"I see. I’ll take the mission."

Long Ming didn’t hesitate to agree.

He had been hesitant about the mission at first. But since it was part of the safe deposit box expansion questline, there was no reason to waver. He could use this opportunity to complete both at once.

"Bro, are you sure about this? You’re not going to screw me over, are you?"

"I won’t. Even if I’ve never run the Observatory Base before, I just need to look up some information on it."

"Alright, it’s a deal. We’ll meet here tomorrow at 7:30 AM and enter the instance at 8:00 AM sharp!"

Qin Ye immediately added Long Ming as a friend.

"Alright, I’ll go make some preparations."

Long Ming renamed his second friend slot to Red Ghost, added Qin Ye, and then turned to leave.

Watching Long Ming’s retreating figure, Qin Ye was lost in thought.

Just then, Qin Ying walked up to Qin Ye’s side.

"Big bro, he seems pretty good, right?"

"Yeah. As long as his gear wasn’t just bought and his KDA wasn’t padded, he’ll do. We have to clear this mission, no matter what!"

The mere thought of the Watchtower Observatory instance was enough to make Qin Ye want to curse.

"Yeah."

Qin Ying nodded slightly.

...

Meanwhile, Long Ming walked on, contemplating the escort mission.

He suddenly noticed that the surrounding area was sectioned off by players from various factions, many of whom were shouting and hawking their services.

"Hiring expert escorts! Top pay!"

"Looking for experts to run the Watchtower Observatory Base."

...

Long Ming scanned the area. He saw plenty of people trying to hire escorts, but not many were applying.

After all, not everyone was a whale who could offer such outrageous prices.

There was also the matter of reputation.

Escort missions weren’t without risk. Employers worried that the mercenaries they hired would turn on them.

Likewise, mercenaries worried that employers were setting a trap, luring them into an instance only to be slaughtered like a fattened lamb.

That’s why credibility was essential.

And credibility wasn’t something you could build overnight.

As for Qin Ye, judging by the number of people who had applied, his reputation seemed decent enough.

But that didn’t mean there was no risk.

’After all, Qin Ye had hired a lot of mercs, and they were all staring at me earlier. I could see the greed in many of their eyes.’

’One of them might even try to put a bullet in my back during the escort.’

But Long Ming didn’t dwell on it. Instead, he opened the in-game store and started gathering the supplies he’d need for the mission.

First, he searched for 40mm grenades.

The search results popped up quickly. A player had listed three of them, each priced at 50,000 1D coins.

Long Ming bought all three, then searched the store for batteries.

He needed to recharge his Red Ghost mask and power-mechanical boots.

SWOOSH!

Dozens of different battery models appeared instantly.

Of course, not just any battery would do.

Long Ming scrolled down the list and quickly found an energy storage device with a universal charging circuit that should be able to recharge his gear. The price, however, was also steep—a full 500,000 1D coins.

He hesitated for a few seconds before buying it. Next, he spent another 100,000 on three high-explosive grenades, one flashbang, and one smoke grenade.

Finally, Long Ming searched for automatic pistols.

Hundreds of automatic pistols instantly populated the list. The most expensive was a DKS-01 Viper, priced at 200,000.

The gun came equipped with a suppressor and used 5.56mm rounds, with a magazine capacity of 20.

He already had a P17 automatic pistol, but he felt its performance was lacking. It was fine for ordinary guild missions, but it didn’t really fit with the rest of his gear. So, he bought the new handgun.

After buying everything, Long Ming checked his account on his wrist device. Seeing the remaining 5,230,600 1D coins made him wince.

If the payout for this escort mission weren’t so high, he definitely wouldn’t have been willing to spend so extravagantly.

PHEW...

Long Ming let out a soft sigh, found a secluded spot, and began recharging his Red Ghost mask and power-mechanical boots.

「Several hours later.」

Once his gear was fully charged, Long Ming logged out of the game.

He took off his helmet, got out of bed, and sat down at his computer desk. He was just about to turn on his PC and log into the forums.

Suddenly, Long Ming remembered something. If the escort mission tomorrow required a long session, his helmet’s battery wouldn’t last.

Realizing this, he quickly grabbed his phone and sent a message to Xiaoqi.

"Xiaoqi, are there any game pods free tomorrow morning?"

"Huh? Is it urgent?"

Xiaoqi replied a moment later.

"Yeah."

Long Ming replied instantly.

