Chapter 73

"Maybe I'll go online for a while. Su Peng said he didn't sleep all night. Should he go back to sleep or stay up all night?" Lei Ming nodded when he saw Su Peng sign the overtime form and asked him.

"I still have time. I'll sleep for two hours and then go online." Su Peng said to Lei Ming, who nodded. Su Peng used his card to open the door and walked out.

Walking down the corridor, Su Peng looked up at the surveillance camera above the middle of the corridor and thought, "Is this surveillance camera working now? I saw Lei Ming do something to the air conditioner just now, but I'm not sure if the surveillance camera in the new employee's room is still effective. Otherwise, I could check the air conditioner... However, if Lei Ming's actions just now were to restore the surveillance equipment in the room, then everything I do will be under Shi Qianjun's surveillance, which would be disadvantageous for me..."

After some thought, Su Peng decided not to expose Lei Ming for the time being and not to touch the secret of the air conditioner in the new employee's room. He would observe Lei Ming first and take action when he had enough information.

"It seems I need to get in touch with Sun Shijia these two days. He seems to be getting along well with Lei Ming recently. Lei Ming has many suspicious points. He might be a mole planted by another company. As long as he has a purpose, he will take action. As long as he takes action, I will catch him," Su Peng thought.

After making up his mind, Su Peng was no longer in a hurry. He walked back to his room in the dormitory corridor, pushed the door open, and went in.

After a sleepless night, Su Peng was a bit tired. He took a quick shower in the bathroom and then lay down on the bed and fell asleep.

An hour later.

Su Peng had a deep sleep for an hour, as if in a deep coma, and then woke up, feeling much more relaxed. He looked at his phone; it was 5:30 in the morning.

Getting up from the bed, Su Peng went to the bathroom again, rinsed himself to wake up.

After rinsing, he stood in front of the mirror, using a large towel to wipe the mirror, and looked at himself in the mirror.

"Huh? I haven't done much physical training in a month, but my body seems to have become much stronger and more robust..." Su Peng looked at himself in the bathroom mirror. He hadn't noticed it before, but now, the mirror reflected a very strong and robust body, with a V-shaped upper body and clearly defined muscles, looking like a fighter or a boxer.

Su Peng was surprised... He remembered his body before joining the company. Although he wasn't weak, he had some muscles, but they were not as robust as now. He always rushed through his showers and never looked in the mirror, so where did this robust muscle come from?

"In the past month, I spent most of my time in the game... Could playing games also shape the body?" Su Peng was puzzled, looking at his robust self in the mirror.

After a while, Su Peng lost interest. He wasn't narcissistic. Although he found it strange, it wasn't a big deal, so he put it aside, changed into a clean set of clothes, and walked out of his room.

At this time, many people in the company had already woken up. Although the special breakfast in the dining hall wasn't ready yet, there was ordinary food. Su Peng walked towards the dining hall.

Entering the dining hall, Su Peng saw Sun Shijia and Ji Ming sitting at a table. He took some breakfast and walked over to sit down.

"Brother Su!" Sun Shijia greeted Su Peng enthusiastically, and Ji Ming nodded as a greeting.

"Why are you up so early today?" Su Peng nodded and asked the two.

"Ji and I both received a task and have been working on it recently. We applied to Team Leader Lei to start and end our shifts earlier and later."

Sun Shijia explained to Su Peng, who nodded and then looked at Sun Shijia, saying, "How are things going? I see you and Team Leader Lei are getting along well. Have you been confirmed to join the Huben Team?"

"Hehe, I'm almost in the Huben Team... Although it's not the best among the four teams, it's still decent. The rewards from pushing wild bosses are not bad, and according to Team Leader Lei, the average monthly salary and bonus are around 13,000, which is good for me."

Sun Shijia said to Su Peng, who nodded and said, "Actually, I'm thinking that my character is a bit one-sided. Will I be able to join the Huben Team?"

Su Peng said this partly to test Sun Shijia and partly because he had already made plans to hide some of his character's attributes and his identity as a disciple of the Purple Mist Sect, laying some groundwork.

