Chapter 467 - Running All Over
Players that had PK value of 20 to 30 points would cause the system to send out guards after them, but that did not mean stationary guards would let those in their sight to get away scot-free. Gu Fei wanted to generate this very reaction from the two NPC guards stationed at the back door of the Government City Hall.
Just as he had hoped, the sharp eyes of the guards shifted and very quickly identified him as a fugitive with over 20 PK points; they began to rush to where he was.
Two, who was feeling very puzzled by Gu Fei's instructions moments ago, saw the two guards leave their post. Naturally, he was unaware that he had intentionally used this simple stipulation to generate such an effect. All he thought was that Nine was becoming more and more mystical with every passing moment.
"Quickly get in!" Gu Fei shouted to him. Two no longer hesitated and dashed right into the back door, following Gu Fei's instruction to the letter. He instantly ducked in a corner behind one of the double doors and did not take a step further.
As for the two guards, Gu Fei already had plenty of dealings with such NPCs in the past. Because these two had their stations to hold, there was no way either would leave too far from their original posts, so all he had to do was escape their range. This worked similarly to how players could escape from the usual monsters out in the grinding maps by getting out of their aggro range.
Thus, the members of Flowergazing in the Fog were more of a problem to him at the moment. These players were already infuriated when they saw that a good half of the nine trespassers had successfully entered the Government City Hall, so all the anger in them could only be released on to the two targets right before their eyes.
Although the backyard was smaller than the Government City Hall's courtyard, their scope of vision here was not as wide as in the courtyard since plenty of obstructions and hiding spots existed all over. Gu Fei was dragging Seven along with him and was currently engaged in a game of hide-and-seek, so the members of Flowergazing in the Fog simply had no means to vent their anger; each man was on the verge of having a stroke as they repressed their burning rage.
"Just who are these people?" was the first question Three Sighs of Flowing Maple asked his guild members.
"We don't know… They're all wearing face covers." Such an answer was also very vexing for them all, as it meant that they did not even have a chance to take revenge in the future.
"D*mm*t!" the usually calm and collected Three Sighs of Flowing Maple finally spat out an expletive. "We must find those two guys!"
"Yes!" Everybody was very confident of this. While they had no idea where the two men were hiding, the backyard was only so big. Locating the two men would only be a matter of time.
Seven, who was hiding all over the place with Gu Fei, was feeling extremely nervous right now. He trembled at every disorderly footstep he heard around them. "We can't continue hiding like this…"
"Hide?" Gu Fei turned to stare at the man. "We're currently searching for your quest target, bro!"
"Qu-Quest?" Seven almost forgot about his reason for being here in his anxiety.
"Aren't we looking for that lethargic Assassin?" Gu Fei asked even as he continued to search all about.
"Over here!" A shout suddenly rang through the backyard. Following this, they heard many Mages starting to loudly chant. Seven, who abruptly lay flat on the ground in fright, heard Gu Fei sigh. "It's not us… It's Eight…"
Their mass search for the two men ended up uncovering Eight, instead. The man was hiding in the thicket. Speaking of which, Eight was perhaps too passive in dealing with the enemies. He became overly cautious when he saw more and more players from Flowergazing in the Fog gathering and moved far too slowly, ending up dead once the enemies caught up to him.
"We killed one!" those players excitedly announced as they continued their search.
"Snap out of it and hurry!" Gu Fei was entirely unaffected as he continued to spur Seven on.
Hard work paid off, but more importantly, Gu Fei's line of thinking was spot on. Searching for the slumbering Assassin meant that they had to look for a suitable spot for it to sleep. They finally located their NPC under a big tree, hugging a shrub and sleeping soundly as if it were dead to the world.
Just how tired must this Assassin NPC be feeling for it to end up sleeping in a place like this?! Gu Fei wondered as he saw Seven lower his head and interact with the NPC before getting up to say, "It's done."
"Why isn't it waking up?" Gu Fei asked.
"I don't know…" Seven replied. "Anyway, the quest is completed, so I can return to hand it in."
Gu Fei nodded his head as he kept his ear to the ground for the cacophony of footsteps around them. He spoke to Seven, "Stay here and don't move."
"What?" Seven was nonplussed.
"I'm gonna go lure them away," Gu Fei said.
"Ah! Thank you so much…" Seven was warmed. He had really met a real life Lei Feng1!
"Don't mention it… My quest is in the building, so I gotta get in. Luring them away just happened to be something I can do on my way there. You're lucky Eight has become your scapegoat," Gu Fei said.
"Eh?" Seven was momentarily stunned before realizing what he meant. Flowergazing in the Fog had set their sights on the two of them. With Eight's death, they would only have one target left in mind, and that would be Gu Fei as he ran to the Government City Hall. This meant that Seven would no longer be in any sort of danger, which made Eight his incidental scapegoat.
"I'm off!" Gu Fei said his goodbye and then dashed out from the shrubbery.
"Over here!" A shout rang about just like last time. Following this, another bunch of Mages began to loudly chant their spells. However, Gu Fei was not like their previous target and was not even ruffled by this circumstance. How would mere spells even hit him? Everybody saw Gu Fei speed off in a cloud of dust, leaving behind a trail of Mage fire bombardment as he ran.
