The copy has 0 error tolerance, and the last words on the ground are all wrong for me.

Chapter 373 Synchronous Tasks and Roleplaying

Wu Chang recruited the last arcane knight and returned the same way, heading towards Julie.

Phantom put the cracked wine glass aside and looked at Wu Chang who was walking towards him, with a hint of helplessness in his eyes.

They could have recruited him directly, but they insisted on giving him a warning. They would rather waste a force quota and recruit a mediocre-looking guy first than acknowledge his excellence.

Oh, young man, you are just so impatient.

Since Heping wants face, he doesn't mind giving the other party some face. After all, he is a mature and steady old player who is no longer at the age of competing for the limelight.

Phantom waited for Wu Chang to speak, but Wu Chang walked right past him, came to Julie, and said:

"Archbishop Julie, the Arcane Knights are full of recruits, and there is still work to be done in the Knights, so I will leave first."

Wu Chang did not avoid others when he spoke, and the phantom, whose attention was fully focused on him, heard it clearly.

Phantom stood there in a daze, looking at Wu Chang's leaving back, his fair face quickly becoming red with blood.

After leaving St. George's Cathedral, Wu Chang immediately saw Booker and Veronica standing guard outside.

Booker was thick-skinned, and he spoke first;
"Boss Heping, does your organization still have a vacancy? I am a pure-blooded cowboy. I grew up on horseback. Whether I am riding a horse or driving a carriage, I am as skilled as I am on a motorcycle."

Wu Chang took out two ID cards and handed them to the two men, saying:
"The driver has already been chosen, and you can't compete with him, but we are all old friends, so I'll leave a spot for you two."

"If there is nothing else, you can report to the Secret Security Department now."

The two took the ID cards and chose to accept the recruitment without any hesitation.

After seeing the two off, Wu Chang took stock of the current lineup.

Although he recruited many people with connections, there were also many strong players.

He has two ranked players, Lengshan and God's Tongue, as well as two masters in the top 50 of the combat power list, Killing Intent Wave and Sword Star. Ma Jia has hidden his own combat power, but judging from Wu Chang's perception, he should also have the strength of the top 50.

Even if we don't take into account his strength as a super-ranked player, judging from the combat power of ordinary forces alone, the Arcane Knights he belongs to is also the strongest among the player forces.

Moreover, there are a large number of extraordinary people native to the plane within the Arcane Knights who can provide considerable power.

With such a group of powerful players under our command, it is now their turn to demonstrate their value.

Westerland is the political center of Grimland.

Whitehall Street in the Westwood district is the center of the political center and represents the executive branch.

The Parliament Building, the Prime Minister's Residence, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of the Interior, the National Police Agency and other institutions are located here.

The office of the Secret Security Department is naturally located here.

The location of the Secret Security Department is named Baishe No. 6. It is a three-story gray-white office building. The building is very new and was built not long ago.

This building originally belonged to the police department.

Prime Minister Ron is a staunch believer in order supremacy. In order to cope with the rising crime rate in the city and the increasing number of workers' demonstrations, he vigorously promotes the construction of the police department.

With the support of the Prime Minister, the National Police Agency has extra funding. This building was originally prepared as a new office building for the senior leaders of the National Police Agency.

The building had just been renovated a month ago, and the furniture and furnishings were all brand new, but the senior management of the National Police Agency had not yet had time to move in.

Before the top police officials had time to move, the Songshu Coal Mine explosion, the workers' movement, and the assassination of the Prime Minister occurred one after another.

They originally wanted to wait until things were over and the World Industrial Exposition was over before moving, but they didn't expect that this wait would be a farewell forever.

The department was established, but Wu Chang lacked an office location. So he took his people for a stroll on Baishe Street and fell in love with this place at first sight.

Acting Prime Minister Glad naturally had no objection to Wu Chang's request for land. After all, the entire Secret Security Department was the product of a compromise between Glad and the Queen.