"Really? Didn't you do a long chain of quests? You're not even in Jiangning County... How could this happen?" Sun Shijia seemed very concerned and asked Su Peng.

Su Peng deliberately sighed and said, "It's a long quest, but it only rewarded me with a silver-level light skill and an unknown-level sword technique. Because of the quest, my basic attributes haven't improved much, and my martial arts levels are not high, so I'm worried."

He deliberately concealed the quality of his martial arts.

"Is that so... That's a bit dangerous... But Brother Su, you're really impressive. You've already learned a silver-level light skill? My highest martial arts level is light blue, and Ji has a deep blue skill, but his cultivation is not high, right, Ji?"

Sun Shijia looked at Ji Ming and asked.

Ji Ming nodded and said, "I'm learning intermediate archery. The first seven levels are light blue, and the last three are deep blue. I haven't cultivated them yet."

"That's not bad... By the way, Sun Shijia, you and Team Leader Lei are quite familiar. Do you know what martial arts his game character is cultivating and what his status is in the game?"

"Team Leader Lei mentioned it once... His game character seems to have a position in Jiangning County. Let me think... Yes, he's either a hall master or a guest advisor of the Four Seas Gang, with a relatively free status and good treatment."

"Four Seas Gang?" Su Peng pondered for a moment.

In the game, there are three major gangs in Jiangning County: the Four Seas Gang, the Pai Gang, and the Qian Gang.

Among them, the Qian Gang mainly operates businesses such as silver shops, money houses, and brothels, making it the wealthiest. The Pai Gang controls the docks, and its members are mostly dock workers and low-level thugs.

As for the Four Seas Gang, it is a massive organization with branches all over the country. In any large city, you can find their branch. They operate a wide range of businesses, from pawnshops and lending to human trafficking, and they seem to be involved in everything. Some of their businesses overlap with the Pai Gang and the Qian Gang.

In Jiangning County, the Four Seas Gang is a branch, with its main source of income being river transport and salt smuggling... In the game world, the salt trade is officially controlled by the government, but in reality, the government's influence is very limited. Only in the central regions are the government's orders taken seriously. In Jiangning County, which is relatively inland and doesn't produce much salt, most of the salt in the city is smuggled by the Four Seas Gang. Although the profits from smuggling are huge, the city lord, Mo Tianqing, can't organize his own smuggling operation. The branch leader of the Four Seas Gang in Jiangning County is a very capable person who, after paying a huge price, obtained the exclusive right to supply salt to Jiangning County.

The salt smuggled by the Four Seas Gang from other places is mostly bought by the city lord of Jiangning County, who then raises the price and supplies it to the city. Some of it is also sold to other cities.

The exclusive right obtained by the Four Seas Gang allows them to smuggle some salt and gives their members a higher status in the martial world compared to the Pai Gang.

As for the Qian Gang, although it is also a national organization, it is very low-key in Jiangning County. Unless their interests are threatened, they rarely take action. Su Peng didn't know much about them.

After recalling this information, Su Peng sighed and said, "It seems our company is doing well in Jiangning County. The Four Seas Gang is a branch, and there are only a few hall masters under the branch leader. Although Team Leader Lei is strong in the Huben Team, he's not the top. Not to mention the Dark Falcon Team and the Dragon Tooth Team. Comparing this, it seems the entire Jiangning County is infiltrated by our company."

"Right, Jiangning County is the company's base in the game, so it's natural to operate it well," Sun Shijia nodded and said.

Su Peng nodded, pretending to drink his porridge while thinking, "Although I didn't get any critical information, it's good to know more. Lei Ming seems very cautious in real life. I might not catch him in action like this morning. He will be more careful. In that case, I might as well keep an eye on his in-game activities. I don't believe he can be so alert 24/7."

"You seem very concerned about Team Leader Lei?" While Su Peng was thinking, Ji Ming said casually.

Su Peng's heart skipped a beat, but his expression didn't change. "He was our boss when we were new. If I'm really assigned to the Huben Team, I hope someone can take care of me, so I asked a bit more."

