After the perfunctory chat between the two parties, Feng Bujue obtained the key to room B of the Tian row, and the four left the room.
———
Item Name: Room Key
Item Type: Plot Item
Quality: Normal
Effect: Owner and their group gain access to room B of the Tian row.
Can be taken out of the scenario: Yes
Remark: Even if the key is not physically in your inventory, as long as it is within the possession of any member who is part of your group, entry to the room can be gained.
———
“Oh, this item can be taken out of the scenario, and it will change into a puzzle card after the mission is done.” Feng Bujue looked at the item description. “Why don’t you take this, Passing Rain? You are stronger than me and won’t die so easily. Furthermore, I am sure your inventory is emptier than mine.”
“Hey, of everyone in this room, my player level is the highest! Plus, I am a professional gamer. Shouldn’t you have given the key to me?” Atobe complained.
Feng Bujue changed the topic. “Speaking of the professional gamer… I have a plan that needs your help.”
“Huh? What plan?” Atobe asked.
“Do you still remember that pretty woman that commented on my kung fu when we were on the first floor?” Feng Bujue asked.
“I do. That old man, Meng Jiu, mentioned that her surname is Mu Rong, right?” Atobe replied.
“At the time, I was paying attention to the surroundings. From the snippets of the conversation, I can make the safe assumption that Miss Mu Rong is some kind of know-it-all character,” Fu Bujue said while scratching his chin. “In other words, she is a wealth of information.”
“You wish for me to approach her to get information about this world?” Atobe asked.
“Indeed, that is what professional gamers do, right?” Fu Bujue answered. “Use your professional technique to approach her to chat or something. When the conversation gets going, just say that you’re new to the martial world, so you don’t know many things and wish to ask her for help.”
“I am a professional gamer, not a professional host!” Atobe shouted.
“Don’t worry, I’m not asking you to go and sell your body. I’m just asking you to go initiate some conversation, and when the timing is right, ask some questions.” Fu Bujue ignored the complaint. “With regards to interactions between players and game characters, one can always refer to Clause D of the gaming rules, also known as the player’s in-game behavior and interaction rule.
“Regardless of gender, any interaction or intention that is deemed by the system to have fallen into the categories of Clause B and C will be limited and suspended. The player’s intention will not be translated into actual actions. Repeat offenders will be forcibly disconnected, and said players will be added into the permanent ban list and closely monitored.
“I investigated it and realized that interactions between players and in-game characters or monsters are even more limited even when compared to interactions between players. With consent from both parties, intimate interactions to a certain degree are still possible between players, but there can’t be any sexually charged interactions between players and in-game characters even though that does not preclude them from having affection toward you.
“In conclusion, you can go ahead and talk to her. You won’t be taking advantage of her.”
“Hey! That is a pretty woman, not a scary-looking brute! You are making it sound like it will be my loss, and not being able to be taken advantage of is the real tragedy here!” Atobe replied. “By the way, just what kind of person are you to rattle off the rules word by word and explain the prohibition that stops characters from different dimensions from being in a relationship so clearly? ”
“Oh, that is because there was a hug between me and a female character in a previous scenario. Of course, it was a completely innocent and platonic hug,” Fu Bujue answered calmly. “After that, I was inspired to see where the limitations for such interactions lie. Therefore, I took the time to read up on the related game rules.”
“Eh, doesn’t that mean that it will be much easier for female players to go and seduce male characters? ” Laughing Soul asked jokingly. “After all, we won’t be punished by the system.”
“Girls, please mind your behavior.” Xiao Tan turned around to stare with blazing eyes.
“Just how do you intend to complete the seduction?” Feng Bujue said. “Any intention that is deemed by the system to break the rules won’t be manifested in-game. Even if you want to show some leg in the scenario, a player’s outfit and appearance cannot be changed.”
“Hmm… you have a point.” Laughing Soul nodded while she narrowed her eyes mockingly at Xiao Tan. From her tone, it sounded like she already knew the rules. Perhaps she just wanted to see the reaction of that certain someone.
“Enough, Jin Fugui, what is your decision? You in or not?” Feng Bujue asked.
“I’m warning you, it is one thing that you are telling me to do this gigolo-like behavior…”
Before Atobe could finish. Feng Bujue cut him off. “Alright, Mr. Gigolo, what is your decision? If I were not married, I would have done this myself. With my gift of the gab and persistence, there is no negotiation that I can’t lose. If I went and did this myself, it would have earned Miss Mu Rong’s ire. You are not handing this job over to Xiao Tan, right? You should consider it a blessing that this kid has not leaked our information yet.”
“This is just a simple negotiation. Why can’t us girls do it?” Passing Rain asked.
“Hahaha!” Feng Bujue laughed loudly. “Good Idea, I have always wanted to know… when two women who have never met each other meet, one approaching the situation with such an obvious goal… just what kind of opening should be used in this kind of situation?”
