“What? I have only achieved a score of 66.5%?”
Ren Suo was dumbfounded. He felt that he had done a good job and killed all that he had needed to eliminate. How come he only barely passed the mission?
There was a question mark icon beside his current mission score. Upon querying the following breakdown of information appeared:
[Completed basic mission objective – 60 points awarded]
[Killed a moderate number of enemies – 5 points awarded]
[Successfully saved small number of the innocent – 1-0.5=0.5 points awarded]
[Special accomplishment: Lolicon – 1 point (this point is only given when the total score is below 80 points)]
[Total score is 66.5 points. Appraisal: Barely Qualified.]
Ren Suo rubbed his chin. Could it be that there are many more ways to score points in this game? There was a large degree of freedom granted to the player in the game, and indeed, there were many aspects in which Ren Suo could work on, in order to improve his gameplay. From the score breakdown, he had already found a scoring point.
“Most importantly, what in the world is this Lolicon thing about…”
Ren Suo called for yet another takeaway service as he lay on the couch, continuing strong in the game. He felt that the game was pretty good and enjoyable. There was an acceptable amount of freedom given to the player, and a standard enemy Artificial Intelligence (AI) that was not weak and senseless like a mere overlay, nor buffed in difficulty to the likes of a terminator. Yet, the difficulty and challenges would vary from player to player, based on the player’s actions. There were even lots of characteristic differences, as evidenced when some assassins got frightened and escaped upon sight of Ren Suo’s avatar in the game.
Loading Save File 0, Ren Suo restarted the game with the hitman in the alley. As usual, he instinctively tricked and lured two guards out. However, this time, he chose to knock both out, instead of choosing to kill just one of them.
He proceeded through the various stages—one by one—and this time, the game automatically created a second save file when his avatar entered the ballroom.
This time, Ren Suo decided to take much more care and precautions when he used the hitman to attack. When he invaded the ballroom in the previous attempt, he did not pay much attention to the escaping guests and had even shot some of them dead by accident in his haste to kill all to win as quickly as possible.
When the Englishman emerged from the inner hall, there were still 13 surviving guests in the ballroom.
At that very moment, Ren Suo’s takeaway arrived. But it was only at that point when he realized that there was no option to pause the game—leaving him with no choice but to rush off and collect his takeaway. The delivery man apologized repeatedly for what appeared to be a small leak in the takeaway bag, but Ren Suo could not care less as he hastily left to put the food in the kitchen before returning to the game. However, as he took the food out of the bag, he accidentally lifted the cover of the food container and as a result, spilled the oily and greasy sauce all over his hand.
He hurriedly proceeded to wash his hands. By the time he returned to the game, the Englishman and other gunmen who were dressed in black, were pointing their guns anxiously at the hitman, giving Ren Suo a great shock. “Why aren’t you leaving?”
Ren Suo swiftly stopped the hitman from attacking and left the ballroom. However, to his dismay, an explosion occurred on the ninth floor as soon as the hitman had left due to the delay in his action. A message immediately popped up on his screen:
[Kallen Lamperouge is dead. Mission failed.]
With no other option, Ren Suo tried again. On his next attempt, he managed to clear the stage without any mishaps and even increased the number of surviving guests in the ballroom to 15—two more than the previous attempt.
The game appraised Ren Suo’s performance, and this time, he got a score of 71%, just like he expected!
[Completed basic mission objective – 60 points awarded]
[Killed a moderate number of enemies – 5 points awarded]
[Successfully saved moderate number of the innocent – 5 points awarded ”
[Special accomplishment: Lolicon – 1 point awarded (this point is given only if the total score is below 80 points)]
[Total score awarded is 71 points. Appraisal: Moderately good.]
“Only moderately good, not very good…?” Ren Suo curled his lips, “I don’t think there’s any other area that I could improve on, is there?”
At that point, a message appeared on his screen: [The player has received an appraisal of ‘moderately good’ for fulfilling the main task and hidden requirements. Hence, the player will receive information for the chapter’s hidden side mission.]
[Side mission: Protect Yuffie Lamperouge. The lower the damage that the target receives, the higher the score.]
Yuffie Lamperouge?
