Chapter 367: A Greater Goal

In this instance, money was everything. Combat was merely a way to interfere with opponents, and every victory or defeat was ultimately an economic one.

Watching the ad that was still playing on a loop, Duan Fei knew that his interference yesterday had some effect. Otherwise, the enemy’s counterattack today would have been far more ferocious.

But even so, these cheap yet remarkably effective Magic Stickers were starting to take over the instance’s secondary market.

A chill ran down his spine at the thought of this product being sold in the cities, corrupting all the players.

He would absolutely not allow that to happen.

He immediately called the Law Enforcers for backup. Relying on his personal charm, Duan Fei had a Law Enforcer squad on the scene within five minutes.

But when they found out Duan Fei was complaining about the advertisement here, they said helplessly, “Duan Someone, I know you’re a fine young man full of righteous zeal, but what they’re doing is legal.”

“What? You’re saying there’s no problem with them getting people to overdose on Magic Power?”

“No problem,” a Law Enforcer said. “This product has been registered. Experts say it won’t cause irreversible physical harm, so there’s no issue.”

‘There are all kinds of experts, you know. Yingjiang’s experts are completely unscrupulous. Wait a minute… this instance has a very Yingjiang feel to it. Could it be the same here?’

Duan Fei sped into the Law Enforcement Headquarters on his motorcycle, used their system to find the location of the local research institute, and got their contact information.

Soon after, a sum of money was transferred to the research institute. A research report was promptly issued in return, titled: “SHOCKING: 99% of Magic Sticker Users Fail to Live to 200!”

Wang Er tracked the flow of funds, and the committee’s report made him frown.

“How could they write such an idiotic headline?”

“Whether it’s idiotic or not doesn’t matter. The key is to have a legal basis. Alright, I’ve sent the Law Enforcement team to ban the ads.”

“But they’ve already published another research report: ‘SHOCKING: Magic Sticker Users Can Get This Thin!'”

“They learn fast, don’t they? It seems the other side is watching us. No matter. I’ll take care of this, I’ll be right back.”

Wang Er watched Duan Fei rush out excitedly, then turned to Yue Hua, who was eating chips, drinking soda, and playing a game. “Don’t you think Mr. Duan looks really happy?”

“He gets to stir up all kinds of trouble without taking any responsibility. How could he *not* be happy?”

Through the window, Wang Er saw Duan Fei had already hopped on his motorcycle. He tore down the wide-open road as if it was his personal playground, a blur of sparks and lightning, joyfully speeding toward the food committee.

Seeing how free Duan Fei was, Wang Er couldn’t help but remark, “He’s such a free man. Not like me—I have to do my homework and fulfill my family duties.”

“Don’t you dare be like him!” Yue Hua yelled nervously. “Follow my example before you follow his! The worst you’ll become if you’re like me is a good-for-nothing. If you’re like him, you’ll just live for the chaos!”

“…It might be a little too late for that.”

“Wang Er! Pull back before it’s too late!”

Meanwhile, Duan Fei had already stormed into the food research institute.

This was a functional building within the virtual instance, similar to the research institute in the game Monopoly, offering various useful services to the contestants.

The creators of this virtual instance even encouraged players to try all sorts of unconventional tactics to discover new game mechanics, allowing them to pull off more insane plays.

As long as you paid enough, the institute would generate research papers at lightning speed, with titles that could be as sensational as you wanted.

The content of the papers was irrelevant; after all, everyone was just a clickbait consumer. The headline was all that mattered.

Duan Fei had originally planned on just getting himself a researcher’s credentials, but someone else had clearly thought of the same thing.

The Magician was here too, currently in discussion with the receptionist.

For a moment, both of them wanted to strike, but they held back.

There were too many surveillance cameras. If they fought, it would be caught on tape, and then they’d just be waiting for the Law Enforcers to show up at their door.

Therefore, fighting here would only lead to mutual destruction. It was better to rely on their own wits and try to get one step ahead.

Thus, after weighing the pros and cons, the Magician decisively shut her mouth, gestured for Duan Fei to go first, and prepared to eavesdrop from the side.

Duan Fei didn’t stand on ceremony. He walked up to the young woman at the reception desk and said, “Could you tell me what she was just talking about?”

The Magician hadn’t expected Duan Fei to be so blunt. She immediately yelled in outrage, “Duan Someone, you are despicable! Is this how you treat a maiden who truly adores you?”

“Could you please not make me sick,” Duan Fei said, looking repulsed.

The receptionist, however, just gave Duan Fei a sweet smile. “Of course. This Mr. Demon here was just asking how to join the institute, how to obtain researcher credentials, how to…”

After spilling everything the Magician had asked, the receptionist smiled and asked, “Is there anything else?”

“That’s all, thank you.”

Having effortlessly gotten the Magician’s plan for free, Duan Fei looked at her and began to ponder how to make her leave.

Coincidentally, the Magician was thinking the exact same thing.

The two of them went back and forth, furiously devising plans in their minds, until they both simultaneously reached the same conclusion:

‘In this situation, whoever makes the first move is guaranteed to lose.’

‘We both have the same information, so the first move will inevitably be countered. The only outcome after that is defeat.’

‘And since they both knew the other had reached this same conclusion, taking the initiative was even more out of the question.’

In the end, they could only stare blankly at each other until the free-roam period ended and the system forcibly returned them to their respective companies.

This time, they had fought to a draw.

Besides Duan Fei and the Magician, the other players also began their own probing attacks and skirmishes for the day.

Lone Ranger, Flora, and the Maid snuck into the enemy’s headquarters. Shadow struck, taking out five of their employees, but they were then driven off by Strongman and the Acrobat. Overall, it was a small net gain.

Jinghong was still cozying up to a rich woman, trying to secure her investment. However, the clown had also found the woman and tried to get her to ‘adopt’ him. If the rich woman hadn’t found his flamboyant style a bit too shady, the clown might have just gained a new mother.

Nemo’s movements were currently unknown, but as a Puppet Master, he had already begun to slowly deploy his puppets. He was a character to be wary of.

From that day forward, the cruel nature of the Holy Grail War slowly began to reveal itself.

Everyone fought for their own team. Centered on their team’s core economic interests, the players launched a series of offensives and defensive maneuvers, much to the delight of the Great Mages observing from the outside.

The players’ data was analyzed; their objectives and the methods they used to achieve them were meticulously cataloged, becoming a key focus of the analysis.

Determining which company would become the new agent was one of the goals of this Holy Grail War, but beyond that, there was an even more important strategic objective.

They wanted to understand these Descenders.