“My skill…”

“My collectible…”

The Collector walked on, crestfallen. His whole body swayed as if he were about to fall.

While 【Soaring Dragon’s Cloud-Probing Hand】 wasn’t his most powerful skill, it was his signature move, the one that had made him famous!

In many extremely dangerous Instances, he had relied on this very skill. When facing creatures far beyond his own strength, he could use it to quietly pilfer powerful items and equipment.

Now, all of that was gone.

Yun Ze, walking behind Wu Wang, couldn’t help but laugh as he looked at The Collector, who shambled beside him like a deflated balloon.

“Boss Yan, I’m not exaggerating. You’ve more or less done a service for the people.”

“You have no idea how bad this guy’s reputation is in our circle.”

Wu Wang led the way, asking with a hint of confusion, “How does he compare to Zhuge Yue?”

Yun Ze froze.

He said sheepishly, “Well, he’s still a bit better than that madwoman. She’s the one with the truly notorious reputation. Are you interested in her?”

Wu Wang didn’t shy away from the question. He nodded.

“My Lord is also a little interested in that seed. I was thinking of snatching it from Zhuge Yue’s hands and offering it to My Lord.”

He had no worries that his interest in Zhuge Yue would be linked to their contact in the real world. The groundwork he had laid earlier was now proving its worth.

He could just pin any blame directly on Zhuge Yue and the 【Spirit Venerable of the Sea of Desire】!

The big boss’s name was just that useful.

Besides, it was the big boss who was interested in her, not him.

After a moment of thought, Yun Ze spoke.

“Hey, you know, there’s someone who might know something about Zhuge Yue. It just depends on whether you can get anything out of her.”

“If you’re lucky,” he added, “you might even be able to find out what skills she has.”

“!?”

Wu Wang, who had been strolling leisurely, stopped dead in his tracks. He looked at Yun Ze with an exceptionally strange expression.

Little bro, are you kidding me?

Information so precise you can even find out another player’s skills?

He had to understand, for Spirit Calamity Players, it was one thing for equipment and items to be analyzed. After all, there were always a few eccentrics who could appraise external possessions.

There was even a specific profession on the 【Spirit Calamity Plaza】 for it, called 【Appraiser】. Their job was to help other players analyze the properties of their equipment.

This service was vital because some items couldn’t be viewed directly through the system panel, especially things that were sealed or cursed. The 【Contaminated Relics】 they had just acquired were a prime example.

Most players could only see a tag like 【Sealed】 or 【Contaminated】.

No one should be fooled by how well Xiezhi and the others seemed to use the 【Relics】 in the Hidden Map. In reality, the artifacts might have had many special effects that were completely inaccessible to them.

This was when an 【Appraiser】 was needed, both to determine an item’s value and to identify how to break its seal or remove its contamination.

People with this ability were extremely rare, so 【Appraisers】 were quite popular on the 【Spirit Calamity Plaza】.

But skills were a different matter entirely.

No one could appraise another person’s skills out of thin air.

It was just like when Zhuge Yue first met him. Even though he was just a level-ten piece of trash, his 【Shadow Mutual Combat Art】 had allowed him to escape from her. He had also dodged her trap when leaving the 【Spirit Calamity Plaza】.

Even after spending ten days together, all Zhuge Yue could determine was that his skill was related to shadows. She didn’t know its specific costs, cooldowns, or even the conditions for its use.

Skills were a player’s greatest secret!

This was especially true for a player like Zhuge Yue, who attracted so much hate. She had to hide her skills deeper than anyone else.

Otherwise, she would have been killed long ago.

Yun Ze saw his disbelief.

“Don’t doubt me. You’ve seen her before. Her name is 【Wan Shitong】. She was the one in our group who was all bundled up.”

He then explained with complete confidence, “Her intelligence channels are frighteningly vast. Over sixty percent of the inside information on the Spirit Calamity App, whether it’s about players or major events, comes from her.”

At this, The Collector suddenly stepped forward.

He spoke mockingly, “Are you trying to send Boss Yan to his doom? Why don’t you tell him why she might know Zhuge Yue’s skills?”

Yun Ze fell silent.

In any case, The Collector had lost his skill and failed his robbery. He decided he might as well follow them to the church for shelter.

At the very least, Yan Shuangying probably wouldn’t lie to them about something like this. After all, they were still in his debt.

If they died, who would repay that debt?

“Oh? Is there some hidden story here? Do tell,” Wu Wang said, his curiosity piqued.

Hearing this, Yun Ze sighed.

“Wan Shitong is Zhuge Yue’s ex-girlfriend. It caused quite a stir in the circle back in the day. Players below level 25 might not know about it, but the rest of us understand it clearly.”

“?”

Dude, that’s a lot of information to process.

It’s one thing for Zhuge Yue to like women. I wouldn’t be surprised by anything that madwoman does.

But now you’re telling me to buy intel on her from her ex-girlfriend?

Is there something wrong with your head, or do I look like an idiot?

Seeing Wu Wang’s strange gaze, Yun Ze immediately waved his hands helplessly.

“I’m just saying there’s someone who might know. I’m not telling you that you have to go find her.”

When Wu Wang didn’t reply and simply continued to lead the way, Yun Ze just shrugged at The Collector and followed him.

The three of them didn’t speak again for the rest of the journey.

But Wu Wang committed the name 【Wan Shitong】 to memory. He did remember such a person among the Rogue Players.

She was a short woman who wrapped herself up like a mummy in a high-collared trench coat, a hood, and a mask.

She had been taciturn and seemed to dislike talking, both in the Hidden Map and aboard the Mary.

But there was one detail Wu Wang still remembered. On the Mary, this woman had ended up in the winner’s group that went to the Hongmen Club after winning 37 million in the casino.

And she had won purely through her gambling skills, without the dealer going easy on her.

The most crucial thing was, this woman was also at the church right now!

On the way to the church, the group encountered several attacks from Fierce Ghosts. Without exception, Wu Wang dealt with all of them with extreme ease.

After all, he carried the aura of the 【Spirit Venerable of the Sea of Desire】, which made the ghosts wary. He also wielded 【Xiaochuan】, equipment that could directly attack spiritual bodies.

Before long, the three of them arrived at the church.

Looking at the familiar faces inside, Yun Ze and The Collector couldn’t help but feel emotional.

Only a few hours had passed since they left the Hidden Map, and yet here they were, the Rogue Players, gathered together again.

At the very front of the church, the nun turned her head.

She sat before the mural that was once used to worship the 【Lord of Suffering】. This time, however, there was no kneeling, no suffering. She sat there, poised and dignified.

She looked at Wu Wang and smiled.

“Sir, there are still six guests left outside.”

She was reminding Wu Wang that six players who had signed the contract were still alive in the town.

As long as he brought them all back, the hidden clause in his contract would be perfectly fulfilled. He wouldn’t have to worry about the matter being exposed.

But to the other players, her words sounded like an act of concern for their comrades.

They never imagined that the nun who had made them suffer so miserably would be so kind in front of Yan Shuangying.

The methods of the 【Spirit Venerable of the Sea of Desire】 were terrifying! Even the private tutor of his Holy Son was this unfathomable.

Thank goodness they hadn’t started a direct conflict with him on the ship.

Hadn’t the Calamity Cult offended the 【Spirit Venerable of the Sea of Desire】? The memory of their miserable fate became clearer and more vivid in everyone’s minds.

Little did they know, their increasingly uncontrollable imaginations were the result of a certain someone’s Title Skill being silently triggered.

【Fear Monger】