There Must Be Something Wrong With This Game!

Upon seeing the bound Nemo, Yan Yuan, perched on Duan Fei’s shoulder, immediately spoke up. "Well, well, who do we have here? Could it be Guild Leader Nemo? It’s only been a day, and you’ve gotten so pathetic. Don’t be shy, go on and use your Nail-Head Seven Arrows Scripture to take out my master. Oh, sorry, I forgot you can’t even stand up right now."

Duan Fei looked at Yan Yuan. ’Sometimes, what this little guy says is music to my ears,’ he thought.

Looking at Nemo, who was glaring daggers at him, Duan Fei turned to the president at his side. "Isn’t he your guest? How did he end up like this?"

The president took a step back and remained silent. Instead, the captain of the Puppet Legion stepped forward and said, "Because you’ve proven that you’re more powerful, and also a bit closer to being a Level 9 Citizen."

After organizing his thoughts, Duan Fei understood that the president had misjudged the situation.

After all, the president suspected Hyena was a Level 9 Citizen. That, combined with the bizarre incident of using a microwave to cause a short circuit, would easily lead one to suspect that a Level 9 Citizen was personally getting involved.

The president didn’t have a God’s-eye view of the full picture, so he must have concluded that what happened to Eternal Future was the work of a Level 9 Citizen.

Therefore, Duan Fei smiled and said to the president’s spokesman, the captain, "And why do you think we did all this?"

"There are many possible reasons. I would only dare to venture one guess: that the Level 9 Citizens are preparing to reshuffle the deck."

Duan Fei nodded again, knowing the other party’s thoughts were more or less what he had surmised.

After all, the current situation was confusing enough that it was reasonable to suspect the Level 9 Citizens were about to make a move on the major corporations.

As for the reason for making a move...

There were far too many.

Eternal Future, have you been taking the opportunity to brainwash the masses, feeding them unhealthy ideas to make them even more addicted?

Sinful Corporation, have you been arbitrarily convicting people and throwing them in jail just to collect exorbitant prison fees?

Star Company, you hold the satellites and space centers, so why aren’t you exploring the sea of stars? Why are you just messing around on this broken little planet?

Nirvana Company, your pharmaceutical industry is so advanced. You haven’t been doing anything you shouldn’t, have you?

It takes a capitalist to know a capitalist. The president of Luminous Heavy Industry knew how many immoral things he had done just to sell weapons, which meant the other four big players must have done things even darker than him.

Their crimes were enough to get them killed hundreds of times over. Better to abandon the darkness for the light now; perhaps they could still secure a future for themselves.

Having figured out the president’s line of thinking, Duan Fei reformulated his plan. He now knew what to do next.

Hyena, who was being stared at, felt a chill run down his spine. He was just about to run when Duan Fei yanked him back. "Don’t run! It’s time for corporate warfare!"

"I knew you were up to no good, you lunatic! Can’t you just lay low for a bit? We just finished messing with Eternal Future!"

"Time waits for no one. I want to try and ’clear’ all four corporations in the next few days, see if I can get a card achievement."

"What does that even mean?! What the hell is a ’card achievement’?!"

"Enough nonsense. Go train with Lear."

Next, he had the microwave help write an article praising Luminous Heavy Industry. At first, it said it would rather die than speak for the capitalists, but it agreed after understanding that the goal was to manipulate stock prices, fleece them, and then use the proceeds to strike at the Sinful Corporation.

Then, Duan Fei had Anna and the Bartender stay behind.

Pointing to the two of them, Duan Fei asked, "I need to increase their strength as much as possible. Does Luminous Heavy Industry have a way?"

The captain exchanged a look with the president, then nodded. "We do, but this kind of thing requires Morality. After all, those things are quite expensive. We can’t give them to you for free, but we can give you an insider price at best and open up access to some internal, secret weapons."

"That’ll do. I’ll also sell the research rights to my companion’s mysterious Energy. What’s your offer?"

The two exchanged opinions again, then replied, "Thirty million Morality, and the research results will be shared."

"Deal. Lone Ranger, sorry to trouble you. This thirty million will be our initial investment. Our next round of funding will arrive shortly. By the way, here’s my Spider Suit. Upgrade it for me, along with my drone."

The Lone Ranger gave Duan Fei a resigned look. ’The Guild Leader’s ability to get something from nothing is truly masterful,’ he thought.

Still, it didn’t really affect him, so he was happy to go along with it.

Taking the Spider Suit and drone from Duan Fei, the president asked, "And with what budget, in Morality?"

Duan Fei planned out the mission in his head, continuously calculating the Morality he could ultimately earn from the stock market.

Once he reached a conclusion, Duan Fei said, "Five hundred million. Use a budget of five hundred million Morality."

The enormous figure made even the president suck in a sharp breath.

As the president of Luminous Heavy Industry, his own annual salary was only twenty million, yet this person was dropping five hundred million Morality on this in one go.

However, money you couldn’t take with you was just toilet paper. If he could convert this sum into upgrades for his own weapons and items, then the money would be well spent.

After sending the dazed president off to work, Duan Fei had given tasks to everyone around him. Only Nemo remained.

"Captain Nemo, what style do you prefer?"

At that moment, Nemo’s heart was filled with nothing but humiliation.

Even the "Pleasant Mood" effect couldn’t offset his current shame. He recalled the experience of being forced to film a video before, dealing him a double blow of mortification.

Staring at Duan Fei, Nemo spat, "Duan Someone! You’d better watch yourself, or this won’t end well for you!"

"Is that so..."

Duan Fei thought for a moment. He knew the conflict between him and Nemo was now irreconcilable.

After all, their conflict originated mainly outside the game. The other party owed him wages and had tried to kill him once, while he had sabotaged Nemo’s guild and Love City.

In that case, Duan Fei could only pull out his crowbar and sigh. "What a shame. I don’t actually enjoy attacking other players."

"Fuck off!"

Just as he was about to finish Nemo off, Duan Fei suddenly felt something was wrong.

A familiar sensation washed over him, as if something was gathering overhead, aiming right at this spot.

Then, a beam of light shot down. A high-density laser pierced the bar’s ceiling and struck Nemo on the head, killing him instantly.

Watching Nemo get vaporized by the laser, Duan Fei looked up at the ceiling, momentarily confused.

’What’s going on now?’

「At Nirvana Company」

Nemo bolted upright from a medical bed, gasping for breath.

He subconsciously touched his head and found no wound, but the scene of being obliterated by a satellite laser was still vivid in his mind.

"Strange, what’s going on? How did I revive?"

"The Descender’s consciousness isn’t here; it’s in the outside world. I only needed to prepare a body and have you reconnect. The only reason you’re alive is that you’re still useful."

Turning his head, Nemo saw an old man standing not far away, calmly holding a pocket watch.

His body was covered in all sorts of clocks and watches. Each one showed a different time, and some even ran at different speeds.

Looking at him, Nemo asked warily, "Who are you?"

"The final boss of your event. The source of the pollution invasion. Of course, I prefer the nickname you’ve given me: the Clockmaker."

The Clockmaker, one of the four leaders of the Pseudo-men, looked at Nemo and smiled faintly.