Helicopter carried the two toward their starting point.

On the way, Ye Qing seemed resigned to her fate, behaving very quietly. Her imprisonment on Death Knell Island had accustomed her to a lack of freedom. It was just a change from one cage to another. At least in the company of this man who called himself Black Phantom, the treatment should be far better than on Death Knell Island.

"Black Phantom, never heard of him," Ye Qing thought. She had been locked up for several years and knew very little about the changes in the outside world. She held a computer and skimmed through the changes of the past few years, only to discover that the name Black Phantom had only emerged half a year ago.

Incredible.

Rising like a comet in just half a year, his strength was even more terrifying than the high-risk, serious offenders on Death Knell Island. You had to know that those serious offenders were all long-established monsters.

One piece of information, in particular, shocked Ye Qing. The Sprout organization, which had been incredibly powerful before she was imprisoned, had been forced to the brink of collapse! And the originator was actually an ordinary traitor!

When she saw this information, Ye Qing could hardly believe her eyes, and it took her a long time to digest it.

Her emotions were complex, eventually turning into a sigh.

The world was changing rapidly. After several years of imprisonment, the outside world had undergone tremendous changes.

Also, what the hell were those Heteromorphs the intelligence reports were talking about?

The Third Sanctuary was coming into view, and Ye Qing put down her computer and looked out the window, a look of surprise flashing across her face. "That construction site is where we're going. Black Phantom's Third Sanctuary… what is a sanctuary?"

Han Xiao's lips curled into a smile. "There's a lot you still need to learn."

"I know," Ye Qing nodded, flicking a stray hair from her temple, and said softly, "Is it safe here?"

Han Xiao didn't answer, pointing to his eyes with his index finger, then pointing to the approaching Third Sanctuary, meaning she should see for herself. Ye Qing searched for information on the keyword "sanctuary" on the computer, and after a long time, she came to an answer, slowly saying, "So it's a plan of the Dark Net organization. I didn't expect this behemoth hidden in the shadows to surface, and it even received funding from the Six Nations. Well, the goal is very pure. Indeed, there is no safer place than this."

Overlooking from the plane, the Gray Iron Wastes had already changed drastically. A renovated area had been carved out of the desolate ruined city. Players and construction teams shuttled through the site like ants, and various construction machines made a rumbling noise. The abandoned high-rise buildings, bridges, roads, and other structures in this new area had been leveled to build new buildings, giving it a completely new look. Half of the towering concrete walls had been built, and countless players were climbing up and down, working in full swing, with a hubbub of voices.

The helicopter landed on the helipad.

Huang Yu, who had already received notification, greeted them and reported the events of the past few days since Han Xiao's departure in a machine-gun-like manner. They were all trivial matters, handled in an orderly manner by Huang Yu. He was indeed suitable for the position of assistant; he was a secretarial talent.

Ye Qing looked around, her gaze finally resting on Han Xiao's face, marveling. "I didn't expect you to be the person in charge of this sanctuary. No wonder you needed me."

Han Xiao remained noncommittal, encouraged Huang Yu with a few words, and took Ye Qing to the cold storage.

After viewing a large number of Shadow Eater Viper materials, Han Xiao explained the job and stared intently at Ye Qing, waiting for her answer.

Ye Qing pondered for two minutes, nodded, and spoke eloquently:

"The brain, kidneys, gallbladder, mucus sac, heart valves, and tailbone cones of the Shadow Eater Viper are all pharmaceutical materials suitable for manufacturing steroids and hormone drugs. Their eggs contain a component called Jiane Luota Xiaosi Cuominpi, which promotes bone growth and metabolism. Extracted, it can be used to manufacture highly effective healing agents. Since you have so many eggs, I can try to cultivate a Shadow Eater Viper population, and you just said that feeding them high-energy waste can produce radiation crystals, which is a renewable resource…" When it came to her area of expertise, Ye Qing immediately became very professional, and her speech gained more confidence, with a sense of arrogant disdain, stemming from her confidence in herself.

"Jia what pi?" Han Xiao didn't hear clearly, completely confused.

Ye Qing rolled her eyes, her expression seeming to say that professional matters should be left to professionals, and you, a layman, should not join in the fun.

Compared to her previous sexless.jpg style, Ye Qing's face now had a bit more agility. She seemed to have become more relaxed after realizing that her situation was not serious, and she had shed some of the disguise that kept people at arm's length.

"That Jia what pi, sounds like a good thing. Just keep it in mind." Han Xiao put his hands behind his back and nodded in a pretentious manner, deliberately creating the impression that he knew what she was talking about. Ye Qing chuckled, then quickly stopped.

"Huang Yu, come here!" Han Xiao called out. Huang Yu, who was waiting nearby, trotted over. Han Xiao pointed to Ye Qing and said, "This is the pharmacist I hired. Arrange a room for her."

Huang Yu nodded and took Ye Qing to a delicate residence, then gave her some information about the sanctuary according to Han Xiao's instructions.

The room was brand new and not small—at least much larger than her former cell.

Ye Qing lay on the bed and moaned comfortably.

