Fantasy Game: Infinite City

"So this is the situation now, what do you think?"

In Pei Zuocheng's room, four players gathered together. They were discussing things related to Jerome. According to Wei Mingchen and Alba's guess, the child Jerome was probably an NPC who opened and released some hidden tasks, and the thing without facial features and in the shape of a man was probably there to protect Jerome. The reason why the four people were related to Jerome was probably that they might have inadvertently completed the prerequisites for displaying the hidden tasks.

"That man, or that thing, let us go because it was probably part of a hidden mission, but I haven't figured out how we completed the prerequisite mission yet. After all, we don't know how to trigger the hidden mission or what the conditions are. And right now, there's no hint on the mission panel."

"The triggering of hidden quests is sometimes not that complicated. I remember that in the dungeons I've cleared before, there were some hidden quests that required you to find specific clues as a prerequisite. Then, based on these clues, you could find the NPC that issued the quest and accept the quest. In some dungeons, if someone accidentally found the hidden NPC, they could directly skip the prerequisite quest. I think the reason for our failure this time might be because we found Jerome directly."

Although the four people now seem to be exchanging information with each other, in fact, the four people do not completely trust each other, or rather, they do not quite trust Alba.

Pei Zuocheng had acted with Su Wen before. Although the two did not know the details, they had a certain understanding of each other. Although Wei Mingchen and Alba were similar, Wei Mingchen felt that Alba must know something. The things that the other three did not know could be guessed from the things that the man found on Alba. However, the man and Jerome were not interested in those things and even returned them to Alba.

Alba felt the same way. She didn't trust the other three people, not because of any clues or anything, but because of how Alba entered this copy.

As mentioned before, Alba did not belong to any of the three guilds participating in this event. She was not even a contestant. She was a lone wolf player without a guild. Although Alba was very strong, the reason she became a player of Infinite City was not because she liked Infinite City, but because she wanted to investigate Infinite Company. The reason for doing so seemed a little difficult to understand for ordinary people.

Alba is a person who is very interested in urban legends. In recent years, about 70% of the urban legends that have appeared around the world are vaguely related to unlimited companies. Alba, who is very interested in this kind of thing, starts with these urban legends, and then uses various methods to obtain information related to unlimited companies. Three years ago, a secretive network organization attracted Alba's attention.

The composition of this online organization is very special. It is made up of various unrelated forums. On a large number of almost unrelated online forums, there are some posts that look normal, but these posts contain a lot of online tourists who post meaningless information, at least for ordinary people.

But for someone like Alba, who has a certain understanding of network technology, these meaningless information can be combined into many one-time network keys. Using these network keys, they can enter some secret network nodes hidden behind a large amount of data. In these equally unrelated network nodes, they can obtain a large amount of global secret information.

Infinite Company and its subsidiary Infinite City occupy a large proportion in the websites of these network nodes. It even has an independent section. The people who exchange information here are all anonymous, or they use the popular online names that can be seen everywhere. These people who hide their identities never talk to each other, but only publish relevant information. Alba knows about the recent cheating incident in Infinite City thanks to these websites.

Of course, in order to verify the authenticity of this information, Alba thought of a good way that would not arouse suspicion, which was to become a player of Infinite City. Through observations during this period of time as a player, Alba discovered that the information about Infinite Company and Infinite City on those secret websites was basically correct. Although there were some false news, they were also a minority.

As for this guild competition, Alba originally wanted to find a guild and then participate. Alba's strength is good, and she can also gain a foothold in some mid-level guilds. But there is a problem. That is, the guilds participating in the guild competition basically have no shortage of people, and for the guilds that are short of people, the reasons for the shortage can be imagined.

Just when Alba decided to investigate other copies, an unexpected event changed her direction. She was suddenly pulled into the Guild Tournament copy. She originally thought that someone might have used special items such as the leaves of the World Tree, but after entering the copy, Alba realized something was wrong because she remembered that during the competition, this type of prop had been banned by the officials of the Infinite City. So she was inexplicably pulled into the competition copy without the qualification for the competition, so it was probably related to those cheaters.

