Chapter 121: Daily Settlement in Beika Town |
[Main Quest completed. Commencing teleportation after the storyline concludes.]
After Bai Mu beat The Producer unconscious, the Main Quest was officially completed.
Next came the final cinematic cutscene. This time, the setting was not Beika Town, but Tokyo.
"The Committee has held a vote. Due to the series of broadcasting incidents, you are being replaced."
"We have decided to suspend the anime broadcast and reboot it in six months. It will strictly adhere to the original work, integrating and streamlining the previously convoluted chapters."
"A special episode is also already in the planning stages. Even if it takes more time and extends the production schedule, we must ensure audience satisfaction."
A formal notice was tossed onto The Producer's desk.
"Furthermore, The Agency has uncovered evidence of your bribery and embezzlement of the production crew's funds for personal use. Prepare to face the court, former Mr. Producer."
The light faded from the middle-aged man's eyes. Right before the police handcuffed him, he spat out one last vicious remark.
"What are you talking about, Mr. Producer?"
"Dreams have always been worthless."
The silhouettes of a group of young people surrounded the exterior of that luxurious office.
They were dressed plainly and had slight builds. Many suffered from dry, breakout-prone skin due to chronic all-nighters, their eyes framed by deep, dark circles.
These were the frontline ground-level staff. Though their expressions were exhausted, their eyes brimmed with radiant light.
Standing in the sunlight, they might not have known what the future held. But at least in this very moment, there was no impurity within them, only the purest passion.
[Script completed. Commencing teleportation to the community.]
A flash of white light enveloped the area, and Bai Mu found himself back in his community room.
[Script "Daily Life in Beika Town" completed. Tallying personal rewards.]
[Hidden Quest "The Great Detective Forensic Doctor" completed. Rating increased.]
[Hidden Quest "Treating Money Like Dirt" completed. Rating increased.]
[Player has achieved the Hidden Ending: "Only Love is Real". Ending Rewards: Tranquilizer Watch, Bowtie Voice Changer, Jet Sneakers, APTX4869 (Special Edition), Forensic License, Basic Supply Chest x3.]
[Current Script Completion Rate: 100%]
[Your overall personal Script rating is: S.]
[Settlement completed.]
Even before the Script rewards had finished tallying, Bai Mu noticed a message in his chat box.
It was from Misty Rain Traveler: "I got taken out by Gin. That guy is utterly ruthless; even jamming a gun right into his face didn't work. I only managed to score a Forensic License and three Basic Supply Chests, plus a rare-grade Script Chest. Even though I got booted out early, I'm actually pretty satisfied with my haul. How about your end? Give me a holler when you're out."
"I'm out," Bai Mu replied.
"How was it? Did you get completely wrecked by Gin too?" Misty Rain Traveler asked.
"No, I cleared it," Bai Mu said.
"Holy crap! How did you deal with that absolute hacker?"
"I'll tell you later. Let me sort through my loot first."
"Did you get a big haul?"
"Just a little more than you, I suppose."
Bai Mu took out the items he received from the settlement. Aside from the Basic Supply Chests and the Bowtie Voice Changer, everything else was a rare-grade item.
'Take a gamble, and a bicycle becomes a motorcycle,' he mused.
As the difficulty ramped up, the rewards naturally followed suit.
[Name: Tranquilizer Watch]
[Type: Special Equipment]
[Quality: Rare]
[Effect: Can fire a transparent Tranquilizer Dart once every 24 hours, incapacitating the target for 3 minutes. If the dart strikes the target's neck, it will completely ignore their anesthesia resistance.]
[Note: Rumor has it that when Mouri Kogoro went to the hospital to have his neck examined, he was immediately hauled into the ICU.]
[Name: Bowtie Voice Changer]
[Type: Special Equipment]
[Quality: Common]
[Effect: After recording a voice, the user can alter their own voice through the bowtie.]
[Note: Moshi moshi, can you hear me?]
[Name: Jet Sneakers]
[Type: Footwear Armor]
[Quality: Rare]
[Effect: Stores 1 burst of compressed air every 24 hours, up to a maximum of 3 charges. When the air burst is activated, it can unleash an ultra-powerful kick.]
[Equip Requirement: Shoe size 32 or smaller.]
[Note: Who said you can't score just because there's a goalkeeper?]
The Forensic License, much like the Reporter license, was a class-change item. As for APTX4869 (Special Edition), it had the poisoning debuff completely removed. The transformation time was shortened to 10 seconds, but the effects would only last for 20 minutes.
There were a total of 12 pills. All things considered, it was a situational countermeasure item that would definitely come in handy at times.
Among these, the most useful item to Bai Mu was naturally the Tranquilizer Watch. Although the target would wake up immediately if attacked while anesthetized, a solid three-minute hard crowd control effect was undeniably powerful.
The effect of the sneakers looked great, but unless he used a pill to shrink down, there was no way he could fit into them. However... they seemed perfectly suited for either Witch or Lucy.
He cracked open the three Basic Supply Chests, obtaining a dozen bottles of mineral water, a bag of 12 individually wrapped high-energy biscuits, and a vacuum-sealed smoked roast chicken. They were just icing on the cake; having them wasn't particularly crucial.
The Forensic Doctor profession appeared to be an analytical combat class. Based on the brief introduction, it allowed the user to extract extra intelligence from corpses and specialized in discovering enemy weaknesses. It required dissecting different types of monster carcasses to level up.
Bai Mu temporarily stored the license in his inventory, considering there was a penalty for taking on a new profession.
Before contacting Misty Rain Traveler again, he opened the "News Agency" interface unique to his Reporter profession and sold off the news he had gathered.
[You have sold the News: "Everyday Cases in Beika Town," "The Producer's True Identity," and "The City Beneath Fukuzawa Yukichi."]
[You have gained 600 Points and 2000 Profession EXP.]
[Your Reporter profession level has increased to Level 3.]
The first two pieces of news only sold for 150 Points each, but the final one raked in a massive 300 Points. It was a substantial haul, nearly equivalent to the base clear reward of a D-grade solo Script.
For the first three levels of the Reporter profession, each level-up only required 1000 Profession EXP. However, advancing to Level 4 demanded 2000 EXP, an immediate doubling of the cost. He wouldn't be able to see any new skills until he hit Level 4.
Regardless, Bai Mu went ahead and activated his other two skills, Battlefield Survival and Illegal Infiltration. The latter could be toggled on or off manually. If he didn't need to sneak around, he could just disable the skill to avoid wasting extra resources.
'But this Script really isn't as simple as it seems on the surface,' Bai Mu mused, recalling that final Side Quest.
Since the Side Quest had successfully triggered, he believed the promised reward was likely real.
However, quest rewards were always directly proportional to their difficulty. A massive 10,000-Point bounty would never be handed out just for verbally agreeing to something.
The true force controlling Beika Town had always been the invisible, overarching hand of money.
In truth, the way The Producer had been seduced by wealth was a glaring warning. Had Bai Mu accepted the quest, he would have likely been subjugated by Capital, losing his own free will to remain trapped in Beika Town as a mere supporting character forever.
Although this Script wouldn't directly kill Players, it was still brimming with hidden dangers. If things had truly reached that point, it wouldn't have been any different from death.
Comments 3