums. Players instantly started calling their friends to log on and join the fray, eager to get a taste of this fresh drama firsthand!

2l: What's going on? I was just completing a mission, and now the forum is filled with discussions about my wife and other men's 'ship' qwq

3l: The guy above, your wife is quite popular hhhhh

4l: "Lann's popularity is inevitable, just look at that face! It's clear my romantic rivals would travel halfway around the globe for him (fiercely)."

5l: "And if you count the real world, it's more than half the globe hhhh. Lann's pictures are already famous. Many players come here just to take photos with Lann. Why do you think that is? Besides Lann's own fans, just using a photo of Lann as a cover image on social media platforms can skyrocket its popularity."

6l: "Haha, indeed. I was drawn here by Lann's photos. Couldn't resist that handsome face. But when I got to the players' forum, I saw the reservation list already exceeded 50,000, while the first phase of beta testing only allowed 500 (collapses). Waaaah, when will it be my turn."

7l: "Hiss—what the heck, I haven't checked the reservation numbers in so long, and it's at 50,000 now? This game wasn't heavily promoted, was it? Just the first round of beta testing, is my little indie game really going to blow up? (dazed)"

8l: "Wake up, it's all because of the rush for Lann."

9l: "No, look at the daily traffic on the player's forum. The probability of those attracted staying is actually quite high."

10l: "Exactly! I was initially drawn here by Lann's beautiful pictures and then ended up staying. This forum is just so much fun, with different mission exploration posts every day. Once you start following, you just can't stop."

11l: "Wait a minute, you guys! Aren't we off-topic? (laugh cry) Weren't we discussing who those wild men coming for Lann were?"

12l: "Right, I don't care how new players came in. I'm just here for the gossip. I'm so anxious, so anxious, I'm the anxious king, desperate to hear the gossip!"

Matcha Milk Green: "Here I come, let me, a die-hard fan always lurking outside Lann's psychology clinic, analyze this."

13l: "Lol, Black Cat·Gossip Edition."

Matcha Milk Green: "First, among these three men, we can see that mafia boss Clarence was the first to seek out Lann. We're quite familiar with Clarence, he's the known first disciple of Lann."

"According to previous plot developments, Clarence's gang, Black Jack, is suspected to have undergone internal strife and betrayal. Recently, it was restructured into a new gang entity, with Clarence leveraging this event to become the powerful leader of Black Jack."

"From that day on, Clarence began to visit Lann frequently. Tsk tsk, I could almost hallucinate some drama about selling one’s soul for power."

"Like knowing the truth but allowing it, just to be seen as Lann's only devotee."

"Or like a Godfather character, deeply attached to adopting Black Jack, offering up his soul to save the gang from betraying their deity."

14l: "Sister, you're really into this!"

Matcha Milk Green: "I haven’t seen the other two men before, but the blond one seems like a cop. Damn, a cop coming to see Lann, and from his posture and the snippets of conversation I overheard, he seems unaware of Lann’s true identity and is even protecting him!"

"What kind of silly puppy is this! I could handle three of these puppies in one sitting (laughs)."

15l: "Blond and beautiful but a dummy! He has a strong protective instinct towards Lann, yet unaware that he’s guarding an evil deity – I’m in!"

16l: "Waaaah, I got it all wrong. I thought Lann was the victim qwq. What happens when his identity is exposed? Ah, I can’t bear the thought of the blond cop being hostile towards Lann!"

17l: "A simple blond dummy is okay, but it’d be even better if he has a hidden identity. I love bad boy archetypes – give me a wolf in sheep's clothing!"

18l: "Doesn’t anyone care about that black-haired man in the white coat hhhh? I think he’s quite handsome too, with that elite look, like a strict boss who initially spews venom in the workplace but gradually falls for the protagonist yet refuses to admit it."

19l: "Ugh, I can’t. It’s too real for me. If I encounter such a type in the game, I’d have to take out my work frustrations on him big time!"

20l: "But I’m into this type! @Matcha Milk Green, do you have more juicy analysis qwq?"

Matcha Milk Green: "Hold on, sisters, it looks like there's new development unfolding (grabs popcorn)."

……

Archie's silence only heightened Albert's anxiety, his expression screaming 'how could you betray me?', making Archie feel even worse.

Archie took several deep breaths, almost choking on them. He knew this was due to the immense pressure he'd been accumulating. Edmund's presence had brought an unprecedented crisis. The Inspection Bureau was untrustworthy, cultists were lurking within the police, and no one around him seemed trustworthy. And now, his friend was heading straight into danger.