The main mission was to protect Kallen Lamperouge. Surely, they must be from the same family? Furthermore, the evening banquet was organized by the Lamperouge family, so that meant there was a very high possibility that both Kallen and Yuffie were together at the same location.
Since Yuffie required the player’s protection, that meant that she would definitely be killed if there was no intervention made by the player.
Although Ren Suo had yet to spot Kallen Lamperouge so far, it was easy for him to follow and proceed, now that both Kallen and Yuffie would be in the inner hall of the ballroom where the Englishman NPC came out from. After all, the ninth floor was not ridiculously spacious. It housed only the main ballroom and the inner hall.
But when did Yuffie die?
A crucial timing immediately came to Ren Suo’s mind—2000HRS. At this exact time, a gunshot can be heard from the inner hall while the assassins in the ballroom would begin their attack. Thus, the assassination of the guests in both the inner hall and that of the outer main ballroom would be coordinated.
If Yuffie was really in the inner hall and not in the main ballroom, then it was almost certain she died from the gunshot at 20:00.
After finishing his food, Ren Suo went back to lie down on the couch as he turned on his Mini Worlds Gaming Console. He then began loading Save File 2. He used the hitman to look around the ballroom for an entire round, only to see that there were no significant findings apart from the dozen or so assassins who were emitting an intense red glow in the darkness of the room.
How was he going to find Yuffie Lamperouge?
Ren Suo pondered for a short moment before allowing the hitman to steal a pistol. He then guided the avatar directly towards the inner hall. However, in the pathway leading from the ballroom to the inner hall, he was stopped by a middle-aged official who was leading two black-shirted men behind him.
“Mister, this is a private area,” said the middle-aged official apologetically. “You have not obtained permission to enter.”
Four in-game options appeared on the screen:
①”I am here in search of Kallen Lamperouge.”
②”I am here in search of Yuffie Lamperouge.”
③”How do I get in?”
④ (Attack) “Go and eat shit.”
Ren Suo selected option ②, after which the middle-aged official looked at the hitman while a small smile emerged on his face. “Ms. Yuffie will be making her address at 20:00. Please wait patiently until then.”
The options did not disappear, though option ② was now greyed out. Ren Suo then selected option ③, and the middle-aged official said,
“I’m sorry, only those who are in cooperation with the Lamperouge family have the rights and are permitted to enter… Oh, I also recall that no Asians were invited, you are…?”
Ren Suo sensed that something was amiss, but at this moment, a young man appeared in a bid to enter the inner hall. The official immediately directed his attention to him, “Mister, you are…?”
“I am Ingres Ricard, and I am here on behalf of my father to celebrate Ms. Kallen’s birthday.” Ingres smiled slightly and continued, “My clothes had been soiled just now and I just managed to change into a new set. I am really sorry for turning up late.”
Ren Suo finally knew the purpose of this evening banquet.
“Ah, so you are the young master Ingres of the Ricard family. It is of great honor to meet you for the first time.” The middle-aged official created up a path for him to pass through and said politely, “Please, enter.”
Judging from the current situation, Ren Suo reckoned that he stood little chance of being allowed to enter the inner hall if he does not resort to using force.
But then he thought, Yuffie’s death takes place 1 minute before 20:00. If I let the hitman rush in at this time, I would still stand a chance at saving her. Hence, Ren Suo decided to wait patiently until 19:59, when he let the hitman attack the men dressed in black and the middle-aged official who was guarding the pathway.
Ren Suo succeeded—the hitman who was adept at close combat, first attacked three defenseless men effortlessly. It should be a piece of cake for him.
Yet, he failed. Upon seeing the hitman attack the black-shirted men guarding the pathway, the other assassins hiding amongst the guests also pulled out their guns and began their surprise attack after hesitating for two to three seconds.
The black-shirted men had believed that the hitman was part of the assassins. Then, two other black-shirted men appeared from the pathway. They started firing at the hitman. Ren Suo immediately launched [Bullet Time] and exchanged shots with them. At this moment, one of the assassins shouted from behind:
“He isn’t one of us!”
“Pew!” A bullet came from behind, killing the hitman.
[You died.]
As Ren Suo was brought to the load save screen, he calmed down, realizing that forcing his way into the inner hall was not a viable option. Well at least, not for the hitman whom he controlled.
