After an unfriendly exchange, the group of people from outside the school were expelled from the unknown school.
They'd probably never encountered anything so embarrassing in their lives; they were neither handsome nor cool, and were rather speechless. The players decided to find a hotel to spend the night in, and while they were at it, they would think of a solution.
Ren Yifei looked down at his location and found that it was two districts away from the company. He thought that if he took a bus overnight, he might be able to make it to the early shift tomorrow.
"It's very close to where I live. Why don't you come stay with me for the night?" Samantha said expectantly, already having already figured out how to make the most of the space on the sofa to sleep on—he would definitely be the one sleeping on the sofa.
"No," Ren Yifei put down his phone, "I'm going to the police station."
On the way, he made a mysterious phone call: "It's been confirmed that he's among the remaining three. Also, I have some other clues."
Ren Yifei's words seemed disjointed, but the other side immediately understood and began recording the information he was about to provide.
The information Ren Yifei provided was nothing more than clues about Mr. X. These clues all revolved around Mr. X himself; his other hobbies might be fictional, but his physique and solitary nature were likely real.
He handed all of this over to the people on the other end, saying they could have experts verify the authenticity of the information. The national team had the most experts.
In addition, he requested some permissions, such as checking out areas where migrant workers gather in the vicinity, because he suspected that the 'ghost' was also there.
The ghost abruptly ended the game in a panic. In such a short time, the player's thought of the drop location must have been very familiar to the other party, or a place they had just seen before.
He remembered the basic information of those three people. This was not their hometown, nor their place of life or work. So, could this be the place where they were hiding right now?
"I can do it too," said Saman, who was standing nearby. "Although I don't have that kind of power, I can still do a lot."
Showing off his feathers, Saman recounted what he had done in the past few days. Although it had only been a few days, he had already made contact with a group of local players who were very well connected, and had also found out about the four-man group at the bookstore.
When they determined the scope of the 'ghosts,' they were only half a day later than the officials.
Ren Yifei shook his head: "Don't you think it's interesting to use official power to suppress small games that originally had an absolute advantage?" This is a blatant and aboveboard attack.
"Moreover, both we and this world are hoping that things will end as soon as possible." Many players in the Desolate Corner were forcibly pulled in, and the same goes for the players in this world.
Mini-games must die – this is the will of the people and an inevitable trend.
When the two arrived at the police station, they were taken to another special place as soon as they gave their names.
Near the police station, in an ordinary little building, three comrades had been waiting for some time. Ren Yifei, an unofficial member who had infiltrated enemy territory, was welcomed, while Saman, engaged in illegal online activities, was naturally ignored.
They had actually arranged a hotel for Ren Yifei, but he preferred to stay and provide clues, even if it meant staying up all night.
Will this affect my normal work?
"I am the boss." That's how confident capitalists are; they can choose not to work if they want to.
This team, temporarily formed because of Ren Yifei's arrival, consists of three people: the old team leader and two newly graduated students who have just become cogs in the national machine, with youthful vigor and fervor on their faces.
Because of a shortage of manpower, Ren Yifei and Saman also joined the tedious search work, and they were almost prepared to stay up all night.
"Don't worry." Saman brought him a cup of tea. "Take a nap first. I'll wake you up if I hear anything."
Ren Yifei was looking at the trio's detailed information when he reached out and took the teacup, taking a sip.
"This is when the opponent is at their weakest. Of course, we should press our advantage and strike while the iron is hot. It would be bad if they recovered." Ren Yifei didn't want to wait any longer.
Ever since the mini-game violated regulations by slandering his acting skills and almost killing Samantha, his tolerance for the mini-game has reached its limit.
He's blind, black-hearted, and brainless; such a lousy thing should just be eliminated sooner rather than later.
"What are you two whispering about? Want some late-night snacks?" The young man who called himself Xiao Wei came over with several bowls of instant noodles.
"Yes." Ren Yifei nodded reservedly, thinking to himself: It would be great if I could add an egg.
The noodles were ready, and Xiao Wei slurped them up while checking the temporary residence permits registered over the past month.
Coincidentally, they had just been paying attention to the topic of rental housing last week. At that time, all migrant workers were required to apply for temporary residence permits or register in order to rent houses here.
Due to policy changes, landlords will register tenants' identity information even if they are unwilling. Once registered, the matter becomes much easier to handle.
The identity may have been changed, but the photo was taken recently and can be compared with a real person's face.
"Oh!" Xiao Wei took a big slurp of noodles, then slammed his hand on the table. "Found it!"
This is a fake identity; everything except the face doesn't match. What's most unusual is that this identity was registered yesterday, making it exceptionally recent.
These three people were either a mobile gang or had to move due to some accident (such as Xing Ming's death).
In any case, it's a good thing that we were able to find it.
"Quickly, apply for an arrest warrant, don't let him get away."
By registering the information, they quickly found the three people's whereabouts. At the same time, at 11 o'clock, the information in the desolate corner was updated.
