I Became the Most Popular Character by Acting as a Villain in the Manga

Chapter 8

This was within Bai Xuechao's expectations.

He slowly wiped the water droplets from his hands with the white towel hanging nearby and picked up his phone to reply to Duan Xingzhi: [What did the old man say?]

Duan Xingzhi replied quickly, as if he had been holding his phone waiting for his message.

[Star: The old leader said he is looking forward to your performance.]

Seeing this message, Bai Xuechao showed an expression of "I knew it," letting out a soft hum from his nostrils, the corners of his lips curling into a tiny arc, carrying a barely perceptible hint of irony.

That's a special ability energy crystal, how could he not be looking forward to it?

Special ability energy crystals were a type of mineral discovered only three years ago. They resembled blood-red crystals, with no internal cracks or impurities. Under the sunlight, they appeared crystalline and translucent, containing an immeasurable amount of special ability force, as if they were crystals formed from the condensation of enormous energy.

According to current knowledge, special ability energy crystals could temporarily increase the special ability force of the user holding it, thereby raising their special ability level. It could also be used as an energy source and could accelerate the mutation of creatures other than humans. More uses were still unknown, making it highly valuable for research.

Both the officials and major organizations were collecting them.

The old leader, under the "data analysis" of Jiang Yunyi and his older brother Jiang Wenxuan—which, of course, was just a deception to Bai Xuechao—firmly believed that special ability energy crystals could promote human evolution, thereby granting immortality.

The old leader believed that the reason he had not yet evolved was that he had not collected enough special ability energy crystals and had not yet found a suitable method through experimentation.

In the past three years, their Dark Organization had obtained a total of two pieces.

As for the official side, their spies had tried to probe for intelligence regarding special ability energy crystals but had come up empty-handed.

The SAIDB's information blockade on special ability energy crystals was very tight. However, the appearance of special ability energy crystals would inevitably cause some anomalies.

Therefore, the intelligence department of the Dark Organization deduced from the information they could gather that the SAIDB might have more than five, but no more than ten pieces.

Even though the SAIDB was founded by the government and was spread throughout the country, they had not obtained a large number of special ability energy crystals, which showed how rare they were.

Of the Dark Organization's two pieces, one was dug out from the body of a powerful mutated species in the sea, and the other was found in a mountain forest where biological mutations were more frequent. One was in the ocean and the other in the mountains; the two locations were not close to each other and had no commonalities, making it seem as if special ability energy crystals could be obtained anywhere.

Therefore, where special ability energy crystals were produced remained a mystery.

Bai Xuechao's phone received another message.

[Star: The old leader has agreed to the request you made.]

Bai Xuechao replied: [Mm, I understand.]

Such a simple request, in exchange for a special ability energy crystal, of course the old leader would agree.

After replying, he did not exit the chat interface but kept his eyes lowered, staring at the screen as if waiting for something.

As expected, "the other person is typing" appeared at the top, intermittently, as if Duan Xingzhi was struggling to edit the message repeatedly, writing and deleting.

Bai Xuechao's thumb tapped lightly on the screen, typing out a sentence and sending it.

[Don't come to see me. Just come and pick me up on time tomorrow. Send me a copy of the mission details later.]

The "the other person is typing" on the other end stopped. A few seconds later, the message came through almost at the same time as it reappeared.

[Star: Okay.]

After washing up, Bai Xuechao left the bathroom. The nurse who was specially assigned to care for him had already tidied up, and a robotic vacuum cleaner was also moving around the room, cleaning the floor.

He had no appetite to eat anymore and didn't want to lie back down on the hospital bed, so he went to sit on the sofa, closing his eyes and resting the back of his neck on the sofa's backrest.

Seeing that he seemed to be free, Xiao 6 finally asked: "Host, aren't you going to eat a little more?"

"I have no appetite." Bai Xuechao's voice was very soft. He seemed to feel cold and pulled the folded blanket from the side of the sofa over himself.

Xiao 6 wanted to help but was powerless. It could only maintain Bai Xuechao's physical condition at around his 17th birthday. It could be understood as it had regressed Bai Xuechao's health-related data, like his immunity, to that time period, preventing his physical condition from deteriorating, but it could not cure his illnesses.

It fell silent. Usually a chatterbox, it didn't know what to say. After struggling for a while, it thought about telling the host a joke to lighten his mood, and then it discovered—

The host had fallen asleep again!

Alright, people who were sick tended to feel tired easily.

Bai Xuechao slept until the afternoon. The nurse came again to take his temperature and asked if he wanted something to eat.

His temperature had dropped to a little over 38 degrees, and he was in much better spirits.

He asked the nurse for a cup of soy milk and opened his phone to check the mission details that Duan Xingzhi had sent him at noon.

He downloaded the encrypted file, then used the internal software installed on his phone by the Dark Organization to decrypt it, obtaining a document.

Opening the document, the first thing he saw was a photo of a middle-aged man.

This was the owner of the Marine amusement park in D City, Qiao Zhanpeng. Bai Xuechao had met him once two years ago.