Glad had no objection, and the Queen certainly had no objection either.

The National Police Agency did have some objections, but in name the Secret Security Department was the superior of the National Police Agency, so their objections were useless.

In this way, No. 6 Baishe Street became the property of Wu Chang and his secret security department.

When he arrived at No. 6 Baishe Street, except for the two undercover agents Leng Shan and Jian Xing, who needed to cut ties with the others openly, all other members of the Arcane Knights had already arrived.

Including the players who participated in the extraordinary party, they left the party almost at the same time as my true self.

Looking at the twenty arcane knights in front of him, Wu Chang was very satisfied with his current team.

In front of everyone, Wu Chang uses his original self to express his absolute trust in his true self.

Sir Sean didn't even ask too many questions about the candidates Peace provided. He just said, "I trust your judgment," and then performed a simple induction ceremony for the players.

That kind of absolute confidence made not only the players but even Raventon, who was already familiar with Wu Chang, feel uneasy.

While the players were receiving a simple training, he pulled Wu Chang aside and asked:

"Is that guy called Heping really that trustworthy? Even though those guys he recruited seem very strong, what if there are undercover agents from the Steam Council among them?"

Wu Chang said indifferently:

"Even the most core lower council of Stilan would have an undercover agent like Baron Philip, let alone a secret order of knights."

"Even if they are clean today, who can guarantee that they will not be bribed by the Steam Parliament tomorrow?"

"As long as we ensure that every step they take is under our control, the traitors may become our helpers."

Ravington curled his lips and said:

"Since you are so confident, you are the leader and you have the final say."

After a dozen minutes of simple training, in which the players understood the duties and powers of the Secret Security Department, the first internal meeting of the Arcane Knights began.

Wu Chang's real body, known to everyone as Sir Sean, began to arrange the current tasks for the members of the Knights.

The Arcane Knights currently have three tasks, one of which is to investigate the abnormal person who almost self-destructed just now.

The Steam Parliament has developed the technology of cyborgs to such an extent that if we don't strike hard against them soon, they might really come up with something.

Wu Chang has made a name for himself throughout his life. He has been able to successfully break through so many copies that possess divinity, but he cannot fail in this gutter where there is only the power of the root.

The direct descendants of the Steam Council must be found as soon as possible, or at least that Franken-class extraordinary machine tool must be destroyed.

However, in front of other players, Wu Chang did not mention much information about the Steam Council.

The existence of the Steam Parliament is a hidden information that he discovered by discovering the underground secrets of the Pine Coal Mine and overcoming resentment.

This kind of important information can increase the dungeon exploration degree by at least 2-5 percentage points at the time of settlement. Of course, it cannot be told to the players directly, but should be given as a reward after the task is completed.

To the players, he simply told them to pay more attention to the intelligence of the abnormal persons, and try to infer their circumstances before death from their identities and whereabouts.

As the leader of the force, Wu Chang, to a certain extent, is in charge of the authority to issue tasks.

As soon as he finished talking about Task One, a line of prompts popped up in front of all the players present.

"Sub-mission obtained: Investigate the information about the failed self-destruction attempt of the cyborg in St. George's Square."

"Mission Rewards: Based on the value of the intelligence you submit, you will receive corresponding force contribution points and some rewards. The force contribution points will determine the reward settlement for the branch confrontation mission when the instance is settled."

When players saw the side quest pop-up window appear, their eyes sparkled.

Even though the group of players in front of them are already at the top of the pyramid in the wasteland, the side quests prompted by the system are rare for them.

Except for professional problem solvers like Leng Shan, other players' exploration of the dungeon is extremely limited. Being able to complete all the main lines and decipher the dungeon's worldview is already considered to have exceeded the task.

Side quests are things that are triggered by chance.

The true self who occupies a place as the Arcane Knight also had this side quest pop up in front of him.

However, his task prompt has a suffix, and the task cannot be superimposed with the reward of the leader of the faction.

