Chapter 197: Mercenary Guild App? Such a Low-Level Scam!
South Sea City, evening.
The newly built streets in the eastern district were spacious, and the setting sun's glow made the road shine brilliantly.
The sounds of car horns, vendors shouting, mothers instructing their young sons, and couples whispering sweet nothings filled the air.
"Only cities like Four Seas City and the capital city can have such peaceful scenes."
On the bustling street, a taxi pulled over to the roadside.
The driver, a young man in his twenties, was munching on a flatbread wrap. One leg was propped up against the steering wheel, with a notebook balanced on his lap. In one hand, he held a ballpoint pen, scribbling something.
"January 30th, Little New Year."
"Today, my identity is a taxi driver in South Sea City."
"The prosperity of South Sea City exceeds my expectations. It's truly a metropolis. Aside from being slightly smaller than the capital city, it's not inferior in any way."
It turned out the young man was writing in a diary.
After jotting down these notes, he paused and glanced out the window.
Outside, a security officer was dispersing street vendors from the roadside.
The officers had received orders that a high-ranking official would soon be visiting, and they needed to ensure the city looked presentable.
The young man smirked disdainfully and continued writing in his notebook:
"So what if the people of a big city are well-off?
They still have to be controlled by others.
I'm different. If I reveal my identity, it'll scare them to death!
I am a member of the Raven Squad in the Security Bureau, Codename Raven No. 3.
I safeguard the peace of Base Country 3 and humanity, protect its security, and carry out various secret missions.
As an administrator of the Security Bureau, I only take orders from the director and No. 1."
A proud smile crept onto his face as he wrote:
"Don't even mention a small-time security officer; even the chief of the South Sea Security Bureau wouldn't dare show me attitude!
I don't take orders from anyone. I act first and report later, with imperial authorization!"
"Click."
The car door opened, and a young woman got in.
"Drive to Rasputin Bar."
The young man quickly finished the last bites of his flatbread, wiped his hands, and mumbled indistinctly:
"Sure thing, beauty."
The Rasputin Bar was located on Shandong Road in the eastern district, while the taxi was currently in the western district. For an ordinary driver, this would be a lucrative trip, surely a cause for delight.
But the young man wasn't thinking about money.
As an administrator of the Security Bureau, money was nothing more than a series of digits in a requisition form to him.
According to bureau protocols, whenever someone was dispatched for a task, they were to blend in with the mundane world and complete their mission discreetly.
This wasn't just to maintain the bureau's mystique but primarily for its operational security.
Though his rank in the bureau was low—just a regular member of the Raven Squad—years of experience had long smoothed out his youthful arrogance, leaving behind a tempered and cautious demeanor.
The young man sped through the streets and stopped in front of the Rasputin Bar.
The woman in the back seat paid her fare and left. The young man, however, stared dumbfounded at the neon lights of the bar.
Though he didn't lack money or status in the mundane world, he was unaccustomed to the glitz and glamour of nightlife.
He sighed inwardly:
"As they say, politics belong to the capital city, and wealth to the South Sea.
Once I retire, I'll apply to have my memories sealed and enjoy a proper vacation here in the South Sea!"
For residents of other cities, living in South Sea seemed like an unattainable dream.
After all, there were far more places like White Mountain City.
Just as the young man was about to drive away, a phone rang from the back seat.
Looking back, he noticed the young woman had left her purse behind.
"How careless."
He muttered to himself as he reached for the bag, intending to answer the phone and contact her family or friends to retrieve it.
The young man answered the phone, only to be met with a busy signal.
He frowned.
In this world, advanced technology like automated calls or electronic systems was exceedingly rare. If such technology existed, it would only be found within the Security Bureau or the Peacekeeping Bureau.
Instantly, his instincts as an administrator of the bureau kicked in. He narrowed his eyes, sensing that this was no ordinary matter.
The busy signal abruptly stopped, replaced by a sinister, synthesized voice filled with excitement and malice:
"Welcome to the Mercenary Guild."
The call ended immediately after.
The young man's frown deepened.
"What was that? A prank? Or a warning?"
Confusion was written all over his face.
At that moment, the phone automatically unlocked. A program featuring an image of a demon holding a lotus flower began downloading. Moments later, it was installed and ready to use: Mercenary Guild App.
"Hmm? Could this be a security incident?"
In bureau terminology, any event threatening public safety was labeled a security incident. These could range from minor to catastrophic.
For example, the quiet emergence of a small supernatural group would be classified as a minor security incident.
A seemingly ordinary scientist conducting a bizarre experiment, such as enabling mosquitoes to survive in winter, would also count as a smaller-scale incident.
An event like the Ashlanda Nation redirecting volcanic ash into neighboring countries would be considered a medium-scale incident.
A top-tier awakener suddenly appearing in South Sea City—such as the rumored Ghost King, suspected to be a dangerous Sequence 8 entity—would be a large-scale security incident.
The primary mission of the Raven Squad in South Sea City was to investigate this so-called Ghost King.
After all, it was their squad that had filed the initial report on the Ghost King's activities. But that was a tangent.
The young man's lips curled into a disdainful smile, his eyes full of amusement.
"This is just some low-level trickery using electronic hacking. So basic, so cliché.
It barely qualifies as a security incident. I could solve it single-handedly.
Tricking clueless security officers is one thing, but targeting me?
This is like going up against a dragon on a whim—it's bound to end badly!"
As an administrator in the Peacekeeping Bureau, his skills went far beyond spiritual attunement and natural talent. He also had to master a variety of disciplines.
Hacking techniques, bioengineering, material and chemical experiments—all of these were required to rise from intern to full-fledged officer in the bureau.
"I'm curious to see what kind of game this is," he muttered.
He casually propped his leg on the steering wheel, leisurely fiddled with his phone, and finally opened the Mercenary Guild App.
To an experienced administrator, dealing with such trivial matters was like a seasoned martial artist handling an amateur—it wasn't even a challenge.
"Enter a nickname? Whatever."
He casually typed in "Raven."
His attitude was purely casual, treating the app as a fleeting amusement to add some spice to his otherwise monotonous life.
The first thing that caught his eye was the Points Store.
"Moonlight Grass? Potato Mines? Popeye's Spinach? Blood Orchids?"
He raised an eyebrow slightly.
"What are these plants? The names are bizarre."
Curious, he clicked on each plant, reading their descriptions.
It took everything he had not to burst out laughing:
"Extraordinary plants? What, is this some kind of cultivation fantasy novel?
How could these things possibly exist? And yet, the descriptions are so detailed!"
To him, this was a scam so juvenile it felt like it was aimed at toddlers.
Still, he couldn't quite figure out what role these "virtual plants" played in the app.
"Does this not even qualify as a security incident?
Is it just some hacker-run electronic scam?
How boring! Wait, there's a chat channel here?
Tsk, tsk, tsk. Let's see how many poor fools have fallen for this nonsense. Pitiful mortals!"
Shaking his head and chuckling, the young man tapped into the chat channel.
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