"It's not like your character," Ji Ming said, but he didn't press the issue.

Su Peng felt relieved. At this time, Sun Shijia and Ji Ming had finished eating and went to the machine room. After a while, Su Peng also went to the machine room.

In the machine room, Lei Ming had already logged out and was reading a book behind the desk. Su Peng greeted him, suppressing his suspicions, and logged into the game.

After entering the game, the ship had already set sail from the town. Ling Xiaoyu was still sleeping in the cabin, and Ouyang Qing was nowhere to be seen. Su Peng felt bored and started cultivating his internal energy in the cabin. After all, there were only three more days to go.

Su Peng started cultivating... but after less than two hours, he suddenly opened his eyes and clutched his chest.

"What's going on? I've only completed two major cycles, but every time the internal energy passes through the center of my chest, I feel a blockage, and even in meditation, there's a slight pain," Su Peng frowned. He quickly pulled open his shirt and saw a faint black palm print on his chest!

"Is this from the black-robed man's final blow?" Su Peng immediately recalled that the black palm print was in the center of his chest, exactly where the black-robed man struck him in his final moments.

"Could it be... that blow wasn't so simple?" Su Peng's heart sank as he looked at the palm print. It wasn't very noticeable, but it had almost faded yesterday and reappeared today, even darker and deeper.

"That black-robed player was strange, and his martial arts were likely poisonous. I'm not sure if there will be any lingering effects... But the ship won't stop for a few days, and there's no doctor on board, so I can't treat it for now," Su Peng thought. He used the 'Medical Skill' he learned from the incomplete Medical Canon of the Medicine King on his wound.

"Your Medical Skill is not at a sufficient level to diagnose or treat."

A message appeared in the lower left corner of Su Peng's vision.

"It can't be treated... The Medical Skill I learned from the Medical Canon of the Medicine King is likely more powerful than a regular doctor's, but it's useless... This might not be a common internal injury. It seems I need to see Doctor Han at Green Mountain Village when I return to Jiangning County... Although I don't know his skill level, it's definitely higher than mine."

Su Peng thought, feeling a bit more at ease.

However, the pain in his chest during cultivation made it impossible to continue. Su Peng temporarily gave up on cultivation, fearing that it might worsen his condition, making him quite bored.

Fortunately, in the afternoon, Ouyang Qing and Ling Xiaoyu came to the deck, and Su Peng chatted with them for a while. He learned many anecdotes and legends from Ouyang Qing, and his 'Jianghu Knowledge' attribute increased by more than thirty points, so it wasn't a waste of time.

It was soon evening. With nothing to do on the ship, Su Peng returned to the cabin early, logged out of the game, went to the dining hall for a meal, and then returned to his room.

The next day, he spent the day similarly, logging out early and returning to his room, enjoying a rare period of leisure.

However, the black palm print on his character's chest had darkened and deepened, casting a shadow over Su Peng's mind.

"Tomorrow, I'll be back in Jiangning County..." At night, Su Peng watched two movies in his room, lay down in bed, and thought about the next day, which was the end of the month and the day of the performance review. Lei Ming had asked them to come to the machine room early in the morning, as there might be something to do.

Turning over, Su Peng went to the bathroom to take a shower.

In the bathroom, the hot water had just landed on Su Peng's back when he suddenly groaned, bent over, and fell to the ground!

The hot water continued to fall on Su Peng, but he lay motionless, as if unconscious.

After about ten minutes, Su Peng's body suddenly trembled, and he slowly opened his eyes, struggling to stand up. He immediately bent over, holding onto the toilet, and started coughing violently.

"Cough... cough... cough..." Su Peng coughed several times, gradually regaining consciousness.

He looked into the toilet and saw that he had coughed up a lot of black blood clots.

"What... What's wrong with me?" Su Peng was dazed, struggling to stand up. At this moment, he felt a burning pain in his chest...

Struggling, Su Peng came to the bathroom mirror, wiped it with his hand to clear the steam, and looked at himself.

Su Peng was stunned.

In the mirror, a black palm print was clearly visible on the center of his chest!