Volume 1, Chapter 52: How Did I Become Wanted?

"Ahem! Cardinal, I would like to ask, how many points would it cost if I wanted to enlist the power of the Myriad Treasure House to investigate the whereabouts of my wife?"

Qin Shang coughed softly, steering the conversation back to the main point.

If I let this woman keep spouting nonsense, who knows what kind of bizarre remarks she might come up with next...

Hearing this, the Cardinal cast a suspicious glance at Qin Shang.

"Cases of missing persons should usually be handled by the Public Security Bureau, shouldn't they?"

"Isn't it a bit of an extravagant waste to spend points to mobilize the power of the Myriad Treasure House?"

The Cardinal's smile faded, her beautiful eyes filled with incomprehension.

Qin Shang shook his head.

"My wife is likely a Divine Path player as well."

"She disappeared without a trace, vanishing completely into thin air, which is why I want to seek the help of the Myriad Treasure House."

"She told me she was going on a business trip to Yanjing three months ago, and after that, she lost all contact."

"Oh?"

The Cardinal paused for a moment, then nodded slightly as she waited for a traffic light to change.

"No wonder you want to use the Myriad Treasure House to gather clues. If your wife really is a Divine Path player, she must have been matched with other players in certain instances before."

"As long as there are traces of her existence, tracking her down shouldn't be too difficult."

"However..."

At the end of her sentence, a trace of sympathy flickered in the Cardinal's eyes.

"I advise you to prepare for the worst, because I have never heard of any player being trapped inside an instance for ninety days without returning."

"You should mentally brace yourself. It is very likely that your wife has already... well, you know!"

Upon hearing this, Qin Shang's expression darkened.

Of course, he understood what the Cardinal meant.

She was simply suspecting that Jiang Qiqi was no longer among the living, but Qin Shang still gritted his teeth and said,

"I understand, but I believe my wife is still alive. Perhaps she is facing some kind of external threat and has to hide without contacting me, because she left me a message before she disappeared... saying she was safe and sound and that we would have a chance to meet again in the future."

Hearing this, the Cardinal stopped pouring cold water and nodded.

"Do you know your wife's Divine Path ID? Without that, it's extremely difficult to pinpoint a player. What about her class? Do you have any clues?"

Qin Shang thought for a moment.

"Her game ID is very likely 'A Devout Mother Guards the Center Line', and 'Guards' is the character for defense!"

"Got it. And you're not sure about her class, right?"

Seeing Qin Shang deep in thought, the Cardinal immediately realized that he had no idea what his wife's class was.

Hearing this, Qin Shang gave a bitter smile.

"She became a Divine Path player much earlier than I did. She never talked to me about the Divine Path before, so I'm not sure about her class, but her ID is likely that one."

"Alright!"

The Cardinal understood what Qin Shang meant.

"Then I'll do my best to help you investigate during this period."

"As for the fee, let's say fifteen points. That's a friendly price."

"After all, the only clue you've given is a game ID. Often, even if we put the word out hoping to attract other player teammates who once cleared an instance with your wife, those people might not necessarily be willing to step forward and help provide clues."

"So the hope is still slim, and I can only say I'll do my best. Of course, this is also under the premise that your wife is not a high-level Divine Path player. If it involves Order-tier elites or Rule-tier players, then I'm afraid I won't be able to help!"

"I understand. Just do your best, thank you!"

Having received his answer, Qin Shang breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Actually, for the Cardinal to put it this way showed she was being frank with him; at least she had no intention of swindling him.

From Qin Shang's current perspective, fifteen points was an astronomical figure.

However, to someone like the Cardinal, fifteen points—equivalent to fifteen million—might be a completely negligible amount.

She had no reason to cheat him out of his money, and an investigation based solely on an ID, much like hunting for a needle in a haystack, would consume a vast amount of energy.

