The Academy's Traitor

In the refugee camp. Inside a crude shack. Looking at the old man lying on the stretcher, Yin Fang took a deep breath. Ultimately making up his mind, he slowly extended his right hand. A brief pause. From where the pulse beat at his right wrist, a silver scalpel slowly emerged, extending until it reached an inch past the tip of his middle finger. The scalpel curved downward like a mantis's foreleg. Looking closely, four silver threads hovered around the scalpel, drifting gently in the air like feelers. Seeing the young man's right hand, the old man curled on the stretcher looked terrified. Trembling, he wanted to ask something, but didn't dare make a sound. "Don't be afraid. I'm just treating your wound." After reassuring the old man, Yin Fang focused all his energy on the procedure. Anesthetic injection. Then disinfection. The five fingers of his right hand twitched rhythmically with nimble dexterity, manipulating the scalpel and silver threads suspended below his palm— Like a puppeteer pulling strings! The scalpel precisely avoided nerves and blood vessels in the muscle tissue, carefully excising the necrotic tissue. The silver threads deftly sutured and bound the flesh, leaving behind stitches as fine as spider silk. The entire sequence was seamless and fluid! Yin Fang held his breath and focused intently. Fine beads of sweat formed on his brow, and he carefully regulated the rhythm of his breathing. Under his precise control and manipulation, the excision of necrotic tissue and suturing took place almost simultaneously, keeping blood loss to an absolute minimum throughout the surgery. The operation lasted an hour. Having cut away all the dead tissue, Yin Fang finally let out a long breath of relief. He raised his left arm and wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve. Next, he fished a small spray bottle from his pocket and sprayed his right hand thoroughly several times before slowly retracting the scalpel and silver threads into his bionic prosthesis. Almost at that exact moment, an unfamiliar voice came from behind him. "Impressive tech... Is that a bionic prosthetic for medical use?" Startled, Yin Fang whipped his head around. A man in an exoskeleton stood in the doorway, watching him with clear interest. He had been so engrossed in the surgery that he hadn't even noticed someone entering. Anxious, Yin Fang hid his right hand behind his back, even though he quickly realized how futile that attempt at concealment was. Dropping his crossed arms, Chu Guang put on a friendly expression and asked casually, "Don't be nervous, just making conversation... Are you a doctor?" "..." Hesitation was written all over Yin Fang's face. One look at his face told Chu Guang that this fellow was harboring plenty of secrets. He was probably wracking his brains right now to concoct some story to fool him. Why bother? It wasn't like Chu Guang was going to eat him alive. Uninterested in listening to full-of-holes fabrications, Chu Guang looked at him and said directly, "I'm the Administrator of Shelter 404, and the lord of this territory. If there's anything you need help with, or if you want to improve your living conditions, you can go to Jiu Li or Luka. They'll bring you to see me. "I offer job opportunities to capable people, but only if they're candid enough." With that, Chu Guang lingered no longer, turning and walking out the door. Watching the door close, Yin Fang let out a slow breath, his tense shoulders dropping. Just then, a weak voice spoke from the stretcher behind him. "Thank you, young man." The old man had woken up earlier, but with an important figure present, he hadn't dared to interrupt. Yin Fang looked back at the old man, forced a slight smile, and said gently, "You're welcome. Are you feeling any better?" "Much better..." The old man nodded. Sensing the tense atmosphere, he said in an apologetic whisper, "I've caused you trouble." "It's nothing," Yin Fang shook his head. A human life was what mattered, and besides, these people had helped him considerably. Alone, he never would have made it here, nor escaped the pursuit of the bounty hunters. The old man pushed himself up on the stretcher, wanting to walk, but his leg was still aching. After a few attempts, he gave up. Just then, a man stepped into the shack from outside. Seeing the old man, he hurried forward to support him. "Dad, are you feeling better?" A smile spread across the old man's face as he nodded. "Feeling much better... It's all thanks to this young fellow. If he ever runs into trouble later, you must help him." Sun