[Celebration]

The faction war had ended, and the winner… was, without a doubt, the Secret Church.

The victorious players spontaneously gathered in the Kamui District. Carmen had already received the news, and now smoke rose from every household in Kamui. Countless tents and bonfires filled the empty spaces in the district, and men and women bustled about with cheerful smiles on their faces.

“What’s going on?” Druid and the others were startled when they returned. Instinctively, they stopped a young Kamui man who was carrying firewood.

“Oh, it’s you guys,” the Kamui youth wasn’t upset at being stopped; he smiled broadly and said, “Leader Carmen said that this victory is thanks to your active efforts. Plus, with your help recently, our homeland has been able to rebuild quickly. So, we’re throwing a celebration tonight to thank you all.”

“Oh, I see.” Druid scratched his head, then suddenly asked, “Can I bring another person over?”

“Of course! All of you are followers of the great lord. Your friends are our friends too.”

“Awesome! A feast!”

The players cheered excitedly—nothing attracted players more than a lively event. Ranen had anticipated this too and had already prepared a celebration for after the faction war.

“In that case, let’s help out too!”

“Yeah, it’ll be more fun that way.”

“I’ll go call some people.”

“I’ll post on the forum too!”

The players spread the word, and soon, a lot of idle players gathered in the Kamui District. As night fell over Arkham City, the players’ feast began.

“Are you sure you can walk, Annie?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“Alright, just be careful.”

Druid and Black Cat carefully escorted the little girl out of the hospital. After her last treatment by Matcha Green Milk, Annie had opened up emotionally. Druid and Black Cat occasionally visited her, and upon noticing her loneliness, they decided to bring her along to play.

“Yo, Druid, Black Cat—your kid?” Ye Ye threw his arms around their shoulders.

Druid and Black Cat immediately choked: “You beast, what are you saying in front of a kid!”

Ye Ye grinned mischievously, “Well, you two have been inseparable lately.”

[Damn, you ruffian squad has no right to talk. Haven’t the three of you always been stuck together too?]

[The little girl is so cute, though she looks a bit sad.]

[Ah, isn’t that the little girl Druid saved in the promotional PV?]

[Druid! What did you do to lure her here?!]

Curious, Ye Ye looked at the little girl. “Hi, I’m Ye Ye Hao. What’s your name?”

Annie shyly hid behind Druid, whispering, “I’m Annie.”

“Annie, what a lovely name,” Ye Ye said, reaching out his hand. Annie instinctively flinched, but in the next second, a bright rose appeared in his hand.

[Performance: Successful]

“For you, dear little lady.”

Annie stared at the flower in surprise, momentarily forgetting her shyness and happily accepted it.

Seeing that Annie didn’t show any obvious resistance, Ye Ye gently patted her smooth hair. “Welcome.”

“Thank you, big brother.” A small smile bloomed on Annie’s face.

[Ah, I’m dead.]

[Such an adorable and sweet little loli. Why can’t I find one!]

[Calm down, guys. Don’t scare her.]

They didn’t chat for long before the feast officially began.

Although the celebration was for the faction war victory, the real motive behind the mission couldn’t be openly explained. Officially, the banquet was held to thank the players for helping the Kamui tribe during these times. Fortunately, the Kamui people were naturally warm and loved parties, so no one minded.

More and more players arrived, many having heard the news from the forums. The once quiet Kamui District instantly burst into lively excitement!

At the feast, the women and men from each household displayed their best skills and served players with signature dishes. The meats and various dishes, cooked with special spices, filled the air with a mouthwatering aroma. Large spaces in the center were cleared, and bonfires were lit.

Without needing to say much, the players had already gotten into the spirit!

A-Long took big bites of the roasted meat, tears of emotion welling up in his eyes. “Mmm, this is so delicious! The taste in this game feels so real, it’s amazing!”

“Yes, yes!” Strongest Man, with no regard for his image, ate meat greedily. “I can eat as much as I want without gaining weight—what kind of divine game is this? With just this, I’ll never quit playing!”

The atmosphere was getting heated when suddenly, a number of Kamui girls, dressed in light clothing, approached the bonfire, shy smiles on their faces. Their figures swayed as they began performing a traditional Kamui dance.

