Chapter 254: Making a Deal
Shen Qingchen returned to the company the day before Bai Cha was due to enter the game.
The moment she arrived, she summoned Bai Cha to her office.
Inside the office, Shen Qingchen removed her sunglasses, revealing a rather weary expression.
Evidently, Bai Cha was far from the only one tormented by the game.
“Take a seat. I saw your resignation request. In a bit, I’ll notify HR, and you can just complete the handover.”
As Shen Qingchen spoke, she kicked off her high heels and switched on the kettle on her office desk to boil water.
Sitting back in her chair, she rubbed the space between her eyebrows.
“You’re resigning because of the game, right?”
Bai Cha nodded, sitting across from her.
“Sister Shen, your condition doesn’t look too great either?”
Shen Qingchen forced a bitter smile.
“When the game reaches my stage, virtually every instance is trying to force me to die.”
“I’ve been wanting to have a proper chat with you for a while. Since you brought up your resignation, we might as well use this chance to talk.”
Shen Qingchen looked toward Bai Cha.
“When I came out, someone in the guild sent me news about you from the forum. Your skill has drawn attention from various factions. Although the attention isn’t particularly massive right now, your skill is special after all.”
“I haven’t asked you about many details previously because I could roughly tell a few things… Are you truly not considering joining our guild? Although I might die very soon, I can still protect you for a period of time at least.”
“Of course, I’m not entirely asking for nothing in return.”
Shen Qingchen was thoroughly straightforward, looking at Bai Cha with serious intensity.
“I want to know if your skill can be used on players, and whether the Soul Flower formed after a player’s death can be brought into reality as well.”
Her grasp on information regarding Bai Cha’s various aspects was indeed quite strong.
This also tied into the short duration Bai Cha had spent in the game.
Many things could be parsed at a single glance by players who had stayed in the game for a long time.
“I don’t know,” Bai Cha said. “I’ve never used it on a player.”
The game prohibited players from slaughtering one another.
Thus, Bai Cha had never used the Dodder Vines on a player.
Shen Qingchen pondered for a moment.
“After ranking up to S-tier, an Arena Challenge exists between players. One can issue a challenge to any player. As long as the other party agrees, the arena begins, and both individuals enter a small instance where slaughter is permitted. Furthermore, after the other party dies, all items in their possession belong to the winner.”
This was information Bai Cha had never learned about previously.
“Of course, the challenged player can decline directly. Upon declination, the opponent cannot force the arena open either. It commences only when both sides agree. S-tier players can issue challenges to players below S-tier as well.”
Bai Cha looked thoughtful.
“Then if someone intentionally…”
“Yes, such phenomena exist within certain guilds. Arena matches don’t necessarily have to result in death, but the winner can take three items from the opponent’s backpack.”
Which was to say, if an S-tier player was shameless enough, they could gather the resources of an entire guild within a very short span of time.
As for how to get the other party to agree, there were naturally plenty of methods available.
While the game prohibited slaughter between players, it wouldn’t restrict intentional schemes and setups.
As long as one refrained from acting openly, it was fine.
“As a trade, I can grant you three props of your own choice if you go with me to test your skill.”
Shen Qingchen came straight to the point.
“My time is running short. After ranking up to S9, I have only nine instances left. Supposedly, if I clear these nine instances, I can leave the game forever…”
A trace of gloom hovered across Shen Qingchen’s face.
“This run was my third instance after reaching S9.”
“I came within a hair’s breadth of dying.”
Six instances remained ahead, each destined to grow increasingly arduous compared to the last.
What was more, after clearing nine instances, could one truly achieve total clearance?
Shen Qingchen disbelieved it.
The higher she climbed, the less she believed the game permitted permanent clearance.
“Certain things I am unable to utter—these are restricted by the game—but you are bound to learn them once you climb higher.”
“I genuinely hold zero certainty, nor do I possess the confidence to feel I can hold out until the very end. I can only say that if the worst-case scenario is me dying inside the game and having all traces of my existence erased…”
A flicker of agony crossed Shen Qingchen’s face.
“I want to leave something behind for my lover and child.”
Bai Cha quietly digested her words, falling into deep thought for a long while.
Shen Qingchen didn’t interrupt her either.
“Alright, I can give it a try. However, I indeed cannot offer any guarantees. But I am due to clear an instance tomorrow. Once I clear this instance, I’ll contact you.”
Shen Qingchen nodded.
“Alright. However, the attention on you has indeed risen quite a bit recently. When entering the game, enter early to change your appearance to lay low for a bit. Of course, that’s up to you.”
Bai Cha nodded.
She had indeed been considering whether to alter her appearance. Those intent on tracking her down would inevitably find her, but changing form was mainly to dodge the sightline of the general public.
In truth, the impact the general public could inflict on her fell far short of that small subset of calculating individuals.
Many heavily scrutinized players inside the game were actually quite pleased to be in the spotlight.
Certain players accumulated fans inside the game, with these fans serving as their source of tipped points.
Absurd as it sounded, some people huddled inside the Game Town every day, pinching pennies and frugalizing, barely clearing an instance to earn a bit of money to sustain their livelihood—yet they were entirely eager to send tips to certain players.
Because through that class of players, they could often experience things they themselves were incapable of achieving.
For instance, commanding those players to torture and kill NPCs, or directly commanding those players to execute specific actions themselves.
It depended on the situation. Certain attractive streamers might purely pander to fans—a style that inflicted considerable harm on the streamers themselves.
Others resembled Boss Cai from her very first instance, where fans simply enjoyed watching his arrogant, overbearing demeanor as he bullied others at will.
Because they themselves craved doing the exact same thing deep down.
All in all, this attention wasn’t impossible to utilize.
Bai Cha hadn’t made up her mind yet, so in the end, she spent points to redeem an appearance overlay.
The appearance overlay allowed free face customization, including gender selection.
Her body inside the game was exceedingly frail, prone to coughing up blood at the slightest turn.
After giving it thought, Bai Cha selected an appearance close to her original shape, but slightly shorter in stature, making her look far more delicate and pitiable.
Of course… the real reason was that she didn’t know how to customize a face properly.
This process required a fair bit of technical skill.
The appearance overlay originally generated a base model according to the person themselves, allowing every single detail—down to eyelash length and pore size—to be adjusted.
However… Bai Cha had come close to sculpting a monster at first.
It looked decent from the front, but exceedingly strange from the profile; if the profile looked fine, the front view turned bizarre again.
Stepping out wearing a weird face might draw even more eyeballs. Those with a bit of know-how would roughly realize it was a botched face customization, making the effort more trouble than it was worth.
Thus, she made only the most basic adjustments in the end.
