After an Infinite Flow Player Retires

Chapter 30

There was still one hour until the agreed time.

Wu Su was already fidgeting around.

His back was straight, and his collar neatly buttoned. The uniform he wore was extraordinarily neat with no traces of dust or wrinkles in sight.

Wu Su looked down at his watch again and again. He followed the movement of the second hand and countered the minutes.

Even the people who weren't familiar with him could tell how nervous and anxious he was.

Dong Gua gloated from the sidelines, "Why are you so nervous? Others would think that you're about to see your in-laws."

Wu Su glared at him, "Mind your own business."

Dong Gua obediently shut his mouth.

Silence followed. Nothing could be heard in the silent room.

After a few seconds, Wu Su couldn't stand it any longer. He hesitated for a few seconds and then turned and asked, "That, you and Ace, you've met before?"

Dong Gua, "Just a few times."

"Are you two familiar?"

Dong Gua nodded pretentiously, "It's alright."

"Stop lying." Ke Zheng sitting next to them couldn't hold back and interrupted, "You think we can't tell why you came and turned yourself in?"

To make a player with no moral bottom line willingly turn himself in, the person who threatened him must be someone he couldn't defy.

Wu Su on the side seemed a little absentminded. It was as if he couldn't hear the conversation going on between the other two people.

After checking his watch for the 105th time, he turned and looked at Dong Gua. He held himself back for a long time before asking hesitantly, "Ace….what's he like?"

"…….."

Ke Zheng on the side couldn't watch any longer.

Everything else about his captain was good, but he had a tendency to idolise people too much.

This question also stumped Dong Gua.

Although he was good at judging people and he had also seen Ace more than once, when asked to describe what kind of person this mysterious person who occupied the top position on the leaderboard was, it was actually rather difficult. This person was too difficult to read. Even Dong Gua himself didn't know what the other party's intentions were.

He frowned and thought hard for a long time. He only spoke after a long silence, "Uh……very strong." And sometimes very scary.

Wu Su and Ke Zheng: "…….."

"Oh, forget it. What's the use of asking this now?" Dong Gua finally stopped making it difficult for himself. He shrugged and sighed, "You'll know when you see him anyway."

Seeing that he wouldn't be able to get any information out from Dong Gua, a hint of disappointment flashed across Wu Su's face.

Ke Zheng was silent for a long time. Finally, he couldn't help but ask:

"Brother Wu, you're that nervous?"

Wu Su insisted, "I'm not nervous….."

Dong Gua on the side snorted.

Wu Su glared at him. He then turned back to Ke Zheng again and let out a deep sigh, "It just feels like……time is passing too slowly."

Speaking of which, it was quite strange. Generally speaking, meetings with mysterious people would usually be set in the middle of the night.

After all, a quiet night was most suitable for one to conspire.

But this master had taken a different approach and set the appointment at 6:15 in the afternoon.

…..It was even exact to the minute.

Moreover, what made Wu Su even more puzzled was that the meeting place appointed wasn't somewhere in the middle of nowhere or a secret location. Instead, it was a small milk tea store on the other side of the city.

Dong Gua even thoughtfully sent the location of the milk tea store to Wu Su.

It was no exaggeration to say that when he saw the address that contained no mysteriousness, Wu Su was shocked.

This….What kind of person was this big boss?

.

In fact, the reason why Ace decided that they meet in that milk tea store was because……

He liked their matcha milk tea.

The other milk tea in this store was unremarkable and it usually wasn't very busy, but their matcha milk tea was a must try.

Sweet but not greasily sweet and extremely refreshing. Whether it was the matcha or the milk, the flavour was very strong and perfectly blended together. It was simply very addictive.

But because the store was too far from his place, Ye Jia didn't have much of a chance to go there.

And the reason why it was set at 6:15pm….

It was because Ye Jia got off at six and the extra fifteen minutes was just in case anything happened—-Such as suddenly being called by Liu Zhaocheng to inspect his work or the likes.

In short, he had planned it all perfectly.

Unfortunately, it wasn't time for him to get off work yet.

Ye Jia sat obediently in his cubicle with a large stack of unprocessed documents in front of him.

He sat there absentmindedly, diligently playing his role as a salted fish.

Suddenly, Ye Jia realised that it seemed to be…..a little too quiet?

Ye Jia finally remembered what he had forgotten.

He raised his hand and touched his shoulder.

He then tore off the limp black hand.

It seemed to have fainted and the colour of its entire body had faded somewhat. Although it had already lost consciousness, it still continued to cling to Ye Jia's collar, as if afraid the other party would shake it off.

Ye Jia shook the small black hand. A rare trace of guilt rose inside him.