If it were the ‘Clown Hitman’, it would be possible for him to pretend as the Englishman, while the ‘Bald Hitman’ was only proficient at combat skills and fighting off enemies with brute force. Ren Suo needed to come up with a more ingenious plan.
Ren Suo proceeded to load Save File 0 and started again in the alley. This time, instead of letting the hitman head straight to the building, he stood beside the road, outside the building, while patiently waiting for his target.
“Huh?”
A bright blue pyramid was floating on the shadow of a person surrounded by blue blight, stunning him. It seemed like a beacon reminding Ren Suo to notice it.
This person is Ren Suo’s target to achieve his plan—Ingres Ricard, the young man he encountered previously.
As such, he was a tad bit intrigued. He wondered, “Why is the game automatically showing such a symbol just when I decide to deal with him?”
Ren Suo did not dwell on it any further and proceeded to lead the hitman directly towards Ingres Ricard in a bid to subdue him. Unexpectedly, dialogue options appeared on the screen:
①”Mr. Ricard, I am the Lamperouge family’s butler. Your clothes appear to be soiled, please follow me to change into a new clean set.”
② (Attack) “This road which I had built, belongs to me, and so do all of the trees here, which have been planted by me. If you want to pass, leave all your wealth behind!”
Ren Suo was stunned for a brief second. He then proceeded to select option ①. Ingres smiled and said, “Ah, I’m so sorry to have to trouble you… How did you know that I was Ingres Ricard?”
The hitman let out a grin and said, “As Lamperouge family’s butler, I must have the details of their guests at my fingertips.”
This is so exciting!
Ren Suo stood up and ensured that the game had a ‘past experience memory’ function; there would be no other way to explain why the game would automatically single out Ingres, nor would the hitman be able to know that Ingres had soiled his clothes. Neither would he be able to know of Ingres’ name and background.
“How is this function made? Are programmers these days so capable?” Ren Suo murmured to himself. He was thrilled as he led the hitman to bring Ingres to a secluded area and knocked him out before searching him for his identification documents and invitation card. He then strutted confidently into the Blackthorn Tower.
This time, the attendant was all smiles as he brought him to the lift. The moment the hitman, once again, entered the ballroom, a message prompt that was drastically different from the ones before appeared:
[You have entered the Lamperouge’s evening banquet as ‘Ingres Ricard’. Creating Save File 3.]
[Search for any weapons capable of injuring and killing and mark out all suspicious characters before 20:00.]
Ren Suo led the hitman to enter the inner hall, and the hitman naturally explained to the middle-aged official that he was Ingres Ricard. The official did not probe further about why the Ricards had an Asian Son. Instead, he let it pass, though he put on a cryptic smile that hung from the corners of his lips.
Then, the hitman walked through the pathway and successfully entered the inner hall!
Another message appeared. This time, even the mission had been changed:
[You have entered the second hall on the ninth floor of the Blackthorn Tower. Creating Save File 4.]
[Protect Kallen Lamperouge.]
The inner hall was actually very similar to the main ballroom, but with much lesser people, all of whom were now just making small talk while sitting on the couches. At the center, Ren Suo finally saw the target whom he had to protect.
She had a long, tangerine-colored hair, and a long white corset gown on. With her was an adorable, young girl with fiery red hair, playing with her teddy bear. Waiting close to them was a familiar face that Ren Suo recognized—the Englishman.
There were inverted golden pyramids hovering above their heads—telling players they were the targets needing protection.
Ren Suo led the hitman forward, near the crowd surrounding the two targets. He then commented, “Ms. Kallen, even the brightest of stars pale in comparison to your beauty.”
The small girl clung on tightly to the bottom of the taller lady’s gown, looking on timidly at the hitman as the lady chuckled and said, “Thank you for giving my sister such compliments, but it seems she’d prefer compliments like ‘cute’.”
Huh? Ren Suo was stunned as he looked at the small girl behind the taller lady.
Wait, Kallen Lamperouge was actually a small Loli?
It was then that Ren Suo suddenly remembered one of the lines from the score breakdown earlier: [Special accomplishment: Lolicon]
Ren Suo also recalled the weird expression on the black-shirted man’s face when the hitman mentioned that he was there as he was someone who admired Ms. Kallen.