The Archers were similarly unable to lock their shots on this speedy figure; meanwhile, the Homing Projectiles that they fired off had limited speed, so Gu Fei easily bat them away.
The whole lot of them was hopping mad, yelling as they rushed to surround Gu Fei. The final unlucky ones were naturally those players he was running straight toward; an unrelenting slash sent two players down to the ground as he trod on them and went past. Gu Fei avoided instkilling any of them not out of mercy but because he did not want to increase his PK value further.
While the players from Flowergazing in the Fog were plentiful, it was instead the two guards that Gu Fei found to be far more troublesome opponents. At the moment, he had already entered the range of the two, and upon perceiving him to be a fugitive, the two bravely left their post.
Gu Fei came charging to them head-on, but right in the moment before he clashed into these guards, he promptly Blinked away with a swishand appeared behind them; he was hoping to use that extra distance he had gained to make it into the Government City Hall. Only then would he consider his next step. The resulting racket behind him caused Gu Fei to look backward, only to discover that the men from Flowergazing in the Fog, who had been attacking him as they gave chase, ended up hitting the guards with their attacks instead, thanks to his sudden and inexplicable disappearance using Blink.
This was truly an unexpected trouble; since there was no reason for these guards to ignore the threat generated from these attacks, the two abruptly gave up on chasing Gu Fei as they dashed to confront those brave souls who had accidentally struck these NPC guards.
Death was only their secondary concern when they were attacked by this guards; what pained Flowergazing in the Fog was that their accidental assault on these guards would most likely adversely affect their quest progression. They were supposed to be guarding the courtyard but ended up attacking the NPC guards the system had stationed over there, instead. It was truly a heinous crime! At this moment, Three Sighs of Flowing Maple was just about ready to give everything up. He reckoned Giordano would most likely reduce their completion progression down to zero when they next met…
Gu Fei was feeling quite remorseful about this as well, shrugging to those who were still chasing after him. "I swear that this is not intentional…" With that, he bolted right through the double doors and entered the Government City Hall.
"AHHHHHHHHHH!" Those members from Flowergazing in the Fog were in severe agony. They urgently needed to vent, yet they did not dare to even touch one blade of grass and a leaf of the trees in this yard. Everybody felt like vomiting blood.
Seven, who was still hiding in that same spot Gu Fei had left him, was trembling uncontrollably as he heard this lot of men cry out in exasperation, mentally fighting with himself from giving into his fear.
Gu Fei did not hesitate to turn and hide behind the door once he entered the building, only to find Two squatting there, unsure of what to do as well. The man was elated when he suddenly saw Gu Fei arrive. "You're here, too!"
"Yup!" Gu Fei nodded before peeking out to check the situation in the intersecting hallway outside. He was well aware of the existence of the guards flanking the wall on either side. The last time he was here, he swaggered through them without one of them flinching, but now that he had 20 PK points on him, he did not dare to be as arrogant. Thus, all he could do now was hide here and wait until his PK value was reduced by 1 point over time…
"What's the gist of your quest here?" Gu Fei asked Two.
Two's situation was a little more problematic. The man originally did not have permission to be in the Government City Hall and only managed to sneak his way in thanks to the opportunity Gu Fei had created for him. While Gu Fei needed only to wait for his PK value's reduction to overcome his current dilemma, what recourse did Two have if he could not even openly reveal himself at all?
"Ah? My quest?" Two currently had absolute faith toward Gu Fei, so he did not see a need to hide any bit of information from him.
"You're stealing something! No wonder you don't have the permission," Gu Fei said as he removed his bandana from his face and used it as a towel to wipe the sweat off his face. He gave a long exhale.
"I wonder if I'm able to go get the item and pass it over to you," Gu Fei thoughtfully said.
"That… I have no idea, either!"
"I'll give it a shot later!" Gu Fei decided as he sat to the ground.
"Eh?" Two was confused why he was hiding here and not moving at all.
"I have 20 PK points right now; guards will attack me on sight, so it's easier for me to act after I lose a point," Gu Fei explained.
Two came to a sudden realization. Finally understanding why those two guards had left their post, he was abruptly overcome with emotions. It was apparent that Gu Fei had only intentionally increased his PK value to 20 points to help him out.
"Thank you!" All Two could do was express his gratitude through words.
"Welcome…" Gu Fei was not modest, casually asking, "You are number '2', but you're considered as the eldest among our bunch!"
Two was slightly embarrassed. "I just joined earlier than the rest; that's all."
"Was One the guy who started it all?"
"No… That's Three," Two answered, "but because he preferred the poncho with '3', he took that number."
"No wonder…" Gu Fei said.
"No wonder what?" Two asked.
"No wonder One was the first to withdraw. I've been finding it strange this whole time. According to the number sequence, if One started all this, he would naturally be more confident in our operation than the rest. He shouldn't have been that hesitant back then…" Gu Fei explained.
"You even noticed this detail…" Two was deeply awed.
"But Three is nowhere to be found," Gu Fei said.
"Eh? He died?" Two asked.
