Chapter 66 Undercover

Chapter 66 Undercover

The death of Hammerhead Shark caused a brief panic within The Black Robe Society, but it didn't cause any major ripples.

Later, the Guards commander from the Duke's mansion published an announcement in the newspaper, stating that Hammerhead Shark had killed and forced dozens of men, women, and children during his lifetime. The evidence was irrefutable, and his death was justified. Bai Yu put down the newspaper, didn't even think about sending flowers to his grave.

The lady didn't send flowers either, fearing that her identity as a member of The Black Robe Society would be exposed. She remained inside for three full days. Hammerhead Shark had no family, and his body was abandoned in the wild, unclaimed. Eventually, the Duke's Guards had to retrieve and inter him.

The day after the burial, Bai Yu used the cover of night to visit Hammerhead Shark's home.

Hammerhead Shark had once tried to capture Bai Yu's cat, and the next day, Tuanzi disappeared. Perhaps there would be clues in his home.

Bai Yu made his way through the streets and alleys. Hammerhead Shark's home was at the end of West Street, with a section of crumbling low wall outside. Bai Yu held a flashlight in his mouth, propped himself up on the red bricks with one hand, and effortlessly flipped over the wall, landing lightly.

Although the doctor was an intellectual, he was surprisingly agile.

He used his elbow to shatter the front hall window and climbed in through the window.

The house was empty, with broken beer bottles littered across the floor. The air was filled with the stench of decaying alcohol, mixed with the smell of fermented food, creating a nauseating stench.

Bai Yu began to search.

66 followed along, scanning the surroundings. As a system, 66's scouting skills were clearly superior to Bai Yu's. He scanned the small living room: "Su Zhu, there's a bag at the base of the right wall, containing something alive."

Following his instructions, Bai Yu spotted a tied-up burlap bag, from which faint meows could be heard. He quickly approached and opened the bag.

...It was a cat, but not his cat.

Hammerhead Shark, following orders from The Black Robe Society, had been rounding up stray cats from all over. The two kittens bound here were ones he had gathered but hadn't yet handed over. One was a tabby, and the other was a tortoiseshell, both listlessly lying in the bag, near death.

They were adorable, but neither was his cat.

Although Bai Yu was a pet doctor, he was too busy to have ever owned a cat. He had occasionally thought about it but always worried about not being able to provide proper care, so he never did.

Tuanzi was the first cat he had ever cared for, found in the mud by the riverbank. He had stitched up its wounds and tended to it with great care.

But now it was gone.

Bai Yu scoured all of West Street, from the bustling markets to the secluded corners of the alleys, but he still hadn't found any trace of Tuanzi. Now, even Hammerhead Shark's home yielded no results. Bai Yu had to admit that his big-tailed, platinum-colored Tuanzi was truly missing.

The doctor lowered his eyes, his expression cold and ambiguous behind his narrow-framed glasses.

66 floated beside him, poking him with the corner of his small screen: "Su, Su Zhu?"

Bai Yu: "...It's nothing."

He packed up the bag, intending to take the two cats back to the clinic. Otherwise, given their weak state, they would likely die of dehydration if left here.

The doctor returned to the clinic with the two cats, released them, poured out the leftover goat milk that Tuanzi hadn't finished, and prepared the leftover fish paste that Tuanzi hadn't eaten, watching the two starving cats jostle to eat.

Bai Yu sat down on the recliner, staring blankly.

Each cat had a different personality. Watching the two in front of him, Bai Yu couldn't help but think of when Tuanzi first arrived.

The platinum-colored kitten, though also starving, was much more cautious. It would take a lick of goat milk and then glance at the doctor's expression, ready to retreat and jump away at any moment. It wasn't until much later that it let down its guard and showed its soft belly.

Bai Yu sighed softly.

The doctor's face was cold, his voice was cold, and his soft sigh now seemed inexplicably lonely.

He didn't know how long he had been lying on the recliner when 66 suddenly chimed, the system exclaimed, and poked Bai Yu again: "Host, our second plot node has arrived."