“This game, it has really won me over…”
“What? I have only achieved a score of 66.5%?”
Ren Suo was dumbfounded. He felt that he had done a good job and killed all that he had needed to eliminate. How come he only barely passed the mission?
There was a question mark icon beside his current mission score. Upon querying the following breakdown of information appeared:
[Completed basic mission objective – 60 points awarded]
[Killed a moderate number of enemies – 5 points awarded]
[Successfully saved small number of the innocent – 1-0.5=0.5 points awarded]
[Special accomplishment: Lolicon – 1 point (this point is only given when the total score is below 80 points)]
[Total score is 66.5 points. Appraisal: Barely Qualified.]
Ren Suo rubbed his chin. Could it be that there are many more ways to score points in this game? There was a large degree of freedom granted to the player in the game, and indeed, there were many aspects in which Ren Suo could work on, in order to improve his gameplay. From the score breakdown, he had already found a scoring point.
“Most importantly, what in the world is this Lolicon thing about…”
Ren Suo called for yet another takeaway service as he lay on the couch, continuing strong in the game. He felt that the game was pretty good and enjoyable. There was an acceptable amount of freedom given to the player, and a standard enemy Artificial Intelligence (AI) that was not weak and senseless like a mere overlay, nor buffed in difficulty to the likes of a terminator. Yet, the difficulty and challenges would vary from player to player, based on the player’s actions. There were even lots of characteristic differences, as evidenced when some assassins got frightened and escaped upon sight of Ren Suo’s avatar in the game.
Loading Save File 0, Ren Suo restarted the game with the hitman in the alley. As usual, he instinctively tricked and lured two guards out. However, this time, he chose to knock both out, instead of choosing to kill just one of them.
He proceeded through the various stages—one by one—and this time, the game automatically created a second save file when his avatar entered the ballroom.
This time, Ren Suo decided to take much more care and precautions when he used the hitman to attack. When he invaded the ballroom in the previous attempt, he did not pay much attention to the escaping guests and had even shot some of them dead by accident in his haste to kill all to win as quickly as possible.
When the Englishman emerged from the inner hall, there were still 13 surviving guests in the ballroom.
At that very moment, Ren Suo’s takeaway arrived. But it was only at that point when he realized that there was no option to pause the game—leaving him with no choice but to rush off and collect his takeaway. The delivery man apologized repeatedly for what appeared to be a small leak in the takeaway bag, but Ren Suo could not care less as he hastily left to put the food in the kitchen before returning to the game. However, as he took the food out of the bag, he accidentally lifted the cover of the food container and as a result, spilled the oily and greasy sauce all over his hand.
He hurriedly proceeded to wash his hands. By the time he returned to the game, the Englishman and other gunmen who were dressed in black, were pointing their guns anxiously at the hitman, giving Ren Suo a great shock. “Why aren’t you leaving?”
Ren Suo swiftly stopped the hitman from attacking and left the ballroom. However, to his dismay, an explosion occurred on the ninth floor as soon as the hitman had left due to the delay in his action. A message immediately popped up on his screen:
[Kallen Lamperouge is dead. Mission failed.]
With no other option, Ren Suo tried again. On his next attempt, he managed to clear the stage without any mishaps and even increased the number of surviving guests in the ballroom to 15—two more than the previous attempt.
The game appraised Ren Suo’s performance, and this time, he got a score of 71%, just like he expected!
[Completed basic mission objective – 60 points awarded]
[Killed a moderate number of enemies – 5 points awarded]
[Successfully saved moderate number of the innocent – 5 points awarded ”
[Special accomplishment: Lolicon – 1 point awarded (this point is given only if the total score is below 80 points)]
[Total score awarded is 71 points. Appraisal: Moderately good.]
“Only moderately good, not very good…?” Ren Suo curled his lips, “I don’t think there’s any other area that I could improve on, is there?”
At that point, a message appeared on his screen: [The player has received an appraisal of ‘moderately good’ for fulfilling the main task and hidden requirements. Hence, the player will receive information for the chapter’s hidden side mission.]
[Side mission: Protect Yuffie Lamperouge. The lower the damage that the target receives, the higher the score.]
Yuffie Lamperouge?
