Chapter 1 A Difficult Situation

"This situation is so messed up, even I'm having trouble getting out of it." Feng Bujue muttered. "If I activate Spirit Sense Gathering Technique and try to rush out, even if those three guys don't hit me, the police outside will riddle me with bullets."

The bandit guarding the door walked past Feng Bujue at that moment. Feng Bujue glanced back slightly and noticed that the elevator door behind him had disappeared, replaced by a wall. Clearly, the entrance to the script was only visible to the players themselves, and it would disappear as soon as they came out. The NPCs were oblivious to this, possibly seeing nothing there in the first place.

"Let's see what happens first..." Feng Bujue decided to observe the situation further, turning his attention to the game menu for the time being.

...

Since entering the script, Feng Bujue hadn't yet examined his five opponents in this scenario. This was a good time to take a look.

He was shocked when he saw them.

"Are you kidding me! Three of them are in the top twenty of the combat power rankings?" Every time Feng Bujue went to the store, he would take a quick look at the rankings. With his memory, he had naturally stored the names of all the famous individuals and guilds in his head.

"I remember this level 31 guy called Wu Si Can Xuan, he's one of the four great experts of Order Studio, Zui Sheng Meng Si… he's in the same league as that smoking, drinking, and perming guy! And this level 31 Qi Sha, he seems to be the third most important person in Dragon Bro's guild..." Because he frequented the forums, Feng Bujue could now call out the nicknames of star players from major studios. "Hey… the level 32 guy called Shiva is the leader of the Gods Studio, right? He's also in the top five of the level rankings! Same level 32 as the top four?"

Besides these three names, another of the two remaining players was someone Feng Bujue had encountered in team survival mode, nicknamed Cai Bu Pa Ne. "This girl is no pushover either…" He felt a sense of foreboding. "Wait… could it be… that all five of these people besides me are in the top twenty of the combat power rankings?"

Feng Bujue instinctively thought of the worst-case scenario, and sadly, he was right again...

[Wu Si Can Xuan], Level 31, Male, Order Studio, Combat Power Ranking: 8th.

[Shiva], Level 32, Male, Gods Studio, Combat Power Ranking: 2nd.

[Qi Sha], Level 31, Male, Blade Studio, Combat Power Ranking: 15th.

[Cai Bu Pa Ne], Level 30, Female, Jianghu Studio, Combat Power Ranking: 20th (Anonymous).

[Zhao Ying Wang], Level 30, Male, Individual Professional Player, Combat Power Ranking: 19th (Anonymous).

These were the five people Feng Bujue had to deal with. In terms of level, they were clearly higher than him, and in terms of combat power, they should be far ahead of him.

If Thriller Paradise had a "Player Overall Strength Ranking," Feng Bujue would definitely be ranked very high. But the five above might even fall out of the top fifty.

But the reality was, there was no such ranking, because "wisdom" was simply impossible to quantify...

Therefore, from an outsider's perspective, or from the perspective of any of the other five players, Feng Bujue would be considered the weakest in this killing game.

However, being seen as weak had its advantages.

As the saying goes, the tallest tree catches the most wind. In this indiscriminate free-for-all mode, the focus would naturally be on Shiva, the strongest on the surface. Wu Si Can Xuan and Qi Sha would also be treated with some caution. Cai Bu Pa Ne and Zhao Ying Wang were anonymous on the combat power rankings. The three big shots probably hadn't heard of them, and they didn't know each other, so they would be relatively underestimated.

As for Feng Bujue... people would just glance at the game menu, see the names of the other opponents, and finally see a line of text: "Feng Bujue, 28, Surviving." Presumably, their series of thoughts would be… Don’t recognize, lowest level, weak.

Under these circumstances, the "weakest" Feng Bujue was easily overlooked, even ignored... The others probably wouldn't spend too much energy guarding against or assassinating him, which could be considered an advantage.

Of course, not everyone took it for granted that he was the weakest.

Wu Si Can Xuan had heard Meng Jingchan mention the name "Feng Bujue," but he didn't take it seriously and quickly forgot.

Qi Sha had also heard Long Aomin introduce this suspected serial killer, and then… he didn't remember either…

As for Shiva and Zhao Ying Wang, they had no impression of Jue-Ge's nickname at all.

Only Miss Bu Pa recognized this guy, and her memory was still fresh… at least in her opinion, Feng Bujue was not easy to deal with at all.

...

"Damn it! I told you to hide! Get out here!" The bandit who went to look for an escape route returned to the lobby shortly after, dragging someone back with him.

The person should have been a bank employee, wearing a bank uniform, sweating profusely, and looking panicked.

"What's going on?" the bandit with the submachine gun asked, while furtively looking out of the bank.

"He was hiding in the toilet using his cell phone to talk to the police," the bandit with the pistol replied.

The bandit stuffing money interjected, "Did you find any other way out?"

"Almost all the windows have bars outside, and the toilet window is too small. Besides, there are police on the streets behind us."

