Calamity Messenger-Chapter 102 - 82: Mouse Monk
Today’s thieves’ meeting ended hastily.
It wasn’t because they were on vacation for too long and couldn’t get back into work mode immediately, but because the operation was scheduled for midnight three days later. Now it was noon, and it was impossible to determine the specifics of the night patrols, nighttime foot traffic, and light-dark areas by then. More importantly, they had to confirm where Shang Xuanwen would be resting at night; otherwise, with no target location, how could they talk about making a plan?
They agreed to meet again at midnight tonight, and everyone returned to their rooms. After Yan Qing closed the door, he didn’t immediately remove his mask but went to pick up the Bingzi Pepper Forest—he intentionally didn’t wear Bingzi Pepper Forest, lest Pharmacist’s Wish and others get envious—and after a moment’s wait, there was indeed a knock on the door.
He still only opened a crack in the door, still with his right hand resting on the handle of the Bingzi Pepper Forest, and looked silently at Shang Xinlei standing outside.
"How is she?" Shang Xinlei asked.
"Fine."
"Can you tell me where she went?"
"No."
Shang Xinlei had anticipated Yan Qing’s refusal, nodded lightly, and cast a glance at his hand resting on the Bingzi Pepper Forest, falling into a long silence.
"If there’s nothing else, then—"
"Thank you."
"What are you thanking me for?" Yan Qing said, "I don’t recall doing anything worth your thanks."
"Thank you for helping my friend," Shang Xinlei sincerely said, "If it weren’t for you giving her the Bingzi Pepper Forest in advance..."
Upon seeing the Bingzi Pepper Forest, Shang Xinlei knew that Yellow Dog had already figured out her true identity.
Since Yan Qing could lend the Bingzi Pepper Forest to Jiang Shi, it was natural that he could learn from Jiang Shi that Shang Xinlei had advised her to leave Yellow Dog, thus recognizing Shang Xinlei as one of the Thief Women’s of the Thief’s House. There were only four people in the Thief’s House, and the Red Snake from the Jiangnan region was obviously the correct answer.
To be honest, if Yan Qing had mistaken Black Wolf the tomboy or White Fox the false righteous for her, Shang Xinlei would have been angry instead.
The furtive glances from Yan Qing during the meeting further confirmed Shang Xinlei’s judgment.
"What you think is your business, I’m just protecting my own things," Yan Qing calmly said, "I don’t need your gratitude, just as if she meets a miserable end, I won’t accept your resentment either."
Shang Xinlei froze, staring at Yan Qing in disbelief. "She’s so young, so beautiful, so naturally gifted, and she’s so loyal to you. If I’m not mistaken, all her earnings from Mansu Forest Land were handed over to you, right? Doesn’t this elevate her weight in your heart? You—"
"See you tonight."
Yan Qing didn’t bother talking to her any further, directly shutting the door with a bang, leaving Shang Xinlei standing outside. Yan Qing was already prepared to hear knocking on the door, but there was no noise, and after a while, he heard the footsteps of Red Snake returning to her room.
Finally got through that.
Yan Qing purposely responded harshly to Shang Xinlei. Although he could take this opportunity to get closer to Shang Xinlei and clear his image as the ’heartless backstage manipulator,’ after careful consideration, he still didn’t want to be seen as a good person in others’ eyes.
Kindness requires strength, being a good person comes with a cost. He’s just a weakling, afraid to leave the Thief’s House, unable to even protect himself, unable to make any promises.
Yan Qing didn’t want others to see his kind side because if they did, they would constantly expect him to be kind.
Besides, one day Ye Si and Jiang Shi would die for Yan Qing’s interests, just as they were born for his interests.
In that sense, Shang Xinlei’s impression of him wasn’t wrong; he truly was a bloodless and tearless... game player.
Meanwhile, in the Thief’s House, the door to White Fox’s room closed quietly.
Ying Rushi leaned against the door, biting her nails and murmuring softly, "Red Snake’s friend is under Yellow Dog? So Yellow Dog probably knows Red Snake’s true identity, and Red Snake might also understand Yellow Dog’s background?"
Although Yan Qing and Shang Xinlei had no interaction during the meeting, Ying Rushi, being a member of the imperial family who survived the Mad Emperor Ying Le, had a keen sense of observation woven into her survival instinct. Within the brief meeting, Yan Qing and Shang Xinlei exchanged furtive glances four or five times, and even once accidentally locked eyes, looking like a pure and innocent couple.
Ying Rushi initially thought they might have a romantic connection, but it turned out to be something else entirely. She thought of An Wu and An Liu who sacrificed themselves like they had been set on fire by Buddha, thought of Yan San who died for righteousness... and now Red Snake found Yellow Dog’s subordinate in Jiangnan, what exactly was Yellow Dog planning? How vast and hidden was the power under his command?
Even after returning to her residence, Ying Rushi continued pondering the various implications of Red Snake knowing Yellow Dog, until a maid knocked and entered her room.
