It wasn't that the soldier thought this frail-looking man would do anything malicious. Rather, he could tell the man was likely holding a trump card, but was hesitating over whether to hand it over.
It was probably a single-use trump card, the kind that was discarded after one use.
He was likely afraid that even if he revealed his trump card, he still wouldn't be treated well.
Of course, his concern was completely normal, and in fact, nine times out of ten, it would prove true.
However, as a soldier loyal to His Majesty, he had to grasp every shred of hope to protect his sovereign, let alone deceive an unrelated stranger.
He pointed at the frail man from earlier.
“You, come out.”
The man jumped in fright.
“Ah?”
“I... I didn't do anything!”
He thought that standing there motionless had angered the soldier.
“I'll go sit down right now!”
The soldier said, “Don't worry, it's not a bad thing. Just come with me first.”
With no other choice and unable to resist, the frail man could only follow him out, trembling with fear.
Once they reached a quiet, deserted spot, the soldier began his questioning.
“Do you know something?”
“Uh? I... I don't know anything!”
The soldier didn't give up. Instead, he began to coax him.
“If you provide valuable information or offer some degree of assistance in protecting His Majesty, your future will be boundless.
You might even be sent directly to the second or even third floor. Once you're up there, your chances of leaving this dungeon alive will increase significantly.”
The frail man stammered, his eyes darting around guiltily.
Yet, he still refused to admit it.
The soldier did not press further, choosing instead to try a different approach.
“Looking at you, you must be a scholar. Have you passed the county exam to become a Xiucai?”
The frail man cautiously looked up.
“I passed the Xiucai exam a few years ago, and I have been preparing for the Juren exam recently.”
The soldier's tone became encouragingly matter-of-fact.
“Isn't that perfect then?
If you perform a great service for His Majesty this time, what would you ever have to worry about in the future?”
The frail scholar found this logical. Perhaps because he had read too many classics of the sages, he was entirely naive. Under the soldier's patient coaxing, he ultimately failed to resist the temptation.
“I... through a certain method, I learned a small secret about this dungeon.”
The soldier's eyes lit up.
“What method? Do you possess a special talent?”
The frail scholar thought about it. Since he had already spoken, there was no longer any need to hide it.
“Yes, I possess the special talent 【Secret Inquiry】. Upon activation, it reveals a secret within the dungeon, but it can only be used once per dungeon.”
He had already used it, and he didn't have any specter items in his possession.
This meant that once he revealed the secret he held, he would lose all his value.
Hearing this, however, the soldier's eyes sparkled.
“Why didn't you explain this when we were asking about talents earlier?”
The frail scholar hesitated.
“Even here, it can only be used once.”
What if they abandoned him after extracting the secret from his mouth?
He had inquired about it before; although his talent was rare, it wasn't entirely unique. The imperial family certainly had similar ones, at least one or two.
In other words, he wasn't irreplaceable.
The soldier shook his head helplessly. “You underestimate your own talent. The 【Secret Inquiry】 talent is highly valued by the Emperor. In a moment, you can go straight to the third floor!
Do you know what the third floor means? Once you're on the third floor, someone will protect you and even help you complete your main quest.”
Only then did the soldier remember to ask.
“By the way, what is your name?”
The frail scholar remembered registering his name earlier, but it seemed the other party had definitely forgotten it.
“This humble one is Lu Yuanhan.”
A smile spread across the soldier's face. He had secured a merit for himself this time. “Good, good, Young Master Lu. Come, follow me up to see the officer first.”
Soon, Lu Yuanhan was brought to the second floor, where they found a Tianlong Guard patrolling the area.
“What is it?”
After the soldier explained the situation in a few brief words, the Tianlong Guard's eyes lit up. He quickly turned to Lu Yuanhan.
“You possess the special talent 【Secret Inquiry】?”
Lu Yuanhan felt a bit anxious, but he still nodded.
“Excellent! Very good. Come with me to the third floor first.”
Lu Yuanhan was somewhat overwhelmed by the unexpected favor. He hadn't expected his talent to be so highly valued.
If he had known this earlier, he would have reported it to the imperial court long ago!
The Tianlong Guard remarked, “This talent is extremely useful. The imperial court has been searching for users of it in secret, but with little success. I didn't expect to run into one here.”
Seeing his reaction, Lu Yuanhan nodded slowly.
He followed the Tianlong Guard to the third floor and was immediately placed in one of the classrooms. The conditions here looked much better than those on the first floor.
Feeling a bit more at ease, he found a random seat and sat down. Glancing around, he noticed there weren't many people inside—only about a dozen in total.
Most of them were people from the imperial court, and there were even guards patrolling back and forth in the corridor. Compared to the first floor, it gave him an immense sense of security.
The Tianlong Guard said, “Now, tell me the secret you obtained with your talent. I will go up and report it to His Majesty shortly. Once we clear the dungeon, you will be rewarded according to your merit.”
By now, Lu Yuanhan had a rough understanding of the value of his talent, so he was no longer worried about being abandoned after revealing the secret.
“The secret I obtained is that each player can enter the Scarlet Dream at most three times. Once those three times are up, no matter what they do, they can never enter the Scarlet Dream again.”
Hearing this, the Tianlong Guard frowned slightly. At first, he felt this secret seemed useless, but he quickly realized the implications, and his expression shifted.
“I see. Rest here for now.”
With that, he turned on his heel and used his qinggong to swiftly rush toward the sixth floor.
Arriving on the sixth floor, he met his direct superior.
“Commander, your subordinate has an urgent matter to report.”
Standing before him was the Commander of the Tianlong Guard, the highest-ranking officer within the organization—Tang Zhen, whose cultivation had already reached the Xiantian Rank.
Tang Zhen glanced back at Class Two, then lowered his voice.
“Calm down. Tell me exactly what happened.”
The guard repeated everything about Lu Yuanhan and the secret he had shared.
Upon hearing this, Tang Zhen didn't think much of it at first. He even felt it was a good thing for players. But on second thought, he instantly realized the problem.
“No, that's not right!”
If that was truly the case, they could no longer afford to waste any more time!
Tang Zhen patted the guard's shoulder.
“Very well. I shall record this as a merit for you!”
The imperial court also had players with the 【Secret Inquiry】 talent, but in this National War Dungeon, those two players had not been assigned to the same area as them.
Previously, they had been troubled by the lack of a 【Secret Inquiry】 talent, but they hadn't expected one to walk right into their hands now.
He quickly returned to Class Two and found Xuan Jingyuan.
At this moment, Xuan Jingyuan was discussing the uses of the cards they had obtained earlier with the others.
They stopped their discussion as soon as Tang Zhen entered.
Xuan Jingyuan frowned slightly upon hearing his report.
“Is this true?”
Rate on N.U.