Although he couldn't kill two birds with one stone and claim two rewards, the prompt in front of him was enough to make him understand why the players were so excited.

This shows that players do not hate him issuing tasks, and are even willing to be his slaves and enjoy the process very much.

In this case, he can let go and exploit these men.

Don't forget, this is a Steam Phantom dungeon, he must learn from those industrialists and let the players work hard. The second task, which is also the main task of the players, is to investigate the assassination of Prime Minister Ron.

As with the mission, the progress of his and Raventon's investigation will certainly not be synchronized with other players. If they want to obtain enough intelligence, they must demonstrate more value.

After all, the Mystic Knights are not a charity organization. They have already done their utmost to ensure that the players leave alive. Letting the leader of the Knights work for their members for free would be counterproductive.

He doesn't give other players too many clues, only giving them the identities of the Secret Security Department members.

How much they can find out with this identity depends on their respective methods.

The second task released by Wu Chang overlapped with the main task, and no side task popped up.

This made the players' reactions much colder.

Seeing this, Wu Chang made a ruthless move. He drew out the Holy Sword of Lake Light and released the lake light from the blade that was enough to illuminate a distance of half a meter.

"Since the founding of Stilan, the Mystic Knights have been the sword of the Queen, guarding the safety of the empire."

"Now Grimland is plagued by strange phenomena. Every one of them is caused by the involvement of extraordinary people. As the Queen's Sword, we must find the real culprit and clear the haze that covers the sky of Grimland."

As he spoke, the task reminder popped up again in front of everyone.

"Obtained a hidden side quest: Assist Sir Sean and catch the mastermind behind the Grimlan vision."

"If the mission is successful, you will gain a large amount of force contribution points and receive additional rewards when the mission is settled. There is no penalty for mission failure. Do you want to accept the mission?"

Hidden side quests?!
Seeing this task prefix, everyone instantly became alert.

Their expressions at this moment were even more exaggerated than the expressions of Jianxing, Negotiation Master and others when they saw the hidden side quest in the Silent Route copy.

Because the hidden mission at that time carried its own risks, if they could not stop the New Universe Church, they would likely be in danger.

But the hidden mission at hand is different. At least from a literal point of view, being unable to catch the mastermind behind the anomaly does not pose any immediate risk to them.

In other words, there is no penalty for mission failure, truly no penalty.

There is no doubt that this hidden side quest is a pure reward level.

If it weren't for the wrong dungeon plane, the players would even be unable to hold back their admiration and shout "loyalty! Sincerity!" to Wu Chang.

Even a ranked player like God's Tongue had never encountered such a good thing. He looked at Heping with excitement and thought to himself that he owed him a favor.

After the three tasks were arranged, the first collective meeting of the Arcane Knights was disbanded, and the true selves were free to act. Wu Chang's original body brought Raventon with him to start a small meeting between the leaders.

They are different from ordinary members. Their mission is to investigate the reasons for the abnormal deaths of a large number of workers in the textile area on the south bank of the Hills River based on the clues provided by Connor.

Connor had traced this line all by himself, so of course he couldn't share it with other players.

Of course, if his and Raventon's investigation came to a stalemate and other players had obtained enough contribution points, it was not impossible to use this investigation as a reward and share it with the contributing players.

Raventon was puzzled by Wu Chang's discussion of the case with him alone, so he asked:

"You just recruited so many new members. With such an important clue, why didn't you ask them to help investigate at the meeting just now?"

Wu Chang said as a matter of course:
"Because I am worried about them. The clues right now are extremely crucial and we cannot afford to make mistakes in the investigation. You are one of the people I trust the most in the Mystic Knights. Only if we investigate in person can I feel at ease."

Ravington took out his pipe and took a puff, then continued, "Then why don't you call that Peace?"

Wu Chang said: "You are the only two people I completely trust. When we were training etiquette before, he helped us contact Connor and obtained this clue."

