[Starwatch Team: Dangerous]

Regarding Edmund’s words, Ranen felt a slight touch of emotion, but unfortunately, players couldn’t actually be killed for good.  

That said, eliminating a player wasn’t entirely pointless. After all, from the perspective of the people in this world, when a player’s character card died, it was as if the person they’d been dealing with was dead too. Even if the player rolled a new character that looked similar, it wouldn’t be mistaken for the same one. In other words, if Destiny is in My Hands were truly killed by Edmund, even if they could rejoin the Investigation Bureau later, they’d have to start from scratch.  

Ranen tactfully explained some of the players’ traits to Edmund. Edmund simply acknowledged that he understood, but he didn’t indicate any intent to call off his plan. He only reassured Ranen, saying,  

“I won’t act recklessly.”  

Since that prayer, Edmund hadn’t sent any further messages. Later, Archie reported to Ranen that Edmund was fine, which finally put Ranen’s mind at ease.  

Though he wasn’t sure why Archie had also infiltrated the Investigation Bureau, at least he and Edmund could look out for each other. Unlike Edmund, Archie wasn’t an official member of the Bureau and had no criminal record. Even if he got tangled up with a cult, in a country with religious freedom, no one could legally detain him for that reason alone. So, Ranen wasn’t too worried about Archie’s situation.  

Most of his attention remained on the players. As the faction’s daily activities progressed, the various wild antics of the other players gradually came to light.  

Ranen had initially thought their methods of grinding dailies in the Secret Church were already outrageous, but reality proved otherwise. Compared to what they did after joining other factions, their behavior in the Secret Church was downright restrained. When they joined other groups, they went absolutely wild.  

Backstabbing and similar antics were too numerous to count. Even Karens, who rarely complained, grumbled to Ranen about how the players’ constant reporting of gang activities had seriously disrupted his work. Now, only Black Poker avoided being reported, which raised suspicions among other organizations. As a result, Karens had to resort to reporting himself just to keep up appearances.  

Beyond the gangs, the factions players joined most often were foreign cults and secret societies that had infiltrated the area. This aligned with the intel Edmund had once shared with Ranen—these groups were also targeting the Gatekeeper.  

As for how Ranen knew this?  

Oh, the players frequently uploaded this kind of information without the slightest regard for secrecy. Now, when Ranen browsed the forums, he often stumbled across posts about one organization assigning a mission to sneak into the police station for intel, or another tasking players to blend in with Arkham’s citizens to investigate the previous gate-closing incident.  

Ranen had initially worried that players joining these factions might lead to unfavorable outcomes for him, but now he realized he’d been overthinking it.  

The Secret Church’s influence was already solidified, and it was the primary faction most players invested in. Unless they were suicidal, they generally wouldn’t oppose the Secret Church. Those who joined other factions were mostly curious about what benefits those groups offered. Upon discovering that neither the perks nor anything else could compare to the Secret Church, their loyalty naturally evaporated.  

Ranen even suspected that when the main storyline kicked off, these players embedded in other organizations would sell them out without a second thought.

And so, his mood gradually began to ease. After all, when the time came, it wouldn’t be him or his Secret Church suffering the consequences.

Over the past three days, aside from keeping tabs on the players’ movements, Ranen had also been working on familiarizing himself with his abilities.

Currently, his powers were composed of the following:

1. Abilities from his followers’ origins.  

Edmund’s clown state could temporarily boost combat strength and physical attributes. Ranen had briefly tested it before and noticed that, beyond the physical enhancement he’d already experienced, the effect seemed stronger this time—likely because Edmund’s current Dream Rift level was higher.  

Then there was Archie’s origin, Sphinx, which granted three questions per day. However, the questions couldn’t exceed his own level of understanding, or he’d face severe backlash (according to Sphinx).  

Ranen only learned afterward that if he hadn’t imbued Sphinx with sentience back then, he could still ask questions, but an unintelligent Sphinx wouldn’t warn him if a question exceeded its knowledge. In other words, asking something beyond its scope would trigger an immediate backlash.

