As the saying goes, when money is paid, the job is done. Li Ang was such a professional; how could he abandon a task halfway over such a trivial matter? Even in Dusheng Village, he had diligently completed Lu Maodian's commission to "resolve the supernatural incident in Dusheng Village!" Although Lu Maodian, his younger brother, and his father had all died, that was just a minor issue. Besides, the employer had brought about his own demise, a matter entirely unrelated to Li Ang. In any case, Li Ang had always been dedicated to his job, ensuring he saw things through to the end.

Furthermore, the moment the giant rat appeared, he had received the exact same cooperative mission as Wei Linglan. Thus, when Wang Congshan stared at him with those regretful eyes, he maintained the persona of "young photographer Xu Haoge" and exclaimed in feigned shock, "Lanlan, what's going on?"

The diners, including Wei Linglan's parents, also stared at her—standing on the table—with expressions of surprise and panic. The older, artistic woman let out a deep breath; she had anticipated this situation the moment she acted. Fortunately, she had already joined the Special Affairs Bureau, so she didn't have to worry about her identity being exposed and the ensuing chain of terrible misfortunes.

"Everyone, please be quiet!"

Wei Linglan, brandishing the firearm, was quite intimidating—especially with the pile of still-warm giant rat carcasses spread neatly on the floor. "I'm a staff member from an official agency. There's a special situation outside, and I will lead everyone to a safe location."

She flipped her hand, retrieved a dark green, square set of credentials from her backpack, and held the opened credentials high above her head, waving it from side to side for the murmuring crowd to see. Li Ang keenly observed that the dark green credentials exerted a kind of mental influence. Once it was displayed, the initially panicked crowd calmed considerably, showing no doubt or suspicion towards Wei Linglan.

A standard-issue item from the Special Affairs Bureau? Li Ang mused. It seems quite effective. Was one issued to every member of the Special Affairs Bureau's Mobile Detachment?

Official organizations were, after all, vastly superior to individual players. In terms of resource utilization, they were on completely different levels. While Lone Wolf Players were still furtively trying to develop their strength, official organizations had already begun systematically forming teams to research, analyze, and exploit the Killing Game. By now, the Special Affairs Bureau could produce supernatural equipment and items on a small scale, even outfitting its Mobile Detachment (and its non-affiliated personnel) with complete sets of gear. These credentials, which exuded an air of official authority, were merely one such item.

Wei Linglan remained standing on the table, directing everyone. She instructed all the patrons and kitchen staff, regardless of age or gender, to gather in the main hall. After finding all communication devices inoperable and being unable to contact the Special Affairs Bureau directly, she walked out of the restaurant and scanned the street in both directions. The street was shrouded in dense fog. Though the doors of the shops lining both sides were open, there wasn't a soul inside. It was as if the only people left in the entire city were those inside the Yongyi Pavilion Restaurant.

Maintaining a vigilant posture, Wei Linglan kept her grenade launcher aimed at the street as she retreated back into the restaurant, pretending to casually scan the crowd. She was surreptitiously counting the people.

The mission required players to cooperatively escort 132 individuals from the Yongyi Pavilion Restaurant to 149 Hoshan Road. The final reward would be determined by the number of people who successfully arrived. As a non-affiliated member of the Special Affairs Bureau's Mobile Detachment, Wei Linglan knew perfectly well that 149 Hoshan Road was, in fact, a small Special Affairs Bureau stronghold in Yin City. Stationed there was another Mobile Detachment, which included over twenty players. This implied that the System considered the vicinity of the Yongyi Pavilion Restaurant to be no longer safe. Furthermore, it suggested that the group would encounter immense danger en route to the Special Affairs Bureau's stronghold.

Counting the people served two purposes: not only to better protect the civilians but also to ascertain if other players, like herself, were hidden among them. The System's instruction to "escort 132 people inside the restaurant" was itself a vague hint. One hundred thirty-two. Did that number include players, or not? If there were 132 people present, including Wei Linglan, it would imply that other players in this cooperative mission were likely mixed in with the crowd. In that scenario, even if that player never made a move, the Special Affairs Bureau could later "review surveillance footage," screen the individuals, and identify the player hidden among them. If there were 132 people, not counting Wei Linglan, it would mean the other players in the cooperative mission were not currently among the crowd. If there were 133 people, not counting Wei Linglan, then there was definitely one other player among the crowd. One hundred thirty-four people meant two other players. One hundred thirty-five people meant three other players. Simply by counting, the number of other cooperative players, besides Wei Linglan, could be determined.

