But it would be difficult. "Apart from Megumi-san, I can't think of a single other real-world player I have contact with. I've never revealed my real identity to anyone in MGC. In the early days, there weren't many players, and none of my university friends or anyone in my department or faculty played the game. So, I'm still at ease for now. To find my real identity, they would have to raid the game company's data archive or ask the four of you," he said, pointing outside, "and your people out there."
"And there's this person as well," Megumi pointed to the door where a beautiful woman in a light blue shirt, cream-colored work pants, and heeled shoes stood frozen.
She saw clearly, with Phakin sitting there, who the other four must be!
Lilian's eyes sparkled when she saw Melon-chan in person. She got up from her chair and rushed to ask, "Are you the same Tangmo?"
Tangmo, the one they had a grudge against during the mercenary raid event on dungeon record night.
A beautiful stranger, dressed not as a waitress and entering this place, which was the territory of Sagittarius, must undoubtedly be her, unless the guy is just a flirt, Lilian analyzed.
When Tangmo confirmed, Lilian grabbed her arm and pulled her into the conversation circle, thinking only one thing:
"No wonder why that guy never looked at me romantically!"
All women admire their appearance, and Lilian, being a charming western lady herself, was no exception. Upon seeing the real Phakin, who had developed muscles from using hammers and wrenches to maintain machinery on Mars—muscles that were not too big but strong, he fit her type perfectly. However, from the moment they met until now, he had never looked at her with any romantic interest.
Hmph... because of this.
She thought it but didn't say it out loud.
Meanwhile, Li Wei and Aman, who hadn't gone on the raid with Megumi and Lilian, were unaware of the true identity of the beautiful woman who was now being pulled back and forth by the two ladies. Phakin smiled wryly, waiting for a moment when the two stopped talking, then asked, "Did Mina ask you to come?"
Tangmo nodded and said to everyone, "I will be your guide today!"
Although they didn't know who this beautiful woman was, both Li Wei and Aman clapped their hands.
If they had to choose,
Having a pretty guide for half a day was preferable to the tanned guy beside them, a Thai who had never been to the Temple of the Emerald Buddha before, acting as the guide.
Six hours have passed. Though it was somewhat hard, we got through it.
In truth, this tour group consists of only five people. But these five, no, actually four people, have brought along a bunch of followers.
Phakin doesn't know, and neither does Tangmo. It was Mina who booked the accommodations for the four lords. How could they know how many rooms Mina booked for each lord?
Luckily, they didn't have to worry about taking care of those extra "followers."
Both Phakin and little Tangmo waved goodbye to the group as they walked into the hotel to rest.
"Sigh..." After standing straight for six hours, little Tangmo slouched and muttered, "So tense." She had never learned to be a guide; she got by relying on her local knowledge of Bangkok.
"Must be tiring," Phakin felt truly grateful to little Tangmo. Without her today, he would've been in big trouble.
In truth, he knew nothing about Bangkok tourism except for mall-hopping. "A country bumpkin in the city" suited him perfectly.
For instance,
the legend of the Giant of Wat Chaeng flying across the Chao Phraya River to fight with the Giant of Wat Pho, turning into Tha Tien — he knew nothing about it (you can search Google for the full story). But little Tangmo knew and could tell it vividly, captivating the four tourists and even Phakin, a native Thai.
Phakin said, "If we have another gathering like this, but abroad, I'll invite you, Tangmo. Let's defeat them and get some payback."
"Heh, it's fine. No need to trouble yourself." She didn't want to get involved with high-ranking land lords. "Besides, Mina has already given me extra compensation for today, over and above my salary. It's just work for money. No need for revenge."
Phakin nodded and didn't press further. He changed the subject. "How about the matter I discussed with Mr. Li? Would you like to come?"
At this, Tangmo's eyes sparkled.
Seeing her interest, Phakin smiled faintly, not knowing what she was thinking.
He looked up at the sky and murmured, "Is it already dark?" Then turned to Tangmo and said, "Let me take you home."
At night, Chandra Metropolis was still bustling. People were walking around busily. It was another city in MGC Online that never slept.
"Welcome back, Master."
This was the second return of Sagittarius. This time, no one came to drag him out in shame. When they reached the horse cart rest stop outside the city, Mina led a troop of soldiers to welcome him. Everyone on the cart only then realized that the default-faced man sitting with them was Sagittarius!
Sagittarius walked majestically back into the city surrounded by soldiers, who lined up to block the road and clear the way.
"This is the privilege of the city's lord!" Players who came to watch were filled with envy and admiration when they saw hundreds of soldiers escorting one person into the city.
Sagittarius didn't walk towards the city hall but headed to the northeast corner of the city, where the city's first military camp was located.
All the players already knew he was going there, as soldiers cleared the path for him, preventing anyone from passing through and creating a direct path to the military camp.
In the military camp, many players were coming and going, but they were not soldiers under the command of Sagittarius.
All of Sagittarius' soldiers were high-level NPCs! Since NPCs could give quests, players came to the military camp to get combat-related quests from those soldiers.
These players, seeing the procession escorting a man in, could guess who he was.
In Chandra Metropolis, only one VIP had military protection "inside" a military camp.
Sagittarius didn't stop at the military building but headed straight to the engineering workshop, a restricted area where outsiders were not allowed.
Players with quests to deliver to NPCs within the restricted area had no choice but to wait until the quest-giving NPC came out. Sometimes, they might have to wait for days.
This restricted area was recently established for a reason.
Sagittarius, about waist-high, looked up at the head of the golem with sparkling eyes and asked the max-level blacksmith NPC in charge of the construction, "Can I try driving it?"
Unfortunately, the blacksmith NPC shook his head, making Sagittarius feel disappointed. He asked again, "Is it because my level is too low to drive it?"
The ten-meter-tall Gundam was within reach, but he couldn't drive it.
It had been his childhood dream!"
Although this radiant green-striped golem may not look like a Gundam, it has arms and legs and can move. Sagittarius loves it to bits.
An expression of a child who didn't get their toy appeared. Unfortunately, the blacksmith next to him is an NPC without a sense of humor; otherwise, seeing this face, he would have burst out laughing. He replied in a serious manner about the usage details of this golem:
"Dear sir, according to the (game) system, this golem is classified as a vehicle, but it cannot be operated until the conditions are met."
Ah, the game has it locked.
Which isn't strange. Sagittarius asked, "Is it like the submarine we built initially? If there's no war, the submarine's firing systems won't operate. It can only dive and transport people."
Sagittarius suspected that the game had likewise locked tanks they had captured in large numbers.
Otherwise, some mischievous people would bomb cities to ruins when there's no war. After this, it's uncertain if there will be weapons of mass destruction everywhere. If not locked, this game society would undoubtedly fall into chaos.
The NPC blacksmith cleared his throat and said, "The conditions are more complicated than that, sir," and opened the condition window for Sagittarius to see.
When the young man saw the conditions to unlock the ten-meter golem for movement, he said, "To try piloting a Gundam, no matter the conditions, I'll accept them all!"
The GM, who was secretly watching, had been tasked with recording a clip for an advertisement. The clip showcased Sagittarius's prowess. Seeing the massive golem standing idle, he supports the idea. Creating this golem had consumed a lot of resources; it was a pity to leave it just for display."