2. His own abilities.  

Beyond what he’d gained from the Dream Rift, Ranen possessed a jumble of odd powers he couldn’t quite define. For instance, there was a strange allure to his appearance that attracted both anomalies and humans alike. If a human was in a dazed or unstable mental state, they were even more susceptible to this charm, making it easier to turn them into followers.  

He also had an eerie self-healing ability and increasingly resilient skin. Ranen had tested it with a small knife—ordinary blades could no longer harm him. Even if he cut himself with full force, the wound would vanish almost instantly.  

Lastly, he could draw magical runes to craft enchanted weapons, a skill taught to him by Ogre. So far, Ranen could create up to B-grade enchanted weapons, most of which leaned toward traits like healing, vampirism, growth, or decay. The exact effects were a bit of a gamble, like opening a blind box.

3. The Divine Kingdom.

Honestly, Ranen wasn’t entirely sure how this came about. He vaguely recalled it stemming from a moment when his powers went haywire, seeping into courtyard’s array. Perhaps because of that, the hospital dungeon’s remnants persisted, becoming Ranen’s Divine Kingdom. Within it, he could wield extensive authority, making him nearly invincible.

4. Abilities gained from the Dream Rift.  

First, from the first level, he’d obtained a dice. Ranen had used it plenty of times—it functioned much like a tabletop gaming dice, except it came with a degree of controllability.  

From the second level, he’d gained a staff. Its current purpose was as a specialized weapon against anomalies—it could absorb their spirituality to replenish itself and imbue external objects with sentience. This was the ability Ranen was most eager to test further.  

Unfortunately, after granting sentience to Sphinx last time, it seemed to have depleted the staff’s stored spirituality. For the past few days, the runes on the staff had remained dim, likely in need of a spiritual recharge.  

Upon hearing this, Ogre suddenly stood up without a word and walked out of the Divine Kingdom.  

Five minutes later, he returned, carrying an anomaly in his hand, while Ranen stared at him with a face full of question marks.

“Is this enough? If not, I’ll grab another one.”  

In his hand, Ogre held a C-grade human-faced crow, now in a half-dead state. If Ranen wasn’t mistaken, this was the same crow that often perched on the tree outside his psychology clinic.  

“Uh, I’ll give it a try.” Ranen summoned the staff into his hand once more. The moment the nearly lifeless crow caught sight of the staff, it let out a hoarse cry, but Ogre’s large hand held it firmly. Ranen lightly tapped it with the staff.  

Instantly, the crow, which had still been able to flap weakly, went limp. Threads of spirituality—visible only to Ranen—were drawn out from its body, just like with the faceless man before. The anomaly gradually shriveled up until all that remained was a crow’s skin.  

In its place, the dim silver lines on the staff glowed slightly brighter.  

Ranen closed his eyes to sense it for a moment, then pulled out a seed with his right hand. He infused the extracted spirituality into the seed.  

The transformation began.  

Ranen, deep in thought, tossed the seed onto the ground. To his surprise, it burrowed into courtyard’s soil on its own, sprouting and growing spontaneously. Eventually, it matured into a small tree over a meter tall.  

Ogre watched silently, but once the tree reached that height, it stopped growing.  

“Is it because the anomaly wasn’t strong enough?” Ogre glanced at the Soul-Devouring Butterfly perched on Ranen’s shoulder.  

The butterfly quietly tightened its grip on Ranen’s clothing with its tendrils.  

“No, this seed isn’t meant to be used in the Divine Kingdom, so I temporarily ordered it to stop growing,” Ranen said, his eyes gleaming. “I finally understand why they say the Shepherd God needs his own forest. That forest doesn’t just refer to the Divine Kingdom.”  

“The true purpose of this seed is to extend the Divine Kingdom’s reach into reality.”  

Within the Divine Kingdom, all of Ranen’s abilities received a massive boost. He could control the monsters in the hospital—those transformed from medical staff in their dreams—and even manipulate the spatial structure here to some extent. This was why Ranen had been staying in the Divine Kingdom lately; as long as he was here, he was practically invincible.  

