Chapter 166

The unlucky bastard in front of him, though he had consumed a transformation pill to alter his physique and appearance, still betrayed his identity with the iconic flying sword behind his back.

They truly had a fated connection—Wu Chang had been avoiding him, yet still ended up in the same dungeon.

This time, they didn't queue together; Xiang Jianxing couldn't blame Wu Chang if he got assigned to another high-difficulty dungeon.

Wu Chang said nothing in response to Xiang Jianxing's words, but his four bodyguards couldn't stay still.

As a democratic nation of Gao Mu, they always supported freedom of speech.

If this kid jumped out to curse at the boss or the old CEO—even calling them parasites of the state, societal scum, shame to human civilization, bloodsuckers lying on the people's backs—they could still demonstrate their professional demeanor and remain coldly unmoved.

Only when the boss gave a command out of displeasure would they act.

But stepping on someone's turf? That was an entirely different matter.

If they didn't let this kid feel the ocean floor at four a. m. tonight, how would the four of them ever live it down?

Facing the four intimidating bodyguards, Xiang Jianxing was genuinely uneasy inside.

Perhaps sensing he was about to complete his Sword Cultivator transformation, the system raised his score to prevent the Level 2 Abyss advancement from appearing prematurely in the Wasteland Realm.

At just level 23, he had been directly assigned to the nearly out-of-control A-rank dungeon—the Silent Passage, ranked tenth on the difficulty chart.

Even a max-level Breaker from the Administration would scratch his head at this; for him, it was genuinely overkill.

But now that it had come to this, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and clear the dungeon.

Because this was his last chance—if he gave up, his Sword Cultivator transformation would fail utterly.

Before the dungeon officially began, he had prepared himself for a grueling clearance—yet he never expected the very first main quest would instantly stump him.

Unlike Wu Chang, he had studied extensive intelligence on the Silent Passage; this information wasn't gathered through targeted searches, but provided by the Administration's mentors assigned to high-potential young players like him.

The Silent Passage dungeon was one of the classic case studies in their lessons.

According to the Administration's collected data, regardless of which ship the Silent Passage dungeon corresponded to, the number of tickets obtainable was always fewer than the number of players.

He who acts first gets it; he who hesitates loses out.

This case was used to teach Xiang Jianxing and others that when encountering competitive tasks, never hesitate—be among the first to act.

The early mover takes greater risk, but faces minimal competition.

The teaching concept was sound, but one thing the mentor had overlooked: in the mentor's assumed premise, students in the dungeon training program were all stronger than their peers, among the top few players in multiplayer dungeons.

As the saying goes: the early bird gets the worm, but the early worm gets eaten by the bird.

When you lack the strength to dominate the scene, acting first may secure benefits—but you won't be able to hold onto them.

Xiang Jianxing, relying on decisive action, quickly locked onto a Bay Hall official, exchanged a large number of decaying silver coins for gold ingots, and obtained the ticket he needed.

The official did indeed retrieve the ticket for him, but the moment he stepped out of Bay Hall, two agile players ambushed and stole it.

They were max-level players with exceptional mobility, having trailed Xiang Jianxing undetected the entire time—perhaps fearing the Administration behind him, they didn't attack him directly, but hijacking his ticket held no such reservations.

By the time Xiang Jianxing learned the news and tried to find another ticket, all reliable channels had already been seized by other players.

With no other option, he came to Wu Chang's door to try his luck.

As the top-tier conglomerate of the dungeon's realm, the randomly spawned hidden NPC could acquire several tickets with ease—but that also meant the method of bribing officials wouldn't work on Wu Chang.

After much deliberation, he decided to first draw attention through force.

He had already succeeded in attracting attention; whether he could actually win afterward remained uncertain.

Though Wu Chang lacked Xiang Jianxing's mind-reading ability, he could plainly see Xiang Jianxing's nervousness with just his eyes.

So many players were watching him, yet only Xiang Jianxing dared come knocking—this didn't mean Xiang Jianxing was brave; the others were just waiting for him to board the ship, leave shore, and become isolated before ambushing him.

Xiang Jianxing coming to him likely meant he was truly cornered—if Wu Chang refused to give him a ticket, what would he do?

A mischievous curiosity stirred in his heart, but after a moment's thought, he decided not to toy with Xiang Jianxing.

A player barely over level 20, still untransformed twice, was already struggling to survive in a nearly out-of-control A-rank dungeon—no need to accidentally kill him.

He glanced at his four bodyguards and signaled to the strongest one, saying:

"Test his mettle—no weapons, just a light sparring."

While probing Xiang Jianxing's strength, he could also assess the combat capability of his own bodyguards.

The bodyguard chosen bore the codename Qing Long; he bowed, then strode toward Xiang Jianxing.

Wu Chang's rules weren't meant only for Qing Long—Xiang Jianxing, equally sensible, refrained from using his flying sword, marked out a sparring zone, and engaged in unarmed combat within it.