Gritting his teeth, Archie inhaled deeply, trying to calm himself. At this point, he would do anything to disillusion Albert about Lann, coldly stating, "Yes, you're right. We've been in touch before. I've been meaning to talk to you about this."

Albert's mouth slowly fell open, his expression one of utter disbelief, as if he was seeing his friend for the first time.

Clarence found this turn of events rather amusing, chuckling as he added his two cents: "This is really interesting. I never knew I had so many rivals."

The onlooking players gasped in shock, their faces alight with the thrill of juicy gossip.

Their internal communications were buzzing with constant updates.

"Come on, let them fight, let it start!"

"Bloodbath! I want to see a bloodbath!"

"Wait... who are these people, aside from Clarence? I don't recognize anyone."

"Lann has other men outside? Waaaah, my wife, my wife."

"I don’t get it, isn’t Clarence Lann's devotee?"

"Who says a devotee can't have love? (wink)"

"I adore that deity, but I'd rather pull him down from his pedestal and desecrate him!"

"Any sisters here writing fanfic? I'm totally shipping this pair."

At that moment, the door of the therapy room opened from inside, and Lann, followed by Oger, stepped out. Lann, in particular, had a dark expression, as if his face were the bottom of a pot, "What are you all doing?"

Inside, as soon as Lann heard the noise at the door, he sensed trouble. From his experience, a gathering of players outside usually meant no good. A quick glance at the forum confirmed his suspicions.

So, what exactly is going on here?

Seeing Lann emerge, Albert eagerly said, "Lann, I need to talk to you."

"Sorry, but I was here first," Clarence interjected coldly, softening his tone as he turned to Lann, "I have something to discuss with you, too."

...What is this bizarre showdown?

Lann looked at them all, his expression indescribable, then noticed Archie hesitating to speak.

"…Dr. Archie, do you have something to say as well?"

Archie's character prevented him from joining what seemed like a battle for attention, but he indeed had something critically important to discuss with Lann. Now that Lann had noticed him, he couldn’t risk involving Albert as well.

"Yes, it's about that prisoner you interrogated last time. There's been an issue with him in prison, and I need to discuss a strategy with you."

Lann's expression turned serious: "Since it's about a patient, it's urgent. I'm sorry, gentlemen, could you give me a moment?"

With Lann's statement, the others, of course, couldn't be impolite. They nodded, and Archie went into the clinic with Lann, while Oger considerately stayed outside.

The three men waited outside, prompting a wave of sighs from the players.

"The result is out, the result is out, the one in the white coat wins."

"Darn, backed the wrong horse, in the end, it's the double white coats that win orz."

"Waaaah, my devotee and deity~"

"My Beast and Rose qwq"

"My Jester and Tamer qwq"

"I'm so sad, I was rooting for the blond guy, but things changed so fast I didn't even have time to think of a ship name before it ended qwq"

Of course, Lann had no idea what the players were fantasizing about. If he knew, he'd probably be speechless. Fortunately, he was oblivious, and today's scene became a long-lasting material for the fanfiction community, birthing multiple pairings from this day forward.

After Archie and Lann entered the therapy room, Archie subconsciously observed the surroundings.

The decor was classic, simple yet warm, not overbearing for the patients, nor distracting them from their purpose.

Not bad for a psychologist, Archie thought.

Archie internally critiqued before catching himself and scoffing at his thoughts. What was he thinking? The person in front of him was no novice psychologist but a deity specialized in breaking down the human spirit.

Lann, having waited without a word from Archie, finally had to speak up: "How is the prisoner doing now?"

He was genuinely concerned. The method he used at that time was also an experiment, and if it caused any side effects… Well, he wouldn't be sued, would he?

"He's fine," Archie replied instinctively.

Lann: "??? Then why did you want to see me?"

Archie took a deep breath, seemingly struggling internally, and after a long pause, under Lann's puzzled gaze, said, "I want you to leave Albert alone."

Lann: "?"

"In exchange, I won't try to expose your identity anymore and will work for you."

Lann: "???"

Who am I? Where am I? Why is he saying this?

Lann was filled with questions, feeling as if he had missed an entire season of an anime and now couldn't catch up with the plot.

Fortunately, he was accustomed to being misunderstood and quickly adjusted his attitude, calmly stating, "I'm glad you've made a wise decision, Dr. Archie. But I'm curious, why do you think you could be of use to me?"

So, how exactly did this situation develop to this point?

