“I know this request is very difficult, but I believe that you brave and generous Continental Wanderers can accomplish it.”

As soon as Xie Shuangxue said this, the sense of a hidden quest became even more evident. He noticed that a few players’ eyes lit up with excitement, nodding continuously, but that wasn’t the end of it. They stood there, looking at him expectantly, glancing at their hands and then at the empty space in front of them as if waiting for something.

Xie Shuangxue knew what they were waiting for. After all, this is a game, and if he truly wanted the players to follow his instructions, there had to be a quest panel to make it official, proving it wasn’t just some random words from an NPC.

After all, the quest required the submission of five rare items, which meant top-tier, golden-grade materials for the players. Even if some of them could gather such items and were willing to part with them for Yun Ruowei’s sake, they’d still need a bit of assurance.

When Xie Shuangxue was crouched in the middle of the formation earlier, he’d already thought about this issue; he was worried about the task panel. But how on earth could he manage that?

Recalling his experiences during the testing phase, Xie Shuangxue remembered that his settings did allow him to issue tasks to players, a rare interactive feature between him and them. However, that was supposed to come later, not now…

While he was pondering deeply, he glanced at his wrist and saw the light there once again. He’d already learned that this light allowed him to alter the storyline—in essence, it let him modify SEA’s settings.

If he could change the plot, why couldn’t he issue a quest? At its core, these things were related.

Since the game had launched, the light he had accumulated from player interest was incomparable to what he’d had before. He wasn’t in a position to save up every scrap of light like tossing pebbles one by one. Plus, in the original plot, he didn’t have any significant role here, which meant he had relative freedom. His actions now would consume much less light, similar to the test space he’d previously been in. There was plenty of surplus.

Might as well give it a try. Anyway, he figured, “the wool comes from the sheep’s back.”

Having a quest interface was also advantageous for Xie Shuangxue; it allowed him to track who completed the quest. These players were important to him—he didn’t plan to just use them and toss them aside. Before he emerged from the center of the formation, he had already been consuming light to create a quest interface.

He’d seen the quest interface players posted on the forum, so he made one that looked the same, set the task acceptance range, and attempted to connect with the players…

That’s what he thought and did, step by step.

The players had no idea that ever since Xie Shuangxue had run out of the bamboo grove, every scene was meticulously set up by him to make them believe that this formation was challenging and that he alone had the ability to unlock it, then lured them to this relatively quiet spot, leading them step by step to take on his so-called “hidden quest.”

By the time he led them here, Xie Shuangxue already had a rough prototype of the quest interface ready, which is why he dared to make his offer.

The players didn’t wait too long before they heard the “ding” sound of a new quest being triggered. They saw the quest interface slowly becoming clearer, but right at the critical moment, Xie Shuangxue hit a roadblock.

His heart tightened as the quest panel in front of him started flickering.

From the players’ perspective, they also saw the quest panel flickering, flashing in and out of view, making it impossible to read the content.

What’s going on?

Qiao Zhihui exchanged a glance with his guild leader Shi Jiu Jianghu, confirming that everyone was seeing the same thing.

He still had his livestream on, broadcasting his individual quest interface, so both the viewers and the streamer saw the flickering quest panel.

“Is it stuck? Didn’t SEA just upgrade? How is it lagging with just this few people?”

“A hidden quest, huh? There haven’t been many hidden quests since Gods and Demons launched; maybe the system didn’t respond in time.”

“Let it stay stuck for a bit—I’m almost there! These guards are barely slowing m—”

“Brother upstairs… see you at the respawn point.”

“It’s really stuck,” Qiao Zhihui confirmed, lifting his arm to test it out. “The player interface is running smoothly, so it’s likely a problem with quest issuance.”

While Qiao Zhihui was speaking, he glanced at his stream’s viewership, which had hit a new high that night. He was planning to end the stream earlier, but first, he followed an unknown “great god” straight to the City Lord’s Mansion’s center, then streamed the three legendary guild leaders’ quarrel. And now, a hidden quest appeared. Just by following Xie Shuangxue, his career was on a never-ending upward trajectory!