The main mission was to protect Kallen Lamperouge. Surely, they must be from the same family? Furthermore, the evening banquet was organized by the Lamperouge family, so that meant there was a very high possibility that both Kallen and Yuffie were together at the same location.
Since Yuffie required the player’s protection, that meant that she would definitely be killed if there was no intervention made by the player.
Although Ren Suo had yet to spot Kallen Lamperouge so far, it was easy for him to follow and proceed, now that both Kallen and Yuffie would be in the inner hall of the ballroom where the Englishman NPC came out from. After all, the ninth floor was not ridiculously spacious. It housed only the main ballroom and the inner hall.
But when did Yuffie die?
A crucial timing immediately came to Ren Suo’s mind—2000HRS. At this exact time, a gunshot can be heard from the inner hall while the assassins in the ballroom would begin their attack. Thus, the assassination of the guests in both the inner hall and that of the outer main ballroom would be coordinated.
If Yuffie was really in the inner hall and not in the main ballroom, then it was almost certain she died from the gunshot at 20:00.
After finishing his food, Ren Suo went back to lie down on the couch as he turned on his Mini Worlds Gaming Console. He then began loading Save File 2. He used the hitman to look around the ballroom for an entire round, only to see that there were no significant findings apart from the dozen or so assassins who were emitting an intense red glow in the darkness of the room.
How was he going to find Yuffie Lamperouge?
Ren Suo pondered for a short moment before allowing the hitman to steal a pistol. He then guided the avatar directly towards the inner hall. However, in the pathway leading from the ballroom to the inner hall, he was stopped by a middle-aged official who was leading two black-shirted men behind him.
“Mister, this is a private area,” said the middle-aged official apologetically. “You have not obtained permission to enter.”
Four in-game options appeared on the screen:
①”I am here in search of Kallen Lamperouge.”
②”I am here in search of Yuffie Lamperouge.”
③”How do I get in?”
④ (Attack) “Go and eat shit.”
Ren Suo selected option ②, after which the middle-aged official looked at the hitman while a small smile emerged on his face. “Ms. Yuffie will be making her address at 20:00. Please wait patiently until then.”
The options did not disappear, though option ② was now greyed out. Ren Suo then selected option ③, and the middle-aged official said,
“I’m sorry, only those who are in cooperation with the Lamperouge family have the rights and are permitted to enter… Oh, I also recall that no Asians were invited, you are…?”
Ren Suo sensed that something was amiss, but at this moment, a young man appeared in a bid to enter the inner hall. The official immediately directed his attention to him, “Mister, you are…?”
“I am Ingres Ricard, and I am here on behalf of my father to celebrate Ms. Kallen’s birthday.” Ingres smiled slightly and continued, “My clothes had been soiled just now and I just managed to change into a new set. I am really sorry for turning up late.”
Ren Suo finally knew the purpose of this evening banquet.
“Ah, so you are the young master Ingres of the Ricard family. It is of great honor to meet you for the first time.” The middle-aged official created up a path for him to pass through and said politely, “Please, enter.”
Judging from the current situation, Ren Suo reckoned that he stood little chance of being allowed to enter the inner hall if he does not resort to using force.
But then he thought, Yuffie’s death takes place 1 minute before 20:00. If I let the hitman rush in at this time, I would still stand a chance at saving her. Hence, Ren Suo decided to wait patiently until 19:59, when he let the hitman attack the men dressed in black and the middle-aged official who was guarding the pathway.
Ren Suo succeeded—the hitman who was adept at close combat, first attacked three defenseless men effortlessly. It should be a piece of cake for him.
Yet, he failed. Upon seeing the hitman attack the black-shirted men guarding the pathway, the other assassins hiding amongst the guests also pulled out their guns and began their surprise attack after hesitating for two to three seconds.
The black-shirted men had believed that the hitman was part of the assassins. Then, two other black-shirted men appeared from the pathway. They started firing at the hitman. Ren Suo immediately launched [Bullet Time] and exchanged shots with them. At this moment, one of the assassins shouted from behind:
“He isn’t one of us!”
“Pew!” A bullet came from behind, killing the hitman.
[You died.]
As Ren Suo was brought to the load save screen, he calmed down, realizing that forcing his way into the inner hall was not a viable option. Well at least, not for the hitman whom he controlled.
