Player Reload
Chapter 281 - 258 Assets

Chapter 281: Chapter 258 Assets

"Condition one, hand over all the information you’ve collected to me."

Li Cheng’s face turned serious as he continued, "Including other players’ data, and any noteworthy irregularities about Toy City itself."

The hacking skills of the Whale Song Guild were unparalleled, affording them a unique advantage in this modern urban setting. Bartmos must have quite a lot of dirt on his hands.

"Fine."

Bartmos complied, taking out a tablet computer.

Li Cheng tossed it to Gray Rain, who was very adept at using such modern entertainment devices since most of her brain power was devoted to researching them.

She glanced over the files and nodded at Li Cheng, "The goods are clean."

"Condition two,"

Li Cheng smirked, "Give me the Millennium Bug."

"What? Impossible!"

Bartmos flatly refused, asserting forcefully, "That’s a perfect quality consumable item, equivalent to half an epic-level piece of equipment! I can’t afford it myself; I borrowed it from the guild!"

To prepare for this mission, he not only had to request an advance on his salary from his superiors but also borrowed a considerable sum of money from guildmates and lending platforms—

Even the backstreets had payday loan offices for lower-level players who lacked confidence and needed to rent equipment for their missions.

And those unscrupulous ads seen on player forums were classic examples,

including but not limited to "I’ll finance your step into magic";

"This genetic transformation injection is a gift from your big bro; use it when you’re feeling down";

"Even a frugal family of three deserves a proper celebration for their magic pet’s birthday—The 37-year-old trainer used credit to celebrate their pet’s birthday";

Bartmos had wagered his whole fortune. If he got nothing out of this mission and lost the Millennium Bug...

He’d have to return to the real world and take outsourcing jobs, code around the clock in a basement to pay off his debt. Or even worse, mine Bitcoin with his own brain.

"Don’t agree? Then you can pay off your debt with your hands, feet, eyes, ears. Just when I was thinking of changing my look."

Li Cheng’s face twisted into a demonic smile, as he plucked out one of his eyeballs and spun it on his fingertip like a basketball.

?!

Bartmos’s eyelids twitched uncontrollably. He had thought of himself as a sufficiently abnormal E/acc enthusiast until he encountered a true freak.

The other man possessed some skill or item that allowed him to freely twist and alter his body. No wonder he didn’t match the photo brought by joker.

If he resisted, he might end up flayed and turned into some kind of upholstered sofa decoration, or worse...

Gulp.

Bartmos swallowed hard, the thought terrifying him more and more.

That’s right, from the information provided by Stack Soldier, this Ant’s level-up speed was freakishly fast; undoubtedly he was a vile Transcendent who’d do anything for his goals, unbridled and unscrupulous.

Perhaps he had long since abandoned humanity, morality, conscience, and integrity.

"Look on the bright side, you’re still alive, that’s a win," Li Cheng said leisurely. "Hand over the Millennium Bug, and I’ll return these three pieces of equipment to you."

’These three pieces are already mine, aren’t they?! You’re bargaining with my own possessions as if they’re yours?’

Bartmos’s facial muscles twitched. VR glasses, a wristwatch, and a chip were all personally bound equipment; even if Li Cheng got hold of them, he couldn’t use them—they were as useless as a fifth wheel.

But for Bartmos, these were vital as life itself; without them, he couldn’t even be a code-slave.

"Resign yourself," said the backup personality with a green head coldly. "If you’re unskilled, practice more. If you can’t afford to lose, don’t play."

What right do you, a mere personality backup, have to mock me? Believe it or not, after we get back, I’ll overwrite you.

Bartmos watched as Li Cheng disassembled his own left leg, casually swinging it around, and hopping into a tap dance, his expression constantly shifting until finally, with gritted teeth, he nodded, "Fine."

He released the binding on the Millennium Bug, gently placing it on the ground. "Now can I go?"

"Don’t rush, there’s one last thing,"

Li Cheng said, "Cancel the contingency you’ve set up against me in the network."

Bartmos’s face changed upon hearing this, and after a moment of silence, he nodded.

Terms were agreed upon, money was exchanged, merchandise was delivered.

"Goodbye, Boss Bart."

Li Cheng returned the three pieces of equipment to Bartmos, who took a long, deep look at Li Cheng and activated the emergency escape feature, vanishing into thin air, back to the real world.

Silence enveloped the surroundings, as if nothing had happened.

Only where Bartmos once stood, a brass key floated silently, numbered ②.

Li Cheng casually stuffed his eyeball back into its socket, reattached his thigh, picked up the Millennium Bug, and held the brass key high above his head.

Toy Factory Key, get☆daze!

"Um..."

Gray Rain rubbed his chin, still not quite catching up, "What do you mean by ’contingency’?"

"It’s a trap that has been set."

Li Cheng pocketed the key, casually saying, "Given Bartmos’s cunning and abilities, he had probably thought of a follow-up plan when he failed to kill me in Southern City Park.

Like setting up a timed program on the net that sends my data to the citywide advertising screens, branding me as a terrorist accomplice of joker, to have Toy City’s official forces capture me."

"Ah, I see."

Gray Rain, deep in thought, "Then why didn’t he just do that from the start? If our identities were exposed, wouldn’t it also be troublesome for us to operate in Toy City?"

"That’s because he still entertained the illusion that he could beat me, turn me into a controllable puppet. That’s why he wanted to preserve my identity as a reporter."

Li Cheng nonchalantly said: "This is also why I insisted on hunting him down, to eliminate his presence – the existence of a hacker seemed a bit too modernized."

"I see now."

Gray Rain nodded in agreement, "But what if he reneges, saying he deleted the contingency, when he actually just delayed the program’s activation time?"

Li Cheng chuckled, "Don’t worry about that too much. While I was Extracting Brain Entropy, I read his past memories. ’Boss Bart’ is a nickname his friends in the real world use for him.

He knows that I read his memories and learned his real identity.

I also know that he knows.

To prevent me from seeking revenge in the real world, it’s in his best interest to follow the terms we agreed upon."

"How complicated."

Gray Rain scratched his head; the players average hundreds of schemes, lacking the straightforward thrill of ’kill, kill, kill’.

"Where there are people, there are rivalries."

Li Cheng said offhandedly, chuckling as he pat Gray Rain’s head, "Not bad, now even using idioms like ’act in spoken favor but opposite in heart’. Have you advanced to classical literature?"

"Hehe."

Gray Rain gave a smug smile, hands on his hips, showing off his literary skills, "Vast is the universe, for who else is as insignificant as I? Might to crush the foe’s formation, as the sky breaks through the clouds! To charge the blade’s edge, what’s the harm in being wrapped in horsehide for burial. Those who trespass the great Wu’s territory, must be struck and shattered."

? Okay, okay, so you’ve memorized some classical Chinese, huh? I’ll go give Three Kingdoms a thumbs-up on Steam later.

Li Cheng wore a peculiar expression, as he stored away the key and glanced at the tablet, "Hm? Gouchen and Frankenstein are fighting?"