Smash!
Another ancient vase worth millions shattered on the ground.
The man roared, "The Bay Area is our undercover order system's highest-income zone! The area with the wealthiest clients! Am I just supposed to watch an undercover team slack off like this?!"
Someone nearby comforted him, "Don't get too worked up; it's just one undercover team. If Qin Xuezhong can mess around there, everyone will be happy."
"No, this is a matter of credibility. Today it's just a small clinic and a lowly worker, but what if something bigger happens tomorrow? What if clients lose trust in us?"
"What do you want…?" the person beside him asked.
The man revealed a vicious expression. "I want to take down this little b*tch!"
"That's not in line with the rules," the person frowned.
The man sneered, "Doesn't she like the slums? It's a dangerous place there..."
The person sighed, "Don't forget, she's Qin Xuezhong. Even if we've kicked her out and stripped her of everything, she's still Qin Xuezhong."
There was even a hint of fear in the person's tone.
"She only has a bit of tech left, right? Have you heard the saying, even the most skilled strategist fears a petty thief's kitchen knife?" The man scoffed, a touch of madness in his expression. "No need to say more. Go find a few experts from the city district and take the opportunity to deal with her!"
The man finally tempered his tone. "Remember to make it look like an accident."
---
Qin Xuezhong had no idea how much chaos her slacking off had caused.
First, the underground order platform, which had always handled dirty work steadily, experienced several small members requesting refunds, all related to the amputation clinic.
They had originally aimed to do some shady business, drawn in by the platform's impeccable completion rate. But now that this had happened, they were unwilling to part with their expensive membership fees and card thresholds.
Secondly, because Qin Xuezhong's team stopped working, the leaders of other undercover teams found that their options had suddenly increased.
Their performance was worry-free, and they became more lenient with their data epilepsy undercover agents.
Finally, in the online anonymous space, familiar undercover agents spread the news, from one person to ten, then to hundreds, about this new figure.
Originally, everyone lived in the deepest darkness with no hope. Yet, with Qin Xuezhong's actions, suddenly everyone saw a different situation.
Even if this wouldn't last forever, many undercover agents felt a tiny spark of hope igniting within them.
—Could there be a day when we too can escape this situation?
Unaware of all this, Little Qin returned home after a satisfying meal.
She entered her consciousness void again.
Because today, when she accessed the death memory, it seemed she discovered that the original owner's dull sphere of light, like a boulder, had loosened just a bit.
On the surface, there were now some floating, fragmented memories.
She skillfully extended her consciousness tendrils, entering the memory scene.
The setting was familiar; it was this small room.
The original owner stood by the glass at the window, placing their hand against it.
Then, a small authentication interface appeared on the glass, and a patch popped up from the windowsill. Countless data fibers, bundled together, stretched out from the wall, connecting to the back of the patch.
The original owner picked up the patch, carefully affixed it to the back of their neck, secured it with a fastener, found a comfortable position to lie down, and closed their eyes, ending the scene.
Curious, Qin Xuezhong came out of her consciousness void and approached the window to try it out.
Sure enough, the patch popped out—unlike the typical brain patches, this one was smaller, more exquisite, and came with a fastener that could wrap around the neck.
It even had a trademark and model number.
Qin Xuezhong didn't rush to try it; she first did some research. The search results showed that it was actually a military training product not sold to the public.
It contained combat skills learning from scratch, including various skills in fighting, firearms, data handling, driving, and repairs. It even allowed for lag-free network battles with others using the same product to enhance training effectiveness.
Reportedly, this thing was more realistic than the mainstream games or virtual dreams in Creek Valley City, comparable to directly connecting to the brain.
Having loved gaming before crossing over, Little Qin immediately wanted to give it a try.
—Since coming to this world, she hadn't played any games or experienced the most popular virtual dreams, and she had been quite curious.
She followed the memory's instructions, affixed the patch, secured it, lay down, and completed the connection.
Immediately, a prompt appeared before her.
[Login Account Selection]
[01 – Night King]
[02 – Create New Account]
Night King? The original owner's account name is so imposing?
She hesitated to log into the original owner's account; what if logging in exposed her or revealed her lack of skills? That would be troublesome.
Considering the dangers of the cyber world and the pre-crossing folklore about "cheap names being easy to maintain," she glanced at the number 02 and decided to create her own account.
[02 – Er Gou]
[Logging in...]
It really was military software; the interface was very simple, presenting three options right at the start: individual specialized training, online combat, and a forum.
She chose individual training and, among various combat and hacking skills, selected one that seemed most suitable for her: anti-tracking, setting the realism to 100%.
Qin Xuezhong had some self-awareness; no matter how much she trained in fighting, firearms, or data intrusion, she wouldn't be able to outmatch someone who had lived their whole life in the cyber world.
In the future, if the undercover organization decided to pull something, causing her to need to run away... disappearing quietly was a much more fitting method than carving a bloody path.
Consider it a way to bolster her confidence for future leisure time.
Upon entering, a city materialized out of thin air in the previously empty space.
The surrounding noise, the reflection of rain, the smell in the air—Qin Xuezhong felt as if she were in the real world.
