Life Game In Other World
Chapter 669: Shining Brightly (Two-in-One Mega - , Seeking Monthly Pass)

Chapter 669: Chapter 669: Shining Brightly (Two-in-One Mega Chapter, Seeking Monthly Pass)

The Doctor picked up the bracelet and walked into the back room.

Meanwhile, He Ao lifted the bracelet and looked at its contents.

Eve had already cast the screen of the bracelet bound with the ’Listener of the Night’ account onto his own bracelet.

The interface from the black market was currently displayed inside, showing the chat records between Eve and the ’Blood Wolf’.

The content of the records was simple: Eve sent a message asking for the detailed contents of the mission and then sent over a very vague personal introduction.

The introduction was generated based on the ’Listener of the Night’ account, generally indicating that the individual was a solo operator with abundant experience.

There were plenty of pleasantries exchanged, but no actual information of significance was involved.

Such pleasantries could effectively apply to He Ao or any solo operator, for that matter.

However, this kind of self-introduction must be quite common in places like the black market, so the Blood Wolf didn’t ask for further details.

Next was the Blood Wolf’s reply with the rough details of the mission: "Kidnap some homeless people and deliver them to a designated location."

The only demanding requirement was the large number of people needed, which is why it was a lv2 mission.

lv2 meant that the mission required at least a Transcendent, or a gang organization to take it on.

Of course, the Blood Wolf only mentioned the general requirements of the mission and didn’t provide any detailed information.

Upon seeing these messages, He Ao replied directly with a question, [Do I get to decide who to kidnap? Any homeless person will do?]

There seemed to be some hesitation on the other side before they responded, [No, I will give you a list. You capture people according to the information on the list. After you’ve captured them, deliver them to the specified location.]

A list? A list of homeless people?

In fact, He Ao understood why the mission involved kidnapping homeless people—it was essentially an attempt to abduct ’sacrifices’ to feed to monsters.

He also understood the rationale behind capturing people from a list—it was probably for ’control.’

To prevent the person taking on the mission from randomly capturing ordinary people as homeless, which could draw the attention of the Pollution Cleaning Department or noticeably depleting the homeless population of an entire area, which would also attract the department’s scrutiny.

But what puzzled He Ao was, why would they have a list of homeless people?

In the entire Federation, the only place with everyone’s personal information is the Federal Social Insurance Group.

And the municipal government only has the information of residents to whom they’ve issued passports.

But this information is only basic and unlikely to detail the person’s employment status, let alone whether the person is homeless.

The Social Insurance Group could indirectly access an individual’s employment information through their social insurance status, but there is still a significant number of companies that don’t provide social insurance for their employees, not to mention people who do not work or have social insurance.

In other words, it would be impossible to obtain information on ’homeless’ individuals from either the municipal government or the Social Insurance Group.

Because they also wouldn’t know who the homeless people are.

The municipal government only roughly estimates the number of homeless people every few years, and most of the time, their counts are inaccurate.

So, where did this Blood Wolf, who apparently belonged to the Evolution Acolytes, get his list of homeless people?

Unless he had delved into the homeless population, undertook an investigation, and collected their personal information.

But if he had already infiltrated the homeless, why didn’t he just complete the kidnapping mission himself instead of hiring someone through the black market by taking such a roundabout way?

Was it intentional, using this method to recruit new members and keep the recruiting process under control?

Or is it possible that those who investigated the homeless information and those who carry out the kidnapping are not the same group?

As He Ao pondered, he quickly typed and asked, [Can I see the detailed contents of the list? I want to confirm the difficulty of the mission.]

There was no immediate reply on the other end, but after a while, a screenshot was sent.

It was a simple spreadsheet snapshot, showing the basic information of a homeless person.

At the forefront was a photo of a skinny man with messy hair, leaning on a steel pipe, followed by his detailed information:

Santo, male, Seventh Street in South City,

It seemed that this list included a photo, name, gender, and area of activity.

For a capture mission, this was already quite detailed.

Immediately after, the Blood Wolf sent another message,

[This person is no longer in Seventh Street of South City. I’m just showing you an example with this screenshot. The mission itself isn’t difficult; it’s just a bit complex and troublesome. There’s also a requirement for absolute secrecy, no one must find out. If you do well, there’s an extra reward.]

No longer in South City’s Seventh Street... that could mean he was likely captured a long time ago.

At this moment, Blood Wolf sent another new message,

[If you are indeed interested in taking on the mission, you must first complete a test mission. I will send you information of a random homeless person, and you have to capture them. The test isn’t difficult. If you do well, we can move on to further discussions, and the rewards for subsequent tasks are very substantial.]

He Ao thought for a while and then inquired, [Is there remuneration for this test mission?]

This time the reply came quickly, [No, but depending on the situation, we might give a certain amount of cash as compensation.]

