Chapter 111

Justice Rating

"I — I—" The junior threw the steel pipe and bolted for the car.

Curly Hair was faster. She scooped a rock off the ground and threw it at his legs. Already stumbling in panic, he pitched straight into the grass.

"You rob people on the road and then try to run?" Chao Musheng dragged the cleaver along behind him as he approached. The junior, thrashing in the undergrowth, saw the glinting blade and covered his head in terror — it was no longer entirely clear who was the highway robber here.

"Mr. Chao!" The driver climbed out, holding two lengths of rope. "Let's tie them up before they get away."

Nobody knew where the driver had produced rope from. Chao Musheng hauled Gouzi and the junior together and bound both of them firmly with their arms behind their backs. He straightened up and found Xu Chenzhu standing in front of the filthy van, looking through the window.

Xu Chenzhu felt his eyes. "There's someone in the van."

He reached for the door. Chao Musheng caught his arm. "Let me."

The moment the van door opened, a wall of stale smell came out. Chao Musheng ignored it — because lying in the back was a small child, bound from head to toe, mouth sealed.

The girl's face was soaked with tears. When she saw that the person opening the door was not one of the two men who'd taken her, but an unfamiliar older boy, her expression was still nothing but terror.

"It's all right, little one. I'm a friend of your mother's." He peeled the tape from her mouth. She cried in full-body shudders, but made no sound, too frightened to.

"It's all right. You're safe." He lifted her out of the van and untied the ropes around her, then pointed at the two men on the ground. "See — the people who hurt you are all tied up."

Xu Chenzhu took a water bottle from the car and held it out. She flinched away from him — clearly unable to accept anything from a stranger right now.

Seeing how frightened she was, Chao Musheng simply took out his phone and called Director Chen on video.

The moment the call connected and Director Chen's face appeared on the screen, the girl finally cried out loud. "Mum!"

*

At the station, the officers were going through traffic surveillance footage frame by frame, following the van's route.

Ms. Chen was a figure of some standing in Hanyue — the manager of a major factory. Two days ago, Kunlun's CEO himself had attended a groundbreaking ceremony in the county. Now the daughter of a factory manager under Kunlun's umbrella had been kidnapped. If this got out — how would Hanyue ever attract investment again?

"Captain!" An officer ran in, face bright with urgency. "The child's been found!"

"What?" He knocked the mouse over in his haste. "Is she all right? Is she hurt?"

"She's fine. Our people are already escorting Ms. Chen to the scene." The officer's whole face carried the relief of good news. "And here's the thing — those two kidnappers tried to rob a passing stranger on the road, the stranger subdued them both, and the child was recovered in the process."

"Good, good, good." The tightly-wound captain finally drew breath. "We're heading to the scene."

They had barely left the traffic authority building when they found the station's car already parked outside, the chief standing at the door with the look of a man watching the sky fall.

"Chief." The captain was surprised. "You came yourself?"

"Not just me — leadership from every department is on their way." He looked up at the darkening sky. "Let's go. Rain's coming."

"Was there another major incident?"

"Kunlun's CEO and his assistant were attacked by armed robbers on their way back." The chief's face was a study in misery. Kunlun had built a factory in Hanyue, funded the local support project, put their name on the road that bore it. Benefactor was hardly an exaggeration.

And now this benefactor had been held at knifepoint in their own jurisdiction. How could anyone sit still?

Those cursed criminals — had they given a single thought to how many families would suffer if Kunlun pulled out?

The police cars raced. The rain arrived before they did.

"Faster." The chief was anxious. "It's nearly dark."

Whatever it took — he had to protect the livelihoods of these people.

When they arrived, several vehicles were already parked by the road. Director Chen — ordinarily composed and capable, a woman who could work any room — was delivering a sustained and comprehensive beating to two men in the downpour, while a female officer stood nearby doing her best to talk her down with one hand occupied holding an umbrella over a small girl.

"Ms. Chen, you really must stop." She spotted the chief arriving, raised her voice: "Ms. Chen — the rain is this heavy, please take the child to the car. She needs you beside her."

The word child broke through. Director Chen stopped. She turned and pulled her daughter hard into her arms.

"Mr. X—"

"See to the family first." Xu Chenzhu stood under his umbrella, voice undisturbed. "This was an isolated incident. It has nothing to do with Hanyue County or its people, and Kunlun's investment plans are unchanged."

The directness of it startled the chief out of his words. Then: "Thank you for your understanding, Mr. Xu. We will investigate this thoroughly and find every accomplice."

