Chapter 026: Player Meeting

"The zombie element in this instance, too classic."

Ke Mingye glanced over the instance's introduction and then shifted his focus back to himself. With a thought, he opened the communication panel and sent a message to the discussion group.

[Failed Man: Have you all arrived?]

[Ju Zipi: Here.]

[Indistinct Dream: 1.]

[Fan Quan: The game experience shop next door, third room on the second floor. Just tell the owner you're with us and it'll be fine.]

[Failed Man: Okay, on my way.]

After sending the message, Ke Mingye moved his viewpoint back to the Deception Puppet. Controlling the puppet to turn its head, sure enough, there was a video game store not far from this supermarket.

He maneuvered the Deception Puppet into the video game shop, said a word to the owner, and then went up to the second floor. Entering the third private room and lifting the black cloth, three unfamiliar figures came into view.

In the private room of the video game shop, the orange light illuminated three faces. As the Deception Puppet walked into the shop, they simultaneously turned their faces away.

"Who are you?" Ke Mingye asked.

"Fan Quan."

The first to speak was a young man with glasses, wearing a black long coat and jeans. He was carrying a book with a black leather cover, and the look he cast was profound and lucid.

"Qing Meng. I typed the ID randomly, so just call me that."

The next to speak was a girl wearing a baseball cap. She had dyed light blue long hair, her hands tucked into the pockets of her jacket, her neck slightly raised, looking quite aloof, with a blue heart tattooed near her eye.

"Then, I'm Ju Zipi."

The last one they saw was a handsome young man dressed in casual clothes. He was squinting and smiling, giving off the impression of being carefree and easy to approach.

"Why choose a console shop?"

Ke Mingye ordered the puppet to sit on the sofa while asking this question.

"It's safer to have a conversation in this kind of shop, which is facing closure, than in places like cafes," said Fan Quan.

"Makes sense."

Ke Mingye had already noticed when he came in that the video game store indeed didn't have many customers. It was very quiet.

After all, with the economy developed, those who need consoles like the PS5 and Switch can easily buy one to play at home. There is no need to specifically go to a console experience shop. If it were a somewhat busier shop, it could act like a club for gaming enthusiasts. But for a small shop like this, the fewer customers it has with time, the worse the vicious cycle becomes.

"Let's have a chat. You must have seen the Meiyijia instance too," Fan Quan said.

"Talking about a zombie chase, pretty classic," Ke Mingye responded.

"Qing Meng and I have found a total of seven instances in Huanjing in the past two days. Among these seven instances, only this one has the lowest difficulty. The system recommends it for players ranging from 'Lv.1 to Lv.3' to attempt the challenge, so as our first instance, it should be the best choice."

Ke Mingye couldn't argue; indeed, it was tough to find an instance with an even lower difficulty.

"So, are we starting today?" he asked.

"After gaining the Skill at three o'clock, Qing Meng and I already tried challenging that instance, but we failed," Fan Quan said unhurriedly, "The gap wasn't very big; we just lacked a player who can attract the attention of the monsters for coordination." With that, he took a sip of coffee.

"Drawing fire? I think I can do that," said Ke Mingye. He had a web-shooter, and the Deception Puppet was quite lightweight, so in terms of mobility, it was absolutely sufficient for drawing the instance monster's aggro.

He added, "But let me be clear, I haven't learned any damage-dealing Skills, just have..." Just as he was halfway through, he noticed Fan Quan sliding a handgun across the table, so he changed what he was about to say to, "Never mind, then."

"Where did you get that gun?" Ke Mingye asked, puzzled.

"This body's father gave it to me," Fan Quan said as he slipped the gun back into his coat.

"Huh?"

Ke Mingye was taken aback for a moment, thinking to himself that this was China, not the United States; which father was so bold as to give his son a handgun to play with?

"It's a long story."

Speaking of which, Fan Quan started to introduce his family background.

His father was an illegal arms smuggler who occasionally gave him several guns to play with, so he could provide handguns for his teammates, but his father had also warned him that if he was discovered by the police, it would be the end for him. He had enrolled in a top domestic university but had taken a leave of absence due to health reasons, and his family didn't really monitor him, which basically allowed him to move around freely at all hours.

"That's pretty good, having the freedom to move and the ability to provide guns," Ke Mingye commented.

"It's nothing; players born in the United States can easily get their hands on guns. My background only gives me an advantage in China," Fan Quan said calmly.

"That's true."

The punk girl with the ID "Qing Meng," seated next to Fan Quan, also shared her background.

She said, "The previous owner of this body was a rebellious punk girl. As I mentioned in the chat group, she was an orphan who had organized a band in the orphanage using other orphans as a gimmick. Later, after attacking the police, she was sent to juvie, and the band dissolved."

As she spoke, she popped a piece of gum into her mouth, "Anyway, now I can climb over the wall from the orphanage anytime, so I guess I'm quite free too. Contact me if you need anything."

"That such things can happen in China is pretty sci-fi."

Ke Mingye remarked as he turned his gaze to the young man with the ID "Ju Zipi."

Ju Zipi chuckled and said that the background of his body was that of an ordinary person from a normal family who was now on college vacation and had returned home to work in a bubble tea shop for the summer.

Finally, it was Ke Mingye's turn, and all three looked at him.

Ke Mingye thought if he really had to introduce his family history, he'd need to write at least a ten-thousand-word thesis. So, he made the Deception Puppet take a sip of water from the glass on the table before introducing himself:

"Well, my father and I are filial and loving, and we have a harmonious family; everything's normal, Over."

In fact, he hadn't brought his real body partly to avoid involving these players in his family issues, so he chose to only infiltrate the player troops with a Deception Puppet and lay low. If he could mooch off the instance rewards, that would be a win, and even if not, he wouldn't lose anything—after all, with his background, not getting discovered by his family and just idly watching other players perform was the most pragmatic approach; trying to achieve greatness while shackled was like dancing in fetters.

"It seems that players typically take over the body of some normal person in this parallel world and largely come from normal families, with no Superhumans. This is probably to prevent players from developing emotions for the Superhumans, given that you also inherit all the previous occupant's memories when you travel here. These memories can easily cause you to develop feelings for your family members, leading to indecision."

After hearing everyone's stories, Fan Quan analyzed without hesitation.

Ke Mingye forced a smile through the Deception Puppet and said, "Yes, it's all too human."

"Anyway, we'll meet here at this time tomorrow to get through the instance. In the time afterward, we'll take on the responsibility of finding the instance; whether you need to go to school or work doesn't matter. Just make sure you can make time to gather," Fan Quan said.

"Alright, then see you tomorrow," Ju Zipi said, "I'll be going first."

"Bye," Qing Meng said, looking down at her phone and waving her hand.

"Okay," Ke Mingye said, "I'll be on summer break after my classes tomorrow; call me in the chat group when needed."

After finishing, he made the Deception Puppet be the first to leave the private room. The moment he left the host experience store, he changed his face. Turning down several streets, he then turned into an alley where he was sure there were no surveillance cameras.

He let the puppet shrink, reverting to its original form and curling up in a trash can. The next moment, the puppet exploded from within, with cracks burning with fire engulfing every inch of its 'skin,' consuming it entirely.

Soon after, a bizarre laugh spread through the alley.