Volume 3, Chapter 36 – Preacher of the Mechanical God Cult

Title [Virtual Hunter]

(To hunt down a pile of data in a virtual world sounds like a very foolish story. Yet when data possesses intelligence, it too becomes a troublesome form of life, and you are the Virtual Hunter.)

Progress: 79/100

Effect: Strength +3, Agility +3, Spirit +2

Like [Morningstar Hunter], this was also an upgradable title.

The extra attribute points were also very useful in the early game.

Especially the extra two points of Spirit, which made Anran’s pitifully weak Spirit stat look a little better.

Right after that, Anran spent another 15,000 EXP to raise Apprentice Mechanic to Lv8.

She added 2 points to Endurance and 1 point to Intelligence.

Thanks to the title bonus, Anran’s base attributes improved quite a bit.

[HP]: 220/220

[Stamina]: 204/204

[Six Stats]: Strength 15, Agility 18, Endurance 17, Intelligence 24, Spirit 7, Charm 7

[Free Attribute Points]: 3

[Skill Points]: 3

Upgrading Apprentice Mechanic to Lv9 required 20,000 EXP, and Anran was still short by 15,000.

She would save up enough soon.

Once she reached Lv10, she would be able to use a profession advancement knowledge book to advance to Basic Mechanic.

Just thinking about it made her a little excited.

…

The moment she opened her eyes and saw how bright her surroundings had suddenly become, Anran was a little unaccustomed to it.

But even before her eyes adjusted, her ears helped her adapt.

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Because she could clearly hear Zhou Jieyu shouting excitedly.

“We passed, we passed! We actually cleared that instance! A reward of 4,500 EXP! Hahaha…”

So noisy!

Anran frowned and forced her eyes open wider.

“I got 3,400 EXP too.” That was Leading the Charge’s voice. “So points are tied to bonus EXP? One point equals one hundred EXP. Too bad I only got 1 point.”

Hm?

Anran was startled for a moment.

So the two of them did not get the reward for wiping out all the invading Morningstar members?

On Leading the Escape’s side, she had 12 points. Adding the mission reward of 3,000 EXP brought the total to 4,200.

Right, and there was also the extra 300 EXP from the quest Anran had issued them.

That made sense. Leading the Charge had also gotten exactly 3,400 EXP.

Anran quickly did the math.

In fact, because they had died midway through the mission, Zhou Jieyu and Leading the Charge had failed to receive the final reward.

“Oh? Anran, you’re awake?” Zhou Jieyu noticed Anran frowning and walked over in two or three quick steps.

“Why are you frowning? We passed the assessment. Shouldn’t you be happy?” Zhou Jieyu asked in confusion.

The corner of Anran’s mouth twitched slightly. She took off the headband and stood up, then said to Zhou Jieyu, “As long as you’re happy.”

“…”

Zhou Jieyu felt a little wronged. Why am I getting snapped at again?

At that moment, the guide NPC girl pushed the door open and walked in.

She wore a warm smile as she said to the three people in the room, “First of all, congratulations on passing this assessment! Tomorrow morning at ten o’clock, our deputy minister would like to meet with you!”

Here it comes.

Light flickered through Anran’s eyes.

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The gains from farming this instance were outside Anran’s original plan. Her main goal was still to build a connection with the Security Department and Nine Songs, and use their strength to keep Morningstar in check.

“So does that mean we can join Nine Songs now?” Zhou Jieyu asked.

“No.” The guide NPC girl shook her head. “The exact situation still depends on what the deputy minister intends.”

“Ugh…” Zhou Jieyu’s voice immediately became a little disappointed.

She called out to Leading the Charge. “Big bro, since there’s nothing else to do, let’s go.”

Leading the Charge stood up, then suddenly turned back to Anran. “Miss Anran, aren’t you coming with us?”

“Then let’s go together.”

There was no reason for Anran to stay either.

She rose and followed behind Zhou Jieyu as they walked out of the building.

During all this time, the guide NPC girl’s gaze remained fixed on Anran’s back.

Was this girl the key that had allowed them to pass the assessment?

After all, not long ago, those two outlanders had lasted less than twenty minutes.

And after adding this girl, this time they had stayed inside for a full hour.

The guide NPC girl did not believe that an outlander who had not even survived the first wave of invasion could suddenly awaken ten minutes later and become overwhelmingly strong.

That did not fit logic.

Unless there was an X factor.

And Anran was that X.

…

By the time they walked out of 97 Qiuyang Road, it was already 7:30 p.m.

Anran had stayed inside for over an hour.

Time flowed differently inside the instance than it did outside, at a ratio of roughly six to one.

After saying goodbye to Zhou Jieyu, Anran was preparing to go to the Research Center to get her backpack back, then return to Eudora’s house for dinner.

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She had only taken two steps when Leading the Charge called out to stop her.

“Um…”

“What is it?” Anran turned around in confusion.

It was as if Leading the Charge had made up his mind about something. His expression changed, and he suddenly pulled out a wad of banknotes from his pocket.

“Here!”

Leading the Charge held out the money.

“Ah?!” Anran stared at him with a completely bewildered look.

Zhou Jieyu did too.

What the heck was this?

Was he thanking me with money for carrying them through that instance?

Or was this his way of trying to butter me up and trick me into some kind of “escort work”?

Emmm…

Both Anran and Zhou Jieyu fell into deep thought.

Fortunately, Leading the Charge spoke again at that moment. “Actually, I want to learn Mechanic knowledge from you. I was wondering whether this tuition fee is enough.”

After seeing Anran’s strength, Leading the Charge had decided that Mechanic was a very powerful profession. It just so happened that he currently had only two side professions.

So that was what he meant.

Anran immediately put on her profession mentor hat.

Unlocking the Apprentice Mechanic profession required 15 favorability.

Anran showed no courtesy at all as she counted the money Leading the Charge had handed over.

There were several large-denomination bills.

In total, it came to 428 Bilu.

As the older brother, he was much more generous than the younger sister over there.

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I will acknowledge you, just barely.

Anran adjusted Leading the Charge’s favorability to exactly 15 points.

“Do you want to unlock the profession [Apprentice Mechanic]?”

“Yes!”

Joy immediately appeared on Leading the Charge’s face.

“Unlocking the profession [Apprentice Mechanic] requires 150 Bilu. Do you wish to pay?”

“Uh…”

Leading the Charge’s face instantly fell. After handing money over to Anran, he barely had any coins left on him.

Left with no choice, Leading the Charge could only turn to Zhou Jieyu and explain the situation.

“Just lend me 100 Bilu!”

“Fine. Since you’re my big brother, I’ll reluctantly lend it to you. But when you pay me back next time, you have to return 200,” Zhou Jieyu said.

“That’s loan sharking!”

Though he grumbled aloud, Leading the Charge still honestly accepted Zhou Jieyu’s unfair terms.

And then he successfully changed class to [Apprentice Mechanic].

Watching the brother and sister walk away into the distance,

Anran fell into thought.

Although she was still very weak right now, there probably were not many NPCs in the game who were more versatile than she was.

Since she could interact with players in more ways, there was actually a lot of room for maneuver.

Just as the Morningstar Resistance had its own faction, didn’t that mean she could also create a faction in the future and have a whole crowd of players run errands for her?

Let’s call it the Mechanical God Cult.

Chuunibyou, but still straightforward.