Catalog Information, A Beautiful Woman's Overture

There are two people standing at the door, one male and one female. 

The woman, in her twenties, sported a pair of slender, shapely legs clad in black stockings, a pleated miniskirt, and a tightly fitted white blouse, which accentuated her curvaceous figure to perfection. Her captivating eyes fixed on Irving as she spoke playfully,

"Hello, Mr. Irving! We chatted on the forum last night. I'm the official inspector, Anna."

Irving remained silent, his attention entirely focused on the man beside Anna.

He felt an unprecedented sense of oppression emanating from him. Especially the man's gaze was like a sharp blade, scrutinizing himself up and down from the moment he opened the door.

That feeling is very uncomfortable.

Anna's pretty face broke into a smile. "Don't worry, Mr. Irving. He's also a member of our organization, mainly responsible for security."

"Hello, I'm Aron." the man said in a rough voice, forcing a smile that was more grotesque than tearful on his stern face.

Seeing no malice from them, Irving didn't press further but merely shook hands with Aron as a formality.

He could distinctly feel the thick calluses, especially around the base of Aron's thumb.

"This man is no simple character, and he's dangerous." Irving thought to himself. Then, catching on to something Anna said earlier, he looked at her puzzled, "You just mentioned... organization? What do you mean?"

Anna grinned, "Can we go inside to talk? It's not convenient here."

Irving lives near the city center. The house is a duplex structure divided into two floors. Downstairs are the living room, kitchen, bathroom, and so on. The upstairs is divided into two parts, one side is the work area, and the other side is the resting bedroom.

This is the only asset left by his parents before their passing.

...

Inside the living room.

"You're here for more than just the ruby, aren't you?" Irving asked.

Since registering on the forum, he had filled in his personal details and completed a real-name verification.

As an official inspector, Anna had the authority to access user profiles. So it was no surprise that she could find him so easily.

But if it was just about trading the ruby, that could have been done online. There was no need for an in-person visit.

Anna responded with a calm smile, "Actually, we are here for two things. The first is, of course, the ruby… What kind of resources would you like to exchange for it?"

Officials in the game had access to far more resources than most ordinary players.

Irving didn't see any need to mince words, saying firmly, "I need something like a catalog. Ideally, it should contain a map of the Otherworld game and detailed information about each race or creatures like monsters…"

Dying inexplicably at the altar yesterday had been a frustrating experience for Irving.

Up until now, he had no information about the monster.

There's a saying—know your enemy and know yourself, and you will never be defeated.

Even the most powerful beings have their weaknesses. And to defeat them, one must acquire detailed information about them.

Next moment.

Anna seemed to glean something from his words. Her eyebrows furrowed as she tentatively asked, "Mr. Irving... have you already found that altar?"

Being an official inspector, Anna was quite sharp.

After all, Irving, registered as "Lucky Little White Face" on the forum, had only purchased some pig bones in the trading area. From this, it wasn't hard to gauge Irving's progress in the game.

Irving didn't hide it, he nodded and admitted.

Anna's gaze towards him became complicated in an instant.

This the Otherworld game, created by Blue Star Will, just started its beta phase yesterday, and this young man had already surpassed 99% of players

Initially, when Anna saw the intact ruby, she speculated it might have been dropped by chance due to Irving's exceptionally good luck.

But now, it seemed this young man was even more formidable than she had imagined!

Anna subconsciously glanced at Aron beside her, and it seemed they reached a consensus.

"Mr. Irving," Anna skipped over the previous topic and continued, "you just mentioned something about the organization, didn't you?"

"Now, there's no need to hide it from you. With your capabilities, you have the right to know these things."

"In fact, from the moment the alternate world was generated, the officials took this game extremely seriously and established a secret organization—the Angel Corps!"

"The second thing I mentioned earlier is actually an invitation for you to join us!"

Irving seemed to have anticipated this.

With the game connecting to reality, the officials wouldn't allow players to develop freely. And this "Angel Corps" was like the official regulatory body.

Joining official organizations allows one to enjoy the latest resources, information, and even obtain equipment benefits and real-life shelter from them!

Just the official background behind the "Angel Corps" was powerful enough to make countless people clamor to join, and this opportunity was now before Irving. With just a nod, he could enjoy generous treatment.

"I'm sorry." Irving's lips curled slightly, "I'm not ready to join any organization or guild at the moment."

His words were quite blunt.

Hearing this, the smile gradually faded from Anna's face.

She hadn't expected this young man in front of her to outright reject her invitation.

Come to think of it... Irving was the first player to refuse an invitation from the "Angel Corps" organization!

"Why?" Anna hesitated and asked, "Can you give me a reason?"

"I'm used to being free and don't want to be bound by anything." Irving said, then his tone shifted, "Although I can't join the Angel Corps, it doesn't mean we can't cooperate in the future... If there are areas where we can collaborate, I'm still very willing to participate."

Joining the Angel Corps established by the officials might seem like a good thing, but for Irving, who possessed the awakened talent of "Tenfold Drop Rate," it would do more harm than good.

Wouldn't he feel restricted going solo?

While enjoying the benefits of any organization, one would inevitably be bound by invisible shackles.

In the living room, silence descended.

After a long silence, Anna sighed regretfully, "Alright then... it's a real shame, but we respect your decision, Mr. Irving."

She understood that even if they couldn't convince someone like Irving to join the Angel Corps, they needed to maintain a good relationship with him and avoid any offence.

Then, Anna added, "The doors of the Angel Corps are always open to you. If you ever change your mind, you're always welcome to join..."

"By the way," she continued, "About the monster atlas you mentioned earlier, we have a player in the Angel Corps whose awakened talent is 'Eagle Eye'..."

"Eagle Eye?" Irving asked, slightly puzzled.

Anna nodded seriously and explained, "Players with the Eagle Eye talent can obtain basic information about monsters in the Otherworld game. After I return, I'll send you a detailed file with information about the monsters via an encrypted file..."

"But there's one thing you have to promise - you cannot show this file to anyone, much less leak it!"

As she said this, Anna's face was particularly serious.

"You can rest assured about that." Irving assured her, taking out the intact ruby from a drawer. He didn't want to owe anyone any favors, so he handed it over and said, "Pleasure doing business with you!"

Anna accepted the ruby, nodded, and said, "If there's nothing else, we'll be on our way!"

Soon after, the two of them left.

Alone in the room, Irving was ecstatic.

He hadn't expected to obtain the monster atlas so easily. Once he received the file and understood the information about the altar monster, defeating it would not be difficult.

But compared to that terrifying monster, he was more curious about the purpose of the altar...

...

On the other side.

Just as they exited the residential area, the silent Aron couldn't hold back any longer.

With a stern face, he turned to Anna and demanded, "Do you know how important that atlas is? It's a confidential file! Even amongst the members of the Angel Corps, not everyone is qualified to have it, let alone he's not even willing to join us..."

"So what?" Anna retorted, "Compared to his talent, it's just an atlas. I'll report this to our superiors and I believe they will support my decision!"

For some reason, she had a strong hunch—Irving might become a powerhouse in the near future.

What does an atlas amount to, when getting acquainted with such a person?

It's crucial to build a good relationship with such individuals before they rise to prominence!