Passing Rain stared at Feng Bujue silently for a long time before saying, “Fine, I will leave this to the professional.”
“Okay, please stop this back and forth between the two of you. I promise that I will go and try, okay?” Atobe sighed weakly. “But fair warning, I cannot do anything if she chooses to ignore me.”
“Why would you say that, Mr. Gigolo? Don’t look down upon yourself,” Feng Bujue replied. “In ancient China faces like yours that are clean, white, and feminine should have a market among the older female generation. Even if she is not that interested, when approached by someone who appears weak and soft, she will at most politely request you to leave her.”
Feng Bujue paused before continuing. “But if Miss Murong thinks it’s fine to have a chat with you, this should be easy. If I’m not mistaken, everything that is known about this world should be common knowledge to her but valuable information to us. So, feel free to ask her about that kind of knowledge.”
“Okay,” Atobe replied. “At this moment, Miss Murong should still be seated in the inn’s lobby. Earlier, we created such a big commotion. If I, as a member of Broken Sword Chahitsu, go down to approach her in front of everyone, it would be inappropriate on her part to answer, so how about we try later?”
“Yes, that is exactly what I mean,” Feng Bujue said as he pushed the room key across the table to Passing Rain, who accepted without a word. It seemed like she had accepted that it would be the better idea for her to hold onto the key item.
“Now, onto the second matter,” Feng Bujue said. “The Six Flowery Blades require my aid because I am the only one who supposedly has Pure Yang Internal Energy.”
“Even though we have managed to postpone it for one day, when tomorrow comes, after you are taught the mantra and Shu Tang asks you for your help, the fact that you do not possess any internal energy will be exposed,” Laughing Soul said with apparent concern on her face. “This problem is far more urgent than gathering information. Once this is exposed, all of us will be in serious trouble. Even if the Six Flowery Blades don’t treat us as enemies, they will stop giving us benefits and protection.”
“You are not wrong. This is indeed a troublesome problem,” Feng Bujue said as he nodded in agreement. “For now, I have come up with two solutions. Of the two, the one that I highly recommend is…”
“For us to go and murder Shu Tang?” Laughing Soul completed the thought in Feng Bujue’s mind.
“Bingo! Spot on!” Feng Bujue agreed with the girl. “Of course, it’ll be best if we can dispose of her body somehow. That way, no case can be made. No one will know whether she is still alive or not, and no one will come to bug me about the promise… at least until the day of the big duel.”
“That is such a cruel thing to say!” Atobe exclaimed while looking at Feng Bujue with shock in his eyes. He could not imagine such words coming out of the lips of the man whom he called a team member. “Last time, when you were slaughtering those zombies, I thought that you had the presence and bearing of a crazy killer. Now, to keep the secret that you do not know any kung fu, you are going to murder someone in cold blood with no regard at all for the person’s innocence! How could such a cold thought even occur in your mind? That is the marking of a real serial killer!”
“When you played Mario and killed all those Goombas, did you consider whether they were truly guilty or not?” Feng Bujue asked.
Atobe was silent and frowned for several seconds before saying, “That is completely different!”
“Tsk… ” Feng Bujue turned his head with dissatisfaction.
“That is false equivalency,” Passing Rain briefly commented.
“The scam has failed,” Laughing Soul added.
“I also disagree that we should go around killing people. The possibility that she might be a high level character aside, there is no guarantee that we won’t be discovered during the fight or when we are trying to deal with the body.” Xiao Tan gave a rare useful suggestion.
“There is no need to worry about that. If we want to kill her, I already have a plan. After she is dead, we will just chop up her body into six parts and wrap them up in old rags. No one will know,” Feng Bujue added.
“You have already planned that far?” Cold sweat slipped down Atobe’s face while he thought internally, Just what kind of character is this?
“But… you do have a point.” Feng Bujue changed the direction of the conversation. “You did remind me of a post that I read on the forums. It said that a player’s in-game behavior might influence his future growth. For example, players who abide by the scenario’s moral code will often have a good ending. In contrast, players who violate the moral code and do cruel things will have a more difficult time in-game. Furthermore, the random drops are related to the player’s play style.”
“Haha… Shadow of the Evil Bat…” Xiao Tan’s first reaction was to read out the skill name of the skill that Feng Bujue had given him.
“Unpredictable Zealot,” Laughing Soul added.
“If this setting is real,” Feng Bujue said, “it can explain most of the situations that I’ve encountered in my solo queues…”
“Is this one of the hidden rules?” Passing Rain asked.
“Perhaps. With this as the basis, players who are deemed kind and rule-abiding and those who are deemed chaotic and evil will develop in different directions. Not only skills, titles, and equipment… their gaming experience will be wildly different as well,” Feng Bujue claimed thoughtfully. “From the looks of it… it’s best that we try not to harm the innocent. We shall try to stand on the side of justice and do things that are qualified as heroic within the range allowable by the mission, just in case you are listed as an evil player like I am by the system.”
