Free Web NovelChapter 42: Chapter 42: Retribution
Long Ming gazed into the distance. Judging by the architecture, the city wasn’t very technologically advanced, but it was quite large, with densely packed buildings.
Just then, a series of complaints drifted from a nearby house.
"What the hell is this place?"
"I don’t know. It looks so run-down."
...
Long Ming turned to look and saw two new players wandering out of the house, looking lost.
He spared them a single glance before turning to leave.
Players were more dangerous than monsters.
As for the nearby houses, Long Ming had no desire to search them. It was highly unlikely he’d find anything of even Blue-grade quality in these ordinary buildings.
Therefore, he needed to find specific types of buildings to search, the kind that were more likely to contain valuable loot.
Long Ming hadn’t gone far when he spotted an old clock tower in the distance.
He immediately locked onto his target and made his way stealthily toward the clock tower.
Soon enough, Long Ming reached the base of the old clock tower. Its iron gate was ajar.
As he pushed the iron gate open and stepped inside, a musty smell hit him in the face.
The inside of the clock tower was a mess. A shriveled corpse lay on the floor, and the sacred, colorful murals on the walls were stained with blackened blood.
Long Ming stepped forward to examine the shriveled corpse.
Just as his hand was about to touch the corpse, he snatched it back as if he’d been shocked.
Long Ming instinctively recoiled a few steps, his face turning grim. The corpse’s skin was covered in large, dark red, raised welts. freewёbn૦νeɭ.com
The sight of the welts made his skin crawl.
Clearly, the person had died from some kind of disease—and it was most likely contagious.
Long Ming quickly checked his status on his wristband. He couldn’t afford to be infected without even realizing it.
Fortunately, his status was still normal.
Long Ming let out a small sigh of relief. He glanced around, but seeing nothing of value, he started up the spiral staircase.
CREAK...
The stairs inside the clock tower were made of wood. They were so old that every step he took produced a sound.
Long Ming climbed cautiously, afraid a monster might leap out at any moment.
A few moments later, he finally reached the top of the tower, where he found an old mechanical drive system.
Long Ming scanned the area but saw nothing valuable, only an old mechanical gear on the floor.
He scanned it with his wristband.
Old Mechanical Gear.
Quality: White.
Long Ming stared at the gear, struck speechless.
He knew this instance was barren, but he hadn’t expected it to be *this* barren.
"Sigh..."
Long Ming sighed. He resignedly picked up the old mechanical gear and shoved it into his regular backpack.
Just then, another creaking sound echoed from below.
Long Ming instantly grew alert and looked toward the stairs. A tall man with high cheekbones, a stubbly chin, and an axe in hand was walking in with a companion.
The man in the lead froze when he saw Long Ming, then asked in confusion.
"A solo?"
"What if I am? And who are you?"
"Hmph. I’m Shi Qiang of the Giant Wave Guild. This whole area is ours, so scram!"
"And if I don’t?"
Long Ming replied, his tone flat.
"You won’t? Get up here, all of you!"
Hearing Long Ming’s response, Shi Qiang shouted contemptuously.
Immediately, a flurry of hurried footsteps sounded on the stairs as three more players rushed up, armed with weapons like kitchen cleavers and clubs.
Seeing this, Long Ming subconsciously reached for the automatic pistol in his pocket, wanting to get rid of these idiots.
In the end, though, he restrained himself.
After all, bullets were expensive. Taking out these guys would be a net loss.
"Fine. I’ll leave."
With that thought, Long Ming backed down and left.
"Tch. And here I thought he was all tough. In the end, he still chickened out in front of Brother Qiang."
"Yeah, exactly."
...
The Giant Wave Guild players sneered as they watched Long Ming’s retreating back, gossiping amongst themselves.
Long Ming, of course, heard them talking behind his back, but he paid it no mind. ’A wise man knows when to bend and when to stand tall. What’s a small grievance like this?’
Before long, Long Ming emerged from the clock tower and headed off into the distance, searching for a better area to loot.
When he reached the next intersection, he saw three players standing a short distance away, staring at him with hostile eyes.
They were like hyenas, radiating hostility.
Long Ming instantly understood they didn’t want him getting any closer, so he turned and headed in a different direction.
This city was huge, anyway. There were plenty of other places to search.
Soon, Long Ming came to an unsearched area. There weren’t any special buildings here, just row after row of two-story houses.
Having no other choice, Long Ming patiently entered one of the houses.
He swept his gaze across the living room. The old furniture was covered in a thick layer of dust. A picture frame hung on the wall, holding a photo of a family of five.
Long Ming stood before the frame, his mind wandering as he stared at the photo.
’To be honest, this is the most realistic game I’ve ever played,’ he thought. ’Sometimes I can hardly tell if this world is virtual or real.’
He let out a self-deprecating chuckle. ’I’m really getting too invested in this.’
’It’s just a game. How could it possibly be real?’
No longer dwelling on it, Long Ming began to search the house.
「Over an hour later.」
In a dim attic, Long Ming was rummaging through a collapsed bookshelf.
He had searched several houses in a row, but unfortunately, he hadn’t found anything valuable. All he’d found was a single White-quality smoking pipe.
"Sigh... The loot here is terrible!"
Long Ming felt utterly frustrated.
At that moment, he really missed the Anfa World. Sure, it was crawling with disgusting bugs, but the loot was amazing.
Here, he could barely find any White-quality items, let alone Purple-quality ones.
But complaining wouldn’t change anything. Long Ming turned and left the attic, preparing to search the next house.
But just as he stepped out of the building...
BANG!
A sudden gunshot rang out.
Startled, Long Ming snapped his head toward the sound.
He saw two players fleeing for their lives in his direction, their faces filled with terror.
Long Ming took one look and a smirk appeared on his face. ’Isn’t that Shi Qiang and his crew?’
Soon, Shi Qiang and his companion reached Long Ming’s side.
"Well, well. Look what we have here. So you two finally get a taste of being chased out?"
"This isn’t just being chased out! The people from Star Tower are clearing the map!"
Shi Qiang said, gasping for breath.
Hearing Shi Qiang’s words, Long Ming’s eyelid twitched. He immediately sensed trouble.
He broke into a sprint, instantly overtaking Shi Qiang and his companion.
"Hey! Don’t run so fast! Wait for us!"
Shi Qiang and his companion yelled in panic.
Just then, a man in a black robe with slightly curly hair and cold eyes caught up to them. He wore an armband emblazoned with a black meteor and was flanked by four companions. They opened fire on Shi Qiang’s group.
"AHH—"
As a scream rang out, Shi Qiang’s subordinate fell to the ground.
Long Ming’s expression darkened. He sped up and ducked into a nearby alley.
Seeing this, Shi Qiang immediately followed Long Ming.
Long Ming glanced back at Shi Qiang and asked in annoyance.
"Why are you following me?"
"To escape together, of course!"
Shi Qiang shot back.
Meanwhile, the pursuers who saw Long Ming and Shi Qiang escape turned to their leader and asked respectfully.
"Hamman, two of them got away. Should we give chase?"
"Chase them," Hamman ordered. "Captain Dorak said to clear out the entire instance. Other than our own, leave no one alive!"
