Hammerhead Shark died. Aside from a brief panic within the Black Robe Society, it did not stir up any waves.

Soon after, the Duke's personal guards published an announcement in the newspaper. Before his death, Hammerhead Shark had murdered and coerced dozens of men, women, and children. The evidence was conclusive, and his death was not to be pitied. Bai Yu put down the newspaper, losing even the slightest thought of sending flowers to the other party's grave.

Madam also did not go to send flowers. Afraid that her identity in the Black Robe Society would be exposed, she stayed indoors with her doors firmly closed for three whole days. Hammerhead Shark had no family; his corpse was left in the wilderness, unclaimed, and in the end, it could only be collected and buried by the Duke's personal guards.

And on the second day after the burial, Bai Yu took advantage of the darkness of night to visit Hammerhead Shark's home.

Hammerhead Shark had once tried to catch Bai Yu's cat, and the very next day, the Dumpling went missing. Perhaps there would be clues in his home.

Bai Yu bypassed the streets and alleys. Hammerhead Shark's home was at the end of Sike Street. Outside the door was a section of ruined low wall. Bai Yu held a flashlight in his mouth, propped one hand on the red bricks, flipped his body over, and landed easily.

Although the doctor was an intellectual, his movements were unexpectedly agile.

He shattered the front hall glass with his elbow and vaulted into the house through the windowsill.

The house was completely empty. The floor was covered with shattered beer bottles, and the air was permeated with a decaying smell of alcohol mixed with the stench of fermenting food, making one nauseous.

Bai Yu began to rummage around.

System 55 followed along to inspect. As a system, System 55's reconnaissance ability was obviously stronger than Bai Yu's. It scanned the small living room: "Host, there is a bag at the base of the right wall, and there's a living creature inside."

Following its instructions, Bai Yu indeed saw a tied-up gunny sack. Faint cat meows came from inside the sack. He quickly stepped forward and opened the bag.

...They were cats, but not his.

Hammerhead Shark took orders from the Black Robe Society to scour for stray cats everywhere. Tied up here were two small kittens he had collected but hadn't had time to hand over yet. One tabby, one tortoiseshell; both lay listlessly in the bag, on their last breath, looking like their lives were in imminent danger.

Very cute, but neither was his cat.

Although Bai Yu was a pet doctor, his work was busy. He had petted countless kittens, but he had never raised a cat himself. Although the thought had occasionally crossed his mind, he always worried that he wouldn't be able to take good care of it, so he set the idea aside.

The Dumpling was the first cat he ever raised. Picked up from the mud on the riverbank, its wounds stitched up, and carefully looked after.

But it was gone.

Bai Yu had searched every part of Sike Street, from the crowded markets to the desolate corners of streets and alleys, but he still hadn't found any trace of the dumpling. Now, it wasn't in Hammerhead Shark's house either. Bai Yu had to admit that his big-tailed platinum the dumpling was really gone.

The doctor lowered his eyes. His gaze beneath the narrow-framed glasses was rather cold, his expression indistinct.

System 55 floated nearby and poked him with the corner of its small screen: "Ho-Host?"

Bai Yu: "...I'm fine."

He gathered up the bag, preparing to take these two cats back to the clinic. Otherwise, given their level of weakness, if they were left here, it wouldn't take long for them to die of dehydration.

The doctor took the two cats back to the clinic and let them out. He poured the goat's milk that the dumpling hadn't finished drinking and plated the fish paste that the dumpling hadn't finished eating, watching the two starving cats squeeze together to eat.

Bai Yu sat down on the recliner, watching absentmindedly.

Every cat has a different personality. Looking at the two in front of him, Bai Yu couldn't help but think of when the dumpling had first arrived.

Although the little platinum cat had also been starving, it was much more cautious. It would take a lick of goat's milk and then look at the doctor's face, ready to jump back and retreat at any moment. It was only after being raised for a while that it dropped its guard and exposed its soft belly.

Bai Yu sighed faintly.

The doctor's face was cold, and his voice was cold too. Sighing softly at this moment inexplicably made him appear lonely.

He didn't know how long he watched from the recliner. Suddenly, System 55 let out a ding-dong, uttered an ah, and poked Bai Yu once again: "Host, our second plot node has arrived."

After so long, they had finally reached the second node.

