Life Game In Other World
Chapter 716: Startling the Snake in the Grass (Two-in-One Mega - for Monthly Votes)

Chapter 716: Chapter 716: Startling the Snake in the Grass (Two-in-One Mega Chapter for Monthly Votes)

Currently, He Ao had obtained only two clues concerning the Newland City-State, the complete disappearance of the Research Institute’s Newland branch and the suspected demand for personnel of Daybreak B-level.

From these two affairs, he could deduce two conclusions.

One, there might exist some sort of bizarre object in the Newland City-State that could ’abduct’ people without a trace,

Two, Daybreak’s B-level deputy leader could be doing something near the Newland City-State that urgently required manpower.

Considered separately, neither of these would be deemed a ’major event’ worthy of significant alertness, but their occurrence in the same region raised some concerns for He Ao.

This uneasy feeling did not stem from his experiences in the main world, but rather from his experiences in the Copy World.

The focal point of these two affairs was ’people,’ whether it be the abducted Transcendents or the manpower needed by Daybreak’s ’deputy leader.’

In the Copy World, where superhuman-related matters involved a large number of ’people,’ there was generally only one thing,

’Sacrifice.’

A competent Federal Bureau of Investigation agent, upon discovering a surge of missing persons cases within their jurisdiction, especially those involving the disappearance of Transcendents, would immediately realize that they were in for trouble.

Of course, that was the Copy World, where Evil God activities were rampant.

Strictly speaking, He Ao didn’t actually wish for his speculation to be true, but since he had already spotted this sign, he still had to check it out.

Anyway, his clone wasn’t busy at the moment, so he might as well treat it as a trip.

He looked down at the Cloak of Replacement in his hand.

He had never fully utilized the capabilities of this cloak before; now was a good opportunity for a test.

——

Newland City-State·Offshore

The sunrise’s splendor stretched from the rippling sea surface all the way to the old fishing boat.

The man with curly brown hair in the cockpit held the helm in one hand while picking up a bottle of brandy with the other.

His hand gripped the bottle’s neck, lightly pushed upwards with his fingers, and the cork of the high-proof distilled liquor was directly popped off, flying into a corner of the cockpit.

He stared at the hazy island in the distance, raised the bottle of spirits in his hand, and poured it down his throat like it was plain water.

Newland City-State wasn’t a land-based city-state but a united city made up of multiple islands near the coastal waters close to the Tia Empire’s mainland.

There were only two ways to reach Newland City-State, one was to take a boat from Weilun City across the sea, and the other was to fly there directly.

The screen of the phone on the operating console lit up, showing a new incoming call, and the man reached out to answer it.

"Lunke, where have you reached now?"

A husky voice came from the other end of the line.

"Almost there, I’m close."

The man addressed as Lunke took another swig of the liquor.

"Lunke, you haven’t done a good job this time."

The voice on the phone grew slightly heavier.

"None of your damn business,"

Lunke spat, "I’m just a runner. You guys arranged for me to come here, asked me to run errands, and even had me contact Hu Wen’s forces in Weilun City. You ask for people without offering anything in return, and then wonder why they refuse, idiots."

Pausing for a moment, he continued, "Oh, they didn’t refuse; they asked the deputy leader to discuss it personally. So are you now looking for the deputy leader? Oh, if the deputy leader was willing to show up you wouldn’t have called me back, useless trash."

"Lunke..."

The tone on the other end faltered, then sharpened slightly, "You are now one of us."

"If it hadn’t been for Hu Wen’s bullshit rules about not killing indiscriminately, would I have come to join you?"

Lunke took a gulp of his drink and glanced at the pile of crew bodies behind him, his foot smeared with their dried blood,

"I’ve been running for you guys for half a month, no money, no women, and yet you sit on your high horse and boss me around. Are you even worthy? I was being hunted while you were still sucking on your mother’s tit."

"Lunke, you..."

The person on the phone seemed quite furious, speechless with anger.

"If you’re so dissatisfied with me, come on, let’s duel one on one,"

Lunke took another swig, "I’ll only use one hand and leave you a complete corpse in the end."