There were a few records of the dungeon at 175 Paulson Street in the news that Alba had read. According to those records, during the internal testing of Infinite City, some of the first qualified test players, such as some network anchors, had entered this dungeon. According to them, this dungeon had serious problems and could not be cleared, so during the internal testing period, this dungeon was eliminated and has not been repaired until now. Infinite Company has no intention of repairing this dungeon.

Then, a copy that cannot be passed through, and at the same time, it eliminates nearly 90% of the players before the copy officially starts. Combined with the recent rumors about cheaters, its role can be imagined. It should be used by the Infinite City to screen out cheaters, and the eliminated players should have passed the screening of the Infinite City, so the cheater should be among the remaining four people.

Alba was able to rule out herself, and originally she could have ruled out the dead Cao Yuan, but now, she seemed to have other ideas. Cao Yuan might not be innocent, he might also be a cheater, and the one who killed him was the person sent by the Infinite Company as rumored. But if that was the case, then this copy that could not be passed should have ended, but the copy was still proceeding normally, which meant that no matter whether Cao Yuan was a cheater or not, there might be other cheaters among the remaining three people.

"Although there is no place in the current event instance that requires fighting, at least not yet, I think that this instance is not easy. If you can complete the main mission normally, you can get enough event points. At present, if you insist on doing that hidden mission, I think it is not a wise choice."

"But among the three guilds, only two have the quota to pass the level. In other words, one of the guild's contestants may not have enough points. So at that time, we will definitely be at loggerheads with each other. Judging from the current situation, internal fighting is not the right choice."

"Then what do you mean?"

"In this kind of competition, there must be a way to increase competition points, which means someone needs to give up the investigation of the main task and do other tasks. I think it is better for us to decide our respective routes now. This way, we can avoid internal fighting that will prevent everyone from being able to pass the level, and we can also get enough competition points without interference."

"But who would be willing to give up the option of completing the main storyline? After all, the investigation of the main storyline mission at least has a systematic guide, but the vague side missions and hidden missions may not have the same system."

"I give up investigating the main mission."

Just as everyone was watching each other's actions, Alba suddenly raised her hand and took the initiative to give up the investigation of the main task, which surprised the other three.

"Can I ask why?" Pei Zuocheng asked.

"It's simple. There are three reasons."

Alba raised three fingers and said after breaking off the first one.

"First, because of the massive reduction in members before the dungeon officially began, I am the only player left in my guild. Excluding me and the dead Cao Yuan, who is unidentified, there are three people left. Based on the fact that there are three guilds participating in this dungeon, excluding the guild I represent, that is to say, among the three of you, there should be someone from the same guild. Out of caution, you did not show it. Then, if I choose to continue to participate in the main investigation mission, then I will inevitably clash with you head-on. I am only one person, and I do not have an advantage in numbers. My guild has about the same number of points, so there is no need for me to take risks. This is the first reason."

"That makes sense." Wei Mingchen agreed.

"Second, Su Wen just said that the investigation of the main mission will be simpler than the side missions or hidden missions. This is possible, but not certain. They will not necessarily be more difficult to complete than the side missions. There have been precedents in previous copies, so if I am lucky, the difficulty of completing the side missions or hidden missions will not necessarily be higher than the main mission, and the points obtained will be enough. Even if the side missions are more difficult than the main missions, some missions can be repeated after failure. I can exchange quantity for quality. At the same time, because of this, I will not conflict with you, so I don’t need to pay attention to you and the mission at the same time. It is much easier for me alone. This is the second reason."

"What about the third reason? It is often mentioned last, and is also the most important." Su Wen asked.

"You are right. The third point is also the most important. You all heard our discussion earlier. I have some things on me. I discovered the location of these things through clues I found in my guest room after entering the manor."

As she spoke, Alba placed the things she had obtained earlier on the table in front of the four people: the dim crystal, the keychain, and the metal product.

"The purpose of these things should be to be used in one or more side quests. Although there is no accurate task prompt now, at least I already have, to be safe, some of the required props. So compared to the main quest that I have no clue about for the time being, I am more likely to complete the side quest. This is the third reason."

