171 Hidden Profession

 

The normal version of Perfect Life had already removed the map where the Ziggurat was but the building still existed in the cryptic world and it was Han Fei’s impression that it was one of the most dangerous buildings around. The tester from Immortal Pharma found out about Fu Sheng and the cryptic world’s existence at the Ziggurat. He went insane and murdered all of its residents. From his various actions, Han Fei suspected there was a channel that might connect the two worlds of Perfect Life at the Ziggurat.

This was an important find for Han Fei. If he could locate that channel, Han Fei could travel between the two worlds freely, that would open up even more options. Han Fei’s attention was fully on the Ziggurat but Huang Yin and Feng Ziyu’s focus was on Fu Sheng. They believed Fu Sheng was related to the tester’s spiral into madness. In fact, Fu Sheng might directly cause the tester’s mind to break.

“I have no idea Immortal Pharma’s CEO had an older brother. There is no such news at all about him.”

“The company CEO is already shrouded in mystery but his elder brother even so.” Feng Ziyu flipped through his phone. “I worked as one of the internet security experts at Immortal Pharma. Ever since Brother Zhang’s incident, I have been collecting information on the side. But even now, I’ve only gained one new piece of information. Fu Sheng has been through psychological treatment. Other than that, there is nothing else that I can find on him, not even his picture. He’s more like a ghost. Probably other than the CEO, no one really knows who he is.”

“Is it possible that Fu Sheng is only an existence in the game? In terms of technology, as more breakthroughs are achieved by computer science, virtual immortality is no longer a dream.” Huang Yin took a sip of his coffee.

“That’s impossible, in fact, I suspect the cryptic world is where they store the data of the dead.” Feng Ziyu turned to Han Fei and Huang Yin. “The reason Brother Zhang lost his mind was because his consciousness was taken over by different personas. I could not explain these personas’ origin, the only logical explanation is that there is a hidden world inside this game.” Compared to the other players, these three individuals at Corner Coffee had their own reasons to believe in the existence of the cryptic world. Feng Ziyu witnessed how his colleague went insane and came to that conclusion. Huang Yin accidentally found his way into the cryptic world and had personally experienced its horror. As the owner of the black box, Han Fei was the one who understood the cryptic world the most. It was quite a coincidence that the 3 of them managed to meet together.

“Perfect Life will enter OB in another half a month, I plan to attempt to enter that hidden map again tonight.” Huang Yin tapped on his phone. “But the main problem is I still have no idea what is the condition to trigger that hidden map. I’ve not succeeded in entering it again since that last time.”

“I know all the available conditions necessary to trigger any in-game missions, we can go through them one by one for these next few days.”

“Okay.” Huang Yin then took out 3 Id cards from his pocket. “In the future, we should meet up in this coffeehouse. Take these cards, they’ll grant you access to the 2nd floor. After the OB starts, the 3 of us should start a group that focuses on exploration of the cryptic world.”

“Maybe the team can be called Corner Coffee. We shouldn’t discuss anything related to the cryptic world with anyone else, everything should be contained to this coffeehouse.” Feng Ziyu looked at Huang Yin and Han Fei before he shared another gaming secret, “Even though Perfect Game promotes itself as an Iyashikei game, the game has a fighting system that mirrors the one in real life. So when you choose your profession, do not pick those that lack fighting capability.” Then he turned to Han Fei and elaborated. “Out of the 3 of us, you should be the best fighter so I’d suggest you to go for the profession of a private investigator. The profession can be built in any way you wish and the profession talent will improve your observation, analytical and tracking skills. At the same time, it will buff your fighting-related skills. It is a perfect fit for you. The prerequisite mission for Private Investigator is to participate in some investigations before you reach level 10. Later, I will give you the plot details of those investigations. I know some of them but not all.”

“What about me?” Huang Yin wanted to hear Feng Ziyu’s opinion.

“The profession of a doctor will be hard to master and it does not provide any fighting ability but a healer is instrumental in any team.” After some thoughts, Feng Ziyu added, “Actually I have heard of a unique hidden profession. It’ll help greatly in our exploration of the hidden world but it’ll be hard to unlock that hidden profession.”

“What profession is it?”

“A blood doctor.” Feng Ziyu added carefully.

“Blood doctor? I’m a medical practitioner, I’ve not heard of that in my life.”

“The blood doctor is actually a profession based on an in-game character. This NPC was originally a forensic doctor but he was fired from his job due to unknown reasons. After that, he opened his own dentistry clinic. Due to his skills and friendliness, both the business and the man were well-loved by his neighbours. But in reality, the man was crazy. He made his hobby out of hunting his customers. After his evil deeds were exposed, he became a fugitive. Despite the police’s effort, he managed to stay underground and was a notorious criminal in the virtual world.” Feng Ziyu shared the plot. “To become a blood doctor, you’ll have to enter his shop before level 10 and save all of his victims. Finally, you’ll have to personally apprehend that NPC.”

“And then?”

“At the very end of the questline, you’ll be given a choice, to hand the blood doctor to the police or to kill the blood doctor. After you murder the blood doctor, he will curse you with his death.” Feng Ziyu tapped against the table. “Normally, the mission would have ended here but I know of a well-hidden easter egg. If you dismember the blood doctor’s carcass, you’ll be put under his curse and take his place as the new blood doctor, and assume the man’s destiny.”

“Are you for real? It sounds so dangerous.” Huang Yin said worriedly, “Blood Doctor, Huang Yin, it sounds weird just saying it.”

“After you become the blood doctor, both your intelligence and stamina will increase. The blood doctor has many professional talents. In any case, the profession has great potential.”

“There is no free meal in this world. What is the price to pay for so many perks?”

“The price is you’ll have to be careful when you wander around the city during the day. The police have their eyes on you because since you’ve desecrated the body of the previous blood doctor, you’re now their prime suspect. You’ll be seen as the mastermind who has been manipulating the previous doctor.” Feng Ziyu shared the mission details with Huang Yin and then many other in-game secrets with both Huang Yin and Han Fei.