Seated behind his desk, the deity with a faint smirk, almost laughing, posed this question. Archie took a deep breath and replied with composure:

"If I were of no use to you, you would have dealt with me when you visited the police station and realized I had discovered your identity."

Lann: "…? What, did I expose something?"

A bitter smile flickered on Archie's face, quickly replaced by his usual expressionless and icy demeanor. Even if forced into serving an unspeakable entity, he had to maintain his value:

"You deliberately spared me, and I can think of no other reason than my remaining usefulness to you. And this time, your warning through Edmund made it clear you wouldn’t tolerate repeated attempts to reveal your identity."

"I am willing to serve you, as long as it doesn’t violate my principles, but please spare Albert. He has no idea about your identity and is of no significant use to you."

Lann slowly came back to his senses, his gaze complex as he looked at Archie, who was bowing before him.

He roughly understood what had happened. Archie had apparently mistaken his identity and then misinterpreted the message he had Edmund relay as some kind of warning.

So Archie, frightened, came to confront him directly?

Observing Archie’s seemingly submissive posture yet proud stance, Lann felt a mischievous urge to tease, like playing with a cat.

He chuckled, "And how do you know Albert is of no use to me?"

The worst scenario unfolded.

Archie’s greatest fear was realized: Albert had been chosen as a key piece in Lann’s 'revival' plot.

Seeing Archie’s complexion grow pale, Lann couldn’t help but curl his lips into a smile. He suddenly understood why so many in the fanfiction community enjoyed playing with the trope 'Archie, you don’t want your friend to die, do you?' The usually proud and sharp-tongued iceberg turning submissive when his weakness was exploited was too adorable.

Of course, Lann knew not to tease too much, lest the cat really turn on him, and he reassured him:

"Unless you can prove you're more useful than him."

Damn, that sounded like something a major villain would say.

Archie closed his eyes, doubting he had anything to sway a deity. He wasn't willing to sacrifice his beliefs, so the only thing of possible value might be…

"My ability…" Archie's voice was hoarse, "Every 12 hours, through a question-and-answer game, I can obtain a piece of information I want to know."

Lann's brows twitched, barely concealing his inner turmoil.

What? Such a cheat-like ability exists?

After Edmund's explanations, Lann knew that everyone's abilities gained through the Dream Gap's first layer were different, but he hadn't expected Archie to have this.

Thinking about it, it made sense why Archie knew his identity... Wait a second.

Lann, with a wavering voice, asked, "Did your ability reveal my identity to you?"

Crap, he isn't really...

"No," Archie looked down, "My ability is limited and can't reveal your identity. It was just my speculation."

It was the first time his ability had ever reacted like that. Even in matters related to the bizarre, he had never encountered such a situation.

An unspeakable, mysterious power.

Lann breathed a sigh of relief, frightened for a moment that Archie was truly a dark deity. So it was just a misunderstanding, nothing serious then.

He quickly realized the value of Archie's ability.

This kind of information-gathering power... In a world where most NPCs are enigmatic, focused on information and intelligence battles, it's practically a cheat code!

Even if it could be used only every half day, it was an extremely valuable ability. No wonder Archie knew so many secrets in his past life.

Lann's mind raced, realizing Archie's ability might solve his previous dilemma about who set up the trap. But asking directly might not fit the image Archie had of him.

Lann had grown accustomed to others' misunderstandings. With his knack for going with the flow, if he couldn't resist, he might as well embrace it. Although these misunderstandings had caused him trouble, they also protected him. Like before, without their misconceptions, he might have been dealt with by Black Jack, unable to manipulate players, or even dead in some forgotten corner.

Realizing this, Laine no longer dwelled on the matter. Lowering his gaze and pondering for a moment, he said with a light laugh, "Let's see what you can do then."

"The day before yesterday, someone in Arkham City unleashed a powerful necromancy spell, desecrating death and commanding hordes of corpses," Laine said casually, "I need to know who that person is, which organization they're from. You can do that, right?"

The day before yesterday?

Archie's mind raced; wasn't this right when they were called back to duty?

He had heard talk around the station that, overnight, many leaders of various organizations in Arkham's underworld had died, causing a major reshuffling of power and significant unrest. This was the reason for their hurried recall.

Could this incident be related to Laine...?

Wait a minute, he remembered that the biggest winner of this event was Black Poker. Leaders of various underground organizations died after attending a banquet hosted by Black Poker. The survivors were tight-lipped and made no move to blame Black Poker; instead, they united to take over the territories of the now leaderless smaller groups.