He knew how powerful the ghost energy he released while he was unconscious was. As the one closest to him, the small black hand was probably the first to be attacked by it.

It seemed to have received a direct blow and hadn't yet regained consciousness.

Ye Jia gave it some yin energy.

Although it was still limp, the colour of the small black hand had mostly recovered.

A few seconds later, the small black hand weakly regained its consciousness.

The moment it saw Ye Jia, it let out a loud sob and complained, "You….You're so cruel!"

Ye Jia: "…..Cough, sorry."

The small black hand held Ye Jia's hand as it wailed, "I thought I was about to die!"

Ye Jia was silent for a while but finally couldn't hold himself back. He slowly spoke up:

"But, in a sense…..Aren't you already dead?"

The small black hand was left unable to speak.

It exclaimed angrily, "You're still trying to find faults in my words at a time like this?! Do you have any sympathy?!"

Ye Jia's attitude was good, "I was wrong."

…..It felt like it was punching cotton.

The small black hand's anger had nowhere to go. It could only snort angrily and say reluctantly, "……I want to play on the phone later!"

Ye Jia well-temperedly nodded, "Alright."

"Play three hours!"

"Okay."

"I want to spend money to buy some in-game beans." The small black hand was insatiable.

Ye Jia shook his head without getting angry, "Dream on."

"……" The small black hand was even more upset, "Y-y-you…..didn't you promise me last time that half the salary will be given to me?!"

Ye Jia said, "That's right."

He then added, "Next months."

The small black hand, "….." After thinking about it more carefully, it really did seem to be the case.

It had miscalculated.

Ye Jia thought about it carefully and added again, "If next month's performance bonus does not get deducted, you should still get a salary……I think?"

Small black hand, "……….."

You humans are all pig trotters!!!

It angrily broke free from Ye Jia's hand and rushed into his pocket.

Ye Jia chuckled lightly. He felt that the mood that had been ruined by the mirror spirit was better now.

He raised his head and looked at the clock hanging on the office wall.

5:55.

It was soon time to get off work.

Ye Jia's mood became better.

Please read this from kk translates

He packed up the documents piled on his desk and then stared at the half open door of the Logistics Department as if he was quietly waiting for something.

The moment the minute hand moved and stopped at '12', Ye Jia loudly stood up and proficiently rushed out the door just like how he did thousands of times before.

Liu Zhaocheng only felt a cool breeze over his bald head.

When he raised his head, Ye Jia's seat was already empty and even his figure had long disappeared out the door.

Liu Zhaocheng: "……."

This spirit of never working a second longer than required and disappearing out the office before being noticed by the boss…..

It could be regarded as a unique skill.

Below the administration building.

As Ye Jia stood under the bus stop sign, a black car slowly drove out from the parking lot under the building.

Inside the car, Ke Zheng saw him.

"Hey, Brother Wu, isn't that the staff from the logistics department from last time?"

Wu Su looked even more nervous than before.

He looked in the direction pointed out by Ke Zheng and his eyes stopped for a moment on the young man standing under the bus stop sign.

For some reason, the other party made Wu Su become a little distracted.

The young man was tall and slender, and his complexion was very fair. Standing in the sunset, he was particularly eye-catching. It was unknown why, but it was as if anyone who looked in that direction would find their eyes attracted to him—-There was a strange air around him, as if he didn't belong to the world around him. It made him stand out amongst the crowd.

Wu Su retracted his gaze and motioned the driver to continue driving, "We will give him our thanks next time. Right now, we have more important matters to attend to."

—-A meeting with Ace.

.

6:10.

In the milk tea store on the corner of the street.

Wu Su opened the door and walked in. The store was very quiet. There was no one else there besides him.

He paused for a moment, his eyes circling around the empty store.

After confirming that he was the only customer here, Wu Su concealed the disappointment that appeared briefly on his face and casually ordered a cup of coffee before sitting down near the window.

The view from this seat was the best.

From where he sat, he could see the main entrance not far away as well as the entire street outside.

If a car drove down this street or someone walked in this direction, he would be able to see it immediately.

Wu Su stared closely at the door, not daring to relax a single bit the entire time, as if worried that he would miss the other person if he got distracted.

The muscles on his body were tense. Both physically and psychologically, he was in an alert state.

With this, any change outside was enough to startle Wu Su.

Minutes passed.

As the appointed time drew closer, Wu Su's frequency of checking his watch gradually increased. He watched the second hand slowly move across the clock face as he waited in anguish.

Three minutes left.

The entire street was empty.

Two minutes left.

A leaf nearby was picked up by the wind, causing it to swirl around on the ground.

Wu Su's heart sank little by little.