"I don't know…" Gu Fei shook his head. "I haven't found any traces of the man by the time I took stock of the situation—someone's here!" Gu Fei suddenly made the hand signal for silence as he heard footsteps coming from outside. Was someone about to enter the Government City Hall?
Sure enough, a figure dashed into the building!
Chapter 468 - A Devious Ploy
This person, who was neither flustered nor curious when he stepped into the Government City Hall with his measured steps, was evidently a player. Gu Fei peeked from behind the door; he was hoping that the person would turn his head over, but he never once got his wish. He watched as this person walked through this short corridor before turning and disappearing from view.
Gu Fei was stewing in regret when he suddenly heard Two softly mention, "That's Three!"
He faced the voice's direction and saw that Two had also been peeking through the door seam all this while.
"How can you tell?" he asked.
"Well… It's profession; I'm a little discerning when it comes to a person's physique," Two replied.
"Oh…" That was when Gu Fei realized that, although the poncho he was given looked simple, it was actually made by a professional!
"Why would Three come in? Isn't his quest at the backyard?" Two asked.
Gu Fei stared at the empty hallway before replying, "I suppose this has been his plan all along."
"What?"
"Gather a group of people together, create a mess in the yard as diversion to sneak into the Government City Hall," Gu Fei explained.
"What?" Two was confused.
"Is he the one who suggested for everybody to cover their faces?" pressed Gu Fei.
"Ah… Yeah!" Two answered.
"That's most likely done to make it convenient for his plan. During that battle, having one's face hidden from view was the key indicator of our identity as trespassers. If anyone were to remove their bandana, change their equipment and blend into Flowergazing in the Fog… Those guild members would most likely depend on their guild emblem to distinguish friends from foes and not their faces, so at that time when their targets were clearly identified, it's highly possible for those players to overlook this fact, which made it that much easier for him to blend into the crowd," Gu Fei explained.
"So what are say is…" Two could feel an icy sensation come over him.
"From the very beginning, he did not gather everybody out of good will. Rather, he's hoping to use us as diversion for him to complete his quest… It's apparent now that his quest is inside the Government City Hall, but he instead claimed earlier that it is somewhere in the backyard. The point of doing that is to avoid attracting too much attention to him from the very start. He's already considered the fact that Flowergazing in the Fog would prioritize those attempting to enter the building," Gu Fei continued.
"That… That's too devious!" Two exclaimed. He was already thinking that some players in this haphazardly formed gang would be the selfish sort, but it seemed that was just his naivety, for selfishness was far from being the worst thing about this group.
"But he shan't be too happy so soon." Gu Fei smirked mirthlessly. "No doubt Three didn't expect that we would succeed in entering the city hall, or that we would spot him while hiding behind the alcove of this innocuous-looking door; even more so, he would never have considered the possibility of you identifying him just by physique alone."
"What are you thinking of doing?" Two asked.
"Teach him a lesson, of course. To leave as deep as an impression as possible," Gu Fei replied.
"What's your plan?" Two was almost worshipping him.
"Plan? Uhm… I don't have any at the moment." Gu Fei sighed. "No matter the case, I have to wait till my PK value drops by 1 point, or there's no way I can move freely in this building. Those NPC guards are everywhere."
"So how much longer will that be?" Two asked.
Gu Fei heaved an even deeper sigh as he answered, "A little over an hour… Actually, I've only recently gotten it to 20, and not much time has passed since, yeah?"
"Not much at all…" Two confirmed. "But if it is a little over an hour, even though we have no idea what Three's quest is about, wouldn't that be enough time for him to accomplish it?"
"It's entirely possible," Gu Fei nodded. "But he had overlooked a little problem."
"What's that?" Two asked.
"The current situation has totally gone off track from his plan. Many of us didn't die by the hands of Flowergazing in the Fog and managed to make our way into the Government City Hall, instead. Think about it, would the guild be kind enough to form up and bid us farewell as we leave? I reckon they've already started to position plenty of their men right outside the front and back doors, awaiting our exit so that they can properly do a show of force," Gu Fei said.
"This… This isn't really just a little problem?" Two instantly paled after hearing his explanation, as this matter was not only an issue for Three but for himself as well, given how he was also currently in the Government City Hall.
"That guy seems to be focused on the quest at hand that he overlooked this potential problem. He may hold on to his life getting into the building, but can he do the same stepping out?" Gu Fei happily chuckled.
The expression on Two's face was not in the least bit happy, but he nevertheless gazed toward Gu Fei expectantly. "You should've thought of such a situation, yes?"
"Naturally," Gu Fei affirmed.
Two's spirit rallied somewhat when he heard this. "So you've got a plan to leave this place as well?"
"Yup," Gu Fei confirmed.
"How are we getting out?" Two asked.
"We're gonna get out exactly the same way we got in!" Gu Fei answered.
"What you mean to say is…"
Gu Fei clenched his fist confidently. "We kill our way out..."
Two was speechless.
"Hey, why aren't you saying anything?"
"I lost consciousness for a second there. Let me just sit down and calm down for a bit…" Two hugged both his legs as he sat behind the door in a dark corner.
"Okay!" Gu Fei nodded. "You'll need to expend quite a lot of your energy getting out, so it's best if you rest up. I'll recover a little as well." Gu Fei pulled out an apple and began munching on it once he said his piece.