They were neither kin nor old acquaintances; if he put himself in the Cardinal's shoes, the most likely choice would have been... to refuse the request altogether.

"Oh right, is your wife an official player? Actually, you could also try reaching out to official players. Perhaps they can provide some clues on their end."

Shortly after, the Cardinal kindly offered a suggestion.

Who would have thought that as soon as these words left her mouth, Qin Shang's expression turned gloomy in a flash.

"Official players? If they found out my identity as a Trickster character card holder, they'd probably rush over to hack me into pieces at the very first opportunity, wouldn't they?"

"After all, killing a Trickster yields a handsome reward in points."

The Cardinal acutely caught the undertone of resistance toward official players in Qin Shang's words.

"Hmm..."

"Did you misunderstand something?"

"The reward of points for killing a Trickster is an optional task that pops up when players of other classes are matched with a Trickster in the same instance."

"You can choose whether or not to take on this task, and only by accepting it can you receive a reward of one hundred points after killing a Trickster player."

"In other words, getting rewarded for killing a Trickster is a matter strictly within the instance. Once you're out of the instance, everyone is just a regular player."

"You can still live in peace; at worst, a Trickster will just be ostracized and guarded against by other players, but they certainly won't become public enemies hunted down by everyone."

Hearing this, Qin Shang froze.

"Killing a Trickster doesn't always grant benefits in every situation..."

"Uh-huh. Otherwise, why do you think the Gambler's underworld gaming dens are still running so prosperously?"

No wonder when he inherited the tasks of 'Everyone Who Touches Me Gets Capped' and 'Sympathetic Big Sis', he hadn't seen any so-called [Optional Tasks].

Because both of them were rookie players who didn't even know what points were used for, naturally there was no need for them to check that task box.

Meanwhile, noticing Qin Shang's stunned expression,

The Cardinal said with exasperation,

"Although that guy has tried his absolute best to keep things hidden, there are still flaws and loopholes, and the official players basically adopt a blind-eye attitude toward him."

"If there were actual benefits to killing him in reality, do you believe the Gambler would drop dead within a minute? If killing a Trickster in reality also yielded rewards, I estimate the Trickster class wouldn't be far from extinction."

"How could the Gambler live so comfortably, let alone run a gray-industry hotel as a cover for his casino?"

Midway through, the Cardinal changed the subject, arching a delicate eyebrow.

"However, how come I get the feeling you have a very poor impression of official players?"

"Actually, even independent players like myself occasionally need to deal with official players. Making friends with them is not a bad thing."

"By 'making friends,' I mean regardless of class, because the authorities have a self-developed app called the Divine Path Players Official Forum. Not only can you exchange instance walkthroughs there, but you can also upload your own instance experience and insights in exchange for points."

"It's considered one of the major channels for Divine Path players to earn points in the real world. If you fall out too badly with the authorities, independent players can't even get invitation codes, let alone become registered users of the Divine Path Players Official Forum."

Hearing this, Qin Shang narrowed his eyes.

No wonder...

However, it seemed he didn't need to suck up to official players anyway.

After all, the phone left behind by his wife had the Divine Path Players Official Forum installed on it.

Qin Shang could easily acquire information through that phone, so there was no need to rely on the authorities as a medium.

His expression remained completely unchanged as he cold-ly said,

"Back in an instance, an official player tried to kill me. Right at the instance settlement phase, while waiting to leave, this guy colluded with another player and tried to make a move on me. It should be considered quite normal for me not to harbor good feelings toward official players."

"As for the Divine Path Players Official Forum, there's no need to worry; I have that mini-program."

"As far as I'm concerned, they are not worth trusting. I'd rather keep my distance from these official players!"

"Wait..."

Before Qin Shang realized it, as his words fell, the Cardinal's beautiful eyes gradually widened, her face suffused with astonishment.

Screech—

Immediately following a sharp screech of brakes, the Cardinal looked at Qin Shang with a mixture of shock and doubt.

