"Life and death are indifferent, if you're not convinced, then fight!"
The system task forced him to complete it, so what he was facing wasn't a choice but a mandatory question. He immediately stood up and shouted at the others, "Stop!"
The shout was full of vigor, and the people were indeed stopped by Li Xiang's shout. They looked up at Li Xiang, wanting to know which moron dared to meddle in their business.
"Young man, they're Huang Shuai's people, not easy to mess with, you better run!"
Not far from Li Xiang, there happened to be a person squatting by the curb drinking. Others saw the situation and moved away, not wanting to get involved, but only Li Xiang dared to intervene, prompting a well-meaning reminder.
But Li Xiang obviously couldn't care less now and decided to go in.
"In broad daylight, with the world as our witness, so many men bullying a woman in the street, is there no law?"
"Haha? Did I just hear something?"
The head thug seemed to have heard the funniest joke in the world, and opened his hands towards his men, who cooperated with hearty laughter:
"Law? After dark, Huang Shuai makes the rules, we are the law!"
"This kid is still too young, unaware of the dangers of society. Go teach him a lesson."
After saying this, a group of people surrounded Li Xiang and started beating him up. Wanting to use the Fingertip Blade to fight back, but the Intermediate Skills didn't stand a chance against the crowd with sticks.
Pain~
So much pain~
Does this pathetic game not have an option to adjust the pain?
Li Xiang protected his head with his hands, curled up on the ground, gritting his teeth to endure, hoping to delay the time. Many witnesses had just seen what happened, surely someone would call the police. As long as he held on until the police arrived.
His ideal was lofty, but reality struck him hard. Until they got tired of hitting him, he didn't even hear the sirens but heard others say, "Boss, we got the USB drive, what about the woman?"
"What do you mean what about her? Do I have to teach you? The usual way, feed the fish in the East Sea."
"Yes, then what about this kid?"
"Since he loves to play hero so much, let's fulfill that for him, let them be a pair of star-crossed lovers."
In a daze, both Li Xiang and the woman were dragged into a van, before being transferred to a speedboat.
He wanted to resist, but his whole body was in pain, without an ounce of strength to fight back.
In the vast night, with iron balls the size of bowling balls tied to their legs, they were thrown into the sea.
Both struggled as they sank to the bottom, endless darkness engulfing him, the intense suffocation made him feel the last bit of oxygen in his lungs was exhausted. Just as he thought he was about to die, the surrounding environment quickly receded.
He stood once again in the virtual world.
[Ding, Player Death, Mission Failed, Today You Still Have One Free Instance Restart Opportunity, Yes/No Restart?]
"Phew~ So realistic~"
In that last moment, Li Xiang really felt like he was going to die.
This instance was unsolvable, he simply couldn't beat those thugs, let alone rescue the informant from them and get the evidence.
Rushing in himself only made him more bait to feed the fish.
If there were only one or two enemies, he could still try to use the Fingertip Blade skill and launch an attack.
But facing a gang attack, it was truly like random fists beating a master, not to mention that they were a group of thugs armed with sticks.
"What to do? How can this mission be completed?"
From a desperate situation, he only saw desperation, where could he find hope for survival?
Li Xiang pondered, glancing again at his attributes:
[Player Name: Li Xiang]
[Identity: Hongqiao Police Station Auxiliary Police Officer]
[Level: lv.4 (350/800)]
[Strength: 10]
[Agility: 12]
[Constitution: 10]
[Intelligence: 10]
[Free Attribute Points: 1]
[Skills: Stealing Skill (Master-level), Fingertip Blade (Intermediate)]
[Skill Points: 500]
[Diamonds: 500]
...
"Master-level Stealing Skill, could this be my glimmer of hope?"
Seeing the Stealing Skill, Li Xiang suddenly realized he might have hit a dead end. The task stated that he had to get the critical evidence from the insider's hand and hand it over to the anti-gang task force, not necessarily save the insider. Does that mean stealing the evidence would work too?
Thinking determines success or failure, but in this way, the insider would undoubtedly die.
Whether in the game instance or the real world, the danger level for insiders is very high. Once exposed, they face life-threatening risks.
"She's just a virtual character in the game instance, my task is to complete it and gain personal growth."
Li Xiang kept reminding himself, the game was all about deception, the insider was just a virtual NPC, he needed to complete the mission to learn skills.
But thinking about that look from the insider, he couldn't help but feel soft-hearted.
"To achieve great things, don't sweat the small stuff, a ruthless heart is necessary for a stable footing."
Li Xiang gave himself a bit of mental encouragement, and ultimately restarted the instance.
The surroundings gradually filled in, and the instance began.
Knowing the direction the insider was coming from, Li Xiang planned to intercept in advance, and as he passed by the drunk who had reminded him earlier, he had a sudden idea and casually took a bottle of his liquor.
"Hey, that's my liquor!"
Li Xiang pulled a bill from his pocket, tossed it back without looking, "Keep the change!"
The drunk didn't mind, laughed, picked up the money from the ground, and could buy a case of liquor again.
Just as Li Xiang was reaching the corner, his phone rang from his pocket, he hung up directly, then poured half the bottle of liquor over his head, staggered, posing as a drunk, walking in that direction.
Sure enough, after a short while, he saw the insider being chased.
"Damn it, catch him, don't let that woman get away!"
"Chase, she won't escape."
"Whoever catches her first will get 50,000."
At this moment, the insider also spotted him, wanting to change direction to avoid involving Li Xiang, but the pursuers were too close, and she accidentally fell to the ground.
Seeing this, Li Xiang stumbled over, one exchange of glances, he knew where she had hidden the USB drive, and subtly stole it.
"Take care of my father!"
The woman used all her strength to push Li Xiang away, then did her utmost to run forward, her goal at this time was to use herself as bait to lead the pursuers away. She was also fully aware of the consequences of being caught.
Li Xiang looked at the woman's farewell gaze, and at that moment, he felt extremely guilty.
He wished he could have saved her, even though he knew she was just a virtual character in the instance, this instance was so realistic, it reminded him of the child on the bus, he was just as powerless.
"Where did this drunk come from, get out of the way."