Chen Xiaolian was able to somewhat grasp what Nicole meant.
Punishment type instance dungeons… for the average Players and Awakened ones, it may prove dangerous.
However, in the eyes of an expert like Tian Lie… most of the punishment instance dungeons would not prove difficult for someone like him.
“Enough, let us stop talking about these distant matters. Let us first solve the problem before us.”
Chen Xiaolian checked the time. “We still have 10 more hours to go. According to our speculation, Tian Lie would probably leave this instance dungeon after the first phase’s countdown ends. That way, we would be rid of him.”
“So, we need to get by through these 10 hours,” Qiao Qiao wrinkled her brows. “But… how did he find us earlier?”
“Thorned Flower Guild has many methods. The most common method is to form a full tactical team. This team would have a member who specializes in providing support in terms of gathering intelligence. Usually, this person would be given the nickname ‘Falcon’.
“Doing this is not hard. All they need do is arrive at the instance dungeon area before the instance dungeon begins, prepare some technological equipment such as a full series of surveillance equipment and install them in various parts of Tokyo. That way, when the instance dungeon starts, most of the areas within Tokyo would be within their surveillance. They could notice even the most minute of changes.
“Of course, if we hide in a room, we won’t be found. However, if a battle occurs or if you engage in flying, you will be found.
“If I am not mistaken, our earlier entanglement with those biker gang must have been noticed by the monitoring team member from Thorned Flower Guild. That was how Tian Lie could find us.
“In other words, we are currently in danger!” Chen Xiaolian said seriously. “We were engaged in a battle earlier before running away. Maybe, from the moment we started this vehicle, we have fallen under the enemy’s surveillance! If that is the case, Tian Lie might chase up to us…”
“There is that possibility,” Nicole said softly. “Being outdoor puts us at the greatest risk of being found. It would be best for us to hide underground. Many equipment are unable to monitor underground areas.”
“We need to find a blind spot in their surveillance network!” Chen Xiaolian turned to Nicole. “Do you have any ideas?”
Nicole smiled.
…
…
Nicole’s method was not a complicated one. First, they drove towards a chaos-filled place.
They stopped at a huge supermarket. Even now, there were still many mobsters taking advantage of this state of chaos to vandalize and loot the place. Still, the parking lot on the outside of the supermarket was littered with many cars.
Under the night sky, they saw that the gates to the supermarket were open and many people were moving back and forth, as they looted the place. They looted various household appliances, mobile devices, and others of the electronic type…
The police could no longer spare any men for this sort of incidents. Even the security personnel of the supermarket had long since run off.
Their team drove into the parking lot and discarded the pickup truck before changing to a minibus – Chen Xiaolian had stepped forward to snatch the minibus from several mobsters. Those fellows were beaten senseless and left lying by the road.
Driving the minibus, their team headed into an office building’s underground parking lot, located on the edge of the district.
This parking lot was located three levels below ground level. According to Nicole, the surveillance equipment utilized by Thorned Flower Guild were probably set up on the ground floor of each district. The main function of those devices was their capacity to observe and sense thermal fluctuations. Those same devices, however, were not very efficient at monitoring underground areas.
“This information is acquired from our countless experience of fighting against Thorned Flower Guild. Moreover… even if they want to hack into the city’s monitoring system, the city itself is currently in a state of chaos and most of the city area is suffering from network blackout. Thus, the city’s monitoring system has been partially crippled.
“This building I chose is located in the blackout zone where the surveillance cameras have failed. This place should be temporarily safe.”
“There is less than 9 hours,” Chen Xiaolian sighed. Next, he got everyone to rest in the vehicle and brought out the food and drinks, and distributed them.
One minor incident occurred in the middle of the night. The comatose Takeuchi Mikiko woke up.
After waking up, Takeuchi Mikiko was agitated and she kept shrieking out as she struggled, attempting to escape.
These people had broken into her house and kidnapped her, then moved to occupy her house. Well, those US dollars were certainly tempting…
However… at present, that biker gang with Molotov cocktails had started a fire to her house!
These were not the things that a young girl could mentally accept.
Together, Chen Xiaolian and Qiao Qiao comforted Takeuchi Mikiko and assured her that they would let her go tomorrow morning while giving her a sum of money. It was only then that the Japanese girl calmed down.
“What a rookie Guild Leader,” Nicole hugged her arms as she sat on the last row of the minibus, watching both Chen Xiaolian and Qiao Qiao comforting Takeuchi Mikiko. She pursed her lips to the side with disdain. Then, she turned to the two brothers who sat closest to her, Lun Tai and Bei Tai. “I am very puzzled. Why would veterans such as you obey such a rookie Guild Leader?”
