People in Yu-Gi-Oh! The hyper-converged audience is also integrated

Chapter 451 Demon Baby
"Feeding...feeding?!"

The obese uncle Ariana let out a strange scream, startling the palace master.

"What's your name?" The Palace Master of Silver City frowned as he looked at him.

"No...no!" Ariana waved her hands frantically, a look of terror appearing on her greasy face. "Your Highness, how could you trouble yourself with such rough work! We servants can take care of the children!"

"Yes, yes, yes!" The high school boy Arias also reacted, rushing forward and adopting the most respectful posture. "Your Highness, the etiquette of Labyrinth teaches us that servants should share the burdens of their masters. Please entrust the young... young master to us."

Policewoman Ariana nodded in agreement, her expression serious: "We are professionals."

The Palace Master of Silver City looked at his three subordinates, each with a different appearance and earnest words, with suspicion.

A deadbeat couch potato, a skinny high school student, and a dashing policewoman.

She doesn't look like someone who would take care of a child at all.

But she herself was indeed annoyed by the little thing, and when she saw the baby's face, which was red from holding its breath, and had stopped crying but looked terrified, she finally softened.

She took off her basket and carefully handed it over, saying, "Then you should be careful. He's just a child. You can't be so rough with him."

The overweight man, Ariana, took the basket from him as if it were a hot potato.

The baby, Li Guanqi, struggled violently in the basket, using his hands and feet and making protesting noises like "uh uh ah ah" in his throat.

No male mothers! No male mothers!
Crabs! I want crabs!

However, his protests were in vain.

Three huge, gloomy heads crowded around, completely enveloping his small world in shadow.

"Kid, you've got some nerve, haven't you?" Arias said with a grim expression.

"You're starting to complain now?" Ariana's voice was icy.

Ariana remained expressionless and added quietly, "Or maybe we should just strangle him."

"..."

The baby Li Guanqi froze, all his struggles came to an abrupt halt, and his big, dark eyes were filled with humiliation and a sense of complacency.

He didn't dare to move.

Seeing that he had finally calmed down, Arias immediately put on a gentle smile and turned to the palace master: "Your Highness, you see, he likes us very much. The son-in-law probably won't be back for a while, so let's just pretend he's dead."

“Yes!” Ariana immediately agreed, “We can clear the game on our own without him!”

The palace master looked at the bizarre and dazzling night market, his face full of exhaustion: "But we don't have a single clue right now, how are we supposed to find the 'door'?"

Arias looked around and keenly noticed something unusual about the crowd not far away.

The place was surrounded by layers of people, all looking up at something and discussing it animatedly.

“Palace Master, look,” he (or she) pointed, “there seems to be something going on over there. Let’s go take a look.”

The palace master nodded in agreement; for now, they could only take it one step at a time.

The four people (plus an infant) struggled to squeeze into the dense crowd. Li Guanqi was carried on the back of the obese uncle Ariana, whose view was completely blocked and he could not see anything.

He was so anxious that he waved his arms and legs around in the basket, and finally he simply used both hands and feet to climb up Ariana's plump body, huffing and puffing as he climbed up her broad shoulders.

The vision suddenly opens up.

On the wall in the center of the crowd, there was an emergency notice with white background and black lettering, which looked particularly glaring under the flashing neon lights around it.

[Urgent Notice]

1. Investigations have revealed that the 'pathogens' carrying four types of viruses—Demon, Undead, Fantasy Demon, and Mage—have infiltrated the general population. Citizens are urged to actively monitor the situation and immediately report any suspicious individuals to the security department.

2. Note: Prolonged contact with the 'pathogen' carries a very high probability of infection with the related virus. Once infected, you will be subject to the control and influence of the corresponding 'pathogen'.

3. Clue: 'Pathogens' with the same element will attract and devour each other. If the devoured 'pathogen' has a different element and a higher level than itself, a 'conversion' phenomenon will occur.

4. Highest Alert: The body harbors seven pathogens of different origins but identical elements. These pathogens will evolve into the "Calamity." Do everything in your power to prevent the birth of the "Calamity"!
Similar notices appeared in all 32 outposts on the second level, with only the race in the first item being different; the rest of the content was exactly the same.

"Xia Sheng, what do you think?" the white-haired loli version of Albus asked earnestly.

The guard version of Xia Sheng looked at the announcement and said in a deep voice, "Can you please stop talking, Albus? I can't stand your voice."

