In the following days, Li Ang explored his "self-generated BGM" skill and found quite a few powerful background music combinations.

To complement the skill, he specifically bought various models of outdoor speakers from an online store. These ranged in size from small to large, and each product description was more exaggerated than the last: 600W super-high power, eight speakers for a heart-shocking experience, a plaza-dance-killer super-subwoofer, and a twelve-color light "people-charmer."

Considering he might have to carry speakers into battle, Li Ang remodeled their exteriors to prevent anyone from recognizing the brand and tracing his identity.

After buying the speakers, Li Ang also hired an Information Broker for 10 Game Currency to look for Alchemy Skill Scrolls. If the Broker could directly contact the Michael Family, who might be willing to sell, Li Ang would add a 30 Game Coin hiring bonus.

However, skills in the game were as numerous as stars. Even if a player found an Alchemy Skill Scroll, they might not be willing to sell it. This endeavor was a long shot; it would be great if he found one, but no great loss if he didn't.

Moreover, Li Ang restarted the Forging Furnace. He used common-quality items like the Steel Stick and the White Bone Spine to craft a new, rare-quality piece of attack equipment, remedying his weakness of having limited offensive options.

After the mission, the Dusk Knight added Li Ang as a friend. Through the communication link, he expressed his admiration and thanks in a very formulaic manner.

Wanli Fengdao also proactively contacted Li Ang. Both tacitly avoided the topic of the Origin of Life, primarily discussing the three enemy players encountered during the mission.

According to Wanli Fengdao, he had already reported some information about the Black Holy Son, Zhuang Pengpai, and Stonemason to the Special Affairs Bureau. He had asked them to collect relevant intelligence and be wary of any subsequent retaliation from these opponents.

If their whereabouts in the real world were discovered, Wanli Fengdao promised to promptly relay the news to Li Ang so he could prepare.

Once everything settled, Li Ang returned to his regular routine of attending school and browsing forums at home.

One Saturday morning, while Li Ang was lying on the couch drinking iced cola and playing video games, he received a WeChat message from Wang Congshan.

"What are you up to, handsome?"

Wow, coming right out with 'handsome,' he thought. Such unsolicited flattery usually signals a scam or a setup.

Li Ang typed, "Roast duck, marinated duck, salted duck, beer duck."

"???"

Wang Congshan sent a "confused Black man" question mark meme. "Seriously, what are you doing?"

"Bored at home during the holiday, so I might as well get a part-time job. Copy and paste this message, become a repeater, earn 0 yuan a day—all my friends are doing it."

"Heh."

Wang Congshan sent an emoji of someone frantically petting a dog's head. "Are you busy? I need your help with something."

Li Ang sent a picture of a dog picking its nose. "What's up?"

Wang Congshan immediately explained the situation.

It turned out she had a cousin, a graduate from a prestigious university. This cousin had been working hard in Yin City for many years and was now a somewhat famous independent artist. However, because she was beautiful, earned a good income, came from a well-off family, and was articulate and elegant, she had high standards. This, in turn, made many eligible men shy away, and she had unwittingly become an older, unmarried woman.

Her parents, holding traditional views, constantly nagged her about marriage. They even began to suspect she might have lesbian tendencies due to her lack of a partner.

Pressured by her parents, the older unmarried woman was at her wit's end. Compounded by some recent troubles, she impulsively lied about having found a boyfriend to placate them.

Unexpectedly, her mother booked a flight that very evening, planning to descend upon Yin City the next day to inspect the prospective son-in-law.

While attending university in Yin City, this cousin had often freeloaded meals and drinks at Wang Fengnian and Jiang Xinwan's home. She was extremely close to the Wang family, having grown up playing with Wang Congshan.

With the lie about to be exposed, Wang Congshan volunteered. She recommended to her cousin an "elite talent" who, she claimed, had perfect acting skills, was a master of pretense, and an all-around prodigy—someone one hundred percent capable of helping her through the current crisis.

This "elite talent" was, naturally, Li Ang himself.

After hearing the full story, Li Ang considered Wang Congshan his childhood friend and long-time buddy; her cousin's problem was his problem. He gallantly typed, "How much?"

"2,000, meals included, and I'll get you a custom suit."

Wang Congshan typed back, "Are you in or out?"

If this were before, Li Ang might have already started preparing to leave. But now, as a player, a few Game Coins could easily sell for tens of thousands of yuan, so a mere two thousand was insignificant.

After a moment's thought, Li Ang accepted the job.

He did it partly to maintain his "broke" image in Wang Congshan's eyes, and partly for a chance to go out, hoping it might trigger a mission.

"You're the best, bro."

Wang Congshan sent a thumbs-up emoji, then forwarded her cousin's photo and WeChat ID to Li Ang, letting them discuss the details themselves.

Li Ang sipped his ice-cold cola and casually clicked to view the full-size image. The next second, he shot up from the sofa. Expressionless, eyes narrowed, he radiated a chilling and terrifying, pure killing intent.

The woman in the photo wore a white dress and sunglasses. She was a stylish young lady whose looks far exceeded the average.

Li Ang had seen that woman before—at Dusheng Village.

Wei Linglan...

At that time, she was a Lv4 player. After the Dusheng Village incident, she might have succumbed to pressure and fully defected to the Special Affairs Bureau.

She's Wang Congshan's relative? Or has the Special Affairs Bureau noticed something and created a fake identity to approach me?

Li Ang sat silently on the sofa. Chai Cuiqiao, lying on the ceiling, felt a faint unease. It was the first time she had seen Li Ang in such a vigilant state—devoid of good or evil, filled only with killing intent.

The likelihood of the Special Affairs Bureau discovering me is quite small, Li Ang thought. Even if they suspected something, they wouldn't use Wang Congshan as a bridge to approach me. That would be inefficient and could provoke a fierce reaction from me.

So, is this just a coincidence? That a player I've encountered before turns out to be a close relative of my childhood friend?

In this world, Wang Congshan was the only living person Li Ang absolutely trusted, plus, to a lesser extent, the orphanage director.

Because of this trust, they were the only two for whom Li Ang had not conducted background checks or devised assassination strategies.

Apart from them, Li Ang was prepared to eliminate any threatening enemy if necessary, employing any radical measures required to safeguard his life and preserve his peaceful daily routine.

We're meeting so soon, huh, Li Ang stared expressionlessly at Wei Linglan's photo on his phone screen. Hopefully, your luck will be better this time, he thought.