Not stating a clear price means the offered price isn’t attractive.

Tasks with a high commission are afraid people won’t notice their high fees, only the tasks with unattractive commissions tend to be evasive.

...

So why is this guy being so forthright with information? The main reason is that he wants a free ride.

Well, it might not entirely be a free ride; it could also be a lure to get people to do the test mission. If the person performs well, they could be recruited as a new member; if not, they could end up captured and sacrificed along with the homeless.

That way, not only do they not have to pay, but they also manage to snag an extra sacrifice.

Although such conduct is a bit against the rules, considering the actions of this group, they could hardly be considered human, so pulling off such deeds wouldn’t be entirely out of the question.

The black market itself doesn’t restrict this kind of double-crossing; the underworld doesn’t have many righteous rules.

However, He Ao wasn’t too worried about being besieged, what concerned him a bit was that in this test task, the target was a Wandering Contractor specified by the other party.

And they had detailed information on the Wandering Contractor.

Meaning He Ao couldn’t just find a friend to pose as a Wandering Contractor to meet with the ’Blood Wolf’ who commissioned the task.

If the time given by the other party was short, He Ao had no way to strike a deal with that Wandering Contractor under the guise of a stranger.

What’s worse, if that Wandering Contractor was already ’bought over’ for the test, then negotiating with him would directly expose He Ao.

Following the trajectory set by others, without knowing how much preparation they had done, it was easy to fall into a passive situation.

After pondering for a moment, He Ao responded on his wrist device, [I’ll think about it]

Such consideration was quite normal in these circumstances; after all, any seasoned figure in the black market could easily see that the commission for this task wasn’t much, although ’Blood Wolf’ had painted a rosy picture with promises of more rewards for future tasks but being unable to make an immediate decision was also quite normal.

Being cautious, on the contrary, could appear more professional.

[Okay]

The other party replied quickly.

He Ao turned off his wrist device and looked up ahead.

By this time, the doctor had finished his call and came out. He looked at He Ao and said, "My mechanic friend will be here soon, in about ten minutes or so. His name is Temok, and he’s highly skilled in mechanics, but I can’t guarantee that he can make what you want."

"Alright,"

He Ao nodded, then he smiled quizzically, "I don’t even know your name."

"Sienzi"

The doctor spoke slowly, reached over the counter, and extended his hand.

"Cito."

He Ao responded, raising his hand to shake hands with Sienzi.

Sienzi glanced at He Ao and looked at the package on the floor, "Give me your bag, and I will extract the Talent Sequences from those two Transcendents."

"Okay."

He Ao reached out his hand, picked up the bag from the floor, and passed it over the counter to Sienzi.

Sienzi had just received it when he felt the weight in his hand.

He then looked at He Ao in slight surprise, "Old man, you’re quite strong."

Both Transcendents were no small fries; their combined weight neared four hundred pounds, yet He Ao lifted them with one hand, albeit with some difficulty, but this kind of strength clearly shouldn’t be present in an elderly man who appeared almost seventy years old.

Moreover, from Sienzi’s professional perspective, He Ao’s physical condition didn’t seem very good.

"I’ve always been exercising."

He Ao said with a smile.

"Can exercise make you this strong?"

Sienzi glanced at He Ao, holding the bag and stepping over the counter, then he asked somewhat skeptically, "Did you kill these two Transcendents?"

No matter how he looked, He Ao didn’t appear to be someone capable of exerting Transcendent-level strength.

"No,"

He Ao shook his head, "It was self-defense."

Sienzi’s eyebrows twitched, he shook his head, and sighed, "I don’t know what method you used, but clearly, your physical condition isn’t good. If you want to live longer, it’d be best to avoid such intense combat."

He Ao looked at him and paused, "Thank you."

Sienzi glanced at the white-haired elder again and sighed softly before heading inside.

The combination of an elder with his young granddaughter in this place already implied certain things.

If one could enjoy their years at home, who would risk encountering death by getting involved in battles with Transcendents?

As Sienzi moved to the back room, the pharmacy was left with only He Ao.

He approached the counter, folded the Butterfly Knife, and tucked it away into his clothes.

Just then, he heard a faint sound of a door opening behind him.

He turned around.

Behind him, an invisible door that almost blended in with the wall was being slowly pushed open at the counter’s back.

A little girl, not yet as tall as the counter, appeared from behind the door.

Through the invisible door, one could faintly see the front of an SUV.

She looked around, and her gaze quickly fell on He Ao; she twitched her nose, and it seemed as though there were shimmering ripples in her dark eyes.

On her slightly chubby cheeks, there were also two faint tracks reflecting a glimmer of light.

When she had just woken up, she was sitting in the SUV’s co-driver seat all by herself, without her grandfather’s figure around her.