"Damn it!" the bandit stuffing money cursed.

"Give me his phone," the bandit with the submachine gun said.

His accomplice had already taken the phone and threw it to him upon hearing this.

He took the phone, looked at the screen, and then pressed a speed dial key. Only three seconds later, the call was connected.

"How is it? Sir, are you alright? Why did you cut off just now..." An officer spoke quickly in a low voice.

But the bandit with the submachine gun interrupted him. "No, he's not alright. He has something very serious to deal with." He gestured to his accomplice to bring the man over.

The bandit with the pistol understood, stepped forward, and kicked the man. The bank employee had no choice but to obey under the gun, walking tremblingly towards the bank door.

"Listen, you dirty cops, listen carefully to my conditions." Now that the bandit with the submachine gun had the phone, he didn't have to risk sticking his head out to shout. He hid behind the wall and said to the officer on the other end of the phone, "Get me a helicopter and a pilot, and have all your people withdraw three blocks away." Before he finished speaking, he put down the submachine gun, pulled out the pistol from his waist, and immediately pulled the trigger.

The bank employee fell to the ground in response, blood splattering all over the wall and floor. This scene unfolded completely in front of the police and the citizens and reporters behind the police line on the street.

The bandit with the submachine gun raised his voice and said to both the phone and the hostages in the bank lobby, "From now on, until I see the helicopter, I will kill one hostage every ten minutes. Anyone who tries to play tricks will end up like him!" With that, he hung up the phone.

"Oh, God..." The bandit stuffing money pressed his forehead with one hand, looked at the body on the ground, and his breathing became rapid. "Huh... God... God... You killed him, this..." He suddenly couldn't help but tear off his mask and vomit on the floor.

There were already many women among the hostages, who had been too afraid to react when they saw the blood spraying everywhere. Now that this guy vomited, it caused a chain reaction, and many hostages who were lying on the ground changed to a kneeling position and also vomited.

"You idiot! Acting like a girl, you're such a waste!" The bandit with the submachine gun cursed. He then picked up the submachine gun and shouted at the hostages, "Hey! Hey! Hey! Who told you to get up! Get down! Hands on your heads!"

"The people inside, listen up. I am a police negotiation expert, I don't have any weapons. Can I come in and talk to you?" A middle-aged man came to the bank door, holding a megaphone in his hand and not wearing a police uniform.

Rat-tat-tat—

The response was a burst of submachine gun fire, but the bullets were shot into the ground. The shooter only extended the muzzle and fired randomly without aiming.

The negotiation expert had no choice but to flee back.

"In another eight minutes, I will kill another hostage!" That was the bandit's response.

After vomiting, the bandit stuffing money seemed to feel better. After he evened out his breathing, he said, "Maybe... uh... maybe we should listen to what he wants to say..."

"Shut up! Shut your damn mouth!" the bandit with the submachine gun shouted. "I'm in charge here!"

"The helicopter isn't coming." A strange voice sounded.

Because the hostages in the lobby were all too scared to make a sound, Feng Bujue's words were clearly heard by everyone present.

"Who is it?" the bandit with the submachine gun asked. "Which bastard is talking?"

"It's him!" the bandit with the pistol was closest to Feng Bujue and heard it clearly. "It's that kid in the purple long suit."

"You, guard the door for me for a while," the bandit with the submachine gun said to the bandit stuffing money, who hunched over and walked towards the door upon hearing this.

After the two switched places, the bandit with the submachine gun walked straight to where Feng Bujue was. "Get up, you bastard!" He grabbed Feng Bujue's hair and lifted him up, turning him from a prone position to a kneeling position. "What did you say? Say it again."

Feng Bujue passively looked up at the other person, with a calm expression on his face. "I said, the helicopter you want isn't coming. Don't say eight minutes, even eighty minutes, it won't come."

"Bastard..." The bandit angrily pressed the submachine gun against Feng Bujue's forehead. "You think you're very smart? Huh? Say! Who are you? Are you a cop too? Huh? Or do you want to play me? Want to be a hero?"

"I'm an insignificant little person. I just want to remind you that the two-lane road at the door, even with the non-motor vehicle lane, isn't wide enough for a helicopter to land." Feng Bujue's answer was skillful. He casually avoided explaining his identity and immediately turned the topic to something the other person would be interested in. "Even if the police really did bring a helicopter, it wouldn't be able to stop at the door. You have to get to the nearest intersection to get on. In the process, you will inevitably have to walk out of the bank door and be exposed to the snipers' line of sight." He paused. "You've already killed a hostage. Given the current situation in Gotham City these days, I believe the police have enough reason to shoot you on the spot..."

"Oh! God..." The bandit stuffing money heard these words near the wall by the door, immediately covered his head with one hand, and said in an extremely fearful tone, "What have we done..."

"Alright! Shut up!" The bandit with the submachine gun yelled at his annoying accomplice again, then looked at Feng Bujue, released his hair, and said, "Humph... is that all you wanted to say?"