But the Divine Kingdom wasn’t without its limits. For one, it was built upon Arkham Hospital, which served as its ‘anchor’ in a sense. If the hospital were destroyed in reality, the Divine Kingdom might not collapse entirely, but it would certainly take a hit.  

Secondly, while Ranen could travel to the Divine Kingdom from anywhere via the mists of the Dream Rift, his combat strength in the real world outside it was mediocre at best—neither high nor low.  

However, after being empowered by the staff, the spiritual plant grown from this seed could take root in reality. Ordinary people couldn’t see these plants, but as they gradually formed a forest in the real world using spiritual seeds, Ranen would gain the same amplification he enjoyed in the Divine Kingdom wherever those plants reached. Moreover, all the spiritual plants would act as extensions of his senses—his eyes, his limbs.  

This was the staff’s true purpose.  

To construct a Divine Kingdom on the surface.  

Of course, the seeds couldn’t just be scattered carelessly. Spiritual seeds could only be planted in the soil by two types of people: Ranen himself, or his followers.  

And not just any followers—true believers. Only through their hands could Ranen sow spiritual seeds in reality. Additionally, planting them consumed the physical stamina of true believers. To avoid someone passing out, an ordinary human true believer could only plant one seed, while a superhuman could manage five or more.  

…That’s still so few! At this rate, how long would it take to cover the surface with a forest?!  

Ranen closed his eyes. In the pitch-black field of his vision, he could faintly make out dozens of glowing dots.

At present, the number of true believers had grown to over 100. Ranen had initially assumed that once someone became a true believer, a small white light would appear in his Dream Rift, but that wasn’t the case. Apart from Edmund and a few others, he could only vaguely sense what the rest of his true believers were doing and know their identities. Now, there was an additional option to plant a spiritual seed at their locations, but that was it.  

This seemed to faintly suggest that the white lights in the Dream Rift might carry some other meaning.  

But speaking of which—why were there so many people?  

Was that “God Among Us” player really working that hard?  

Ranen recalled God Among Us’s pyramid scheme—er, missionary tactics—and for a moment, he nearly lost his composure, plunging into a fierce internal struggle.  

Power, or shame? That was the question.  

“Ogre,” Ranen asked gravely, “if you were faced with a choice right now—overcome your shame to gain power—what would you pick?”  

Ogre looked at him and replied, “If it were me, I wouldn’t hesitate. When the time comes to truly need power, you’ll feel so small… so very small.”  

Ranen took a shallow breath and made up his mind.  

At this moment, however, Ranen had no idea what he was about to experience—or how many times in the future he’d want to throttle the version of himself nodding right now.  

…  

That day, God Among Us was playing the game as usual when he spotted Carmen approaching from a distance, his face full of existential doubt.  

“What’s wrong, High Priest?” God Among Us asked casually, while secretly wondering: ‘Had someone exposed his previous excuses?’

“Lord Ranen has delivered an oracle,” Carmen said, his eyes still brimming with disbelief. He gave God Among Us a complicated look before patting his shoulder. “You… you’ve done well. Keep it up.”  

A system notification chimed in God Among Us’s mind.  

[The Secret Church NPC Priest has acknowledged your efforts.]  

[You have gained recognition from a faction NPC. Faction reputation increased to Neutral.]

[You have earned 5,000 faction honor points.]  

[You have obtained the faction title: Vanguard of Faith. Effects: When equipped, missionary success rate increases by 5%, Persuasion and Rhetoric skills +5, Occult Knowledge +2.]  

God Among Us took a soft breath. Though he’d been doing all this purely for fun, the sudden flood of rewards sparked an undeniable surge of satisfaction in his chest.

“Thank you for your recognition. I’ll keep up the effort,” God Among Us said.  

Carmen patted his shoulder with a gratified smile. “Keep it up. If there’s anything you need help with, feel free to let me know.”  

Carmen was genuinely happy for God Among Us. In his view, as long as someone could contribute to Lord Ranen, he’d be pleased for them, no matter who they were.  

Silently watching Carmen walk away, God Among Us resumed preaching to the confused lambs below, a smile on his face. This time, though, it wasn’t just for fun—he was also reaping faction rewards.  