The full name of the Marine amusement park in D City was Kunpeng Marine Floating Island Park. It was built ten years ago with the support and investment of the Dark Organization. It occupied a land area and sea area of over 120 hectares and was a comprehensive marine entertainment complex that integrated an amusement park, a marine resort, an aquarium, and a recreational fishing area. It became an instant hit upon its completion.

Five years ago, the Kunpeng Marine Floating Island Park was expanded again, adding 50 hectares of sea area, more marine amusement projects, and a new underwater park and ecological sightseeing garden.

Over the years, the Kunpeng Marine Floating Island Park and the Dark Organization had been tied by mutual interests. It provided the Dark Organization with mutated marine species raised at the bottom of the sea, gave the Dark Organization a large sum of money at the end of each year, and also assisted the Dark Organization in its illegal maritime transactions.

However, two years ago, Qiao Zhanpeng had personally come to the organization to discuss a gradual "whitewashing," cutting ties with the illegal businesses. In exchange, the amount of money he handed over to the organization each year would increase.

It was on that occasion that Bai Xuechao had met Qiao Zhanpeng.

At that time, Qiao Zhanpeng had walked into the organization's conference room with Jiang Yunyi, brushing past Bai Xuechao.

The result of the negotiation was obvious. In the past two years, Qiao Zhanpeng's involvement in D City's maritime transactions had gradually decreased. In the last two months, the transactions no longer passed through his hands at all.

This time, with the failure of the maritime transaction in D City, Bai Xuechao guessed that the old leader would definitely want to reactivate the Qiao Zhanpeng connection, which was stable and safe. However, they had already made an agreement back then, and they couldn't go back on their word. Therefore, someone needed to be sent to negotiate.

If he wasn't mistaken, the old leader's original choice for this person should have been Jiang Yunyi. Usually, most of these illegal businesses were handled by Jiang Yunyi. It was just that this time, Bai Xuechao had let Duan Xingzhi intercept it.

Who else could be blamed when the place where the manga's male protagonist and villain were set to appear next was the Marine amusement park?

Jiang Yunyi wouldn't let him leave the hospital, so he had to resort to some tricks.

As for why the old leader cared so much about this transaction, even to the point of breaking his promise, it was because among the goods in this transaction was a batch of mutated species from the ocean.

This mutated species resembled a sea slug in appearance but possessed a regenerative ability even more terrifying than that of a sea slug. In addition, its mucus could also heal and regenerate human wounds with remarkable effect. The regenerated skin and flesh would look more delicate and smooth, more "youthful," like that of an infant.

Upon learning this, the old leader believed that the mucus of this mutated species could make people younger, so he was eager to make the transaction. The timing was too rushed, which led to a mistake and its discovery.

Speaking of which, the process of its discovery was somewhat dramatic.

Similar to special ability users, mutated species also emitted a fragrance that only special ability users could smell, attracting them.

The special ability users involved in the transaction had taken medicine to conceal their Lure-pheromone but had never thought of concealing the scent of the mutated species.

As a result, when the manga's male protagonist Zhou Chenhao and his teammates were pursuing their mission target, they smelled an "alluring fragrance," which led them to discover the two parties engaged in the transaction. In addition to that batch of mutated species, there was also a batch of smuggled goods in this transaction. Zhou Chenhao happened to see them counting the goods, so the human and material evidence was right in front of him.

Back to the present.

Bai Xuechao turned the page of the document. It was a map of the entire Marine amusement park, with a variety of amusement projects. To get from the amusement park on land to the floating island, one needed to take a transport boat.

He looked at the map for a while, then continued to flip through. It was the personal information of Qiao Zhanpeng's son, Qiao Jing.

Qiao Jing was fifteen years old this year, still in his third year of junior high. The boy in the photo had black hair and black eyes, a face full of childishness, and a brilliant smile, but on the side of his neck was a vertical row of blue tattoos that looked like some kind of text.

This "tattoo" was the manifestation of Qiao Jing being a special ability user.

After awakening, a special ability user's appearance would undergo some changes, including but not limited to changes in hair color and iris color. Some special ability users would develop "tattoos" on their skin after awakening, which could appear anywhere. But in this era, hair dyeing, wearing colored contacts, and getting tattoos were all too common, so it was impossible to determine if a person was a special ability user based on appearance alone.

The information showed that Qiao Jing had awakened as a carnivorous special ability user five years ago, but Qiao Zhanpeng had been hiding it and had not taken Qiao Jing to the SAIDB to register.

Qiao Jing's special ability was named Underwater Park, but the specific effect was still unknown, as he seemed to have never been seen using it.

According to the analysis of the organization's intelligence department, the expansion of the Marine amusement park that Qiao Zhanpeng undertook five years ago was for Qiao Jing's special ability.

Bai Xuechao continued to flip through.

The next page was a scanned copy of a handwritten document, which stated the old leader's requirements for this mission. The first was naturally to have Qiao Zhanpeng continue to participate in maritime transactions. The second one gave Bai Xuechao a bit of a headache.

