Chapter 13

As the burly man approached, Jasmine began to feel habitually nervous. Her body faintly blurred, and her true form had already become invisible, leaving only an illusion in its place. Sun Ran smiled but did not stop her. The burly man drew closer, pulled a stool over, and sat down. A deep voice came from under the hood: "I am Baron Charlie." "It's an honor to meet you," Sun Ran said, bowing slightly according to the etiquette of the Dragon World. Jasmine, however, still did not believe him: "Words are cheap. How do you prove your identity?" "The girl is cautious, that's good," Charlie said dismissively, then looked at Sun Ran: "You should ask your companion how he confirmed my true identity." So, Jasmine looked at Sun Ran. Sun Ran shrugged: "A man with a hidden face appears in the tavern, and not a single person is curious, not even the tavern owner gives him a second glance. This means he's a regular. In White Cloud City, he acts so mysteriously and comes straight to us as soon as he enters. Who else could it be besides Charlie?" "Oh." Jasmine's body blurred again, transforming from the illusion into her true form. Charlie glanced at the leftover rabbit meat on the table and said calmly, "You've passed my first test, earning the right to cooperate with me. I've booked a room on the second floor. Follow me, and we'll have a good talk." He stood up and led the way to the second floor of the tavern, with Sun Ran and Jasmine following. After a while, Jasmine suddenly realized and angrily demanded, "So, you were the one who had the poison put in! Why did you try to harm us?" Charlie, who was walking up the stairs, paused at her words. He tried to hold back his anger but couldn't, and said, "If you were an ordinary person, your reaction speed would be fine. But if you want to be a qualified Order Maintainer, please use your brain more effectively!" The job of an Order Maintainer is like walking a tightrope; one misstep and you're out. It's a wonder how Jasmine managed to safely reach White Cloud City with her brain. Besides, he was a Bronze Order Maintainer, and working with these apprentice Order Maintainers would cost him points, so he had to be strict! Sun Ran smiled and watched from the side. Jasmine pouted: "Who knew you'd be so harsh on your companions." "We weren't companions before, but we are now," Charlie replied, silencing Jasmine. The room Charlie had booked was at the far end of the second floor, spacious, but not the place for a secret meeting. Inside this spacious room was a narrow, secret chamber. Inside the secret chamber was a square wooden table with a single candle lit on it, and nothing else. After the three of them sat down, Charlie pulled off his hood, revealing a face of a man in his thirties with a full brown beard. "Uncle, you're quite handsome, very manly," Jasmine praised sincerely, having already forgotten about the earlier incident. "I know," Charlie nodded, agreeing with Jasmine, then turned his gaze to Sun Ran, his tone becoming more serious: "Our mission this time is very challenging." Since the two of them entered the city, Charlie had been observing them in secret. He now believed Sun Ran to be a reliable partner, while Jasmine was a bit scatterbrained. He also knew about Sun Ran's promotion, so he paid more attention to him. "Please elaborate," Sun Ran said seriously. This Bronze Order Maintainer had lived in the Dragon World for a long time and had even earned the title of Baron. His understanding of this virtual world far exceeded that of the two newcomers. Charlie began to explain in detail: "Our opponent this time is very formidable. In the Dragon World, his identity is the King of Dragons, a Level 4 creature capable of freely transforming between human and dragon forms. He has not openly appeared because he is said to be searching for the Command Ring. His real identity in the real world is also not simple. From his style of operation, he is likely a member of the 'Scorpion' mercenary group." "The 'Scorpion' mercenary group?" Sun Ran frowned. This was a world-renowned destructive organization. Unlike Sun Ran, who entered the game for personal interest, they were in it for the money. If someone wanted to strike at a virtual company, or take revenge in the virtual world, or for various other reasons, they would offer a bounty, and someone would take the job. Those who took the jobs were called the mercenaries of the new era. The Scorpion mercenary group was one such organization, typically taking on major cases and aiming to completely destroy their targets with ruthless means, making them notorious in the virtual gaming world. Currently, the members of the Scorpion mercenary group were all wanted by the government. The central AI had even classified the top members as terrorists and activated the execution protocol. Once their identities were exposed, they would be directly destroyed by 'God's Finger.' "Are they very powerful?" Jasmine asked. "They are said to be somewhat capable, but not too powerful. They just have a bad reputation and leave no room for mercy," Sun Ran explained. Charlie, who had been listening, nodded slightly. The virtual company had conducted several selections before, and the people who came were not very reliable. This time, they finally had a decent assistant. Sun Ran turned to Charlie: "Can you tell me more about the Command Ring?" Charlie then recounted a legend from the Dragon World: "In the creation myth, the Supreme God Shur created the world in six days. From nothing, he created light, darkness, water, fire, wind, and earth, and then the world was born. The Command Ring is the ring Shur wore during creation. Only by obtaining it can one gain complete highest authority, controlling