The Only Player in ‘Child of Stardust’
Chapter 132 - 103: Turbid Shadow_2

Chapter 132: Chapter 103: Turbid Shadow_2

[Hacker Empire online search for a missing person. We have a member named Kevin who went missing in Brazil. Please provide any information if you have it. There will be a significant reward if the information is verified.]

Kevin went missing; the Hacker Empire indeed took some action... Zhou Yuan clicked into the post, and his expression grew more serious as he read on.

The post mentioned that Kevin inexplicably went to Brazil without any contact with the Hacker Empire and purchased a large number of items in a Transcendent black market, after which he disappeared.

This... Kevin clearly said it was a mission assigned to him by the Hacker Empire!

Cold sweat broke out on Zhou Yuan’s back. Could it be that the mission was issued by the Cyber Demon disguised as the high-ups of the Hacker Empire?

Later on, Kevin even contacted the organization to get villa information and operational funds. Were those also given by the Cyber Demon?

Zhou Yuan felt a chill. This kind of enemy was terrifying; able to confuse information and mix falsehood with truth. A slight mistake or negligence could leave one in the dark, just like Kevin.

However, upon careful analysis, it seemed that the Cyber Demon had not reached a level where it was omnipresent and omnipotent on the Internet.

If it were truly omnipotent, it could have completely erased Kevin’s whereabouts online and disguised itself as Kevin to send messages to the Hacker Empire. There was no need to leave such obvious traces for the Hacker Empire to find.

This wasn’t hard to think of. Since it didn’t do that, it only indicated one thing—it couldn’t do it.

From this perspective, the danger level of the Cyber Demon was not as high as imagined.

Knock knock knock.

His thoughts were interrupted by knocking. The family bucket had arrived.

"Come out and eat together."

After picking up the takeout, Zhou Yuan called out to Fang Qing.

Blood oozed from his pores, flowing in large quantities and pooling into Fang Qing.

"You were the MVP this time; here’s a chicken leg for you as a reward." Zhou Yuan handed a golden crispy fried chicken leg to Fang Qing.

If Fang Qing hadn’t unlocked Kevin’s storage ring, they’d have been in real trouble this time, so calling her the MVP was justified.

"Just one chicken leg? You’re a stingy boss." Fang Qing mercilessly retorted.

"You’re a ghost now; a bonus would be of no use to you."

Zhou Yuan thought for a while. "How about I take you to Happy Paradise for a bath and massage in a couple of days, let you enjoy yourself?"

"...Is it the kind of bath I’m thinking of?" Fang Qing’s eyes grew strange.

"Legitimate."

"Alright then."

Fang Qing took a bite of the steaming crispy chicken. Fried food was indeed delicious; even her mood improved with one bite.

She then took a couple of gulps of ice-cold cola, let out a long sigh, and felt even more refreshed.

A human and a ghost sat in the living room, binging on food while watching the news.

Suddenly, Fang Qing thought of something. "Those Pokémon you caught also need to eat. Don’t forget to feed them properly."

"Hmm...that’s easy to solve."

Feed was available for sale in the market.

[Name: Universal Feed]

[Quality: Average]

[Special Effect: Feed suitable for any living creature. Each bag weighs 100 pounds.]

[Note: Cheap and practical, large quantity that fills you up, balanced nutrition, delicious taste. What’s your reason not to choose it?]

[Price: 100 Star Coins]

Zhou Yuan spent 200 Star Coins to buy 2 bags of feed, rounding his Star Coins to an even 12,000 points.

pounds of feed should be enough to feed that bunch of puppets for a while.

"Don’t forget there’s also a succubus in there," Fang Qing reminded him.

Succubi needed special food, a bit more unique.

Zhou Yuan felt his head ache—damn, he had forgotten about that.

"First, bring out the succubus and see if she’ll eat the feed."

"Alright."

Fang Qing concentrated, and a pool of blood appeared on the floor. The pink-haired, skimpily dressed succubus emerged from the blood, her voluptuous figure exuding a bewitching allure.