The old leader actually wanted to "jointly develop" a coastal resort with Qiao Zhanpeng under the name of the Liu Group, building an underwater tunnel outside the resort. They would claim to the public that staying at the resort would provide direct access to the amusement park, but in reality, it would be a cover for a sightseeing tunnel, to build a tunnel specifically for transaction transport.

Bai Xuechao: 6.

The older the old man gets, the more beautiful his dreams become.

He was really getting more and more fanciful.

Fortunately, the second requirement was not a mandatory task, and failure would not be a big problem. If it failed, the old leader would probably send Jiang Yunyi to persuade him again, and if that didn't work, he would give up.

Bai Xuechao flipped to the last page, which was about the upcoming events at the Marine amusement park.

The poster stated that from October 1st to November 1st of the year 5027 in the Xia Calendar, the Kunpeng Marine Floating Island Park would hold a month-long Halloween Month event. The theme this time was "The Gates of Hell Are Wide Open." At that time, the most popular "The Great Escape" segment from previous years would also make a comeback. All tourists were welcome to come in costume.

Because Qiao Jing liked Halloween from abroad, Qiao Zhanpeng would hold a Halloween Month event every year, with a different theme each time.

After reading the information, Bai Xuechao searched online for the Marine amusement park's Halloween Month events from previous years to see what they were like.

"The Great Escape" had the highest discussion rate, and it was said to be a "big production" every year.

Bai Xuechao saw a video of last year's Halloween Month event. The theme was "Summoning of the Old Gods," and there was an eyeball hot air balloon floating in the sky, which would even glow at night, giving it a full score for creepiness.

...It was indeed a big production.

But Bai Xuechao had a gut feeling that there was something wrong here.

Bai Xuechao asked: "Xiao 6, what exactly is Qiao Jing's special ability?"

Xiao 6: "Horror Amusement Park!"

Bai Xuechao said "wow" with a deadpan expression.

Xiao 6 asked: "Host, aren't you shocked? Aren't you worried? The name of this special ability sounds so terrifying!"

"Me worried? What do I have to worry about."

Bai Xuechao drank his soy milk, his tone cool, "You should be worried about the male protagonist. He's the one who needs to get the special ability energy crystal in the amusement park, not me."

Xiao 6: =A= That makes so much sense!

Bai Xuechao asked again: "Is the special ability energy crystal in Qiao Jing's hands?"

Xiao 6: "Eee-woo-woo-eee."

Bai Xuechao nodded: "Understood, money will be deducted. It seems it is in Qiao Jing's hands."

How could Xiao 6 dare to speak again? It silently played dead. Fortunately, it didn't receive a message about a deduction, or it would have cried a river.

"Last question," Bai Xuechao asked, "Did Qiao Zhanpeng get the special ability energy crystal two years ago, right? This question shouldn't affect the plot, you can answer."

Xiao 6 said: "Yes."

Bai Xuechao rested his chin on his hand, lost in thought.

Two years ago, Qiao Zhanpeng wanted to withdraw from participating in the Dark Organization's illegal transactions. If he had simply obtained the special ability energy crystal, he could have completely hidden it; there was no need to withdraw from the transaction line. If he wanted to wash his hands clean, he should have handed over the special ability energy crystal, not just withdraw from the transaction line.

Unless he had greater ambitions.

***

The next day, Bai Xuechao's fever subsided.

After breakfast, he took a shower, changed out of his hospital gown into clothes for going out, and sat on the hospital bed reading a book while waiting for Duan Xingzhi.

At ten in the morning, Duan Xingzhi appeared outside the ward on time, leaning against the glass window and knocking gently.

Bai Xuechao put down his book and walked out of the ward: "Let's go."

The two walked towards the elevator. The nurse seemed to realize what they were trying to do.

"Mr. Duan, you can't take Mr. Bai away." The nurse stood in front of the tall, white-gold-haired man, bracing herself and saying, "Mr. Bai still needs—"

All the light bulbs in the corridor instantly exploded. Accompanied by an endless series of crisp sounds, shattered glass fell all over the floor.

"Move." Duan Xingzhi's light blue eyes seemed to be quenched with ice, looking at the nurse without any emotion, his tone cold, "If there's a problem, have him come find me."

This "him," naturally, referred to Jiang Yunyi.

The nurse was intimidated by the coldness emanating from Duan Xingzhi and subconsciously moved out of the way.

Duan Xingzhi took Bai Xuechao's wrist and walked past the nurse.

As Bai Xuechao was being pulled past the nurse by Duan Xingzhi, he turned his head and raised an eyebrow at her, as if to say: What can you do?

He had intercepted Jiang Yunyi's mission and then used this mission as a reason to leave the hospital that Jiang Yunyi didn't want him to leave, right in front of the person Jiang Yunyi had sent.

One word, satisfying!

Xiao 6 held up a code-made red heart and shouted in Bai Xuechao's head: "I've defected! I've defected! Who cares about Jiang Yunyi, Duan Xingzhi is the best now!"