CHAPTER 163: CHAPTER 102: INTERNET FUGITIVE

"Golden Splendor" has experienced all sorts of upheavals since its opening—clashes involving organized crime, and bouts of jealousy among "Princesses" and "Young Masters." Most of these incidents, however, occurred among the patrons. The likes of Xia You, taking a broken wine glass and threatening a customer, was truly unprecedented.

"Those bitches are too clueless. All Boss Hui wanted was to treat them to a few bottles of wine, and they started making a scene. I heard it was Li Zhen who brought them here," the mahogany-hued seductress at the scene added fuel to the fire as she fled.

The manager gave her a glance, prompting her to lower her voice immediately. The entire KTV was aware of her bullying Li Zhen. Now she was blaming the newbies. If that were really the case, the manager wouldn’t let her off easily.

"It shouldn’t be an issue," the manager said, pressing at his temples. Recently, a homicide had occurred in the KTV, and the police had made several visits. The KTV had even closed down temporarily for a revamp.

He had seen Xia You before. How could someone like that do what was alleged?

As soon as the door of the private room was pushed open, the sound of music flowed out. The manager and the few people following him were all taken aback.

The private room was spotless—the dozens of bottles on the table were now more than half gone. Xia You was sitting on the couch, holding a microphone and singing with gusto. On the other side, Mo Xixi was playing drinking games with a subordinate, both getting into it. Boss Hui was sitting on the side, and Li Zhen was pouring him a drink.

A perfectly ordinary private room: some were singing, others were drinking.

The manager noticed a band-aid on Boss Hui’s throat and a displeased expression on his face. Seeing the manager, he burst out angrily, "Old Liu, how do you manage your staff? Halfway through the service, those four girls ran out. What’s the meaning of this, do you think my tips aren’t generous enough?"

The mahogany-hued woman heard this and thought, how could all the blame be placed on her? And yet, the people in the room still seemed to be getting along like old friends. This was too strange.

"Manager, please hear me out. It really was her holding the wine glass, threatening the customer. I saw it with my own eyes, as did they," the mahogany-hued woman anxiously picked up a wine glass from the coffee table. The well-crafted stemmed glass was intact—no chips, no threats, no injuries.

"Sorry, Boss Hui, we were in the wrong tonight. Please continue your drinks, I will make sure to discipline my staff properly," said Boss Hui, turning his eyes to the singing screen. The song had only just begun. Xia You winked at him, an innocent look on her face.

After respectfully leaving the private room, the manager’s face turned ashen, and he said to the mahogany-hued woman, "If you cause trouble again, you can forget about working in this industry."

The mahogany-hued woman still hadn’t figured out the situation. Could it be that nothing had happened inside just now, and it was all just her hallucination? Being scolded by the boss was one thing, but offending Boss Hui was far more serious. Her future performance would surely suffer, especially that newbie called "Xia You," she wouldn’t let her off.

Music continued to play in the private room. Li Zhen stopped urging drinks, and Xia You toyed with the microphone in her hands.

Li Hui felt his throat, still scared from the close call. If Li Zhen hadn’t arrived in time, he was sure his throat would have been slit by now.

"Boss Hui, I am really sorry for the loss, I will have someone compensate you," Li Zhen said with a smile, taking out a lady’s cigarette.

Li Hui produced a lighter and lit it for her, "No need to mention it. If I had known we were fellow churchgoers, I wouldn’t have been so difficult before." After saying this, he called his subordinate and left in haste.

"Fellow churchgoers?" Mo Xixi found it odd. Li Zhen, who had been looking dejected just a moment ago, turned around and came back, dismissing the previously aggressive Li Hui with just a few words.

"Yes, we are all followers of the David Sect. The church especially appreciates believers like you who have found their way back. I am grateful for your help in getting me out of that tight spot. Tomorrow is Sunday, and I’d like to invite you to join us at the church to listen to the choir." Li Zhen’s mood seemed good, and her eyes were full of hope when she spoke about the church—a stark contrast to her earlier image of smoking and vomiting.

"David Sect." Xia You seemed to have heard this name mentioned somewhere before.

"The largest religion in Hua Country. The trend of its development in recent days is still vigorous. As you just returned from abroad, you must have had less exposure to it." Most of the followers the David Sect recruits are either from early childhood or the local residents. A returnee like Xia You usually either has a different faith or is an atheist.

"Do you plan on going?" Xia You remembered Mo Xixi was an atheist.

"Am I out of my mind? Tomorrow’s the weekend; I almost got killed tonight. I’m just going to sleep in," Mo Xixi hated listening to those hymns that tickled her ears. But she was telling a small lie—she had more important things to do than just to stay in bed.