Two lifted his head and took a look at Gu Fei. He wanted to say something but ended up stopping himself. Right now, all he wanted to do was cry: Bro, do you really think this matter would really be resolved with resting up? At this moment, Two was feeling exactly what it felt like to be a part of the crew on a pirate boat.
Leaning behind the door, Gu Fei was entirely at peace and even felt slightly bored. The space they had was limited, so there was no way he could do some boxing to while his time. Two looked to have composed himself quite a bit in his corner while Gu Fei did not hold further conversations with him as they passed the time in this manner.
I wonder what progress did those other guys make on their quest now that they've gotten in… Gu Fei suddenly wondered to himself. Taking a look at the time, 30 minutes had passed since they entered the Government City Hall. Could they still be busy? Yes, that was entirely possible. After all, this was the first time getting in. This huge building has plenty of rooms to lose oneself in, they might still have problems getting things done even with the aid of the NPCs present, especially if they were looking for a specific item. Gu Fei could feel his hair stand on end the moment he thought of this. He suddenly recalled that he had just taken up one such errand moments ago, and it would even require him to do something as shameful as to steal said the item. Surely, that would be even more troublesome, right?
Losing himself in his thoughts in this manner, a full hour had passed just like that. That was when Two took the initiative to break the silence. "Uhm, looks like it's been an hour."
"Yeah!" Gu Fei nodded. He was now seated on the ground.
"Why isn't there any news from any of the other guys?" Two asked.
"Are you friends with any of them?" Gu Fei asked.
Two shook his head.
"Then, how would you know there're no further developments?" Gu Fei inquired.
Two had no idea, but he equated being unaware to having no news. At the moment, he was feeling a little guilty. The more people trapped in the city hall, the more he gained courage from it. He really had no idea how Gu Fei could be so calm. Could he really be able to slay his way out like what he did coming in? The problem was that the two's situation was entirely different. They might have managed to sneak their way in before, but they would have to clash with the players from Flowergazing in the Fog head-on for the escape.
"Ahh… At most, I'll just die; what's the big deal…" This was the only way Two could think of to console himself, and it was the worst sort of solace he could find in this game.
"It's done!" Gu Fei called out energetically. After stewing here for quite some time, he finally picked himself up from the ground.
"I'll go find those rascals. It's best if you stay put and not move," Gu Fei said.
Two nodded.
Gu Fei took two steps out and suddenly turned around. "If you trust me, add me as a friend. It makes it easier to communicate."
"Of course. The name's Scissorhands," Two said.
"Okay. I'm called Thousand Miles Drunk," Gu Fei added Scissorhands as a friend once he was done introducing himself and then waved his hand while stepping out from behind the door.
"Thousand Miles Drunk? Thousand Miles Drunk… That name sounds so familiar—ah!" Scissorhands racked his brains as he squatted behind the door and then suddenly turned pale. "F*ck me. I actually spent an hour squatting together with a PK maniac, which is far more frightening than Cool Apple, yet I'm still alive?" Scissorhands touched his limbs to check if they were still intact. He then took a peep out from the crack and saw that Gu Fei was already gone.
Now that Gu Fei had 19 PK points, he felt as if he were walking on a knife's edge, experiencing an inexplicable thrill as he crossed that hallway. Aside from locating the item he needed to find, which he was yet to be informed of what it was, there were still the evil Three, Four who was looking for someone, Five who was searching for something, and Six who was retrieving an item…
D*mn, why must all their quests be so vague… Gu Fei swore to himself. Thinking this through for a moment, he donned on his bandana to cover him face again and made sure that his poncho with the sewn number '9' on it was prominently shown. With a wave of his arm, he pushed that large door before him.
A spacious hall, with a spiral staircase on its left and right, greeted his eyes. Right in front of him was the main entrance of the Government City Hall. Gu Fei reckoned that the others had probably finished their quests by now, so if they intended to leave the city hall, they would most likely be spirited away in white light by the hands of those members from Flowergazing in the Fog. Alternatively, the moment they realized something was off when they stepped out the door, they would likely be pacing about right here in this main hall, right?
In the end, looking all around this large hall, pushing every door he could find, he simply did not see even one of them.
"These rascals, are they all dead?" Gu Fei suddenly realized that there was a high possibility that they had yet to accomplish their quests.
As he was heading up the stairs to look, he suddenly heard a flurry of footsteps. Gu Fei, who was already several steps up on that spiral staircase, quickly flipped off it as he quickly darted to take cover behind a huge pillar.
The footsteps thundered as this person stomped his way down the stairs, when this sound came to a sudden stop. Gu Fei was about to stretch his neck out and take a look when he felt a thick and heavy gust of wind churn. A deafening sound soon followed as this person landed somewhere near Gu Fei. Gu Fei felt the ground tremble, and he could tell from the heavy-handedness of the man's actions, that this person must be a Warrior.
Gu Fei poked his head out from behind to take a peek, and sure enough, there stood an armored Warrior. He was holding a claymore in each hand as he nervously roamed his eyes up the stairs and to his left and right; he seemed to be searching for a place to hide.
