“Boss Yan, what is this?”

Yun Ze looked at Wu Wang in confusion. The word ‘contract’ made him wary. He still owed the man, after all.

Wu Wang looked at the victim’s… no, his business partner’s confused expression.

He began to explain, or rather, to scam them.

“A great being has followed us here and bestowed upon me the power to shelter everyone.”

“As a complimentary service included in the contract, I can provide you all with a shelter located in the church.”

“There will be no Fierce Ghost disturbances there. You can pass the next seventy-two hours in peace.”

“Come, I’ll take you there.”

This was, of course, a complete lie.

The only truth was that the church could indeed provide shelter from the Fierce Ghosts. That was simply because it was Sister Lilith’s home turf. No Fierce Ghost would dare look for trouble after sensing her aura.

As for the “great being” and “free service,” those were pure fabrications.

Wu Wang wanted these high-level players to believe the false narrative that the 【Spirit Venerable of the Sea of Desire】 had followed them. He wanted them to willingly enter the church and accept his “free service.”

Only then would a certain hidden clause in the contract take effect.

The clause was concealed within the golden thread pattern. Its content was simple. 【When Party A accepts the additional shelter service provided by Party B, they may not, without Party B’s consent, reveal any information concerning Party B to outsiders through any means, nor may they conduct a targeted investigation of Party B.】

Wu Wang needed this group of high-level players to be too wary of the 【Spirit Venerable of the Sea of Desire】 potentially entering the real world to investigate the identity of 【Yan Shuangying】.

This would also ensure that his 【Pending Death】 account, which appeared to be only level ten, wouldn’t be scrutinized by their curiosity. He had no desire for this news to spread like wildfire.

If the people from the Abnormal Affairs Bureau were determined to launch a full-scale investigation, if the state machinery truly got moving, no one in modern society could hide perfectly.

Therefore, he could not allow these high-level players to leak this information to the Bureau.

As for what happened in the Hidden Map, they had only spoken of 【Yan Shuangying】 as a mysterious player. These cunning individuals would never give away information about the 【Spirit Venerable of the Sea of Desire】 possibly descending upon reality for free. They were probably planning to use it to strike a deal after returning to the real world.

Now, they had no chance. He would make them take this secret to their graves.

Don’t be fooled by how he threw his weight around in the instance. He was just a fox borrowing the tiger’s might.

If they ever met for a real confrontation offline, Wu Wang would show them they had picked the wrong fight. He wouldn’t hesitate to grab his Second Sister and vanish on the spot.

It wasn’t cowardice, just a rational judgment of his current situation.

A single Zhuge Yue had already kept him from returning home for ten days. If a whole group of high-level players became interested in him, the danger to his Second Sister would increase, and his 【Undying】 existence might be exposed.

These were risks Wu Wang could not afford at this stage.

Speaking of which, once he returned to reality, the problem of Zhuge Yue had to be dealt with too.

You have already chosen the path to death!

Swoosh!

Just as Wu Wang was about to leave with Yun Ze, a nearly invisible black shadow latched onto his own.

The next second, his limbs felt stiff and sluggish.

“Don’t move! Drop that ghost-harming equipment on the ground, now!” a strange voice exploded next to his ear.

At the same time, a suffocating feeling tightened around his throat. It felt as if one wrong move would get him decapitated.

Yun Ze subconsciously took two steps back. He stared at Wu Wang’s shadow with a strange expression.

“【The Collector】?” he asked uncertainly.

The unseen assailant replied confidently.

“Good, as long as you know who I am. Tell your companion to drop the equipment, or he’s about to become my next collectible!”

His voice was clear, but he was nowhere to be seen, completely hidden within Wu Wang’s shadow. To drive him out would be to injure, or even kill, Wu Wang himself.

“Uh… companion?” Yun Ze said helplessly. “Why don’t you take a closer look at who you’ve grabbed? Maybe lift his hood?”

The Collector froze. “?”

Wu Wang proactively raised a hand and lifted his hood.

The Collector saw that familiar, teasing smile and his heart trembled.

Oh no! I’ve robbed my creditor!

As a Rogue Player, he had naturally signed a contract on the Mary. He had also been one of the players who worked the hardest to help Wu Wang collect the 【Relics】 in the Hidden Map.

This was truly a case of the great flood washing over the Dragon King’s temple.

Yun Ze smiled with a hint of amusement.

“This guy’s called The Collector. He likes to collect all sorts of strange items and probably has the most stuff out of all us Rogue Players. Why can’t he kick this bad habit of stealing and robbing?”

Logically, The Collector shouldn’t be lacking an item that could harm Fierce Ghosts. The reason for the robbery was obvious. His items had been Twisted.

“Screw you!” The Collector gritted his teeth.

He did have a lot of items, but his luck was truly terrible. It just so happened that every single item he had that could affect spiritual bodies had been Twisted, even the ones that protected him from Mental Contamination.

Right now, he couldn’t attack and he couldn’t defend. This desperate situation gave him the idea to snatch something from another player.

As for the bad habit Yun Ze mentioned, in the past, whenever he saw a collectible that moved his heart, he would resort to any means necessary to get it. He was almost put on the Abnormal Affairs Bureau’s wanted list because of it. He had been on his best behavior for a long time.

“Speaking of which, Zhuge Yue snatched that seed. You can tolerate that? You probably don’t have a collectible of that level, do you?” Yun Ze continued to mock him.

The Collector was so angry his teeth itched. As a late-stage collecting addict, of course he wanted it!