He glanced at the two men on the ground, faces purple with bruising. They'd apparently taken a severe tumble trying to resist arrest.

"Consultant Chao." Director Chen staggered over to Chao Musheng, her legs folding, and began to kneel.

"Director Chen." He caught her before she reached the ground. "Please — stand up."

Her face was wet — rain or tears, indistinguishable. "If not for you, I don't know what those animals would have done to my daughter."

Her daughter, who was so good, and so small.

"We were just in the right place." He pulled her to her feet. "In professional terms, you're a Kunlun employee. In personal terms — you were warm to me when I arrived in Hanyue, and that little girl might as well call me uncle. An uncle rescuing his niece — that's nothing to thank me for."

"Thank you, thank you..."

She was oscillating between the terror of what might have been and the relief of what was. Ordinarily polished and at ease in any company, she had nothing but those two words.

The female officer guided Director Chen and the girl to the car. The investigative team worked the scene.

"Mr. Xu, Consultant Chao." The chief looked uncomfortable. "You are parties to the incident. Could we have a few minutes for your statements?"

"Of course." Giving a police statement was something Chao Musheng had done enough times by now to be fairly practiced at. He returned to the station, answered every question fully, and handed over the car's dashcam footage.

"These two know Hanyue's roads very well. There will be more accomplices, and they've probably been watching the girl for some time." He glanced out the window. The bodyguards who'd gone to help search the county for the girl weren't back yet, and their car had been rammed. Should he message Secretary Liu to come pick them up?

"We've got something!" An officer came in. "This van has been spotted repeatedly near Kunlun Road in recent days. The suspect called Gouzi has been buying instant noodles regularly at a convenience store there — his body odour is reportedly so strong it's driven customers out. The locals remember him very clearly."

"Move on the arrest immediately — before the accomplices realize something's wrong and run."

"Mr. Xu, Consultant Chao — we're heading toward your hotel anyway. Shall we go together?" The chief winced internally thinking about their rammed car.

Chao Musheng looked at Xu Chenzhu — no objection on his face — and nodded. "Thank you, chief."

*

"It's past dark and Gouzi's still not back." The boss lit a cigarette. Something in his chest felt wrong. "Did they fail again?"

"Boss — Gouzi got the girl!" A junior held up a photo: the bound child.

"If they've got her, stop wasting time out there." He frowned. "Message him to come back now. Once this money comes through, we leave Hanyue."

"Boss — Gouzi says he spotted a bigger fish. Much more valuable than the Chen family."

"What fish?" A cold laugh. "In a backwater like this — what big fish is there?"

"Kunlun's technical consultant." The junior said. "He's been in Hanyue for the project. Gouzi's planning to ambush him on the road back."

"Really?" His expression shifted. Even his breathing changed. If they could get their hands on a Kunlun consultant, what was a factory manager's daughter worth?

"Wait — if Kunlun's consultant goes missing, they'll turn the entire area inside out looking." He stubbed out the cigarette. "Get ready. Grab those vagrant pigs across the way. The moment Gouzi gets the consultant, we move everyone out of Hanyue."

"On it, boss." His eyes lit with anticipatory greed. "One thing, though — there's one from across the way who hasn't come back yet. She went off carrying a bag of scrap metal. Do we wait, or—"

"Wait for what?" He kicked him. "Get the five we have now. What if that woman doesn't come back today — are we supposed to sit here all night?"

"You're right, boss." He picked himself up. "I'll get the brothers ready. We'll hit them by surprise."

Good mood today — even using four-character idioms.

*

"Another day cooped up in here — I feel like a factory-farmed pig." Ah Peng finished his watermelon and tossed the rind out the window.

Abandoned building. Nobody living here. No danger of hitting anyone.

"Owww." The boss clapped a hand to his head and wiped watermelon juice off his face. "Useless layabouts, and now they're littering from height?! "

"Absolutely disgraceful." A junior rattled his steel pipe. "In a minute I'll crack their heads open."

"Cracked heads don't sell." He took his frustration out on the junior. "Less talking. Go grab those pigs."

*

"I don't know why you're like this." Ah Rou rolled her eyes at Ah Peng. "No NPC trying to kill us and your whole body feels wrong?"

"Ah Peng, could you have some standards." Hua Ba added, disgusted. "Don't throw the rind around. You might hit someone."

"Watermelon rind biodegrades — and the rain is this heavy, in an abandoned building in the middle of nowhere, there's not a soul—" He looked at the sky. "Xiao Juan said she was coming back before dark. Where is she?"