Countless speculations formed in his mind—–Perhaps Dong Gua had passed on the wrong message, perhaps the other party had changed his mind, or perhaps they were delayed by something unexpected? Or maybe this was actually all just a conspiracy to divert their attention….

Only one minute left.

Wu Su slowly let out the breath he had been holding in and withdrew his gaze.

Even if the other party didn't arrive on time, he was prepared to wait here for at least three hours.

After all, this was the only player who had cleared the game.

As someone who was involved with the game, Wu Su was very aware of how horrible the instances and the fierce ghosts in the game were. He couldn't believe that there would actually be a player who could clear it and return to the real world—-It was simply something that was even more difficult than ascending to the heavens. He couldn't imagine how powerful and terrifying that person who was able to achieve this was.

More importantly….

Now that the ghost gates are wide open, all the fierce ghost and monsters that had been contained inside the game had been released, bringing disaster to the real world.

Getting help from Ace gave them their best chance of succeeding.

At this moment, the staff cautiously approached him with the coffee he had ordered.

The cup was a little too full and the contents shook with every step taken causing some to slowly drip down the edges. The rich and slightly bitter scent spread through the empty store.

Wu Su nodded at her and pointed to the table, "Put it here….."

Before he could finish his words, a hand stretched out from the side. The fingers were well-defined, and the skin was smooth and fair. It precisely stabilised the staff's somewhat unstable hand, "Be careful."

The other party's voice was slightly cold. Like a cold spring, it was deep and clear.

However, his voice was gentle and polite, "I'll do it."

Wu Su's eyes widened. He turned his head in shock.

He saw that hand gently take the coffee from the staff's hand and place it on the table.

The bottom of the cup touched the table with a light sound.

—-At the same time, the minute hand on the clock in the store moved to point to the number '3'.

Wu Su felt like he had stopped breathing.

The young man had entered quietly like a cat. He lightly appeared from Wu Su's blind spot like a shadow, and both quickly and silently sat down opposite him.

He spoke up lightly:

"This store's matcha milk tea is better than their coffee. You should try it next time."

Wu Su felt that his heartrate had probably soared to 200 beats per minute. He could hear the sound of his heart pounding in his eardrums, making his surroundings sound particularly noisy.

His mind was a big mess. He could hardly think clearly. Only a few words circled around in his brain:

"It's Ace, it's Ace, it's Ace—–"

Ahhhhhhh!!!!

Wu Su cleared his throat. At some point, his voice had become hoarse, "Just now, it was almost time, I didn't see you come and thought….."

He pretended to be calm, but his words were a mess.

"I like to be punctual." The young man lightly laughed.

There was a strange charm in him. It seemed to make those who talk to him instantly relax.

Wu Su slowly took a deep breath. He then calmly took in the Ace sitting opposite him.

He was dressed simply and low-key, but it accentuated his slender and long legs and straight posture. His hood was lowered such that the shadow from it concealed the other party's face, only revealing their pale chin and gorgeously shaped lips.

Please read this from kk translates

Even without needing to think, Wu Su knew that the other party must be using a special method to conceal his true appearance.

In fact, he had never expected the other party to come and see him with his true appearance.

After all, Wu Su had also heard about the hatred leaderboard.

Needless to say, those terrible fierce ghosts and monsters would all try to find him in exchange for the reward. Even the players who managed to escape from the game, most of them weren't good people. They may even be more dangerous and unpredictable than those fierce ghosts.

For Ace to be willing to see him, it was already a big deal.

He was completely stunned when he heard it.

—-Even now, Wu Su still couldn't believe it. He couldn't believe that he was currently sitting face to face with Ace in a milk tea store.

Ye Jia ordered a cup of matcha milk tea.

Hearing the staff walk away, he turned his head and looked back at Wu Su. His voice was steady and soft, "I think we can talk freely now."

Wu Su straightened his back. With his hands on his knees, he looked more serious than students who have their teachers over for home visit.

"So, what happened in the game?" Ye Jia asked straightforwardly.

"I don't know." Wu Su shook his head honestly, "One second the game was still reporting our next instance and the next second it was no longer responsive. The players also fumbled around for several days before discovering that the door had been opened."

Ye Jia was originally not expecting an answer to this question anyway.

He nodded and continued to ask, "When did it happen?"

"About a month and a half ago."

Under the shadow from his hood, Ye Jia narrowed his eyes.

Indeed, the time matched up.

Around that time, the amount of work at the Bureau had increased significantly and the media began to report cases of missing persons and strange deaths.

The matcha milk tea was served.

Ye Jia gently rubbed the warm cup. He asked slowly, "That Ghost King, you know anything about him?"

"A little, but not much." Wu Su answered honestly.