“Damn it! Did you have to bring that up?”

“Hmph! If I hadn’t lost that seed, how would you know of my superb thieving skills and countless collections?”

“I will definitely steal that seed from that little bitch’s hands!”

As he spoke, his figure quietly emerged from Wu Wang’s shadow. When it came to Boss Yan Shuangying, The Collector knew his limits. His seemingly silent attack was most likely well within the other party’s grasp.

Just how strong is this Yan Shuangying?!

He seemed full of openings, with barely any equipment on him. Yet he was so confident that he just let himself be ambushed.

Was this the simplicity of the great Dao? Or did Yan Shuangying not even need equipment to deal with players like them? That made sense. He did have the protection of the 【Spirit Venerable of the Sea of Desire】.

The Collector never considered the possibility that Wu Wang simply hadn’t reacted because his level was too low. In his eyes, Yan Shuangying was at least a level 30 player.

Forget it, I might as well go with the flow. Anyway, I already got the other equipment I was after! I have to leave quickly, before he realizes what happened!

But unexpectedly, Wu Wang suddenly spoke.

“So greedy. Brother, how long have you had this… condition?”

“Alright, do this. First, go to the outskirts of Wolf Forest in Blackwind Mountain. Walk forward and to the left until you find a bridge. There’s a little archer demon on it, remember to flourish with your staff. After you cross, find someone named Guang Zhi, kill him, and ring the bell once. Next, go to the Serpent’s Path in the Verdant Bamboo Forest. Find a grove full of skeletons and snake monsters and stop. Stick to the right, and you’ll see a small opening. Inside is Guang Mou. Finish him, go up the steps, and strike the second bell. Finally, go to White Mist Marsh in the Verdant Bamboo Forest. Head down, and you’ll see a Shen Monkey on the right. Ignore it and keep going. There’s a snake demon, the White-Robed Scholar. Defeat it, look left, and take the small path. You’ll find a bell and a hanging demon. Ring the bell, and you’ll enter a space called the Domain of Obsession. Inside is the old Guanyin Zen Temple. In the main courtyard, find a guy named Elder Jinchi. Make him kneel and kowtow to the Jiangshi beside him, while you stand in the middle and receive their worship.”

The Collector was baffled. “?”

What was this boss rambling on about?

Before he could turn to leave, Wu Wang shook his head and sighed.

“My friend, your greed is a breach of contract.”

The moment he finished speaking, the contract in his backpack erupted in a flash of golden light. Two lines of text appeared in the air.

【In the presence of the Notary, traders are prohibited from taking the possessions of others without permission.】

【Violators shall compensate the Notary with a random item, piece of equipment, or skill of an equivalent level.】

This was a supplement Wu Wang had added to prevent any desperate, dishonest individuals from handing something over only to find a way to take it back later.

He had considered everything very thoroughly. He just didn’t expect to actually use it here.

Yun Ze was stunned for a moment, then immediately reached for his waist, his expression changing drastically. He pointed at The Collector and cursed.

“You bastard! You stole my jade pendant!?”

He never thought this guy, unable to snatch Yan Shuangying’s sword, would secretly steal his equipment.

Damn it! I was watching him the whole time! When did he steal it?

“Hey! No! I…”

Before The Collector could refute it, a cracked jade pendant flew out from his body and returned to Yun Ze’s hand.

The item was returned to its rightful owner.

Not only that, but a scroll also materialized out of thin air and landed gently in Wu Wang’s hands.

This was the penalty.

Logically, the penalty should have gone to Yun Ze, the victim. But Wu Wang’s contract stated that the compensation was for the Notary. He was the trader, and he was also the Notary.

This was clearly a borderline, unequal clause hidden within the golden thread pattern. Otherwise, only a fool would sign it.

Now, looking at the item in his hand, a gleam flashed in Wu Wang’s eyes.

It was actually a skill scroll.

【Soaring Dragon’s Cloud-Probing Hand (Epic): Use the scroll to learn this skill, allowing you to randomly steal an item or piece of equipment from a target upon contact. The success rate of the theft is related to the duration of contact, the placement of the target object, and the user’s luck. The success rate can be increased through practice.】

【Learning Condition: User must possess a hand structure in their physiological makeup.】

【 Remark: Soaring Dragon’s Cloud-Probing Hand! A master of picking pockets!】

This was clearly the skill The Collector had just used to steal Yun Ze’s evil-warding jade pendant. The reason he hadn’t used it to steal Wu Wang’s 【Xiaochuan】 was that 【Xiaochuan】 had been in his hand the entire time, failing to meet the theft conditions. It matched the skill description, where the success rate was related to “the placement of the target object.”

But Yun Ze’s jade pendant had been at his waist, outside his line of sight. He had been watching The Collector intently to guard against this exact move, yet the pendant was still stolen without him noticing.

For a high-level player to achieve this was proof of how heaven-defying the skill’s mechanics were. In a sense, it could almost be considered a rule-based skill. As long as the target wasn’t looking, if they so much as blinked, theft was a possibility.

“What the fuck! Where did my skill go!?”

The Collector was completely dumbfounded.

At that moment, Wu Wang remembered something mentioned on the app.

【Skills in the Spirit Calamity Game are all one-of-a-kind.】

In other words, this compensation had directly stripped the skill from the other party and turned it into a scroll.

Holy shit! Black-hearted Penguin, your Transaction Contract is so damn cool!

Now, the title of ‘red-tentacled thief’ was well-deserved.

Because he could actually steal things now.