The sky of the City of Intrigue always seemed to be gray.

It had nothing to do with the weather or the time of day.

Even though it was afternoon, the light was dim, like a cloudy evening.

But there was no rain, no clouds.

Gu Chi and Ling Mao stood on the street outside the hospital, chatting and looking up at the sky. They could see the sun directly with their eyes.

It seemed like there was a shadow blocking the sky, preventing the city from being illuminated by even the brightest sunlight.

"The weather has been really nice lately."

"Yeah, it's been a while since I've seen such a beautiful sky."

Passersby called this kind of weather "beautiful".

But in Gu Chi's eyes, it was not as beautiful as Ling Mao, who was wearing a gray pajama suit.

Not long after, Dr. Chen came out of the hospital, holding a stack of money in his hand.

It seemed like he made a lot of money from selling blood.

Dr. Chen changed into a white coat and wore a light blue shirt with a pink plaid tie. He also wore pink pants and shiny white leather shoes. He was quite stylish.

Ling Mao couldn't help but laugh when she saw him.

Gu Chi raised an eyebrow and said, "Are you treating the hospital like a shopping mall?"

Dr. Chen handed the money to Gu Chi and said, "As long as you have this, anywhere can be a shopping mall."

Not only a shopping mall, but also a place with live models.

His outfit was pieced together from four live models, and he managed to put together a style he liked.

Gu Chi: "..."

No wonder Chen Tiantian wore stockings so naturally. Gender may change, but some things deep inside won't.

Half an hour later.

Gu Chi and the other two arrived at a real shopping mall.

They had bought formal attire for the evening ball, and now they were walking to the Christine Rose Club. They attracted a lot of attention along the way.

Aside from their eye-catching outfits, all three of them had high charm points.

Gu Chi's charm points were naturally high, with 9.2 points for his lipstick.

Ling Mao had 8.1 points, also thanks to her lipstick.

Dr. Chen's charm points were slightly lower, at exactly 7 points, but he was still quite charming!

Dressed in pink and white, he attracted even more attention than Gu Chi.

Ling Mao felt relaxed at this moment. She occasionally glanced at the men around her and felt good. She found a topic to chat with Gu Chi, "I feel like the Weird Rules here are easier than the Blood Mist Zone."

No crying— a safer way to put it would be "no shedding tears."

Gu Chi wasn't sure if tears caused by various accidents would trigger the Weird Rules. After all, Le Ge hadn't tried it, so he had no way of knowing. In any case, it was best to avoid crying in any situation and not do anything foolish.

Le Ge, of course, didn't die either. Everything happened in a dream, and the real Le Ge was still in a deep sleep. After Gu Chi finished questioning him, he woke him up, confiscated his tools, and let him do whatever he wanted.

The Weird Rules that prohibited crying seemed simpler than the ones that prohibited speaking. Most people only cry a few times in their lifetime, let alone players?

Gu Chi looked at his own achievements and agreed with Ling Mao's judgment, "You're right, the Spirit Realm is a piece of cake."

Seeing Gu Chi so confident, Dr. Chen couldn't help but think of the scene last night when someone turned off the lights. He looked at Gu Chi suspiciously and said, "You're not going to cause trouble again, are you?"

"How is that possible?" Gu Chi firmly denied something that hadn't happened yet. "I'm a serious player, don't make baseless accusations."

Dr. Chen rolled his eyes and thought to himself, "If you're serious, then I must be Chen Tiantian."

...

7 o'clock in the evening.

With Andrew's invitation, Gu Chi and the others entered the venue under the guidance of the receptionist.

As Chu Tiankuo had said, every era had its own capital. The Christine Rose Club was more like a mansion than a club.

This gathering of almost all the wealthy people in the City of Intrigue was not held in a specific floor of the mansion, but outside on the lawn adorned with flowers.

It was an open-air ball.

Not far from the entrance, there was a familiar round fountain and a woman whose skirt was wet from the fountain.

"That woman must have something." Dr. Chen also noticed the fountain statue, which was the same as the one in the Blood Mist Zone square. He then commented, "The carving technique is so bad, you can't even see the facial features. I could do better."

As a psychiatrist, he was quite skilled with a knife.

Handsome old men and elegant ladies walked in groups of two or three on the lawn, chatting and laughing, behaving appropriately.

Next to them was a pure black grand piano, and a young man in a tuxedo with neatly combed hair was playing the keys, producing a gentle and pleasant melody that enhanced the elegant and comfortable atmosphere.

