Chapter Two: Disguise

The attic reeked of mold and cheap ale as I crouched in the storage room's metal crateAdjusted breathing rate again. This action had repeated seventeen times—in Infinite Evolution's NPC behavior database, the blacksmith apprentice in the starter village blinks exactly 3.2 times per minute.

"Copper ore...copper ore....."Mechanically brushing cobwebs in the corner, the linen robe's friction perfectly replicated Sample #7 from the sound effects library. When three sparrows swept past the window lattice for the third time, azure ripples finally surfaced on my retinas.

[Behavior pattern match: 97.6%]

[Activating temporary GM permissions (camouflage mode)]

I swiped at empty air, nearly getting poked by the suddenly materialized control interface. Data streams scrolled densely across the semitransparent panel, with apixel-art stylecrying cat emoji in the lower-right corner—this had tobe Lead Programmer Zhang'seaster egg.

"Warrior." I deepened my voice to mimic NPCs' characteristic electronic reverberation just as the storeroom door burst open.

An orc player wieldinga bronze battleaxefroze in the doorway. His ID [StreetSlayer] still dripped blood overhead, clearly fresh from combat. I maintained my posture ofoffering the questAs I adjusted my posture, I caught the flickering [Quest Reward] option in my peripheral vision of the GM panel.

"Collect ten copper ores, right? I'll take... Holy shit!"

When I dragged the 「Crude Dagger」 from the rewards column into the trash bin and replaced it with 「Odin'sMeteor Forge Hammer Blueprint」, the entire tavern suddenly shook violently. Parchments on the bulletin board fluttered without wind, golden letters exploding across players' retinas:

[World Event: Blacksmith Apprentice's Boon]

[Legendary Forging Blueprint Emerges!]

Orc playerdidn't even notice his axe clattering onto his foot. Over thirty crimson gazes in the tavern simultaneously locked onto my corner. I swore I heard at least five people knocking over mead mugs, and some elven mage even jammed his staff into a companion's chainmail crevice.

"Wait!" I frantically slapped the GM panel only visible to me, thesuddenly appearingcrimson warning searing my eyeballs.

[Warning: Abnormal Data Fluctuation]

[Security Protocol K-0921 Activated]

The wooden door of the storage room shattered into pixel fragments five meters away, revealing silver-gray armor emerging from the dust. The red dragon crest on the intruder's chest made my stomach churn—why would Iron Blood Alliance members appear in a starter village?

"Kid." The greatsword warrior's shadow loomed over me, his ID flanked by a glaring [Vice President] title, "Trade me the blueprint, or..."

I stared at my pale face reflected in his armor, suddenly recalling rumors from onboarding training. It was said Infinite Evolution's pain feedback system had special treatments, like triggering hidden sound effects when slamming doors into faces—

*Clang!*

A rusty metal boxswung through the airin an afterimage. The metallic clang blended with a crisp system alert: [You dealt 1 damage to player 「Warclan丶Butcher」 (furniture-type item forced damage)]

The entire tavern fell dead silent.

The「-1」floating abovethe greatsword warrior's headglowed crimson as blood. He slowly wiped spiderwebs off his nose bridge, his rage-twisted grin visible through armor gaps: "You fucking looking to die..."

I lunged toward the windowsill, the operational interface flashing beneath my burlap robe visible only to me. As the greatsword warrior's slash tore through the air, I decisively clicked the newly unlocked [Environmental Variables] button.

Crash—

A century-aged wooden barrel suddenly crashed through the tavern roof, dousing the greatsword warrior in honeyed wine that solidified him into an amber statue. Clinging to the window frame, I delivered the final blow: "Warrior, would you clean this floor for me?"

[Quest Issued: Tavern Cleaning (Legendary)]

[Reward: Hidden Class 'Dionysus Priest' Advancement Manual]

The entire guild team immediately redirected their weapons toward mops. Seizing the moment, I clambed out the window. As the night wind billowed my hood, I glimpsedthree kilometers away on the clock tower's peaka silver glint—an elven archer's arrowhead calibrating against moonlight, aimed at my nape.