How could he not be his precious little lucky koi?

Looking up, he saw Xie Shuangxue, who, after speaking, stood in place, his smile almost frozen. With such a valuable hidden quest, the players didn’t dare move around recklessly and waited there anxiously.

Curse this trash system for holding his precious back!

In a way, he was spot on.

Xie Shuangxue, frozen in place, knew very well this wasn’t system lag. After repeated modifications, he had finally reached the bottom line with SEA. His adjustments had gone deeper and deeper, inevitably reaching this point.

The light on Xie Shuangxue’s hand kept depleting, and it seemed like he could even hear an alarm ringing in his ears, as if he was in a tug-of-war with the system. This was why the players were seeing the quest interface flash on and off.

His stored light was limited, and he felt the pressure from the system wasn’t subsiding. He urgently thought of a remedy, but if it continued like this, he’d have to…

Just then, he heard a voice from behind.

“What, no one’s taking the quest?”

His right hand, holding a black mask, trembled slightly. That person brushed past him, nudging him lightly on the shoulder. Standing right next to him, the person spoke again, “I’d be more than happy to help out.”

In that moment, Xie Shuangxue felt a surge of energy. As this person’s hand touched him, a ball of light moved from them to him.

He didn’t even need to look back to know who it was.

This person’s light was different from everyone else’s. He’d noticed before—its silver glow was much stronger, likely due to its unique source, being a system privilege.

It had been evident during the tug-of-war with the system—the light from player attention burned quickly, while the one gathered from the authority channel held strong, maintaining his ground without letting him crash.

This new light entered his wrist and was consumed instantly, rather than stored.

The quest interface stabilized at last, and the task details and rewards became clear.

The task description was mostly the same as what Xie Shuangxue had said, but aside from the lead on Yun Panshan, there was an extra reward:

[Positive Bond Value with Xie Shuangxue +5].

In Gods and Demons, the Bond Value is similar to a favorability score, divided into positive and negative points. Once players interact with a particular faction or NPC, the Bond Value activates, like in the Penglai City quest, where players who completed it earned +5 positive Bond Value with the Feather Clan.

Accumulate enough points, and you could exchange them with the Feather Clan for special game items. But this time, the Bond Value was linked to Xie Shuangxue himself?

What good would that do?

He didn’t seem to have anything players could exchange for.

Qiao Zhihui was the fastest to react, relying on unconditional trust in his little koi. As soon as the quest frame stabilized, he accepted the task before he even clearly saw the rewards and soon received the quest confirmation. Moments later, he heard a complaint from nearby.

“This quest actually has a player limit, I couldn’t get in!”

“And the rewards are a bit…”

“Well, it’s a lead on Yun Ruowei, so maybe the big rewards come later.”

Since Xie Shuangxue only needed five rare items, the quest was limited to five participants. Looking at the task interface, Qiao Zhihui saw the names of the other four players.

The guild leaders Bai Qiuyan, Shi Jiu Jianghu, and Cherry Tomato reacted swiftly, accepting the quest almost simultaneously with Qiao Zhihui. One other name was at the top of the list—Jiu.

At some point, Jiu Shen had shown up beside Xie Shuangxue.

Those nearby were briefly stunned to see him. Bai Qiuyan had been searching for him for a long time, so upon seeing him, he tentatively greeted him, “Jiu Shen, are you back for good?”

“Just playing the game,” Jiu Shen replied. “With a hidden quest, of course I had to take a look.”

To be honest, after seeing the rewards, Bai Qiuyan had considered ignoring Xie Shuangxue and completing the quest on his own. It wasn’t about those rare materials; the rewards for this preliminary hidden quest weren’t very appealing, and he wanted to monopolize Yun Ruowei’s lead rather than share it with others.

He figured Shi Jiu Jianghu and Cherry Tomato were thinking the same thing. It wasn’t unheard of for players to bypass the game settings—so what was an NPC to them?