"Maybe something came up." Ah Rou's expression shifted slightly. "She has a powerful NPC on her side. She should be—"

She stopped. She stood and moved to the door.

"Someone's coming up." She kept her voice low. "Footsteps — I'd estimate five people."

The players set down their half-eaten watermelon and turned to the door.

Two minutes later, the door was kicked open.

"Nobody move." A junior walked in and hammered the wall with his club. A shower of plaster and mould rained down. He waved the club at the five of them. "Men on the left, women on the right. Against the walls."

Ah Peng looked at his head. "Hey — a spider just landed in your hair. You don't feel it?"

If you want a fight, have a fight. What's with standing in the doorway hitting the wall?

Strange NPCs.

The junior shifted uncomfortably. Something was itching at his back. Was there actually a spider?

"What kind of rubbish is this?" The boss elbowed him aside and walked in with a cigarette, exhaling a slow smoke ring. "Two choices: die here, or come quietly. Tonight the rain and wind are this bad, no one around for miles — you can scream until your voice breaks and nobody's coming."

"What you're saying is — whatever happens in here, nobody outside will know about it?" Ah Rou rotated her wrists.

"Tsk." The boss looked at the woman who'd spoken. Pale face. Fine brows. Delicate-looking, even pretty.

"Of course." His eyes shifted. A leering smile crossed his face. "But don't worry. I'm very generous with pretty women."

"Is that so?" Ah Rou took three steps forward. With one hand she knocked the knife out of his right grip and slapped him across the face.

He became airborne.

He landed on the floor with his cigarette still burning between the fingers of his left hand.

Crack.

In the quiet of the room, bones breaking.

The four juniors stared at the boss on the floor.

What had just happened?

How had the boss performed two and a half mid-air rotations and then free-fallen into the ground?

"Your turn." Two more slaps. The junior with the steel pipe and the one beside him were also airborne, and also landed with a crack.

That was all?

Ah Rou shook out her slightly tingling hand. 3S-level survival instance NPCs — and that was the caliber?

The system really had no respect for anyone.

The remaining two juniors finally registered what was happening. They turned and ran — and made it to the door before hands closed around their ankles.

"Help!" They grabbed the doorframe, desperate to escape.

But the people behind them were laughing.

"You had the nerve to come here and try something — and now you're running?"

Both juniors were dragged back in. Their scrabbling palms left deep furrows through the thick dust on the floor.

"Please — let us go—"

"Help!"

Their terrified screaming was swallowed by the wind and rain, and echoed back at them from the crumbling walls.

*

"Big brother, this bag is at least twenty-five jin. You're telling me it's eighteen?"

Curly Hair pointed at the scale's display. "I can see the number from here."

"No way." The scrap yard owner shook the sack. "And I haven't even mentioned that your scrap's been soaked through — that's extra weight on my scale."

"Find a fairer price somewhere else if you like. I'm the best rate in the area." He stood his ground.

She laughed coldly. "Fine. I won't sell."

Wang Xiaojuan had survived over a hundred instances. She would not be humiliated like this.

"Xiao Juan?"

A familiar, surprised voice from behind her.

She turned slowly. "Secretary Liu?"

He read the scrap yard sign. He looked at the sack in front of her, weeping iron-rust water. He understood the situation entirely.

"You're busy. I'll look around." He turned, raising his umbrella, about to go.

"All right, all right — I can see you're having a hard time, miss. I'll add five yuan." The owner, faced with Curly Hair's expression of profound distress, showed two degrees of mercy. "Are you selling or not?"

"Selling." She wiped the water from her face.

So she'd lost a bit of dignity. She wasn't the kind of person who cared about face.

Great achievers didn't fuss over small details. She was completely fine.

Hahaha, absolutely fine, it was just running into Secretary Liu.

Who cared. She ran into people she knew all the time. It wasn't a big deal.

AAAAAHHHHH that dog of a Main God, she wanted it dead—

"Secretary Liu." Assistant Yang, walking beside him, was puzzled. "Isn't she Consultant Chao's friend? Why is she selling scrap?"

"Perhaps she's naturally frugal." Secretary Liu smiled mildly.

Was that it?

Yang looked back at the girl accepting a handful of banknotes from the scrap yard owner. Yes, that was quite frugal.

They walked on a short distance. Several police cars passed and stopped at a run-down alley entrance.

That many police cars?

Yang stopped, curious — and saw the boss step out of one of them.

The boss?!

Before he could move toward him, Consultant Chao was stepping out of another car. The boss was holding an umbrella over him.