After so long, they finally reached the second node.

Since this is a banned novel, there are no detailed descriptions, only general plot points. The first node was the doctor picking up a cat and then abusing it. 66 figured that Bai Yu, with his surgeries and injections, and his cold demeanor, perfectly captured the dark doctor's vibe. Besides, it's unrealistic for a pet doctor to abuse cats, so 66 coasted through the whole time, just waiting for the plot to unlock, and now, they've completed the first one.

The doctor's icy expression finally shifted. He half-sat up from the recliner, massaging his stiff knee joint: "What is it?"

66: "An undercover mission."

Bai Yu: "...?"

66: "In the original story, Grand Duke Imuir of Illyria made a dramatic return, and the entire Illyria underwent a major purge. The upper echelons were reshuffled, and noble blood soaked the execution grounds. The grand duke's former personal butler and valet were accused of treason and were to be executed by firing squad."

Bai Yu: "I read about this in the newspaper, but what does it have to do with me?"

66: "Here's the deal: the duke's butler died, and he needs to select a new butler and valet. The Black Robe Society wants to plant their own people around the grand duke, so they decided to choose a few from the organization who appear to have clean backgrounds to present to the grand duke for selection. And Grand Duke Imuir happens to be a hardcore aesthete, who loves gorgeous and beautiful things. Host, you know you're quite good-looking, right?"

The original host was young and handsome, with an exceptional demeanor, an intellectual who had been running a clinic on West Street for almost five years. On the surface, he had no vices, and his background was spotless. As for the illegal medical practice, The Black Robe Society could easily sweep it under the rug. There was no more suitable candidate than him.

Bai Yu: "."

"So The Black Robe Society picked me? I need to go be a butler or valet for the grand duke and go undercover? And I'm supposed to complete the undercover mission?"

"No! You don't need to complete any undercover mission; there isn't one." 66's eyes gleamed with an eerie light, it clenched its non-existent little fist, "Now I know why the mainframe gave me this task, because what happens next is just too easy!"

Bai Yu: "?"

He asked: "No undercover mission?"

66: "Because before you even receive the first task, you're already dead!"

Bai Yu: "...?"

What?

66: "The grand duke is unpredictable. At the scene of selecting the butler and valet, he will inexplicably explode in rage the moment he sees you. Then, he will come down from the main table, order you to kneel, step on your head, grind your face into the dirt, and then command the guards to detain you on the spot, imprison you, and finally execute you."

Bai Yu: "..."

He asked: "And then I'm dead?"

66: "And then you're dead."

Bai Yu: "No other plot?"

66: "No other plot."

Bai Yu: "It's that simple?"

66: "It's that simple."

Bai Yu: "."

66 comforted him: "Relax, Su Zhu, we're just an NPC role-playing system, after all. As NPCs, there are all kinds of bizarre ways to log off, and getting killed by a tyrannical Grand Duke makes perfect sense. My colleagues have played roles where they got hit by a car, choked on water, or even died from a fish bone... But that's beside the point. The main thing is, once the Grand Duke kills you, you can head home!"

Bai Yu: "."

He hesitated: "I just feel like this way of logging off seems familiar."

Stepping on the head, mashing the face into the dirt, then ordering the guards to detain and execute on the spot... Isn't this how the hammerhead shark died?

Did the original host just copy the hammerhead shark's death?

66: "It's fine, even though the death is a bit humiliating, from the moment he steps on you, I'll kindly block your senses for you, Su Zhu. You just need to float nearby like a spectator and watch. The execution is totally painless, as easy as falling asleep."

Bai Yu: "."

Thank you.

Bai Yu asked: "So why did Grand Duke Imuir kill the original host on sight? Was it because the Black Robe Society's identity was exposed?"

66: "No, actually, according to the node, the original host's identity was never revealed, so you must not reveal it either. The Grand Duke killed him for no reason; it seems he just didn't like his looks?"

Bai Yu: "..."

He lifted his face and glanced at the mirror. The person in the mirror was tall and slim, with a cool and handsome look—definitely not someone who would be disliked.

