Chapter 71 The Fourth Level

Xiao Yu grabbed Chen Jingzhong’s arm and said coquettishly, “Dad, I finally get to see you. Your daughter almost died on Border Prison Island~”

Chen Jingzhong’s eyes revealed doting love and lingering fear as he patted Xiao Yu’s head. “Xiao Yu, I didn’t expect one decision of mine would almost get you killed. Dad apologizes to you…”

Saying that, he looked up at Xie Jingyuan. “Brother Jing Yuan, thankfully we had you on this trip.”

Xie Jingyuan smiled and shook his head. “Let’s skip the pleasantries. I still need you to help me make arrangements for my two disciples, as well as Hong Yuan here.”

Chen Jingzhong looked at Feng Yin and the other two, smiling and nodding. “The three of you are quite striking. Brother Jing Yuan has a good eye.”

He then turned to the two mild-mannered Celestial Essence officials behind him. “Then I’ll have to trouble you two brothers.”

Hearing this, the two smiled at Chen Jingzhong. One of them waved his hand. “With President Chen and Master Xie as guarantors, we are just going through the motions.” He then looked at Feng Yin and the others. “Then if I may trouble the three of you to step inside with us first to do some information collection?”

Feng Yin exchanged glances with Xie Yanran and Hong Yuan, a smile appearing on all their faces. They could finally shed their identities as criminals.

***

Feng Yin followed the two Celestial Essence officials through a series of procedures. This included taking photos, drawing blood, recording fingerprints, and iris scans.

He felt that they collected more information than when he was on Earth. It seemed the investigative technology in this world was somewhat more advanced. Feng Yin silently noted these differences, preparing to be more careful in situations where he had to transform into the Armor in the future.

Soon, he, Xie Yanran, and Hong Yuan rejoined the group.

Xie Jingyuan looked at the three of them. “Are you all done?”

Xie Yanran nodded. “Yes, everything is done, except Hong Yuan and I didn’t take photos.”

Since Xie Yanran wanted to repair her scars and Hong Yuan wanted some minor plastic surgery, both would need to register and update their photos later, so they opted not to take them this time.

Xiao Yu had already left Chen Jingzhong’s side and ran over to Feng Yin with a grin. “Feng Yin, did you happen to take an ID photo while you were at it?”

Feng Yin nodded. “Yes.”

Xiao Yu blinked and scrutinized him for a moment. “Hmm… Big mistake. I should have let you take it later. Although you’re already handsome enough now, if you could get a haircut and do some grooming, your looks would jump from a nine out of ten to a ten!”

Feng Yin smiled. “It’s fine.”

Xiao Yu insisted, “You don’t understand. ID photos are hard to change later. When you become famous and people dig this up to falsely accuse you of plastic surgery or something…”

Nearby, Chen Jingzhong watched his precious daughter run over to Feng Yin, and his fists couldn’t help but clench slightly.

“Where did this pig come from, trying to root around my precious cabbage!?” he thought. “Forget it. For Brother Jing Yuan’s sake, I won’t bicker with this kid for now.”

He turned to Xie Jingyuan. “Brother Jing Yuan, rushing back late at night, you must all be tired. What are the arrangements next?”

Xie Jingyuan thought for a moment. “Bringing the three of them back so suddenly was an unexpected situation. I haven’t arranged accommodation for them yet. I’ll have to trouble Jingzhong to find them a place to make do for the night. We’ll talk about it tomorrow.”

Chen Jingzhong nodded. “That sounds good.”

Thus, everyone split up into two luxury sedans, left the Zero Point Consortium’s building, and headed to a hotel owned by the Xuan Guang Group. After all, the Xuan Guang Group was involved in multiple industries, naturally including the hotel business.

***

Outside the hotel, under Chen Jingzhong’s eerie gaze, Feng Yin braced himself and bid farewell to a reluctant Xiao Yu.

“Feng Yin, we’ll meet at the Sword Hall tomorrow~” Xiao Yu blinked at him, her face beaming with smiles.

Feng Yin nodded gently. “You should rest early too.”

He didn’t say much else. After all, if his Master hadn’t been sitting in the passenger seat of the car, he suspected Xiao Yu’s father might just perform a “Yellow Hair Annihilation Fist” right then and there.

