Chapter 86: Yan Jing's Employer

Outside the door, Chen Nian heard the voices inside with perfect clarity through the earpiece connected to his listening device.

He gently adjusted the equipment in front of him to ensure he recorded the conversation clearly.

The bug had been stuck to the sole of the waitress's shoe when she passed by earlier.

Every member of the Rotten Vegetable Village group was responsible for monitoring a potential bombing target. His assignment was the Human Resources Department supervisor who had initially received them.

After listening to their conversation, he vaguely sensed something was wrong and had already told the others to hurry over.

"That's wonderful..."

The waitress's voice faded out.

Suddenly, the toad's alarmed cry came through the bug:

"What are you doing?!"

A split second later, his voice filled with terror:

"Stop right there! Are you crazy?!"

This was bad.

Chen Nian instantly fell back. At the same time, glowing metallic rifts opened across his body, and azure gas sprayed from the cracks alongside weird energy.

His speed spiked!

The next second.

"Boom!!!"

The bug captured one last deafening roar before honorably completing its mission.

Unable to lower his earpiece volume in time, Chen Nian felt his head ringing. The massive noise caused several of his components to briefly lose control; his vision blurred instantly as static crackled in his ears.

Still, he forced himself to drag his body backward, following the path from memory.

A heatwave that seemed capable of devouring everything surged violently from the office door, rapidly spreading in both directions. The temperature skyrocketed as a blinding light erupted. Hard on its heels came thick black smoke, swallowing all visibility in an instant.

By now, Chen Nian had already retreated to the entrance of the corridor. Fortunately, he reacted fast enough to escape unharmed, though certain components had entered a protective state due to overheating and desperately needed to vent.

Seeing that the rest of the Rotten Vegetable Village group was about to arrive, he quickly pulled a roll of bandages from the inner lining of his pure white matte coat.

...

...

When Yan Jing and the others rushed over at the sound of the explosion, what they saw was a "mummy" completely wrapped in bandages.

Every inch of Chen Nian's exposed skin was bound in white bandages. Even his forehead was wrapped tightly.

"How did you end up like this?"

Yan Jing and the others stared with wide eyes.

If his injuries were severe, he certainly didn't appear to be bleeding. If they were light, this getup was simply too exaggerated.

"Just a minor scratch..."

Chen Nian did his utmost to maintain an aloof expression. His heavily bandaged hand fished an object resembling a voice recorder from his pocket as he spoke lightly:

"Mission accomplished."

"All the evidence is right here."

...

...

To avoid drawing suspicion, the group quickly scattered.

The next day.

Early in the morning.

Yan Jing sat up in his bed in the Surface World.

After everyone scattered last night, he hadn't logged out of the Inner World right away. Instead, he waited until the Tower discovered the explosion.

He wanted to see how the various factions would react to the blast.

It was exactly as he expected.

Because the target of this bombing was a high-level manager of the Sun-Swallowing Tower—and because their injuries were said to be far worse than Elder Kindness's, leaving them on the verge of death—the previously noncommittal higher-ups of the Sun-Swallowing Tower were finally furious.

Mr. Giant Mouth even spoke out personally, vowing to catch the bomber.

At this thought, Yan Jing's gaze deepened.

Ever since the bombings started, he had harbored a strange feeling, but he could never quite put his finger on what was wrong.

Last night's explosion finally made him realize what felt so wrong.

It was brazen.

Far too brazen.

For a bomber, sending out an Advance Notice from the very beginning was highly suspicious.

Unless they were the kind of lunatic who treated explosions as a fun pastime, who would issue an Advance Notice beforehand to tell everyone they were going to plant bombs in the building?

Then, they followed up with repeated provocations...

Unless... they wanted to use this to achieve some other goal...

Amid his thoughts, an Inner World system prompt appeared before Yan Jing's eyes.

[Mission Stage B is about to begin]

[The location for this mission is Old Sin City - Sun-Swallowing Tower]

[Welcome back, Lord player]

Yan Jing opened his eyes. His arrival location this time wasn't any floor he remembered.

Every inch of the floor beneath his feet was covered in red carpet, while hanging plants and art paintings alternated along the walls. Overhead, a massive crystal chandelier hung low, sparkling with dazzling light.

The broad corridors, the luxurious furnishings, and the highly artistic architectural design.

This had to be the VIP floor on the eighth level.

Yan Jing looked around. The number of players who had entered this time was noticeably lower than before.

Of the original seven teams, there was hardly anyone left in the team led by Scarface, nor in the fifth team he had eaten with back then.

Additionally, Mo Nagu's and Chen Dalang's teams had both suffered casualties.

What surprised him, however, was that the pre-formed fourth team was only missing a single person.

And the three-person squad composed of the Fat Man, the slender girl, and the gloomy man hadn't lost anyone at all.

"Due to some unforeseen circumstances, your jobs have now changed. You have been shifted from waiters to bodyguards."

Standing in front of the crowd was the same woman with a mouth on her chin:

"As for what those unforeseen circumstances are, your employers should inform you."

"And your mission is to keep your employers safe from harm."

"Everyone's employer has already been assigned in advance."

"Now, everyone come up and draw a number. Once you have your number, go to the corresponding room to meet your employer."

Yan Jing noticed that while the woman was speaking, Mu Rao was staring at him from a distance.

So, he turned to face Mu Rao and flashed a smile beneath his mask.

Were it not for the pressing circumstances, he actually wouldn't have minded having an in-depth conversation with this guy who had been eyeing him since the Dungeon began.

It was just a pity that there were more important matters to attend to right now.

The number tag he drew was 303.

The rooms on this floor were arranged in numerical order, so he quickly found the corresponding room.

He knocked on the door.

Almost instantly.

The door was pulled open from the inside.

A tall silhouette dressed in a uniform appeared behind the door.

Before Yan Jing could even make out the figure's face, an icy, emotionless voice rang out:

"Yesterday's request was made by my subordinate on his own initiative. I do not need a human to act as my bodyguard."

Yan Jing's expression remained unchanged. He had already guessed that this might be the case.

He was already prepared to use his Order Note right here.

But when the woman finally saw him, her reaction defied his expectations.

"It's you."

The woman lowered her head slightly.

Yan Jing's height was already outstanding, yet the woman before him was so tall it bordered on the absurd.

"Come in."

Ultimately, the woman didn't bring up not needing a bodyguard again.

Yan Jing followed the woman into the room.

Compared to a standard single room, this suite definitely looked much higher-end. Although it featured a minimalist black-and-white design, that only highlighted the sheer gap in class.

"Do you know what your mission is this time?"

The woman turned around as she spoke.

"I'm still not entirely clear."

Yan Jing shook his head.

"There has been a bombing in this building."

Her expression hadn't changed from beginning to end. The gaze she aimed at Yan Jing was as cold as if she were looking at a dead object. "And it wasn't just a single incident."

"They didn't originally intend to invite the Order Management Bureau. They only brought us in to solve the case."

With that, the woman sat down, picked up a book from the table, and stopped looking at Yan Jing:

"I presume your mission this time is to protect your employer's safety."

"The reason I'm telling you this is to let you know that I am here to solve the case. I will be facing the culprit head-on. If you stick with me, your rating for this mission won't be high."

Having said her piece, she began reading the book in her hands, waiting for Yan Jing to leave on his own.

But Yan Jing didn't leave; he simply smiled:

"It's true that I'm not particularly good at protecting others."

"But I am rather good at solving cases."

"I believe that if you're willing, as long as you can protect yourself, my rating for this mission won't be low."

At his words, the woman raised her head.