Chapter 632: Does This Code Look Familiar?

Ying Duo stared straight at the notebook and the trench coat for a few seconds, then decisively packed both into his Game Backpack.

Then, Yang Yixie took those two items out of the Game Backpack in his bedroom.

He turned the trench coat over and over, and, thanks to Bai Mu Yun, he knew a bit about the brands; the coats even have anti‑counterfeit numbers that can be checked with the authorities.

A little hacking into the backend would reveal who the buyer is.

Yang Yixie was just about to set the coat down when he smelled a faint salty scent.

Maybe perfume or sea‑salt scented laundry detergent residue? Yet it was mixed with a slight fishy odor that he seemed to have smelled before.

He could only turn to open the notebook; the screen was unlocked and went straight to the desktop.

He spent about five minutes combing every corner of the system, yet still found no clue that directly pointed to the user's identity.

Both items were cleaned spotless, as if they had known from the start that they might be discarded at any moment.

Yang Yixie leaned against the chair back, stared at the trench coat on the desk that still held a faint ocean scent for a few seconds, then decisively sent a message to Bai Mu Yun:

"Reject them; someone is watching."

In the warehouse, a neon‑green popup instantly appeared before Bai Mu Yun's eyes; with a thought, Bai Mu Yun closed it and straightened up.

"This conversation ends here."

Hua Jian Lei heard that, and the calm that had been on his face was silently withdrawn; he was already a bit impatient.

Before Entropy Increase they had helped some players along the way, but that doesn't mean their moral bottom line is high; they can follow rules for the sake of freedom, but that doesn't mean others can blackmail them with those rules.

"Your words are indeed sincere," Bai Mu Yun said lightly, taking the initiative in the conversation.

The buzz‑cut man's eyes lit up for an instant, as if he saw hope.

He thought he had persuaded them, since, according to Hua Jian Lei, the decision to cooperate was made by the strategy team, and Bai Mu Yun had merely sat quietly at the table as an observer the whole time.

This situation left them feeling uneasy and uncertain.

"But…" Bai Mu Yun's demeanor seemed tinged with someone's malice; he raised his finger toward the pinhole camera, "You'd better explain that one over there."

The buzz‑cut man glanced in the direction he indicated, instantly realizing something; his face turned markedly sour, and the man and woman behind him showed a hint of guilt.

Although they didn't know exactly what had happened, the shift was evident to Hua Jian Lei, indicating the problem.

"... We don't know," one of the people behind the buzz‑cut man hurriedly said, nervously defending himself, "That… maybe someone else installed it."

Hua Jian Lei didn't even look at him, stood up directly, and spoke politely yet distant.

"Next time, pick a cleaner place to come find us; without sincere cooperation, there's no outcome."

The two walked out of the warehouse one after the other; the car lights lit up quickly, the engine rumbled low, and it sped away.

The warehouse was quiet for a while.

The buzz‑cut man stood by the table, looking at the closed door, his complexion not good.

The young woman behind him spoke, her voice full of regret.

"... I told you we shouldn't let the professor's people tamper here; that's Entropy Increase! How could they not notice!"

"What do we do then? Their people left; cooperation is probably impossible."

"But the Mutation of the people around us is kept stable thanks to the professor, right? If he doesn't let it be known, we can't possibly stop it…"

"Even so, we can't tamper while we're negotiating with Entropy Increase—"

"The cooperation with Entropy Increase was originally an experiment; who knows if they really have a way—"

"Alright," the buzz‑cut man interrupted, "... let's go back first, and later think of a way to contact them and try."

They only knew that Entropy Increase and Ying Duo probably cooperated privately; Ying Duo is a Co‑Absorption individual, an Aberrant Species that retained human form, so they hoped to obtain intelligence from them.

In comparison, the professor at least provided them with a genuine method, stabilizing the Mutation of those around them.

But is this really a long‑term solution?

"At least for now, we can't do without the professor's help."

After those other‑world cities invaded this world, they indeed could be glad no longer needing to fight in the game, but the people around them are not like that.

Even though Tianmian City is the cleanest place in the game, for this world it remains a massive Mutation emitter.

Originally they could catch a breath in this clean world, but as time passes, the Mutation factors gathered in Tianmian City are spreading outward, first affecting the capital below.

Although few, ordinary people's Mutation Values increase only a few points, at most causing slight dizziness, but those few points can become the final straw that crushes them.

Although officials had long strived to rescue these people—special drugs, holy water brought from the game were never scarce—still many's Mutation, once over 80, was completely devoured by the Mutation, losing reason, and ultimately being humanely destroyed.

The authorities have done their utmost, but their capability is limited, so this is all they can do.

And they...

Even if there is a sliver of hope, they still want to try.

Back when the game began, they already had some contact with those cultists who worship Co‑Absorption.

Although Co‑Absorption is reviled in the game world, they indeed let humans become Aberrant Species while retaining human memories; those so‑called cultists are just a bunch of idiots, loudly preaching Co‑Absorption, hoping to be Aberrant Species reborn after the world's destruction.

In fact, they have no connection with Co‑Absorption at all.

And Nightwalker, having underestimated how fanatically people in the game world pursue cults, wasted too much time on this, so now they can only rely on the mysterious "professor".

"Anyway, it doesn't really matter; at least we've made progress."

"Yeah, putting aside what we brought back earlier, did you see the trending topics from the past two days? The one where monsters fell from the sky."

"If Entropy Increase still can't make progress, then focus on that side."

The buzz‑cut man sighed helplessly; if they could, they wouldn't want to do this, but now they have only one path left and must press on to the end.