The old perverts in the player group immediately fixed their eyes on the scene, and Ye Ye and the others pointed the live stream camera in that direction. Suddenly, two of the dancing girls left their spot and ran toward the Troublemaker Squad, smiling.

“Come dance with us, gentlemen.”

“Come on, thank you for your protection of us earlier.”

[What??? Ye Ye, you guys?]

[What protection? What did I miss?]

[It’s probably referring to when someone caused trouble at the Kamui district entrance, and the Troublemaker Squad took care of them.]

The three members of the Troublemaker Squad were momentarily at a loss. Faced with the Kamui girls’ enthusiastic invitation, even the thick-skinned Baba blushed: “I don’t know how to dance.”

“Me neither.”

“Me too.”

They were all shut-ins. If they weren’t, they wouldn’t have spent so much time in the game. They didn’t know how to dance at all!

“It’s okay, just follow our steps,” the Kamui girl smiled as she guided the Troublemaker Squad toward the bonfire, and the bullet comments immediately began to tease them.

[Oh oh oh let me see who’s blushing!]

[Yo yo yo, Troublemaker Squad, you’re not still single, are you? (in that tone)]

“Shut up!” Ye Ye rolled his eyes at the comments, then quickly put on a charming smile when the Kamui girls looked over.

For the first time, he regretted something… Damn, if he had known, he would’ve raised his appearance settings a bit more!

Looking at the lively scene before her, Matcha Green Milk suddenly sighed.

“What’s wrong?” Druid asked.

“I wish Ranen were here,” Matcha Green Milk said. “I really haven’t seen him in so long.”

As soon as this was said, the surrounding players immediately agreed: “Yeah, yeah! I miss the days when I could just go find Ranen whenever I wanted! I started this game because of Ranen! But not long after I joined, the current version made it so we can’t meet him anymore, it’s driving me crazy!”

“Exactly, I haven’t seen Ranen in so long!” Player B started crying, “This is a promotional scam. I was drawn in by Ranen’s looks as an NPC, and in the previous version, he used to appear at a fixed spot, but after I joined, I only saw him once!”

“That’s right, I miss my wife so much!”

“Even if I used up all my character cards, I could only see him when I first joined the church. Otherwise, I can’t see him at all.”

“Yeah, although the second version of the beta game added a lot of content and the faction and quest systems are complete, I still feel like something’s missing.”

Players discussed loudly, and what was originally just a casual complaint from Matcha Green Milk suddenly sparked collective frustration among the players.

“Haha, what an exaggerated display,” Druid laughed. “Cloud players are still guessing when Ranen will fall from grace, but I think that’s unlikely.”

“Exactly,” Matcha Green Milk said. “Although it’s said that players are the easiest to jump between sides, in this game, Ranen’s fans are practically diehard to the max. Ah, including me.”

This was also one of the strangest aspects of the game. Originally, all the game analysts who were observing how the game became popular had predicted that, over time, Ranen’s popularity as an NPC would gradually fade along with the game’s attention, since it was just a niche game.

But no one expected that as time passed, Ranen’s popularity still hadn’t diminished. In fact, players who had joined the game because of Ranen remained fiercely loyal, and even more players were becoming diehards.

It was hard to put this phenomenon into words, but if forced to describe it, it would be that once a player had entered the game and seen Ranen, they generally wouldn’t quit the game.

“Though, I still don’t know when the official release of Ranen will happen,” Matcha Green Milk sighed deeply, then looked at Black Cat. “Big Boss Black Cat, is your earlier guess true? That as long as there are enough followers, Ranen will reappear in reality?”

“Don’t call me ‘Big Boss,’ I’m just guessing,” Black Cat shrugged. “Who doesn’t want to see Ranen? I also don’t think the officials will miss out on such a hot topic. I just hope, from both a rational and emotional perspective, that Ranen can appear soon.”

“The players really want to see him.”

As soon as Black Cat finished speaking, suddenly, the Kamui people around them gasped in surprise.

The group quickly turned to look around.

In the muddy ground of the street, plants had suddenly sprouted.

Fresh greenery slithered out from the cracks, climbing up the broken walls as if alive, supporting the crumbling buildings.

The Kamui district, which had previously been an impression of ruin, with no greenery and disorganized buildings, now began to transform as these strange plants slowly changed the entire area. Everyone marveled at the transformation, and the plants eventually gathered in the center, forming a throne-like shape.

