Chapter 401: The Side Quest Is Waving at Me

Isn't it said that the Dome and the Church are irreconcilable? Ying Duo's voice was a bit muffled.

As for arresting him, you actually reached an agreement, right?

Yang Yichen fell silent.

"... Probably those nobles were scared; you don't know who was on that airship you hijacked?"

Ying Duo thought for a moment; the status of those people inside probably wasn't low, after all, being able to hold a banquet on an airship, even at worst it's not that bad.

By this point, the disguise Yang Yichen made for him had become truly necessary.

Yang Yichen pulled out another scarf, dark gray, "Wrap this on too; any bit of cover helps."

Yang Yichen reached down and pressed Ying Duo's hood, tucking back those few strands of rebellious Ying Guang Lu hair that kept sticking out.

"Come on, let's go, brother worth thirty million, accompany your older brother out for a stroll."

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At the entrance of the central exhibition center in Heavenly Dome City, there were more people than imagined.

Ying Duo stood at the bottom of the stairs, holding two paper bags—one containing the album Yang Yichen had just bought, the other holding a limited-edition poster.

Of the three, two were solo posters of Qi Ran, and the remaining one was a group photo; Yang Yichen didn't even blink when paying, while Ying Duo glanced at his brother a couple extra times.

Now they stood in the queue, with young people gathered in twos and threes chatting all around, and occasionally someone glanced at Ying Duo.

Probably because Ying Duo's outfit was truly too distinctive, the layered combination of mask and glasses successfully made everyone's gaze toward him wary.

Although it indeed concealed his real face, it instead made him look even more suspicious...

"Too many people." Yang Yichen tiptoed to look ahead, deciding to first find a secluded spot for his brother, who was even more conspicuous from another angle.

No, isn't it still over an hour until the 2 PM opening? They came this early just to buy merchandise in advance—why are there so many people???

"Wait here for me; I'll go buy some stuff and come back."

Ying Duo glanced at the line that almost looped half the building, then at Yang Yichen's collar, all askew from the squeeze, and simply patted his shoulder in trust.

"Go ahead."

Yang Yichen shoved the snack bag into his hand—inside were the fried dough balls bought just now from the stall—"Don't run around, I'll be back soon."

Ying Duo took the paper bag, moved a few steps to the side, and leaned against a door marked "Safety Exit."

This spot happened to be a blind spot in the view of people outside; nobody noticed this corner.

It's fortunate he wouldn't overheat from being too bundled up, but the cool air seeping through the crack still made things feel more comfortable.

He pulled down his mask, speared a ball with a bamboo skewer, and put it in his mouth; the exterior was fried to a crisp.

People in the wasteland live precariously, but they haven't neglected developing tasty food.

It's a shame these contain some mutation; otherwise I'd definitely bring some back for Mom to try.

Yang Yixie never liked crowded places; he now regretted coming out with his brother a bit.

Back then he could have found any excuse, but instead he chose to go see an idol.

Suddenly, he caught a different sound with his ears.

It came from behind the safety exit door; through the iron door the sound was muffled and hard to make out, but one could tell it was a female voice, tone unpleasant, as if she were arguing with someone.

Ying Duo chewed the ball and glanced at the door.

The iron door left a palm-wide gap; inside was pitch black, with only a faint green emergency light shining from the far end.

A chain was locked on the iron door; ordinary means couldn't get in.

He speared another ball, directly converting his bodily energy into a Data Stream and squeezing through the gap.

A side quest was waving at him!

Ying Duo walked a few steps inside, and the voice grew clearer.

"... I know, I said I'd watch her, are you annoyed?"

The young female voice carried an uncontainable fire, and Ying Duo's skill icon for 【Stealth】 lit up silently.

At the end of the hallway just happened to be a corner; the sound came from behind it, mixed with the metallic click of a lighter opening and closing.

"I don't need you teaching me how to do this; I'm far more experienced in this area, so that's it, I'm hanging up."

Ying Duo stood at the corner, watching that person take the cigarette from their lips, fingers swiping a few times on the communicator screen, as if flipping through contacts.

She lowered her head, her side profile illuminated by the green emergency light.

Qi Ran.

Ying Duo recognized her—the girl on the poster with green short hair, flashing two tiger teeth as she smiled at the camera—now she casually leaned against the wall smoking, her impatient eyes and brows a stark contrast to the vibrant idol on the poster.

It seemed the person on the other end of the communicator called again; Qi Ran's voice rose a bit upon answering, "I said I'd keep watch on them, you motherf***er, when will you be done—"

She hung up directly.

The hallway fell silent; this time the other party didn't call back, presumably for fear of triggering her bad luck.

Suddenly, she turned her gaze toward the corner and locked eyes with Ying Duo, who was still nonchalantly eating his ball.

When did this person show up?!

Qi Ran instinctively stepped back half a step, eyeing Ying Duo warily.

Mask, hat, glasses—wrapped up so thoroughly, he looked nothing like staff; Qi Ran's gaze finally landed on Ying Duo's communicator in his hand.

As everyone knows, this latest model of communicator basically has a photo-capture function.

Even more widely known is that, as teenage idols, they would absolutely never let such photos leak out.

So, are you a sneaky paparazzo who slipped in from outside?

"I've seen plenty of your kind."

Her voice was unhurried, sounding completely at ease.

"Wrapped up like a zongzi, you sneak in to take covert shots, then sell them to those gossip rags... how much do they pay you per piece? Thirty thousand? Fifty thousand?"

Ying Duo thought about the thirty-million bounty he had just posted, feeling that the other side's offered price was somewhat insulting.

Ying Duo said nothing, but Qi Ran sensed that this person seemed to have the intention of sitting on the ground and raising the price.

She flicked her finger, snuffing out the cigarette between her fingers, and she held the butt in her hand without throwing it away.

"I advise you not to push your luck."

Qi Ran narrowed her eyes impatiently; she was already in a bad mood, and she didn't want to argue with Ying Duo here.

"I'm giving you fifty thousand, or rather, out of pity for you being all bundled up in this scorching heat, you don't really think you can get those photos out, do you?"

"Don't be ridiculous; nowadays, anyone who can make a name for themselves in the wasteland has some backing behind them."