When the plot-skips players into the game world

When the steam train entered Shepherd Bay County, the air around them became noticeably fresher.

Hayna opened the window and took a deep breath of the fresh air from her hometown.

—Shepherd Bay County is still the best!

As a child, Hayna knew almost nothing about her hometown.

Back then, she took the jewel-like beautiful azure waters and skies, as well as the lush green forests, for granted as part of everyday life.

It was only when she first set foot on Glass Island that she was stunned by its prosperity.

Entering Glass Island from the metropolitan area, she saw one magnificent factory after another, the dense flow of people, and even two or more trains in her vision at the same time, which filled her with a profound awe.

The streets were filled with people wearing fashionable clothes she had never seen, knights clad in armor everywhere, even passing circuses, street-performing magicians and singers, and those huge and solemn churches...

Busy yet full of vitality, crowded but orderly.

But after staying for a while, Hayna would start to miss home.

She missed the blue sky and fresh air of her home—not like Glass Island, half muffled by fog and half smelling of the sea. Only the Red-White Queen District was slightly better, but just slightly.

Although Glass Island had many more entertainment options than her Shepherd Bay County, she didn't go out anyway. So didn't these entertainments basically not exist for her?

If that was the case, then to her, Glass Island really wasn't as fun as Shepherd Bay County!

"I had thought that a young lady like Hayna would prefer Glass Island,"

Ye Zhi said, smiling across from Hayna: "Shepherd Bay County, this kind of holiday resort, is usually visited by middle-aged nobles who like fishing and horse riding."

—Yeah right.

Hayna nibbled on the now-cooled pie in her arms and took a sip of water from the metal flask Meg had given her, rolling her eyes subconsciously.

Entertainment on Glass Island ranged from safe to unsafe, conservative to radical, perverted to normal. Young people liked it, and so did the middle-aged.

"It's not just middle-aged people who come to Shepherd Bay County for a vacation..."

Feeling that rolling her eyes was a bit rude, Hayna added to explain: "Besides, I don't like going out in Glass Island either."

Hayna's habit of staying in her room wasn't just due to laziness or lack of money, but rather because she really had no interest in those entertainments.

Although she indeed had no money, with her status as a top student, it was easy for her to borrow large amounts of money from classmates from merchant families—of course, the kind that didn't need to be paid back.

This was quite normal, and even quite common.

The members of the Knight Family might not necessarily be wealthy, not to mention there were many priests and commoners among the students.

Being a Knight of Renown only meant that they had an outstanding ancestor who was nationally recognized in the past four hundred years, but if too much time had passed, most likely the connections they had accumulated were mostly exhausted.

What remained was nothing more than a set of family armor bestowed by the king or queen, allowing them to enter the Round Table Hall. But that was it.

The reason the Lohar Society hadn't been taken down was precisely because these knights had accepted their sponsorship.

And it was much simpler to win over these hardworking students who had not yet encountered society, and most likely only had experience in studying, than providing sponsorships to knights. For a lot less money, one could secure a lasting friendship and a favor that might come at an unknown time in the future.

This was a high-quality investment. As long as one casts a wide net, it's basically a guaranteed profit—

Royal Law University controlled almost all of the mainstream talent save for the military system, the engineering academy, and the science academy.

The staff of important government departments like the Supervisory Bureau, Supervisory Court, Court of Law, and the Church, including trade and diplomacy, were also primarily recruited from Royal Law University.

This also included those freelance lawyers who hadn't joined the Court of Law, the lower-ranked priests who had failed the Church exams but still mastered Illumination Art, and civilian scholars desperately in need of sponsorship for their research.

All of these were precious talents. And they were all easy to win over during their student days.

Even if they were weeded out, it didn't mean they were incompetent, but rather that their cohort was too outstanding. By diligently picking up what others overlook, there would always be a chance to make a sale.

Those various clubs existed for this reason. Students had a great need for social interaction, and they could get a piece of the action.

If Hayna just nodded, not only would her life no longer be constrained, but she could also live comfortably without hesitation.

Moreover, all this didn't require any commitment from her; she just needed to maintain friendly relations to relax and enjoy— for a genius who had entered the transcendent path from scratch at eighteen and reached the third energy level by twenty, there were plenty of people wanting to give money.