"What's wrong?" Albus asked in a high-pitched, affected voice. Xia Sheng felt a chill run down his spine again, and goosebumps rose on his skin.

"Yeah, isn't it great?" the one-eyed pirate version of the Heavenly Demoness said in a rough voice.

The female teacher, Axelcia, trembled and whispered, "Heavenly Witch, you shouldn't speak either."

"What's wrong?" Albus and the Heavenly Demoness asked in unison.

"It feels pretty good." (X2)

"Sigh—get used to it." Beast tamer Shen Shen looked at the announcement and chuckled. "On the surface, it talks about pathogens, but it's actually talking about candidates, isn't it?"

A person who possesses leadership qualities with a high concentration of the same element is called a candidate.

"Is preventing the birth of a calamity the mission of this base?"

Axelcia nodded and said, "These are more like the stronghold rules than the five we had when we entered."

“No,” Xia Sheng quickly retorted, “Those five rules at the entrance are definitely for the players to see; they are the rules for clearing the level. Lucky kids can proceed to the next stronghold.”

“And this announcement—” he pointed to the announcement, “is for the NPCs at the outpost.”

He turned to his four teammates: "If I'm not mistaken, we are the pathogens."

“And I—” he pointed to the guard badge on his shoulder, “ am a guard responsible for eradicating pathogens.”

"Everyone, please come with me."

"What the heck? A pathogen? A jinx?"

The obese middle-aged man, Ariana, carried Li Guanqi on his back, staring blankly at the words on the announcement, scratching his greasy hair.

"Our mission is to prevent the birth of a 'disaster star'?" The Palace Master of Silver City frowned as he analyzed.

High school student Arias's eyes darted quickly across the notice, his brain racing: "Identify the 'pathogen' from the crowd and report it to the security department? Is that all it takes to pass?"

"A guard?" Policewoman Ariana subconsciously touched the unfamiliar uniform she was wearing. "Could it be me?"

"But the higher-ups didn't say how many reports were needed to pass the test, nor did they mention what would happen if I reported the wrong report." Arias felt that things weren't so simple.

"Who is the pathogen?" The palace master scanned the surrounding crowd, trying to find the so-called "suspicious person" among the unfamiliar faces.

The four fell into deep thought, but Li Guanqi, the baby on Ariana's back, was furious.

These idiots! They're going in the wrong direction!

We are the pathogens!

He was so anxious that he used his hands and feet to struggle inside the basket, his small body thrashing about, making urgent "uh uh ah ah" sounds in his throat, trying to get their attention.

"What are you trying to do now..." Arias noticed his movement, turned around with a gloomy face, and warned in a low voice.

"No, listen to what he has to say." The Palace Master turned around, looking at Li Guanqi's anxious little face, a hint of curiosity in his eyes. "He seems to have something to say."

Upon hearing this, Arias, Ariana, and Ariana felt their hearts leap into their throats.

Come again? !
Is this little rascal about to reveal his identity again?

The three of them immediately exchanged a glance, their nerves on edge, ready to pounce and cover her mouth at any moment. If they heard even half a word of "extra" from that little mouth, they would act immediately!

"what--"

Instead of exploding as they expected, baby Li Guanqi raised his chubby little hand and pointed forcefully at the three words "pathogen" on the notice on the wall.

The palace master looked in the direction he was pointing, and asked with some confusion, "Pathogen? What's wrong? Baby, do you know where the pathogen is?"

Good question!
Li Guanqi shouted in his heart, and then, under everyone's gaze, he slowly pointed to the palace master, high school student Arias, policewoman Ariana, fat otaku Ariana, and finally, solemnly pointed to himself.

Simple actions, profound expression.

In that instant, the air froze.

The thoughtfulness and vigilance on the faces of the palace master and the three servants turned into astonishment at this moment.

"The pathogen... is us?!" Policewoman Ariana was the first to exclaim in shock.

"No!" A jolt of electricity seemed to run through high school student Arias's brain as he sorted out his thoughts. "To be precise—"

She looked up abruptly, met the shocked faces of her companions, and said, word by word, "The pathogen is a 'player'! This announcement is for the NPCs at this outpost!"

"Um--"

The baby Li Guanqi nodded heavily and let out a satisfied hum from his nose.

I finally got it!

"I see!" The fog in the Palace Master's eyes suddenly cleared. "So, our mission is not to prevent the birth of the 'Calamity Star' at all, but to evade the surveillance of NPCs and guards while defeating the other seven players who possess the same element, and ultimately evolve into the 'Calamity Star'!"