As soon as they clashed, Xiang Jianxing sensed something off about Qing Long: though Qing Long showed no extraordinary powers, his entire body was wrapped in an invisible aura, hard as steel—Xiang Jianxing's energy struck it and couldn't budge it an inch.

At the same time, Qing Long's punches and kicks were astonishingly fast—no complex techniques from advanced combat skills, just basic moves: jabs, low sweeps, elbow strikes, knee thrusts.

Yet each strike was both swift and devastating, as if he possessed the speed of an Agility-specialist player and the damage output of a Strength-specialist player, his assault like a sudden storm, crushing Xiang Jianxing under relentless pressure.

Xiang Jianxing was certain: Qing Long's stats were fundamentally broken. If this continued, he'd lose to a dungeon native.

With no other choice, he activated his skill.

Suddenly, Xiang Jianxing retreated, putting three meters of distance between himself and Qing Long; as Qing Long closed in, Xiang Jianxing formed a sword seal with his fingers, releasing dozens of sword qi.

The sword qi pierced the air, icy and sharp, streaking straight for Qing Long.

After releasing the sword qi, Xiang Jianxing glanced nervously at Wu Chang, as if saying: you only said no weapons—I'm using bare hands, this isn't cheating.

Wu Chang understood Xiang Jianxing's look and couldn't help clicking his tongue: "You've got such a noble face, yet your shamelessness rivals mine."

If you play like this, when the Administration holds a bare-handed sparring tournament, you'll open with a Thousand Thunder Technique.

Qing Long sensed the sword qi and immediately shifted stance, drawing in his chest, tucking his head, raising both arms before him, switching from offense to defense, bracing to absorb the blow.

The fierce sword qi struck Qing Long with a sharp metallic clang, shredding his black suit and revealing a body of sharply defined muscle, along with a full-body tattoo of a coiling green dragon.

Qing Long stood firm, not retreating a single step; he glanced at the fine cuts on his arms, as if sliced by an A4 paper, and his expression turned serious.

His green dragon tattoo seemed to come alive, slowly slithering across his body; the thin aura clinging to his skin instantly thickened into a half-meter flame.

Unarmed combat was never Xiang Jianxing's strength; seeing Qing Long prepare to strike hard, he instinctively reached behind his back to unbind the cloth bundle and release his flying sword.

"Enough." Wu Chang clapped his hands, halting the fight.

He was thoroughly satisfied with the sparring—his four bodyguards weren't merely high-stat NPCs; under the realm's blessing, their trained combat techniques had granted them a unique aura.

This energy is similar to internal martial arts in wuxia novels, capable of both offense and defense, and extremely powerful in close-range combat, even giving an advantage against players.

Without his flying sword, Xiang Jianxing could only unleash two-tenths of his true strength, but Qinglong hadn't begun using his full power either.

More importantly, all four bodyguards were armed with guns. In the Silent Voyage instance's dimensional rules, firearms likely receive some kind of bonus—otherwise, given Qinglong's displayed agility and strength attributes, even throwing a sunflower seed would rival a shotgun's power; why would he carry ordinary guns at all?

Wu Chang was satisfied with Qinglong's strength, but even more so with his own.

Previously in the Erosion instance, Xiang Jianxing's flying sword and sword qi had moved too fast for his eyes to track.

After his agility and inspiration surged dramatically, and after he further enhanced his five senses through the Thunder Technique fragment and the Secret Knight transformation, he could now clearly see every movement of Xiang Jianxing and Qinglong.

Not only could he see them clearly—he even found them slow.

If he unleashed his elbow strike at full power, he was confident his elbow would move faster than Qinglong's fist.

Wu Chang walked toward Xiang Jianxing and said, "You're hired."

He had expected Xiang Jianxing, even if not overcome with gratitude or professing loyalty, would at least offer polite words like "Boss."

But Xiang Jianxing opened his mouth and said, "I have a companion whose skills match mine. Can he join with me?"

Damn, just got hired and already trying to bring in family and friends—what a corrupt atmosphere.

!

Wu Chang wrinkled his nose and waved his hand. "Bring him here."

A few minutes later, Xiang Jianxing returned with a tall woman, her hair styled in a princess cut, parted cleanly down the middle, dyed black on the left and white on the right.

The woman Xiang Jianxing brought back was the Negotiation Master—over 1.9 meters tall in her leather boots, and with such striking hair color, anyone who saw her once would never forget.

Looking at the unlucky duo before him, Wu Chang struggled hard not to laugh.

Slim and well-proportioned Xiang Jianxing stood beside the Negotiation Master, looking especially petite and delicate—come to think of it, their height difference was perfect, and they even had a certain couple vibe.

Since they were both Bureau members, Wu Chang would naturally help them—but as Li Zaishi, he still had to maintain some dignity, act like a boss.