"Now he has to help me watch over those foreign supernatural beings. I can only rely on you now."

Raventon shrugged and said helplessly: "Well, you are the leader after all."

Meanwhile, the extraordinary gathering at St. George's Cathedral came to an end.

Most of the extraordinary people who attended the party have already chosen the force they want to join.

Affected by the rules of the plane, although indigenous forces such as the Alchemy Association have no limit on the number of people they can recruit, they will somehow control the number of players they accept to less than twelve.

A leader of a faction like Julie, who had little desire for power, only had her eyes on six players at the party.

The Clock Tower Magician Guild, which prefers players with energy specialties, selects a larger number of players, but there are only eleven of them.

As for the Alchemy Association, they only selected strong fighters, but they also selected ten people and did not continue.

These three forces, like the Mystic Knights, are separate forces.

Most of the remaining players in the field were invited by the great nobles to become their security consultants.

They may appear fragmented, but the forces they suggest joining are in fact driven by the political leanings of their employers.

For example, players who follow a senator and an army general both belong to the "land nobles".

Players who follow the Chairman of the Trade Committee, the Permanent Under-Secretary of the Treasury, or a member of the House of Commons all belong to the "New Nobility".

Phantom, who was not selected by Wu Chang, did not join the three supernatural forces, but chose the chairman of the Trade Committee.

The situation in Stellan is very clear. The trend of industry and free trade is unstoppable. The new nobles control industry and trade, which is equivalent to controlling the vast majority of resources.

Putting aside the Secret Security Department where Wu Chang is located, the "New Nobles" camp is definitely the advantageous camp. Even if they cannot win the final confrontation mission, they can still get a considerable reward.

But for Phantom, who likes perfection, he is not satisfied with this choice.

When he left the party, his expression was very gloomy.

Peace, that guy will pay the price for the humiliation he suffered today sooner or later.

He was walking in the corridor of St. George's Church, and as he passed a shadow, a man in a black robe called him.

"If you are not satisfied with the current situation, then follow me."

The phantom hesitated for a moment, then followed the man in black robe to the basement of St. George's Cathedral.

When there was no one else around, the man in black robe said:
"I can see that you are exceptionally powerful. The powerful always have pride in their hearts."

"You will definitely not be willing to obey the orders of a cabinet minister and become his security advisor. If you want a better future, will you help me?"

Phantom narrowed his eyes and asked, "Who are you?"

The person in black robe took off his hood, revealing an elegant and noble face. The corners of her mouth raised slightly, and her smile was more dazzling than the sun.

"I am the king of Stylan, Olivia."

"Queen Olivia of Stian is recruiting you. Do you choose to change your current camp and join the special camp - the royal family?"

Phantom was stunned for a moment. The Secret Security Department had a royal prefix, which made him think that Wu Chang was in the Queen's camp.

But judging from what Olivia said, the situation didn't seem to be what he thought.

He asked, "Then what is the secret security department where Sir Sean works?"

Olivia smiled and said, "Did anyone tell you that the queen would only have one minister?"

The phantom seemed to understand something and immediately made a knight's salute and said:
"Your Majesty, at your service."

The extraordinary gathering attracted a large number of players, and those who were eyeing these players were not only the great nobles and extraordinary forces who showed up at the gathering.

It's not just Olivia, either.

Some other forces that are hidden from the public and have been shrouded in black robes all year round have also found the talents they value.

The players are bound to be busy tonight.

The next morning, when Wu Changben got up, he saw Raventon sitting in the restaurant, waiting for breakfast as usual.

After breakfast, Wu Chang and Irene got on the carriage, and Ravington continued to act as the coachman, taking the two to the East District.

After placing Irene in the Gray Church Slums and helping her finish her preparations, Ravington took out two police uniforms from the back of the carriage and temporarily borrowed Thomas's house as a dressing room.

"Put it on. You'll need this outfit to sneak into the textile district on the South Bank."

(End of this chapter)