The other end was thoroughly choked, falling into a brief silence, but did not accept Lunke’s challenge, hanging up the phone instead.

"Coward."

Lunke drew a dagger from his waist, spun it around, and stuck it into the dashboard.

Knock—Knock—Knock—

Slow and crisp knocking sounds came from outside the door.

Lunke paused his drinking, gently set down the bottle on the console, and cautiously pulled out the dagger, tiptoed past the cockpit, and moved toward the door.

Then, he leaned against the wall adjacent to the door and slowly opened it.

Creak—

As the rusty metal door slowly opened, there was no one to be seen; nothing was outside the door.

Lunke hesitated for a moment, then realizing something, he swung around with his dagger at the ready, stabbing behind him.

A pair of eyes, calm as still water, suddenly appeared in his sight.

"I’m borrowing your fate for a moment."

Accompanying the calm and slow voice, Lunke felt a tremendous force suddenly seize his body. His outstretched arm froze mid-air as an invisible power began devouring his flesh, his soul.

Excruciating pain caused him to arch involuntarily, and though he tried to scream, no sound emerged.

The next second, his body vanished as if erased by an eraser, leaving behind a set of clothes wrapped around a small piece of bone, which fell to the ground.

He Ao lowered his head, staring at the clothes left behind by Lunke.

At this moment, countless pieces of information were converging in his mind.

They were the shattered memories of Lunke as well as the skills to use Lunke’s special abilities.

Lunke was a D-level, and his Talent Sequence should be "Champion," with physical abilities inclined towards the flexibility and agility of "gymnastics."

He was originally a Transcendent from the World Tree, having completed his D-level advancement within the ruins, but something seemed to have gone wrong during the promotion, his mental state tending towards insanity, able to derive pleasure from killing.

During a mission, he killed all his teammates, took the mission target​—the dagger he held in his hand—and defected from the World Tree, becoming a wanted criminal.

After defecting, this guy had been staying in the Western Lands, living off murder and robbery, and only recently, when he was driven to desperation by the World Tree’s encirclement, did he leave the Western Lands to join Daybreak.

The fishing boat he was currently on was hijacked near the Newland City-State. He sailed it from Newland to Weilun, where he contacted the forces of He Ao, and then sailed it back to Newland from Weilun.

This guy liked killing and blood and did not bother to hide the bodies, simply allowing the corpses of the murdered crew to pile up in the cockpit.

However, it was Noding’s men who discovered this fishing boat and then reported it to He Ao. It was He Ao who traced the fishing boat’s trail and found this place.

"So, this guy wasn’t trusted; he didn’t get into the core, huh?"

He Ao picked up the dagger from the ground, deep in thought.

At this time, his phone vibrated, receiving a new message, a message from the Research Institute’s director ’Li Cheng’.

It seemed his plan had to be adjusted slightly.

----

Newland City-State·Core Island

With the thunderous sound of a train passing, a young man wearing black-framed glasses and clad in the common attire of Central Earth emerged from a small alley.

This was He Ao, disguised as ’Hao Yi’.

He looked up at the noisy crowd around him and melded into the throng like an ordinary tourist.

Newland City-State was not only a prosperous commercial city-state but also a booming tourist destination.

The city-state was mainly comprised of five neighboring large islands and some scattered smaller ones.

The five large islands were connected by slender sea-crossing bridges, forming the main body of the city-state, with over 95% of its population living on these five islands.

This unique island city-state structure attracted many tourists, and it was famous throughout the entire main world.

The Core Island where He Ao stood was the largest of the five major islands and also the most bustling one of the Newland City-State.

Walking on the bustling streets, he observed the crowd bustling around.

This was the most crowded pedestrian street in Newland City-State and the most popular spot amongst tourists.

He Ao strolled leisurely down the road, bought a string of what appeared to be local specialty seafood balls, and wandered the streets leisurely while munching on them, looking at the stores’ characteristic products.

"Buy···buy···sir···"

A childish, stammering voice speaking in Central Earth language arose from behind him.