[Faction Mission – Preaching  

Content: For each shallow believer successfully converted, gain 100 faction honor points. For each true believer converted, gain 500 honor points.]

God Among Us did some quick math. With the previous volunteer missions, each task earned about 50 to 100 points. Players had to spend at least three hours on tasks like transporting supplies or healing the wounded to complete one. But now, with a single speech, he could earn one or two hundred points—and if luck was on his side and a true believer emerged, that was 500 points in one go.  

Is this the thrill of achievement in gaming?  

Without hesitation, God Among Us decided to share this joy with others (and flex a little). He uploaded a screenshot of the system notification.  

《Faction Honor Points? Isn’t that stuff easy to earn?》  

God Among Us: Screenshot.jpg  

1st Commenter: [Holy crap.]  

2nd Commenter: [I originally wanted to come in and mock the poster for not knowing the value of three hours of volunteer work, but after seeing the screenshot, never mind, big shot, take me with you!]

3rd Commenter: [Preaching mission? Why do you get a preaching mission? I thought this was just some player messing around.]

4th Commenter: [There’s actually a preaching mission, wow. And 500 points for a true believer?? I’m off to preach to NPCs right now.]  

5th Commenter: [I protest! Why can’t we preach to players? If they become true believers, I’d happily pocket those 500 points—what a deal.]

6th Commenter: [What’s the approach for converting people to this? Is it just a Persuasion roll?]  

7th Commenter: [Not quite. This game has a lot of freedom, but it won’t let you pass with a single dice roll. You’ve got to at least make the right moves or say the right things. I tried it before, but with my eloquence, I’m nowhere near qualified to preach, qwq.]  

8th Commenter: [I knew the poster looked familiar! Isn’t this the legendary God Among Us? Big shot living up to the name—already carving out new mission paths on his own.]  

God Among Us: [You all flatter me. I’m just doing it for fun, that’s all.]

9th Commenter: [Front-row catch! Big shot, mind sharing how you preach?]  

God Among Us: [I don’t mind at all. This preaching mission isn’t limited to a set number of people, and Arkham City has plenty of folks to go around.]  

God Among Us: [That said, my method isn’t universally applicable. If I had to boil it down, it’s just one thing: finding the right target audience is key. And if you want others to believe, you first have to genuinely believe from the bottom of your heart—only then can you inspire others.]

10th Commenter: [That sounds so profound and tough. Not suited for someone as tongue-tied as me, qwq. I’ll just stick to volunteering.]  

11th Commenter: [Waaah, another task that’s unfriendly to social anxiety sufferers.]

12th Commenter: [By the way, has anyone noticed? Since the Secret Church released a preaching mission with such high rewards, doesn’t that suggest the faction encourages this? It kinda lines up with Black Cat’s earlier speculations.]

13th Commenter: [Tagging @BlackCat for help.]

Black Cat: [It’s still hard to say for sure.]  

14th Commenter: [Big shot, you’re here! Hhhh]  

Black Cat: [I pop into the forums when I’m tired from volunteer tasks. But I think this preaching mission is worth a shot for everyone. The rewards are hefty, and if my guess is right, it might tie into bigger missions later. You should all give it a try.]  

15th Commenter: [Big shot, we’d love to, but this threshold clearly isn’t something the average person can handle, qwq.]  

16th Commenter: [Yes, I completely don’t understand things about religion.]  

God Among Us: [Uh, it doesn’t have to be that hardcore. Preaching, simply put, is like pitching something—think Amway ^[1] Amway is a multi-level marketing (MLM) company that sells a variety of products, primarily in the health, beauty, and home care sectors.. As long as you can spark interest, that’s enough. Getting a passerby’s attention, no matter the method, is a win. If even one person gets hooked, you’re in the green.]

Ye Ye: [Hearing you say that, I suddenly have a bold idea.]

Baba: [I’ve got an idea too. Maybe we’re thinking the same thing. (winking)]  

Shushu Hao: [Dear players, perhaps you’ve heard of Amway, marketing, or fan culture?]  

17th Commenter: [???]  