After sleeping on a hard iron bunk bed for several years, she finally came into contact with a soft bed again, feeling like she was sinking into cotton, as if her whole body was sinking down.

Huang Yu stood awkwardly at the door. Ye Qing's actions were not concealed, treating him as air, making it awkward for him to leave or not. He knocked on the door panel and coughed. "Then you have a good rest. I'll leave first."

After he left, Ye Qing picked up the information and browsed through it, her eyes flickering.

"The sanctuary gathers tens of thousands of Heteromorphs who cannot die. I don't have to worry about test subjects, and they won't be contagious. It's too perfect. I won't repeat the mistakes and cause a plague. Moreover, the sanctuary is free and safe. Staying longer is not a bad thing. I still need time to digest the changes in the outside world…"

…

In the office, Han Xiao leaned back in his recliner, staring intently at the tablet computer supported by a stand on the table. The screen was showing Ye Qing's room, with real-time monitoring.

Ye Qing had a record and could not be trusted, so Han Xiao had a backup plan, arranging several hidden cameras in the walls of the room to monitor Ye Qing's every move. Ye Qing's performance just now had also fallen into his eyes.

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes, muttering to himself, "Her performance has a huge contrast before and after. She was calm and indifferent when she first got on the plane, but just now she deliberately or unintentionally showed a small woman's side, probably pretending to let down her guard to eliminate my wariness. This is also a disguise…"

It was not his fault for being suspicious. The Ye Qing in his memory was a libertarian who was not manipulated by any forces, with a quirky and unpredictable personality. Because he valued Ye Qing's ability, Han Xiao was very cautious, after all, she was an important figure in Version 2.0.

Ye Qing's joining also had other benefits. Players could exchange for Ye Qing's guidance through work (quests) to transform into pharmacists. With her joining, his "player main city" plan was further advanced.

To form a player main city, various functional npCs were essential.

"Your Excellency, I have arranged her…"

At this moment, Huang Yu walked in to report the situation. He took a few steps forward and came to the side of the table. His peripheral vision caught the monitoring screen on the computer, and his words stopped abruptly, his eyes suddenly becoming very strange.

It was as if he had discovered something incredible!

This, this is the legendary peeping tom?

Could it be that this is the commander's unknown hobby?

Will I be killed to silence me?!

Huang Yu quickly took a step back, looking at his nose and his nose at his heart, pretending that nothing had happened.

Han Xiao knew at a glance that Huang Yu had misunderstood, and shook his head helplessly, too lazy to explain.

Let him misunderstand. When has Grand Technician Han ever cared about other people's opinions?

"Don't reveal it." Han Xiao instructed.

Huang Yu thought that Han Xiao didn't want others to know about his quirks, and nodded hastily, almost swearing an oath.

…

Ye Qing was very efficient and soon started working.

Players didn't know about Star-Long's transaction with him, and the information flow efficiency between players and npCs was very low. But for safety's sake, Han Xiao asked Ye Qing to wear a mask to temporarily conceal her identity. Now was not the best time to reveal her identity, and he could stabilize it further.

Due to information asymmetry, players were at a disadvantage in terms of information sensitivity. If there were no quests or plot introductions, they would not know what information the various forces needed, nor would they know the forces' secret operations. Most players were busy doing quests, making money, and grinding equipment, and coupled with their mentality as players, they would not chat too much with npCs, and the possibility of talking about other npCs in their chats was even more remote.

Since it was for safety considerations, Ye Qing naturally had no objection.

Ye Qing produced various potions with a high yield: healing potions, steroid hormones. Han Xiao took the best quality among them, and there were still many general quality potions left. Han Xiao allowed Ye Qing to sell them to players, just to show the players the "multifunctionality" of the sanctuary.

Potions had always had a market, equivalent to red and blue potions and amplification potions, and were usually very expensive, limiting players from using potions to brute force their way through enemies.

But even so, potions were still a necessity for players. Ye Qing's appearance made the players overjoyed.

The news spread quickly, and all the players knew that the sanctuary had a new npC selling potions. The players who came to buy them trampled down the threshold, and Ye Qing's studio was crowded with people.

Ye Qing was very curious about Heteromorphs. She found that players were the best test subjects and very easy to talk to. As long as she asked, they would basically help (issue test tasks), and she didn't have to worry about the consequences of failure. They were simply perfect experimental subjects. Ye Qing felt like a fish in water, and she liked staying here even more.

The Third Sanctuary was a good place.

Han Xiao also had potions seized from Louis Research Institute, but he didn't plan to sell them for the time being. They were all well-made products, and their effects would be more significant after the players' levels increased, so they could be sold at a good price.

Speaking of Louis Research Institute, Han Xiao thought of a small problem: the institute should now know that Black Phantom was the one who robbed them, but they had not taken any action.

"It seems they were frightened by my name and dare not retaliate, choosing to swallow their anger." Han Xiao chuckled to himself.

It was best to have a sensible force, avoiding many small troubles, so he wouldn't have to tear up this long-term meal ticket himself.

Ah, this is so comfortable.