Volume 5, Chapter 12-1 – The Version Theme Is on the Way(Part 1)

Anran’s spaceship was parked in a relatively secluded spot outside the city. Since few people came here, it was reasonably safe.

With spider robots constantly keeping watch nearby, Anran was not worried about anyone stealing the ship. After all, a spaceship was no small object. There were only two ways to steal one: break open the hatch, or carry the entire ship away.

“…”

In any case, neither method was simple. Both would create an enormous commotion and take a considerable amount of time.

Therefore, when this person appeared in front of Anran’s spaceship, she did not suspect that he had come to steal it. However, if he had some other purpose, she could not recklessly approach him either.

Anran first went back inside and checked the surveillance footage. The man had already been there for seven or eight minutes. At first, he had simply been passing by. Then, as he walked, he seemed to notice something and approached the spaceship. After circling it once, he bent down to inspect a certain spot. He had remained standing there ever since.

In other words, there was something underneath that spot that made him unwilling to leave.

What exactly was it?

Anran had inspected the spaceship before because she had been worried about trackers or similar devices aboard it, but in the end, she had found nothing.

This was a perfectly ordinary, mass-produced spaceship manufactured on Xipuyade Company’s industrial assembly line.

The only emblem on it was “SP.”

Speaking of SP, hmm…

Anran’s expression shifted slightly.

Wasn’t the place that man had bent down to inspect exactly where the emblem was located?

Was there something wrong with it?

As soon as that thought occurred to her, Anran’s expression froze.

There really was a small problem with the emblem. On the conspicuous “SP,” the “P” had an extra decorative stroke. Since it looked a little like a “B” upon closer inspection, Anran had added a few scratches of her own to disguise it.

But that was not important. The important part was the “S.”

Anran immediately searched for Xipuyade Company’s emblem.

The proper emblem used a streamlined S, while the one here had an S shaped like the number 5.

Damn.

Either the ship was a counterfeit, or someone had tampered with the emblem.

Then what did it mean that the man had stopped there and refused to leave?

Anran had already checked his level. He was Level 37 and had only one profession.

Even if it was a hidden profession, he should not pose any threat to her.

With that thought, Anran immediately sent Lin Yumo out.

Sorry, but even if he was no threat, there was no need to court death. Anran understood perfectly well that those who did not seek death would not die.

“Ah, you want me to go?” Lin Yumo looked somewhat troubled.

How was she supposed to know how to strike up a conversation with a stranger? Even if he was an NPC, these NPCs possessed complete systems of logic and thought. They were not wooden posts from old-fashioned games.

“Do this, then this, @#$#@#…”

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“Actually, you could do this, then this, @#&%#…” Zhou Jieyu added.

“No, doing it this way would be more convenient.”

“This way would be safer. We definitely wouldn’t expose ourselves.”

“That works too. We’ll leave it to you, then.”

“Leave it to me!” Zhou Jieyu patted her chest confidently.

“Oh.”

Anran had already considered everything thoroughly, but Lin Yumo was still a little uneasy. Forget it. She would just have to be brave and go.

At the very least, this was a small quest worth 3,600 EXP. More importantly, it awarded one point of favorability. That was far more cost-effective than the fifty thousand Bilu Zhou Jieyu had spent.

She was nowhere near as rich as Zhou Jieyu. She had to make sure every bit of in-game currency was spent where it mattered most.

Lin Yumo walked outside, but she opened a communication link with Zhou Jieyu and livestreamed everything in front of her. Zhou Jieyu, meanwhile, promptly relayed the conversation back and forth.

Elsewhere, Anran had already sent Aila to wait outside the office of the relevant authorities.

Tap, tap, tap…

Lin Yumo crossed the grass in her boots. The sound of her footsteps mixed with the rustling of the grass, finally drawing the ordinary man’s attention.

The ordinary man stood up in an ordinary manner, turned around in an ordinary manner, and said in an ordinary tone, “Is this ship yours?”

Lin Yumo nodded. “(Yes.) Yes. Do you need something?”

“SP Company is one of the Empire’s three most famous shipyards, but this emblem seems a little strange.”

“And you’ve been crouching here all this time because of that?” Lin Yumo’s eyes widened.

“The font of the S differs from the proper emblem. As for the P, for some reason, someone scraped the blank area behind it.” The ordinary man continued his ordinary analysis.

Could this man be an experienced spaceship fanatic?

Sweat appeared on Anran’s forehead.

“Hmm…”

“Hmm…”

The atmosphere began to stiffen.

Huh?!

The ordinary man frowned.

Huh?!

What exactly was this man trying to do?

“Is this ship really yours?” the ordinary man suddenly asked in a very unordinary manner.

“Of course it’s mine. Who else’s would it be? Yours?”

“This P…”

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“I scraped it off. What, are you unhappy about that?”

Lin Yumo spoke according to Anran’s instructions.

Although she was taller than Anran, she possessed none of Anran’s imposing manner when saying such things.

“Why…”

“Because it stood out, idiot!”

“Then this S…”

“I altered it on purpose. Got a problem with that?”

“No, but…”

“But my ass! If you suspect this ship is a counterfeit, all the emblems inside the ship are perfectly normal apart from this one!”

[Anran spoke impatiently.]

Lin Yumo read the line in a completely flat, mechanical voice.

It sounded very strange.

“Is this ship really yours?”