Various tutorials and prompts reminded her that this was a virtual training space.
The concept of anti-tracking involved avoiding city cameras and trackers after blocking the signal from her neck chip, ultimately reaching a safe house.
At first, Qin Xuezhong was filled with eager curiosity, but she quickly received a harsh slap in the face from the brutal training exercises.
She realized that she couldn't even take a single step outside.
—What she didn't know was that this military training software lacked any proper beginner's guidance or user experience; many settings were simple and brutal.
The 100% realism she chose didn't just mean realistic scenes; it also indicated maximum difficulty, meaning that all nearby cameras and drones actively searched for her, and the trackers were top-tier agents. Even ordinary people nearby could potentially recognize her and report her.
At such a hellish difficulty, every movement and step she took had to consider countless factors.
For an ordinary person like her before crossing over, how could she manage that?
However, experiencing the realism of the brain implant for the first time and her natural stubbornness led her to spend four or five hours stubbornly working on that first step.
The most despairing part was that the conditions weren't static. Every time she restarted, the positions of the trackers and surveillance devices changed.
The good part was that even at the highest difficulty, many reminders still popped up, continuously warning Qin Xuezhong of what people or devices in what directions could discover her.
During the first hour, she died nearly every few seconds. Then, she began spending more time analyzing the constantly changing environment.
Eventually, she started pausing the scene, spending ten minutes observing her surroundings.
In the end, she really did summarize some patterns—generally, where cameras would be positioned, how far away trackers would be, and how to hide herself...
In her last attempt, Qin Xuezhong stood in place for 20 minutes analyzing, even taking notes, before she finally took her first step.
This time, she successfully slipped into a nearby alley.
In her excitement, she couldn't help but cheer.
The short burst of sound was captured by a distant environmental monitor, instantly bringing two trackers closer, trapping her inside. The scene ended.
Still exhilarated, Qin Xuezhong struck while the iron was hot and continued trying.
After failing over 500 times, she finally became able to consistently take that first step without being detected.
At this point, she didn't need to take notes; once she entered the scene, she could subconsciously observe most of the potential dangers around her.
Feeling somewhat fatigued as she exited the training device, she glanced at the time and saw it was nearly midnight.
She instinctively thought about washing up and going to bed, but then recalled Xue Zhi Shi's earnest teachings—it's only midnight! The nightlife in Creek Valley City has just begun!
She decided to head downstairs for a late-night snack.
To her surprise, the night market was even livelier now than it had been when she passed through at 9 PM yesterday!
However, she hadn't walked far when she immediately sensed something was off.
It felt like during her training; the moment she stepped outside her door, she noticed the pervasive cameras and watchful eyes everywhere.
The casual glances of passersby, the slight rotations of cameras, the flickering of environmental detectors in the corners... everything instinctively made her lighten her steps, blending into the crowd to avoid camera coverage.
After only a few steps, she realized how exhausting it was!
Who would have thought that just walking could be so tiring?
What she didn't know was that the 100% realism from the military training device was something most people couldn't actually handle.
Due to the overwhelming amount of data input into the nervous system, only professionals or individuals with highly developed brain domains could use it for short periods.
Because of this, the training effect under 100% realism was extremely high; almost every piece of information observed would be absorbed by the brain just like in the real world.
Thanks to her crossing over, the dim sphere of light in her mind could counteract the brain fatigue caused by the excessive data, allowing her to train for hours under 100% realism without feeling tired.
If she were to say this, it would sound outrageous.
This peculiar phenomenon caused her unaccustomed body to suddenly have to observe so much information and adjust her steps and posture, creating a significant burden.
Little Qin, who felt her training was tough, was completely unaware of this.
She quickly found a stall to sit down at, ordered a pile of delicious food, and started to feast.
Halfway through her meal, she sensed something was off.
Someone was staring at her, and not just one person!
She tried switching stalls several times, but those few pairs of eyes continued to watch her, believing themselves to be hidden.
Having lived in a peaceful era, Qin Xuezhong felt a pang of panic; her first thought was to hurry home.
She knew the crime rate in the slums was high and that many fugitives were hiding there.
Maybe they thought she was easy to bully?
She forced herself to appear calm, suppressing her rising fear, and instinctively used the steps and posture she had just trained with to find a safe route back while evading the trackers.
What she didn't anticipate was that the moment she began to move, she startled the trackers into a cold sweat.
These individuals were extremely dangerous criminals, all top-tier in their skills.
They were former special forces who had gone off the rails, secretly trained assassins, fighters who had killed countless in underground fight clubs... Regardless of their stories or unique methods of killing, they shared one common trait—a beast-like intuition.
They could instantly sense who was clumsy and likely to be attacked, who knew how to hide themselves to the greatest extent, and who might unexpectedly unleash a lethal strike.
In their eyes, Qin Xuezhong's stealthy steps and chosen positioning undoubtedly marked her as a glimmering figure at the top of the food chain.
A shared thought arose among them:
This big shot has already noticed us; she's been merciful not to act. If we don't run now, when should we?
No matter how much the client pays, you need to be alive to spend it!
Time to make a quick getaway!