Li Ang watched as the two ghostly creatures completely vanished, then turned to stare into the pitch-black ravine behind the villa.
Hiding in a patch of shadow, Wei Linglan felt a chill run down her spine. She instinctively crouched, trying to hide, but then she saw Li Ang, carrying a streetlamp, sprinting towards her at an exaggeratedly fast speed.
Shit, shit, shit!
Wei Linglan's heart clenched instantly. Damn it! She abruptly stood up and ran deeper into the dense forest, darting through the flickering shadows, twisting and turning, making various deceptive maneuvers.
However, her agility and perception stats were far inferior to Li Ang's, and none of her evasive movements troubled him.
The distance between them kept shrinking. Wei Linglan could even feel the ground trembling under Li Ang's heavy footfalls.
With a sharp CLANG, the heavy lamp post flew like an arrow released from a bow, whizzing past Wei Linglan's ear and firmly embedding itself in the trunk of a large tree in front of her.
"Don't move."
The overwhelming pressure from behind, like a mountain bearing down on her, made Wei Linglan's heart pound violently.
She stiffly turned around and saw Li Ang standing about ten meters behind her, aiming a grenade launcher at her.
"What were you looking at just now, little sister?"
Li Ang's voice was ice-cold. His hand, steady as a vise, gripped the weapon as if he was about to squeeze tighter and pull the trigger any second.
"I... I'm a player, too."
Wei Linglan's voice trembled slightly as she raised her hands to show she meant no harm and materialized her player name, level, and the mission log for the current task.
"I was just thinking... if I could piggyback on your mission progress..." Wei Linglan stuttered, her demeanor as humble and sincere as possible.
Li Ang looked at her expressionlessly, seemingly contemplating whether to let this level-four newbie off the hook.
"Really, I didn't mean to do anything. I just wanted to learn from your moves, big shot..."
After a long moment, Li Ang finally spoke. "Your wallet. Hand it over."
"Huh?"
Wei Linglan was taken aback. "What?"
"Your wallet. Take it out slowly and drop it on the ground." Li Ang slightly shook the muzzle of the grenade launcher. "Don't make me repeat myself."
Is this big shot trying to rob me?
As a player who had survived two scenario missions, Wei Linglan wasn't stupid; she immediately understood what Li Ang wanted: her real identity information. This is a sample from My Virtual Library Empire. Read the rest on *.
Concealing one's true identity was the first rule of survival for players. Once exposed, it meant losing everything and being forever at the mercy of others.
Wei Linglan's lips trembled. After a brief but intense internal struggle, she reluctantly nodded.
If I don't cooperate, I'll die.
Slowly, Wei Linglan took a pink, square, leather wallet from her pocket. She bent down to gently place it on the ground, then straightened up and stepped back a few paces.
Li Ang glanced at the wallet on the ground and coldly commanded, "Open it. Take out the ID card inside."
He wouldn't use his own hands to touch another player's personal items; who knew if they contained flammable or explosive materials, or were coated with a poison that could kill without drawing blood.
Wei Linglan obediently nodded, picked up the wallet, pinched the ID card between two fingers, and held it out.
Li Ang just glanced at it. "Fake."
How does he know?!
Wei Linglan was shocked. She was unaware that Li Ang had experience with homemade ID cards (without chips or magnetic stripes, unreadable) even before becoming a player. He currently carried several purchased blank IDs for adult males of various ages, convenient for his disguises.
Li Ang said coldly, "Bring out the real one."
This time, Wei Linglan obediently took the genuine ID card from her inventory slot and showed it to Li Ang.
"Hmm." Li Ang nodded noncommittally. He pulled out the phone that belonged to Lu Maodian from his pocket, fiddled with it for a moment, and then tossed it to Wei Linglan.
Wei Linglan quickly caught the phone. Looking at the screen, she saw it displayed the live broadcast interface for a streamer on an obscure, low-quality livestreaming platform.
She asked uncertainly, "What is this...?"
Li Ang took an IED remote control device from his inventory slot and tossed it to Wei Linglan. "You need to stand here and livestream for ten minutes. No need to show your face. I'll be watching your stream. After ten minutes, you can close the interface and leave. If you do anything unusual within that time, I'll detonate this thing. Understand?"
Wei Linglan nodded frantically. She understood: these ten minutes were the time he needed to get away from Dusheng Village.
She raised the phone, aimed the camera at her own feet, and gently shook the lens to prove the livestream was showing a live, dynamic picture.
This particular livestreaming platform was full of female streamers so heavily filtered they were unrecognizable. Wei Linglan was using a new account with no followers, and the stream's content—dynamic footage of her feet—was akin to performance art.
No one was watching—except Li Ang.
"Oh, right. If you want to complete the 'uncover the truth' mission, you can check out the pigpen and the basement of Lu Gui's villa."
Li Ang casually reminded her, his left hand aiming the grenade launcher at Wei Linglan, while his right hand held Lu Maodian's other phone, watching the livestream. He continuously moved backward until he disappeared into the dense shadows of the trees.
「Ten minutes later.」
Li Ang was on the motorcycle he had "borrowed" from Dusheng Village. Dressed in a mud-stained coat, wearing rain boots, and a motorcycle helmet, he looked like an ordinary farmer. He rode out of the village along the mountain road and entered the nearby township.
At the three-way intersection in the township, rescue vehicles dispatched from the county town brushed past him, completely oblivious to his presence.
As the time limit expired, Li Ang closed the livestream Wei Linglan was operating, casually crushed Lu Maodian's phone, and threw it into the river. He then stowed the IED remote control device in his inventory slot, cutting off its signal.
He sped all the way back to the county town bus station, ditched the motorcycle on the roadside, and got into the old van he had borrowed for the trip. After an eight-hour drive, he returned to Yin City.
After parking the van in a suburban lot, Li Ang went into a public restroom to change clothes.
He didn't rush home. Instead, he went to a coffee shop and ordered a latte.
Eight hours had passed since the Dusheng Village incident. The Special Affairs Bureau must have already arrived on the scene and begun a thorough investigation.
Li Ang sat at a window seat in the coffee shop, recalling his itinerary over the past few days, meticulously pondering if he had left any loopholes or clues.
Once he was certain everything was watertight, the only remaining issue was the mule. That Information Broker was the only person who could link "Li Rising" with the "Dusheng Village incident"...