“Lin Yumo, keep him there. I’m coming over right now to cut this bastard down!” Anran drew her sword.

“Lin Yumo, keep…”

Stop.

Lin Yumo had been repeating Anran’s words without thinking and nearly repeated that sentence too. Fortunately, she stopped herself in time.

“Yes!” Lin Yumo said.

The ordinary man did not care about Lin Yumo’s earlier mistake. After receiving her confirmation, a rare smile actually appeared on his face.

“Are you a local of Sea Blue Forest?”

“No,” Lin Yumo answered honestly.

“What’s your favorite color?”

Huh?

“White…”

Eh?

“And blue, I suppose.”

That was correct.

The ordinary man smiled again.

There had been a few complications, but everything matched perfectly.

“Anran, that man is asking some strange questions.” Zhou Jieyu stopped Anran, who had been about to grab her weapon and charge over.

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“Oh.”

Anran halted her advance and finally stepped back. “Keep relaying what they’re saying.”

“Comrade!”

Zhou Jieyu said.

“Huh?” Anran froze. “What did you say?”

“That man just shouted, ‘Comrade!'” Zhou Jieyu reported while standing at attention.

Comrade!

Today’s your unlucky day.

“Little girl, what brings you here?”

At the counter of the relevant authorities’ office, a staff member suddenly noticed a tiny child climbing onto a chair.

“I want to report someone!” Aila said.

“…”

The staff member’s expression stiffened slightly.

He had encountered a situation like this once before. Two children had said they wanted to report someone, only for the target of their report to turn out to be a red-faced uncle who had been bullying their mother while naked.

Hmm…

Although the matter had eventually been resolved, his colleagues had mocked him mercilessly afterward.

“What would you like to report?” he asked with a dry smile.

“I want to report that someone from Night Owl has infiltrated this place.”

“Night…”

Night Owl!

“Did you say Night Owl?”

She had to be joking. The staff member’s mouth fell open.

Aila said, “I’m telling the truth. That person is at XXX. He looks quite ordinary, but he’s currently pestering an outsider and keeps saying things like ‘comrade’ and ‘Nightingale.’ I don’t think he’s ever seen an outsider before. It should be perfectly normal for a Night Owl member from some remote place not to have seen outsiders, right?”

“…”

The staff member looked at Aila with a mixture of belief and doubt.

Those did not sound like words a little girl should be able to say. Then again, precocious children were hardly rare in this era. More importantly, her account was detailed and convincing. If it was true…

No matter what, the staff member ultimately chose to believe Aila.

The city’s counterespionage unit moved extraordinarily quickly.

They were so fast that no one had time to react. The ordinary man was still calling Lin Yumo “comrade,” and Lin Yumo was still awkwardly dealing with him, when they arrived at the scene.

“This is bad.”

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The ordinary man’s expression changed drastically.

The counterespionage unit.

He had actually drawn their attention.

He did not suspect that the “comrade” in front of him had secretly reported him. He trusted what he had seen. She had neither made any suspicious moves nor had any opportunity to do so.

“Comrade, don’t say anything later. If they ask, tell them you don’t know me. Leave everything else to me. Even if I’m exposed, I must protect you at the very least!” he said solemnly.

He looked exceptionally heroic and tragic. Lin Yumo, however, was still utterly bewildered. This whole matter was extremely strange. What in the world had happened?

Then she and the ordinary man were seized by the counterespionage unit without any chance to explain themselves.

“…”

Half an hour later, Lin Yumo emerged from the station and saw Anran and Zhou Jieyu again.

“That man just now was an agent of Night Owl?” Lin Yumo still found the whole thing difficult to believe.

“That’s right. You were a huge help.”

Lin Yumo was not sure whether she had actually been a huge help. However, because the counterespionage unit assumed that Aila, who had made the report, had been sent there by her, they promised to reward her.

The reward was a new title that she would receive once the ordinary man’s identity had been confirmed.

Hmm…

It seemed that staying by Anran’s side always resulted in obtaining something impressive.

Lin Yumo suddenly began to agree with Zhou Jieyu’s point of view. So far, she had spent less than a full day beside Anran, yet she had not only purchased the detailed swordsmanship guide she had always wanted, but was also about to gain a new title.

How wonderful.

The man was a Night Owl agent who belonged to an organization within Night Owl known as [Nightingale].

Anran had never expected to encounter one here.

However, this incident also revealed a flaw in her disguise. Fortunately, she had discovered and eliminated it early. Otherwise, she would have flown around with that emblem on her ship, and if someone recognized it while she was in a dangerous situation, things would become extremely troublesome.

There was still plenty of room to maneuver after becoming enemies with [Morningstar], but directly placing herself in opposition to [Night Owl] would be courting death.

Her relationship with the Empire was already destined to be anything but peaceful. If Night Owl was added on top of that, how was she supposed to keep playing?

What she had done now also completely removed herself from the incident.

Even if that man escaped and reconsidered the matter afterward, the person he would seek out was Yumo.

What did an outsider’s business have to do with me, Anran?

Anran directly gouged the emblem off the hull. There was no need to repair it. With a little extra effort spent sanding the area smooth and flat, it would look no different from the surrounding surface.

Perfect.

She stood up.

Now it was time to find a place where no one would disturb them, raise Aila’s level, and use her spare time to synthesize some blueprints and make new equipment.