Turning around, he saw a little girl, barely over a meter tall, standing behind him attempting to catch his attention while carrying a bamboo basket on her head with both hands for support.

Seeing him turn around, the little girl continued her stammering speech in Central Earth language, "Lucky···lucky···"

He looked at the items inside the basket on her head.

It was full of what appeared to be talismans made from some kind of sturdy grass leaves, shaped like diamonds and decorated with beautiful patterns in the middle.

He Ao glanced at the little girl’s cheeks and asked in Tia language, "Did you make these?"

On hearing him speak, the little girl was taken aback first and then her eyes widened as if she hadn’t expected He Ao’s Tia language to be so fluent, after which she quickly replied, "My grandma and I made them. Newland’s grass-woven talismans are very effective, ensuring safety and luck. Brother, do you want to buy one? They’re not expensive, one Golden Shield each."

The Golden Shield is the currency of the Tia Empire, with one Central Earth Currency being equivalent to about 2.5 Golden Shields.

For He Ao, that meant they were about forty cents apiece.

"I’ll take one," he said.

He Ao reached out and took a talisman, then left a one Golden Shield bill.

The last time he came near the Tia Empire to buy milk powder, he had exchanged quite a lot of Golden Shields.

"Thank you, big brother. The storm and the Goddess of Luck Ina will protect you, and you’ll surely make a fortune in the future," the little girl said excitedly as she took the money.

Ina was the Divine Being worshipped near Newland City-State, and for the Newlanders, who often went to sea, the goddess who controlled the storms also governed their "luck" of making it home alive.

"I hope you make a fortune too," He Ao replied with a smile, tucking away the talisman.

The little girl paused, looking at He Ao, then nodded earnestly, "Thank you, big brother."

He Ao smiled and waved goodbye to the little girl before turning to leave the street.

After exiting the pedestrian street and passing through several alleys, a simple building came into He Ao’s view.

This was the Research Institute’s Newland branch, which had been cordoned off at this point, with several individuals who looked like members of the Moonlight guarding the outside of the branch.

It seemed that Wu Lan hadn’t arrived yet; after all, she needed to gather people, arrange handovers, and finish her responsibilities before she could come over.

And after all, flying by airplane wasn’t as fast as on the Velora.

He Ao paused for a moment there, then withdrew his gaze and continued to saunter on.

As the morning sun climbed higher in the sky, just as he found a shop and ordered a grilled steak, planning to have lunch, a gentlemanly middle-aged man with blonde hair and wearing old-fashioned glasses sat across from He Ao.

"Oh, you’re early," He Ao said with a casual smile, "would you like something to eat?"

"No need," the man quickly shook his head, "My name is Wester, I’m in charge of Moonlight here in Newland,"

He paused for a moment, then hesitantly asked, "Mr. Hao Yi, do you have any business coming to Newland?"

"Nothing much,"

He Ao sliced the steak in front of him, speaking languidly, "Just here to travel. Is there a problem with that?"

"No problem at all,"

Wester wiped the sweat from his forehead, "Do you have accommodations arranged? The Newland Maple Leaf Hotel offers the best views in Newland and is also the tallest building. I have arranged the Presidential Suite at the top for you..."

"No need,"

He Ao smiled and shook his head, "I’ve already finished sightseeing. How about you recommend somewhere else nearby suitable for travel?"

"Ah?"

Wester glanced at He Ao, hesitated for a moment, and continued, "How about Wilen? It’s surrounded by mountains and, compared to the sea-filled Newland, it has a different style."

"Good, thank you."

He Ao nodded lightly, then continued leisurely cutting his steak without speaking again.

Wester understood this as a cue to leave; he nodded his head slightly, bowed and got up, "Then enjoy your meal."

Having said that, he turned and gradually left the small restaurant.

The moment he stepped out of the door, a sound like a train passing by rang out behind him.

He immediately looked back.

The spot where the young man had been sitting was now empty.

——

"’Hao Yi’ has already left?"

In the opulent room, the person seated at the head of the table asked in a low voice.

"According to our intelligence, he was seen in Wilen."

