Chapter 14: Contact Person (Revised)

It is undeniable that he indeed took some interest in this single-player pixel game.

The last time he encountered a pixel game that made him want to keep playing was a certain well-known farming game, for which he also downloaded quite a few mods.

Although the plot isn't impressive, the combat flow is decent; he'll play it for a while, then go start a stream to build up an audience.

He could also consider recording a few videos related to this game later, but if this pixel game's production isn't particularly outstanding, generally few people would be willing to watch it...

【Welcome to the game, player.】

【Current character: Ying Duo】

【Current status: Safely returned to personal residence】

【Main quest updated: Awaiting class assignment notice (time remaining: 2 days 21 hours 57 minutes)】

Loading finished, and the game screen appeared shortly.

The room that appeared in the opening CG shows up again; the map's indication now points to an inn in the slums, and the Ying Duo on the phone screen stands in the center of the room, maintaining his pose from before he logged off.

He stood there with an empty gaze, as if Ying Duo had never truly 'lived'.

Yang Yixie habitually opened the character panel to check, then browsed through it carefully.

【Player ID: Ying Duo (Lv. 10)】

【HP: 97.3% (can be quickly restored through rest and eating)】

【MP: 63.1% (can be quickly restored through rest and eating)】

【Satiety: 30/100 (you're a bit hungry)】

【Title: None】

【Age: 16】

【Race: Human】

【Faction: Mitra Academy (???)】

【Aberrant Arts: 'Chaos Game Declaration' — the player proclaimed the arrival of chaos to the world, after which all rules in the world operate according to his crazy game.】

【Mutation Value: 13/100 (if mutation reaches 100, one will completely lose human identity)】

"Whoa, this aberrant arts introduction..."

Yang Yixie curled the corner of his mouth, "Is this explaining the player's game system as the character's superpower?"

Oh no, it should be called aberrant arts.

This setting strikes him as somewhat nonsensical, but upon further thought it seems intended to cater to the world-building in this detail.

His gaze swept downward and locked onto the last line.

"Looks like there's something I hadn't paid much attention to before... mutation value?"

This attribute is tucked at the bottom of the panel, its color slightly duller than the other values; he might have missed it in his earlier haste.

Although completing the 【Pass the Entrance Examination】 quest gave him no experience, the large amount of experience he had previously earned by taking on higher‑level bosses still let him smoothly reach level 10.

After finishing the novice quest, Yang Yixie could control Ying Duo to freely explore everywhere, and he also unlocked various new functions, such as the world map and so on.

He can obtain information via the old TV in the inn; although the game's storyline isn't impressive, its freedom and detail are quite high.

Ying Duo interacted with the TV, and when searching channels he entered 'Mutation Value'.

Soon a bunch of related popular-science videos popped up; the game is really meticulous in these details.

In the background of this game world, mutation is a fairly common phenomenon; daily food and even air are hard to completely avoid, so everyone accumulates some mutation value to varying degrees.

Excessive mutation value brings many debuffs, but it can be reduced by the church's 'Holy Water' or the potent medicine sold by the Dome.

"Looks like it's a survival indicator that needs regular management — gotta drink 'Holy Water' and take medicine? Kind of a hassle."

Although he said that, it does indeed add difficulty to the game — provided the mutation value setting is reasonably balanced, Ying Duo's current 13 points of mutation value is considered quite safe in the game's settings, so there's no threat from it for now.

Holy Water is regularly distributed for free by the church; one just needs to find time to pick it up, and the Dome's potent medicine is priced according to its effectiveness.

After all, the vast majority of ordinary NPCs in this world are at this stage.

As long as the mutation value hasn't reached 100, one is not considered to have left humanity.

Since this is a routine setting of the world background, Yang Yixie decided to put it aside for now, and his attention returned to the 'Faction' field.

"Belonging to Mitra Academy... that's easy to understand, since he just passed the novice quest, but what do those three question marks in the parentheses mean?"

He stared at that string of '???' and pondered.

"Could my player character have a hidden identity? A special bloodline?"

Saying that makes the initial occupation‑selection screen look odd — who would pick a job by injecting a potion? At first glance it seems related to some shady experiments.

Yang Yixie currently has limited information, so he can deduce little, but the player's true identity is definitely a hassle; he can only first search the golden light all over this room.

He first opened the box in the corner, but aside from some nutrient fluid that can fill the stomach, there was nothing else inside.

He noticed two glints on the desk, one of which was a sealed letter; after clicking to view it, the system panel triggered a new mission notification.

【Side quest triggered: Meet with the contact person.】

Contact person?

Yang Yixie's spirits lifted; he immediately examined the letter's content and the quest description, but the letter's content was really too brief, while the system's quest description was far more detailed.

The game's background setting and level of detail repeatedly exceed his expectations.

【Mission description: You have successfully infiltrated Mitra Academy as planned; it's time to report the situation to the organization — please go to the designated location, meet with your contact person, and obtain the next instructions.】

【Location: Dream Illusion Bar】

【Time: Tomorrow evening at 19:00】

【Note: Please ensure no one is following; the meeting must be conducted cautiously.】

"Infiltrate? Contact person?"

Yang Yixie looked at these terms, his eyes widening slightly.

"That's about right."

He couldn't help but sigh softly; the gloom that had arisen from being docked 250 points vanished completely.

I originally thought the protagonist would be some kind of test subject, but it turns out he's an undercover agent—doesn't this kind of plot beat having the protagonist run around the world looking for clues to figure out his own identity?

He glanced at the in-game time; there was still roughly a full day left until the meeting time required by the mission.

In the game, Ying Duo is still standing in the inn room, and his satiety level has dropped to a rather dangerous level.

"Alright, let's take care of the food and shelter first."

Yang Yixie opened his backpack, selected the nutrient solution he had just rummaged out, and Ying Duo, expressionless, poured it into his mouth; a green number 【Satiety +50】 floated above his head.

After seeing to basic survival needs, Yang Yixie had Ying Duo lie down on the bed to sleep, speeding up the recovery of HP and MP; the game screen darkened, and a prompt popped up in the lower‑right corner: 【Time is rapidly passing......】.

Yang Yixie also lifted his head from the phone screen, stretched his slightly stiff neck and shoulders, got up, and went to the kitchen to pour himself a glass of water.

He glanced out the window; the real world had already been completely shrouded in night, and the neon lights of the distant city reflected on the glass as fuzzy, dreamy spots of light.

He stared at the night view outside the window, a little dazed; after playing games for a long time, it's indeed common to feel this inexplicable sense of detachment.

Yang Yixie was about to turn and leave when a sudden icy touch landed on the back of his hand, breaking into tiny water traces.

He lifted his gaze to the window crack; unbeknownst to him, it had started drizzling outside.

The once‑clear neon specks were blurred by the rain curtain, and the whole world was veiled in a damp, sheer gauze.

He instinctively reached his hand out through the half‑open window, and the fine drizzle instantly soaked his palm—so real.