"Master, these are letters sent from Ping City."
"Just place them on the desk."
...
...
Since the next mission was to take place in Jiangnan City, Yan Qing naturally had to send a small account ahead to conduct reconnaissance.
Considering the relatively good security environment in Jiangnan Region, Yan Qing felt he could be bolder this time, investing more resources into the small account.
The first thing to confirm was the appearance. Although seeing the back of a beautiful girl indeed brought a sense of comfort and longevity, since this was primarily an investigative mission, creating a stunning beauty would likely result in Yan Qing causing a massacre before even entering Jiangnan City.
Yan Qing listed his requirements for this small account: it should be someone who wouldn’t be disturbed while traveling on the road, someone who blended in while wandering around Jiangnan City, ideally with reasons to enter various places, someone whom nobody dared to pester, and who wouldn’t implicate innocents in case of a killing spree...
Almost naturally, the only identity that met all these requirements popped into Yan Qing’s mind—
A monk!
Just in Jiangnan City, he had seen many temples, and monks were undoubtedly a common humanoid entity in Jiangnan region. Monks could beg for alms or conduct weddings and funerals, thus being involved with both the rich and poor, from birth to death. As a result, nobody found it strange for monks to navigate any place. The beauty of it was that nobody dared to get angry with other monks even if one did something wrong.
It’s decided, a monk!
With a shaved head, appearance concerns weren’t as important. He could quickly model a burly figure with a default face and gain an extra 2 points of Qi Blood. As for the attribute points, use the standard 334 allocation, leading to a final stat sheet of 6 points Qi Blood, 1 point Spirit, 4 points Agility, 4 points Comprehension.
There were now more choices for talent inheritance. Besides the basic Cultivation Technique, he could also choose the Advanced Saber Technique, Advanced Steps, Advanced Dual Saber Technique, or even "Secret Technique Talent: Splitting Saber Shadow" and "Secret Technique Talent: Left Curve Right Return"!
Opening it up, Yan Qing found that the Secret Technique Talent didn’t let the small account immediately master the Secret Techniques, but rather allowed it to directly comprehend the Secret Technique as long as certain conditions were met.
For example, the condition to comprehend Splitting Saber Shadow was mastering the Advanced Saber Technique or Advanced Dual Saber Technique to the maximum level. It didn’t require a Secret Technique Book, wasn’t about luck, and conditions weren’t stringent, just following the routine would fulfill the requirements.
Don’t be fooled by the casual dungeons Yan Qing undertakes that reward Secret Technique Books, but legitimate Secret Technique Books only appear from Third-Turn Secret Realm bosses and a few Second-Turn Secret Realm bosses, and they might not even be suitable for players. Comparatively, now being able to pre-select Secret Techniques at character creation, combined with basic talents and advanced talents, Yan Qing’s newly created small account could smoothly progress to the third turn with no bottlenecks at all!
This was truly...
Incredibly fun!
The increasing array of selectable talents reminded Yan Qing of his favorite two single-player game genres: RogueLike and CRPG. The hallmark of these game types was that they allowed players to freely construct character skill systems, which through proper combinations, could enable the game’s characters to soar as if stepping on the right foot with the left foot. This process of building character systems was known to players as building.
The job conversion system in "Messenger" already vaguely had a build feel, and the Talent Inheritance function added in True Mode significantly reduced the difficulty of building for players. Just now, Yan Qing could create a small account specializing in Saber Techniques advancing to the third turn, with no bottlenecks in between! In the future, when Yan Qing’s character level gets even higher and the number of characters increases, he can’t even imagine what monstrous small accounts he could create.
Don’t forget, milestones are shared across the entire account!
Yan Qing originally despised grinding, but at this moment, he truly felt an urge to grind through the "Messenger" game. No wonder "Messenger" became an MMORPG with millions of players online, as it was downright addictive.
Yet enjoying the game comes with significant costs too.
"Basic Steps Talent: 12 hours of gameplay"
"Basic Saber Technique Talent: 12 hours of gameplay"
"Advanced Saber Technique Talent: 36 hours of gameplay"
"Secret Technique Talent: Splitting Saber Shadow: 108 hours of gameplay"
Even if Yan Qing hung onto the game every day, purchasing these four talents made his wallet hurt. Unlike other resources, gameplay hours couldn’t be compensated in any way, leaving Yan Qing with no choice but to play hard, slowly increasing 24 hours a day.
If this small account died, Yan Qing knew he wouldn’t dare invest in any advanced talents for a long time.
As for the name, since Shang Xinlei had already managed to link Jiang Shi’s name to him, Yan Qing decided to change the encoding pattern and use something less identifiable at first glance.
You’ll do, the Chinese Zodiac.
And for convenience in identifying the character’s image, Yan Qing planned to preset a background identity for future small account creations, with the name matching the identity.
So, monk, your dharma name will be— "Mouse Monk"!
"Jiangnan Affiliated Newbie Village", start the game!