The person to the left of the head spoke softly, "The Velora is indeed something, covering such a distance in an instant."

"What does this ’Hao Yi’ imply?"

The person at the head looked down, speaking gravely.

"He has always been close with the Research Institute, he’s probably here to show support for them,"

The person on the right said, "This is to pressure ’Moonlight’ to cooperate fully with the investigation. The appearance of a B-level from the Research Institute here would provoke a strong pushback from Moonlight, but his presence here rather causes less trouble; after all, on the surface, he’s still neutral."

"Whatever his purpose, his presence will likely severely impact our plans,"

The person on the left said in a low voice, "With a B-level showing up, it would draw the attention of other B-levels one after another, leaving us with not much time to act."

"It looks like we need to hasten our actions."

The person at the head spoke softly, looking at the person on his left, "Hu Wen has rejected our request?"

"Yes,"

The person on the left nodded lightly, "The Lunke who was sent to contact Hu Wen’s forces has already returned."

"Is that Lunke a D-level?"

The head continued to inquire, "What’s he like?"

"Bloodthirsty, irritable, a heinous criminal prone to killing indiscriminately without reason."

The person on the left remarked.

"Such people are just the type we need for our doctrine,"

The head nodded, "Send someone to contact him; we are in dire need of manpower now."

"Do we really need to accelerate our progress?"

The person on the right asked softly, "The Velora is so quick, what if ’Hao Yi’ comes back midway through?"

"The arrow is on the string; it must be sent,"

The person at the head raised his head to look at the ocean and the city outside the window, "Just a common B-level, even with the Velora, killing him would be effortless."

——

Central Earth·Beidu

"Hao Yi has already visited the Newland City-State?"

Sitting in the office, the Director of the Research Institute, Li Cheng, appeared somewhat surprised.

"Director, wasn’t it you who contacted him?"

Wu Lan, also somewhat surprised, asked through the remote video.

"It was me who contacted him; I just didn’t expect him to act so fast,"

Li Cheng rubbed his brow, "But since he has shown up in Newland City-State, the people from Moonlight should be less inclined to play tricks on you now. Moonlight now lacks the confidence to offend a neutral B-level. This is good news; you should have an easier time."

"So, Director, what did it cost to get him to make an appearance?"

Wu Lan asked with some curiosity.

"I don’t know,"

Li Cheng shrugged, "He said he would ask me for a favor later on."

——

Newland City-State·Wenlan Island

This is the third-largest island of the Newland City-State and also the most chaotic, most populated, and poorest one.

As a commercially autonomous city-state, Newland does not have strict personnel control, leading to many people easily infiltrating the city-state.

These individuals without clear identities or backgrounds, congregate on Wenlan Island.

Violent incidents and assaults were commonplace here.

A man with curly auburn hair, stepping through the falling twilight, made his way step by step through the cluttered alleys and stopped in front of an old detached cottage.

Because it’s an island city frequently visited by storms, the buildings in Newland City-State aren’t tall, with many one or two-story detached structures.

And this detached cottage was the residence "given" to ’Lunke’ after he sought refuge with a faction led by the deputy boss of Daybreak.

Compared to other parts of Wenlan Island, where gang members were everywhere, the neighborhood where this cottage was located was quiet and peaceful, and the surrounding neighbors were mostly normal, working people.

At that moment, He Ao, disguised as Lunke, pulled an old key from his pocket and inserted it into the door lock.

After some exploring, he had gradually figured out the effects and limitations of the ’Cloak of Replacement.’

First, the person he selected as the ’replacement’ would be killed and erased – an outcome not mentioned in the message the cloak provided when he first obtained it. However, he had anticipated this situation, so he had experimented with a criminal.

Second, after the replacement, He Ao would gain access to some of the selected person’s key memories, instantly acquiring their habits and fighting skills. He Ao even felt that mystical symbols directed at the person would now point to him. In return, that person’s consciousness would interfere with He Ao’s.

However, He Ao had used this opportunity to test his resistance to identity disorder.