"What did you just say! You said an official player made a move on you during the instance settlement phase?"

"Yes!"

The Cardinal's expression instantly turned immensely peculiar.

"You might not know this, but official players are not allowed to casually attack other players. This is a rule laid down by the official leadership. If both parties had no conflict within the instance and didn't interfere with each other's tasks, an official player attacking a Trickster just for those one hundred points is a capital offense."

"If discovered, they will be sent to the official adjudication tribunal!"

"While we can't completely rule out people taking desperate risks under the delusion that they can pull the wool over everyone's eyes, you've already made it out of the instance alive, which means the other party is likely throwing caution to the wind."

"If you go to the Public Security Bureau to submit a report and proof that you and that player appeared in the same instance, they will be investigated by the authorities."

"As long as the evidence is confirmed, that's attempted murder, and they'll be dragged into a court of law in reality..."

Hearing this, a flash of astonishment crossed Qin Shang's expression.

Put that way, when Justice Eagle made a move on him back then, he was taking a desperate gamble.

With the mindset of succeed or perish?

No, wait, he was playing the odds...

Because he was a rookie player, and specifically held the unique class of a Trickster, Justice Eagle dared to be certain that Qin Shang was unaware of the exceptionally severe punishments awaiting official players who wantonly attacked other players.

This bastard, I almost died back there.

Thinking of this, Qin Shang suddenly broke into a grin, flashing a row of white teeth.

Punishment follows a report, you say?

Ah, putting it that way, my chance to turn the tables and hold my head high has finally arrived...

No wonder Justice Eagle had such a terrified look in his eyes when he left the second carriage.

That initial greed—treating him like a walking stack of RMB—had dissolved into that kind of uncertain, bewildered terror.

Was a good part of it likely due to this reason?

"Where is the reporting channel?"

Qin Shang licked his lips, wearing an eager expression.

He had always considered himself the type to never let a grudge carry over to the next day, because under normal circumstances, Qin Shang would settle grudges right on the spot!

What a joke. He was a brain cancer patient, after all.

Even the doctors had declared he might not live past three months; he could go to sleep one night and never wake up the next morning when the sun rose.

He had no intention of dragging those grievances down into the netherworld.

Hearing this, the Cardinal spoke with a peculiar expression.

"You can report it right inside the Divine Path Players Official Forum, under the 'Official Tasks' section."

Upon hearing this, Qin Shang immediately fished his wife's old phone out of his backpack.

Since Justice Eagle had wanted his life inside the instance, the relationship between Qin Shang and him was already irreconcilable.

If they happened to cross paths in another instance next time, Qin Shang was certain Justice Eagle would try to kill him again without a second thought.

Before setting off for Yanjing, Qin Shang had fully charged his wife's phone in advance, and the Divine Path Players Official Forum was right there on it.

Sure enough, the next moment, Qin Shang found the reporting function under the "Official Tasks" section.

Watching Qin Shang's ferocious and strange expression, the Cardinal understood what was going on in his mind.

The young man was eight parts unlikely to swallow this grievance. Just earlier, when he looked displeased with Chen Muzi, Qin Shang had orchestrated a high-stakes gamble just to vent some pent-up anger for 'Grandpa Niu' and push a guy back into the depths of despair.

Faced with the mastermind who had nearly taken his life, it wasn't surprising that he would take action now.

However, as soon as he opened the "Official Tasks" section,

Qin Shang's attention was suddenly drawn to a pinned bounty mission.

His expression abruptly underwent a drastic change.

"What the hell? Why have I become a wanted player?"

What?

Hearing this, the Cardinal, who was driving beside him, arched a delicate eyebrow.

Unable to help herself, she cast a sideways glance at him.

Her red lips twitched. This kid certainly knew how to stir up trouble.

A rookie who had just become a Trickster had somehow turned into a Divine Path player wanted by the authorities in the blink of an eye?