Cheng turned to Yin Fang and said sincerely, "Brother, thank you so much! My name is Sun Cheng. You saved my father's life. If you ever need a hand with anything, just say the word." Yin Fang shook his head, signaling that thanks weren't necessary. He didn't take this paper-thin promise to heart. If only things were that simple. His troubles weren't something any random wastelander could resolve. Watching the father and son leave the shack, Yin Fang sat down on a nearby chair and sighed up at the ceiling. "Sigh. "Just give me a break..." ... "There's a doctor in the refugee camp, so you don't need to worry about the plague. He seems kindhearted, so just let him handle it. "Also, tell Jiu Li to keep an eye on him, but don't deliberately disturb him, and certainly don't go asking him questions or make him feel like he's receiving special scrutiny. If he does anything suspicious, just report it to me." After leaving the shack, Chu Guang found Old Luka and instructed him on the matter. "Understood, my Lord. Leave it to me!" Old Luka nodded earnestly, engraving the instructions in his mind. Shelter 404 had not yet established full mutual trust with these refugees, so wariness was only natural. In such circumstances, one couldn't rush things. Chu Guang was in no hurry to pry open that man's secrets, nor to invite him over. In this godforsaken freezing weather, where could he run? Information extracted through questioning always carried an undertone of coercion; it was better to wait until the man thought things through and confessed of his own accord. Having left the refugee camp, Chu Guang was about to inspect the prisoners of war and their reform-through-labor progress. Right then, however, dense gunfire suddenly erupted north of the refugee camp. Judging by the sound, it was about a kilometer away. The fighting seemed fierce—Chu Guang could even hear the explosions of Mosquito's homemade grenades. Not panicked in the slightest, Chu Guang didn't hesitate. He immediately opened his VM, drafted a quest, and broadcast it to the devices of players within the designated map area. [Quest: Players within 1 kilometer of the map marker, proceed to the target area immediately to provide backup.] [Requirement: Keep at least one captive alive.] [Rewards: 10 silver coins, 10 contribution points, 50 regional reputation.] From the gunfire, he estimated there were only four or five guns. Six at most. After living on the wasteland for a while, estimating numbers by gunfire had become basic operational instinct. While pinpoint accuracy was unrealistic, guessing the upper limit was no problem at all. According to the VM map display, there were at least thirty players near the conflict zone, and almost all of them were veterans. Leaving it to them gave Chu Guang complete peace of mind. ... Unlike Chu Guang, Eugene was feeling thoroughly miserable right now. What should have been a simple mission—one that could have been wrapped up in three months under optimistic estimates—had been completely botched by his idiotic teammates, landing him in this mess. Had he known it would turn out like this, he would have operated alone. Complaining now was utterly pointless, though. Less than ten minutes after the shooting started, he and his squad were surrounded by at least thirty people. Thick barrages of gunfire poured in from every direction, pinning them down so hard they couldn't even raise their heads. Eugene watched with his own eyes as the mercenary who fired first was turned into a sieve alongside his beloved hound. As for the other three, all were picked off one by one while attempting to resist. Seeing that breakout was hopeless, he didn't hesitate for a second. He dropped his weapon immediately and surrendered. Those people tied his hands roughly, threw him onto a truck, hauled him behind the concrete wall, escorted him into a spacious room, and pressed him to the floor. Sitting in the room was a man wearing a blue exoskeleton. He looked Eugene up and down with a scrutinizing gaze, then asked, "Marauder?" Eugene didn't answer right away. His brain spun rapidly, trying to figure out how to escape this predicament. However, the man in the exoskeleton didn't seem particularly patient. Seeing him remain silent, he waved an impatient hand. "If he won't talk, drag him out and dispose of him." After all, the gear on this guy didn't look very valuable; he probably wasn't anyone of importance. Standing beside Chu Guang, Wrench didn't waste words either. He stepped forward at once, seized the prisoner's collar, and began dragging him toward the door. At