Andrew, holding a glass of red wine, saw Gu Chi and the others, nodded with a smile, raised his glass, and gestured for them to relax.

There was no host for this ball, and there was no need for one. Everyone was already in the same circle and familiar with each other. It was just a regular gathering to maintain relationships, and being too formal would ruin the beauty of it.

Whether you wanted to talk business with someone, discuss any topic, or delve into academic matters, as long as the other party was willing, there was no problem.

The three of them found a round table and sat down to discuss their plans.

They didn't attend the ball just to have fun. As Andrew had mentioned, there were many shadows in the city, and Gu Chi saw them all as side quests. There might be important information about the main quest hidden in these shadows.

And he wasn't the only one who thought so— while observing the NPCs, Gu Chi noticed several familiar faces.

In addition to them, some players also came to the ball, including the high ponytail girl who fed herself medicine. Tonight, she let her hair down and wore a beautiful moon-white dress, adding a touch of maturity to her charm.

Dr. Chen suddenly stood up with his glass.

Gu Chi: "What are you doing?"

Dr. Chen: "Gathering information."

Gu Chi: "Have you found your target?"Dr. Chen looked around and pointed at several beautiful women, "Her, her, her... and her. They are all so beautiful, they must have a lot of information about the shadows."

Gu Chi: "..."

Ling Mao: "..."

Noticing their strange looks, Dr. Chen coughed and explained, "I have my reasons."

"Beautiful women are usually popular and people in high society value etiquette. They like to be polite and won't reject others with a cold face. They will chat with anyone."

"With more interactions, they naturally know more things. It's not wrong to ask them for information."

Gu Chi: "..."

It actually sounds reasonable.

What a joke! Just flirt with girls, no need to pretend to be serious... Ling Mao silently mocked in her heart. She couldn't be bothered to expose Chen Tiantian.

"I'll go."

Dr. Chen said, "Just wait for my message."

After speaking, he confidently walked towards a beautiful woman sitting alone at the next table.

Who knows what he said, but with just a few words, he made the woman tremble with excitement. Dr. Chen put down his glass at the right moment, slightly bowed, and extended his hand to the woman, gaining his first dance partner for the night.

No, it's the first piece of information!

Seeing this, Ling Mao also felt eager to try.

But she didn't want to gather information about the shadows, she wanted to gather information about Gu Chi.

She had been thinking about it since the afternoon.

A ball is a great opportunity to build friendships.

Although she couldn't dance, it wouldn't hurt to step on Gu Chi's shoes!

Ling Mao secretly watched Gu Chi, her fingers entwined under the table, thinking about the most suitable reason to invite him.

Should she say it's just for fun, or to experience Western-style socializing?

He wouldn't refuse, right?

Ling Mao was a bit conflicted.

This conflict lasted for almost half an hour.

Meanwhile, Gu Chi was waiting.

Waiting for a sudden event.

This scene was somewhat similar to the Sword Trial.

In Gu Chi's game logic, the "ball" itself was also a plot. Resolving the shadows was one of the keys to unlocking this plot. Other players who attended the ball should have completed similar side quests to receive the invitation.

And gathering players together in this way couldn't be just about drinking and dancing. Something else was bound to happen.

Without any surprises, it should be related to the Weird Rules here.

Finding clues in the Spirit Realm was not as easy as Ling Mao had imagined.

You can cry, but others can't.

Gu Chi probably already guessed the direction of the plot, but after observing for a while, he didn't see anyone showing abnormal emotions.

Everyone was smiling. Are they going to perform a face-changing act later?

Or did he guess wrong?

At this moment, Gu Chi was like a camera standing in the corner, capturing everything that should and shouldn't be captured.

He also noticed several security personnel outside with gun holsters around their waists, but considering the good public security in the City of Intrigue, it seemed normal, right?

After all, everyone present was the upper class of this city, and safety was very important.

A few more minutes passed.

Several players had gained something.

Dr. Chen naturally had as well.

He had already changed dance partners twice.

Ling Mao finally made up her mind and stood up with courage, ready to invite Gu Chi for a dance.

But just at that moment...

"Ah!!"

A scream shattered the pleasant atmosphere of the ball.

Everyone turned to look.

They saw an old man in a deep blue suit with a red bowtie, twitching on the ground. He looked older with gray hair and a thick mustache. Below the gray mustache were dry and wrinkled lips without any color.

