Fantasy Game: Infinite City

Chapter 701, Floor 94 (3)

The battle was fierce, but the members of the "Boundary Breaker" team didn't forget to secretly observe the NPC guards. During the fight, they discovered that while the NPC guards' fighting style appeared disciplined and orderly, it lacked any flexibility. Both their attacks and defenses followed a fixed procedure. Even when a wild beast circled behind them, they wouldn't react in time, only turning to counterattack after being attacked. Furthermore, although their energy fluctuations increased during the battle, they maintained a unique frequency very similar to that of the Infinite City staff.

What puzzled them even more was that several powerful wild beasts broke through the city wall's defenses and rushed inside the city gate, pouncing on an NPC guard. The NPC guard reacted slowly, was knocked to the ground by the beasts, his armor torn to shreds, and his arm bitten, bleeding profusely. Strangely, however, the NPC guard showed no sign of pain, nor did he utter a single groan. He merely struggled stiffly, trying to push the beasts off him, his movements still rigid and lifeless.

Just then, Lu Chen flashed to the side of the NPC guard, severing the beast's head with a swift movement of his dark-patterned dagger. He then helped the guard up. As he did so, Lu Chen's fingertips once again sensed the faint energy fluctuations belonging to the Infinite City staff. Furthermore, he noticed an extremely subtle, almost invisible mark on the inside of the NPC guard's wrist. The shape of this mark was exactly the same as the identification mark on an Infinite City staff member, only deliberately concealed, making it virtually undetectable without close inspection.

"Thank you." The NPC guard said stiffly after being helped up, then turned around and walked back to his post along the same route. His wounds were healing at a speed visible to the naked eye, and soon he was back to normal, as if the injuries had never existed.

Lu Chen watched the departing NPC guard, his eyes filled with growing doubt and vigilance. This mark was undoubtedly the identification mark of an Infinite City staff member. Furthermore, the speed at which his wounds healed far surpassed that of ordinary dungeon NPCs, and even some players. Only an Infinite City staff member, after passing their own authentication and utilizing the system's rules to obtain partial administrator privileges, could achieve this.

"Captain, did you see that just now?" Lin Ye's voice came through the team's communicator, his tone tinged with shock. "That NPC guard had a mark on the inside of his wrist, exactly the same as the identification mark of an Infinite City staff member! Moreover, his wound healed so fast, something no dungeon NPC could do!"

“I saw it.” Lu Chen’s voice came through the communicator to every member of the team. “Now we can be sure that these NPC guards are definitely staff members of the Infinite City in disguise. They disguised themselves as NPCs and infiltrated this instance to carry out some kind of special mission.”

"Then what is their purpose?" Su Wan's voice was tinged with doubt and worry. "Why did Infinite City go to such lengths, having its staff disguised as NPCs to infiltrate the instance? What secrets does this instance hold?"

“I don’t know.” Lu Chen’s tone was very serious. “But what’s certain is that this instance is definitely not as simple as we imagine. The system announcement just now, as well as these Infinite City staff disguised as NPCs, all indicate that there may be a big problem with this instance. Moreover, I have a feeling that the mission of these Infinite City staff is likely related to the core secret of this instance, and may even be related to the fate of us players.”

The battle lasted for about half an hour, and the first wave of wild beasts was finally wiped out. The NPC guards on the city wall maintained their rigid postures, showing no emotional fluctuations, as if the fierce battle just now had nothing to do with them. The members of the "Boundary Breaker" team, although somewhat tired, still kept their eyes alert. They did not relax their observation of the NPC guards, but instead paid even closer attention to their every move.

Lu Chen walked to the crenellations of the city wall, his gaze sweeping over the wasteland below. At the same time, he subtly observed the NPC guards around him. He noticed that after the battle, several NPC guards, under the pretext of organizing their equipment, quietly went to the corner they had just scouted. They were talking in hushed tones, their voices low and rapid, making it impossible to understand what they were saying. However, judging from their gestures and expressions, they seemed to be reporting something, and their tone was tense and urgent.

"Lin Ye, can you hear what they're saying?" Lu Chen asked in a low voice through the communicator.

“No, Captain.” Lin Ye’s voice came through, tinged with helplessness. “Their voices are too soft, and they seem to be using some kind of soundproofing. My detection equipment can only pick up the fluctuations in their voices, but I can’t make out the specific content. However, I can sense that they are very nervous, as if they are worried about something. Also, when they are talking, they often look around, as if they are afraid of being discovered.”

“I understand.” Lu Chen nodded. “Continue to monitor them and see what they do next. Also, go and investigate whether there are any other Infinite City staff members disguised as NPCs in Falling Star City, especially in the central area of ​​the city-state, and those NPCs who issue missions. Pay special attention to their energy fluctuations and whether they have any similar identification marks on their bodies.”

"Understood!" Lin Ye replied immediately, then slipped back into the shadows and headed towards the city-state's central area.

Su Wan walked to Lu Chen's side and whispered, "Captain, we've now confirmed that these NPC guards are actually staff members of the Infinite City in disguise, and there's definitely something wrong with this instance. Is there any point in continuing this 'City Guardian' questline? This questline seems like just an ordinary defense mission, and we can't get any clues about the instance's anomalies or the purpose of those Infinite City staff members."

Lu Chen was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "You're right. This 'City-State Guardian' questline really doesn't yield any useful clues. Continuing to waste time here is just a waste of time, and if the staff of the Infinite City discover that we've noticed something amiss, we could be in danger."