If it were the ‘Clown Hitman’, it would be possible for him to pretend as the Englishman, while the ‘Bald Hitman’ was only proficient at combat skills and fighting off enemies with brute force. Ren Suo needed to come up with a more ingenious plan.
Ren Suo proceeded to load Save File 0 and started again in the alley. This time, instead of letting the hitman head straight to the building, he stood beside the road, outside the building, while patiently waiting for his target.
“Huh?”
A bright blue pyramid was floating on the shadow of a person surrounded by blue blight, stunning him. It seemed like a beacon reminding Ren Suo to notice it.
This person is Ren Suo’s target to achieve his plan—Ingres Ricard, the young man he encountered previously.
As such, he was a tad bit intrigued. He wondered, “Why is the game automatically showing such a symbol just when I decide to deal with him?”
Ren Suo did not dwell on it any further and proceeded to lead the hitman directly towards Ingres Ricard in a bid to subdue him. Unexpectedly, dialogue options appeared on the screen:
①”Mr. Ricard, I am the Lamperouge family’s butler. Your clothes appear to be soiled, please follow me to change into a new clean set.”
② (Attack) “This road which I had built, belongs to me, and so do all of the trees here, which have been planted by me. If you want to pass, leave all your wealth behind!”
Ren Suo was stunned for a brief second. He then proceeded to select option ①. Ingres smiled and said, “Ah, I’m so sorry to have to trouble you… How did you know that I was Ingres Ricard?”
The hitman let out a grin and said, “As Lamperouge family’s butler, I must have the details of their guests at my fingertips.”
This is so exciting!
Ren Suo stood up and ensured that the game had a ‘past experience memory’ function; there would be no other way to explain why the game would automatically single out Ingres, nor would the hitman be able to know that Ingres had soiled his clothes. Neither would he be able to know of Ingres’ name and background.
“How is this function made? Are programmers these days so capable?” Ren Suo murmured to himself. He was thrilled as he led the hitman to bring Ingres to a secluded area and knocked him out before searching him for his identification documents and invitation card. He then strutted confidently into the Blackthorn Tower.
This time, the attendant was all smiles as he brought him to the lift. The moment the hitman, once again, entered the ballroom, a message prompt that was drastically different from the ones before appeared:
[You have entered the Lamperouge’s evening banquet as ‘Ingres Ricard’. Creating Save File 3.]
[Search for any weapons capable of injuring and killing and mark out all suspicious characters before 20:00.]
Ren Suo led the hitman to enter the inner hall, and the hitman naturally explained to the middle-aged official that he was Ingres Ricard. The official did not probe further about why the Ricards had an Asian Son. Instead, he let it pass, though he put on a cryptic smile that hung from the corners of his lips.
Then, the hitman walked through the pathway and successfully entered the inner hall!
Another message appeared. This time, even the mission had been changed:
[You have entered the second hall on the ninth floor of the Blackthorn Tower. Creating Save File 4.]
[Protect Kallen Lamperouge.]
The inner hall was actually very similar to the main ballroom, but with much lesser people, all of whom were now just making small talk while sitting on the couches. At the center, Ren Suo finally saw the target whom he had to protect.
She had a long, tangerine-colored hair, and a long white corset gown on. With her was an adorable, young girl with fiery red hair, playing with her teddy bear. Waiting close to them was a familiar face that Ren Suo recognized—the Englishman.
There were inverted golden pyramids hovering above their heads—telling players they were the targets needing protection.
Ren Suo led the hitman forward, near the crowd surrounding the two targets. He then commented, “Ms. Kallen, even the brightest of stars pale in comparison to your beauty.”
The small girl clung on tightly to the bottom of the taller lady’s gown, looking on timidly at the hitman as the lady chuckled and said, “Thank you for giving my sister such compliments, but it seems she’d prefer compliments like ‘cute’.”
Huh? Ren Suo was stunned as he looked at the small girl behind the taller lady.
Wait, Kallen Lamperouge was actually a small Loli?
It was then that Ren Suo suddenly remembered one of the lines from the score breakdown earlier: [Special accomplishment: Lolicon]
Ren Suo also recalled the weird expression on the black-shirted man’s face when the hitman mentioned that he was there as he was someone who admired Ms. Kallen.
“This game, it has really won me over…”