Not wearing a bandana or a poncho… Not even reveal any identifying feature at all, Bro, do you take me for Two, who is able to tell people apart just by their physique? Gu Fei found this to be extremely tragic. Dressed in a nondescript attire, he simply could not tell if the man was one of the nine. He could only blame himself for being too honest; everybody wanted to hide their identities, so he did not even seek to appraise any of them when he had the chance.
This man's a Warrior… mhm! He's not Six! Gu Fei concluded. Six was the same person who had first led him to the ruins and, with the quick movement speed he had displayed, he eliminated Six from being a Warrior.
Just who could be chasing this man, though? Gu Fei could not help but pitch his head up toward the stairs to look as well.
Chapter 469 - Inviting the Big Bad Wolf In
The sound of the second set of footsteps descending the staircase was much lighter; anybody could tell that it did not belong to a heavy job class. Was it a player or NPC that this Warrior was fleeing from in his bedraggled state?
Gu Fei pitched his head and was still unable to see anyone upstairs. All he saw was a Warrior searching left and right, before he found a pillar to hide behind as well. His two hands gripped on to that claymore tightly, his body tense like a taut bowstring. The man pricked his ears and was clearly intending to wait for his target to appear so that he could deal a heavy sneak attack.
In the end, the Warrior did not manage to catch the enemy but was instead the recipient of the enemy's attack, instead.
Gu Fei raised his head to look for the Warrior's opponent but only saw a fiery glow appear in mid-air in that hall. Descending Wheel of Flames.
F*ck me; how unrestrained! Gu Fei quickly determined that there was no escape for this Warrior, considering the area that this Descending Wheel of Flames covered; in fact, he himself would incidentally be within this spell's AoE. He quickly shunted to the side and dove behind another pillar as that flame wheel came crashing down. With no chance of escape, that Warrior got caught in the flames. Shaking his head in resignation, the Warrior happened to see Gu Fei.
Gu Fei was dressed far more prominently than the man, since his face was covered and his number '9' on his poncho was stitched in a fairly conspicuous spot. This Warrior was elated the moment he registered his features. "Nine!"
He's one of us after all! Gu Fei thought to himself. Before he could even acknowledge this, that man eagerly dashed toward Gu Fei. It was as if he had come across a piece of life-saving driftwood just as he was about to drown.
In the end, before he could even touch this piece of driftwood, just in those few steps he had taken from hiding behind the pillar, the Warrior stepped on to the burning ground from a Blazing Tree of a Thousand Inferno. Gu Fei had retreated from this spell and was already incapable of helping this Warrior whom he still had no idea what the numbering of was. All he could do was watch as the man disappeared into the sea of flames before him.
The average Mage would surely be unable to finish off a Warrior with just two spells. Gu Fei was one such individual, but who else could?
Drifting? Slyris? Or perhaps there was a NPC Mage guarding the Government City Hall?
Gu Fei decided against acting rashly without uncovering this fact. It was still fine if it really turned out to be a veteran expert player like Drifting or Slyris; Gu Fei was not afraid of them. What he was truly afraid of was if it was some strange high-level NPC that the system had sent. If that was the case, it was better for him not to provoke it.
Gu Fei continued to hide behind the pillar, not moving an inch even while the footsteps from the stairs stopped. Silence returned to the main hall.
Gone? Or is he or she still searching for me? Gu Fei had no idea if the enemy had discovered his presence. After all, the Warrior had eagerly called out 'Nine' and moved toward Gu Fei before he died, and he was uncertain if the person on the stairs heard or even seen him.
Leaning in close to that pillar, Gu Fei slowly shifted and changed his scope of vision bit by bit. He still saw nothing, however. As such, Gu Fei picked out an apple from his dimensional pocket and heaved it up toward the stairs.
Plop! The apple landed on the stairs and began to tumble down each step, ringing clear across the hall with every drop.
Is that person really gone... Gu Fei stepped out from behind the pillar, walked to the bottom of the stairs, and caught the apple that was rolling down. He looked up, and sure enough, there was no one up the stairs.
After climbing the first few steps up the stairs, he heard more footfalls from down the main hall. Gu Fei turned and threw the apple in his hand in the direction of the footsteps.
"Ahhh!" While the apple Gu Fei had thrown dealt no damage, his accuracy was not dependent on any in-game skill. Therefore, it was only natural for the person to cry out in shock the moment the apple struck him square on the head. Upon realizing that what had struck him was just an apple, this person casually picked it up and examined it. That was the very moment when this newcomer saw a black-clothed man, wearing a face cover, flip off the stairs and agilely dart toward him.
"Nine!" the man hurriedly called out.
Gu Fei came to a screeching halt but continued to maintain his distance from this man. After all, he considered Three as an enemy, so he did not dare to drop his guard.
"It's me! Four!" The newcomer could tell that Gu Fei was suspicious of him, so he quickly donned on his numbered poncho and face cover.
"Ah, so it's you…" Gu Fei chuckled. He could recognize Four as this one had spoken the most out of them lot. Even though he had no idea how he looked, Gu Fei could easily make out his identity through his voice after their exchange.
"Where are the others?" Gu Fei asked.
"We split up to do our respective quests the moment we stepped in, so I don't have the faintest idea as well!" Four answered.