At that moment, Atobe asked, “What is your second method?”
“If we can’t kill, then we shall injure,” Feng Bujue said. “If Su Tang is injured to a degree that prevents her from pushing through to the next level of the Ming You Mantra, it’s natural that this shall be postponed, right?
“The gaming time is limited, and we won’t stay until the fourth day, so… as long as we can drag this out until the evening of the day after tomorrow, this shall be taken care of naturally.”
“That might actually work.” Laughing Soul hummed and said, “But… we need to carefully discuss how to injure that Miss Su.”
“That is true. Firstly, we cannot be too obvious about it, and we can only attack her from the dark,” Feng Bujue explained. “Secondly, we cannot let any suspicion fall on us after the fact.”
He crossed his arms before his chest and shook his head. “If we have Laughing Soul snipe her from afar, that can easily accomplish the first point, but that will cause them to easily pin the blame on us. Only a bunch of strangers would ambush them with this kind of method that they are unable to explain.”
“Even if we use a method that they are familiar with, we will still be the most suspicious,” Xiao Tan said. “You have just given your promise to help the Six Blades. If, within that same day, Su Tang is injured by an ambush… honestly, even if someone used this opening to injure her, people would naturally suspect us.”
“I do have an idea that will not direct the suspicion toward us,” Feng Bujue said. “The most suitable idea that I have… is non-discriminate poisoning.”
“Your way of thinking…” Atobe was speechless. Feng Bujue’s train of thought skipped so fast, but he could always end at a startling conclusion.
“The reasoning is simple,” Feng Bujue explained. “To cover the fact that our target is Su Tang, we shall target everyone else. This way, at least from the surface, she will have just encountered a poisoning that doesn’t appear like it has her in mind as the target.”
“Hahaha… ’We shall try to stand on the side of justice and do things that are qualified as heroic’…” Xiao Tan narrowed his eyes and repeated what Feng Bujue had just uttered earlier.
Feng Bujue could only act like he did not hear him and continue, “For an authentic effect, we shall poison ourselves to cover our tracks.”
“Are you mad?” Atobe gasped.
“There’s no better solution. To ensure one lie is not seen through, one has to create a much bigger lie,” Feng Bujue said. “At this moment, we have sunk into this kind of situation. You must understand that our current safety and freedom are built on the foundation of a lie. If this is exposed, the whole string of lies will collapse on its own. To wish to find a place in this town, or rather… to ’survive’, we need to try our best to act in our roles and push until the end. Every minute and every second of our lives needs to be spent to maintain the mysterious yet powerful image of this Broken Sword Chahitsu. If the people outside know about our real capability, this scenario is basically over. In that situation, the only solution that I can think of is to go hide in the mountains, but for that to happen, we must be able to leave this village… no, this street, with our lives.”
“He’s right,” Passing Rain said. “In terms of fighting ability, as long as three more people who are of the same level as that woman yesterday come to challenge us, we will have to pull out our guns, or else we will be wiped out instantly.
“At this moment, if ’Master’ Bujue is exposed, that will be seen as being an impostor. In this world, that might turn everyone hostile against us.”
Feng Bujue continued from where she stopped. “In any case, if there is a real fight, after the group of wuxia heroes see through our gimmicks and know how the basic mechanics of guns work, we’re finished.”
“Either we keep up this farce or become public enemies?” Xiao Tan sighed darkly.
“It’s like we’re Jews who accidentally joined the Nazis during the second world war. The only way we can survive is to trick the people around us into believing we’re true Germans.” Feng Bujue shrugged.
“Let’s talk about the poisoning then…” Atobe sighed.
“If we’re successful, we will achieve our goal and won’t be suspected… or rather, even if the Six Blades are suspicious of us, they have no way of confirming it.”
“Hmm…” Xiao Tan thought about it and said, “Anyone can commit poisoning. If only a small number of people or only one person is poisoned, the suspected party will swiftly be locked onto—those who had beneficial transactions or resentment toward the victim. But if it’s an indiscriminate poisoning with no specific target, then the real culprit will be hard to pinpoint. As long as we do not let up during the process and get poisoned after the fact, then…”
“Okay, three problems.” Laughing Soul could not hold it in anymore and interrupted him. “One, where do we find this substance that will poison but won’t kill? Keep in mind that there has to be big enough to poison a whole inn of people. Two, how do we ensure that the poison will affect the people inside the inn? Three, how do we ensure that the poisoning will not be traced back to us after one and two are completed?”
“Good question,” Feng Bujue replied. He titled his head and shrugged. “I have no clue.”
“Why the hell are we even discussing this?”
“That’s why I said it is the most ideal solution, but as for how we commit it for real… we still have one more day to figure that out.”