The players started to figure out what was happening, eagerly looking toward the center. Ye Ye and the others had already swiftly aimed the live stream camera in that direction.

Under the watchful eyes of all, the figure they had been waiting for finally appeared.

The moment the stunning beauty that surpassed human standards came into view, all the players with high senses of intuition immediately became entranced.

The crazy notification sound echoed in their ears.

[Willpower assessment in progress]

[Willpower assessment in progress…]

Not just the players, even the Kamui people who were dancing or eating nearby stared blankly, their eyes fixed on the figure that appeared, their hearts pounding like drums.

Annie also stared at the figure, her small mouth slightly open.

His appearance was as perfect as ever, as if every single strand of hair radiated an unearthly glow that made it hard to look at. Beyond perfection, the long-missed Ranen emanated an indescribable mix of holiness and eerie charm.

Ranen seemed to smile towards them, and in an instant, it felt as though a sacred chant was playing in everyone’s ears. Their eyes began to burn with intensity as they stared.

[Willpower assessment: Failure]

Their eyes hurt terribly, but they couldn’t look away. It was as if they wanted to keep staring, keep staring forever…

“Damn, Black Cat, what’s wrong with you?” Druid snapped back to his senses after his willpower assessment succeeded, noticing his friend’s strange smile and seeing him take a few steps forward. He quickly grabbed him in alarm.

“…” Black Cat snapped out of it.

The figure had already disappeared.

He looked around in confusion and realized that it wasn’t just him—everyone, including players and Kamui people, seemed to have been entranced. Their souls had been completely captivated. But once they came back to their senses, they couldn’t remember the exact appearance, only a vague face lingering in their memories.

[Ahhhhhh, my wife is so beautiful!]

[Ugh, I haven’t seen my wife’s new illustration in so long, I miss it.]

[Screen captured, my new screensaver.]

[So beautiful, so beautiful, I’m starting to doubt if the official merchandise can ever replicate Ranen’s face. Is there any craftsmanship that could pull that off?]

[Damn, look around you.]

[What the heck? I’m still admiring the beauty, why are you all acting weird? Did you all go crazy?]

[Ye Ye! Are you guys okay!?]

Ye Ye snapped out of it, paused for a moment, and asked, “What? What happened?”

[Ye Ye, didn’t you feel it?]

“I think I failed my willpower assessment just now.”

[Hiss, that’s strange. To us, all of you seemed frozen, some even reached out to Ranen and kept walking forward.]

[But yeah, that was really beautiful.]

[So, what’s it like to see him in the game? How does it feel?]

“…I don’t know,” Ye Ye mumbled, as if in a trance. “I just feel… like I want to be by His side.”

[???]

[Why do I feel like the officials are doing something huge…]

[What’s going on? Is what was mentioned on the forum true? Seeing Ranen in the game and outside the game, is it a different experience?]

[This has already been confirmed, right? But I’m still curious how they managed to do this. Is it some kind of special sensory system? I hope it doesn’t have any side effects on the human body.]

[It shouldn’t, the market oversight is very strict now.]

The barrage continued discussing the scene, but many of the players on-site hadn’t come back to their senses. The deep emotional and spiritual tremor they had felt was still deeply etched in their minds.

It wasn’t just them—Kamui people were the same. After Ranen’s figure disappeared, many of them knelt and began chanting prayers in a low voice, some even began showing signs of fervor.

Originally, the Kamui people believed in the Secret Church mostly because of Carmen, their leader’s choice. The Kamui people adhered to ancient traditions, stubbornly believing that their leader would guide them to choose the most suitable survival path. But belief, such as this, wasn’t something they would easily give.

But now, after witnessing the miracle firsthand, something inside their hearts was beginning to change.

Druid looked down at Annie with some concern, only to find that the little girl still had traces of shock on her face. She looked up at him and asked, “Is that brother a god?”

“Well… Why does Annie think so?”

“Because His radiance was so dazzling…” Annie said innocently. “It’s like the god who saved me, and everyone, in my dream… He is the one, isn’t he?”

Black Cat and Druid exchanged a glance, and finally, Matcha Green Milk said, “No one can be certain of this, but no one can deny it either.”

Annie lowered her head, then raised it again: “He is the one, I’m sure!”

“Why?” Matcha Green Milk asked curiously.

