Chapter 160 Offline Brawl

Chapter 160: Online Squabble, Offline Brawl

After seeing off the two succubus sisters, Hua Diao closed the door again and swiftly logged into the game, entering the encrypted forum shared by her, Xie Tingsheng, Zhu Bin, and He Yongxin.

[Hua Diao: I just went out and gathered some new intel. Not sure if it's mission-related.]

She then typed out a lengthy account of the gossip she’d heard from the two succubus sisters about the real and fake princesses, even mentioning the Great Race War that occurs every three thousand years, before finally articulating her own thoughts.

[Hua Diao: Regarding Mission Two—obtaining the Succubus Love Thread from their leader—I have a small idea. The Succubus leader might very well be the "His Majesty" mentioned by the two sisters, i.e., the Succubus Emperor. We can start with him. With so many princes and at least one princess under him, he must be a charismatic and romantic succubus. He’s probably given Succubus Love Threads to many beloved partners before. That means we could directly look for those already gifted but unused Succubus Love Threads.]

[He Yongxin: Oh, that’s another angle! I was just wondering if I should make a big sacrifice and try to seduce this Succubus leader. I heard succubi aren't picky—they don't care about gender—so if I’m bold and enthusiastic enough, I might succeed.]

[Zhu Bin: LOL, didn't expect you to be so self-sacrificing. But little brother, no offense, if you can't even win over Song Yan, what makes you think you can catch the eye of the Succubus leader, who’s probably been around the block more times than he can count? That’s some serious lack of self-awareness.]

[He Yongxin: ...]

[Hua Diao: Hahaha, Zhu Bin, don't be so hard on Xiao Xin. Let him try—more methods mean more paths, right?]

[Hua Diao: Huh? Where'd everyone go? Why are you two silent?]

[Xie Tingsheng: Brawling offline. No time.]

[Hua Diao: Hehehe, so who won?]

[Xie Tingsheng: A draw.]

The two then ignored the stalemated pair and returned to the main topic.

[Xie Tingsheng: Your idea has some feasibility. But as you just mentioned, the Succubus Emperor is about to be re-elected. If the Succubus Emperor is indeed the Succubus leader, then to complete the mission, we must obtain the old emperor's Succubus Love Thread before the new one is chosen.]

[Hua Diao: Ah, that makes sense. When the two sisters bring dinner tonight, I’ll try to find out when the election starts and confirm whether the Succubus Emperor is the Succubus leader.]

[Xie Tingsheng: Understood. Your safety comes first. If they seem suspicious, be obedient and don't pry further. Wait for me to get out.]

[Hua Diao: Got it. Speaking of you being locked up, I already told you the reason earlier. Getting out might not be easy. The Succubus Race must have some tool to detect outsiders—it’s scarily precise. But they only identified me as a mermaid, not my true species (merrow), so the tool's detection must be superficial. You can use this to your advantage—perhaps bring something that hides your race to sneak past.]

[Hua Diao: But that means you can't eat the succubus wisdom fruit. If you can't disguise yourselves as succubi, eating it would be pointless and might even make them suspect you're spies with ulterior motives.]

[Xie Tingsheng: Right. What we need now is the wisdom fruit for the Fantasy Continent's common language.]

[Hua Diao: Ugh, bummer. I can get the succubus wisdom fruit, but I have no clue about the common language one yet. Oh, the succubus princess sent ten fruits at noon, one of which was the succubus wisdom fruit. Maybe one of the other nine is the common language one?]

[He Yongxin: What?! Sis already got the succubus wisdom fruit????]

[Zhu Bin: Shocked. Sis's good luck truly follows her everywhere.]

[Hua Diao: Hmph, I got it through my own wit and thick skin, not luck! And I don't have it yet—it'll come with dinner tonight. The chance of getting it is pretty much guaranteed.]

[Xie Tingsheng: The succubus wisdom fruit is useless for us. Try contacting others who haven't been caught. If they have tools to disguise their identities, the succubus wisdom fruit would be most useful to them.]

[Hua Diao: Aha, you're right. Lin Xiaobao hasn't been caught yet, right? I'll ask him later and tell him to lay low and avoid capture at all costs.]

Xie Tingsheng lowered his eyelids, his gaze darkening. *Lin Xiaobao?* Her tone was far too familiar!

Zhu Bin silently glanced at his Brother Sheng, then quickly typed.

[Zhu Bin: Sis, I've been meaning to ask—when did you meet Lin Dabao and Lin Xiaobao? You seem pretty close. Heh, mind introducing me? It'd be nice to have a connection if I ever need help from the Special Operations Bureau.]

Unaware of the underlying tension, Hua Diao cheerfully replied, [Oh, them? We haven't known each other long—just since the first two days after the apocalypse started. I met them while fighting monsters in the old district. They're quadruplets—three dummies and one brainiac. A riot. If you want connections, go for the smart one. He's reliable.]

Zhu Bin peeked at Brother Sheng again, only to meet a sharp glare. He obediently averted his gaze and changed the subject to their own findings.

[Zhu Bin: Compared to your intel, ours isn't much. There's a native of the Fantasy Continent locked in our cell. Under Liu Hu's *encouragement*, he shared some info. He's from the Glacier Fox tribe and was caught because their tribe is a rival of the Succubus Race. He was a spy, but the succubi were so alert he got caught the moment he entered the city. He's been locked up for over ten days but wasn't killed because—get this—his handsome face under that beard appealed to the looks-obsessed succubi.]

[Hua Diao: So… looks can save lives? The reason I'm treated well is just because I'm pretty???]

[Zhu Bin: Nah, I still think it's luck. Brother Sheng is also stupidly handsome, and He Yongxin and I aren't bad either. So why are we locked up?]

[He Yongxin: No, I think it's gender. Female captives get much better treatment—apparently, they're held in five-star cells.]

Xie Tingsheng rolled his eyes at the two knuckleheads. The answer was right in front of them, yet they still couldn't see it.

[Xie Tingsheng: It's the race. The mermaid race clearly holds higher status and power than the Succubus Race in the Fantasy Continent. If the once-every-three-thousand-years Race War involves both competition and alliances between races, the mermaids might be a race the succubi want to ally with and suck up to.]

The situation suddenly became clear. If this was true, Hua Diao was even safer.