The older, artistic woman was quick-witted, but Li Ang had realized this even faster. The instant he heard the mission description, he had begun to surreptitiously scan the crowd. At that moment, there were no pregnant women in the Yongyi Pavilion Restaurant (their presence could have confused the headcount). Including himself and Wei Linglan, there were exactly 132 people.

This means players are included in the count of 132. Since the System marked this as a cooperative mission, once Wei Linglan finishes her count, she'll suspect a player is mixed in with the crowd. And the Special Affairs Bureau will eventually realize this, begin investigating and screening people, and thereby threaten my peaceful daily life.

Li Ang wasn't depraved enough to harm innocent people just to protect his identity, especially with Wang Congshan present; he couldn't let her suffer irreversible trauma. Therefore, the moment Wei Linglan had taken out the grenade launcher and decimated the giant rats, Li Ang had already devised a countermeasure. He gave a few brief instructions to Miss Chai, who resided within him, telling her to change into a new outfit and burrow underground.

Miss Chai, having recently evolved into a modern young woman, not only continued her obsession with various romance novels but had also developed a fondness for anime. She had registered an account on Bilibili and used the allowance Li Ang gave her to become a premium member, spending her days either binge-watching various anime series, watching girls dance in the dance section, enjoying "performance art" in the "kichiku" section, or viewing cat and dog videos in the lifestyle section. Li Ang, feeling helpless, could only let her be. After all, Miss Chai's expenses were minimal, and he could still afford to support her. At most, he would burn a few colorful paper outfits for her when she wanted to cosplay. Indeed, by pouring emotions into an exquisitely crafted paper creation and burning it before Chai Cuiqiao, she could receive the item in the netherworld. Western-style armor, sailor uniforms, Organization X cloaks, Tiger tanks, chainsaw swords... Although these items were merely insubstantial imitations and wouldn't last more than a few days, they were sufficient to fool ordinary people.

Li Ang thought. Once Wei Linglan finishes the headcount, she'll guess that a player might have mixed into the crowd. To prevent this, the only way is to create a fake player identity that enters from outside the restaurant, thereby making Wei Linglan mistakenly believe that she is the only player among the 132 people currently in the restaurant. With so many eyes in the Yongyi Pavilion Restaurant, I can't personally adopt this fake player identity—I still need to maintain my persona as the young photographer Xu Haoge. It's like the saying, 'Raise Chai for a thousand days, use her in a single moment.' Chaichai, this time it's all up to you!

THUMP. THUMP. THUMP.

Just as Wei Linglan finished her headcount, her expression changing drastically, heavy footsteps echoed from the street, growing louder as they drew nearer. A magnetic voice declared, "The wind today is quite boisterous."

All eyes turned towards the entrance. A long-haired woman clad in heavy, full-body bronze armor strode in. Her face was partially obscured by an owl-shaped half-mask that covered the upper portion, revealing only her cold, imperious eyes and a mouth curved into a roguishly arrogant smile. An indescribable, terrifying aura coalesced around her. The temperature plummeted, and even the moisture in the air seemed to freeze solid, intimidated by her overwhelming presence. The crowd in the restaurant, having just regained their composure, erupted into panicked commotion once more.

Meanwhile, Miss Chai, blissfully unaware of which anime character she was supposedly cosplaying, continued to chuckle softly, merely flicking a glance at Li Ang, her eyes clearly conveying, I've got this, you can relax.

Li Ang, however, was anything but relaxed; he was extremely agitated.

"Hmph."

Miss Chai, fully embracing her role as a drama queen, ignored the clamorous crowd. She looked at Wei Linglan, who was on high alert, and snorted disdainfully. "So, you're to be my teammate this time? Woman."

Wei Linglan's face remained tense, not daring to let her guard down. "You are...?"

"Me?" Miss Chai chuckled playfully. Since this is just a disposable Vest, I can toss it after I'm done. Naturally, I should have as much fun with it as possible! She completely ignored Li Ang's emphatic gaze that silently screamed, Be more serious! Instead, her mind raced, contemplating what sort of coolly arrogant and wildly unrestrained name and organization to adopt for this temporary Vest.