“Because He feels so warm,” Annie said, her eyes gradually revealing the same fiery passion that Druid and the others were familiar with. “If a god really saved Arkham, then that god must be like this.”

At this moment, Carmen’s figure also appeared at the banquet. He walked to the center, and the Kamui people noticed their leader. The atmosphere gradually quieted.

The players also looked at Carmen.

“Please don’t mind me, tonight’s main characters are you all.” Carmen smiled and said, “I’d like to thank everyone for their efforts and contributions during this time. I come to deliver the will of our lord—tonight, all exchanged items will be 50% off!”

“Wow!”

“Long live Carmen!”

“Long live Ranen!”

“My wife is amazing!”

It seemed like something strange had slipped in.

In any case, Carmen’s words became the final spark to ignite the entire banquet. Players who participated in the faction war had earned a lot of honor points. Those who hadn’t participated but had been completing faction tasks over the past few days had also accumulated quite a few honor points and could exchange them for potions or low-level enchanted weapons.

It could be said that everyone was happy this time.

Oh, except for the players who joined the enemy faction and the occasional passerby who was startled by the cheerful scene in the district.

—-

Ranen watched the jubilant scene of the players in the real world from his divine kingdom, unable to stop a faint smile from appearing at the corners of his mouth.

This time, the faction war was a resounding victory, and most of it was thanks to the players. Let them enjoy it, he thought.

However… what happened earlier?

Ranen had originally intended to say something when he appeared before the players, but to his surprise, as soon as he appeared, some strange changes began happening in the real world. For example, plants in the land started growing wildly, and players and NPCs who should have gradually gotten used to his face stood staring at him blankly.

His body also began to undergo some subtle changes, but no one could clearly explain what was happening. In any case, Ranen had initially planned to cooperate with Black Cat and stay in the divine kingdom temporarily, as many people in the real world were searching for him, which was dangerous. However, now he wasn’t appearing in the real world because he started to question whether it was still suitable for him to appear there.

For example, after this incident, Ranen was so frightened that he disappeared back to the divine kingdom right after showing his face. He had a strong feeling that staying in the real world any longer might cause something serious to happen.

It seemed he would need to find a way to control this situation before he could safely return to the real world.

Originally, he had planned to thank the players, but now it seemed this task should be left to Carmen.

Shifting his gaze away from the Kamui district, Ranen took a moment to reassess the gains from this faction war victory.

First, the biggest win was clearing Edmund of any suspicion and removing the unstable factor of the player within the Inspection Bureau.

Although other players might still join different factions in the future, with the precedent of the Starwatch faction, they would likely hesitate before deciding if it was worth it.

Unless they were completely indifferent troublemakers, most players wouldn’t willingly join an organization that suspected them and might be hostile to most other players. Additionally, with the official action of banning account trading, ensuring one player per account, Ranen believed that players who logged in would be more cautious in their actions.

Next, Ranen had seen the strength of the Inspection Bureau’s elite squad.

Honestly, it was more comprehensive than Ranen had imagined… but still relatively fragile.

The abilities within that squad were very well-rounded, covering healing, teleportation, intelligence, and combat, encompassing all aspects of an investigator’s role. No wonder they were sent here; under normal circumstances, even if they were investigating an evil god incident, they would likely have been able to escape unharmed.

But players were beyond the expected specifications, especially those with backing.

This battle had given Ranen some confidence in opposing the Inspection Bureau. They were indeed strong, but players were not weak either, and even though they were strong, they hadn’t surpassed ordinary humans physically. As long as they weren’t invulnerable to knives and guns, they could still be killed.

However, Ranen was particularly concerned about Job’s transformation. The severed hands and feet had been sent to Karens for testing, but the results hadn’t come in yet.

Lastly, of course, Karens had successfully completed his revenge, and the players’ first faction war had significantly strengthened the faction’s cohesion.

Everything had gone almost perfectly. The remaining question was how the Inspection Bureau would react to this incident.

However, Ranen was unsure about the situation with Edmund and Archie, and it wasn’t ideal to “descend” to their side.

At this moment, Ranen suddenly remembered something and took out the bell.

He almost forgot—there was still an intelligence source he could use.

Now that he was in the divine kingdom, he no longer needed to return to the Dream Rift to use items from the Dream Rift, such as dice, bell, and staff.