Mo Xixi snorted softly, making a pig-like sound, "Boss Hui, right? Tomorrow, I’ll make sure you’re penniless."

Xia You didn’t take Li Zhen’s invitation seriously either. Belief? She shook her head. She was someone without faith.

Back at home, after cleaning the smell of alcohol from their bodies, they each returned to their rooms. Weary, Xia You logged into "Military Road."

Just as she entered "Military Road," she noticed a crowd of players gathered at the city gate, all pressing forward as if eager to see something.

didn’t care to join the excitement, and first she searched through the crowd. According to the time in "Military Road," nearly a day and a half had passed. If Yijie had logged in, he should have at least sought out a Messenger to leave a message for her.

"Stingy as ever, forcing me to spend my own money," 0 cursed, finding the Messenger at his usual spot in the corner.

"Hello, please give a message to player ’Yijie’. Tell him to meet me at the city gate. If that’s not convenient, at least tell me where he is," 0 still recognized that Messenger NPC.

While all the players were going to watch the excitement, he stood alone in the corner, dozing off.

"I’m sorry, I can’t deliver your message," the Messenger NPC did not promptly agree as before but instead refused 0.

In this day and age, even the NPCs are striking, huh? 0 rolled her eyes.

"Because player ’Yijie’ is accused of murder, he is a felon. Players deprived of their personal freedom do not fall within our service range," the NPC pointed toward the dense crowd, where a notice board stood with that message written on it.

A regular player actually dared to commit murder in "Military Road," and moreover, the victim was of a status second only to the King of Babylon—a Goddess. This caused a great commotion in Babylon City.

was also startled as she squeezed through the crowd and saw the notice pinned to the bulletin board. Judging by its condition, it was a recent posting.

"Stranger ’Yijie’ is suspected of resisting arrest, injuring officers in pursuit, and is currently missing. Whoever provides clues will be rewarded 10,000 Military Road Coins."

"Make way, make way," several soldiers from Babylon City came over, tearing down the announcement and posting a new one.

The content was the same, but the reward had doubled and now included an additional bounty of 5,000 military merit.

With a "boom," the crowd erupted. The Military Road Coins were tempting, but the 5,000 points of military merit were even more attractive. It was equivalent to ten Primary Tasks, not to mention there was a reward of 20,000 Military Road Coins.

"Listen up, after ’Yijie’ killed the Goddess, he also stole an important document. The document is carved in stone, so carrying it makes it difficult for him to flee," emphasised a soldier from Babylon.

On the new notice, there was a portrait of Yijie, drawn with charcoal. The Yijie in the drawing had an oversized head, wide eyes, and a big mouth, looking every bit like an evil monk.

"Was it the Goddess Apoli that died?" 0 grabbed a local resident who was passing by.

"Yes, a few days ago, Goddess Apoli kindly took in that monk. Who would’ve thought he would harbor evil intentions at midnight, disrespecting the Goddess. Poor Goddess, it was like inviting a wolf into the house; she got drowned by that starving wolf in the pool. The document that was originally to be offered up has also disappeared," the residents were eager to flay that evil monk; the temple has been closed for several days due to the absence of the Goddess.

The players also harboured resentment against Yijie. This villain had cut off their only place of healing for spiritual injuries, and those who had seen Goddess Apoli all admired her.

"This matter is very suspicious," 0 said, echoing the residents’ denunciation and moving aside, "If I were Yijie, I would simply not log in anymore."

(Impossible, those who commit serious crimes must stay in the game forcibly. They can hide, but there’s no way they can exit ’Military Road’ normally.)

Things were becoming more difficult. 0 had been busy all night in "Golden Splendor," and now her eyes were bloodshot. She used to feel bullied by the annoying Yijie all the time, and now that he was gone, she felt somewhat uncomfortable.

"First, go north to find Ziyu," after all, she was her own sister and should have some clues.

As such a major event had occurred in the city, the residents were discussing it in busy places like the square. On the road to the northern residential area, there were few people.

"Ziyu," 0 spotted a figure and quickly walked over.

Ziyu stood at the door, a man was facing away, blocking 0’s path. They seemed to be discussing something, and 0, being in a hurry, said, "Ziyu, I have urgent matters to discuss with you."

Upon hearing the sound, the man turned around. 0 didn’t recognize this man, he was dressed in a long robe like the Babylon residents usually were, but his presence gave off a very strange sensation.

"Huh?" 0 wondered, why would it feel like this? (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it on Qidian (qidian.com), your support is my greatest motivation.)