Chapter 43: Faction Contract

Chapter 43: Chapter 43: Faction Contract

On the TV screen, the Kingdom’s chief spokesperson was handling questions from reporters.

Just moments ago, the news of Prime Minister Cloze Jic’s assassination had been officially released.

Only three hours had passed since Cloze’s death.

’How could he be dead?’

’He was actually shot to death. Does that mean it wasn’t a player who did it?’

Chen Qi was a bit stunned. According to the public reports, combined with the inside information he’d gotten from Taruno, Cloze had been shot and killed in his own home.

That was just too strange.

BEEP, BEEP!

A communication request from Plum Blossom 10 came through on his communicator.

For some reason, Chen Qi had a bad feeling about this.

’Cloze’s death shouldn’t have anything to do with me, right?’

After a moment’s hesitation, he answered the call.

"You’ve seen the news, right? That old bastard Cloze is finally dead."

"He was the longest-living player I knew."

Plum Blossom 10 sounded a bit down, but it seemed to be more a case of commiseration than genuine grief.

"Who did it?"

"Didn’t he just survive an assassination attempt? How did he end up getting taken out this time?"

Plum Blossom 10’s words—"the longest-living player"—stuck with Chen Qi.

After confirming it with Plum Blossom 10, he learned one crucial fact.

Among the seventeen players in the Order Keeper faction, the most experienced had only survived three rounds of the game.

It was strange, but Chen Qi could only file that away for now. His main concern was the identity of the killer.

’If the Demon Slaying Association has struck again, the situation is going to be a complete mess.’

"Sigh... relax. It’s not what you’re thinking."

"It’s a little embarrassing to admit, but one of our own killed Cloze."

"That bastard Najir Buffon must have lost his damn mind!"

Plum Blossom 10’s voice was filled with rage, but Chen Qi was confused.

"One of our own?"

"Don’t tell me he’s also an Order Keeper?"

As the realization dawned on him, Chen Qi’s face filled with astonishment. ’What kind of twisted plot is this?’

’What was with the Prime Minister? How did he manage to piss off players from both sides?’

’Oh, right, he also offended His Majesty the King. Otherwise, his approval rating wouldn’t have plummeted like that.’

"You guessed right. Najir is also an Order Keeper. He’s a newcomer who joined around the same time as me."

"The guy is usually a paranoid wreck, and he’s a total weakling in a fight. Who would have thought he’d be capable of something so ruthlessly ambitious?"

Plum Blossom 10 truly couldn’t understand it. In past games, players from either side would never specifically target the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister is responsible for the stable operation of the game, which is in every player’s best interest.

If a major upheaval occurred in the Lanyu Kingdom, the *King’s Game* would inevitably be affected, and the players would suffer the consequences.

That’s why even the most reckless Traitors would, at most, wreak havoc on a single city.

If they went too far, it wouldn’t just be the Order Keepers—even other Traitors would turn on them.

Cloze’s death was just too bizarre.

······

"Have they caught the killer?"

Hearing that the killer was one of their own—and a weakling at that—the tension in Chen Qi’s heart vanished.

’As long as a full-blown war doesn’t break out right now, everything’s fine.’

"No, the guy got away!"

"And he escaped with the Xiaowang Card!"

"It’s hard to believe, but his motive for killing Cloze seems to be the Xiaowang Card."

Plum Blossom 10’s tone was thick with confusion, while Chen Qi was simply speechless.

’You couldn’t even catch a single weakling? Are you Order Keepers reliable at all?’

Of course, he only dared to voice that complaint in his head.

"It’s not that simple!"

Plum Blossom 10 seemed to have read his mind.

"Najir Buffon’s ability is Perception of Fortune and Misfortune. If he wants to run, ordinary people have no chance of catching him."

"But as for us Order Keepers, we’ve signed a pact that prevents us from acting against each other."

"So even if one of us could catch him, the pact forces us to just stand by and watch!"

To join the Order Keepers, you have to register your ability. This is to make coordination easier in the future.

After all, Traitors possess more than one ability, so the Order Keepers often have to rely on outnumbering them.

Of course, that was just the official reason. Chen Qi wasn’t fooled.

Thankfully, they only had to register their LV1 ability, which most people could reluctantly accept.

Plum Blossom 10 had only told Chen Qi the basics before; he never expected there was also a pact involved.

"Members are forbidden from attacking each other. It’s a necessary condition for maintaining the faction’s stability!"

"Without the binding of this pact, the Order Keepers would be completely powerless against the Traitors!"

"The Prime Minister wasn’t one of our members, so he hadn’t signed the pact. We never imagined someone from the Order Keeper faction would actually make a move against him."

Plum Blossom 10 went on to explain the details of the pact to Chen Qi.

In addition to not being able to attack fellow members, they were also forbidden from leaking intelligence about members to the Traitors.

The pact only had these two clauses, because the player with the pact ability was only LV2.

And the punishment for violating the pact is Skill Downgrade!

For players who rely mainly on their skills, this was a powerful enough deterrent.

’So, not all player abilities are suited for direct combat.’

Chen Qi had learned a bit about other players’ abilities from Jomoya’s diary; after all, that guy had killed three players.

But Jomoya Chris had only hunted combat-type players.

This was the first time Chen Qi had encountered abilities like Perception of Fortune and Misfortune or a "pact" ability.

In Chen Qi’s judgment, the player with the pact ability had to be a prime target for the Traitors.

If that player was killed, the Order Keeper faction would be thrown into disarray.

"Let’s not beat around the bush. You’re calling me because you want me to handle this, aren’t you?"

After learning the truth about the pact, Chen Qi had pretty much figured out why Plum Blossom 10 was calling him.

’As an outsider who’d only passed the initial application and hadn’t signed the pact, he was ’the perfect candidate.’’

"Since you’ve already figured it out, I’ll be direct."

"Consider the capture of Najir your test."

"Najir has basically zero combat ability, so he poses no danger to you."

"Even if you run into other trouble, your primary target is just Najir. You can ignore the Xiaowang Card."

Plum Blossom 10 confirmed Chen Qi’s suspicions. She had contacted him to give him a mission.

After a moment of thought, Chen Qi agreed.

Even Jomoya had to pass a test to join the Demon Slaying Association. If he wanted to infiltrate the Order Keepers, accepting a mission wasn’t too much of a hardship.

Of course, the main reason was the mission’s low difficulty. If Plum Blossom 10 had insisted he also retrieve the Xiaowang Card, Chen Qi would have had to give it a lot more thought.

With something this big happening, any player who wasn’t an idiot would connect it to the Xiaowang Card.

’Maybe that Card is the very reason Cloze is dead.’

’Who knows how many people, in the open and in the shadows, were already coveting that Card.’

Chen Qi made a silent resolution: he would absolutely not create any extra complications on this mission.

’Even if the Xiaowang Card was lying at his feet, he wouldn’t bend over to pick it up!’