Because this was a banned novel, there were no details, only general plot nodes. The first node was the doctor picking up a cat and then abusing it. System 55 figured that since Bai Yu had been cutting it open and sticking needles in it, all while keeping a cold face throughout the process—perfectly capturing the aura of an illegal doctor—plus the fact that making a pet doctor actually abuse a cat was unrealistic anyway, System 55 hadn't interfered too much.

Of course, there was another point: the system couldn't bring itself to do it either.

Such a soft little platinum the dumpling, who could raise a hand against it?

Therefore, System 55 had slacked off the entire time, just waiting for the plot to unlock. And now, they had completed the first one.

The doctor's cold expression finally changed. He half-sat up from the recliner and tapped his sore knee joints: "What is it?"

System 55: "An undercover mission."

Bai Yu: "...?"

System 55: "In the original text, the Grand Duke of Illyria, Lord Imuel, powerfully reclaims his position. The entirety of Illyria undergoes a massive purge. The upper echelon's power structure is continually reshuffled, and noble blood splatters across the execution grounds. The Grand Duke's former personal butler and valet are accused of betraying their master and are to be executed by firing squad."

Bai Yu: "I saw this news in the paper, but what does that have to do with me?"

System 55: "It's like this: the Duke's butler died, so he needs to select a new butler and valet. The Black Robe Society wants to insert their own people by the Grand Duke's side, so they decided to choose a few members from the organization with seemingly clean backgrounds and send them to the Grand Duke to participate in the selection. And Grand Duke Imuel happens to be severely obsessed with good looks and loves gorgeous, beautiful things the most. Host, you know that you're very good-looking, right?"

The original owner was young and handsome, with an outstanding temperament. He was an intellectual who had run a clinic on Sike Street for nearly five years. On the surface, he had no bad habits and possessed a completely clean background. As for the matter of illegally practicing medicine, the Black Robe Society could easily cover it up. There was no more suitable candidate than him.

Bai Yu: "."

"So the Black Robe Society chose me? I need to go serve as the Grand Duke's butler or valet and go undercover? And I just have to complete the undercover mission?"

"No! You don't need to complete the undercover mission; we don't have an undercover mission." System 55's eyes flashed with an eerie light as it clenched its non-existent little fists. "I finally know why the Main Brain assigned this task to me, because what happens next is simply too easy!"

Bai Yu: "?"

He asked, "No undercover mission?"

System 55: "Because before receiving the first mission, you'll already be dead!"

Bai Yu: "...?"

What the hell?

System 55: "The Grand Duke is temperamental. At the scene of selecting the butler and valet, he will become inexplicably furious the very first second he sees you. Then, he will come down from the main table, order you to kneel, step on your head, grind your face into the dirt, and then order the guards to apprehend you on the spot, lock you up, and finally execute you."

Bai Yu: "..."

He asked, "And then I die?"

System 55: "And then you die."

Bai Yu: "No other plot?"

System 55: "No other plot."

Bai Yu: "Just like that?"

System 55: "Just like that."

Bai Yu: "."

System 55 comforted him: "Relax, Host. We are just an NPC roleplay system. As an NPC, there are all sorts of weird ways to exit the stage. Dying at the hands of a brutal Grand Duke is quite reasonable. My colleagues have even played roles where they were hit by a car, choked to death on water, choked by a fishbone, etc., etc... But none of that is the point. The point is, once the Grand Duke kills you, you can go home!"

Bai Yu: "."

He hesitated. "I just feel like this method of exiting is a bit familiar."

A foot stepping on the head, grinding the face into the dirt, then ordering the guards to apprehend them on the spot and execute them... Wasn't this Hammerhead Shark's method of death?

Did the original owner just copy and paste Hammerhead Shark's death?

System 55: "It's fine. Although the method of death is slightly humiliating, from the moment he steps on you, I will thoughtfully block out your perception, Host. You just need to float nearby and watch like a bystander. The execution process will be entirely painless, as comfortable as falling asleep."

Bai Yu: "."

Thank you so much.

Bai Yu asked, "So why did Grand Duke Imuel kill the original owner upon their first meeting? Because his identity in the Black Robe Society was exposed?"

System 55: "No. In fact, according to the plot nodes, the original owner's identity was never exposed, so you can't be exposed either, Host. As for the Grand Duke killing him, there was no reason at all. It seems it was simply because he found him an eyesore?"