Four was standing right before him, and there was no way Six could be a Warrior. This meant that person who had just died could either be Three or Five. However, Three was the schemer that had hidden from the others his intention to enter the Government City Hall; there was no reason he would react as if he had seen a savior in Gu Fei like that Warrior had done previously. Taking all these into account, this meant that the man whom he had witnessed die could only be Five.
"Five's a Warrior, correct?" Gu Fei asked Four to confirm his findings. He reckoned that there were probably not too many honest folks like him, who would refrain from appraising the job classes of their fellow trespassers.
"Yeah, that's right!" Four was indeed dishonorable, something which Gu Fei did not forget to disdain him for upon receiving the information.
"Five's been killed," Gu Fei informed.
"Ah?! How's that possible?!" Four was shocked. "Did the people from Flowergazing in the Fog follow us into the building?"
"I don't know about that…" Gu Fei replied, "but that should not be the case…" He had been hiding behind the back door for over an hour. Aside from Three, no one else made it into the Government City Hall, so if there was someone from Flowergazing in the Fog who had chased them inside, surely that said person would not circle all the way to the main entrance by the courtyard to do so, right?
"So who could it be?" Four asked.
"I don't know yet. Have you completed your quest?" Gu Fei changed the topic.
"It's done, but it seems that I can't get out right now."
"Yeah… Did you see the people outside?"
"Or more appropriately, there's nothing aside from people outside." Four flashed him a wry smile.
Gu Fei appreciated someone who could still hold a sense of humor in such a situation. One, Seven, and Two were people who were easily flustered during crunch time. Gu Fei was pretty much used to seeing this sort of reaction from the gang, but Four seemed to be a little different at least.
"Did you come up with any solutions?" Gu Fei asked. Four had quite a few ideas and seemed to have assumed the mantle of a leader among them nine. He originally found this to be quite perplexing, but it became apparent after he understood the relations between these people.
Logically speaking, the person who first formed this sort of gang would be the leader, yet it turned out that the person among the nine was Three, who had other intentions in his mind. In order to better fish in troubled waters and divert the attention from himself, he could not pick up the role of a leader. Meanwhile, the person who became One, after his rightful number '3' was taken, was already skeptical about this plan, so how would he make any sort of decision? As for Two, he seemed to be a manga fantasist… As such, Four automatically stepped up to the plate and became the leader as a result.
"I wonder if there's any sort of secret passageway in this city hall directly leading to the outside?" Four wondered aloud.
Gu Fei instantly took back his opinion of Four. It seemed that this person was also another fantasist.
Four caught Gu Fei's gaze and said sheepishly, "Actually, I've been searching for a while, but I still haven't found anything like that even now. I doubt something like this actual exists."
Gu Fei sighed. He got it. Four was not a fantasist. He was merely someone desperately grasping at straws.
"I have no idea where Six is either. Let's find him first before we think of a solution," Gu Fei suggested.
"Would that guy who killed Five gun for us as well?" Four anxiously looked around.
"It's very likely!" Gu Fei was never the sort to mince his words, so he was absolutely clueless at how to console others.
"Oh, well. That's most likely the fastest way to leave this place, anyway," Four said wryly.
"Hehe…" Gu Fei admired his mindset. "Why don't I bring you to a safe place first? I'll go looking for Six myself, and we can all leave when the time comes."
"Oh? What safe place?" Right now, Four was most interested in the word 'safe'.
Hence, Gu Fei brought him to that dark corner behind the backdoor and instructed him accordingly, "Wait here for a while."
"Ah, Two! How coincidental!" Four exclaimed when he darted behind the door before poking half his head out from behind. "Two's also here."
"I know…" Gu Fei said. "The two of you, stay here and wait for me!"
"Alright, come back soon!" Four waved toward Gu Fei.
D*mn. Do I have to find each of these lost children and bring them back one by one? Gu Fei thought to himself bitterly as he headed to the same corridor once more.
Returning to the main hall, Gu Fei once more made his way up the spiral staircase on the left. That person who had finished off Five disappeared from around that area, so Gu Fei decided that it was better to start looking there to see if he could find anything… At the same time, he could head over and take a look at his quest target: Giordano.
He found nothing after searching through the whole second floor, so Gu Fei went straight to the third floor and made his way directly to Giordano's chamber. The scene left Gu Fei extremely disappointed, for that Vigilante Corps captain did not seem to care for personal space in its day to day life. A whole cadre of guards escorted it the entire day no matter where it went. Naturally, it made sense that something programmed would not have any sort of life to speak of.
Right now, Gu Fei did not have the time to sit on the couch and wait for the opportune moment to strike as he still had to find their friend Six.
As he opened the door to leave, a message suddenly came in, and Gu Fei saw that it was from Two, Scissorhands: "I died!"
"What happened?" Gu Fei was astonished.
"It was Four."
"Four?" Gu Fei could not make sense of things.
"Yeah… We were chatting when he asked if I wish to take a bet," Scissorhands recounted.
"Bet?"
"He said our bet is on who will be able to leave the Government City Hall for a stake of 100 gold coins…" Scissorhands continued to narrate.
Gu Fei was at a loss for words.