this sight, Eugene panicked immediately and struggled, crying out, "I'm not a marauder! I—my name is Eugene, I'm a mercenary! My Lord, I have no malicious intent!" "No malicious intent?" Chu Guang gestured for Wrench to stop and looked at him with amusement. "Are you saying that burst of fire was just an accidental discharge?" Shelter 404's rules of first contact dictated that players could not initiate attacks against NPC units in neutral zones, but if a neutral unit opened fire first, retaliation by any means was authorized. The VM served not only as a vital signs monitor, but also recorded activities. While there was no video footage, clues like audio recordings and gunfire made it easy to determine who shot first. Chu Guang was curious to hear how this guy planned to explain himself. Pinned under that gaze, Eugene felt a chill run down his spine and hurriedly blurted out, "That was a misunderstanding! I wasn't the one who fired... Those guys and I were only temporary partners on a contract!" "A contract?" Chu Guang scrutinized him further. "What kind of contract?" Daring not hide anything, Eugene confessed at once. "A contract from the Academy." Hearing that unexpected term, Chu Guang was briefly taken aback, though he didn't show it on his face. He kept his eyes locked on Eugene and interrogated, "Go on." Eugene swallowed hard and continued speaking at rapid speed: "About three months ago... I took a commission from the Academy. They wanted us to help track down a rogue prospector. We followed the leads provided by the client all the way to River Valley Province. If not for an unexpected mishap, we would've caught him last month, but as bad luck would have it, we crossed paths with Legion deserters, and that fellow managed to slip into a group of refugees." "The traitor you're talking about—does he have a bionic prosthetic limb?" Chu Guang asked thoughtfully. Eugene's eyes lit up, and he nodded frantically. "Yes! That must be him! The commission requires us to take him back to Wandering Marsh, or at least bring his arm back. If you're willing to hand him over to me, we can split the bounty fifty-fifty—no, sixty-forty! Sixty for you, forty for me!" Sixty percent, not bad. Suppressing a chuckle, Chu Guang looked at him. "How much bounty did the Academy offer you?" Thinking Chu Guang was enticed by the offer, Eugene hurried to add, "5,000 CR! It was originally split between six of us, but now it's just the two of us." Chu Guang looked at him in surprise. "CR? Why would the Academy pay in Enterprise money?" "It's not that the Academy pays in Enterprise money, my Lord. It's that we mercenaries only accept Enterprise CR or Legion dinars," Eugene explained helplessly. "As you must know, every region has its own currency. I've even seen places trading in bullet casings and bottle caps." Although Enterprise banknotes suffered from severe inflation far away from the East Coast—a rifle that sold for 300 CR on the East Coast could fetch 600 or even 800 CR in River Valley Province—they were still far more widely accepted than hyper-localized currencies. Chu Guang rubbed his chin in thought. Only 5,000 CR. In other words, he wasn't any high-profile fugitive. If it were a 500,000 CR bounty, Chu Guang might have to consider the "diplomatic risk" of harboring him. But with a bounty this small, at most he was just an ordinary fugitive on a wanted list—probably not even reaching a B-rank warrant. Still, keeping something this significant from him... The kid wasn't being honest. Chu Guang's thoughts stirred, and he glanced at Wrench, who was waiting on the side. "Head over to the refugee camp, find a man named Yin Fang, and bring him here." "Yes, my Lord." Wrench nodded in acknowledgment and immediately exited the room. He didn't have to wait long. Wrench soon brought the man Chu Guang wanted to see. The moment Yin Fang saw Eugene in the room, his face paled instantly. He spun around to leave, but as soon as he turned, Wrench blocked the doorway. Spotting Yin Fang, Eugene lit up with surprise and cried out loudly, "My Lord, that's him—" "Shut up." Chu Guang signaled with a sharp glare for Eugene to shut his mouth, then turned to the young man whose eyes were filled with dread. "Don't you think you owe me an explanation?" A bitter expression surfaced on Yin Fang's face, and he lowered his head. "I'm sorry. I didn't intend to hide my identity from you..." Chu Guang looked at him and asked, "You're from the Academy?" Yin Fang nodded. Soon, though, the light faded from his eyes, and he shook his head again. "I was six months ago. Not anymore."