Xie Jingyuan also smiled at him. “Feng Yin, now that you’re back in Celestial Essence, you’re back in civilized society. You are safe now. Just get some good rest.”

Feng Yin earnestly agreed, “Master must be tired as well. You should get a good rest too.”

Xie Jingyuan smiled faintly and waved at him. “Alright, go on in.”

Feng Yin obediently turned and left. As the sedan slowly started up, Xie Jingyuan retracted his gaze.

He looked at Chen Jingzhong with a calm expression. “Jingzhong, did you find anything? The origins of this little disciple of mine?”

Chen Jingzhong shook his head. “Nothing at all. At least in Celestial Essence, there isn’t the slightest trace of this person.”

Beside them, Xiao Yu looked at her Master and father in astonishment. “What? Why are you guys investigating Feng Yin? First Junior Brother is clearly a very good person!”

Chen Jingzhong looked at his dissatisfied daughter and smiled helplessly. “Xiao Yu, Dad didn’t say Feng Yin is bad, but this investigation is very necessary.”

Xie Jingyuan, however, mused softly, “Is that so… Then we can only continue to observe him.”

Chen Jingzhong looked at him. “Should we arrange for surveillance?”

“Dad, how could you be like this~” Hearing her father’s even more outrageous words, Xiao Yu’s puffed cheeks bulged rounder.

Xie Jingyuan smiled and shook his head. “There’s no need. I just wanted to know his origins.” He continued leisurely, “I have some ability to read people. I can tell he has a rather good character. From now on, treating him with sincerity will be enough.”

Beside him, Xiao Yu nodded repeatedly in satisfaction. “Indeed. Master has the better eye, unlike my Dad, who’s always calculating this and scheming that.”

Chen Jingzhong looked at Xiao Yu wordlessly, feeling that his precious daughter was increasingly siding with an outsider.

***

Meanwhile, Feng Yin returned to his luxurious hotel room. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he looked out the massive floor-to-ceiling windows at the bustling city nightscape. His long-tense emotions finally relaxed.

Border Prison Island was too dangerous, and Sin City was filled with hardened criminals. Even if he propped a table against the door while sleeping, it was hard to get a peaceful rest. Even though he had the Golden Finger of his Armor, he was worried that using it too much would draw the attention of observant people, leading to an investigation by the Zero Point Consortium.

Undoubtedly, with the Armor’s current capabilities, hoping to face actual technological weapons was still too naive. Compared to struggling to survive and grow as a desperate outlaw, it was, of course, much more satisfying to leisurely practice martial arts and grind his Golden Finger in this civilized region.

With this in mind, Feng Yin drew the curtains, locked the doors and windows, and returned to bed after taking a shower. His eyes held a hint of anticipation—it had been five days since his last “entry.” By his calculations, tonight was the time to enter the game again.

Holding onto this thought, Feng Yin slowly closed his eyes.

After a long while, as Feng Yin entered a deep sleep, a dark red mark on the back of his right hand tucked under the covers—invisible to others—began to slowly flash with red light.

Falling, sinking—

It was as if he had plunged into a bottomless ocean.

***

Feng Yin’s vision cleared, and the scenery in his sight changed accordingly.

The voice of the White Crow came from behind him. “The Mad Beastman has been slain, but we still need to investigate those two suspicious locations from before. Once you’re ready, let’s head out quickly!”

Feng Yin skillfully stood up, turned around, and walked over to the White Crow.

The White Crow tilted its head to size him up, then squawked, “Where to next?”

Subsequently, a selection interface appeared before Feng Yin’s eyes.

— Select the next location —

[Bloody Camp — Obtain the Engraving “Continuous Fire”]

[Ruined Monastery — Obtain the Secret Technique “Blood Flame”]

———————

Sure enough, there was no difference from the original game settings. The initial three starting points had to all be cleared eventually to claim the full rewards. Feng Yin had already considered his choice beforehand; now, it was merely a matter of execution.

[You have chosen to head to the “Ruined Monastery.”]

As Feng Yin made his selection, endless white mist obscured his vision.

A new challenge had arrived.