Chapter 525: 525

Chapter 525 Manhunt Thread

Two weeks passed since the end of the Deductive Reasoning quest .

Zhang Heng could finally bid farewell to the fish and chips he’d been chomping on for the days he could remember . He could yet throw himself again into the embrace of the canteen on the second floor . His other three dorm mates were used to his occasional night absentees by now, and it wasn’t like their school officially appointed an officer to check on them . Even if he lived outside campus, no one really cared anyway .

Rumors, however, would eventually emerge if one kept leaving campus grounds, just like how Shen Xixi was branded a sugar baby, said to be cozying up to older rich men who would bolster her opulent lifestyle . It was now Zhang Heng’s turn to taste Shen Xixi’s unpleasant experience, especially after someone spotted him having dinner with Han Lu at the food court . Han Lu’s flirtsy attitude definitely didn’t help things; there was plenty a room for imagination since there was a time he wouldn’t return to the dormitory every month . Of course, nobody believed Zhang Heng’s explanation that Han Lu was just his mother’s best friend . The rampant rumors showed no sign of slowing, answering the true, loquacious nature embedded within a person . Besides satisfying one’s curiosity, it was to be expected that a little imagination was also added to whatever topic they wanted to know more about .

The ugly truth was, whenever a person fell from grace, an onlooker would actually receive gratification from it . A few insincere words of consolation were also an inevitable addition to the package . After all, no one would so brazenly endanger their future and finances due to words from a loose tongue . It was probably because he was male, that he attracted lesser attention than Shen Xixi . Men had their attention drawn to different things, where their time would be rather spent on games, sports stars, or manga characters . Not to mention they were in their sophomore year, and most hadn’t even the slightest of what their future looked like .

Zhang Heng or Shen Xixi were both usually busy with things that really mattered, and these rumors didn’t bother them at all . He now owed Shen Xixi a favor after the Dreamland of Death incident . Considering the risk of never returning to the real world, Shen Xixi and her team knew nothing of the consequences of entering Han Lu’s dream . Even so, they still chose to enter, and although they did it out of their own accord, Zhang Heng didn’t want to take their kindness for granted .

As of now, there was nothing he could do to help Shen Xixi . The non-guild player group she led had recently gained momentum . Not only had a large number of players had joined them, but smaller and medium-sized guilds had begun engaging and cooperating with them .

Everyone might not have the same goals, but most of the players knew that killing supernatural creatures would grant a high chance of game items dropping . Considering game items were scarce, and the method to obtain them had always been a mystery, Shen Xixi had actually provided them with a reliable means .

Shen Xixi did not refuse such people, though . Not only was it challenging to discern everyone’s true purpose, but she knew all too well that players like her were a rarity, armed with the sole purpose of protecting the ordinary . They wouldn’t be solving their problems anytime soon with the small number they had, which was why they sorely needed help . No matter what the purpose of the other party was, Shen Xixi didn’t mind working with them, as long as the final results matched their

goal .

As time went on, however, the organization began to juggle with complicated internal issues, and Shen Xixi now spent most of her time coordinating and managing the guild . The city they were in was also an exceptional one, where two of the three major guilds were headquartered here . So far, the grand guild had not expressed their stand on Shen Xixi’s newly-established guild, probably wanting to observe her for now .

The flash-drive obtained from the Whistleblower quest enabled Zhang Heng to log in to the player forum on his computer without worrying about his IP address getting tracked . Hence, he had been quite active on the forum recently .

After some time, he noticed a post .

It was called “Finding People,” its creator going by the handle of Scarlet Sword, a supporting role in a fantasy novel . The forum was filled with a myriad of posts similar to this . The team that lost to Zhang Heng in the Lego quest was a good example . Disgruntled, they furiously told the world that they would look for Zhang Heng no matter what happened .

Whether in multiplayer or single-player mode, there was a chance of encountering other players . Undoubtedly, having more than one player would also see complaints starting to come in . That said, the developers had done an excellent job protecting the privacy of players . Everyone’s appearance and voice were modified, and unless one confessed their identity, it was practically impossible to look for a specific player once a game ended .

The good news was that there was now a player forum-a place where all players could congregate . Looking for a specific player had naturally become one of the hotter topics of the forum . Then, there were quite a few posts created solely to vent a player’s anger, carrying with them not much meaning in the end . Scarlet Sword’s post, however, was different . When Zhang Heng saw the name, he instantly thought of the woman in red from the Whistleblower quest . The two had a brief but fierce fight, finally ending when Zhang Heng blasted off the ceiling of a parking lot with an RPG . The ceiling gave way to a pile of debris, right where the woman stood . Naturally, Zhang Heng thought that she’d been eliminated, only to learn later from Mr . Coffee that she was still alive, deciding to call the quest quits . And this post was no accident . She was looking for him .

The woman named Scarlet made no references to the previous battle, leaving neither resentful remarks, nor did she covet revenge as well . Instead, she simply asked politely if he was available for them to discuss something .

Zhang Heng knew what she was talking about

—the katana originally belonged to Scarlet, broken into two halves during the explosion . Realizing it would be unsafe to linger within the collapsing parking lot, Zhang Heng only managed to pick up the sword’s upper part, leaving it’s lower half-buried under the debris . Scarlet must have retrieved it after Black Nest cleaned up the place .

The two were presently caught in an awkward situation, where neither could use the incomplete game item . Zhang Heng consulted the bartender lady, and to make matters worse, even if the missing part was retrieved, the follow-up maintenance cost of the katana would amount to a whopping 2,000 game points .

The post received many views, but there were only a few comments . Players clicking on that post didn’t see the expected trolling and bickering, leaving many who were hungry for drama high and dry . Some players even pretended to be Zhang Heng, asking to talk to her . However, Scarlet didn’t reply to them .

Bait-post or not, he intended to contact her anyway . If he managed to work things out, he could at least figure out the katana’s value first before deciding if he should repair it or sell it .

“I feel sorry for what happened at the parking lot . What do you want to talk about?” he typed .

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