Volume 4, Chapter 29 – Player Disappearing Act

“Huh!”

Zhou Jieyu caught the handful of things Anran tossed over in one sweep.

Black, oval-shaped ones. Those were bombs.

Zhou Jieyu’s face fell.

Even before Anran said anything, she was already starting to understand.

Oh, and there was something different mixed in too.

Big and white, milky white, hemispherical…

“Ah! Wrong one, not this.”

Anran snatched that item back at once and stuffed it into her backpack.

“???”

What the hell had that thing just been?

Zhou Jieyu had not even gotten a proper look.

“It is not anything important. You can completely ignore it.” Anran gave a light cough.

“You’re thinking this is going to be just like the last assessment, right?”

Putting on a profound air, Anran said, “Actually, there is still something different this time!”

“Really?” Zhou Jieyu’s eyes widened.

She did not have to play bomber again this time?

“The bombs from last time were freebies from the assessment. They were not very good. The bombs I’m giving you this time were handmade by me personally. Their effect is outstanding!”

“…”

In the gentle drizzle, Zhou Jieyu stood there in utter disarray.

She might not like thinking too hard, and she had not had much contact with the outside world. She was a little sheltered, a little naive.

But her intelligence was still perfectly fine.

“You’re basically a devil, aren’t you!”

Zhou Jieyu said this of a devil brimming with temptation. Even though Anran messed with her every single time, the huge rewards made it impossible for Zhou Jieyu to stop.

【Huh? Where did reporter sis disappear to too?】

【Sis is dead. Burn paper offerings if you’ve got business with her!】

Claude Prell: 【Hahaha, she was definitely killed by that cold-blooded monster Anran too! You idiots, when facing an NPC this savage, we should put aside our differences and work together to eliminate her first!】

Monster Mountain Hermit: 【Heh heh heh, heh heh heh. You’re soaking in the fountain and you still dare act this cocky? I’ll be waiting when you come out.】

【If the game didn’t ban it, I’d shove a stick right up your ass!】

【Holy crap, that startled me!】

【Don’t get the wrong idea, I meant a wooden stick!】

【No, no, I just think using a wooden stick to stab his ass is brutal.】

【Is that so?】

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Zhou Jieyu tied the four High-Energy Explosives together and secured them under her clothes. After taking a deep breath, she opened the game forum with a bitter look on her face.

【Hello, everyone. Next, I’m going to perform a player disappearing act for you all.】

【Eh? Reporter sis is back.】

【Player disappearing act? What the heck is that?】

【Why does that sound weirdly defeatist?】

With dim eyes, Zhou Jieyu staggered toward the intersection.

“Do not rush! Those outlanders have not arrived yet.” Anran hurriedly grabbed hold of Zhou Jieyu.

“Oh.”

Zhou Jieyu steadied herself.

Her incredible ability to adjust meant she quickly regained her fighting spirit.

I’m a player who can revive infinitely. Anran is only an NPC. One day I’ll turn things around and make Anran grovel at my feet!

So Zhou Jieyu straightened her back again, her eyes filling with hope.

“…”

What a strange girl, Anran thought.

【As a player on the government forces side, I will fight the players on Morningstar’s side to the very end. Just watch me!】

Zhou Jieyu made her final declaration.

【Very good. We’ll be there in a moment. Just hope you don’t cry later, or people will say we bullied a woman!】

After leaving that message, one of the players in the second van tightened his grip on the gun in his hand.

In a bit, should he kill Leading the Escape outright, or just beat her into a heavily wounded state?

He began agonizing over it.

“Skreeech!”

The van came to a stop.

This time, sixteen people climbed out, including the driver.

Add in Claude Prell and the previous fourteen, and that made a clean total of thirty.

They poured out in a fierce wave, each with a gun in hand, looking imposing as they surged forward.

Then they started charging in groups from the intersection.

My moment to shine has come!

With firm resolve, Zhou Jieyu walked out.

“Leading the Escape?”

The players on Morningstar’s side had already seen that the ID above Zhou Jieyu’s head was not hidden.

Well, well. It really was a girl.

“Stop right there!” Zhou Jieyu shouted.

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“You’re the one who started that live thread?” one of the players asked.

Zhou Jieyu nodded. “That’s right. It was me!”

“So you’re determined to stand with Anran?”

“Absolutely!”

Zhou Jieyu started undoing the buttons on her clothes.

“…”

“Huh? What is she doing? Trying to seduce us into backing off?”

“You can do that too?”

“Uh…”

In fact, thanks to her fidgety hands, Zhou Jieyu had buttoned everything up earlier. Now, if she wanted to look cool, she had to undo them all over again.

“Wait a second!”

One, two… five!

The buttons were finally all undone.

Under the eager, widening eyes of the crowd, Zhou Jieyu suddenly pulled her clothes open.

Underneath, she still had a tightly worn undershirt on.

“Aww…” The players were instantly disappointed.

No enticing bra or boobs appeared.

What did appear were the four bombs hidden underneath her clothes.

“Holy crap, what is that?”

“Bombs, bo—”

“Anran will win!”

The moment Zhou Jieyu detonated the bombs, she rushed straight into the crowd.

“Boom!”

A whole bunch of people immediately followed Zhou Jieyu back to the fountain to wait for respawn.