18th Commenter: [??]  

—-

At this moment, a mysterious organization was still in the brewing stages. Before it would return like a storm, shaking up the local, simple NPCs with its methods, this small group of players was still awkwardly trying to figure out the “proper” way to pioneer the game.  

That’s right—we’re talking about the Starwatch Squad.  

Three days. Do you know how they spent those three days?  

For three whole days, Destiny is in My Hands and the rest of the squad hadn’t received a single mission from the Investigation Bureau, nor reaped any benefits. They’d waited like fools for three days straight. Meanwhile, they watched Secret Church players grind missions, rack up skill points, and soar ahead. By now, the Starwatch Squad had consciously started filtering out any forum posts with the words “Secret Church.” No other reason—just that staring at their screens had left their eyes sore.  

If the guild hadn’t promised them compensation, Fatty would’ve been the first to quit.  

But even now, their patience was wearing thin.  

“Boss, it’s been three days. We’re three whole days behind other players’ progress,” Fatty said, staring at Destiny is in My Hands with a resentful look.  

Destiny is in My Hands sighed. “Alright, alright, don’t panic. We’ll give it one last try today.”  

Early this morning, the Starwatch Squad went to the Investigation Bureau’s apartment and cornered Job. Before Job could brush them off again, Destiny is in My Hands spoke up: “Mr. Gage, can we talk privately? I have something important to discuss with you.”  

Job Gage’s eyes flickered slightly at the words.  

So they finally couldn’t hold back, huh?  

Job nodded. “Alright, let’s head upstairs to talk.”

Job and Destiny is in My Hands went alone to a room on the second floor. Destiny is in My Hands said, “I have some important information to report—something related to an evil god.”  

Job raised an eyebrow. “Go ahead and tell me.”  

“I’m not sure if you’ve heard of the Secret Church. It’s a local cult in Arkham, worshiping a deity called the Shepherd God. Recently, they’ve been active around the city.”  

Job listened with a faint smile, but he didn’t seem particularly moved or concerned. After Destiny is in My Hands finished, Job simply said, “Alright, I understand you’re eager, but hold off for now. I’ll pass your intel up to headquarters. They’ll verify it and send a specialized team over.”  

Destiny is in My Hands couldn’t believe it. “But aren’t you right here? Don’t you care about cult organizations?”  

Job rubbed his forehead. “It’s not that we don’t care. We just have our own missions to handle.”  

In short, they were already swamped and didn’t have the spare energy to deal with anything else.  

Besides, strictly speaking, this was a country with religious freedom. There was no such thing as a “cult” unless there was clear evidence of illegal activity by its followers.  

Destiny is in My Hands pressed, “Even if this organization is tied to the Outsider, does that not matter?”  

Job’s expression shifted, and he looked up at Destiny is in My Hands, who was trying hard to stay composed.  

“Hmm… well, that’s something I can’t ignore.”  

Destiny is in My Hands followed Job into an office. Half-reluctantly, half-coaxed, he spilled everything—about Ranen, the Outsider, and how the Outsider had once targeted Ranen, who was now the very faith of the Secret Church.  

“You’re saying an evil god once walked among humans in Arkham City?” Job asked, astonished.  

“Yes, he was likely in a sealed state at the time,” Destiny is in My Hands said. “And his arrival was deeply tied to the Outsider. Their leader once desperately wanted to capture him.”  

Job suddenly said with a meaningful tone, “You sure know a lot, don’t you?”  

Destiny is in My Hands had anticipated this reaction. He bowed slightly and said, “I won’t hide it from you. I used to be part of that organization, which is how I know so much. But now I’ve realized that following a cult is wrong. My friends and I came to our senses and escaped. We’re still being hunted by them, which is why we turned to the Investigation Bureau.”  

Before this, Destiny is in My Hands had consulted with an experienced tabletop role-playing advisor from his guild. Upon hearing about his earlier moves, the advisor guessed that the Investigation Bureau had likely already grown suspicious of them.

[If this game is truly like a tabletop role-playing game, you have to treat the NPCs as real people. Whatever reactions a real person would have, the NPCs will have too.]  

