Chapter 23: Back Into the Game

"Yuan, Yuan Jie, too close!"

Fang Yue jumped in surprise, his body freezing.

"Hehe, Ayue, teach me how to be a professional player, okay?"

"Yuan Jie, isn't your job fine enough?"

"Ah, don't mention it, it just makes me annoyed—just tell me, will you teach me or not?"

"Yuan Jie, if you really want to get into this circle, I'll definitely help you wholeheartedly, but I'm not doing too well myself either…"

"Hehe, that's true too…"

Yuan Jie's expression dimmed again, then she grinned foolishly at Fang Yue, suddenly cute as she clapped her cheeks with both hands.

"Go blow-dry your hair, we're going out soon."

Saying this, Yuan Jie had already slipped into Fang Yue's room.

"Wait! Yuan Jie, are you free tomorrow?"

"Depends, why?"

Yuan Jie poked her head out.

"I made a bit of money in the game, I want to take you out to dinner, celebrate together."

"Okay!" Yuan Jie's face lit up with a fresh, cute smile, showing her teeth: "I want a big meal!"

"OK!"

The plan was settled, Fang Yue had finished cleaning his bowls and chopsticks and was about to return to his room when Yuan Jie suddenly poked her head out again, giving him a small fright.

"Yuan Jie, what now?"

"I forgot to mention—when I came back, on the road downstairs, there was a girl holding your photo asking people where you live. That girl was super pretty—did you get someone pregnant or something?"

"I'm still a virgin…"

Fang Yue nearly blurted it out, but caught himself in time, his face flushing red: "I didn't! I'm not! Don't slander me!"

He thought: in Jianghai City, he only knew his university classmates and his two roommates, and his private life was clean—how could a girl be looking for him?

"Hehe, maybe it's a distant relative coming to find you."

"That's unlikely—were you sure she was looking for me?"

Yuan Jie pressed her finger to her chin, pouted, furrowed her brow, thought for a moment, then said: "It must be you—even though I only saw her back, that white shirt with the red apple on it is unmistakable—it's the birthday gift I gave you a few months ago."

Girls are more sensitive to clothing, especially since Yuan Jie herself had personally picked out that shirt from a small shop—it's almost impossible to mistake.

A white shirt with a red apple?

That's the shirt I wore yesterday when I bought the Game Watch.

Could she really be looking for me? But why…

Suddenly, Fang Yue's mind flashed on something.

Parchment!

Damn! Could it be because of it?

Fang Yue suddenly felt afraid.

Could she be dangerous?

Just as he thought this, Yuan Jie continued: "But after she asked around and couldn't find you, she left."

"Left? You didn't tell her where I live?"

As a professional player, Fang Yue rarely went out—even his neighbors rarely saw him, let alone other residents in the complex.

"Of course I didn't," Yuan Jie said as if it were obvious: "Jokes are jokes, but I'd never give out your info to a stranger—what if she's a bad person? But… you didn't get into any trouble, right?"

"No no, I'm just a gamer—what trouble could I possibly have?"

"That's true."

Yuan Jie flicked her hair, went back to blow-dry it, finished quickly, changed clothes in her room, said goodbye to Fang Yue, and left.

But Fang Yue was still mulling it over, feeling uneasy.

Why was that woman investigating me?

Why did she leave so casually after failing to find me?

Will she come back?

What was her purpose?

Thinking of these things, Fang Yue returned to his room, picked up the Parchment, and stared at it for a long time—but the Parchment gave no reaction.

"Maybe I'm overthinking it."

Sighing, Fang Yue pushed the thoughts aside, put on his Game Watch, lay down, and entered the game.

The room fell silent, and the Parchment began to slowly reveal text.

"They've found me!"

"It's dangerous—I'm in danger now!"

"I got so scared just now, I forgot to give the idiot a hint…"

"I can't just sit here and wait—I need to give the idiot some power, so he can protect my safety!"

"I hope he's already gained strong enough abilities in the game 'Blue Sea'—otherwise, even a clever housewife can't cook without rice."

"Next time he comes out, I'll trick him into exchanging for power—his lifespan should be enough to pay the cost."

…

Ping'an Bounty Company.

Director Liu's office.

Bang.

Chen Xiaomiao kicked open the door and walked in yawning.

"Liu Zong, I'm here."

"Mm."

Liu Zong took a stack of documents from the drawer and set them on the table.

"This is today's quota."

"This much?"

Chen Xiaomiao, who had just been yawning, widened her eyes and raised her voice: "Are all their investigators disabled? Did they break their legs and get steel prosthetics or something? That's why they covered so much ground in a single day — tell me, aren't they tired? I should thank their whole families!"

"... That just means they're excellent."

Liu Zong's face was speechless — where did this new hire pick up that passive-aggressive tone.

Without overthinking it, he went on: "Did you go investigate that matter today? Don't slack off and go play games again. When I checked the post, I saw you browsing a gaming forum, using some ID called Miaofa Ziran to reply to threads all over the place."

"Liu Zong! You're a pervert! Snooping on me lurking forums!"

"... That was work hours. You weren't doing your job — am I not allowed to see what you're up to?"

"No way, no way there's really a company that won't even give its employees privacy, right? No way, no way? Can I sue you for sexual harassment?"

"... Fine, fine, it won't happen again. Let's talk work, okay? Did you actually go investigate today or not?"

The moment work came up, Chen Xiaomiao's face fell: "I did, I did. With that many people, how could I finish checking in a single day? To check on one person, I specifically went to scout the location."

Liu Zong's face lit up: "What? You have a lead?"

"Nope, just a passerby. From the data the investigators gave me, he happened to be nearby at the time, so I checked him along the way."

Chen Xiaomiao looked disgusted: "Turns out the area he lives in is filthy, run-down, the cheap kind of neighborhood. I asked around, nobody knows exactly where he lives, so I didn't keep looking."

"Why did you stop? Everyone has to be thoroughly checked!"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. With this many people and me alone checking, if I went into detail on every single one I'd need six arms and three heads. Besides, he was just passing through, only happened to be there — the odds are low."

"Still have to check... As for manpower, I'll assign some to you later. The company has a big mission right now and can't spare hands for the moment. Bear with it for a few days."

Chen Xiaomiao pursed her lips, not really believing her boss.

Listening to Liu Zong's nagging, she just wanted to get off work fast and go home to play games.

"Today I'll try that force-dispersal method 【Yese Liming】 mentioned, and challenge some of the Patrol Team."

……

(End of chapter)