"...No idea." The man sighed as he answered Bai Zhi's question.
"No... idea?" Bai Zhi frowned.
"The last thing Old Xu did was shift the whole place into another dimension. It's a location beyond our reach at this time... Even if he's managed to stay alive, he's still at risk of turning into a Fallen if he stays in that place for too long."
The man spoke slowly and quietly, as if he had more on his mind.
"I came here specially to extend an invitation to you, considering the special relationship between yourself and Old Xu... but personally, I will respect your decision."
"You guys know of the Fallen?"
The man's casual mention of the Fallen had not escaped Bai Zhi's notice.
He glanced at Bai Zhi. "It seems you have encountered one yourself. As you may know, the Fallen are abominations who are as warped mentally as they are physically. Because they were once Players, they retain all the traits unique to Players. In a nutshell, they are no different from wicked Players who are driven by power and selfish desires. In fact, the latter may be worse."
Bai Zhi recalled the six Players he had met recently. "Any tips for how to differentiate them?"
"From regular Players? Unless they willingly expose themselves, I suppose the only way is to kill them. Their true form is revealed when they die."
The details seemed unimportant to the man, and he responded with casual indifference.
...When they die? ... Makes sense. Fallen wouldn't be able to maintain their human disguise after death…
Bai Zhi exhaled slowly as he nodded. He now knew which of the six Players was the Fallen.
"Well, have you decided if you will join the Nightwatch?" said the man, smiling. "If you join, you will have access to vast resources, in exchange for taking on a few responsibilities. The choice is yours."
After a long pause, Bai Zhi shook his head. "...I don't deal well with restrictions."
There was too much about him that would raise more than a few eyebrows—the Shadowland Deed, for example, not to mention his Sanity attribute of "???" , which he instinctively knew to keep hidden. It was better for him to operate on his own.
The man merely smiled and said, "So be it. I hope we can work together in time."
Reaching across the table, he placed a card before Bai Zhi.
"Players of similar level often find themselves assigned to the same quests. Please take my name card. If you ever run into any problems, feel free to reach out... You and I have much in common, and I look forward to our future collaboration."
Name card? Hmm...
Bai Zhi picked up the card out of casual curiosity, but the sight of the name printed on it gave him a shock.
Chu Tsi?!
This was not the first time he had seen the name Chu Tsi. Holder of two doctorates in Math and Physics respectively, legendary OG Player and one of the founders of the Concerning Department, the only other Player besides himself to clear all the challenges at the strange town at the entrance to the Underworld perfectly...
Any Player who had ever been to the Auction House or the nearby compound would be familiar with this name, too.
...Why does he, a bigwig OG Player, think I, a Level 6 Player—pretty much a newbie—would be assigned the same quests he is?
Bai Zhi's mouth twitched in suspicion, and he raised his head, intending to sort out any potential misunderstandings. To his surprise, the man who had been sitting before him had disappeared.
At the local hospital, in a certain two-person ward.
"Bish, I really shoulda stayed outta your business! Ugh, it was so not worth it."
Xia Wen lay sprawled on the bed in her hospital gown, the very picture of misery.
"After all that, are you still determined to keep pursuing him? If I were you, I'd have second thoughts, and third thoughts about it! His way might be better after all—staying far away from us may be the best way to protect us from all this."
"Hmph, I'm not one to give up easily once I set my sights on something. I'm never admitting defeat," Lin XiaoYi scoffed from her bed, her arms wrapped around her pillow. "I mean, in hindsight, those things weren't so bad. No worse than spiders, or flies, or..."
"Sure, sure, nothing to be afraid of. Huh, I wonder who it was, curled up in my arms bawling her eyes out with terror, back then? Guess we'll never know. A shame I forgot to snap a photo, or I could have used it to blackmail that bish into who knows what."
Xia Wen rolled her eyes.
"I bet I could make her treat me to lunch every day if I had that photo..."
"...Okay, I'll treat you to a meal, promise."
"Just one meal?"
"A whole week, so would you please forget that happened?"
"Forget what happened?"
Lin XiaoYi gave her friend a scathing look.
"Anyway, real talk." Xia Wen sat up, her expression serious now. "I'm telling you, if you insist on getting closer to that guy, or—touch wood—date him, then you're bound to come across even more creepy things like that. Are you sure you can handle it?"
After a sullen silence spent with her head buried in her pillow, Lin XiaoYi mumbled, "...Love conquers all.
"We did have an up-close-and-personal experience of a supernatural incident, but we were heavily protected the whole time. Meanwhile, he.... he doesn't just find himself in such situations, he has to go toe-to-toe against those supernatural entities! He's never let that frighten him, so if I back down, that would mean I'm not his match."
"Gawd you foolish woman!" Xia Wen looked exasperated. "He saved you that one time, and you're head over heels for him! It wasn't even he who saved us this time!"
"Oh, come off it." Lin XiaoYi looked sharply at Xia Wen. "It wasn't right of us to pry into his past after all... In fact, weren't you the one who suggested we should go to the orphanage during the weekend to snoop around?"
"And who do you think it was for? Didn't I do it for you?"
Xia Wen huffed, sitting cross-legged with her arms folded across her chest.
"I might even go so far as to point out that he doesn't even know you're lying on a hospital bed! You nearly lost your life, but all you can think of is whether or not you're a match for him. Huh! If he really cared, I'd like to see him show up right—"
"Excuse me."
Xia Wen was interrupted by the arrival of a certain young man, and her jaw promptly dropped.