For this reason, Destiny is in My Hands had carefully crafted a story to explain the source of this intel and address earlier suspicions.  

Job stared at Destiny is in My Hands’s expression, seemingly lost in thought.  

[System, requesting a Psychology check.]

[You couldn’t discern anything from his face and have no idea how much he believes your story.]  

Job said, “I understand. I’ll discuss it with my team.”  

Destiny is in My Hands nodded and said gravely, “Then I suggest you don’t approach Edmund. I’ve seen him before in the church.”  

Job froze for a moment, narrowed his eyes, and left the room without saying a word.  

Destiny is in My Hands sighed, leaning back against the chair.  

He’d made his final effort. If this still didn’t work, he might as well give up.  

—-

Job walked slowly out of the room and returned to the office. He casually found an excuse to send Edmund out. Once only the veteran members of the team remained, he relayed what Destiny is in My Hands had just told him.  

“What do you think? How credible is it?” Job asked.  

Dana adjusted her glasses. “Zero. A cultist’s words hold no value. That’s the first rule every official investigator is taught in training.”  

Eunice chimed in, “But I think it’s worth looking into. Our investigation’s hit a dead end lately—maybe this could be a good breakthrough?”  

Currently, this elite squad from the Investigation Bureau had two missions: first, uncovering the true identity of the “Gatekeeper,” and second, dealing with the Bureau’s traitor, Albert.  

Both tasks were closely tied to the Outsider organization. Recently, Job and his team had focused their investigation on the Outsider, but progress had been slow. After the Outsider’s leader failed, the group had crumbled into disarray, scattering across Arkham like sand in the mud—making it nearly impossible to sift out anything useful.  

The elite figures previously exposed for their ties to the Outsider had long since fled the city via transportation. What remained were low-level cultists who knew nothing of the core secrets. Though Eunice and Edie had teamed up to extract some information from them, none of it was particularly valuable.  

All they knew was that a cult had once tried to open a gate to the Dream World here, only to be stopped by the mysterious Gatekeeper. That was it.  

The most critical details—the Gatekeeper’s identity and Albert’s whereabouts—remained unknown to everyone.  

Eunice added, “Plus, they said that new guy who joined us is a cultist too.”  

Dana countered, “It could just be slander. Honestly, that seems more likely.”  

Edie, however, disagreed. “Based on my investigation, this group is new to Arkham City. That means they shouldn’t have met Edmund before. So why frame a stranger? They don’t have a motive.”  

“And another thing—they claimed they were once members of the Secret Church.”  

“What’s strange about that?”  

Edie pulled up his computer to show the others. “According to my research, the Secret Church is a new religious group that’s been spreading among the victims and refugees of this recent disaster. It originated in Arkham City, but its influence is still small—barely worth mentioning. So, when exactly did they join it?”

This logical flaw was just too obvious, leaving the others in stunned silence.  

“Is there no external information about the Secret Church?”  

“No, at least I haven’t found any. Unless a hacker on my level deliberately hid their data—which, in my opinion, is highly unlikely.” There was a casual arrogance in Edie’s tone.  

And he did have the credentials to back up that arrogance. In this world, the number of hackers who could compete with him wouldn’t even fill both hands.  

On top of that, with his unparalleled ability, there was practically no one in the digital realm who could rival him.  

“If that’s true, it means they lied. At the very least, they’re definitely not followers of the Secret Church.” Job contemplated. “If that’s the case, why would they lie about it?”  

“Could they actually be from a third-party faction?” Eunice speculated offhandedly.  

Hearing this, Dana fell into thought. “If they are a third-party force, why would they share this intelligence with us? Is it a trap?”  

“Or,” Job said softly, “they want us to take the fall first.”  

“But no matter what, if we don’t act, the investigation will never move forward.” Job made up his mind. “Let’s try following this lead.”  

“What about Edmund?”  

“No rush. We’ll observe for now,” Job replied. “I’ll continue interacting with those people—maybe I can get some interesting intel out of them. Besides, that thing I applied for has finally been approved.”  

