I went berserk in the game of gods.

Chapter 160 Reunion, Immortal-grade Cultivation Technique Imminent

at the same time.

Purgatory Hunting Grounds.

Zhou Qian, accompanied by her secretary, arrived at the VIP lounge and knocked on the door.

On the other side of the door was someone the Huanyu Group was trying its best to win over—the winner of this month's competition.

The recruitment task was assigned to her by Manager Bai Yu.

A faint smile appeared on Zhou Qian's lips.

She brought more than just the second and third place prizes; she also received 50 evolution points temporarily approved by Supervisor Bai Yu, and a B-grade item.

Of course, such benefits alone are certainly not enough to attract such talent.

These are just small gifts to gain the other party's initial favor.

The fact that the Huanyu Group is showing such high regard for a D-level player right from the start... if everything goes smoothly, the recruitment plan is almost halfway to success.

The next step was for the other party to meet with Manager Bai Yu and finalize the contract details.

Manager Bai is a magnanimous person.

Huanyu Group is incredibly extravagant.

The other party will most likely be unable to resist such temptation.

Successful recruitment is within reach.

However, Zhou Qian sneered inwardly.

She knew that this "initial goodwill creation strategy" was destined to fail.

Because... she is from one of the eighteen families.

She promised that once inside, she would verbally provoke the other party, thoroughly offend them, and then reveal the slave contract she had drafted without her consent.

The other party definitely won't sign.

She would seize the opportunity to accuse him of "looking down on Huanyu Group" and directly teach him a lesson... Such a player with super potential would not tolerate her bad temper and would definitely retaliate.

She was prepared to seize the opportunity to sacrifice herself and make the matter escalate completely.

Therefore, she arranged for the security team to be deployed here in advance.

'Although I'm very sorry, but... someone as excellent a pawn as you, offering yourself up for sale, hehe, who could resist taking advantage of that?'

Despite her malicious intent, Zhou Qian maintained a polite smile.

Soon, her smile crumbled—no one answered her knocking.

Zhou Qian knocked again, but still no one responded.

A bad feeling immediately arose in her heart. Ignoring all etiquette, she kicked the door open and went inside.

The lounge was empty.

Two chess pieces are placed on the ground.

The target she was trying to "recruit" has disappeared.

Zhou Qian's face instantly darkened:
"What's going on...!?"

……

"Grass!"

"What the hell is wrong with him?! He wouldn't even take the money you offered him for free, he just ran away... Is he out of his mind?!"

"You bastard! Don't let me ever see you again!!"

Inside the manager's office at the Beast Hunter Casino, Wang Lun seemed to have lost his composure, cursing loudly with a grim expression.

Zhou Qian had secretly reported Cao Yu's escape to him.

Good news, Zhou Qian hasn't been exposed, so this piece can still be used.

Bad news, he's been "exposed".

Manager Bai Yu had no idea that his true identity was that of a spy sent by the eighteen families.

From Bai Yu's perspective, he was an internal traitor who betrayed the eighteen families after being recruited by the Huanyu Group.

Now he has taken the initiative to report Cao Yu's information to Bai Yu, and "delayed" the time to inform the eighteen families.

In Bai Yu's eyes, he is a "hero".

Although the recruitment plan failed due to an accident, his "efforts" were genuine.

He couldn't stay at the hunting grounds any longer.

Because the eighteen families will definitely "take revenge" on him.

He must flee now and accept the protection of the Huanyu Group; this is the only logical course of action.

If he hadn't run away, even a fool like Bai Yu would have realized that something was wrong with him.

"Damn it...!!"

Wang Lun was absolutely furious.

He worked at the hunting grounds for over a decade, and also went undercover for over a decade.

It could be said that he risked his life just to get a chance to scheme against the Huanyu Group.

He used this opportunity, making a huge sacrifice, but in the end... he accomplished nothing and did nothing at all.

What a beast!

It took Wang Lun a good ten minutes to finally manage to compose himself.

After contacting the person in charge of the eighteen families stationed in Beast Hunting City, he reported the matter.

"Mr. Sha Xun, I have failed..."

On the other side, the man known as Mr. Sha Xun pondered for a moment after listening to the report.

Then he said:

You now have two choices.

First, follow Bai Yu's instructions and officially join the Huanyu Group to continue being our inside man. However, the persona you present to them is that of a low-potential individual craving a 'player retirement spot,' so they probably won't give you much responsibility.

Secondly, I'll arrange an assassination to 'get rid of' you, and you'll work for the Alliance in the shadows from now on. The Li Ren family is currently busy with important matters assigned to them by their superiors and is short-handed; I'll arrange for you to go there.

"Considering how many years you've infiltrated the alliance, I won't make things difficult for you. Whichever you choose, I'll offer you some support."

“Mr. Sha Xun, I choose the second one.”

Wang Lun gave his answer without much hesitation.