Bai Yu: "..."

He raised his face and glanced at the full-length mirror. The person in the mirror had a tall, slender figure and a cold, handsome appearance. No matter what, he couldn't possibly be considered an eyesore.

Furthermore, to directly kill someone just because they were an eyesore—Grand Duke Imuel was simply far too tyrannical and temperamental.

Bai Yu didn't like this kind of person. It reminded him of certain unreasonable and overbearing customers from his previous life. Fortunately, the original owner was about to exit the stage. He only needed to act out one more scene, and the mission would be complete.

Bai Yu: "Then what should I do?"

System: "You don't need to do anything. Just wait for the organization's notice."

Over the following week, the upper echelons of Illyria fell into a panic.

The missing Grand Duke made a forceful return, and his uncle Tia, who had been governing in his stead, had to relinquish his power and temporarily avoid the spotlight.

After the Grand Duke's return, he set about handling the matter of falling into the water. A terrifying great purge left every noble fearing for their life. The blood on the grounds of the western city execution field had never dried. The manor's butler and two personal valets were executed one after another.

Afterwards, a recruitment notice was published in the newspaper. The Grand Duke needed to select a few people from the civilian population with clean backgrounds, proper appearances, and profound knowledge to replace the executed butler and valets.

Although they were only positions for a butler and valet, entering the Grand Duke's manor automatically granted a noble title. When they retired in the future, they would at least be a baron. Moreover, the Grand Duke's manor offered a life of luxury and lavish compensation, causing people to flock to it like ducks.

Bai Yu was lying in his rocking chair reading the newspaper at the time. He flipped a page casually and laughed: "This Grand Duke Imuel's pageantry is quite grand, making it look like an emperor selecting concubines."

Subsequently, he also received the arrangements from the Black Robe Society.

A letter sealed with wax was delivered directly to his home, requesting Bai Yu to go to the church in the west of the city. Bai Yu put on his top hat, went in formal attire, and was once again escorted to the center of the church with a gun against his head. This time, he was no longer just one of the many ordinary cult members attending a meeting, but was directly speaking face-to-face with the upper echelon of the Black Robe Society.

He sat down on an upholstered chair covered in silk cloth. The person opposite him wore a heavy black robe, his appearance completely hidden beneath the garment. The black-robed person's hand rested on the table, wearing a lapis lazuli ring the size of a pigeon egg. His fingers were emaciated, the skin on the back of his hand wrinkled and his veins bulging—clearly an old man.

The old man's voice was dry and hoarse, like gravel grinding in his mouth. His eyes, hidden in the shadows, sized up Bai Yu as he spoke slowly: "Raven, my good child."

Bai Yu got a back full of goosebumps. Resisting the urge to throw a punch at him, he said politely: "Hello. It is my honor to meet you."

The old man nodded and pushed a glass of water toward him.

System 55: "It's the same as what Hammerhead Shark and the others drank last time. It contains poison, but the concentration is higher."

Unlike last time, the plot nodes were perfectly clear now. Bai Yu was going to die soon anyway, so why would he be afraid of this?

The doctor picked up the glass and downed it in one gulp. He gentlemanly inverted the rim of the glass, raising his hand to show the old man, just like a noble at a banquet demonstrating that their liquor had been finished, indicating that not a single drop was left.

The old man nodded in satisfaction: "Raven, I have a very arduous task here that I want to entrust to you."

He roughly described the task, which was not much different from what the system had said. He was to participate in the Duke's manor's selection for a butler and valet. Since Bai Yu had no noble status, he couldn't compete for the butler position. The post the organization arranged for him was the Duke's personal valet.

According to the old man's description, the Black Robe Society would take care of everything. Bai Yu would smoothly pass the preliminary and secondary tests, coming directly before the Duke to participate in the final personal selection.

At the end of the meeting, the old man patted Bai Yu's shoulder with his emaciated hand: "Good child, the Duke likes young, handsome men, and in all of Illyria, there is no young man more handsome than you. He will definitely like you very much."

"..."

No, the Duke would call his personal guards, drag him directly into a prison cell, and then execute him by firing squad.

Bai Yu nodded with an awkward smile, speechless in his heart, while System 55 had already begun celebrating in advance.

The system cheered joyfully: "Host, it's the final scene! Let's do our best!"