Translator: Lonelytree Editor: Millman97
At the market, Feng Bujue brushed Zen Dream off and then left with a face that showed his annoyance.
Phantom Dawn was looking at the retreating man.
“Who was that?” he asked Zen Dream, who stood next to him. “He’s daring enough to brush off one of the aces of Regulation? That’s rare to see these days.”
“How shall I put this…” Zen Dream said as he lit himself a cigarette. “He’s an interesting fella.”
“What do you mean ‘interesting’? He’s more like an aggravating madman,” Atobe-sama added snidely. This was overheard by Understanding Death. It hit him then. Suddenly alert, he asked, “Oh? This young brother from Hyotei…you also know that Feng Bujue? How is Brother Jue in combat? Can you tell?”
“What young brother from Hyotei? My ID is floating above my person, isn’t it? At the very least, I am the leader of this guild!” Atobe grumbled. “Why is this trio with a name as ridiculous as ‘Qu Ming Nan’ so popular? Why has no one heard anything about me before?”
“Who told you to borrow an actual anime character’s name and to add a ‘-sama’ after it?” Ming Zi said in a mocking tone.
“Since we’re talking about being ridiculous…your ID alone can rival the three of ours combined together,” Qu Ming said.
Zhen Nan added, “Furthermore, the reason no one knows about you is because you are too weak. If you were powerful, as shameless as your ID might be and even though you’re just 1.6 meters tall, you would have been more popular.”
“Hey!” Phantom Dawn roared. “Do you think I can’t hear you? Want to duel? I don’t think I will remember your ID because it’s so confusing!”
They soon ran off-topic and started to mock each other.
Seeing this, Understanding Death gave a helpless sigh and turned toward the other direction.
“Where are you going?” Sashimi noticed he was leaving, so he called after him.
“There’s one small thing that I need to confirm,” Understanding Death replied. “I’ll be back in a minute. Just watch over this group of kids for me.”
Meanwhile, at one side of the information tower, Feng Bujue stood in the middle of the crowd. He looked at the Auction House’s information and found it refreshing. Actually, he didn’t have anything to do. He was just there to follow the latest economy. As the Tournament drew closer, the price had fluctuated again. It hadn’t returned to the start of the open beta when the price was baseless. It looks like the majority of the buyers and sellers were rational. There were also those who wished to lure others into scams.
“Excuse me, Mr. Feng Bujue,” Understanding Death said as he walked to Brother Jue’s side. He did not pat Brother Jue on the shoulder because in the game’s public space, engaging in physical interaction with an unknown player without getting the said player’s permission could be very dangerous. Physical or sexual assault was impossible in-game due to system limitations, but there were other actions like pulling and pushing, patting shoulders, and holding hands that were difficult for the system to clearly define. For some, they might be uncomfortable interactions, but for others, they might not mean anything. Therefore, in public spaces, including the conference room, the worst that could happen from tapping a stranger’s shoulder was being killed by the virtual guards at the market.
The guards were immensely powerful. They were close to two meters tall and had the appearance of Terminators. They wore a black uniform with the word ‘Guard’ emblazoned on their back. Looking at them would make anyone think twice about breaking the rules. If players are not in a scenario, their body conditions would return to normal. Hence, they would be unable to use most skills and items. They wouldn’t match the guards in battle. Furthermore, the guards had the ability to kick the players offline. If necessary, the photon computer could lock the players in their gaming hub even from a distance, and they can contact law enforcement authorities.
It was thus that Thriller Paradise had come up with measures that would prevent possible acts of threat, violence, and sexual harassment among players in public spaces to the maximum. They wanted to ensure that the game was of a peaceful nature, especially because there is a diverse community interacting within the game. This ensures the authenticity of the nervous-connectivity game. It was worth noting that this series of effective and forceful actions had been greatly supported and praised by the government. It might be replicated by other industries in the future. Of course, there were protests against these measures taken by Dream Inc., and it was talked about in complaint threads in the forum. Needless to say, all the people’s citizen IDs had been copied down and sent to the law enforcement authorities for future reference.
“Ah? Who is it?” Feng Bujue turned around and saw who it was. At that moment, his eyes moved up and down, and his brain was spinning fast.
Understanding Death, Regulation, Gotham City, Battle for the Cowl, and one of the six other people were originally on the ranking, but the ranking changed after that scenario. He came alone to talk to me. That could only mean…
A series of thoughts raced through his brain like horses. In a second, Brother Jue came to a conclusion.
He suspects I am the hidden player in the second place on the ranking, so he came to probe and find out.
Therefore, without hesitation, Feng Bujue opened his lips to say, “Okay, that’s me. I don’t mind you sharing that info with others in your studio, but please don’t spread it to the public.”
“This…” This sudden declaration stunned Understanding Death. Normally, the way people solved problems was linear. They would move from A to B and then to C, going step by step before reaching the conclusion at Z. The shorter the time needed during this process, the faster one’s thinking process was.
Understanding Death was not a dumb person, and he had quite a fast reflex. But he still needed some time to think things through. Feng Bujue, however, was on another planet.
Whenever Brother Jue would communicate with strangers, he didn’t want to waste time. Therefore, when the person started the conversation with A, he would answer directly and go straight to Z.
“Erm… Brother Feng, I haven’t even asked anything yet,” Understanding Death said.
“I know you plan to start with a series of twisting and turning and asking several questions before coming to the core of the reason you’re here,” Feng Bujue said as he pointed at the combat stat ranking above them. “I’m merely helping you save time.” He paused before turning to the man. “Why? Do you have something else you wish to talk to me about?”
This was a clear sign that the conversation was over.
“Hah…There’s nothing else. I do not wish to disturb you further.” Understanding Death smiled helplessly and turned around. He thought about what had just happened.
Feng Bujue, is it? Haven’t seen him before. I haven’t heard of his ID, but he didn’t sound like he was bluffing. Could he really be the second-ranking player on the combat stat ranking?
He turned back to look and saw that Brother Jue had his finger up his nose.
“This… well, Zen’s right. He’s an interesting man.” Understanding Death’s lips twitched. He did not know what to say about Feng Bujue.
