Cao Zhiming's attitude was extraordinarily respectful.
So much so that it was almost humble.
He stood bolt upright, his salute perfectly by the book—
the textbook deference of a subordinate facing a superior.
At this sight, the players' eyes all went wide.
Every single one of them stared blankly at the scene before them, disbelief written all over their faces.
A Criminal Division police officer… saluting Ma Jun?
No—this was way too exaggerated!
Lu Feng was already dumbfounded.
His intuition had been warning him all along that something about Ma Jun felt off, and he had prepared himself mentally for that.
But what was happening in front of him still plunged him into shock and confusion.
Lu Feng was Level 2, and his credentials listed him as a Trainee Inspector.
Jiang Han was Level 3, with the rank of Inspector.
From what he could tell, a player's in-dungeon identity was directly linked to their level.
The higher the level, the more powerful the assigned status.
Even an Inspector was still several ranks below a police officer.
Yet now—
The police officer Cao Zhiming was actually saluting Ma Jun!
So just what kind of rank did Ma Jun have?
Could it be… that he was far higher than Jiang Han?!
Lu Feng didn't even dare think any further.
They were all still in the newbie phase. Logically, anyone matched into the same dungeon should also be a newcomer.
But how could a newbie possibly have such a high rank?!
Unless—
He wasn't human at all…
Lu Feng was now ninety percent certain that something had gone wrong with this dungeon—and the cause was Ma Jun!
And Lu Feng wasn't the only smart one.
Anyone who could survive in the Horror Game wasn't an idiot.
Seeing Cao Zhiming standing there respectfully, the players all understood one thing very clearly—
Ma Jun was the true hidden boss among them.
Someone far more terrifying than Lu Feng of Huaxi Academy, or Jiang Han of the Southwestern Military District.
"Boss, please carry us!"
"Boss, let me hug your thigh!"
"Damn… this is a real big shot."
"Boss, could you maybe reveal what level you are?"
"Shut up! How dare you pry into the boss's privacy—are you tired of living?!"
The players chattered noisily, excitement bubbling over.
Ma Jun frowned slightly, tilted his head, and gave them a sideways glance.
The players who had been arguing just a second ago instantly shut their mouths, falling silent like cicadas in winter.
"Looks like the boss is angry…"
"So much presence!"
"That look—pure killing intent."
"Way too scary…"
Seeing their reactions, Ma Jun felt a bit helpless. He hadn't meant to be this high-profile.
But all these identities had been preassigned by the system, and he hadn't even checked his credentials.
Who would have thought his rank would be even higher than Cao Zhiming's?
Well, now this was awkward—
the guest had become the host.
Cao Zhiming, after saluting, still felt that a simple salute wasn't enough.
He immediately called everyone in the office over and made a formal introduction.
"Everyone, stand at attention!"
"Welcome the senior officer from the Case Bureau—Officer Ma Jun, Sir!"
All ranks of police officers stood neatly in formation and saluted Ma Jun together.
"Sir!"
Ma Jun coughed lightly twice and said, somewhat perfunctorily,
"I don't like formalities. Let's talk about the case first."
"Yes!"
Cao Zhiming replied briskly. "This way please, Sir Ma."
The players consciously followed behind Ma Jun—Lu Feng and Jiang Han included.
At this point, it was obvious whose leg they should be hugging.
Ma Jun followed Cao Zhiming into an archive room.
The moment he stepped inside, a chilling, sinister aura washed over him.
Even the air felt thick and sticky.
Cao Zhiming's expression grew solemn, his eyes tinged with grief.
"Recently, strange cases on Harbor Island have been occurring like a flood. No one knows how many have died. Higher-ups are still suppressing the news, but they won't be able to hold it down for long."
"When that happens, public panic will be inevitable."
"Sir Ma… whether Harbor Island can survive this crisis depends on you."
Cao Zhiming once again saluted deeply.
"You're welcome to take your time reviewing everything. I won't disturb you any further."
The players were all hot-blooded youths. Hearing Cao Zhiming's earnest plea stirred something inside them.
At that moment, a system notification sounded again.
[Due to the danger level of the mission, players must form teams of two to accept cases.
(Note: Choose carefully. Only take cases within your capability.)]
Ma Jun's heart skipped a beat.
Two-person teams.
This was a mandatory mission—he had to bring someone with him.
That didn't really matter to him.
With his ability, even dragging along anyone at random, he could still brute-force the mission.
But he didn't want dead weight—
someone who couldn't help was fine, but someone who caused trouble would be disastrous.
If something went wrong, he'd be the one paying the price.
The other players had also heard the prompt.
Everyone immediately turned their eager gazes toward Ma Jun.
Two-person teams—
wasn't this the perfect chance to cling to a boss's thigh?!
As everyone knew, fighting well wasn't as good as queueing well.
If you latched onto a boss, you'd get carried through the entire mission, spamming "666" all the way—what a beautiful dream.
Several players were already preparing to make their move.
Even a delicate-looking girl cleared her throat softly, as if about to speak.
At that moment, Lu Feng suddenly spoke up.
"You guys don't actually think that teaming up with Ma Jun is a good thing, do you?"
"That's ridiculously naive."
"If you really think that way," he said coldly,
"you might not even know how you die when the time comes."
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