Saman went out to look around and returned with a complicated expression.
"Mr. X," he said.
Ren Yifei rubbed his sore eyes: "It's alright, at least it proves that our direction is correct."
Finding Mr. X is finding the ghost; finding the ghost is finding the mini-game.
He can do nothing about the mini-games themselves, but outside, he has no say in them.
Ten minutes later, the criminal investigation team, having received special orders, set off with an arrest warrant to a local urban village.
Unfortunately, they were too late. The house was already empty, with only half-eaten takeout boxes and a few personal belongings left behind.
According to clues provided by nearby tenants, it was indeed their temporary residence, which they had moved in with their luggage the night before last.
"There's a security camera at the entrance, but it broke down for some reason two days ago," the landlord said.
They were somewhat disappointed. Were they really going to go back like this?
"Whose car is this?" A detective spotted a car parked in front of the rental house. The car had a dashcam installed on it, and the red light was on.
Some personal belongings, neighbors' statements, and videos from the dashcam were quickly sent to the police station... next door to the small hut.
Regarding this matter that cannot be made public, it seems that they have been given a great deal of authority, allowing them to use a great deal of power.
They also had a very high level of trust in Ren Yifei, who was outside the system, so he could directly look at the statements of the landlord and others, as well as the videos recorded by the dashcam.
"Whose is this supermarket receipt?" Among the personal belongings he brought back was a shopping receipt with a box of canned tea on it, and the type of tea was the same one he had seen in the mini-game.
Ren Yifei picked up the transparent evidence bag and handed it to Xiao Wei: "Can this be used to find anything?"
"The address and time are on it, so it should be fine." Xiao Wei took the package of evidence. Ren Yifei continued to examine the remaining items.
There was very little stuff, because they had just moved in, and they probably hadn't unpacked all their belongings yet. Ren Yifei looked through it but found nothing useful, so he picked up the neighbors' testimonies instead.
"They're having a really tough time. What's the point of all this?" These people have been tied down to the mini-game for a month, and their quality of life is actually worse than before.
They ate takeout from those hole-in-the-wall restaurants in the urban village, and they dressed like migrant workers. When they worked in the bookstore, at least they lived an upright life, ordinary but happy.
"Ah... Lan, look at this." While he was rummaging through things, Saman came over with his phone. Ren Yifei peeked at it and his eyes widened.
This is an official promotional message offering a reward of one million for each of the three [illegible characters].
That's right, it's those three who are still alive.
The national team really went all out, pushing information nationwide and even coordinating with television news. Those guys really became rats crossing the street, hated by everyone.
Don't be fooled by their seemingly impressive achievements in games; in reality, these people are still unemployed, homeless, and destitute.
The main problem is that the person is incompetent; even with a dragon-slaying sword, they can't beat someone else's kitchen knife.
It's also the game developers' fault for not recognizing the right person and choosing a clearly incompetent agent. A perfectly good library system, meant to disseminate knowledge, is now universally condemned.
If it were to find a more decent one...
For example, Saman set up a small organization in just a few days; his efficiency was top-notch. Chen Shen, on the other hand, is an expert at mobilizing the masses; he definitely wouldn't let it be exposed so quickly. And if all else fails, there's Ke Bei, a master at cultivating extreme personality cults and capable of attracting a large number of willing NPCs.
None of them could have caused the mini-game to become so miserable.
Even in Ren Yifei's hands, he could still figure out how to use mothers' groups to turn mini-games into students' nightmares, making them 'happily' learn in their dreams.
If mini-games really have to devour souls, then what about all those heinous death row inmates? Throw them all in there and make them study morality, intelligence, physical education, aesthetics, and labor—study them until they die, or study them to death.
Hmm? All of them are death row inmates who have committed heinous crimes... Ren Yifei's eyes flickered, and he lowered his head to drink tea to cover up his awkwardness for a moment.
He remembered a saying in the Wasteland: any player who entered the Wasteland must have committed some unknown evil deeds in their lifetime. These evil deeds might not meet the legal sentencing standards, or they might have escaped legal accountability, but they existed.
Some even say that the standard for entering the Desolate Corner is: to kill someone and not be punished.
Ren Yifei always treated this statement as a joke.
In a lawless place like the Desolate Corner, where there are no strict rules, if a group of villains were thrown in, it would surely breed poisonous insects like a venomous insect.
However, the reality is quite different. While there are indeed many eccentric professional players in the Wasteland, there are far more normal casual players.
Ren Yifei still doesn't believe that all the players in the Wasteland are bad people; he's just curious about the criteria it uses to select players.
"What are you thinking about?" Saman had just looked up from the dashcam video when he saw Ren Yifei looking thoughtful.
Just as Ren Yifei was about to speak, Xiao Wei walked in, waving an evidence bag with great enthusiasm: "We found that supermarket, there's CCTV footage."