"You need to upgrade that spider girl. Once the puppet strings break, those puppets lose their mobility. This weakness is deadly." Fang Qing maintained the blood sea passage, not closing it.

"Got it."

Zhou Yuan also knew this point; he needed to think of a way to evolve the weaver.

He took out a bag of universal feed from his backpack, pointed at the small biscuit-like items, and asked the succubus, "Do you eat this?"

—Completely controlled puppets could have consciousness and use their abilities, but once the puppet strings broke, they would stop functioning.

The succubus picked up a small biscuit and chewed it. Although she swallowed it, she still shook her head, giving a seductive smile and staring at Zhou Yuan with a heated gaze. "These foods are useless. I can only eat...that."

Zhou Yuan propped his tongue against his cheek. It would be troublesome if she didn’t eat the feed.

"You wouldn’t want to take on the task yourself, would you?" Fang Qing raised an eyebrow.

"No need. I’m a pure-hearted warrior, not riding public transit." Zhou Yuan replied righteously.

"Actually, it’s possible even without intercourse..." The succubus flirtatiously said, "You know what I mean."

"I have a cleanliness fetish."

Very quickly, Zhou Yuan had an idea and asked the succubus, "Can you absorb essence energy from a distance?"

The succubus nodded. "Our tribe worships the Goddess of Love and Charm. With Her blessing, as long as someone has desires towards me and does some handiwork, I can absorb a small amount of essence energy."

"That will work."

Zhou Yuan clapped his hands and announced loudly, "You will debut as a welfare girl!"

Fang Qing: "..."

"That’s your solution?"

"What else? This method is great; she can feed and cultivate while making money—win-win."

Zhou Yuan patted Fang Qing’s shoulder and solemnly said, "You’re a journalist, so the photography work is up to you."

Fang Qing immediately freaked out. "My photography skills aren’t for this kind of thing!"

"Photography is photography, no difference. Don’t worry, work well, and you’ll be rewarded handsomely."

"..." Fang Qing was at a loss for words.

·

·

In the following days, Zhou Yuan either stayed at home playing games or went out enjoying himself—life was quite pleasant.

During this time, he fully experienced the pleasures of sudden wealth, bought a Maserati, and often went for joyrides, showing off. He frequently visited high-end restaurants in Xinhu, ordering wines worth tens of thousands, even though he couldn’t taste the nuances. The point was the indulgence.

But despite having paid off his loans and living a dream life, Zhou Yuan inexplicably felt bored with his current days.

Fang Qing said that rich people always had beautiful cars and women, but he didn’t even touch those women who came to his door, not even adding them on WeChat. Without beauties and flattery, of course, he would feel bored.

Zhou Yuan thought it made sense, but he genuinely had no interest in those women, not because of impotence but because he couldn’t accept it psychologically.

How to put it...

He just wanted to find a true companion who genuinely loved him.

·

While Zhou Yuan was driving his Maserati around, his phone buzzed with a special notification.

He parked by the roadside, took out his phone to check, and was pleasantly surprised.

It was Chen Guangxi, who had been unreachable for days. She sent a voice message.

"Hey Zhou, our task here is done. Want to come to Xinyue? I’ll show you around."

Xinyue... Zhou Yuan thought for a moment. He had never traveled elsewhere for leisure—assignments didn’t count.

Now that his loans were paid off and a new life had begun, it was indeed time to explore new places.

"Okay, I’ll buy a plane ticket now."

"No need to bother. Just apply for a teleportation at the Control Bureau; you can teleport anywhere within East Continent."

"I know, but I want to take a plane."

Zhou Yuan looked up at the clear blue sky, where a plane flew overhead, and murmured, "I’ve never flown before. I should experience it at least once, right?"

He bought the nearest flight and informed Ye Wan, and to his surprise, Ye Wan had something for him.

—It was a lump of dark matter, just exchanged from another organization.

Dark matter was extremely rare. It took Ye Wan almost two months to obtain this lump, highlighting its value.

This lump of dark matter was called—Murkshadow.