Hun Yuan looked confused. "You mean...?"

Stanley had already said before they should recruit players. Why was he repeating himself now?

Stanley stood up, walked around the desk, and stood before them.

His tone turned grave.

"I want you to return to the Lost Plane and recruit a group of talented Undying from your plane to join Dark Pact."

His words struck the three like lightning.

What the hell did this damn NPC just say? He wants them to go back to Earth and recruit a bunch of players to be his lackeys??

This NPC is insane! It was one thing to recruit us, but now you're targeting Earth’s players too?

You're an NPC, you know that?! And you only want elite players? You’re not even interested in regular ones?

Motherfu#$£@!

The trio had a thousand curses boiling in their minds, desperately wanting to explode at Stanley.

Oblivious to their inner turmoil, Stanley was still absorbed in his plan.

He had chosen to recruit them because of their resurrection ability. But the Immortal Souls were still too weak and needed expansion.

From his perspective, the players' world was just the Lost Plane. Nothing special.

Besides, since Hun Yuan and the others could return to it, Stanley had other ideas.

Why not have these Undying go back and bring more to join the Dark Pact? Preferably elite ones.

Waiting passively for Undying to arrive was too inefficient. It would be better to spread Dark Pact’s influence in the Lost Plane directly through these Undying.

Once they gathered enough elite Undying, the Dark Pact would have the power to handle anything in the future.

What seemed perfectly logical to Stanley was completely absurd to the three players.

We came here to play a game, okay?! It’s already bad enough we’re working under you. Now you want us to recruit other players for you?

You're an NPC, and you want us to go get more players to work for you inside the game?

Are we playing the game, or is the game playing us??

"Your idea is really..." Hun Yuan opened his mouth but couldn’t find words for the NPC's terrifying level of intelligence. Every time he faced this powerful, brilliant boss, he felt like he was walking on a tightrope.

Thunderhands sensed Hun Yuan’s dilemma and spoke up.

"Lord Stanley, the three of us don’t have much influence in the... in the Lost Plane. Those elite adventurers probably won’t listen to us."

Hearing this, Stanley nodded thoughtfully. "You’re just low-status commoners in the Lost Plane?"

That made the three players smile awkwardly. Gee, thanks.

"That doesn’t matter," Stanley waved it off, undeterred. "The Undying of the Lost Plane are very eager to reach the Glory Main Plane, aren’t they?"

In past instances when the Lost Plane had contact with the Main Plane, people from the Lost Plane would rush over like mad. Stanley was confident.

Hun Yuan thought of the players who hadn’t gotten closed beta access, desperately seeking accounts, some even offering tens of thousands. He nodded. "They’re very eager."

Stanley nodded, then suddenly smiled and looked at the trio intently.

"I’ve seen you often act strangely in front of me or certain expensive magical items. You must be using some kind of magic like Image Retention to record your surroundings, right?"

Image Retention? Is he talking about screenshots??

Holy crap, he even figured that out? Is this NPC secretly working for the game company?!

The three players' expressions all changed.

Seeing their reactions, Stanley instantly understood, and the smile on his face became even more enigmatic.

“Then I suppose... you must be able to bring those recorded images back to the Lost Plane. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be so enthusiastic.”

Hun Yuan forced a smile. “Lord Stanley, we… we’re sorry, we…”

Stanley shook his head. “No, it doesn’t matter.” 

He paused, his eyes gradually sharpening.

“Since you have a way to transmit information from the Glory Main Plane back to the Lost Plane, and the Undying of the Lost Plane are so eager to come here…

Then we have the foundation to attract them.”

Hun Yuan’s eyes lit up. “You mean, use the Dark Pact’s superior conditions to lure adventurers in?”

Stanley nodded. “Of course. And not just superior conditions.

You can record more visuals about the Dark Pact. For example, how you became heads of the Immortal Souls right after joining, how you've gained my attention, even Lord Iro’s favor.

And you can emphasize the strength of the Dark Pact, especially Lord Iro. He is our protector and a mighty figure who rivals even the Transcendent Mages of Green City.

If you beautify the prospects of joining the Dark Pact, our influence, our future potential, and the benefits one would receive…

Then wouldn’t those elite Undying who are already yearning for the Glory Main Plane also yearn to join the Dark Pact?”

Hun Yuan, Thunderhands, and Cheng Kun exchanged glances and felt like kneeling to this big boss.

If this NPC doesn’t ascend to godhood someday, then heaven has no eyes. Damn it, this level of intelligence was jaw-dropping. Besides admiration, they had no other reaction.

“The only thing I worry about is whether you’ll be able to handle the attention from nobles when spreading this message via the underworld channels.”

After saying that, Stanley frowned. “Hun Yuan, before the Lost Plane fully integrates with the Main Plane, you three must stay safe. Your resurrection ability likely only works in the Main Plane.

I don’t want my subordinates dying in another plane. As of now, we don’t have the means to cross planes to help you. Even gods find it difficult to casually traverse planes.”

The three players looked at Stanley’s serious expression, their own expressions growing increasingly complicated.

You might not believe it, but this guy is really just an NPC. We’re sure of it. Yet he’s worried we’ll die in the real world, even telling us to be careful.

Damn it, wasn’t there a law against demons gaining sentience after the founding of the country? This NPC is absolutely a monster.

Hun Yuan shook his head and gave a bitter smile. “Lord Stanley, there’s no need to worry about us. The Lost Plane has excellent public security, especially in our country and city.

And we don’t have nobles or underworld factions there. We have other ways of passing messages.”

Stanley looked intrigued. “The Lost Plane has not only lost its traditional naming customs but also has no nobles or underworld factions?

It truly is a fascinating place. If I get the chance, I’ll definitely go see it for myself.”

The nobility system is the foundation of the Glory World. Here, nobles hold absolute power. Without them, Stanley couldn’t imagine how chaotic things would be.

And underworld forces are a fixture of nearly every city in Glory. Noble interests, merchant interests, professional class interests, all of these intertwine to form underground networks.

These forces don’t exist purely out of evil, but out of profit.