Lun Tai glanced at Nicole and replied with a cold tone. “He may be a rookie, a soft-hearted, kind-hearted person who is unsuited to this cruel game, but… at least I can tell that following him, I would not have to worry about being abandoned or betrayed. Did you know? In the last instance dungeon, he took the initiative to leave behind to become a bait, giving away the chance of surviving to others. This kind of person is a big fool, but… there are too few of these fools these days.”
“Your guild is just bonkers. A soft-hearted guy who is too kind for his own good as a Guild Leader. Not to mention, he is also a rookie. As for the guild members, there are only two veterans while the rest are rookies as well. Most interestingly, they even have an under aged girl,” Nicole could not help but smile bitterly. “I bet this guild won’t even survive past 3 instance dungeons.”
“… thank you for your evaluation,” Chen Xiaolian suddenly came over, stopping before Nicole. “As it happens, this is my 3rd instance dungeon. I think that I should be able to make it through this one.”
Soo Soo, who was following Chen Xiaolian tightly gripped Chen Xiaolian’s sleeves and she directed a cold stare at Nicole. Frowning, she said in a frosty voice. “I hate you. If you continue saying bad things about Xiaolian oppa, I’ll burn you.”
“Soo Soo! Little girls should not say things like that,” Chen Xiaolian forced out a smile and rubbed Soo Soo’s head. Then, he pulled her to another row of seats.
Nicole revealed an odd expression and she abruptly covered her mouth as she whispered to Lun Tai. “Is your Guild Leader a lolicon?”
“… he personally denies it. Who knows?” Lun Tai smirked.
…
They finally made it through the night.
Although the parking lot they were in was three levels below ground where day light could not reach, everyone was not able to rest. They kept looking at the time.
At eight in the morning, Chen Xiaolian brought Qiao Qiao and Roddy with him as they went above ground to explore the area around the building.
Chen Xiaolian chose a spot on the third floor of the building with good line of sight and left Roddy there to monitor the area.
Next, Chen Xiaolian brought Qiao Qiao together to explore the inner area of the building… the building was empty, devoid of any workers. Although they found computers, they were unable to connect to any network. Due to the power blackout, there was no network available.
In the street far away, shrill sounds of sirens could still be heard from time to time. However, this street remained fairly quiet.
As for the street itself, it was mostly empty of pedestrians. Occasionally, there would be some who would walk through in a hurry and panic, their hands holding onto large and small bags. Who knew if they had purchased it or stolen it?
Chen Xiaolian patted his cheeks with cold water to freshen himself. One day and night without rest, and the continuous battle from before caused Chen Xiaolian to feel very tired.
Qiao Qiao who was next to him produced a piece of towel to help wipe his face. She whispered. “You can take a short rest. I’ll help lookout for you.”
“I am the Guild Leader,” Chen Xiaolian sighed. “Anyone can be given the luxury of sleeping, but not me. Besides… I am unable to sleep as well.”
“The countdown is about to end,” Qiao Qiao said in a low tone. “After the first phase ends, what will happen next? Are you able to guess?”
“I do not know. However, I think it must have something to do with the storyline about that mysterious research and development institute,” Chen Xiaolian pondered. “The instance dungeon area is Tokyo… the first phase of the quest is to collect five energy sources. I think that the second phase must have something to do with those energy sources.”
…
Time slowly ticked by until afternoon arrived.
The remaining time on the countdown gradually lessened until it finally entered the last few seconds.
Everyone rose up, looking more alert!
This moment of waiting for the countdown to end was too hard to bear!
“Five, four, three, two, one …” Chen Xiaolian mumbled out the countdown.
“It’s here! Right on time!” Chen Xiaolian was on his toes.
Chen Xiaolian’s mind was spurred!
He was able to take note of several key words.
The second phase of the quest… randomly given!
Random!
In other words… for most of the participants of the second phase of the quest, their quest would likely be different!
Random!
Everyone in the team had already received the two system prompts and they now turned to look at Chen Xiaolian.
Chen Xiaolian took a deep breath and checked his own personal system…
After he was done reading the second phase of the quest assigned to his personal system, Chen Xiaolian revealed an incredulous expression on his face.
Beneath the notification was a picture. It was clearly a passport type photo, one devoid of PS (photoshop) or modifications to it.
On the photo was a pleasant looking Japanese girl. She looked young, about 15 to 16 years old. She was smiling agreeably and she had the prominent ears unique to Japanese girls, looking very cute and adorable.
The thing that caused Chen Xiaolian’s eyes to bulge out was that the girl displayed on the interface was surprisingly…
He turned abruptly and looked at someone who was huddling down in a corner…
Takeuchi Mikiko!
“This, is this coincidence… or an explosive stroke of fortune?” Chen Xiaolian mumbled to himself.
…