The boss. Holding the umbrella. Over Consultant Chao.

He watched Consultant Chao smile at the boss, reach out, and take hold of the umbrella.

Or more precisely — take hold of the hand holding the umbrella.

They... they...

He turned in bewilderment and found Secretary Liu pointing his phone at the boss and Consultant Chao, photographing them with intense dedication.

Was he the one who'd lost his mind, or had the world?

The boss and Consultant Chao — were actually — really — a couple?!

*

"Mr. Xu, Consultant Chao." The chief addressed them both. "These criminals are dangerous. Please stay clear of the arrest scene."

Then he turned and led his team into the alley without waiting for a response.

Inside the alley was an expanse of wasteland. Overgrown with weeds, no sign of habitation.

"Chief — about eight hundred metres ahead, there's an old factory and two or three abandoned buildings. A murder case happened there years ago. Locals tend to avoid the area."

"Station people at every entry and exit point." He looked around. "We need backup from the township station."

These criminals hadn't spared a child. And they were armed. The worst kind.

*

"You could at least make it challenging." Ah Peng looked at the row of gang members lying in a line, their legs twisted at unusual angles. He used his skill to check their moral rating: "All evil with scores over 50. Killable."

"It's against the law to kill people!" The boss stared at the group in terror. He had written off these people as useless vagrants. He had not anticipated that they were bloodless killers. "This is a society governed by law!"

He had never loved the law as much as he did at this moment. He deeply wished every person on earth would abide by it wholeheartedly.

"Law?" A player's voice was unimpressed. "Is there a law anywhere in a survival instance?"

They were dead.

The boss and his juniors stared into absolute despair. These people were lawless.

"In this weather, if we kill them will it smell?" Hua Ba sighed. Their movement range was too limited. Bodies in the operating area would be inconvenient.

The boss and the juniors nodded frantically. Yes, yes, the weather was all wrong for killing people.

Their tool packs had been restricted since entering the instance. They didn't even have a digging tool.

"Hmm." Ah Rou frowned. "There are more people coming. About a dozen. More of your crew?"

"Yes!" The boss hardened himself and said it. "The whole building's full of our people. Let us go, right now."

"Troublesome." Her frown deepened.

*

Curly Hair bought the jackets, turned a corner onto a narrow lane barely wide enough for two people — and was called to before she could enter.

"Xiao Juan." Chao Musheng looked at the jackets bundled in a red plastic bag. "Why did you buy so many?"

"Xiao Chao, Xu Chenzhu." She stopped. "Some friends of mine are staying in the abandoned building in there. The temperature's dropping — I got them some jackets."

Xiao Juan's friends?

Something clicked. "These friends — your... colleagues?"

"More or less." She looked away with a touch of guilt.

"The rain's heavy and it'll be muddy in there — let us come with you." He glanced at the dark lane, uneasy.

She hesitated, then nodded.

With Xiao Chao here, the five of them might be able to break free of the instance's boundary.

*

A fat rat bolted across the path and disappeared into a drain.

"You really have it rough." Chao Musheng held Xu Chenzhu's wrist and followed Curly Hair through the lane and into the wasteland. The ground was a tangle of weeds; traces of a path were still faintly visible beneath them.

"Your friends live here?" He looked up at the condemned building with something close to reverence.

A dry laugh from Curly Hair. She led them both into the stairwell.

Xu Chenzhu glanced sideways at the surrounding undergrowth, expression unchanged, and looked away.

*

"Chief — why are Xu Chenzhu and Consultant Chao coming in here?" The officers concealed in the area broke out in cold sweat. "What do we do?"

"No waiting for backup. We move now." The chief drew breath. "Whatever it takes — Xu Chenzhu and Consultant Chao do not get hurt."

*

"We're here, Xiao Chao." Curly Hair pushed open the rotting wooden door — and froze when she saw five bodies arranged neatly in a row in the room, of indeterminate condition.

What possible excuse could she give now?

"What's wrong?" Chao Musheng leaned in — and met five pairs of bright, alert eyes looking back at him.

His gaze traveled down.

Five people lying on the floor.

Are these... apprehended criminals?

"Nobody move!"

"Police! Hands up!"

"Protect Xu Chenzhu and Consultant Chao!"

Two uniformed officers burst through the door, weapons raised at the occupants of the room.

Ah Peng stared at the two who'd just stormed in.

Justice rating: 80?!

He had never seen a justice rating this high in a survival instance.

Two of them.

Wait — what had they just said they were?