“Okay,” Mr. Sha Xun said, “Go to Hongyan Manor tonight to familiarize yourself with the place. I’ll let Hua Fu know you’ll be receiving you…”

After ending the call.

Wang Lun let out a breath, his pale face not having recovered much.

The Noble Alliance has secretly cultivated many loyal henchmen, and he is one of them.

Cao Yu's absconding has caused all the resources the alliance invested in him to go to waste...

"Hmph... If we meet again, it'll be a personal matter!"

……

7 p.m.

Beast Hunting City West District.

In a private room at a high-end restaurant near Station No. 2, Cao Yu met up with the three Xu sisters and Shen Luoyan.

To avoid trouble, Cao Yu once again asked Shen Luoyan to change his appearance.

The face he used when he participated in the hunting competition has already become a viral sensation.

Continuing to act with that face will inevitably lead to being recognized and causing a series of troubles.

Fortunately, his system only focused on his own karma when reaping reputation, so changing his aliases didn't affect anything. "Brother, on my way here, I watched some clips of today's beast hunting competition livestream," Xu Yueluo said to Cao Yu with a grin. "Brother actually won first place by a landslide with ease and even broke the historical points record... Brother is amazing!"

As she spoke, her eyes seemed to sparkle with admiration, radiating genuine adoration and maximizing her emotional impact.

"I've been wanting to get rid of Wan Ting for ages!" Xu Yuechu gave Cao Yu an approving look: "That was a great fight! You should have stomped on Wan Ting's face a few more times and broken her nose, then we'd see how she'd ever look down on people again."

Cao Yu: "..."

Wan Ting is really annoying. Not only does Princess Yuzhen dislike her, but even Xu Yuechu, who didn't go to the hunting grounds, has the same feeling... It seems that looking down on people is very displeasing to passersby.

"This competition was a bit bloody."

Xu Yuexuan voiced a different opinion:
"With your strength, Demon Lord, you could have won the competition beautifully... No, it's normal for Demon Lord to do things differently."

She suddenly realized her mistake and apologized to Cao Yu:
"I apologize, I almost looked at you as an ordinary person. I was being too superficial."

"..." Cao Yu poured her a glass of water and reminded her, "Drink more water and talk less. The Empress's words should not be spoken lightly, just as the law should not be passed on lightly. Otherwise, what difference is there between the Empress and an ordinary person?"

"Hmm... The Demon Lord's insights are unique." Empress Yuexuan nodded slightly: "I have noted it down."

"Junior, I never realized you were the kind of person who liked to show off."

Shen Luoyan looked at Cao Yu with a hint of suspicion in her eyes.

Someone as cautious as Cao Yu shouldn't be so ostentatious unless absolutely necessary.

However, she didn't pursue the matter further.

Just as Cao Yu never pried into her secrets, this was a tacit understanding between the two.

"The rewards for the hunting competition are generous; why not take them?"

Cao Yu casually offered an explanation and then moved on from the topic:

"Alright, let's talk about this later. You spent the whole day investigating at Red Beauty Manor, did you gather any evidence? Is the suspicion about the Li Ren family in the mission information true?"

Although they made a fortune from the Purgatory Hunting Grounds and are not short of money for the time being.

But who would complain about having too much money?
You still have to fight for it if you want to.

Consider it a team-building trip.

After hearing Cao Yu's question, Shen Luoyan and the other three exchanged glances. Finally, Xu Yueluo organized her thoughts and answered:

"Brother, things are a bit complicated. Crimson Manor is indeed one of the assets of the Li Ren family in Division 002. The owner of the manor is named Waffle Li Ren, a B-rank demi-human player and one of the high-ranking members of the Li Ren family..."

In short, after our investigation, we found no overt evidence that the Liren family was running a slave farm.

We only uncovered the network of relationships that Hua Fu had built through the transfer of benefits, and deduced that he might indeed be up to something, and something big at that…”

As Xu Yueluo recounted her story in detail, Cao Yu gradually glimpsed a vast network of power and relationships.

Hua Fu, the owner of Crimson Manor, secretly transferred benefits and formed close ties with many forces in Beast Hunting City, including the official transportation bureau of Beast Hunting City, multiple gene research companies, a large number of local families, and the managers of Purgatory Beast Hunting Grounds... The Li Ren family is only a small family, and this is not something a small family can do.

"...Because of the Purgatory Beast Hunting Grounds, the 002 Division has the second largest number of mobile players in the 09 node, second only to the Heavenly Illusion City."

Xu Yueluo continued:
"If we're going to run a slave trade, location in Sector 002 is indeed very suitable. We focused our investigation on player disappearances, and the results..."

She exclaimed in surprise:

"You won't know until you investigate, and what you find will shock you. Every year, a large number of foreign demi-human players go missing in Division 002. Because they don't involve locals, these cases are suppressed by various forces."

