Conan: What alias? That's my struggle!

The world seemed to freeze in that instant.

Lin Ye felt herself falling.

It felt like he was being pulled upwards by something. He couldn't tell which way was which, he couldn't feel gravity, and it was as if his own body didn't even exist.

Then, a burst of white light.

Lin Ye suddenly opened his eyes and found himself standing in a pure white space.

"What the hell? A training space?" Lin Ye looked around. There were no walls, no floor, and no ceiling. Everything was the same color.

He was like someone stuffed into an unfinished canvas.

"Ugh, this damn system, can't you just instill the skills into me directly?"

Lin Ye looked down at his own condition.

The body is still there, and the clothes are still there, but the "ground" under the feet is as white as the surrounding walls, and it is impossible to tell where the boundary is.

As soon as he finished speaking, the surrounding white began to change.

It was as if an invisible hand was painting; the white faded, lines emerged, and colors filled in. In just a few seconds, a complete world was built around him.

Almost instantly, Lin Ye found himself standing on a street, or more precisely, at the entrance of a hotel club.

The hotel looked very luxurious. It had a European architectural style, marble pillars, and golden doorknobs that gleamed under the lights.

The doormen, dressed in crisp uniforms, smiled and opened the doors for the guests coming and going.

The city is during the day; pedestrians walk along the streets, vehicles drive by, and you can even smell a faint mixture of perfume and car exhaust in the air.

That's so true.

It was so real that Lin Ye subconsciously reached out to touch the street lamp next to him—the metallic touch was cold and hard, and he could even feel the tiny rust marks on the surface.

"Immersive virtual games!"

Lin Ye was no longer so resistant.

【Ding--】

The system notification sounded in his mind, but this time it wasn't text; it appeared directly as sound, as if someone was speaking in his ear.

[The host has entered the identity skills training space.]

[This space is a projection of consciousness; time outside is suspended. The host can experience it without worry.]

Lin Ye was stunned for a moment.

"etc!"

He spoke up, intending to discuss it: "I really like virtual reality games, but can't the so-called identity skills training be a little simpler and more direct? Like giving me a bunch of aliens, letting me fight them in a cool way, and that's it, once I win? Why bother with such realistic scenarios?"

The system did not respond to this.

The system seemed not to have heard him at all.

"Don't be so aloof..." Lin Ye was about to ask another question when a black sedan silently stopped in front of him. The car window slowly rolled down, revealing an unfamiliar face. It was a man in his forties, wearing a black suit, with short hair, a cold expression, and eyes as sharp as an eagle's.

"Hashimoto Rinyo, this is your first mission, and also a test." He glanced at Rinyo and handed her a manila envelope through the car window.

The man in black spoke in a low, flat voice, devoid of any emotion: "The target is Wang Jianguo, a wealthy businessman from China, in the presidential suite on the top floor of the hotel."

"The information is inside. Read it, remember it, and then seal the envelope carefully. Don't mess it up." The man spoke without any emotion, like an NPC issuing a quest.

Lin Ye subconsciously took the envelope.

My brain is working at lightning speed.

A test to join the organization? The identity he acquired this week is that of a brewery worker, so is this system trying to mold him into the shape a brewery worker should be?

Well, it seems the system isn't entirely without after-sales support. This is training; the system is using a simulated scenario to train him to use those so-called "knitting skills."

"Okay, leave it to me. I guarantee I'll show you what a true Dark Souls speedrunner is all about." Lin Ye opened the envelope, inside which was a photo and several pieces of paper.

The photo showed an Asian man in his fifties with a square face and thick eyebrows, looking like a standard ID photo of a businessman.

Several sheets of paper contained the wealthy man's personal information, itinerary, lifestyle, hobbies, bodyguard configuration, and a floor plan of his hotel room.

The information is very detailed.

"Yes, that's good."

Lin Ye finished reading the documents, stuffed the paper back into the envelope, and then looked down at himself—he was wearing a black jacket with heavy pockets.

He touched it; it was a pistol.

The feel was unfamiliar, but my fingers seemed to know what to do.

Is this the "basic" provided by the system?

"Is there a problem?"

The man continued to ask questions.

"Wait until I finish the mission. The NPC will wait for me here. I'll buy you some oranges when I come back." Lin Ye took a deep breath and put the gun back in his pocket.

Under the man's bewildered gaze, he looked up at the hotel entrance.

The doorman was smiling at him.

"It's just killing someone, right? I've watched so many episodes of Detective Conan, I know all about locked-room murder alibis, it shouldn't be too difficult in practice..." Lin Ye felt like he was in a virtual reality simulation. He stepped into the hotel, and the voice of the man in black came from behind him.

"What are you muttering about?"

Lin Ye stopped and looked back.

The man in black frowned, staring sharply at him. His expression didn't seem like that of an NPC; it was more like he genuinely suspected the man of having a mental problem.

Lin Ye's heart tightened, but he quickly relaxed—this was a system-generated NPC, not a real person.

"The NPCs shouldn't be so dramatic. Save your computing power. I'll use it all on the girls later when I check how realistic this simulation is."

Lin Ye walked towards the hotel without looking back.

"????"

The man in black frowned even more. Although he suspected that Gin had hired an idiot, he didn't say anything more and rolled up the car window.

Lin Yeye had already entered the hotel.

The lobby is spacious, with crystal chandeliers hanging from the three-story-high ceiling, and marble floors that make a crisp sound when you step on them.

The receptionist smiled and asked Lin Ye if she needed any help.

"You're not good-looking enough."

Lin Ye waved his hand and walked straight to the elevator.

The target is the penthouse presidential suite.

He inserted the forged access card prepared by the man in black, pressed the elevator button, and watched the floor number jump from 1 to 15, and then from 15 to 28.

The moment the elevator doors opened, a quiet corridor appeared before us.

There were closed doors on both sides, and thick carpets on the floor that made no sound when stepped on.

"This is so annoying. I never expected this method. As expected, a real man speedruns." Lin Ye walked to the door of the presidential suite, raised his hand and knocked.

"Who?"

A man's voice came from inside, with a heavy accent.

Room service.

Lin Ye feigned ingratiation.

He's watched over a thousand episodes of Detective Conan, and in at least dozens of those episodes, the culprit used a similar method to trick people into opening the door, so it should be fine.

really.

The door opened a crack.

However, before Lin Ye could make a move, a hand suddenly reached out from the crack in the door, precisely grabbed his wrist, and pulled him in sharply.

He was pulled inside.

The world spun around.

By the time he realized what was happening, he had already been pinned to the ground.

"An assassin? Such a stupid assassin?"

Someone spoke, seemingly a bodyguard. Lin Ye's face was pressed against the carpet, one hand was twisted behind his back, and the other person's knee was pressing down on his waist with such force that it felt like it was going to break his spine.

"Damn it! System! Is this right?" Before Lin Ye could even yell at this nonsense, the weight pressing down on him disappeared, and the surrounding scenery seemed to have been paused.

Everyone froze in place.

【fail!】

A huge red blood-red character appeared in Lin Ye's field of vision.

Like failing a level in a game.

"Okay, so this was supposed to be virtual training?" The red text gradually faded, and the surrounding scenery began to crumble and dissipate like sand.

The white space reappears.

dark.

Feeling of falling.

Lin Ye suddenly opened his eyes.

He stood at the hotel entrance once more. The black sedan quietly pulled up in front of him, the window slowly rolled down, and the cold, stern face of the man in black reappeared.

It felt like reloading a save file and starting over.