My Core is the Boss

Only a single street separated the Luo Residence and the Chen Residence. The Luo Residence was located in the southern part of Yunyan County. The family was in the silk business that extended across an entire province.

Master Luo was charitable and kind, often repairing roads and distributing porridge. He had an excellent reputation in Yunyan County. His greatest pride was his son, a martial arts genius. With his exceptional martial talent, Luo Bufan was expected to gain special admission into the Demon-Slaying Bureau and become a regional demon slayer.

However, Luo Bufan disappeared half a month ago, causing a huge stir throughout Yunyan County. Master Luo even put up a reward of seven thousand silver taels to find him. Unfortunately, his son was never found. Instead, one week ago, the entire Luo family was massacred.

That same night, the Chen Residence was also exterminated. All seventy-six members of the household were killed. The entire county was shaken. Thus, people from the Demon-Slaying Bureau came to Yunyan County to investigate the massacre.

***

Qi Yuan sat while casually drinking thin porridge, his thoughts wandering. "There are neither glass nor cannons here. If I made these things, wouldn't I make a fortune?"

This game really was suitable for farming and developing technology. Nevertheless, after some thought, he decided to put it aside for now. His priorities were participating in the Martial Arts Tournament and forming a Golden Core.

Nearby, some commoners whispered regretfully.

"Haa... What a pity. The young master of the Luo family and the daughter of the Chen family had just gotten engaged, and then something like this happened..."

Qi Yuan stood up and stopped listening to the NPCs' discussion. The information he had heard was pretty much the same. He headed toward the Luo Residence. The closer he was, the more desolate the street became. Even beggars were seldom seen.

He could smell the pungent scent of blood from over a hundred meters away. In the distance, constables from the government had also cordoned off the area, forbidding ordinary people from entering.

Of course, that didn’t apply to a player like him. He swaggered toward the residence. Ahead, several government runners and constables were chatting idly. They grew alert the moment they saw someone approaching.

Upon recognizing who it was, Li Shu lifted his blade slightly and glanced sideways at Qi Yuan. "Qi Er, why did you come here instead of selling your pork? I thought some expert from the Demon-Slaying Bureau had arrived. You nearly scared me to death."

Li Shu often bought pork from Qi Er... well, without paying.

Qi Yuan said, "I came here to complete a mission."

Sincerity was the ultimate killing move. He felt that these NPCs also had the right to know this was a game world.

"Hurry up and let me in so I can finish the mission. I'm still in a hurry to log off."

Qi Yuan had always followed rules and reason. If he were not afraid of being too conspicuous, he would have carved the word "reasonable" onto his forehead.

Sure enough, Li Shu was stunned briefly. "Did you lose your mind after Fourth Master Huang took your child bride?"

When Fourth Master Huang was going to marry Qi Er's child bride, Qi Er had even gone to Li Shu for help. It went about as well as anyone could expect.

Just then, a man and a woman in black uniforms approached.

The tall, round-faced woman held a whip and the leash of a big black dog. "What's going on?"

Li Shu’s expression immediately turned serious. "My lords, this is Qi Er, the city butcher. I don’t know what’s gotten into him, but he insists on going into the Luo Residence. I suspect he might be related to the massacre case. Should we throw him into prison?"

His words were dripping with malice. In this world, being thrown into prison meant that even if one did not die, one would at least lose a layer of skin.

Li Shu had always harbored sinister intentions. What he wanted was to use this opportunity to get Qi Yuan killed. That way, he wouldn’t have to repay his debt, and the trap he had set in the past would never be discovered. Indeed, Qi Er's gambling debt and the use of his child bride as collateral had all been part of Li Shu's scheme.

The round-faced woman glanced at Qi Yuan, amused. "He's so handsome. Just by looking at him, you can tell he's a good person. What a pity. With a face like that, why did you become a butcher?"

Li Shu was stunned.

The man beside her chuckled. "Don't let your lover-brain interfere with the mission."

Clearly, this was not the first time the round-faced woman had acted this way.

Qi Yuan stared oddly at the two. "You two are players too?"

He felt that things were getting a bit chaotic. Not only was this world already a large-scale game, but it also had other players.

"Are you a newcomer?" The round-faced woman was startled. Her gaze suddenly grew heated. "Wow, a newcomer!"

The man also glanced at Qi Yuan and made his judgment. The natives of this world could not say the word "player."

"We're not players. We're from the Demon-Slaying Bureau," the round-faced woman said. "If you’re still alive once this mission is over, perhaps we can become colleagues in the future."

In this world, looks were justice. Beauty alone might be a sin, but when combined with other qualities, it would be absolutely devastating in a modernized society. If Qi Yuan had been ugly, she would not have bothered saying so much.

The round-faced woman smiled faintly at Li Shu, placing her hand on his shoulder. "He's one of ours."

Li Shu immediately forced a smile, cold sweat appearing on his forehead. "I-I was blind!"

How had Qi Yuan gotten involved with the Demon-Slaying Bureau? He had to hurry and report this to Fourth Master Huang! He hurriedly left.

With the Demon-Slaying Bureau speaking on his behalf, Qi Yuan got his wish to enter the Luo family estate.

The round-faced woman looked around and smiled brightly. "You should thank me. That constable just now was harboring ill intentions toward you. You're really lucky, you know? On your first mission, you happened to run into a great beauty like me. If it had been someone else, who knows how badly they might have tricked you."

When she had patted Li Shu’s shoulder, she had secretly done something.

Qi Yuan blinked. "He still owes me money, and you already killed him?"

The man quickly replied, "Now's not the time to talk about this nonsense. Our mission is more important!"