It would be more accurate to call it a small gas station.
The clamouring biker gang from earlier had stopped there to refuel their motorbikes in the station.
A few of those fellows who looked like delinquents carried baseball bats and assumed a gait, which they thought was cool as they walked into the convenience store. They howled loudly and waved the baseball bat towards the nearby window, smashing it!
Almost immediately, a shop assistant cried out after being struck by a bat and fell down to the ground.
Two of the delinquents gradually became more excited and the expression on their faces twisted. Howling, they brandished the baseball bat around, turning the convenience store into a mess. Only after that, did they become satisfied and swaggered out the door of the convenience store.
It was then that a scream was uttered from the outside.
Several members of the biker gang forced a gas station assistant who wore a baseball cap into a corner. She cried out continuously. Looking at the obscene and debased expression on the biker gang members’ faces, one could tell that they have been attracted.
Chi!
They tore a hole on the female shop assistant’s outer clothes before shoving her to the ground. The baseball cap that she wore was tossed to the side and two mobsters walked over. One of them held down her hands while the other held down her legs. The remaining gang member sported a little moustache and a Mohawk hairstyle. He gave a sinister smile as he walked forward, his hands moving to undo his zippers.
It was at that moment that a powerful force suddenly slammed over from behind him!
The body of the man with little moustache was sent flying and he smashed onto a motorbike!
Next, the two fellows holding down the girl’s hands and feet were each sent flying as well. They flew a distance of 5 to 6 metres and fell into the convenience store.
Qiao Qiao brushed her hands and regarded the two mobsters that she sent flying with her kicks and gritted her teeth. “I have no interest in stopping your acts of vandalism. But, you dared disgrace a girl before me; that is unacceptable.”
After saying that, Qiao Qiao extended her hand to the terrified shop assistant and pulled her up. “Are you all right?”
The female shop assistant trembled before letting out a wail of “wahh”.
Qiao Qiao moved closer and realized that this girl was very young. She was likely only about 15 or 16 years old. Clearly, she was a working high school student.
Her oval shaped face was pure and pleasant to the eye. This Japanese girl’s petite body and prominent ears made her the embodiment of perfection.
“What is your name?”
“… Takeuchi Mikiko,” The girl answered cautiously and looked at Qiao Qiao timidly. The atmosphere exuded by this beautiful girl caused her to instinctively feel fearful. This sister was so beautiful, sporting such a long straight hair; she was simply far more beautiful than the number one beauty in Takeuchi Mikiko’s school from the kendo club! This atmosphere that she carried with her caused Takeuchi Mikiko to blush and involuntarily answer her question. Any trace of resistance within Takeuchi Mikiko’s heart was put down.
“All right, there is no need to be afraid. Those fellows will not be bullying you,” Qiao Qiao said softly. “Do you need me to help report to the police?”
“… ah, no!” Takeuchi Mikiko quickly answered. “These fellows had already been here before in the morning. Back then, we had reported to the police. So, they came back for revenge. At the current, the police forces are in a state of chaos. The news report states that the police forces have been sent into the central area of the city. How can they still care about our place.”
“Or should we call up your family?” Qiao Qiao squinted her eyes.
“… no need,” For a moment, Takeuchi Mikiko’s eyes turned noticeably dim. Then, she gripped onto the torn clothes and, with a rather embarrassed look, made a bow towards Qiao Qiao. “Thank you very much, thank you very much!”
Qiao Qiao looked to the side.
Chen Xiaolian and the others have already begun moving some stuff out from convenience store: food, water. One basket after another was brought out.
Roddy moved over and kicked aside the man with the little moustache that Qiao Qiao sent flying earlier. He propped up a motorcycle and activated his Mechanical Heart. Instantly, the motorcycle was started and he drove it around the gas station.
“How old are you?” Qiao Qiao retracted her gaze.
Takeuchi Mikiko was clearly displaying fear. She had observed how this girl’s companions were moving supplies from the convenience store. Each of them revealed cold and indifferent expressions… they even have a little girl with them who seemed to be only 9 or 10 years old. However, the little girl’s expression was also cold. Especially when she turned to face Takeuchi Mikiko; the frosty gaze from her caused Takeuchi Mikiko’s heart to trickle with sweat.
“I am… 15 years old,” Takeuchi Mikiko replied in a rather absent-minded manner.
Qiao Qiao gave a soft smile. “My friends are not bad people. You can be rest assured. Oh, right, they will pay for the things they took from the store.”
“Yes! Thank you very much for that,” Takeuchi Mikiko felt relieved and bowed successively. “The boss uncle is a good man. He has always been good to us.”
“You are a good girl,” Qiao Qiao smiled. Suddenly, she asked. “Right, is your house nearby?”
“Eh?”