"Not thinking much into it, I casually agreed. That was when he gave me 100 gold coins and told me that I won. By the time I could react…"
"Is that man… insane?" Gu Fei was baffled. He finally understood what it meant by the saying, 'There's nothing too strange in the boundless world beyond'.
Scissorhands sighed.
"Sorry, it's all my fault…" At this moment, all Gu Fei could think about the inhumane scene of the little red riding hood inviting the big bad wolf in.
"It's fine. You should be the one to be careful. Perhaps, he's toying with you in there," the little red riding hood—no wait—Scissorhands said.
"I shall. I'll definitely help you bring out that quest item of yours!" Gu Fei said.
The number of players inside the Government City Hall went down by one more count yet again.
Chapter 470 - Shadow from Candlelight
Just who in the world is Four?! This question boggled Gu Fei even as he came running out of the Vigilante Corps chamber, ready to head down the stairs to look for that man.
All was quiet in the entire Government City Hall. Even though the two rows of NPC guards flanking the premise existed, none of them seemed to show any signs of life in them as they stood by their stations motionlessly. Gu Fei ignored these machines and dashed down the stairs, passing the main hall and entering that short and dimly lit corridor, which led to the back door.
Gu Fei had concluded that Four was still around here. Considering how he had killed Two, it was no longer a PK that was driven by profit since he had even paid out 100 gold coins to Scissorhands for it. As such, this could only be a hobby—something that he derived interest and enjoyment from. If killing Two was enjoyable for him, killing Gu Fei would naturally be equally so. That was why Four was most certainly waiting for Gu Fei to return in an effort to ambush him.
Gu Fei had spent over an hour huddled up there, so he was naturally familiar with the range of vision afforded from that door seam. Gu Fei used Blink to instantly appear past the area where it would cover, as he continued to cautiously creep forward. Just slaying this man outright would be letting him off too easily, he pondered to himself, so is there any other way to mete out a more damning punishment? He inspected this intersecting corridor and saw the door handle and the two wall candelabras on both sides of the wall. This sight gave Gu Fei an idea.
Tiptoeing toward the front of the door, Gu Fei pulled out a coil of rope and looped it tightly around the door handle. He turned his gaze over to that candelabra beside him...
Pulling the rope over and tightening the rope, the gap between the door and the wall would lessen even further. Even more marvelous was how either end of the corridor ceiling here protruded downward, making it impossible for anyone behind the door to get out once everything aligned perfectly. It was a rather suitable punishment if he could trap Four in the tiny and dark space that formed.
That was Gu Fei's plan. Thus, the next step he had to do was secure the other end to the candelabra. There was no way he would not be seen by Four in the process, so he had to act fast.
Clutching that rope tightly, he quietly waited for the cooldown for his Blink to end. This was the quickest way to move. By the time Four could see, react, and attempt to deal with the situation he was now in, he would have already accomplished the deed.
The cooldown ended!
Gu Fei took a deep breath and checked the exact position of the wall candelabra. Reaching his hand out, he muttered the incantation under his breath.
The wall candelabra was before his eyes instantly, his Blink placing him at the perfect height. He swiftly looped the rope around the candelabra and then clutched it with both hands as gravity pulled him down, tightening the rope in the process. He had done so to test how secure the candelabra was mounted onto the wall. If it broke off with that tug, then it would be impossible to trap Four behind the door, which meant Gu Fei would have to cut the man down, instead.
The test went well, and the wall candelabra was so sturdy that even he was able to hang there. Gu Fei deftly tied a knot and happily landed on the ground. That was when he heard the muffled sound of thuds, followed by someone shouting, "What's going on?"
It was Four.
Gu Fei could feel even more joy surge in him as he chuckled. "It's me!"
"Who? Nine?" Four asked from behind the door.
"That's right."
"You're back? Quickly come help take a look; I think this door is jammed," Four said.
Gu Fei laughed. It seems that this man is far duller I thought! Did he really not see me busy about before him? Or perhaps he's hoping to trick me into getting closer as he has some tricks up his sleeves as well? Gu Fei thought of this as he stood where he was, saying, "Let's make a bet. Let's bet that Two isn't behind that door any longer. I believe he's there."
"Doesn't that mean I'll have to bet he's not here?" Four asked.
"Yup, and you are the winner! The reward is to keep huddled up there behind the door," Gu Fei said.
Not a sound came from behind the door.
"You probably never considered the possibility of Two and I adding each other as friends, huh?" Gu Fei said. Gu Fei made sure to confirm this with Two, and the latter said that he not revealed this fact to Four. This was also why he believed that Four was still camping out in the same spot. Not knowing that Two had sent out a message to Gu Fei upon his death, he expected Gu Fei to return here oblivious to what had happened.
"Wait there! Perhaps, I'll come back and let you out once I'm free and still remember where I've left you. Otherwise, if it's really urgent, you can always try to forcefully log out." Gu Fei was already on his way out after saying his piece, feeling as if there was nothing left to be said between them.
"Hey! HEY!" Four called out from behind that door. Gu Fei did not bother to even turn back as he left.
The corridor was now quiet once more; the flame of the candelabra danced and cast a flickering shadow of Gu Fei's rope on the other side of the wall.