She walked to the counter, grabbed its edge, hoisted herself up swiftly, and flipped over the counter; then she walked up to He Ao and hugged him.

Without saying a word, she pursed her lips tightly, her hands clinging tightly to He Ao, unwilling to let go.

He Ao extended his hand, and his somewhat dry palm rested on his granddaughter’s shoulder.

After what seemed like an eternity, the little girl appeared somewhat fatigued, her grip slowly loosening; He Ao reached out to pat her head, "Do you want some ice cream?"

There was a chain convenience store nearby, where He Ao had previously taken Jia Xi to buy ice cream.

Jia Xi looked up at He Ao, then lowered her head again, "One vanilla, one strawberry."

Then she slowly let go.

Her voice still carried a slight tremble, but it had steadied a lot.

He Ao reached out to touch her head again and smiled, "Good, let’s go buy some."

"Hold on,"

At this point, Jia Xi tugged at the hem of He Ao’s clothes, "Let’s wait until Grandpa is done with his business."

She knew He Ao must have had something important to do when he came here.

"It’s okay, the ice cream store is close; we’ll go and come back quickly,"

He Ao said to his granddaughter with a smile.

Jia Xi looked at He Ao, seemingly trying to persist with her own opinion, but her eyes, flickering with desire for ice cream, quite obviously betrayed her.

Then He Ao, directly quickened his pace toward the small door, "Let’s see who can run to the ice cream shop first."

In the past, Cito often played this kind of racing game with his granddaughter.

"I’ll count to three and we start," He Ao gestured to his granddaughter, "Three!"

Then he took off running.

Jia Xi was stunned for a moment, then with a burst of speed, she started and caught up with He Ao.

The convenience store wasn’t far from Sienzi’s pharmacy, just at the other end of the street.

It was just past six in the morning, exactly when the convenience store opened.

Many employees heading to the factories had to get up around six or seven in the morning to buy breakfast and catch the early bus.

This was the convenience store’s busiest time in the morning.

However, when He Ao and his granddaughter ran to the store, the shop was only starting to see a trickle of customers, not too many yet.

Jia Xi ran to the counter faster than He Ao and extended both hands, "One vanilla ice cream and one strawberry ice cream, thank you, sister!"

The early shift worker at the convenience store seemed to be a fourteen- or fifteen-year-old part-time student. She yawned out of sleepiness, but perked up a bit at Jia Xi’s adorable request, smiled, and picked up two cones, "Alright, little sister, just a moment."

At that moment, He Ao strolled over leisurely, giving Jia Xi a thumbs-up with a smile, "Jia Xi is really awesome."

Jia Xi happily wagged her head.

By then, the clerk had prepared the ice cream and handed it to Jia Xi.

And He Ao reached out to pay.

Afterward, Jia Xi naturally handed the vanilla ice cream to He Ao.

"Miss, that biggest burger there, I’ll take twenty,"

At this moment, a tall, burly man dressed in light blue work clothes, covered in various black oily stains, and nearly two-thirds as wide as the convenience store’s double doors entered the shop.

There were thick, dark circles under his eyes, and his face showed a bit of fatigue. He yawned and passed by He Ao, who was holding ice cream and accompanying his granddaughter.

He glanced at He Ao and Jia Xi, "Good morning."

"Good morning."

He Ao responded to his greeting.

"Good morning, Uncle,"

Jia Xi also excitedly raised the ice cream in her hand.

"Good morning, kids,"

The burly man chuckled warmly and walked further into the store.

After leaving the store, Jia Xi turned to look at He Ao, "Grandpa, that uncle seemed to recognize us."

"He must have heard about us, I suppose,"

He Ao said with a smile.

After all, the pairing of an elderly man and a young girl was quite conspicuous,

——Ten minutes later——

"Talent Sequence 5: Furious Man, Talent Sequence 4: Citizen, and the corresponding advanced E-level Talent Sequence, Talent Sequence 19: Prisoner,"

In the cramped pharmacy, the burly man tossed an entire burger into his mouth and chewed vigorously. He glanced at the cane and Butterfly Knife on the cabinet,

"Sir, to tell you the truth, I’ve got some ideas now. For this price, I can make you an item close to D-level Transcendent, guaranteed to satisfy you."

"How long would it take?"

He Ao asked, holding a burger and looking at the burly man.

The burger was one that the burly man had insisted on giving him, and Jia Xi also had one in her hands.

This burly man was Temok, the mechanic friend of Sienzi, who was also the same man He Ao and Jia Xi had encountered at the convenience store.

The reason he recognized He Ao at the door was that Sienzi had mentioned to him on the way over that He Ao was an elderly man accompanied by a little girl.

At that moment, Jia Xi, also holding a burger, looked up at the burly man who was eating burgers as if they were jelly beans, then at the burger in her hands, larger than her own cheeks.