Ye Jia had cleared the game two years ago. Soon after he left, a mysterious and powerful fierce ghost suddenly appeared without warning. No player or ghost knew where he came from, and no one knew what of monster or ghost he was. All they knew was that his whereabouts were a mystery, he was very cruel, and he was mad to the point that he attacked everyone regardless of their identity. Soon after he appeared, he had wiped out several species.

The Suckers were one of them.

After such a brutal massacre, he very quickly rose to the S-level ranks. No one dared to provoke him.

From then on, his strength and influence continued to grow. He unscrupulously took over the territories of the other S-level fierce ghosts and, after several bloody battles, one day, a line of bright red text appeared on the hatred leaderboard in the game, celebrating the birth of a Ghost King.

One the same day, Ace's name appeared at the top of that hatred leaderboard.

"But ever since I returned to reality, I haven't heard much about this Ghost King." Wu Su scratched his head and seemed to be puzzled, "Right now at work we mostly deal with fierce ghosts A-level or lower."

After listening to the other party's narration, Ye Jia lowered his head and took a sip of his milk tea. A thoughtful look flashed across his eyes.

He still remembered that time when A'Mi interrogated the other shadow ghost about the force behind the spider queen.

Clearly, the secrets among the high-levelled fierce ghosts were probably more complicated than expected.

Ye Jia placed the milk tea onto the table and raised his eyes to look at Wu Su who sat opposite him:

"I am willing to help you."

Wu Su's expression revealed unconcealable joy.

Ye Jia, "If there is anything that you cannot resolve, you can contact me through this."

As soon as he finished saying that, a small black hand appeared from his shoulder and slowly pushed out a piece of paper.

This was a way the players in the game communicated. They just had to write the message they wanted to convey and then fold it into a paper crane and burn it, and the paper crane would naturally return to the hands of the maker.

Seeing the small black hand that suddenly appeared, Wu Su was surprised. His hands subconsciously clenched into a fist.

This was…..Ghost Control.

This was a very terrible forbidden skill. It allowed one to force a fierce ghost to do their bidding.

But those without much skill were at risk of being swallowed up by the fierce ghosts they raised.

Wu Su had seen a lot of players with this skill but something like this……Where the ghost was still able to remain obedient and work without complaint was something he had never seen before.

He looked at the young man in front of him with more and more admiration.

The small black hand who had already retreated back silently swallowed its tears.

Those game props often required one's yin energy to be used. In order to prevent other people from gaining information about him through that yin energy, Ye Jia chose a simpler method—Threatening it out from the small black hand.

So even if these props were taken by someone, all the information they could get from it would belong to this weak little ghost.

The small black hand looked at its body which had become lighter in colour again and sniffled.

—–Damned capitalist!

"But this kind of help is mutual." Ye Jia spoke unhurriedly, "In some areas, perhaps you can also help me."

"No problem!" Wu Su said.

"Firstly, it's the skinning case some time ago."

After that ghost bus disappeared, that skinning case stopped happening.

And this disappearance on the contrary worried him the most.

"And the other one is that ghost-faced spider's nest." Ye Jia paused and then slowly continued, "Search through every inch of that nest and don't let any clues be overlooked. Once you find something, contact me immediately."

Very soon, the conversation between the two was over.

Before parting, Wu Su finally couldn't hold back his strong curiosity and asked:

"Oh right….."

The young man stopped in his steps. He turned and looked back, "Hmm?"

"That rumour…..is it really true?" Wu Su asked cautiously.

Ye Jia frowned suspiciously, "What rumour?"

"That…" Wu Su was a little embarrassed. His face under his beard was shy, "That thing, the thing about you deceiving the Ghost King's feelings….."

Ye Jia: "…………………………………"

He slowly took a deep breath to calm himself down, and then slowly spoke one word at a time:

"Catch more ghosts and less gossip."

After saying that, he turned and left without looking back.

Wu Su stood in place with a blank expression as he watched that leaving figure. He scratched his head.

It was unknown if it was just his imagination, but why did he feel that the other party seemed to have said those words through gritted teeth just now?

Also——–

Ace didn't seem to have clearly answered that question just now……

He couldn't help but feel like he had just discovered something incredible.

.

Ye Jia walked away with a dark expression.

At this moment, the small black hand climbed up his shoulder and asked expectantly:

"Can I play on the phone?"

Ye Jia took a deep breath. When he felt that his emotions had finally calmed down, he reached into his pocket and took out the phone, "…..Here."

As soon as he took the phone out, the screen automatically turned on.

Ye Jia's gaze swept across the screen before his movements suddenly stopped.

He looked at the twenty-five missed calls from A'Mi and the eighty-two unread messages and fell into deep silence.

Today……

It seems….probably….perhaps……

Was the day he was supposed to report back to Ji Xuan?