Besides, killing someone just because you don't like their looks? Grand Duke Imuir is way too tyrannical and unpredictable.

Bai Yu doesn't like people like that; they remind him of some unreasonable customers from his past life. But fortunately, the original host is about to go offline, and he just needs to play out one more scene, and the task is done.

Bai Yu: "So what should I do?"

System: "You don't need to do anything; just wait for the organization's notice."

Over the next week, the upper crust of Illyria was thrown into chaos.

The missing Grand Duke made a powerful return, and his uncle Tia, who had been acting in his place, had to give up power and lay low for a while.

After the Grand Duke returned, he started handling the fallout, and the terrifying purge had the nobles fearing for their lives. The blood on the ground of the city's west training field never dried, and the housekeeper of the royal mansion and two personal valets were executed one after another.

Then, the newspaper published a recruitment notice. The Grand Duke needed to select a few people from the public with clean family backgrounds, proper appearance, and profound knowledge to replace the executed housekeeper and valets.

Although they were just housekeepers and valets, entering the Grand Duke's mansion automatically granted them noble titles, and upon retirement, they would at least be barons. Moreover, the Grand Duke's mansion offered luxurious food and clothing, with generous remuneration, attracting people to flock to it.

Bai Yu was lying in a rocking chair reading the newspaper at that time. He casually flipped the page and laughed: "This Grand Duke Imuir is quite grand, making it seem like the emperor is selecting concubines."

Then, he also received arrangements from the Black Robe Society.

A letter sealed with wax was directly delivered to his home, requiring Bai Yu to go to the west city church. Bai Yu put on his hat and went in formal attire, once again being led to the center of the church with a gun to his head. This time, he was no longer just one of the many churchgoers but directly faced the upper echelons of the Black Robe Society.

He sat down on a soft chair with silk cloth, opposite a person wearing a heavy black robe, with his appearance completely hidden under the robe. The black-robed person's hand was on the table, wearing a lapis lazuli ring the size of a pigeon egg. His fingers were thin, the skin on the back of his hand wrinkled, and veins protruded, clearly an old man.

The old man's voice was dry and hoarse, like sand rubbing against the mouth. His hidden eyes examined Bai Yu and slowly spoke: "Raven, my good child."

Bai Yu got goosebumps all over his back, resisting the impulse to punch him, and politely said: "Hello, it's my honor to meet you."

The old man nodded and pushed a glass of water towards him.

66: "Same as what Hammerhead Shark and the others drank last time, poisoned, with a higher concentration."

Unlike last time, now the plot node is clear, Bai Yu is about to die, why should he be afraid of this?

The doctor picked up the glass, downed it in one gulp, and then, like a nobleman at a banquet demonstrating that his glass was empty, he turned the cup upside down and raised it to the old man, indicating that not a drop was left.

The old man nodded with satisfaction: "Crow, I have a very difficult task here that I want to entrust to you."

He roughly described the task, which was not much different from what the system had said. He was to take part in the duke's selection process for butler and valet positions. Since Bai Yu did not have a noble status, he could not compete for the butler position. The organization had arranged for him to be the duke's personal valet.

According to the old man's description, the Black Robe Society had taken care of everything. Bai Yu would smoothly pass the initial and secondary tests and come directly before the duke to participate in the final selection.

At the end of the meeting, the old man patted Bai Yu's shoulder with his withered hand: "My boy, the duke likes young and handsome men, and in all of Illyria, there is no young man more handsome than you. He will definitely like you very much."

"..."

No, the duke would call the Guards to drag him directly into the prison and then execute him by firing squad.

Bai Yu nodded with an awkward smile, feeling utterly speechless, while 66 had already started celebrating in advance.

The system cheered with joy: "Su Zhu, this is the final act—let's give it everything we've got!"

Author's note:

Original script: The duke, who had a cat-like demeanor, discovers that the handsome man coming to interview for the valet position is the black doctor who abused him, becomes furious on the spot, detains the man, and executes him by firing squad. Bai Yu logs off and goes home.

New script: ??? (unknown)