Her gaze was somewhat vacant.

"If you’re in a hurry, I just happen to have a piece of equipment that I could modify. Three days,"

The burly man picked up the Butterfly Knife and studied its structure with a gleam in his eyes, pausing in thought, "Two and a half days."

"Can it be done by tonight?"

He Ao asked; he might not have that much time.

"Tonight?"

The sturdy man was taken aback, "That’s too rushed..."

He seemed to fall into thought, considering how to complete the equipment within a day.

After a while, he set the butterfly knife on the table, "If you want it done within a day, some structures might not be crafted as well, which will affect the durability to some extent."

"It’s okay,"

He Ao said, "As long as it’s usable."

"Okay," the sturdy man pulled out a camera from his toolbox, "Elderly sir, I need to scan the structure of this knife to facilitate the positioning of the holes later. Don’t worry, it won’t damage the knife."

"Alright."

He Ao nodded.

Only after receiving the promise did the sturdy man carefully pick up the butterfly knife to start scanning it.

Not until he had scanned every detail with the camera did he exhale a sigh of relief and place the butterfly knife back on the table.

Then, looking somewhat embarrassed at He Ao, he hesitated before slowly speaking up, "Elderly sir, may I ask where did you get this knife from?"

"It was crafted by an elder friend of mine."

He Ao answered calmly.

He could clearly see that the sturdy man valued the knife, but it wasn’t the value a warrior places on a weapon; it was the kind of value that a researcher accords to an exquisite creation that is close to the truth, the way an artist regards a masterpiece.

He thought for a moment and then added, "However, that elder has passed away."

"Ah?"

The sturdy man was stunned, his face showing clear regret and disappointment.

"I could ask if there are any notes left behind,"

He Ao continued, "But that’s someone else’s property, and if they don’t wish to share..."

"It’s okay, it’s okay," the brightness that had dimmed in the sturdy man’s eyes lit up again, and he hurriedly waved his hand, "Just your offer to ask is a kindness."

Then he scratched his head and looked at the bracelet on his hand.

His bracelet was of the old-fashioned wristwatch style, made of steel buckles strung together to form the strap, exuding a wild mechanical beauty. At that moment, the simulated second hand on the bracelet was spinning rapidly. He lifted his head, looked at He Ao,

"Elderly sir, I’m short on time, and I must rush back to my workshop immediately. I’ll contact you once the item is ready."

The two had just exchanged electronic business cards and had each other’s contact information.

"Alright, thank you for your trouble."

He Ao thanked him.

"No problem, no problem."

The sturdy man hastily waved his hand, then turned to say goodbye to Sienzi standing beside and headed for the small door.

Then he banged into the door frame with a "clack."

The door was simply too small; he normally couldn’t get through it. He rubbed his head, hunched and crouched, and shuffled through the small door.

"This kid is so reckless,"

Sienzi glanced at the askew door frame, feeling somewhat distressed, and straightened it gently with his hands before turning back to He Ao,

"I’ll directly give the Talent Sequences Secret Medicines to Temok after they are mixed. You just contact Temok to pick up the items. What are your next plans? Wait for the item to be ready?"

"I might go out for a bit later."

He Ao reached for the folding knife and the cracked cane on the cabinet.

He planned to investigate in several areas of Saint Joen City where there were more vagrants. If the Evolution Acolytes had gathered information, then there must be some traces left behind.

At this time, Sienzi glanced at He Ao and slowly walked behind the counter, taking out a spray from the cabinet and placing it on the counter,

"Quick-acting hemostatic recovery spray by Stars Pharma."

"Thank you."

He Ao reached out and took the spray.

Such sprays worked effectively, able to stop bleeding quickly and promote wound healing—in crucial moments, they could be lifesaving.

"Alright, off you go,"

Sienzi waved his hand, "Every time you come by, I end up losing something. Just seeing you makes me feel heartache."

He Ao smiled, picked up the spray, and holding Jia Xi’s hand, turned to leave.

At that moment, just as Sienzi had walked to the inner door, he turned his head, looking at He Ao, "I already opened the garage door next to you,"

He paused, "I’m still waiting for you to help me get in touch with the Life Goddess Church, so don’t die too early."

He Ao smiled and lifted his cane in salute.

"Sly old fox."

Sienzi turned away and continued towards the inner room.

Through the light shining in from the open doorway, He Ao saw something placed behind the door—an old photo frame, which seemed to contain a group picture of Sienzi with some other people.

In that time, Sienzi seemed much younger, dressed in a pristine doctor’s robe, standing among the crowd, smiling towards the camera, his eyes twinkling brightly.

Looking at the people in the photo, faint memories surfaced in He Ao’s mind.

He shook his head, turned around, and with his granddaughter in tow, walked out the door.