Retribution

Long Ming gazed into the distance. Judging by the buildings, this looked to be a city without advanced technology—but a large one, its buildings packed densely together. Just then, a burst of grumbling drifted over from a house nearby. "What the hell kind of place is this?" "No idea. It looks like a total dump." Long Ming glanced over and saw two rookie players wandering out of the house, looking lost. He gave them a single look and turned away. Compared with monsters, players were more dangerous. As for the houses around here, he had no desire to search them. Ordinary houses like these would most likely turn up nothing, not even a single blue-grade item. What he needed were specific buildings—the kind where good things were easier to find. Long Ming had not gone far when an old clock tower came into view in the distance. He locked onto it at once and crept toward it. Before long he reached the foot of the old clock tower without incident. Its iron door stood ajar. When he pushed the door open and stepped inside, a wave of musty air hit him in the face. The interior was a scene of wreck and litter. A withered corpse lay on the floor, and the sacred figures painted on the walls were stained with blood gone black. Long Ming went up to examine the corpse. Just as his hand was about to touch it, he jerked it back as if jolted by electricity. He instinctively stumbled back several steps, his face turning ugly. The corpse's skin was covered with large patches of dark red, raised blotches. The sight of them made his skin crawl. Clearly, this person had died of some disease—and most likely an infectious one. Long Ming hurriedly checked his own status on his wristband. He had no intention of being infected without even knowing it. Thankfully, his status was still normal. He let out a soft breath, then looked around. Nothing worthwhile met his eye, so he started up the spiral staircase. Creak~ The stairs inside the clock tower were wooden, and they had aged so long that every step drew out a groan. Long Ming climbed carefully, dreading a monster springing out of some corner. A short while later, he finally reached the top of the tower, where old mechanical transmission machinery was housed. He swept his gaze around. Nothing valuable—only an old mechanical gear lying on the floor. He scanned it with his wristband. Old Mechanical Gear Grade: White Long Ming stared at the gear and was struck speechless on the spot. He had known this instance was poor, but he had never expected it to be this poor. "Ah, well~" Long Ming sighed, picked up the old mechanical gear in resignation, and stuffed it into his ordinary backpack. Just then, a creak sounded. He turned sharply toward the stairs, on guard—and saw a tall man with jutting cheekbones and a stubbled jaw, an axe in hand, walk in with a companion. The man froze at the sight of Long Ming, then said, puzzled: "A loner?" "What's it to you whether I'm a loner? And who are you?" "Hmph. I'm Shi Qiang of the Giant Wave Guild. This area is ours. Get lost!" "And what if I don't?" Long Ming replied evenly. "Won't leave? Everyone, up here!" Shi Qiang shouted the words in scorn. At once, a flurry of footsteps rushed up the stairs as three players charged up, armed with kitchen knives, clubs, and the like. At the sight, Long Ming instinctively moved to draw his automatic pistol from his pocket and finish off these idiots. But in the end, he held back. Bullets were expensive, after all. Shooting these guys would probably cost him more than it gained. "Fine. I'll go." With that thought, Long Ming swallowed his pride and left. "Tch. And here I thought he had some backbone—turns out he folded all the same in front of Brother Qiang." "Exactly." The Giant Wave Guild players snickered at his departing back, trading comments. Long Ming heard their remarks perfectly well, but let them go. A true man knows when to bend and when to stand firm—what was a little indignity? Before long, Long Ming walked out of the clock tower and struck out into the distance, looking for a better area to loot. At the next street corner, he spotted three players standing a short way off, eyeing him with hostile stares. They were like hyenas, bristling with menace. Long Ming understood at once that they did not welcome him any closer, so he turned and headed in another direction. The city was huge, after all. There were plenty of places left to search. Soon he came upon an area no one had looted yet—though there were no notable buildings here, only two-story houses, one after another. So Long Ming could only curb his impatience and enter one of the houses. He glanced over the living room. The old furniture lay buried under a thick layer of dust, and on the wall hung a picture frame holding the photo of a family of five. Long Ming stopped in front of the frame. As he gazed at it, his thoughts grew hazy. To be honest, this was the most realistic game he had ever played. At times he could hardly tell whether this was an illusory world or a real one. "Heh~" Long Ming laughed at himself. He really was getting too absorbed. It was just a game. How could it possibly be real? He put the thought out of his head and began searching the house. More than an hour later. In a dim attic, Long Ming was picking through a toppled bookshelf. He had searched several houses in a row, but had found nothing of value—only a white-grade pipe. "Ugh, this place is dirt-poor!" Long Ming could do nothing but grumble. Right now he genuinely missed the Anfa World. True, it had swarmed with disgusting bugs, but the loot there had been so rich! Nothing like this place, where even white-grade items were few and far between—to say nothing of purple-tier. But grumbling was one thing; Long Ming still turned and left the attic, heading off to search the next house. Just as he stepped out of the building— Bang~ An abrupt gunshot cracked through the air. Long Ming started and whipped his head toward the sound. Two players were fleeing in terror straight toward him. He took one look, and amusement crossed his face. Wasn't that Shi Qiang and company? In moments, the two of them reached him. "Well, well. So the day's come for you two as well, huh? Getting chased off?" "Chased off, my foot! The Star Tower City people are clearing everyone out!" Shi Qiang said, gasping for breath. At those words, Long Ming's eyelids twitched, and he sensed trouble at once. He bolted, quickly running out ahead of Shi Qiang and his companion. "Hey, hey—not so fast! Wait for us!" The pair panicked too. Just then, a man in a black robe, his hair slightly curled and his gaze icy, an armband branded with a black meteor mark on his shoulder, came chasing up with four companions and opened fire on Shi Qiang's group. "Ahh~" A scream rang out, and the underling beside Shi Qiang dropped at the sound. Long Ming's face darkened, and he sped up, cutting toward the alley nearby. Shi Qiang, seeing this, raced along behind him. Long Ming glanced back at him, irritated. "Why are you following me?" "To run for our lives together, obviously!" Shi Qiang shot back. Seeing Long Ming and Shi Qiang fleeing, several of the pursuers asked respectfully: "Brother Haman, two fish slipped through the net? Do we chase?" "Chase. Captain Duolake's orders: everyone in this instance who isn't ours gets wiped out—not one left alive!" Haman and his subordinates gave chase at once.