The door was pushed open, except this was not the side that Gu Fei had secured but the other half of the double doors, instead.
Four quietly stood beside that door with the rope that was tightly tied to it. He took in the sight as well as the blurry shadow upon the wall.
Shadow. Gu Fei had forgotten about shadows.
From the time he walked into the corridor, even though he never appeared in the line of sight from the door seam, Four could already tell that someone was present from the shadow that was projected on to the wall.
He had no idea who the person was and even originally thought that this person would continue to walk toward him and eventually come into his line of sight. Who would have guessed that the shadow on the wall would disappear and reappear, closing in several meters toward him all of a sudden?
Gu Fei used Blink to get past the area of vision available from that door seam, but Four was able to garner two pieces of information from this quick movement of his shadow.
First was that the person had a special skill that gave him high movement speed; second was that the same person was aware of his presence behind the door and was likely meaning to harm him. He arrived to this conclusion when the person took great measures to hide himself from his line of sight from start to finish.
There were only two players that would know he was behind the door: Two and Nine.
Given that he had already sent Two back to the spawn point, Nine should not have any ill intention toward him. That was when he thought of the only possibility: Nine was aware that he had killed off Two.
How would he know? Of course, it was possible if those two had added each other as friends, and Two informed him accordingly.
Four made this split-second deduction just from the shadow moving several meters, and not one of his conjecture was a mistake.
That was why, while Gu Fei was planning on how to jam the door, Four had already made preparations from behind the door.
Thus, the moment Gu Fei had Blinked over to secure the rope on to the wall candelabra, Four had promptly dove out from behind the door.
Gu Fei took quite some time to tie the rope, tighten it, and do the knot. He thought he could make it in time because he totally presumed that Four would be unaware or be unprepared for the situation he was about to be in. Several seconds would have gone by before Four realized that something was amiss and made the necessary judgement to extricate himself from the mess. Gu Fei did expect Four to have already concocted a plan, darting out the moment he Blinked away and using those precious few seconds to head to the other door as quickly as he could.
Gu Fei was already several meters away by the time they exchanged words. The sound that traveled across the corridor echoed well thanks to the distance between them. Had Gu Fei been a little closer, he might have been able to discern the difference, but he had unfortunately not gone close, while Four had not intentionally raised his suspicion toward this possibility.
Thus, Four only stepped out from behind the door after he was sure that Gu Fei had truly departed. Looking at what Gu Fei had devised for him, he marveled, "That was close. I almost got myself trapped inside there. That scoundrel's too much." Four tugged at the rope and found both ends to be well secured. Four would have really been left with no recourse had he been trapped inside.
"I must kill that man!" Four looked visibly excited at this prospect. "That man seems to have quite a good relationship with Two, so he'll surely try to help Two accomplish his quest. And I happen to know that guy's quest quite well… I already know where you will be going, Nine."
Four thought as he left the corridor.
Gu Fei climbed up the spiral staircase. He was not finished with Four, but the critical task at hand right now was to take care of Three, locate Six, and find the item Two needed.
Just what am I trying to accomplish this time around? Am I a NPC providing a service to players? Gu Fei was in tears as he ruminated over the fact.
The first and foremost task he needed to deal with was Two's quest. He had originally thought that this quest required him to steal an item, so he did not attempt to get any clue off the NPC guards. However, bearing the thought of testing things out, his casual query of the item's location to the guards yielded the desired result. There was a clue about the item on the top floor.
Gu Fei had really not expected this. As he reported this good news to Two, the man thought this through. "If I were in your shoes, the guards would be certainly hounding for my life, let alone allow me to ask them a question… I believe it is precisely because you are the one asking it that it is considered as just a regular item. Why wouldn't the NPC answer you accordingly if you're just inquiring after general information?"
Gu Fei thought that his words made sense and could not help but be impressed over how Parallel World was reinventing the way people should think about MMOs. The quest user was unable to get any sort of clue, yet an outsider would be able to get more information. This was simply too counterintuitive as far as logic in MMOs go, so veteran gamers like Brother Assist and the lot would surely have never considered such a possibility.
Soon, Gu Fei reached the attic. This attic was cramped, with a low ceiling, and everything looked to be in disuse. Cobwebs were everywhere as Gu Fei coughed from the motes of dust suspended in the air. What made Gu Fei even more morose was the fact that there was not even a single NPC present on this floor, so would that not mean he would have to search through the place all by himself without any aid whatsoever?
Furthermore, the item that Two needed to find was some sort of secret pattern recipe. Two's quest did not specify if it was a piece of paper or a book or any other form, so Gu Fei could only grimace and bear as he sifted through the trash pile. He was soon covered in dust from his search.
'Half used candle', 'rusted nail', 'starved rat', 'burned stick'... The attic was filled with items of all sorts of names. Gu Fei suspected that the system had specifically designed this to be a nest where all the quest items were hidden in and would then direct the players to come search through.
After saving a 'trapped butterfly' from a 'broken spider's web', Gu Fei followed a 'weak ray of sunlight' through the 'hole in the roof' and found 'a piece of paper' in the 'half drawn drawer' from a 'broken wooden table'.