Child of Destiny

Chapter 2022: Suprise Development (Part 2)

……

While Shin and Leonard were feeling a bit tense, someone suddenly stepped out behind the nearby tree and chuckled.

“Quite alert, aren’t you?”

Turning toward that direction, the pair saw Laurent, the young master of the Heavenly Taste, walking toward them.

The two could not help but raise their brows while watching the latter, not daring to lower their guard.

“Senior Laurent,” greeted Shin with a seemingly warning tone.

Seeing this, Laurent could not help but chuckle at them. “You don’t have to be too tense. I am here to test your alertness at the professor’s order. They seem to want to make sure that you guys are always on guard.”

“Your group and the rest of the students from the special program should expect a few tests like this in the future since it will become a new ’subject’ for your class,” he added, explaining that it was another arrangement from the faculty office.

The two were not very convinced and continued to hold their guard up while watching Laurent’s movements quite closely.

Laurent just chuckled after seeing their continued actions. He then stood before the two and continued. “Aside from the professors’ arrangement, I am also here to offer your team a commission.”

“Not in the real world, obviously, but within the game,” he added, clarifying his intention.

Hearing this, Shin and Leonard further raised their brows before the former asked. “Heavenly Resto-Bar?”

Shin had quite a few interactions with this organization within the game, which seemed to be quite mysterious when he first learned about them from Jeremiah (Lawless).

From what he knew, they were an organization that focused on information gathering. They were an information merchant just like the ’Secret Recipe’ that Shin had a lot of transactions with in the game.

However, the information that they were gathering focused more on ’people’, both inside and outside the game, rather than any in-game knowledge.

From what he had heard from David, Heavenly Taste also focused on looking for clues about the inheritances hidden within the game as well as their possible locations.

They were experts at piecing together the scattered information throughout the game and figuring out the most detailed information about the said inheritances in the real world.

Sensing something, Shin could not help but ask. “What does the senior need from us?”

Laurent liked Shin’s straightforwardness and immediately revealed his intention. “Our group have stubbled upon an interesting dungeon recently. Unfortunately, our people are not skilled enough to fully explore it due to certain restrictions.”

“We are looking for a few people with Transcendent Race and Class to help us out at the final stages of the dungeon. It was quite a difficult requirement to meet at the very least.”

“Within our organization, we only have a couple of people who meet that requirement. Unfortunately, it is not enough to fit the criteria for clearing the dungeon, so we are looking for a few helpers.”

He then paused for a moment before laying out the offer that he could give them. “I know that there is nothing much we can offer for your team since you do not lack anything.”

“Money was in question, so we can only offer you some important information. It can either be about a certain region or people within the game.”

“If you want to learn about a few people in the real world, we can provide you with it as well,” he added.

The offer piqued Shin’s interest. Unfortunately, most of the members of the Empyrean Talons were currently busy with their respective tasks within the game, particularly the ones as Transcendent Beings.

Shin thought for a moment before asking his head. “We are interested in the commission, Senior. Unfortunately, we don’t have any people who can take on it. Our members have been pretty busy these last few days.”

“Is that so? What a pity,” said Laurent before sighing. “It is pretty easy to look for people who meet the requirements, but the ones whom we can trust are very few.”

Shin raised his brows as suggested. “What about Senior Brother or Big Brother Jeremiah and the rest? Even if they can’t accept the commission, they at least have the connection to look for more trusted people that can fit your needs.”

“Those guys?” Laurent raised his brows before shaking his head. “Of course, we have thought about it as well. Unfortunately, just like I have said, looking for people that we can fully trust is very difficult.”

“You guys should be aware of the current situation, both inside and outside of the game. The tension is high, and the atmosphere is in a very unstable state.”

He then paused for a moment, recalling some of the information that he had received from his elders, before shaking his head. “There are quite a few big incidents that are happening throughout the world aside from the war that have exploded recently.”

“Because of these incidents, the elders do not have a choice but to focus more of their attention on them while ordering the people who have joined the game to focus on their development within the virtual world.”

“From their perspective, the answers that they are looking for to solve the issues in the real world are hidden right inside the game.”

“You guys should be aware of this as well, so I am sure that you understand our current situation,” he added.

Shin and Leonard could not help but pause and turn to each other, seemingly understanding what Laurent was talking about. After all, their elders had also told them about the things within the game and how it concerned the real world.

Shin even knew more about these secrets and understood their true purpose as well.

Laurent looked at this pair of juniors for a while before asking. “Can I ask when your people are available? I think we can delay our process for at least a month.”

Hearing this, Shin could not help but squint his eyes a little, realizing that Laurent and the Heavenly Resto-Bar within the game were putting a lot of importance on the said dungeon.

Shin could tell that this dungeon was either concerned with something important or powerful within the game, or it was related to another inheritance in the real world.

It would make sense if it were the latter case. This would make Shin understand why these people wanted to look for more trusted people rather than just highly skilled people to hire.

This further piqued his interest, so he could only turn to Leonard with an inquiring look. “What do you think?”

Leonard could tell that Shin must have figured out something, so he fell into deep thought for a moment before replying. “I can’t promise you anything, Senior. But we can do our best to finish our respective business within the game as soon as possible before going back to you.”

Laurent thought for a moment before nodding his head. “Alright, I understand. You guys should know how to contact me inside the game, so I trust you to hear some possible news later.”

There was a branch of Heavenly Resto-Bar within the Golden City, so contacting them would not be a problem.

Laurent was about to leave when he suddenly recalled something. “Oh! Right, before I forgot!”

“To show you are sincere, let me give you some interesting piece of information,” he started before smiling mysteriously. “One of the Powerhouse Guilds within the game, the Wing’s Alliance, has been taken over by a mysterious organization.”

“We first thought that it was related to the Pandemonium Descendants, but we later discovered that another hegemonic power has gotten involved and reaps all the benefits.”

He then looked at Shin and Leonard before continuing. “I hear that you have quite a few friends there. From what we have investigated, all these people have left the guild and scattered everywhere while fending off the pursuit of the new leaders of the guild.”

“There is also some news about a few people being captured in the real world alongside their previous Alliance Leader,” he added.

After saying that, Laurent walked away and left.

In the meantime, Shin turned to Leonard before asking. “It has become that serious?”

He had already heard about this news during the United Cup, but he was not expecting that it seemed to have already spiraled out of control.

“Now that I think about it, there seems to be a big secret surrounding this guild, given the attention that these mysterious organizations are giving them,” he added.

“I am not sure about it either,” Leonard shook his head before continuing. “But I did hear that this guild has a long and mysterious history. However, I am not exactly sure about their true background either.”

He then suddenly recalled something and said. “Ah! I think Arthur will know more about it. After all, that guy is somewhat obsessed with Irregulars.”

“I seem to hear from him that the founders of the Wing’s Alliance are somewhat related to that legendary team,” he added.

Hearing this, Shin suddenly felt more interested in this mysterious group of people, who seemed to have influenced quite a lot of people.

……