Inside the Star Wish Cafe, Xiaoqi looked at Long Ming’s reply and found herself in a bind.

’Where am I supposed to get a game pod for Long Ming on such short notice? All the pods are taken.’

"Wait a sec."

Xiaoqi quickly sent Long Ming a message, then hurried toward the stairs.

Just then, she ran into Mira.

"Xiaoqi, where are you off to?"

"Sister Mira, have you seen Sister Luoxue?"

"Her? She went upstairs."

"Thanks."

Xiaoqi immediately hurried off toward the sixth floor.

Mira watched the flustered Xiaoqi with confusion but didn’t think much of it.

Soon, Xiaoqi reached the sixth floor and ran toward private room 666.

Just as she arrived, Luoxue was taking out a keycard and swiping open the door to room 666.

"Sister Xue!"

Xiaoqi called out, panting.

Luoxue stopped and turned to look at Xiaoqi.

"Xiaoqi, what’s wrong?"

"It’s... Long Ming suddenly needs a game pod, but all of ours are full. I don’t know where to find one for him."

"Is it urgent?"

"Yes, he needs it for tomorrow."

Xiaoqi replied with a nod.

"Then let him use this room."

Hearing this, Luoxue handed the keycard to Xiaoqi.

Xiaoqi took the keycard, a little surprised, and asked curiously.

"Sister Luoxue, can I ask you something?"

"What is it?"

"What’s your relationship with Long Ming?"

"You want to know?"

Luoxue gave a warm smile.

"Mhm!"

A curious expression immediately spread across Xiaoqi’s face.

Luoxue reached out and poked Xiaoqi on the forehead, chuckling.

"Such a gossip. I’m not telling you. Now, go on."

"Alright."

Xiaoqi looked disappointed.

...

「In the rented apartment.」

Long Ming waited patiently for a message from Xiaoqi.

If the Star Wish Cafe didn’t have a game pod, he would have to hurry to the Upper City District to find one.

Just then, another message from Xiaoqi popped up.

"You’re in luck. Private room 666 just happens to be free tomorrow."

"Great. Please hold it for me."

After sending the reply, Long Ming breathed a sigh of relief. He put down his phone and turned his attention to the forums.

He thought for a moment, then searched for information on Qin Ye.

’The guy is probably fine, but it never hurts to be cautious. Knowing more is always better.’

The search instantly returned a pile of threads about Qin Ye.

Long Ming went through the threads one by one and quickly got a good sense of who Qin Ye was.

Qin Ye was the young master of the Jiaye Group from the Sinful City. He already had a minor reputation for being extremely generous, and his public image was so-so.

He had invested heavily in the Corrupt Serpent Guild within Civilization Paradise and was currently the guild’s primary financial backer.

Once Long Ming confirmed that Qin Ye was legit, he started looking up information on the Watchtower Observatory Base.

SWOOSH!

Hundreds of thousands of threads instantly popped up.

Long Ming was a bit stunned by the sheer number of threads, but he patiently started sorting through the most popular ones.

「More than two hours later.」

Long Ming rubbed his aching temples. ’This money really isn’t going to be easy to earn.’

The Watchtower Observatory Base instance was a veritable deathtrap, and its entry mechanics were different from regular instances.

Normal instances could be started anytime, as long as you had an invitation ticket.

The Watchtower Observatory Base, on the other hand, only opened once every three days, in addition to requiring an invitation.

The maximum number of participants was 10,000.

As for the safe deposit box mission Qin Ye had mentioned, it was a quest every player received upon entering the instance.

The objective was to reach the Observatory Base’s central control room, activate the giant radio telescope within, and transmit an encrypted message to a designated set of space coordinates.

The mission could be completed as a team. After entering the teleportation platform, the system would enable a party-up option, with each party limited to five members.

This meant that each time the Observatory Base opened, a maximum of only five people could complete the objective.

With a setup like that, it was no wonder everyone was fighting tooth and nail over it.

Furthermore, the instance’s difficulty would increase over time. Due to the limited number of invitations available right now, not too many people were entering yet. This meant the first groups to attempt the mission would have the easiest time. But as more invitation tickets became available and more players flooded in, the difficulty would inevitably skyrocket.

This explained why Qin Ye was in such a rush to complete the mission and was willing to spend so much money. And Long Ming knew he wasn’t the only one Qin Ye had hired.

Reading this, Long Ming closed the forums, leaned back in his chair, and fell into deep thought.

...