Chapter 219: Re‑Entering the Game

This crude altar isn't even a Spell; it's merely a low‑level method of raising little ghosts, barely touching the edge of a Skill.

Chen Shicheng, fully equipped with the max‑level Taiyin Cold Ice Curse, effortlessly followed the Yin energy and found the instigator.

A bullied man, who entered the game yesterday—perhaps drawn by his gloomy wife's aura to the indigenous—learned the method of raising little ghosts, used the natives' little ghosts to torment everyone who had ever hurt him, resulting in five deaths and one person left in a vegetative state.

The man was only a sub‑level‑one player; he didn't even need Chen Shicheng to act—just a colleague from the Cultural Tourism Bureau Logistics Department took him down directly.

What was most Silence‑inducing was that when the man was found, most of his essence had already been fed to the little ghosts; he was gaunt as a stick, and a gust of Wind could topple him dead for all to see.

There was no other way; Chen Shicheng could only contribute an Elixir, which finally handed the barely‑living unlucky soul over to the police.

The rest need not concern him; the law will ultimately render a just verdict.

He handles four or five such cases almost every day; from initial shock to later numbness took only two days.

By the dawn of the third day, the restless society finally settled to an acceptable level, and the police station's manpower could cope.

Thus, Chen Shicheng, as an external consultant of the Cultural Tourism Bureau Logistics Department, could finally re‑enter the game.

"Indeed, even if the altar is destroyed, the player can't instantly revert to the initial state."

In a narrow lane of the capital, Chen Shicheng watched squads of patrolling soldiers outside and sighed helplessly.

Although the raid‑breaking Task was over, the altar had been cleared by the Whale Fall, and players no longer feared pursuit by righteous cultivators; he had originally intended to use the opportunity to find the general, who was just a sitting cannon, and ask about the copper piece.

Unfortunately, when the public beta began, billions of players flooded the game, and the impact on Dayu Dynasty was undeniably severe.

Players!

Those who get it, get it!

Even passing garbage trucks want a taste of the salty and sweet, and the dogs watching the spectacle deserve a couple of slaps.

The capital did not escape these players' poisonous hands; its residents once again recalled the terror of three years ago when the first batch of Closed Beta players dominated.

All the residents and shops in the capital shut their doors tight, turning the place into something like a ghostly labyrinth.

And the Da Yu Court, for convenience, instituted a blanket policy; countless soldiers began wartime vigilance, and whether player or indigenous, no distinction was made—anyone seen was expelled, those with nowhere to go were driven out of the capital, since the city did not need vagrants.

Exactly.

After the raid‑breaking war, players, lacking household registration, were demoted to vagrants.

That's a nicer phrasing; among the indigenous, players are called rogues: "What now? Want to return to reality and stay two more days?"

Seeing the players being herded out of the city by soldiers, Hui Siye eagerly suggested.

After staying in reality for two days, it had fully enjoyed its phone, couldn't stop, feeling quite like being too content to think of home.

"We have someone here; General, take note, the capital runs horizontally!" The image of the General resurfaced in Chen Shicheng's mind, and his confidence surged.

"Enough, this is the capital; a single slash could kill three generals." Hui Siye muttered cold water on him.

And indeed the facts matched its expectation; Chen Shicheng, brimming with confidence, approached the patrolling soldiers, but when he asked for the General's specific name, they went mute. He had never asked before! Fortunately, he knew the name of the General's bodyguard, Wang Peng, and described the General's appearance, which spared him from being expelled.

However, the soldiers were cautious and didn't reveal the General's location, merely urging him to find a place to stay quickly, lest the later soldiers be less accommodating.

Left with no choice, Chen Shicheng again hid in an alley, watching the patrolling soldiers keep pulling at their hair.

"If the General can guard the altar, he must be a commander of the troops protecting the capital; otherwise I'll cause a stir."

"Shh—shh—shh."

Just as Chen Shicheng prepared to make a big scene, a burst of shushing came from the alley behind him.

He turned and saw an extremely lecherous‑looking indigenous peeking out of a Dog Hole, gesturing at him repeatedly.

Chen Shicheng puzzledly pointed at himself; the lecherous man immediately nodded, indicating him to come over.

After a glance with Hui Siye, Chen Shicheng walked to the lecherous man, squatted down and asked, "What do you want with me?"

"You've been driven out by the city patrols with nowhere to go, need a place to stay? Ten cash for a day." the lecherous man said enthusiastically, "Add a hundred cash and I can bring the little lady from the hook‑rack over."

Staring at the lecherous face before him, Chen Shicheng's face turned black, "If you have the time, why don't I just go to the Rolling Cloud Tower?"

Rolling Cloud Tower? That's a whole other story, a big deal! "Young hero, don't leave. Besides that, I can offer other services." The lecherous man quickly pitched, "You can ask around; there's nothing in the capital that I, Zhao Si, don't know. As long as you have money, even the concubine's night‑time affairs from last night I can clarify for you."

"Just you?"

Chen Shicheng looked at the lecherous man, who was poking around the Dog Hole, with some doubt, and produced a glued‑together copper piece, "Can you tell what this thing is?"

"Uh."

The lecherous man stared at the broken copper piece, cursing inwardly; if the Emperor had ever used this to enhance pleasure, he might know its origin, but you've brought out this headless, tail‑less thing—who could know what it is?

"Looks like you don't know."

Chen Shicheng shook his head in disappointment, stood up, and tried to leave.

Seeing a duck about to fly out of its beak, the lecherous man hurriedly said, "I don't know, but someone does. Give me a silver or two, and I'll tell you the place!"

"Really?"

Chen Shicheng remained skeptical of the lecherous man's credibility, but a silver or two was trivial, and since he'd made a fortune selling Yinxiang Incense, he didn't care.

"A silver or two, here."

Chen Shicheng tossed a silver or two to the lecherous man, "Money's yours. If you cheat me, you know the consequences of angering the Returnees yourself."

"My reputation, Zhao Si's, is rock‑solid. Look closely, sir."

The lecherous man bit the silver with his yellowed teeth, examined the bite marks, cheerfully handed Chen Shicheng an address, and repeatedly assured that if any trouble arose, he could take the man's head away at any time.

Relying on the lecherous man's solemn guarantee, Chen Shicheng followed the address and arrived at a hidden building outside the palace. (End of chapter)