After AFK for five years, I returned to be number one in the entire server.

Lin also sent Shen Yi away, and Qin Wei walked up to him, dressed no differently than when they met at the restaurant last time.

She wore a fitted suit dress, black stockings, high heels, and a Tian Shu badge pinned to her neckline. Her hair was styled in a bun at the back of her head.

Her features were delicate, with fine eyebrows and eyes, and fair skin. She didn't look like someone who did fieldwork; she looked more like a young partner at a law firm.

Did you receive the safety reminder sent by the branch?

Lin nodded.

"Including him, that makes it the sixth one, all of them are at the Monthly level." She took a half step back, gesturing for Lin to follow her.

The two left the crowd and walked along the school road towards the outside of the school. A black minivan was parked outside with a special license plate and dark tinted windows.

"The person who made the move is codenamed 'Bone Eroder,' a seed member of the Heavenly Realm Canglu branch, a Moon-level member, but with very strong combat abilities. He entered Xia Shang about a month ago, and the Queen Mother of the West tracked him down multiple times, each time managing to escape before being locked on."

Qin Wei didn't care whether Lin Ye knew or not, and she also introduced the information about the Heavenly Rank.

In fact, even though information about the Heavenly Rank is relatively sensitive in China, it is still possible to find some information if you want to.

"The targets of the Bone-Eating are only Moon-level players. Today is the first time he has attacked a non-official player. You are now one of the publicly known Moon-level players, and there is a considerable probability that you will be his next target."

She looked at Lin Ye: "Come back to the branch with me."

The car drove through Ningchuan city for more than half an hour.

The Ningchuan branch of Tianshu is located on Changning Road in the south of the city. From the outside, it is a twelve-story gray-white office building with no signs on the exterior walls. The main entrance has only an ordinary electric gate and two security guard booths.

After scanning the vehicle, the gate automatically lifted, and the car stopped in the underground garage. Qin Wei and Lin took the elevator to the seventh floor.

The elevator doors opened, revealing a long corridor with rows of closed doors on either side, each bearing a nameplate for a different department.

People kept passing by in the corridor, their footsteps quick and their voices low. Several people carrying documents went in and out of different rooms.

The entire building seemed to be in some kind of emergency state. Qin Wei led him into a conference room.

It wasn't a big place; there was a long table, two rows of chairs, and an electronic screen that was off on the wall.

Several people were already seated at the table.

Zhou Ping sat in the main seat. He was in his early fifties, with short hair and gray hair at his temples, and was wearing a black shirt.

Two men in civilian clothes sat next to him, one wearing glasses and the other not, both looking to be in their thirties, with signs in front of them indicating the Operations Section and the Intelligence Section.

Two young men were sitting on the other side of the long table. Zhou Ping explained, "Lin Ye, let me introduce myself first. My name is Zhou Ping, and I am the deputy director of the Ningchuan branch of Tian Shu. Those two are Pei Xiao and Xu Ang from our Operations Section. You are both from Ning University."

Pei Xiao nodded to him, and Xu Angchong also made a lip movement, it was hard to tell if it counted as a smile.

Zhou Ping cut to the chase: "Qin Wei must have told you about Erosion of Bone, right? He's hunting down Moon-level players, and it's already affected your school. All three of you are publicly identified Moon-level players. Pei Xiao and Xu Ang are both from Tian Shu. The plan has been finalized: they'll continue with their classes and activities as usual, while the Combat Department will secretly follow and protect them until Erosion of Bone shows up."

He paused for a moment: "But you're not from Tian Shu, so we'd like to ask for your opinion."

The bespectacled man added, "The current difficulty is that proactive searches are extremely inefficient, the 'Bone-Eating's' movements are unpredictable, the branch's monthly-level manpower is limited, and full-area patrols are not feasible. His target pattern is very clear: he only kills monthly-level targets. Our only advantage is that we know he will most likely choose one of the three of you next."

"If you're willing to cooperate, you can continue your life as usual without making any changes, and we'll still send people to protect you covertly. Of course, even if you're unwilling, we'll still have people protect you; the difference lies in whether you follow our arrangements."

Lin Ye's gaze fell on the table. After a while, he nodded: "Okay."

Zhou Ping didn't say much, but gave a few instructions on the follow-up arrangements. Qin Wei, as the liaison for the External Relations Department, was to maintain communication with Lin Ye and notify him immediately of any abnormalities.

The meeting ended, and everyone stood up.

Qin Wei saw Lin Ye out, while Pei Xiao and Xu Ang walked ahead.

When Lin returned to school, the area in front of the teaching building was still cordoned off with yellow plastic tape, which swayed in the wind and was supported by a few temporary iron stakes.

The crater in the ground is still there, but someone has covered it with a black tarpaulin.

When he returned to his dorm, his roommates were either playing games or watching videos.

He lay down on the bed, and his phone vibrated. The school had sent a notice, worded in a very official tone, stating that a criminal case had recently occurred on campus and that relevant departments were investigating. Students were advised to be careful and not to go out alone at night unless absolutely necessary.

Suddenly, her roommate on the lower bunk spoke up: "Lin Ye, where did you go today? You disappeared after such a big incident."

"Something came up."

"You heard about what happened today, right?"

"Um."

The roommate seemed to want to say something more, but seeing that Lin had already turned over and was facing the wall, she didn't ask any more questions.

I slept for an hour or two, and then it was noon.

Lin walked out of the dormitory building. There were fewer people on campus than usual, especially in the area near the teaching buildings.

The cafeteria was full, and the line for food was very long, but the sound was off.

Normally the cafeteria is like a market at this time, but today everyone is speaking in hushed tones.

Lin Ye carried his tray and found a seat. At the next table, people were chatting. One of them showed his phone screen to another person, who shook his head after looking at it and pushed the phone back.

"Stop looking."

"The entire campus forum has been deleted; posts disappear within ten minutes."

"I heard that Tian Shu has directly intervened; this isn't an ordinary criminal case."

After Lin finished eating, he put his tray in the recycling area and walked to the door. Two girls were sitting on the steps, and they both looked unwell.

"My afternoon class is in that building, I'm too scared to go."

"The teacher said I can take leave."

"I've invited them, but what about tomorrow? Or the day after?"

Lin also walked past them.

The sky darkened, the thick clouds weighed down the midday sun, and the leaves of the plane trees on both sides of the road swayed in the wind.

The uneasy atmosphere continued until evening. When Lin finished his classes and was about to take a walk, Qin Wei sent him a message.

"Xu Ang is dead. The two combat team members protecting him did not let him out of their sight. It is unclear how he died. There were no signs of struggle or external injuries at the scene. The place of death was his dormitory."

Lin looked at the text on the screen without replying. Lights were on in the distant buildings, and students came and went in twos and threes, their voices carried away by the wind.

He put his phone in his pocket and walked towards his dormitory.