"That makes sense! This is what real rules for clearing the game look like!" Fat otaku Ariana suddenly realized.

"No wonder the system hides our IDs and skins; it's to help us blend in better with the NPCs..."

The group suddenly realized what was going on and began to discuss it.

Only Li Guanqi's chubby little face was tightly furrowed.

Most of the logic makes sense, except for one point of doubt.

If becoming a "jinx" is the ultimate goal, then you must evade surveillance, identify other players of the same element, defeat other players, and even have a "guard" in your team. This is undoubtedly a cruel challenge full of strategy, battles, and choices.

But why does the system display rules to players upon entry, saying "Lucky children can proceed to the next stronghold"?
What does this have to do with "luck"? Even if luck plays a role, it shouldn't be singled out as a separate factor...

Just as he was racking his brains, a voice filled with joy and admiration rang out above him.

"The baby is so smart!"

Before Arias and the other two, along with Li Guanqi, could react, the Palace Master reached out and scooped Li Guanqi out of Ariana's basket, holding him tightly in her arms.

Then, she gently placed a warm kiss on his smooth forehead.

A soft popping sound.

"Palace Master—Your Highness—!" Arias and the other two froze for a second, then burst into screams comparable to pigs being slaughtered, trying to stop them, but it was too late.

That kiss has already fallen.

Li Guanqi froze completely.

"As expected of my baby, so smart." The Palace Master's boastful laughter echoed in his ears, and a warm embrace enveloped him.

Aryas and the other two froze on the spot, all looking at Li Guanqi. With such intimate actions, this dead pervert would definitely expose his true colors!

To the surprise of the three, the baby Li Guanqi showed no sign of pride, nor did he cry or scream.

He was just very calm, very calm, lost in thought.

The touch of that kiss was warm and soft, carrying the fragrance of a strange woman, and a trace of her stickiness still lingered on my forehead.

The hustle and bustle of the night market, the noise of the crowd, and the flashing neon lights all quickly faded away at this moment, turning into a blurred background.

Those conversations buried deep in his memory suddenly resounded in his mind without any warning.

"Li Guanqi, where are your parents?"

"They...work in other places."

"Li Guanqi, where are your parents?"

"They...are sick and are in the hospital."

"Li Guanqi, where are your parents?"

"They...are dead."

The young man's voice was calm, indifferent, and utterly devoid of emotion.

The world is a blank.

"Palace Master—!"

The voices of Arias and the other two were distorted and broken.

Finished!

This lecherous monster is definitely going to be exposed!

The three of them stared intently at the baby, their hearts pounding in their throats, ready to eliminate its personality at any moment.

However, the expected smug grin from the baby, or any offensive gesture, did not occur.

The baby, Li Guanqi, was just very quiet.

The eagerness that had been shining in those big, dark eyes had now been drained of all its luster, leaving only an empty, blank stare.

His small body remained motionless in the palace master's arms, and slowly he fell silent.

"Shh-"

The Palace Master of Silver City looked at the baby who had calmed down in his arms and a relieved smile appeared on his face.

She carefully placed her index finger to her lips, gesturing for her three petrified subordinates to be quiet.

"The baby is asleep, so please keep your voices down and don't disturb him."

Her voice was very soft, with a gentleness she herself was unaware of.

Arias and the other two: "..."

The obese uncle Ariana trembled as she reached out and carefully took the baby Li Guanqi from the palace master's arms and put him back into the basket.

He leaned close to Arias and whispered, "What...what happened to him? Could it be...that the Palace Master kissed him to death?"

"Impossible!" Policewoman Ariana retorted urgently.

"Do not."

High school student Arias stared at Li Guanqi's unresponsive face, lowered his voice, and spoke in a complicated tone.

“He… ‘quickly logged out’.”

There are two types of logout: one is a complete logout, which completely disconnects you from the metaverse; the other is a "busy" logout, which allows you to receive some messages.

……

The Dream Collapses, Shen Wu's Mobile Base.

Inside the medical area, Tang Xin frowned slightly, looking at the figure sitting in the corner not far away.

The myna bird has been holding that position for a long time.

He was wearing a metaverse neural helmet, his body pressed against the alloy wall, motionless and expressionless, eerily quiet.

The Li Guanqi that Tang Xin knew was either calm and collected when planning, occasionally showing a playful or healthy smile during duels, or ruthless when facing enemies.