Black Poker had become the de facto king of the underworld, with its leader replaced by the very Karrens standing outside.

What exactly happened that night? Why was the new boss of Black Poker right outside?

The more Archie thought about it, the deeper and more chilling the waters seemed, and he lowered his head, his wariness of Laine deepening.

"Understood. I'll relay the information to you after tonight."

Archie could only taste the growing bitterness in his mouth, regretting his rash decision to use his abilities to investigate Laine's identity.

Now that he was being watched and couldn't escape, he at least needed to warn Albert to stay away from this whirlpool.

……

Outside the therapy room, three distinctive men stood waiting, a rare sight that made passersby can't help but look. The men themselves, however, were far from enjoying the moment.

Oger didn’t seem to notice anything amiss, but there was obvious friction between Clarence and Albert, especially from Clarence. He harbored a deep animosity towards Albert, which baffled Albert entirely.

What had he done to offend this gang member? Surely it wasn’t just a matter of conflicting identities and positions, was it?

Just as Clarence was about to leave in impatience, the door of the therapy room finally opened. Archie came out expressionless, giving nothing away about his conversation with Lann.

Albert was the first to ask eagerly, "Archie... um, what were you talking about with Lann?"

"Nothing much, we were just discussing the mental state of that prisoner," Archie said. "We should head back to the station now. The chief must be still troubled with recent work issues, and they are short-staffed."

Saying so, he began pulling Albert towards their car. Albert, struggling, looked back at Lann: "Wait, I haven’t finished talking."

Breaking free from Archie’s grasp, he quickly approached Lann and whispered, "Lann, you better stay away from Clarence. He’s the talk of Arkham’s underworld lately. If he threatens you, call me anytime."

After saying this, Albert didn’t forget to confront Clarence: "I suggest you leave. You were at that banquet the other night, weren't you? Mind coming to the police station for a statement?"

Clarence looked at Albert and said, "Sometimes I really can't tell if you're actually naive or just pretending to be."

Before Albert could retort, Clarence turned and left, avoiding further entanglement.

The front of Lann’s therapy room returned to its usual calmness, well, at least for the time being.

Noticing the eager glances from female players around, Lann swore he would steer clear of the fanfiction section of the forums for a while. No particular reason, just not wanting to get an eye twitch.

Just as he was pulling Oger back into the therapy clinic, Lann noticed several new messages on his phone, all from Albert.

[There were so many people today, I couldn’t really talk to you qwq]

[Clarence is really dangerous, I'm not lying. He's the man of the moment in the underworld. The cause of the Black Jack leader’s death is still unclear, and Clarence is the prime beneficiary and suspect. Regardless of his motives, his mere presence here could bring trouble to others, potentially harming you. I'm just worried about you.]

Lann looked down at the messages on his phone, almost visualizing Albert's eager expression as he read the words.

That pitiable, concerned vibe struck a chord with Lann, prompting him to reply:

[I understand, thank you.]

But these worries are unnecessary.

Clarence had already told him he had taken care of all the underworld leaders present that day, ensuring none would reveal anything about Lann.

Though Lann hadn't agreed to join Black Jack, he had to admit, Clarence was capable. In such a short time, he had stabilized the turbulent gangs, becoming the new 'Godfather' of Arkham's underworld.

Lann thought that would be the end of their conversation, but then the 'typing' indicator flickered on and off on his screen, betraying the sender's struggle.

Finally, the cautious message came through:

[Can I invite you out tomorrow?]

Lann’s gaze slowly scanned the words. His finger hovered over the 'no' button, about to send it, when a new message promptly appeared.

[I mean, you left an important document with me. It's about a 'work subsidy' application that could potentially waive part of your student loans. Do you want to come and get it?]

Lann instantly deleted the 'no' he had typed and quickly replied with a 'yes!'

Who knew, with the exorbitant tuition fees of universities abroad, the game had perfectly replicated this aspect, and every time Lann thought of the hefty student loans from his original life, he felt suffocated.

[Great (smiley face) So, shall I pick you up at your therapy clinic tomorrow?]

Lann was about to agree when he suddenly remembered there must be players camping around his clinic. He couldn't risk spreading strange rumors. [I'll send you my home address. Just meet me there.]

[Okay! ^-^]

Of course, after Lann put down his phone and lay in bed, he found the invitation oddly familiar.

It seemed that when Albert had asked for his help at the police station last time, he also exploited Lann’s financial situation.

He thought of Albert's puppy dog eyes. Hmm, it must be an illusion.

What bad intentions could a puppy have?