A woman who was chatting nearby saw this scene and dropped her glass, spilling the red liquid on the lawn. Her gaze was blank for a moment, then she rushed over, squatting down and holding the man's shoulders.

"Father!"

"What's wrong with you, father?"

"Don't scare me!"

Andrew hurriedly approached and asked the young man beside him, "What happened?"

"I... I don't know..." The man seemed scared too and stuttered, "I was just discussing math problems with Professor Cliff. But suddenly, he fainted..."

Andrew: "?"

"You were discussing math at the ball?"

"I... I wanted to please the professor..." The young man realized the seriousness of the situation and didn't dare to hide his little scheme anymore. Before becoming a business tycoon, Cliff was a math teacher. He liked being called "Professor" and enjoyed discussing math with others because it made him appear knowledgeable and scholarly.

Andrew: "..."

So discussing academics was really just discussing academics, huh?

Professor Cliff's daughter, Anna, covered her mouth and her voice trembled with a hint of crying, "Please, save my father!"

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"I will do my best." Dr. Chen solemnly said, "You go rest for a while and don't disturb me while I'm saving him."

"Okay, okay!" Anna was helped up by Andrew and walked to the side.

Ling Mao asked Gu Chi in surprise, "Can Dr. Chen actually save people?"

Gu Chi fell silent.

Based on his understanding of Dr. Chen...

It's hard to say.As a psychiatrist, it seemed reasonable for him to know a thing or two.

People gradually gathered around, all looking at Dr. Chen nervously, harboring a glimmer of hope.

Especially Andrew.

He knew about the miraculous abilities of Dr. Chen and his team.

This man even wore a white coat to a dance party, suggesting that his medical skills were quite remarkable. Shouldn't it be no problem for him to temporarily save Cliff's life?

The players also turned their attention to Dr. Chen.

Dr. Chen's rescue method looked very professional, and he seemed quite confident. Could he really save an NPC who was destined to die?

Under the expectant and nervous gazes of everyone, Dr. Chen rhythmically performed a set of cardiopulmonary resuscitation on Cliff.

Then he slowly got up and walked over to An Na.

With a push of his foot, he did two backflips on the spot.

Everyone: "?"

What was he doing?

Dr. Chen said, "I'm sorry."

"I couldn't save your father, but I can save you."

Andrew: "?"

The players: "??"

An Na: "???"

Ling Mao: "......"

Gu Chi: "......"

"Father!!" An Na was about to burst into tears, but would Dr. Chen give her the chance?

Cliff's death was a plot kill, which other players could see, and he naturally could see it too.

With this sudden heart attack and Asperger's syndrome-like symptoms, he would be a fool to try to save him.

But at this time, he had to step forward. Otherwise, once Cliff was confirmed dead, An Na would cry and turn into an Evil Spirit, and the situation would be hard to handle.

He pretended to save Cliff and symbolically performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on him to buy time - he needed this time to assess the situation.

Dr. Chen was not a newbie in the Pure Land. When he realized it was a plot kill, his first reaction was to knock out An Na, or even kill her. With his abilities, he could completely do this, making An Na unable to cry even if she wanted to.

But the problem was, was there a second "An Na"?

What if he knocked out An Na and another person related to Cliff started crying?

The game was tricky, and he had to consider an extra layer.

So while Dr. Chen was saving Cliff, he was subtly observing the emotions of the people around him.

After confirming that there was no problem, he made his move on An Na - you thought I was messing around? Actually, I was being careful!

Facing An Na's sorrowful shout, Dr. Chen swiftly made his move, a karate chop to the back of An Na's neck, causing her voice to abruptly stop. She fainted and fell to the ground, right where the wine glass had fallen earlier.

The red wine soaked An Na's dress like blood.

At this time, Dr. Chen was still on guard, watching the crowd vigilantly, striving for perfection.

But he didn't expect the unconscious Professor Cliff to suddenly wake up. He clutched his chest, and as soon as he opened his eyes, he saw An Na lying motionless on the blood-red grass. His wrinkled eyes instantly filled with tears, and he cried out in grief, "No! An Na! My daughter!!"

Dr. Chen: "???"

He had been on guard for anyone possibly turning into an Evil Spirit.

He just didn't expect Cliff to suddenly play dead and turn into a ghost himself.

An extremely cold aura erupted from Professor Cliff.

Dr. Chen: "......"

He only had one question in his mind now.

Who did this game learn this playing dead trick from?

......

4400 words in one big chapter! (That's it for today, if there's more, consider it a bonus~)

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(End of this chapter)