The forces that overshadow such cases are basically all within the network of interests that Hua Fu has built.

Brother, do you think this is a coincidence?

"You already have the answer, don't you?" Cao Yu asked instead of answering.

"Yes."

Xu Yueluo said firmly:

"The Li Ren family is definitely a front man for some large power... oh, it seems more appropriate to call them a black man."

This family is indeed running a slave farm... no, judging from the fact that the forces they've been channeling their profits to include major gene research companies, they're probably doing more than just a slave farm; they're very likely also conducting some kind of human experimentation.

The missing players were mostly demi-human players; based on this, it's possible the Li Ren family is developing a new bloodline injection.

"This is a damn big fish!" Xu Yuechu joined the conversation: "To continuously supply profits and maintain his clandestine network, Hua Fu must be holding a huge amount of cash flow. If we just rob him, we could conservatively estimate we'd get millions of evolution points. If we could directly control Hua Fu... I can't even imagine how much money we could steal!"

"Brother, we're not the only players who accepted this investigation mission."

Xu Yueluo reminded Cao Yu:

"If we wait for other players to investigate and bring the evidence back to Bureau 09, then... given the huge commotion the Li Ren family has caused, Bureau 09 will definitely send A-level players to carry out a cleanup operation. If that happens, the Li Ren family's money will be out of our reach. So we've made our decision!"

She said firmly:

"We absolutely must take the Li Ren family! If you don't participate, brother, we'll find new allies in No Return City. We're determined to take them this time!"

"No wonder he's a man who never returns to the city..." Cao Yu said with a sigh.

"You guys have some nerve. The Li Ren family is a black glove, the forces behind them are still unknown, everything is a mystery... and you've already decided to rob them?"

"Hehe... The fact that the Li Ren family's backers are doing this kind of sneaky thing shows that they can't stand the light of day."

Xu Yueluo smiled softly:
"We hide our identities to rob, and as soon as we're done, we report it to Bureau 09 with the evidence. Then the rest of the struggle is no longer our concern."

Bureau 09 is not simply a local official organization; it has the obligation to maintain the stability and healthy development of the 09 node. It is because of this obligation that the game company allocates valuable resources to the higher-ups of the 09 node… In short, if anyone reports something, Bureau 09 will definitely take action.

The Li Ren family and the forces behind them are almost certainly doomed; their purge is only a matter of time. If we don't seize this money, someone else will get it. Of course…”

Her tone became more serious:

"The premise is obtaining evidence. If we try to rob someone without evidence, it would be tantamount to breaking the unspoken rules that have been in place for a long time. Bureau 09 is very likely to put a lot of effort into targeting us as a prime example, and we must avoid this situation."

Once this unspoken rule is broken, it's equivalent to standing on the opposite side of the entire unofficial hunter guild, and it won't be easy to resolve.

There's a possibility that an A-level player, equipped with an A-level detection item, might hunt them down throughout the entire node.

"So...brother, are you going to snatch it or not?" Xu Yueluo looked at Cao Yu with expectant eyes.

"What you're saying is just speculation at the moment."

Cao Yu did not rush to conclusion, but said:
"Let's investigate the situation thoroughly and get the evidence first."

"Brother, we already have plans and preparations for the evidence investigation."

Xu Yueluo said:
"Tomorrow night, the Crimson Manor will host a 'Crimson Banquet'..."

Hua Fu, the owner of the Red Beauty Manor, hosts a "Red Beauty Banquet" every month.

Those forces that were won over by Waffle were always on the invitation list for the banquet.

In addition to these "old customers," Waffle will also try to invite some forces that have not joined the network of interests.

Nobody knows exactly what the "Red Banquet" is about...

"...Based on the leaked intelligence, we speculate that the 'Red Beauty Banquet' is one of the ways that Waffle wins over the high-ranking members of other forces. This banquet is probably not a simple salon gathering, but may involve the secrets of the Li Ren family and the evidence we want to investigate."

Xu Yueluo revealed her plan:
"Tomorrow night's banquet is a perfect opportunity to conduct our investigation. We've already secured five invitations. Brother, let's go together tomorrow night."

"can."

Cao Yu joined the plan with the attitude that he would take whatever he could, and it didn't matter if he couldn't.

The five people had a detailed discussion and finalized the details of the plan.

The banquet was to be held the following night, and with one day to spare, Cao Yu decided to stay at a nearby chain hotel with Shen Luoyan and the other three.

At this moment, the achievement points on his system panel have exceeded one million.

Although the accumulation rate has slowed down somewhat, the numbers are still jumping rapidly.

He was already able to purchase the immortal-grade cultivation technique "Star Shift".

Even the money spent on buying the license should be accumulated tonight.

It's time to upgrade properly.

Cao Yu was somewhat excited.

Just as he was about to leave the private room, Xu Yuexuan suddenly called out to him...

(End of this chapter)