Chapter 8, The Wasteland Sea

For Lu Linbei, the history of games is far more interesting than the games themselves

Mei Qianchong smiled and said, "There is a possibility of that, but rest assured, all those who are following me are making a tremendous mistake"

After all, it is merely a cover; the organization will not treat us unfairly

"Sit down," Mei Qianchong casually said, showing no interest in "Meimu." He pulled the chair to the center of the living room, sat down facing the sofa, and placed the kitchen knife on the floor beside his feet.

"Your placement here is intended to draw the snake out of its hole. Last night, it finally showed itself."

Regarding the death of the barber, most speculations point towards the Star Alliance or some extremist organization

As the two individuals tidied up a bit and were just about to head out, a knocking sound suddenly echoed from outside the door

Lu Yezhou's face turned slightly red, and after a moment of inner struggle, he decided to relent, "You are right."

The abrupt knocking at the door startled Lu Yezhou, and it also pulled Lu Linbei back from the brink of the "Wasteland" into reality

Thank you, Lao Qian, you are so considerate. Lu Yezhou stood up, wanting to shake hands to express his gratitude, but Mei Qianchong did not respond, said goodbye, and turned to leave

Both individuals were taken aback. Lu Yezhou asked, "Who is it? Who are you looking for?"

"Well, this is the rule, both Yezi and I understand it." Lu Linbei acknowledged that the other party was correct; the teacher had taught the same during the training course.

As for extremist organizations, there are numerous in number and diverse in viewpoints, making them difficult to define. Lu Linbei selected ten organizations and repeatedly filtered them, ultimately narrowing it down to five. However, he had no investigative means or channels and could only guess wildly like the conspiracy theorists online

The Star Alliance is an abbreviation for the Human Planetary Alliance, a loose organization primarily responsible for providing a framework for deliberation to the governing bodies of various planets. Rational individuals would not believe that the Star Alliance possesses assassins

Lu Linbei sadly discovered that all his painstaking browsing and summarizing might ultimately be no match for a simple explanation in a single sentence

Not yet ... ... Let's eat first. It was only then that Lu Linbei realized it was already evening outside

Hmm?

Rather than aimlessly searching for the assassin, it is better to ponder the "one sentence" that Mei Qianchong should have said but did not.

Uncertain whether it was due to the previous interruption, the comfort brought by Mei Qianchong, or simply pure fatigue, Lu Linbei found that his attention was not as focused as before. Information flashed by one after another, and it was only after a long time that he realized he had not read a single one, even skipping over the titles.

Lu Linbei made a sound of acknowledgment, and Lu Yezhou chuckled twice, "I have followed both of you since childhood, and I will continue to do so in the future, especially you, Old Qian. You have always been our leader, and you will forever be."

Lu Linbei put on his glasses; he had not yet fully emerged from the vast "sea of waste" and felt that there were still many things to be done, and he was not at all interested in this ancient game

The questioner is Lu Yezhou, while Mei Qianchong looks at the silent Lu Linbei, "What I do to you, others above will do to me, and in the future, you will do the same to others."

Lu Linbei gently unlocked the door, opening it a crack. After confirming that there was indeed only Qian Chong outside, he opened it a bit more to let the guest in

Weijie Entertainment? I know it is a game boosting company, and it has a presence in many games, including "Mother Star Territory." Some major guilds are controlled by them behind the scenes, where players pay, the guilds fight, and they attack minor lords.

Lu Linbei supervised the game screen while issuing necessary commands, and simultaneously opened another page to continue browsing online information

Mei Qianchong stood up, slightly moved the chair aside, and said solemnly: "Do not concern yourselves with other matters, focus on leveling up your game characters to the maximum level, and soon you will receive new tasks. Also, you are now probationary employees of 'Weiji Entertainment Co., Ltd.', the formalities have been completed, and the first weekly salary has already been deposited into your personal accounts"

Lu Linbei reorganizes his spirit and continues to delve into the "Waste Sea" to extract information

Lu Yezhou continued to hold the knife, standing against the wall, maintaining this posture even after the door was closed

Heir of the Planet, Assassin, Extremist Organization, Mei Qian Chong... Many matters are intertwined, and Lu Linbei finds himself delving deeper into a dead end. With about ten minutes remaining, he suddenly changes his mind and alters the search keyword to "Home Planet Territory"

Yes

Lu Linbei was quickly captivated by an article titled "Chronicle of Major Events on the Home Planet." He continued reading beyond the previously set time limit, only to discover that this chronicle was actually part of the game's content, and the internet was merely reproducing it.

"Let's go out to eat, this time it's on me." Having just received his salary, Lu Yezhou also became generous.

This game is even older than expected, dating back at least to the year 130 of the New Era. Shortly after the major planets restored their information networks, this game emerged, and no company has ever claimed ownership of it. It spread across the network like a virus, once thriving with tens of millions of players, only to decline at times to the point of being nearly forgotten. It has faced official bans several times, yet it has never completely disappeared, always managing to quietly resurface.

He entered the game and quickly found the "Chronicle" option to read it again

Lu Yezhou's grievances vanished in an instant, and he immediately checked his account using the chip in his body

This is why the Mei family must cultivate their own spies; it is difficult to make outsiders understand this point. For them, one can only deceive and remain vigilant. As for us, we are family, we are brothers. Mei Qianchong even glanced at Lu Yezhou and said, "We are destined to become core members of the organization, recruiting and managing peripheral spies together; they will always be outsiders."

