Chapter Five: Sudden Burst of Gold Coins

The Happy Superhero was stunned. What had just happened? Before he could even cast his spell, Chen Lai had already teleported right in front of him, and the chair had smashed directly into his eye.

Was this man a monster?

Or was it that this guy’s battle gear was far more expensive than his own?

He was wearing six sets?

But wasn’t this a brand-new instance? Normally, players entering for the first time would only equip the minimum gear to test the waters. Who in their right mind would throw a fortune into a dungeon without any major events?

Thoughts raced through him as the heavy force sent Happy Superhero flying backward.

Without cursed energy, cursed spirits truly were invisible.

However, cursed spirits were an objective existence—they could take physical damage. As long as Chen Lai could find their position and hit accurately, it was enough.

Chen Lai smiled. Who told players their IDs were fixed and always displayed? The head was right beneath the ID; it was nearly impossible to miss.

The target was clearly marked—so why not hit it?

“Wait, wait! I have insider information! If I tell you, can I trade it for a second life?” The one-eyed cursed spirit slumped into the deep crater it had been smashed into inside the Metropolitan Police Department, spewing purple blood as it waved toward the “Great Mighty Heavenly Dragon.”

It was truly terrified; it might as well have retreated. That way, it could save its fifty-thousand-worth equipment to use next time. But now? It had run into a blockade at the police headquarters!

“Blockade” was a deep-sea gaming term—meaning a bad player lurks in a critical area or near an escape point to ambush others, aiming to turn the odds in their favor with a small investment.

“You have insider information too?” Chen Lai’s fist slowed slightly, changing from a punch to a grab as he lifted Happy Superhero off the ground.

To the onlookers, Yosuke Toyokawa and Kyoko, Chen Lai seemed to be fighting thin air—and yet it looked so real, with the strength needed to grab air so forcefully.

But was that strange crater on the wall really something you could create by swinging a fist?

Having lived in Shibuya for thirty years, Officer Kyoko felt her worldview collapse.

Chen Lai didn’t care what the spectators thought. Right now, he just wanted this “Happy Superhero” to drop some gold coins!

Before making the big money from the storyline, he’d feast on small change from other players—as a kind of rehearsal.

“Yes! Yes! I’ve stayed in this instance for 27 days and was planning to evacuate today…” Happy Superhero said with a mournful face, looking at the fist the size of a sandbag and feeling deep regret.

***

“Tsk.” Chen Lai cut off his rambling.

Seeing Chen Lai’s impatience, Happy Superhero hurried to the point: “The Shibuya Security Building—that’s a tall building next to the Hanzomon Line. Today, some players saw strange sorcerers coming and going!”

“Two sorcerers sneaking around—one with white hair, an old lady, and the other a young biker with bright yellow hair!”

Chen Lai narrowed his eyes. What a coincidence.

“How do you know this?” he asked.

“The forums. Are you really a newbie? The first group of us old players all use the Deep Sea Forum. We’re here to make money; before big loot appears, everyone’s still friends.”

Chen Lai squinted. He roughly understood what the other meant. Deep-sea players’ relationships were complicated—not purely enemies, nor purely friends, but ever-shifting.

In the early stages of an instance, players share less critical information to explore the dungeon. But once a major event occurs and NPCs start dropping gold, relationships turn hostile because you never know if the other’s backpack contains something valuable.

As for the “Deep Sea Forum,” the original body had registered and had an account, but after Chen Lai took over, too much information had come in, and he’d missed some details.

“Thanks for the tip. You saved me a lot of time.” Chen Lai thanked him and put Happy Superhero down.

“No need…” Before he could finish the last “thanks,” the fist the size of a sandbag smashed out, crushing the one-eyed cursed spirit into pieces.

They were all players, after all. How could they not understand these twists and turns?

Friends? Enemies? Players came to make money. Now that the blue cursed spirit was being crushed by Chen Lai, how could it not drop gold?

As the cursed energy dissipated, the blue cursed spirit’s corpse turned to black ash and vanished into the air, leaving only a round cursed spirit orb.

[Cursed Spirit Orb: A conglomerate of equipment carried by player Happy Superhero, containing the worn-down cursed power of Fear Insects and C-grade cursed energy (both worn), total value 30,000 yen.]

“Still worn down? Is there a brand-new factory version? As for this orb… it’s somewhat like Suguru Geto’s cursed spirit manipulation technique, but the portability is quite nice.”

Chen Lai gave a fair evaluation before pocketing the cursed spirit orb worth thirty thousand.

Now, Chen Lai’s total equipment value reached 180,000 yen, including what he already had and the newly obtained cursed spirit orb.

The first step toward breaking even.

***

“What was that flash of light just now?” Yosuke Toyokawa’s eyes were sharp; he had seen the moment Chen Lai stored the cursed spirit orb.

Chen Lai ignored him and sat back down at the surveillance computer. This time, his target was much clearer.

“Hanzomon Line… from Shibuya to Oshiage Station in Sumida Ward?”

Chen Lai squinted at the computer monitor. He truly knew nothing about Japanese geography, making the search difficult.

A stray lock of hair was tucked back, bringing a faint scent of lily.

“What are you looking for?” Yosuke Toyokawa sat down beside Chen Lai, tilting her head.

“Is the Shibuya Security Building visible on the surveillance?” Chen Lai asked her directly.

“Yes, it’s next to the Shibuya Crossing. That building, with a glass sightseeing elevator on the side. Are you heading there?”

“Thanks... Officer. Could you come over here for a moment?”

Chen Lai glanced at the slightly shy Yosuke Toyokawa, then turned to wave at Kyoko, who was still examining the strange crater in the wall.

“What’s going on? What do you want?”

Officer Kyoko, her police uniform wrinkled, responded gruffly. Even knowing this man was a monster, her attitude remained blunt.

Her sense of justice wouldn’t allow her to bow to lawless rioters like Chen Lai.

“This girl is in your care now. Her mission is complete,” Chen Lai said, ignoring the attitude and speaking to himself.

“Eh!?” Yosuke Toyokawa’s beautiful eyes widened—what did this mean? Was this jerk about to ditch her?

“My advice is for both of you to buy tickets right now and leave Shibuya. Don’t come back for the next day or two. Keep an eye on the news, especially Tokyo TV.”

Chen Lai gave the order casually, glancing at the time in the bottom right corner of the computer screen.

It was 9 PM on October 30th, three hours until midnight, and twenty-three hours and thirty minutes before the Shibuya incident began.

“That’s all for now.”

Chen Lai stood tall, grabbed a blue police jacket left by someone from the chair, put it on, and prepared to leave.

“Wait a moment...” Yosuke Toyokawa raised her hand to stop him but was grabbed by Kyoko.

“That kind of man is just like that,” Kyoko said with a knowing glint in her eyes, her tone sharp.

“In their eyes, there’s only their so-called great cause. No place for women.”

“But their advice is really an order. If you don’t follow it, your fate will surely be tragic.”

Yosuke’s hand fell unwillingly.