Chapter 60: ABC, You Bought the Wrong One!

As he left the base in a specially assigned military jeep, a number of curious player-soldiers peered out from both sides of the road. None of them could have anticipated that the supposed enemy infiltrator was, in fact, an officer from their own ranks. Even the battalion commander treated him with respect and humility, clearly indicating that his rank exceeded the commander’s own. Could he be at the regimental level?

Quite a few had already logged out to check the forums, where a ranking board displayed the top 100 players with the highest military ranks across the server. First: Autumn Waters, company commander, identity confidential. Second: Sendi Qian, company commander, identity confidential. Those who made it onto the ranking board could choose whether to disclose their personal information. However, given the ongoing war and the different factions, the top rankings all remained secret, while those ranked below fifty mostly held squad leader positions, rendering confidentiality meaningless.

Clearly, this squad leader from Yiran Company hadn’t even reached that level. So why was he treated with such respect by the battalion commander? No one could make sense of it; no one could unravel the mystery. Yet some perceptive individuals began to suspect: he wore the deep green uniform of the Angel Corps—could he be a “Death Agent,” an undercover operative planted within the Angel Corps? It seemed the only plausible explanation.

An even greater shock followed. In the ten days since the game’s launch, no one had ever encountered a “Death Agent.” Naturally, due to their unique status, such agents could not reveal their identities. Judging from the current circumstances, the willingness to choose this profession was exceedingly rare—one in ten thousand, perhaps. No one wanted to risk losing a hard-earned account to a careless mistake, especially when real money was at stake.

In the game “Odyssey,” acquiring better equipment and skills relied primarily on money, aside from leveling up and gaining promotions. Players from the United States, Germany, and Korea were somewhat disgruntled, irritated that a Chinese player had stolen the spotlight. Those detained and awaiting disciplinary committee hearings felt deep resentment and stubborn pride. Driven by envy, some were already plotting to stir up trouble.

“Yiran, keep going! We're behind you! You’re our pride!” A young Chinese soldier raised his arm and shouted, instantly igniting the enthusiasm of all Chinese players.

Li Xin couldn’t help but smile. In a nation as vast as China, the spirit of youth and vigor never runs dry.

He leaned out of the jeep and waved: “Keep going! This Roman Road of Odyssey belongs to us Chinese!”

“Keep going!”
“Keep going!”

The roar of voices soared, the jeep engine thundered, and Li Xin vanished into the vast Moroski Prairie.

The Black Storm Legion comprised five corps: the Eastern Black Tiger Corps, the Southern Black Lion Corps, the Western Black Wolf Corps, the Northern Black Bear Corps, and the Central Black Dragon Corps. Each corresponded to one of the five corps under the Angel Legion in the same war zone. The Jialin Continent stretched over ten million square kilometers, with each war zone occupying a vast territory, divided between the two factions. Each corps boasted millions of NPC soldiers, and with the addition of player troops, their numbers swelled even further.

Phase One: Source of Disaster.

At the outbreak of war, battles were confined to uninhabited regions, forbidden from reaching the outskirts of villages and cities. The headquarters of the Black Lion Corps was located on Camel Mountain, in the center of the southern war zone. Li Xin’s Seventh Division was stationed in the southern part of the zone, about 3,400 kilometers away. Thus, Li Xin needed to take a jeep to the nearest city, Santo, and then fly to his destination.

The land along the way was peaceful; NPC civilians lived as usual, unaffected by the onset of war.

The game’s time setting: 24:1 compared to the real world. One hour in reality equaled twenty-four hours, or one day, in the game.

After three hours of driving, Li Xin arrived at Santo City's airport. The driver saluted and then departed. Li Xin had changed into casual clothes, so he needn’t worry about being mistaken for an enemy agent.

He chuckled softly. A half-breath game possessed such comprehensive settings. The player’s experience here—this was not just a game, but another real world. Skyscrapers, airplanes, trains, technology, industry—all were vividly authentic.

Players themselves seemed like immortal beings descended from the heavens, endowed with invincible powers and nearly infinite lives in this wondrous world.

“I wonder where the developers found their inspiration, and how they managed such cutting-edge technology,” Li Xin mused aloud, stepping into the airport lobby to queue for a ticket.

“Hello, what do you need to help?” The lovely NPC ticket clerk greeted him with a radiant smile—a foreign girl.

“Hello, I’d like a ticket to Santiago, please,” Li Xin replied politely.

The clerk swiftly processed the request and handed over the ticket. But she didn’t stop there; her smile persisted. “Sir, can you help me?”

Li Xin smiled back, “Yes.”

Ding!

Quest accepted: Help the airport ticket clerk, Natasha, purchase a set of pink women’s underwear and a box of ABC ultra-thin pads.

“Uh…” Li Xin’s face flushed with embarrassment, at a loss for words.

He’d expected some advanced quest, only to find it was a ridiculous, trivial task. Li Xin silently cursed the developers. How could a serious war game be filled with so many frivolous missions?

He was still dazed when Natasha smiled gently. “Sir, you have only thirty minutes to complete your task.”

Li Xin snapped back to attention, glanced at his ticket—sure enough, boarding was in thirty minutes. He suddenly felt tricked.

“Miss, please wait a moment,” he said, dashing out, his backpack bouncing like a rabbit’s tail.

The airport was vast; the shopping plaza was on the southwest corner, third and fourth floors. Li Xin cut straight to the chase, activating his game spirit’s speed attribute and sprinting like a gust of wind, drawing stares and admiration from those around him.

Soon he reached the plaza, but faced a dilemma. Even after four years of dating Lin Guo, their time together mainly revolved around training and competitions, rarely venturing out—and never buying women’s products.

The plaza was enormous; it took him nearly five minutes to find the women’s section. This was an airport—not many needed to buy underwear, but it wasn’t rare either. Women buying sanitary pads were even more numerous. As soon as Li Xin entered, he drew the attention of many women, all frowning and disapproving—what was a man doing here?

Taking a few deep breaths, Li Xin donned sunglasses to ease the awkwardness, quickly selected a pink underwear set and grabbed a pack of ABC pads, and paid with game coins.

He hurried back to the ticket counter, queued for another five minutes before it was his turn.

“Here you are, the items you requested,” Li Xin smiled, handing them over. Natasha’s smile faded instantly, her expression full of helplessness.

“What’s wrong?” Li Xin asked anxiously.

Natasha replied mercilessly, “Sir, sorry, you bought the wrong ABC pads. I need the ultra-thin type. You have one more chance; remaining time: six minutes.”

Li Xin nearly spat blood and collapsed!