The Labyrinth of the Monsters

Gao Yang opened his eyes and found himself sleeping on a beach chair. Above his head was a coconut tree that provided enough shade to block most of the sunlight. Under his feet was a soft and clean white beach. The sun was shining brightly, and a refreshing sea breeze blew. In front of him was a blue sea, with the water and sky merging into one. Several seagulls soared in the azure sky.

Gao Yang knew this was a dream, but he still couldn't help but be mesmerized.

"This scene, do you like it?" A soft and gentle female voice came from beside him.

Gao Yang turned his head and saw Liu Qingying half lying on a beach chair. She was wearing a cool bikini, with a well-proportioned figure. She wore sunglasses and lazily tied up her hair. Her slender hands were applying sunscreen to her firm abdomen.

Earlier in the day, Gao Yang took Wang Zikai to a barbecue restaurant in Ten Dragon Village. After drinking a cup of free sour plum soup, Liu Qingying came to find him in the evening.

"It's nice." Gao Yang nodded curiously and asked, "Can you create any scene in your dreams?"

"Yes," Liu Qingying chuckled. "But if it's a place I've been to in reality, I can remember more details, and the feelings in the dream will be more real. Last time, your bedroom, because I hadn't been there, I had to rely on your subconscious memory to create it. In fact, there were many loopholes, so I chose to turn off the lights. Darkness can cover up the rough details."

"I see." Gao Yang picked up the chilled orange juice on the small table next to him and took a sip. The taste was very real.

He stretched lazily, lay back down, and enjoyed the sunshine and sea breeze. After a while, he said, "Shall we start the trade?"

"Sure," Liu Qingying finished applying sunscreen and lay down facing Gao Yang. She looked charming, with her eyes full of charm. "Shall I go first?"

"Go ahead."

"After you joined the Zodiac, have you met the Dragon in person?" Liu Qingying asked.

"Not yet."

Liu Qingying seemed lost in thought and blinked. "The talent of the Dragon is kept confidential among the Twelve Zodiacs."

Gao Yang's eyes lit up. "Do you want to know the Dragon's talent?"

"Yes, the talents of the top 10 in the serial number are unknown, and the Dragon's talent must be in the top 10." Liu Qingying said, "If you know, you can trade it with me as intelligence."

"Even if I know, I probably won't trade it with you." This kind of information must be highly confidential within the organization, and it is the trump card of the organization's leader. It may be related to the life and death of the organization. Even if Gao Yang knows, he wouldn't be foolish enough to sell it to Liu Qingying.

"It doesn't matter. If you change your mind, feel free to find me anytime." Liu Qingying picked up a cup of green orange lemon tea and took a sip from the straw. "I heard that your organization has found a rune circuit of the Spirit system. Is it true?"

"Can I confirm it for you as intelligence?"

"Yes, but it's a lower level intelligence. Among the C, B, A, and S levels, it's considered B level." Liu Qingying said, "Other clients asked me to confirm it because they are considering exchanging rune circuits with your organization, but they are afraid that your organization might be deceitful."

"Oh, I can confirm that it is an authentic rune circuit of the Spirit system." Gao Yang thought there was nothing to hide. After all, the trade would eventually be confirmed.

"Okay, the intelligence of B level is 5 Golden Crow Coins. You can also ask me for intelligence of the same level."

"I want intelligence."

"What aspect?"

Gao Yang thought for a moment and said, "Related to me."

After a moment of contemplation, Liu Qingying said, "Can I offer you intelligence about the Twelve Zodiacs?"

"Sure."

"This intelligence is A level. Consider it a discount for our first trade, to show my sincerity." Liu Qingying smiled.

"Thank you in advance."

"Within your organization, there is an undercover agent from another organization." Liu Qingying said calmly.

Gao Yang was shocked and remained silent.

The accuracy of this intelligence is as high as 80%, but because it cannot be 100% confirmed and the identity of the undercover agent is unknown, it can only be considered A level. Otherwise, it would be considered S level."