"I'm not finished yet." Feng Bujue replied. "I might as well tell you the police's next course of action. In a few minutes, they will claim that it is very difficult to deploy a helicopter and ask you not to kill any more hostages for the time being and wait a few more minutes. During this time, they will be busy deploying tactical teams and arranging snipers in place." He was clear-headed and spoke extremely quickly, not caring whether the other person could digest it. "According to your plan to kill a hostage every ten minutes and wait for a helicopter to help you escape, there are only two outcomes:

"One, after you kill a certain number of hostages, the police will claim that the helicopter has arrived, lure you out and kill you.

"Two, after you kill a certain number of hostages, the police will launch a full-scale attack.

"As for what the police will do, it depends on the amount of information they have. The most important thing is whether they know the number of robbers. Unfortunately, you killed that gentleman who spoke to the police. If he was still alive, you could have asked him how much information he revealed about the situation here to the police, but now..."

Feng Bujue sneered. "Also, I must remind you that in any minute from now on, some 'vigilante' may intervene. Nightwing, Robin, Huntress, Black Canary... etc., forgive me for speaking frankly, but as long as one of them comes, I'm afraid the three of you will be captured alive."

He took a long breath, looked at the bandit in front of him who was stunned, and added, "About ten minutes ago, the excessive secretion of adrenaline had you on the verge of losing control. The escape method you came up with during the hostage-taking stage is worse than the plan you came up with during the robbery planning stage." He said in a mocking tone, "Heh… Of course, if that can be called a 'plan'." He smiled. "At the same time, your impulsive act of killing someone has also put you and your accomplices in a position where there is no turning back. If you don't want to die or go to prison today, you'd better come up with another idea immediately, otherwise..." He imitated the sound of a clock, teasing the other person, "Tick-tock, tick-tock... time waits for no one, and superheroes will come at any time."

"You… who exactly are you…" After hearing Feng Bujue's analysis, the bandit with the submachine gun really calmed down a bit and was no longer in that bloodthirsty state.

Feng Bujue observed the eyes of the three bandits, and then, he showed a cold smile and stood up without any scruples. "This is still a very minor problem. At this moment, the most important thing for you is… how to escape."

...

Five minutes later, the metal rolling shutter doors (electronically controlled, not manually pulled down) behind the row of glass doors of the bank began to slowly descend and soon closed completely.

From this moment on, the police on the street and the robbers inside the bank lost their ability to observe each other's movements.

Almost in the same second that the rolling shutter doors closed completely, the phone that the police had just used to talk to the robbers rang.

The bank employee who had been shot to death had first used his cell phone to call the police when he was hiding in the toilet. That call was never interrupted, and when the police arrived, his number was directly transferred to another police phone on the scene.

"I'm Officer Clapton." Clapton, who was in charge of the scene, answered the phone.

"Hello, Officer." Feng Bujue's voice came from the phone. "I think you must have noticed that I am not the same person as the gentleman you spoke to just now." He paused for a second and continued, "But this should be good news for you. From now on, I will take over the communication, you can call me Nobody."

"How are the hostages now? Are they all safe?" Clapton couldn't wait to say. "Listen… the helicopter still needs…"

"Forget the helicopter, Officer, that was just a joke." Feng Bujue interrupted. "As for the hostages, they are safe. I can assure you that the brutal scene just now was just an accident. I think neither you nor I want to see such a scene happen again, right?" He chuckled twice, which made the other person shudder.

"Listen… if you come out and surrender now…" Clapton replied.

"There are two things I want to say. First, this cell phone is running out of power. Next, please call the phone on the bank counter to talk to me. I don't think I need to tell you the number, right?" Feng Bujue said and hung up the phone.

"Quick, quick…" Clapton waved his hand at his colleagues in the monitoring command vehicle behind him.

The staff in the rear compartment all heard the content of the call. Before Feng Bujue finished speaking, they had already taken action and connected the phone in less than a minute.

Clapton listened to the beeping sound in the microphone for a few seconds, and then, Feng Bujue's voice came again: "The second thing…" He went straight to the point. "If my guess is correct, a well-equipped and well-trained team is now starting to invade the building I am in. I know they only need to use tools to remove a few iron bars to easily enter through the first-floor windows. There are at least five rooms that can be used as entry points. Then, they will quietly approach and confirm our numbers and positions. Then, at a time they deem appropriate and confident, your people will cut off the power from the outside, plunging this place into darkness. Finally, before we can react, a few strong men wearing night vision goggles will disarm and subdue us."

Clapton covered the microphone with his hand and turned his face. The expression on his face was extremely wonderful. "Is there a traitor?" He said in a low voice to the person next to him.

Feng Bujue's words continued: "I don't want to see the above situation, so I thought of a preventive measure." He paused and narrated in a leisurely tone, "I have transferred some of the hostages to the vault and changed the password of the gate. According to the volume of that room and their number... well... oxygen can probably last for about thirty minutes."