I sprinted across thatched roof tiles as exploding moonlight revealed drifting ice crystals behind me. The elven race's unique 「Frost Trail Tracking」left azure footprints on the eaves, Charlotte's voice pierced the night with bowstring vibrations: "Every sentence you utter ends with a player login chime!"

Cold sweat seeped into coarse linen cloth collar. While running, I frantically clicked through the GM panel. When the seventh [Environmental Variables] option lit up, I grabbeda clothesline to swing towardsthe mill, twenty frost arrows weaving a lethal ice net beneath my feet.

"Got you." Charlotte's voice suddenly came from directly ahead.

She'd predicted my landing! The elven archer stood on windmill blades drawing her bow like a crescent moon, the silver glint on her ear tips reminding me of beta-test trauma induced by number-crunching designers. The rotating [Eye of Truth] rune on her arrowhead was definitely high-grade gear for piercing disguises.

"Wait!" I clung to the mill's wooden beam shouting, "Do you know the proper stance to trigger Easter egg achievements?"

Seizing her 0.3-second hesitation, I rapidly opened my inventory. As the mustyhemp robe was stuffed into[Appearance Illusion], Charlotte's armor-piercingarrow had alreadycleared the bowstring by three inches.

Shua——

Moonlight suddenly bathed myA golden rim materialized around his body, the system announcement echoed across all servers: [Player 'Mo' has unlocked the hidden achievement 'Newton's Wig'!]

Charlotte's arrow eerily bent upward at a right angle, dragging her into the night sky with invisible force. Touching the silver-white curls suddenly appearing on my head, I stared at the floating millstone and realized - this motherfucker inverted gravity!

"Bastard!" Charlotte hung upside-down from clouds while drawing her bow, arrows scattering like dandelion seeds, "You altered physics engine parameters?"

"Technically, it's Sir Isaac's wig doing the alterations." I retreated across what suddenly became ceiling grass, restoring gravity parameters. The mill instantly collapsed with thunderous fury.

Azure light flickered through swirling dust. Catching the falling GM-exclusive item, I nearly laughed aloud. Charlotte would never guess thoseoperationsunlocked my [Data Anomaly Value], as the blinking 「87%」 on my interface now madly pulsed.

"Freeze!" The Elven archer materialized from behind the collapsed wall like a phantom, venom-tipped arrow pressing against my Adam's apple, "Drop the disguise now, or..."

Her words died abruptly. Following her gaze downward, I realized my hand now clutchedan oaken tankard thathadn't been there moments before. More unnerving still, the decorative carvings on its base were weeping crimson wine – the very AI core carrier I'd secretly slipped to Old Jack yesterday!

'Ding!'

Shattering glass echoed from the tavern as Old Jack's raspy voice boomed in every player's ear: [Hidden Storyline 'Crimson Harvest' Activated]

Charlotte's arrowhead swiveled with terrifying precision. Beneath the blood moon rising in the distance, hundreds of drunken NPCs swayed forward clutching bottles, led by Old Jack whose head now bore the dark golden question mark – my ultimate trap quest marker.

"This is....."Charlotte's breathing hitched, "An SSS-level chain quest?"

I seized the moment to roll into the sewer grate. My final glimpse showed her tremblingarrow tip aimed atOld Jack. The Elven archerThe hand was clearlyfacing the toughest choice of its life: whether to chase down this suspicious individual or secure the server's first legendary quest.

When sewage rose past my knees, a blood-red warning exploded across my retina: [Safety Protocol K-0921 Activation 99%]

As the interface began flickering with static, my fingers found the protrusion on the drainage pipe wall - a cheat channel left during beta testing. When Charlotte's furious shout echoed from the well opening, I'd already typed the final command in the GM panel:

[Environmental Variables·Final Revision]

[Replace all roosters in the starter village with baby fire dragons]

Boom!

Tremors from the ground mingled with players' screams. Huddled in the stinking sewage, I grinned. Through the firelight seeping through the manhole cover above, I glimpseda certain orc playerbeing chased down the street by fireballs spat from hatchlings, while the world channel was exploding with messages.

Kai Sa's monitoring screens must be flashing alerts now, I thought while touching my right ear that had started bleeding. But who cares? At least tonight, the entire "Infinite Evolution" has become my playground.