Chapter 362: Please Go Out and Commit Some Crimes

At 5:00 PM, the time for spending action points and funds was over.

Out of 20 action points, 10 remained. The funds were down to 15.4 million. The money spent had gone toward buying a venue, equipment, and stickers, with the rest used for employee salaries and newspaper ads.

If it weren’t for the need to earn more action points, Duan Fei wouldn’t have even wanted to keep any staff.

Just as he decided to do the same thing again tomorrow, Merlin’s voice echoed in his ear. “Duan Someone, because you have exploited a system loophole for profit, we are informing you that you can no longer do this.”

“Wait a minute, are you spying on us?”

“Please call it ‘monitoring.’ The Holy Grail War must always have monitors, and that’s what we are.”

“Fine, if I can’t, I can’t. But you guys are really annoying.”

「Outside the virtual instance.」

A group of Great Mages was observing the situation inside.

Uniting with the administrators was a matter of great importance. This world would have the chance to be integrated into the city cluster, becoming a branch of the city, which was crucial for their pursuit of the Root.

For every Mage, the pursuit of the Root was their Curse, a desire etched into the depths of their souls, a conviction for which they would sacrifice their lives and everything they had.

Therefore, every single one of the Great Mages was paying close attention to this virtual Holy Grail duel, observing to ensure no mishaps occurred.

After discovering that Duan Fei had started exploiting a bug for profit on the very first day, they began to discuss the matter, deliberating on whether it violated the rules, and finally reached a verdict.

Although it wasn’t against the rules, he could no longer use it.

The previous profits would not be confiscated. That was that.

Some of the Great Mages were displeased by this, while others were secretly delighted. Some among them had already defected to the Madhouse, and the two factions were arguing incessantly over who they should follow.

Merlin had been indecisive before, but now he was firmly on the side of the administration team.

After all, when it came to making a profit, the more despicable person always won. From the looks of it, Duan Fei was clearly the more despicable one.

The Knight Order was already a rare breed of scoundrels, but to think that someone was now even more despicable than them… Merlin couldn’t help but sigh at how the new generation surpasses the old, each one more audacious than the last.

「Back in the virtual reality, the mission continued.」

After the day’s summary appeared, time fast-forwarded to 2:00 PM the next day. It was everyone’s free activity time again.

Because they had maxed out on ads yesterday, today’s stickers sold out completely. Every customer would become a loyal user, raising their daily income to 60,000.

Although he knew this number was quite good for the early stage, after the massive windfall of over ten million in a single day, Duan Fei still felt it wasn’t exciting enough.

“You think we’ll find a bank today?” Duan Fei asked expectantly, looking at the map in front of him.

“Mr. Duan, I have to tell you, this game has Law Enforcers. Secretly messing with the opponent’s employees is one thing, but hitting a bank is a one-way ticket to death.”

“Can we bribe them, then?”

Wang Er clutched his head, feeling that his moral compass was not aligned with Duan Fei’s.

“Mr. Duan, did you cheat your way through your middle school ‘Ideology and Morals’ class?”

“I got a perfect score. Isn’t there a saying? The more immoral a person is, the more moral they appear.”

“Sounds like a famous quote. Who said it? I’ll use it in my next essay.”

“I made it up ten seconds ago. See? It fits the spirit of that saying perfectly, doesn’t it?”

Even Wang Er President was stunned by Duan Fei’s flexible moral standards.

Sitting back down, he looked at Duan Fei and said, “Mr. Duan, I feel like this game was made just for you.”

“Heh, I haven’t even started my real shenanigans yet. Wait, Flora is dead.”

On the city map, the dot representing Flora disappeared, and Flora’s own portrait turned gray, indicating she was temporarily out of the game.

After spending 500,000 to resurrect Flora, Duan Fei asked the newly returned Flora, “What happened?”

“Got one-shotted by a long-range Flying Knife,” Flora said, annoyed. “The enemy must have an ultra-long-range attack. Even I, an arms dealer, couldn’t sense their position.”

“Wasn’t the Maid with you?”

“No.”

“Mark that location. I’ll go there myself. If I die, resurrect me immediately.”

Handing command over to Wang Er, Duan Fei set off at once, rushing toward the place where Flora had died.

It was 2:40 PM, only five minutes after Flora’s death.

Piloting a drone, Duan Fei flew at high speed over the city. After landing, he saw that the spot where Flora had died was already cordoned off with police tape.

The body had already been taken away. A white chalk outline marked where Flora’s body had been, and it looked like a giant frog.

‘It’s wrong to laugh at someone’s dead body, but…’ Seeing that frog-shaped outline and imagining Flora’s death pose, Duan Fei couldn’t help but laugh.

‘I’m doomed. I’ll have to chant my sutras again when I get back.’

A few Law Enforcers looked at Duan Fei, who had just descended from the sky, without a hint of surprise on their faces. One said calmly, “Hey buddy, unauthorized personnel can’t enter.”

These people were all virtual characters generated within the instance. They looked very realistic but only had fixed programming logic. Every action was controlled by a script, just like the employees at his company.

Pointing inside the tape, Duan Fei said, “The deceased was my friend.”

“Oh, my condolences,” the Law Enforcer said, munching on a donut with a deadpan expression.

“How many days will it take you to crack the case?”

“No one saw the killer, so we’ll need some time for Reconnaissance. Besides, we’re understaffed, so it will likely take us a very long time to find the killer.”

‘The only ones who could attack a player would be the others from the Madhouse.’

‘And their weapon was a Flying Knife, so the killer is likely the Acrobat. But what I know can’t be used as evidence; the Law Enforcers here probably wouldn’t accept it.’

However, a particular phrase in the Law Enforcer’s reply caught his attention.

Following up on that phrase, Duan Fei said, “You’re understaffed, you say? In that case, might I be qualified to become a Law Enforcer and help you with your troubles?”

“Hmm… Possible. How about this: if you catch ten criminals, I’ll recommend you to become a Law Enforcer. Please complete this task within ten days.”

“No need. I can do it today.”

Taking the drone back to company headquarters, Duan Fei said to Flora, who was eating cake and drinking cola, “Hurry up and go commit some crimes for me.”

“What did you say?!” Flora exclaimed in shock. “Duan Someone, there are minors here! Can you please set an example befitting an adult?”

“Oh, in that case, Miss Flora, would you please go out and commit some crimes?”

“Is this a matter of wording?!”

“It’s fine, just go.” Wang Er clutched his head. “At this point, nothing Mr. Duan does can surprise me.”