Quite a few others still clung stubbornly to their last breath, refusing to die no matter what.

Then Anran walked over and gave each of them an extra shot. There were no healing items for them anyway, so they might as well hurry up and report to the fountain.

“Ahhh!” “Ah!” “No!”

“I’ll be back!”

“You’ve made me angry now! No one can save you anymore!”

After a round like that, Anran took down another eight unlucky bastards. She gained 8,400 EXP, and at the same time, the attributes of the title 【Sinner】 underwent another round of changes.

Title: 【Sinner】 Lv2

(The growth path of a BOSS…)

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Progress: 3/50

Effect: HP +150, Stamina +50, Strength +3, Agility +3, Endurance +3, Intelligence +3, Spirit +3, Charm +2

Her Charm had actually increased by another point, reaching 9!

The corner of Anran’s mouth twitched.

It really did not feel scientific. Why did killing more players increase Charm?

The only explanation was that the game planners had designed it this way.

Surely it could not be that all players were masochists.

The very thought was impossible.

Besides that, the increase in her other attributes was exciting too.

Everything had become triple what it was before.

The most worthwhile boosts were HP +150 and Spirit +3.

Anran’s Spirit stat was very low, so this title really was timely aid.

Under normal circumstances, gaining 150 HP would require 15 points of Endurance.

Of course, in reality, Endurance was tied to many things such as HP, stamina, resistance, toughness, defense, and recovery ability, so it could not simply be equated with HP.

【The Most Evil NPC: Anran!】

A thread condemning Anran quickly appeared on the forum.

【Leaving aside dungeons, on No. 1886, which NPC has killed the most players so far? Fine, I don’t know either. But if there were a ranking like that, Anran would definitely be on the list!】

【Anran’s hands are drenched in the blood of players. We have to take her down!】

【Are you idiots or what? Anran is a hero to those of us on the government forces side. Opposing Anran means opposing us!】

【Join Morningstar, that inhuman organization, and just wait to be slaughtered by Lady Anran!】

【Bullshit!】

【Jealous much.】

The forum swiftly descended into mutual flaming.

Players never seemed to run out of energy. Even though, in the eyes of players on Morningstar’s side, Anran had already become a major villain they wanted to smite with some great sword of justice descending from the heavens, on the government forces side Anran was on the verge of becoming a player idol.

“Aila, time to run!” Anran called out to Aila, who had been resting in a corner. Aila’s condition had suddenly become a little listless, so Anran could only pick her up and place her in the vehicle.

With her Strength increased so much, it was already much easier for Anran to lift Aila.

And her Endurance had clearly improved too. Even if Aila suddenly pounced on her, Anran felt she could withstand it now.

Feels like I could develop some new positions now, emmm…

【Hello, everyone. My player disappearing act is over now.】

Still soaking in the fountain, Zhou Jieyu did not hurry out. Instead, she first uploaded the video she had recorded.

Anran did not appear in the video, but it faithfully showed Zhou Jieyu’s full journey as a “bomber.”

Her own face was covered as well. Because she had been targeted at the entrance to Nine Songs last time, Zhou Jieyu no longer dared show her face, so she added a panda-face sticker every time.

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【Reporter sis is seriously brave!】

【Anran, ura!】

【Anran will win! I like that line!】

【Pfft… They were hoping to see boobs, and reporter sis pulled out four round little bombs instead.】

【Following. Starting today, I’m her fan.】

【Does anyone know where the famous game commentator Claude Prell is?】

【I heard he already respawned. With help from players on Morningstar’s side, he finally managed to revive.】

【He even shouted, “Just you wait!”】

“Heehee, heehee, heehahaha…”

Zhou Jieyu burst into laughter. EXP in hand, favorability in hand, and on the forum she had once again become a top-tier player praised by all.

Trash like Claude Prell was not even worth mentioning. This felt amazing.

Next time, she was definitely going to find Anran again.

Hug that thigh.

Snuggle up, rub against her, ask to be lifted high.

“Use this number to contact me from now on. Do not let it leak under any circumstances!”

Not long after, Zhou Jieyu received a text message from Anran.

“I’m only a bit more than three thousand EXP away from level ten. I have to work harder!” Zhou Jieyu clenched her fist.

…

Meanwhile, Heloise, who had killed several Nine Songs agents and successfully escaped, had a livid expression.

As she walked, she shouted angrily into the phone, “Are your brains made of pig slop? I told you to go bomb the police station, and you refused. You just had to go after Anran instead. With your strength, were you ever going to pull that off?”

“Great. Now you didn’t kill Anran, and you didn’t blow up the police station either. Tell me, what use are you people?”

On the other end of the phone was the obsequious Smiling Doge.

“We were wrong…”

“I’m giving you one last chance. Go blow up the laboratory of Nord Biotechnology Company for me. If you fail again, then get your asses back to base and stay there!”

If not for orders from above, Heloise would never have brought these players along in the first place, because she did not trust “outlanders.”

Nord Biotechnology Company.

Heloise tossed her phone aside.

She looked up at the building not far away.

A great deal of the supplies for Morningstar’s secret research institute had been transported there by this company.

But now that Loriang was dead, this company could be abandoned as well.

Some secrets needed to remain hidden.