"You took out all these things. Aren't you afraid that we will steal them and complete these side quests ourselves? After all, no one can control their inner greed." Wei Mingchen touched his chin and said thoughtfully.

"It is precisely because of this possibility that I took these things out. If you want them, feel free to take them. The place where I found these things is not that difficult to find, so I think there will be many side quests like this. You have to know that the number of players at the beginning was as many as 55, so now there are only four of us left. I don’t think anyone can complete all the side quests. So no matter what, I still have a chance and can also avoid fighting. The reason is like I said, I am the only one left now, and I am at a disadvantage in terms of numbers."

"In that case, why don't you cooperate with another single player and try to get the main mission? If you can find a guild with two people left, you'll have a chance to launch a sneak attack, and then clear the main mission and get enough points."

Pei Zuocheng walked to the table, looked at the props on the table and said. Alba also said something that everyone agreed with.

"Because there is another possibility, that is, except for me, the three of you are from the same guild, and you have been acting to ensure that your actions will not be disrupted. If this is the case, then I have no chance of winning, so it is better to make it clear in advance. As I said just now, there are enough side quests and they will not threaten you. With Cao Yuan's fate first, I am not going to gamble."

Alba's statement was very convincing, and the facts were basically the same. Alba did not plan to continue investigating the main quest because, unlike others, she was not supposed to appear in the current event copy. So her situation was the same as those players who had used items such as the leaves of the World Tree in other copies. There was currently no main quest on Alba's system, and Alba had no way to proceed with the main quest.

Alba was also taking advantage of the fact that other people were not aware of this matter and making an attempt. Excluding the dead Cao Yuan and herself, there was also a possibility that the remaining three people belonged to different guilds. Regardless of whether this was true or not, as long as those three people were not from the same guild, suspicion would inevitably arise, and if the situation developed seriously, it might even lead to internal strife. In this case, no one would pay attention to Alba anymore.

As for the death of Cao Yuan, Alba didn't care at whose hands he died. She just wanted to find a way to leave this copy because there were still cheaters and people sent by Infinite Company to solve the trouble. According to the information Alba got, these people were not easy to talk to. And there was one more thing that Alba decided to confirm.

"That's all I have to say. If you need these things, take them. I'm going to do other tasks."

"Has it never occurred to you that these things might be related to Jerome's mission?"

"The man had already searched it. He seemed totally uninterested in the stuff."

After saying that, Alba left the other three and walked out of the room.

"What do you think of what Alba said?"

"Every aspect is very reasonable, there is nothing wrong with it."

"What do you think of her proposal?"

"I have no opinion."

"Same."

Pei Zuocheng thought for a while, stood up, thought for a while, and continued speaking.

"Then how about this? Let's continue investigating the main storyline. It seems that Magnus, Ha Jin, and Jerome were all eyewitnesses at the time, which means we should be able to get more information about the main storyline from them. We might as well split up and then come back here to exchange information. I also agree with Alba's words. Among the three of us, one should be from the same guild. Then no matter who the remaining lone wolf is, both guilds have quotas to clear the level, so we can cooperate and avoid fighting."

"But what if the three of us left belong to three guilds, and Alba lied? It's not impossible that some of us are actually with her." Su Wen gave his own explanation.

"You are indeed right. What Alba said does make sense, but it is not enough for her to completely clear herself, so I decided to make sure of it. I also gave up the investigation of the main mission."

Pei Chencheng and Su Wen were very surprised by what Wei Mingchen said. Indeed, if Wei Mingchen also gave up the investigation of the main task, then the remaining Pei Chencheng and Su Wen, regardless of whether they were on the same side or not, would be eligible for the clearance. This would ensure that the remaining four people would prevent internal strife.

"Why?" Pei Zuocheng was a little confused.

"It's simple, because my guild competition points are already enough, and my personal points are only a single digit short, so I don't even need to complete the side quests, I just need to find some necessary props... Oh, yes, it's enough, after all, Alba left these things behind."

While talking to the two people, Wei Mingchen picked up the key chain on the table and threw it back on the table.

"In this case, it seems that we have reached a consensus?"

"I guess so. After all, internal fighting has become meaningless now."