He looked the Negotiation Master straight in the eye, then lowered his gaze to Xiang Jianxing and asked, "Is she qualified?"

The Negotiation Master stepped forward and said, "I can engage in a friendly sparring match like my companion—but I'm a psychologist. There are better ways to demonstrate my abilities than fighting."

As she spoke, she extended both hands and clapped sharply—everyone present instinctively looked at her palms.

Then she spread her fingers wide, twisted them inward into fists, and the afterimages of her rotating fingers formed a vortex, causing circles to appear in the eyes of the Four Golden Guardians and the secretary.

"We'll all be colleagues from now on. Fighting would only harm harmony. How about you just accept my entry?"

As the Negotiation Master spoke, Wu Chang felt a skill attempting to judge him—but their inspiration values differed too greatly; the skill could not lock onto him at all.

But the others lacked such high inspiration. Wu Chang turned back and saw the Four Golden Guardians and the secretary staring at the Negotiation Master with no hostility whatsoever—they had clearly accepted her as a new member.

Wu Chang shrugged and praised, "Interesting ability."

The Negotiation Master looked at her new boss, her calm expression vanishing, replaced by caution and solemnity.

"Rest assured, my companion and I will strive to fulfill our security duties."

Wu Chang nodded and asked, "You don't have anyone else?"

Xiang Jianxing replied, "No one else."

Wu Chang turned to the secretary and ordered, "Have Yu Jinzhe prepare two more tickets."

Twenty minutes later, a convoy of seven to eight police cars arrived before Wu Chang. The lead officer stepped out, saluted Wu Chang first, then had his subordinate hand over two tickets to the secretary.

After successfully handing over the tickets, the officer sighed in relief and explained:

"Director Li, recently a gang of robbers has appeared at the port, targeting the wealthy and specifically stealing Star Leap tickets—just this afternoon, two ticket thefts occurred. Officer Yu feared they'd strike again, so he ordered us to deliver these tickets."

The secretary smiled warmly at the officer. "Officer Yu is thoughtful. When we return from sea, we'll bring a fruit basket to visit him."

Xiang Jianxing and the Negotiation Master exchanged glances—they seemed to have finally found a powerful patron.

For a single boarding ticket, other players had fought bloody battles; at least two were seriously injured during the scramble, captured by police, and locked up; three others either died or withdrew, leaving the instance early.

Before the ship even left port, five people had already been eliminated.

Such a precious ticket—yet this native named Li Zaishi merely needed to make a phone call, and the highest official of the Bay Hall squeezed out two tickets and sent them by police car.

Is this the true value of a randomly spawned hidden NPC?

Wu Chang paid no attention to their thoughts; he simply told them to follow him to his hotel to rest, and to board the ship with him the next morning.

The next morning, Wu Chang, accompanied by the secretary and the Four Golden Guardians, with Xiang Jianxing and the Negotiation Master trailing behind, boarded the Star Leap in a grand procession.

The Star Leap was a large luxury passenger liner, capable of carrying 2,500 people, 300 meters long and 30 meters tall, with seven decks.

Decks one and two were cargo holds; decks three and four were standard cabins; deck five housed the business-class lounge; deck six was for crew quarters; deck seven contained the banquet hall and luxury cabins.

Wu Chang's group all held tickets for the luxury cabins on deck seven.

Luxury cabin tickets required booking six months in advance; ideally, none should have been available—but there's always a way.

Simply invoking Li Zaishi's name was enough to make the original luxury cabin passengers willingly postpone their trip to the next sailing.

From the moment they boarded the Star Leap, Wu Chang sensed a heavy concentration of esoteric energy—so dense he didn't need to locate ritual nodes; merely taking out the Secret Trial Seal in his cabin was enough for esoteric contamination to flow into him through transformation.

The entire Star Leap was a mobile, massive esoteric ritual.

The organization that arranged this esoteric ritual clearly had no intention of letting anyone leave this ship.

Though Xiang Jianxing and the Negotiation Master couldn't see esoteric energy, as seasoned players with sharp intuition, they felt a faint but persistent pressure.

As soon as they boarded, they seized the chance to separate from Wu Chang and began exploring the entire ship.

Time passed slowly. At exactly 10 a. m., the harbor fog had thinned enough to meet minimum navigation visibility standards.

The crew made one final offering to the Sea God, then, amid deafening horn blasts, the Star Leap slowly glided out of the harbor.

Wu Chang stood on the private deck of his luxury suite, gazing down at the cheering crowds below—people chatted about how unforgettable this journey would be, utterly unaware it was a trip with no return.

And the vessel they boarded was destined to fall silent.

As Wu Chang sighed, a knock came at the door.

Had Xiang Jianxing and the Negotiation Master returned so soon?

Wu Chang turned his head and saw the secretary opening the door, letting in a bald man wearing tinted glasses.

"Director Li, I am Park Changmin of the Xinyuzhou Sect. I wonder if you still remember me."

(End of Chapter)