He had been through eleven copy-world roles, each with its own memories and life, but it seemed these lives didn’t significantly affect his self-awareness.

Therefore, He Ao had been contemplating whether this was due to the system’s handling or his inherent resistance.

The conclusion was that it was both.

After ’replacing’ with the cloak, when He Ao was disguising as others, he would feel a noticeable interference with his self-awareness, not strong, but present, and not enough to significantly affect his self-identity.

This showed that the copy-world identity disturbances were processed by the system and that He Ao’s own resistance to identity disorder was also strong.

Besides, the Cloak of Replacement had limitations.

It couldn’t select anyone too strong, only up to C-level, and it had to be C-level without Divine Being contamination. If the C-level was particularly strong, they had to be near death. Also, the Talent Sequences of the person replaced would not be inherited but would be directly separated out.

Moreover, it had a cooldown period of about two days. After use, He Ao couldn’t select another person to replace for two days, and he could only have one replacement identity at a time. After switching replacement identities, the previous one couldn’t be used anymore.

But even with so many restrictions, the power to directly inherit memories, appearance, identity, and even mystical alignment was still terrifying.

This ability would probably become even more terrifying once it entered the Angel Rank.

He Ao inserted the key into the door lock and turned the core.

"Big brother!"

Just then, a child’s innocent voice sounded behind him.

He Ao turned around and looked back.

A little girl holding a plate appeared in his vision, "Big brother, have you eaten? This is our newly made apple pie. Grandma said you’ve just moved in and might not have all the kitchenware you need, so she sent me over to give you some."

This little girl was the same one who had sold He Ao the amulet that morning.

She happened to be Lunke’s neighbor; her house was much smaller than Lunke’s, and when Lunke stepped in and out, he would often see her and her grandmother sitting in front of the door, weaving grass amulets.

More precisely, because Lunke had memories of this little girl, He Ao had started a conversation with her today.

He Ao looked down at the little girl’s hands, calloused from weaving, crouched down, and asked with some curiosity, "Little one, where are your parents?"

"Ah?"

The little girl hesitated. After a long while, she whispered, "My parents disappeared. They went out to buy things and never came back. The constables said they’re most likely dead."

Hearing her answer, He Ao also hesitated. He asked softly, "You’re telling me this so openly, aren’t you afraid I might be a bad guy?"

"All the brothers, sisters, uncles, and aunties around here know my parents are missing,"

The little girl glanced at He Ao, who was crouched down to her level, and added, "And you, big brother, don’t seem like a bad person."

"Oh."

He Ao took the apple pie from her hands.

The reason he remembered this little girl was that Lunke had planned to kill her and her grandmother, a task he found troublesome, as soon as he returned from Weilun City, and nail them to the wall.

There was no reason; Lunke just disliked the sight of the two toiling away making amulets.

"Thank you,"

He Ao looked at the apple pie on the plate, "The Goddess of Luck will bless you."

"Hehe,"

The little girl scratched her head, "The Goddess of Luck will bless you too, big brother."

Then she said goodbye to He Ao and hopped and skipped back to her home.

"I thought you’d kill this little girl and cut her to pieces."

A mocking laugh suddenly came from behind.

Whoosh—

A sharp dagger was drawn in an instant, spun a knife flower in the air, making a sound akin to tearing through the void, and in the blink of an eye, the sharp tip steadied right in the air, right in front of the man behind’s throat.

Just a little more push, and the blade would pierce the man’s throat.

"Shh—"

A quiet sound, seemingly asking the newcomer to keep silent, followed.

He Ao looked up at the man with red hair behind him, cracked a smile showing the faintly red gums, "Want some apple pie?"

The air around them fell into a dim silence, punctuated only by the man’s deep swallowing, but he dared not move much, as the rise and fall of the pronounced Adam’s apple could easily touch the blade at his neck.

Beads of cold sweat trickled down from the corner of the man’s forehead as he stared at He Ao and whispered, "The boss wants to see you."

Oh, the rustling in the grass was a success.

He Ao smiled at the man.

But this wasn’t good news, for it meant,

There was indeed a snake in the grass.