"You... are you trying to sow discord?" Gao Yang was very vigilant.

"I have no grudges with the Twelve Zodiacs. What benefit would I gain from offending you?" Liu Qingying lightly placed her hand on her thigh and slightly moved her body. "I have always been known for my integrity in the industry."

Gao Yang felt a headache. He had just joined the organization a few days ago, and now he had to play the game of catching spies. It would be fine if he didn't know, but now that he knew, he would doubt every member he saw in the future, which was not conducive to building camaraderie among colleagues.

What was even more troubling was whether he should report this to the organization. If he didn't report it and it was later discovered, he would probably be blamed. But without any evidence, it was impossible to reveal the fact that he traded intelligence with Liu Qingying. Reporting it would only invite trouble and disaster.

This intelligence was truly a hot potato!

"Okay, the trade is successfully concluded." Gao Yang ended the topic.

"It's still early. Before you wake up, we can chat or do something else." Liu Qingying's eyes were full of tenderness, and her smile was playful.

"No need." Too much talk would lead to mistakes. Gao Yang decided to be cautious.

He closed his eyes and entered the system.

...

As it turned out, Liu Qingying was not lying.

The next day, after Gao Yang finished evening self-study and walked out of the school gate, he saw a familiar black Mercedes parked by the roadside. The car door opened, and White Rabbit, wearing a pink mask, looked at him with narrowed eyes and smiled sweetly. "Handsome guy, want to get in the car and have some fun?"Gao Yang looked around and quickly got into the car.

"Is something up?" Gao Yang asked as he looked around. The driver was Tengu, and Wu Dahai was in the passenger seat.

"Yeah, we're on a mission." White Rabbit seemed in good spirits.

"What kind of mission?" Gao Yang suddenly felt a bit nervous, "Is it dangerous?"

"What a coward, there's nothing to fear with me around." Wu Dahai's disdainful laughter came from the passenger seat, "You're part of an organization now, you can't disgrace us!"

Gao Yang played the victim, "But I'm just a substitute, and I'm not very strong. I'm afraid I'll hold everyone back..."

"Don't worry, there won't be any fighting." White Rabbit put her arm around Gao Yang's shoulder, "We're just going to the Ten Dragon Village to trade some rune circuits. We thought it would be good for you to see the world."

"Trade?" Gao Yang's eyes lit up.

"Mm, Fighting Tiger set it up. The Hundred Rivers Group wants to trade their damage runes for our newly found mental strength runes. Songstress's 'Soul Soothing Melody' just broke through to level 4 yesterday, so we don't have much use for mental strength runes at the moment."

"Oh." Gao Yang nodded, so it turned out that the Hundred Rivers Group wanted to trade with their organization, which was why they had specifically sent someone to ask Liu Qingying for information.

Gao Yang had not been idle these days, and had basically understood the factions and powers of the Awakened Beings. The three most famous righteous organizations in Leave City were: the Zodiac, the Kylin Guild, and the Hundred Rivers Group.

The Zodiac had the fewest members and kept a low profile, but each member was an elite.

The Kylin Guild maintained around 40 members, most of whom were also elites. They had the strongest overall strength and the highest prestige, and were considered the "Martial Arts Leader".

The Hundred Rivers Group was a group composed of over 100 awakened beings. The members generally had lower talents and weaker strength, so they banded together for warmth. "Hundred Rivers" was taken from the phrase "all rivers run into the sea", meaning that even small streams and rivers, if there are enough of them, can form a sea.

"What do I need to do?" Gao Yang asked.

"Just relax and have fun," White Rabbit said.

"Keep your mouth shut later," Wu Dahai, holding a comb, was fixing his buzz cut in the rearview mirror, "Just be a good backdrop."

To read the uncut version, go to ].

Tengu, who was focused on driving, chimed in: "Hello Backdrop No.1, I'm Backdrop No.2."

"Hello, hello, nice to meet you." Gao Yang played along with Tengu's joke.