The Mu family's villa.
Mu Ke took a deep breath and looked at Father Mu, who had just hung up the phone. "Dad, did the professional hacker you hired find the location of this group of people? Who the hell are they?"
"No." His father frowned as if thinking. "The other side is protected very strictly. There is no way to locate the specific address."
Mu Ke's eyes shifted left and right. This was what he did when he was thinking quickly. Then his son raised his head again. "Can you find it if it is the information of a specific person, not the base address of the other group?"
Father Mu spoke into the phone in English before turning to Mu Ke. "Yes, but we need specific information such as a phone number, name, or photos. However, we don't have any of that. They turned on the shielding when they came, and we couldn't take photos. The surveillance also malfunctioned, and they wore very tight masks…"
"I can draw them." Mu Ke interrupted Father Mu, looking at his father with surprisingly bright eyes. "The 3D facial bone structure should be able to scan their specific identities. I can restore this."
Father Mu was quiet. "Just a few minutes ago, did you memorize everyone's face and bone structure?"
"Yes, Dad."
Father Mu whispered a few words into the phone before looking at Mu Ke. "Yes. Do you have any information that needs special attention?"
"Are there any people in urgent need of money or with bad habits such as drinking or gambling? Or is there anyone who just got married, is about to have children, or has elderly family members who aren't well at home?"
Mu Ke spoke quickly. "Anyone who is about to have a large expenditure will do. I need someone who can be easily moved by money or material incentives to give me information."
His father made an 'understood' gesture to Mu Ke. He explained to the person on the phone before hanging up.
He turned with a complicated expression to look at Mu Ke, who was breathing heavily, his chest rising and falling. "This Bai Liu has done many other things besides saving you. Xiao Ke, must you be involved with him?"
"It isn't that I have to get involved with him." Mu Ke slowly opened his eyes, his voice breathless and weak. "Dad, he made me feel that I am still alive. If he dies, my soul will die with him. He is very important to me."
Father Mu was silent for a moment before patting Mu Ke on the shoulder. "I'll help you. You need cash, right? I'll get it for you now. How much do you want?"
"It depends on how much money these people who came to catch me will be moved by," Mu Ke answered calmly.
—————————————————
Inside the King's Guild.
Wang Shun looked at his system in bewilderment as it received a red notice.
[System notification: A senior authority player of the King's Guild has sent you an anonymous invitation to meet at the game's entrance.]
[Meeting Code: Long time no see, old friend.]
An invitation from a senior authority player was something a middle-level player of the guild couldn't refuse.
Wang Shun came to the entrance of the game doubtfully, but didn't see any high-level guild players he was familiar with. The only familiar person was Mu Sicheng.
Mu Sicheng also saw him and waved with a smile. "Long time no see, old friend."
Wang Shun reflexively raised his hand in greeting, only to realize what was happening.
Wang Shun felt something touch his back. This made him raise both hands before his brain registered that this was the game hall, where players couldn't hurt each other.
A little girl's sweet, smiling voice came from behind him. "Don't worry. I can't hurt you here, but this is the game entrance. I can force you into the game, where I can do whatever I want to you, Wang Shun."
Wang Shun's back instantly became wet with sweat. He recognized the voice and bowed respectfully, lowering his hands. "Little Witch, the Queen of Hearts is looking for you. We can discuss anything you want. I will serve you unconditionally. After all, you are an important player in our team. But would you like to talk to the Queen of Hearts first?"
"The queen doesn't seem to be in a good mood because of you."
Wang Shun's words were obviously an implicit threat toward Liu Jiayi, using Hearts. However, Liu Jiayi wasn't moved at all. She merely laughed and pushed Wang Shun toward Mu Sicheng.
Mu Sicheng wrapped an arm around Wang Shun's neck as if they were very familiar with each other, but in fact, he was dragging Wang Shun to a corner.
Mu Sicheng dragged Wang Shun to a corner and pinned him against the wall, his hand slowly tightening around Wang Shun's neck, his tone very cold. "We want to ask you a question. It's about the specific information of the Withered Rose Hunter. What is his name? Where does he live? What is his core desire for entering the game? You should know this with your skills, right?"
"Cough." Wang Shun knew he wouldn't be killed, but the feeling of being choked made him very uncomfortable.
The pressure exerted by Mu Sicheng was so heavy that it made Wang Shun feel suffocated, despite not being able to be physically hurt. He grabbed Mu Sicheng's wrist and tried to pry it off, but he couldn't.
Wang Shun started coughing, his voice turning hoarse. "I can't tell you. This is treason!"
"Rebel against your guild now, or I will kill you in the game. Choose one." Mu Sicheng lifted Wang Shun by the throat, his eyes cold and cruel. "I don't want to waste too much time on you. Will you say it or not?"