These items appeared every time Ranen moved to a new level, and they made him feel like he was gradually unlocking the powers that originally belonged to him.

After pressing the bell, the sphinx-like creature appeared once again from the mist. The Sphinx gracefully bowed to Ranen, saying, “It is such a pleasure to see you again. Although some time has passed, your beauty still dazzles as brightly as ever.”

“Hasn’t been that long, though,” Ranen replied with a smile.

“No, every second since we parted has felt infinitely long in my heart,” the Sphinx said sorrowfully.

Although the face was similar, and it was also the origin ability of Archie, the Sphinx’s personality was completely different from Archie’s. Ranen knew this, but seeing the Sphinx’s face, which resembled Archie’s so much, almost made him lose his composure.

Well, he decided it was best to resolve this quickly.

This time, the questions Ranen wanted to ask were related to the Inspection Bureau and Archie. Since he wasn’t sure what was going on over there, he hadn’t approached Archie or Edmund directly but had chosen to obtain information through the Sphinx.

“How is the situation with Archie? What is the Inspection Bureau’s reaction now?” Ranen asked, seeking the information he most wanted to know.

The Inspection Bureau had been defeated by the Secret Church, and Ranen wasn’t sure how they would react. Edmund had just cleared his name, so things there shouldn’t be too problematic. But with Archie, Ranen hadn’t heard of any players informing the Inspection Bureau about him. However, if someone were to investigate, they could probably find out that Archie had come to see him and that they had once worked together for a day.

Ranen hadn’t approached Archie directly due to the uncertainty over his situation, but the Sphinx, being the origin ability of Archie, should be the one who knew the most about his circumstances.

Seeing Ranen’s concern for Archie, the Sphinx’s eyes lit up. He quickly went through a trivial riddle and then answered, “The situation with the Inspection Bureau isn’t good. That group didn’t even return to their base and was directly sent to the hospital.”

It wasn’t Arkham Hospital, but another hospital in Arkham City, so Ranen wasn’t aware of this.

“Uh, it seems Edmund was treated as a serial killer and sent to the police station. Archie went there and got him out.”

“Archie is fine for now,” the Sphinx said, his expression somewhat hesitant, as if he wanted to say something but then closed his mouth.

“If there’s something, just say it,” Ranen urged.

“Well… actually, I suspect those people from the Inspection Bureau might have some ulterior motives for him and weren’t letting him go back.”

“Ulterior motives?” Ranen frowned. “What kind of motives?”

“It could be related to that Albert,” the Sphinx quickly revealed the secret that Archie had been reluctant to share. “Someone from the Inspection Bureau had once warned Archie that they were looking for his close friend, Albert.”

Archie knew Albert was with Ranen, so he wasn’t in a hurry. However, this calm demeanor appeared suspicious to others, which led the Inspection Bureau to believe that Archie had hidden Albert.

In the past few days, the matter of the communication devices being monitored and the fact that he had clearly completed his work but the Inspection Bureau still refused to release him had not escaped Archie’s notice. However, for various reasons, he had not directly told Ranen about it.

It was probably because Ranen had been worried about Edmund possibly being suspected so Archie didn’t want to add more trouble for him.

Sigh, if Archie doesn’t say anything, how could he make Ranen pay more attention to him? The Sphinx knew that, because Edmund had been suspected before, Ranen had intentionally set up a trap to let the Secret Church and the Inspection Bureau against each other in order to help Edmund clear his name.

Ah, what a merciful and great lord, the Sphinx admired, then thought of Archie, scolding him for not playing the game, not being clever, not even trying direct approaches—if this continues, all of Ranen’s favor would go to those filthy dogs!

In critical moments, it seemed that only the Sphinx could step in.

“I understand,” Ranen said, frowning slightly. “If anything happens with Archie or if the Inspection Bureau shows any signs of action, you must tell me immediately. The Inspection Bureau suffered a major setback, and I don’t believe they’ll remain silent.”

If possible, Ranen actually wanted to pull Archie and Edmund out of there. Continuing as undercover agents was too dangerous, but unfortunately, his followers were stubborn as mules.

He could only hope that everything would be fine over there.

The Sphinx’s figure disappeared into the mist, and Ranen rubbed his chin, lost in thought.

Why is the Inspection Bureau after Albert? Are they trying to silence him? Or is there some other conspiracy?