She had never seen Li Guanqi like this before.

Quiet, silent, as if the soul had been ripped from the body, leaving only a sorrowful outline.

"What are you looking at? Your eyes are about to pop out." Le Tong walked over with a cup of hot drink and followed Tang Xin's gaze.

"Hey, what's wrong with him?"

What must a man have gone through to show this kind of expression?

Letong nudged Mickey, who was wiping the equipment next to her: "Hey, go, call him."

"Huh?" Mickey looked bewildered, but still obediently stood up, walked up to Li Guanqi, and patted him on the shoulder.

"Hey bro, snap out of it!"

Li Guanqi's body trembled slightly, and his empty eyes refocused.

He blinked blankly, as if emerging from a bottomless dream, and instinctively asked, "What's wrong?"

His gaze then swept around and he saw several wounded soldiers groaning in the mobile outpost.

"There are wounded? Why didn't you call me sooner?"

His tone returned to its usual calm.

Mickey scratched his head and casually laughed, "I saw you were having a great time in the Metaverse, so I didn't want to bother you."

"Uh, thank you." Li Guanqi smiled, stood up, skillfully opened the medical kit beside him, and called the robots Sixiang and Wushi to come and assist him.

"I'll take over now, you go and do your thing."

Tang Xin opened her mouth, wanting to ask something, but swallowed the words back.

Le Tong sighed softly and shook her head. She didn't have many reservations. Holding her hot drink, she opened her signature loud voice and asked directly, "What's wrong, Lao Qi? Was Yuan Yuzhou set up?"

"Hehehe." Li Guanqi didn't stop what he was doing, treating the wounded while casually chuckling.

"more or less."

He told a half-truth, half-lies.

"My entry into that stronghold was too abstract. The system randomly assigned me the identity of a mute person, so I couldn't even speak. It was just pure imprisonment."

He paused, his tone carrying just the right amount of disdain and helplessness.

"Pfft—a mute?!" Mickey couldn't help but burst out laughing. "No wonder you looked like that. If I couldn't speak, I'd be speechless too!"

Le Tong chuckled, teasingly saying, "That's terrible, Lao Qi. Will he be able to refresh his identity? Or will he remain mute forever?"

"I don't know, the rules don't say." Li Guanqi shrugged and smiled nonchalantly.

His smile was faint, no different from usual, but Tang Xin didn't say anything, just quietly looked at him, and always felt that his smile was somewhat forced.

As they chatted and joked, the supercomputing rings on the wrists of the four people made a soft sound.

"Hmm?" Mickey looked down and his eyes lit up. "Hey! The strategy team sent a notification!"

The group quickly browsed the information, their hearts filled with joy.

The strategy team, a strike force composed of members from the Dark Division and the Spirit Control Bureau, has identified several safe routes that allow access to the second level without engaging in combat or conflict, using only scientific techniques or decryption methods.

"Let's go, logistics team! Let's go!" Le Tong shouted.

Li Guanqi finished bandaging the wounded soldier's wounds and then stood up to pack up the equipment.

With a walkthrough that's practically a babysitter, the rest of the journey went incredibly smoothly. The walkthrough clearly explained which doors to go through, which NPCs to avoid talking to, and which items were traps.

In less than an hour, the five of them arrived safely at the connecting passage between the first and second floors.

"Let's start setting up the stall!" Le Tong stretched and continued watching the live stream, looking quite content. "Great, another task completed."

Mickey took pictures everywhere, exclaiming "Wow, amazing special effects!" as he did so.

Qiqi then propped her face up and looked up at the sky, even though there was no sky above the connection passage between the stronghold and the sky.

Tang Xin continued writing. After such a long hiatus, it wouldn't be right to not write at least 10,000 words upon her return.

Li Guanqi stood still, looking into the distance at the end of the passage, which was the entrance to a two-story stronghold with the words "Dragon's Spirit Temple" written on it. However, the name of the stronghold was not important.

Strangely, above this outpost, just like in the Shuoye Corridor, is written – 204.

"It's been an hour, they should have made some progress by now."

Li Guanqi muttered to himself, and before any wounded soldiers arrived, he put on the Metaverse Helmet again.

Upon entering, I discovered—

He weighed it and sold it by weight.

"A demonic infant, a once-in-a-century event! Distinguished guests, don't miss it!"

"Starting price per kilogram—fifty grams of shell stones!"

(End of this chapter)