the world's life and death with a single thought." In other words, the destroyer wanted to directly destroy the world. Indeed, he was ruthless! Jasmine was puzzled: "I don't understand. Why would the game company leave this ring? Isn't that asking for trouble?" This was something Charlie couldn't explain, but Sun Ran knew. It wasn't that the game company wanted to leave it, but they couldn't destroy the ring. It was a common flaw in the virtual world. The legend of Shur wearing the Command Ring during creation was just a myth. The truth was different. These creation artifacts did not belong to the creation gods but were leftover data from the creation process. In simpler terms, they were the remnants left after creation. The creation artifacts contained valuable data from the world's initial state. Obtaining them would allow one to deduce the core parameters of the world, thus gaining supreme authority. This was true not only in the Dragon World but also on Earth. The leftover data from Pangu's creation was called the Creation Jade Disc, which was extremely valuable and powerful. Sun Ran had obtained the Creation Jade Disc, making him an unmatched master of creation. However, this was a core secret of the game company, so Sun Ran couldn't explain it openly. "Forget about it. Just think the game company is brain-dead. The real issue is: how do we stop the King of Dragons' plot?" This was the real challenge. The King of Dragons was a Level 4 creature with very high authority. It would be extremely difficult to eliminate it with ordinary means. The most reliable method currently was to activate the Divine Thunder Punishment. However, the Divine Thunder Punishment had obvious flaws, and with the help of many minions, it would be very difficult for the three of them alone. Instead of killing the King of Dragons, it would be better to find the Command Ring first. Sun Ran looked at Charlie: "You've been here for half a year. Do you have any idea about the general location of the creation artifact?" "No. It's randomly scattered, and even the game company doesn't know. They are also searching everywhere," Charlie frowned. The creation artifact had a characteristic of random changes, and no one knew what it looked like until they saw it. In any virtual world, the amount of data was unimaginably vast. Finding a special piece of data with unknown characteristics in such a vast amount of data would be a headache even for the game company. This was not much easier than killing the King of Dragons. Sun Ran sighed. It seemed he would have to show his skills again. His greatest strength was finding things. He had found the Creation Jade Disc on Earth alone and became a revered master, with no one daring to challenge him. "Since that's the case, we can only look for the artifact." "How do we find it?" Charlie felt a headache coming on. He had been here for half a year, and the Command Ring was what he most wanted to find, but he had made no progress. Sun Ran smiled and asked, "Was the creation legend you mentioned told to you by the game company, or is it a native myth of the virtual world?" "A native myth." "Then that's it," Sun Ran reasoned. "Since the existence of such an artifact is recorded in the world's legends, it means that it's likely that some players have seen it, or even obtained it and used its power to achieve some well-known feats, which were then passed down. Knowing this, we can search for clues about the artifact in the legends and ancient books of various worlds, and then follow the trail to find it." Charlie slapped his forehead in frustration and said, "I thought of that too. But there are so many books, a vast sea of information, making it very difficult to find." This kind of task could only be done by human brains, as rigid AI was not very helpful. Sun Ran shook his head and began to unravel the tangled mess: "From the information we have, the structure of this world is not complex. The upper class is mainly composed of nobles, mages, and religious figures. Among them, we can set aside the nobles for now. Both religious figures and mages value history, but the former tend to distort facts to praise their deities, making their historical records unreliable. Mages, on the other hand, are known as truth-seekers and respect historical facts the most. To find valuable information, we should focus on the mage class." Finally, Sun Ran looked at Charlie: "So, we just need to go to the oldest mage academy in this world." Charlie's eyes lit up: "The Summer Palace on Agas Peak is the oldest mage academy in the Dragon World. It has produced over a dozen great mages in history, and the current great mage is also there." A great mage is a revered title for a mage leader, who must master at least one Level 3 spell and possess the mage artifact, the 'Staff of Shur.' This staff was a special favor given by the early Shur virtual company to VIP players—mages. It has been passed down for nearly ten thousand years, almost as old as the Dragon World itself. It has Level 4 authority, and any spell cast with it would be significantly more powerful and instantly cast! Instant casting was a normal feature for both destroyers and order maintainers. Any spell bought with credit points could be instantly cast. However, the spells of the native inhabitants were incomplete versions, restricted by the world's balance rules. Ordinary players had to either recite long incantations or spend time channeling the spell's power, making it very troublesome. Instant casting was a god-like skill, and naturally, the Staff of Shur was an unstoppable, powerful divine staff. Sun Ran smiled: "I've heard that every great mage has vast knowledge. Visiting him will surely be fruitful."