But with Jiu Shen in the party, things were different. If he was here, the quest probably wasn’t as simple as it seemed.

Better just to go through with it.

If this quest had a follow-up, Jiu Shen would be there. His presence alone would make any investment worth it.

Meanwhile, Xie Shuangxue’s emotions were far from calm.

Only he knew it was the light from this person that had helped him suppress SEA’s alert. Perhaps this was the power of “privilege,” as if this hidden store of power was even greater than he had imagined.

But why would he help?

He recalled what happened with Ling Luo—this wasn’t the first time this person had helped. Through the half-mask, Xie Shuangxue couldn’t quite read his intentions.

Everyone had their own plans, yet Qiao Zhihui’s focus remained misplaced.

Accepting the quest could be done from the task interface, so why stand so close to his precious little koi?

Even if you’re Jiu Shen, that doesn’t mean you can do whatever you want!

Just as he was plotting how to separate the two, Xie Shuangxue naturally took a step back and said to them, “Since everyone has agreed, I’ll send you all back. Once you’ve gathered what I need, please come find me at the Feather Clan base.”

Originally, the players were prepared to camp out here for the night, but with the appearance of a hidden quest, there was no need to stay any longer.

Leaving was more difficult than coming, and even Bai Qiuyan planned to sacrifice some city credit and respawn back in town. However, to his surprise, Xie Shuangxue genuinely went out of his way to escort them, drawing the guards’ attention and clearing an escape route for the players.

For people like Bai Qiuyan, Gods and Demons was all about competitive play. It had been a while since anyone shielded him like this. Before leaving, he glanced back at Xie Shuangxue, who, although pale, had a bright look in his eyes. Despite the plain black night outfit, he cut a striking figure—quite the noticeable young man.

Sensing his gaze, Xie Shuangxue turned to look at him, saying something he couldn’t hear. But reading his lips, it seemed to be, “Be careful.”

A gust of wind blew, and the lantern light swayed. Soon, there was no trace of him; the sight of that boy had vanished like a fleeting dream.

Xie Shuangxue’s paleness was real—he was exhausted after his struggle with the system. He didn’t plan to resolve the formation until the next day.

There was no way he could do it tonight; his actions had been spontaneous, without thorough preparation. Issuing the quest was a last-minute idea, and even NPCs weren’t endlessly powerful. Even if the players brought him what he needed now, Xie Shuangxue wouldn’t be able to break the formation tonight; it would take too much out of him.

Besides, there were plenty of mysteries he hadn’t unraveled himself.

After he sent the players out, his mysterious “energy supply” companion vanished without a trace.

Tonight was bound to be anything but peaceful.

As soon as Yu Haiqing took off his helmet and logged out of the game, he heard the “beep beep” sound of his communicator.

When he checked, unsurprisingly, it was a message from Gou Yuan.

“Big news, President Yu, SEA triggered an alert!”

“The game bugged out, and we’re still investigating the cause.”

“Uh, the alert just stopped. SEA’s no longer giving an error message; everything appears normal.”

“No, wait, the planning team is still investigating the error. We didn’t set up a hidden quest; something went off track!”

“It’s already gone live; the forums are buzzing. We tried an emergency fix, but SEA refused.”

A string of messages, arranged by time from top to bottom, made it easy for Yu Haiqing to see his emotional shifts.

SEA wasn’t the same anymore. Anything that it didn’t approve of would be blocked before appearing in the game. If it did make it into the players’ view, that meant SEA had accepted it.

Yu Haiqing replied with four words: “It’s fine. Don’t worry.”

He knew the game system he’d designed; it wasn’t so fragile. Gou Yuan was just overly nervous. Thinking it over, he added another line: “I’m aware and already made adjustments.”

Though the adjustment direction was likely not what Gou Yuan had in mind.

After replying, Yu Haiqing didn’t dwell on it further. He switched from the communication screen to the game forums, which automatically directed him to Xie Shuangxue’s dedicated thread.