"Which snake are you referring to?" Lu Yezhou asked

"You are responsible for gathering information, and I will take care of upgrading the game. We will collaborate and divide our tasks." Lu Yezhou was quite happy playing and no longer worried about assassins coming to find him

Not long after entering the game, a selection box appeared on the screen, and Lu Yezhou said: "Click agree, and we will change guilds."

Every resident on Planet Zhaiwang possesses a bank account from birth, free of charge, and it remains unchanged for life. Only upon reaching adulthood can they apply for additional accounts

"Three thousand points." Lu Yezhou curled his lips, "Such a weekly salary is not considered high. A meal at a street-side restaurant costs about one hundred points, and a drink costs twenty points. The cost of living in the city is truly frighteningly high. What about you?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Yezhou's momentum diminished instead; he lowered his hands and threw the knife onto the chair, saying, "I am concerned that someone may be following you"

Yes

I just received an invitation from another gang, and the message contains the words 'Weiji'. This means the organization is looking for us

Why do players need to spend money

As a newcomer, the less you know, the better. Here is a warning for you: will you still be able to go out shopping calmly?

"Let me start by saying that I owe you an explanation." Mei Qianchong's attitude today was particularly gentle, akin to that of a teacher addressing a student who, despite average grades, is diligent and hardworking

Lu Linbei had just emerged from the "Great Garbage Dump," which he preferred to call the "Sea of Waste." There were too many baseless speculations and too many intentional fabrications, with valuable information often randomly submerged. Even when it was finally salvaged, it might not necessarily be of any real use.

Mei Qianchong cast a glance at him, and Lu Yezhou immediately fell silent

He was awakened by Lu Yezhou

The knock on the door sounded twice more before someone replied: "Old trickster."

"The same." Lu Linbei has also checked, "This must be the standard salary."

"Rumors stop with the wise; this is the ideal state. The reality, however, is often that rumors stop with more rumors, and even the truth is halted by more rumors." Uncle San gently wiggled his two fingers, unsure which one represented the ideal and which one represented reality. "Spies need to extract information while simultaneously disrupting it. What we face will be a vast garbage dump, where we throw in one hundred, one thousand pieces of useless information, while yearning to find the gold that others have carelessly discarded. This is a task that can easily lead to frustration. You must be prepared, possess patience, and have a heart that is unafraid of hardship and dirt, as well as a cold heart."

Lu Yezhou watched his superior leave, then ran to the living room window and gazed outside. After a while, he said with resignation: "The con artist has changed to a new car again, the old one is still parked there without moving. I hope he can give it to us."

Do you know that company

Lu Linbei assigned work to the farmers, and then handed all the soldiers over to Lu Yezhou's character as mercenaries. Although the upgrades were slow, it was worry-free

The two individuals immediately took their positions, just as they had the night before, guarding either side of the door frame. Lu Yezhou had already picked up the knife and nodded slightly to Lu Linbei.

"Lucky?" Lu Yezhou has always admired Mei Qianchong, but when it comes to his own life, he must say a few words, "Last night, I almost died on the street. If it weren't for Old Bei... it was really just a hair's breadth away. The bullet could have been in my body instead of lodged in the wall. I mean no offense, but at the very least, give us a warning."

The last hour. He silently set a deadline in his mind, no more than one hour; if there were still no gains, he would lie down to catch up on sleep, and upon waking, he would focus on playing games to level up his character

I believe so. Lu Yezhou also smiled and glanced at Lu Linbei, saying, We haven't slept all night, searching for clues, and there are some leads at Old Bei's place

Aren't you coming in to upgrade? Your role still has a long way to go

"Playing this way will ultimately yield little tactical value," Lu Yezhou reminded, though he was quite willing to accept this batch of soldiers, as it would assist him in leveling up

"These are just grievances from the game; you'll understand after playing for a few days." Lu Yezhou's mood greatly improved. He hesitated for a moment between taking a nap and opening the game, ultimately deciding to be a model employee. He sat down on the sofa, put on his display glasses, and quickly took them off again. "The matter of the heir and the orphan of the planet is certainly fabricated by the organization to lure the snake out of its hole; it has nothing to do with you and me. Let's not mention the con artist anymore, and we won't need to bring it up in the future, right?"

Lu Linbei and Lu Yezhou sat at either end of the sofa, each lost in their own thoughts

"Who is it?" Lu Linbei inquired

We haven't eaten for a day. What do you see?

Mei Qianchong looked around and turned to face Lu Yezhou, who was holding a knife. She did not show any signs of surprise or anger, saying, "Hmm, I already know. I came here specifically for this matter."

After waiting for about half a minute, a strange voice outside finally responded: "483"

It was a voice that echoed a thousand times, yet the two people in the room did not let their guard down. Lu Linbei asked again, "Are you alone?"

The assassin has already been targeted, and we need to use him to catch a big fish. Mei Qianchong pressed his hands on his legs and smiled again, saying, I can only tell you this for now. You have done very well, just hold on for a few more days. You are very fortunate to be able to achieve merit on your first mission, an opportunity that many investigators do not get even after years of work.

Lu Linbei chose to agree, and then found the email. Sure enough, among the dozens of messages, he saw the invitation. The term "gang" that Lu Yezhou used is a colloquial expression; the formal title is a certain lord. The prefixes are quite conventional, clearly designated by the system.