—How dare you make demands? Then just stay behind, and you won't get to lick boots in the future.

"Oh, why?"

Ye Zhi was a bit puzzled and curious: "Miss Hayna is so beautiful... and undoubtedly has good grades. Don't you have any admirers?"

"There are some, and not just a few. But I drove them all away,"

Hayna informed frankly.

Although Hayna was somewhat naive... she was not stupid.

Although she didn't know what it would cost her in the end, Hayna resolutely rejected all temptations.

This wasn't because she was born a saint—rather, she was actually very tempted by those cute little things printed with the Red Candle and Silver Crown.

Every time she refused a temptation, she would roll around in bed with regret for a long time. But after the regret passed, she would still stubbornly refuse the next temptation.

The reason was simple.

It was actually just because she was cautious for some reason.

Hayna knew she was a country girl from a small place. She had a very low and conservative opinion of herself.

Although she was good at studying and exams and was sensitive to the power of the Path, she was ultimately not that smart, nor did she have the insight and experience. So she didn't know what all this meant, nor did she know what the consequences of these bargains would be.

She just adhered to an extremely simple concept—

There is no such thing as a free lunch, everything certainly comes with a cost. And she might not be able to pay that cost, thus losing even more.

Merchants are extremely smart, even cunning. They can make money, which means they have a flexible brain—and Hayna knew her brain didn't work well, she couldn't outplay them.

So she simply refused to associate with these merchants and smart people.

As long as she completely avoided deep interactions, and rejected all proposals and gifts, she would definitely not be deceived.

At that time, she was so annoyed by various social requests that she couldn't distinguish between them, so she applied for an early internship. As soon as she left the school, she immediately saw life quiet down. When people saw her, the first thing they thought of was "Inspector Hayna" rather than "Chief Hayna."
Find exclusive stories on My Virtual Library Empire

Even with her best friends, Hayna couldn't say whether or not they were sent by some faction, nor was she sure if they had been bought off. So she dared not listen to any of the advice and suggestions they offered.

The political situation in the kingdom was very complicated. Hayna couldn't understand it at all.

So she didn't take sides and only sought to be blameless and mediocre. She'd be content to be a good-for-nothing who just muddled through.

However, it was precisely because of her attitude that Meg decided to take her on as an apprentice.

"What about you?"

Hayna didn't want to continue talking about herself, so she abruptly changed the subject, "Are you here for travel? Is that big bag of yours filled with your fishing gear?"

Because if she told the truth, Hayna worried the other person might suspect her of bragging; and if she showed the evidence to prove it, it would reveal her information. Realizing she couldn't carry on the conversation, Hayna directly chose to end it.

This was her style of doing things.

If she didn't understand, she would just watch; if she couldn't understand, she would shut up; if she couldn't do it, she wouldn't do it!

In the face of Hayna's question, Ye Zhi just smiled faintly, "I'm also heading home."

"Eh?"

Hayna was stunned for a moment, "Where are you from?"

"I'm from Flute Town," Ye Zhi replied.

As he spoke, a faint red light shimmered in his pupils.

"What a coincidence, I'm from Eagle Cape Village!"

Hayna immediately perked up, "We're quite close, both at the terminal station!"

Hearing that their destinations were the same and both at the terminal station, Hayna immediately let down her guard and became excited.

She pressed on, "Which part of Flute Town are you from?"

However, Ye Zhi just smiled and shook his head, not responding.

Hayna then realized she was too excited, so she promptly explained, "I spent a few years studying in Flute Town as a child—do you know 'The Cattle and Bay'?"

"'Cattle Bay News', I've been reading it since I was little."

Ye Zhi answered easily.

That was indeed a local nickname.

My neighbor's grandfather used to be the editor-in-chief of "The Cattle and Bay"—

Hayna initially intended to say this.

But her innate intuition suddenly made her pause—because she felt it was too easy to locate her with that information, and telling a stranger wasn't a good idea.

So the words reached Hayna's lips, but then she swallowed them back down.

She instead asked, "Do you work on Glass Island?"

Seeing that Hayna didn't continue, Ye Zhi seemed vaguely surprised.

He arched an eyebrow, looking at Hayna with a hint of astonishment.