Liu Jiayi cocked her head, her hands behind her back, her tone sweet. "I haven't taken you through a level-two game yet. Wang Shun, do you want me to take you this time?"
Where was she going to take him? Hell?
Wang Shun looked into Mu Sicheng's eyes. A strong surge of emotion formed a black whirlpool. He felt himself getting caught in it, an inevitable dizziness overtaking him. Mu Sicheng would really look for a chance to kill him in the game.
"Cough! Put me down first! Put me down before I can talk to you!" Under Wang Shun's forceful pulling, Mu Sicheng finally withdrew his hand.
He casually slipped his hands into the pockets of his sports jacket and glanced contemptuously at Wang Shun, who was crouching on the ground and coughing awkwardly. "I didn't even touch you."
'However, I was frightened by you.' Wang Shun couldn't bring himself to say such shameful words.
Due to his 'Know Everything' exploration skill, Wang Shun was more sensitive to other people's emotions than ordinary people. Just now, the strong malice from Liu Jiayi and Mu Sicheng made him shudder. He chose to confess in a timely manner.
"I don't know all the specific information of the person whose skill identity is called Withered Rose Hunter," Wang Shun said after calming down.
Mu Sicheng glared fiercely. He took his hands out of his jacket, and just as he looked like he was about to act again, Wang Shun quickly stepped back and continued, "However, I know some information that you might find useful."
Mu Sicheng immediately asked, "What information?"
Wang Shun held his hands in front of his chest to prevent Mu Sicheng from grabbing him. "My personal skill is called 'Know Everything.' Its role is to explore another person's basic information, but this skill isn't omnipotent. I can't obtain all the information at any time. Certain conditions need to be met."
Mu Sicheng grew impatient. "What conditions? Get to the point!"
Wang Shun's eyes wandered. "To me, everyone is like a computer, and I'm a hacker. If I need to steal information from a computer, I have to cross the other person's inner firewall."
"However, everyone's firewall security level is different. If the other person's emotions and attention are in different states, the firewall's strength changes. I'll take God Mu as an example. Before, I couldn't easily steal your inner information because your emotions and attention were very focused and stable. Your firewall was solid and firm, making it difficult for me to steal your information."
Liu Jiayi's pupils shrank when she heard this. She suddenly turned to Mu Sicheng and shouted, "You idiot! Calm down! He's going to steal information from your head!"
"Huh?" Before Mu Sicheng could respond, he had already been breached by Wang Shun.
"Now there is a gap in your attention—" Wang Shun's eyes changed. He quickly pulled out a notebook from his system panel. "I'm sorry, God Mu."
The notebook was like a computer terminal displaying code. It was suddenly filled with a large number of characters.
Wang Shun glanced at it quickly. Before Mu Sicheng could grab him again, he had already seen the information in the notebook. Mu Sicheng gritted his teeth and shoved Wang Shun against the wall. "You—"
Wang Shun exhaled and quickly raised his hands in surrender. He looked at Mu Sicheng with determination.
"You're going to save Bai Liu, aren't you? He has been arrested. If you want to do this, perhaps we can talk about terms."
"Put him down," Liu Jiayi ordered expressionlessly. "We've lost the initiative."
Mu Sicheng gritted his teeth and finally released him.
Wang Shun fell to the ground and brushed off nonexistent dust from his clothes. He stood up and said, "I can tell you the information I know, but I need a guarantee from you when you save Bai Liu."
Liu Jiayi asked, "What guarantee?"
"If I am judged as a traitor to the King's Guild for giving you too much information, I know too much. The queen will try every means to kill me." Wang Shun smiled bitterly. "It would be good if Bai Liu could accept me and protect me at that time."
"…You only need this guarantee?" Liu Jiayi frowned. "You're willing to risk rebellion to help us save Bai Liu? You do know what rebellion means, right?"
"No one knows better than me."
Wang Shun took a deep breath. "I helped the King's Guild screen many potential newcomers. I used my skills to identify their inner desires and coax them into joining. I've seen too many newcomers realize they were deceived after joining and rebel."
"Most of those rebel players disappeared in the game." Wang Shun fell silent.
Liu Jiayi looked at him. "So why are you helping us?"
Wang Shun answered, "Because Bai Liu is my favorite player out of everyone I've screened so far. I have never broken his firewall."
He spoke in a complicated yet sincere tone. "I'm looking forward to the day he becomes a god."
"…So you're Bai Liu's fan?" Mu Sicheng looked at Wang Shun strangely.
Wang Shun shrugged indifferently and smiled. "You can understand it that way. I'm his first loyal viewer. I hope to see his TV stay on until the end, even beating the King's Guild."
"For that purpose, you must do a great job of taking him from the hands of the Rose Hunter."