He patted his backpack. “But unless absolutely necessary, I’d rather not use this.”  

Eunice nodded in agreement. Dana and Edie didn’t say anything, but a flicker of aversion and distaste flashed in their eyes.  

Even though this thing could extract information, no investigator would willingly use it unless they had no other choice.  

Sometimes, it made them feel like they were no different from the criminals they pursued.  

Fortunately, the members of the Starwatch Squad were highly cooperative, readily sharing everything they knew.  

They revealed three key pieces of information: the current influence of the Secret Church mainly lay with Black Poker and the Kamui Tribe; the previous conflict between the Outsider and the Secret Church; and finally, that a young man named Ranen was actually an incarnation of an evil god.  

To be honest, if they weren’t worried about arousing suspicion, the Starwatch Squad would have loved to lay out every major event on the forums for these people. But that would make them seem far too informed—too suspicious—so they chose to reveal things little by little.  

In the end, Destiny is in My Hands gritted his teeth and added one more theory that had once circulated on the forums:  

“We suspect that this so-called incarnation of an evil god was actually the final gatekeeper who stopped the Outsider’s’ plan.”  

“The gatekeeper… huh.” Job murmured. “That does sound worth investigating.”  

At that moment, the Starwatch Squad finally heard the system notification they had been dreaming of.  

[Triggered Chain Quest—The Truth of the Secret Church.]  

[Objective: The Investigation Bureau has begun to doubt the existence of the Secret Church and has launched an investigation into this mysterious entity. Assist the Bureau in uncovering its secrets.]

[First Stage: Black Poker.]

[Quest Difficulty: Dangerous. Please proceed with caution.]  

A chain quest at last!  

The Starwatch Squad’s eyes lit up instantly.  

Ever since the last patch update, the game had introduced a quest difficulty ranking alongside quest categories. There were now five levels: “Normal,” “Dangerous,” “Extremely Dangerous,” “Hell,” and “Nightmare.”  

And the very first stage of this chain quest was already at the “Dangerous” level. That meant the difficulty would only increase from here!  

Everyone knew that the more dangerous a quest was, the better its rewards.  

While those who had joined the Secret Church were still grinding their faction dailies, they had already secured a quest with insane rewards!  

What did this mean? It meant they had made the right choice!  

“Can we go with you?” Destiny is in My Hands asked.

Job looked up at them, smiled, and said, “Of course, since you’re the ones who provided the intel.”  

If someone had to take the fall, naturally, it should be them first.  

“Edie.”  

“I know, I’m already looking into it.” Edie’s fingers moved swiftly over the keyboard. “The Kamui Tribe doesn’t use electronic devices often, and there aren’t many surveillance cameras in their district either, so there’s very little data available. I suggest we start with Black Poker instead.”  

“Ah, found something.”  

“Based on the intel these guys provided,” Edie glanced at the Starwatch Squad, who were practically vibrating with excitement, “there was indeed a period of unrest in Arkham recently. The cause? Several underground gang leaders and members attended a banquet hosted by Black Poker, only to end up dead. Even Black Poker’s previous leader perished that night under unknown circumstances.”  

The woman with glasses pondered aloud, “A purge… or internal betrayal?”  

“Most likely, it was an attack from an anomalous force. Edmund’s Bureau squad also participated in the investigation at the time. They found traces of what seemed to be a D-level anomaly—some kind of ghoul. But their skills were lacking, so they didn’t manage to uncover anything useful.” Edie shrugged.  

Job mused, “So this was essentially the first direct clash between the Outsider and the Secret Church?”  

Edie said, “All surveillance footage from that banquet night has already been wiped. Purely electronic methods won’t be able to recover it.”  

With that, he pressed the Enter key decisively.  

A screenshot appeared on the computer screen.  

It seemed to be an image extracted from surveillance footage—somewhat blurry, but still clear enough to make out the profile of a sharp-featured man with black hair, his expression cold and severe. He was stepping out of a black sedan, flanked by men in black suits on either side, their posture suggesting they were shielding him from potential gunfire.  

This was the current boss of Black Poker—Karens.  

“I suggest we go straight to the source.”