The Only Player in 'Child of Stardust'

Federal Calendar Year 106, May 23, 2 p.m.

Inside the Stars Network Company building.

After a devastating fire, the scene was unrecognizable, turned into charred ruins, with a heavy smell of burnt permeating the air, and scorched remains scattered everywhere.

Firefighters were conducting the final cleanup, extinguishing the remaining embers to prevent any rekindling.

8th floor.

Five men in black suits looked up, examining the damage caused by the battle last night.

Floors 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13 were completely gone. Looking up, it was empty, with only some remaining broken walls barely supporting the building.

With five floors missing, the building's structural balance was inevitably compromised. If these remaining walls collapsed, the entire building would instantly snap in half, crashing into the bustling commercial area below, causing immeasurable casualties and property loss.

Fortunately, the Alchemists from the Department of Civil Engineering promptly arrived on the scene last night to urgently reinforce the building. Had they not done so, the subsequent battles would surely have led to that horrifying scenario.

"I never expected Nangong Yi to be a Transcendent. She hid very well. No one discovered her for so many years.

Judging by this level of destruction, her rank must not be low."

A man with a horizontal scar on the right corner of his mouth clicked his tongue in admiration.

Nangong Yi was a well-known public figure. Even if one didn't mingle in the gaming scene, those who frequently surfed the internet would know about her.

She had an exceptional business acumen. Starting from scratch, she made Stars Network one of the world's top hundred companies in just three years. Her meteoric rise resembled an urban web novel protagonist, and her autobiography, *My Struggle*, sold millions of copies.

As a world-class elite CEO, she was incredibly approachable, never putting on airs. She enjoyed attending offline game expos, engaging with players up close, and often live-streamed playing games, sharing the development progress of *Child of Stardust*.

What endeared her even more to players was her eagerness to incorporate their ideas and suggestions into the game—this was why *Child of Stardust* became an ultimate mishmash.

Her various efforts consistently elevated her reputation, ultimately making her an industry benchmark, adored by countless fans. Even obsessive, fanatical online groups patrolled the internet 24/7, ready to attack anyone who dared to say something negative about her.

It could be said that as long as *Child of Stardust* was released on time and performed normally, without any major issues, Nangong Yi was destined to become the father of the new era of gaming, go down in history, and be idolized.

But now, looking back,

all of this was just a facade for some purpose Nangong Yi was trying to achieve.

Since obtaining "that thing" during the bloody incident seven years ago, she had been meticulously preparing.

"Although we don't know exactly what Nangong Yi wants to do, *Child of Stardust* is undoubtedly connected to 'that thing.' She wouldn't start a gaming company for no reason… What do you guys think?" The scarred man turned to ask his teammates.

The teammates shook their heads. "That thing" didn't even have a name, so they couldn't guess anything with such a blank slate.

The only information available was that the abnormality level of "that thing" reached Level 5, second only to the world-destroying Level 6 abnormal phenomena, possessing reality distortion abilities, and was extremely dangerous.

"Zhao Junlang, why didn't you report when you entered Xinhu?"

At this moment, a stern-looking man with a pale face, wearing a black suit and leaning on a cane, walked over, glaring at the scarred man with hostility.

"We, the Mobile Task Force, have the highest authority. We go wherever we want in non-emergency situations. Do we need to report to you, Kidney Weak Lord?"

Zhao Junlang smiled at the man, not taking this big shot, who could make Xinhu tremble with a stomp, seriously at all.

"Besides, don't you understand why we are here? Last night's incident involved many parties. It's not something your Xinhu Control Bureau can handle on its own."

Counting on his fingers, Zhao Junlang listed:

"Officially, only Nangong Yi and the Red Robe Monks Association were in conflict last night. But behind the scenes, there were also the Faded Rainbow, Omega, the Mechanical God Cult, the MG Consortium, and the Land of Truth involved… And these are just the ones we know of. There are definitely others that haven't been exposed. These people are really sneaky; not a hint of it leaked before they made their moves.

Nangong Yi thought she had hidden well, but she underestimated the lure of 'that thing.' Seven years were enough for some people to find clues and infiltrate Stars Network.

I heard she was furious when she escaped last night. 'That thing' must have been snatched by someone, but who could it be?"

Narrowing his eyes slightly, Zhao Junlang continued, "Having her seven years of hard work stolen, Nangong Yi won't let this go, and neither will the other forces. Xinhu is bound to change. How about we cooperate and catch big fish together?"