"Then what do we do?" Su Wan asked. "Should we abandon this questline and switch to other questlines? Maybe the other questlines will have clues about the dungeon's anomalies."

“Okay.” Lu Chen nodded, his tone firm. “Abandon this ‘City-State Guardian’ questline. However, we can’t give up rashly. We need to pretend that the quest is too difficult to continue, then quietly leave and look for other questlines. Also, before leaving, we need to collect all the clues we’ve found, as well as the information Lin Ye has gathered. This way, we can better analyze the anomalies in this instance and figure out the purpose of those Infinite City staff.”

Just then, Lin Ye's voice came through the communicator, his tone urgent: "Captain, something bad has happened! While I was scouting the central area of ​​the city-state, I discovered more Infinite City staff disguised as NPCs. Moreover, they seem to have sensed my presence, and several of them are chasing after me! I've already hidden myself, but their detection capabilities are very strong, and I'm afraid I can't hold out for much longer!"

"What?" Lu Chen's expression changed. "Where are you now? Have you been exposed?"

"I'm currently in a small alley in the central area of ​​the city-state. I haven't revealed my identity. They only sensed my energy fluctuations and thought I was an ordinary player, so they're searching for me everywhere." Lin Ye's voice was tinged with tension. "Captain, I've discovered that many of the NPCs in the central area of ​​the city-state, whether officials or civilians, are actually staff members of the Infinite City in disguise. There are many of them, and they're all quite powerful. It seems like they're guarding something or carrying out some important mission."

"I understand." Lu Chen's tone was very serious. "Don't panic, keep hiding, and don't expose yourself easily. We'll leave the East Gate now and head to your location immediately to meet you. Remember, no matter what happens, don't engage in direct conflict with them. Once our identities are exposed, we'll be put on the defensive."

"Understood!" Lin Ye responded immediately.

Lu Chen immediately turned around and whispered to the other two members of the team—melee DPS Zhao Feng and crowd control Li Ran—"Zhao Feng, Li Ran, the situation is urgent. Lin Ye has been spotted by Infinite City staff disguised as NPCs in the city-state's central area. We need to evacuate from the East Gate immediately and head to the city-state's central area to meet him. When evacuating, pretend that the mission failed and you were forced to leave, so as not to arouse the suspicion of those NPC guards."

"Understood!" Zhao Feng and Li Ran nodded immediately. Both of them were calm players. Although they knew the situation was urgent, they did not panic. Instead, they quickly tidied up their equipment and pretended to be exhausted and that the mission had failed.

Lu Chen turned to an NPC guard beside him and said, feigning helplessness, "Guard, I'm really sorry. We were exhausted from the battle against the wild beasts. Moreover, we discovered that these wild beasts are stronger than we imagined. We simply cannot continue to guard the East Gate and have no choice but to retreat. Please forgive us, Guard."

The NPC guard, still with a stiff expression, said stiffly, "It's alright, you can leave on your own. We can handle the guarding of the city gate." After saying that, he resumed his rigid posture and ignored Lu Chen and the others.

Lu Chen and the others exchanged glances, becoming even more certain that these NPC guards were indeed staff members of the Infinite City in disguise. If they were ordinary dungeon NPCs, they would definitely try to dissuade or warn players when they heard them say they wanted to abandon the mission and leave. However, these NPC guards did not react at all and simply answered according to the fixed procedure, which was obviously not in line with the setting of dungeon NPCs.

Without saying anything more, Lu Chen and the others immediately turned and hurried towards the central area of ​​Falling Star City. Along the way, they deliberately slowed their pace, feigning exhaustion, while secretly observing the surrounding NPCs and gathering more clues. They discovered that many NPCs in Falling Star City exhibited the same anomalies as the guards at the East Gate—empty eyes, rigid movements, no emotional fluctuations, and they all emanated faint energy fluctuations belonging to the staff of the Infinite City. Some NPCs even possessed subtle identification marks.

Clearly, staff from the Infinite City have infiltrated this instance on a large scale, disguised as NPCs. Moreover, they are widely distributed, found among city gate guards, officials and civilians in the city center, and even the NPCs issuing quests. This indicates that the Infinite City has invested significant manpower and resources in this instance, and their objectives are definitely not simple.

About half an hour later, Lu Chen and the others finally arrived near the alley Lin Ye had mentioned. They didn't rush into the alley, but instead hid in a corner outside, observing their surroundings. They discovered that at the alley's entrance, two Infinite City staff members disguised as civilians were scanning the area warily, clearly searching for Lin Ye. Inside the alley, several other staff members were checking each hiding spot, indicating they had pinpointed Lin Ye's approximate location.

"Captain, Lin Ye is in that abandoned warehouse at the very end of the alley. He's safe now, but the staff will find him soon," Su Wan said in a low voice, observing the activity in the alley through her detection spell.

Lu Chen nodded, his gaze sweeping over the two staff members at the alley entrance. He said firmly, "Zhao Feng, Li Ran, you two are responsible for holding off these two staff members at the alley entrance. Don't kill them, and don't reveal our identities. Just keep them occupied and prevent them from entering the alley, so you can meet up with Lin Ye. Su Wan, you're responsible for providing support from the side. If we're in danger, treat them immediately. I'll go into the alley to meet Lin Ye, and then we'll evacuate together."

"Understood!" everyone replied immediately, and they all got ready.