…
… …
Nicole opened her eyes, her consciousness flowing back into her body. This female pilot immediately sat up straight and her eyes flickered as she examined her surroundings.
Chen Xiaolian sat by the door, staring calmly at Nicole. He noted that after waking up, Nicole had subconsciously moved to check if she was properly clothed. Although it was a minor subconscious move, it made Chen Xiaolian chuckle inwardly.
No matter how powerful or experienced this master amongst Awakened ones may be – she was still a woman.
“You are awake?”
Chen Xiaolian stood up.
“…” Nicole silently regarded Chen Xiaolian and suddenly spoke out in a cold manner. “The war armour on my body…”
“Qiao Qiao is the one who helped take off the broken war armour – don’t worry, she is my girlfriend. Of course, the idiot Roddy would not have allowed any males to touch you. Haha!”
Nicole’s eyes eased a little. “That last sentence is not funny at all.”
“Very well, then let’s not joke around,” Chen Xiaolian replied coldly. “Let’s talk business.”
Naturally, Nicole understood what Chen Xiaolian meant. “The two energy sources that I snatched away from you, I can give it back.”
Chen Xiaolian replied with indifference. “You have another three on you. I could have taken advantage of the time when you were unconscious to kill you. Then, all your energy sources would have become ours.”
“If so, you will be blacklisted by Zero City,” Nicole retorted coldly. “You can forget about re-entering Zero City for the rest of your life.”
“That is not fair at all,” Chen Xiaolian sneered. “You can attack us, but we cannot harm you?”
“Fair? What a laughable notion you have,” Nicole replied with indifference. “Zero City has a rule: Killing of those with qualifications to permanent residency in Zero City is not allowed. When within the game, you may engage in fights and conflicts with these people… as long as you do not kill them, that is fine. The permanent residents of Zero City are granted protection by Zero City itself. In other words, when in game, if you were to find yourself in the opposing side where conflicts are inevitable, you can attack me and engage in a battle with me. However, you cannot kill me. Don’t spout things like fair or not to me, this game has always been a survival of the fittest.”
Chen Xiaolian was momentarily stunned. Then, Lun Tai, who had been seated on the other side of the door walked in and nodded his head. “She is not lying. This rule does exist. When in game, if we encounter people from Zero City and find ourselves in the opposing side, we can engage in battles with them as long as we do not kill them. Once you kill someone from Zero City, you will be blacklisted – naturally, if you do so secretly and no one finds out, then…”
As he said those words, Lun Tai deliberately revealed a ferocious smile.
Nicole eyes showed no panic at all and she pointed towards her forehead. “There is a chip implanted into my brain. It is a visual capturing system. Everything that I encounter within this instance dungeon, all that my eyes have seen will be recorded. Those records will continuously be sent to a storage device.
“The moment I entered this instance dungeon, I had placed the storage device within this instance dungeon. It will automatically hide itself. In the event that I die, after the instance dungeon is over and the restriction placed on the instance dungeon area is lifted, it will automatically transmit all the visually captured information to Zero City.”
“Beautiful,” Chen Xiaolian was unable to help himself and uttered out a praise. “It seems your safety measures are quite strict.”
“Did you think people of Zero City have no fear towards death?” Nicole curled the corners of her lips. “All right, enough nonsense. I believe we are tight on time. Let’s talk about something else.”
“Why are you in this instance dungeon?”
“… I was forced in due to a misfortune. When you were leaving, I was actually there, inside one of the four Mechs,” Nicole did not conceal anything regarding this trivial information. “Then, I received a routine task to patrol the outside area of Zero City’s Entrance and Exit Gate to determine that it is safe. However, after I left Zero City and moved into Tokyo City, I was forced into the instance dungeon.”
“Why didn’t you just return to Zero City?” Chen Xiaolian frowned.
“Not enough time,” Nicole hesitated for a moment. Then, she finally revealed a more sensitive information. “I am a member of the security personnel. I left Zero City using a temporarily opened passageway. This temporarily opened passageway is opened at random, leading to a random destination. Once I walked out of this passageway, it would close up instantly. When I want to return, I will contact Zero City and they will open up another temporary passageway for me to return. The location of this temporary passageway cannot be accurately placed and there will generally be a discrepancy in distance of roughly 1 km.
“The very moment I walked out of the passageway, I received the system notification and realized that I have been stranded within an instance dungeon area. Back then… the remaining time before the instance dungeon began was… 9 seconds. There was insufficient time for me to go back… that would require contacting Zero City to open up a passageway for me. Then, I would still need to rush to the location of the passageway… all of those cannot be accomplished in a mere 9 seconds.”
As she was mentioning what happened in the end, Nicole’s expression turned aggrieved.
Nine seconds left in the countdown timer…