The stern-looking man remained expressionless. "I don't agree, but does that matter?"

"Haha, of course, it doesn't matter. Well then, happy cooperation."

Zhao Junlang extended his hand with a bothersome smile, but the stern man ignored him, turning away coldly with his cane.

In the team, a pink-haired girl with earrings leaned close to Zhao Junlang and whispered, "That's my type, Captain. Can you get his contact for me? Conquering such a cold and domineering CEO would be a real challenge."

"Every man is your type, isn't he?"

Zhao Junlang sighed, "He isn't into women. You should give up."

"Oh? Does that mean he's into men?" The pink-haired girl was surprised.

"No." Zhao Junlang shook his head. "Kidney Weak Lord doesn't desire any flesh. Otherwise, why do you think he got that nickname?"

"This…" The pink-haired girl regretfully thought. How could such a fine man have kidney issues?

"Let's go find a place to stay." Zhao Junlang walked out, his eyes growing sharp. "This incident has attracted all sorts of monsters and demons. We'll be staying in Xinhu for a while.

After seven years of chasing 'that thing,' it's time for a conclusion."

·

·

Puxi District, Snack Street.

Having secured their accommodation, Zhao Junlang and his team were strolling around. They hadn't been to Xinhu in many years and wanted to see if there were any new things to check out.

Suddenly, the pink-haired girl squealed with delight, her eyes shining as if she had found prey, and ran excitedly.

"Hey there, handsome, can I add you on WeChat?"

"Uh?"

On the roadside, Zhou Yuan, who was eating fried noodles, looked up in bewilderment, even more so when he saw the prompt in front of him:

[Wow, your damn charm is really outstanding. Congratulations! You've successfully attracted an extraordinary person. She wants to discuss human life sciences with you.]

Extraordinary person?

Zhou Yuan felt his heart skip a beat, then immediately displayed a business smile refined through countless practice and pulled out his phone:

"You scan me or I scan you?"

"I'll scan you." The pink-haired girl smiled. "I'm Mi Qi. Remember to add a note."

"Zhou Yuan." After some thought, Zhou Yuan decided to use his real name since she was a Transcendent. She would easily find out his details anyway.

Soon, the two added each other as friends.

"We'll chat later then, bye~~~" Mi Qi winked playfully and then lightly ran back to her team.

Zhou Yuan's gaze followed her:

[Yes, that's correct. All five of these people in black suits are extraordinary persons, and the one with the scar on his mouth is particularly notable.]

All extraordinary persons…

Zhou Yuan quickly looked away to avoid drawing attention.

"I didn't expect to bump into extraordinary persons while out eating. I wonder if they belong to the federal government or other extraordinary organizations.

My understanding of the Transcendent world is virtually zero. Maybe I can get some information from that pink-haired girl, but she seems to want to sleep with me…"

Zhou Yuan was conflicted. If he failed to get the information and ended up being slept with instead, wouldn't that be a loss… well, maybe not a total loss.

Unless she turned out to be some sort of bio-contaminated crazy actress.

After the five in black suits left, Zhou Yuan ordered another box of fried noodles. Despite eating, he still felt hungry, wondering if he was overly carefree.

He had faced a life-and-death crisis last night, killed a man this morning, and encountered a grotesque fusion abomination. Yet, his appetite remained unaffected, even after devouring two boxes of fried noodles.

"My adaptability is really something else."

After discarding the disposable food container, Zhou Yuan scanned the surrounding shops, looking for more food.

At that moment, a note caught his attention:

[Eating at this shop might lead to some unexpected discoveries.]

Zhou Yuan looked at the shop's name—West Lake Soup Dumplings.

Unexpected discoveries?

Alright, let's see what's up.

Driven by curiosity, he walked into the shop.

The shop wasn't large, and with just a few occupied tables, it felt cramped. Zhou Yuan found an empty seat:

"Boss, one basket of soup dumplings."

"Coming right up!"

After a few minutes.

A steaming basket of soup dumplings was placed in front of Zhou Yuan.

As he looked at the note in front of him, he was speechless.

[Soup Dumplings, traditional East Continent food, approximately composed of: 37% flour, 5% seasoning, 5% soup, 3% spices, 30% pork, 20% Homo sapiens meat.]