Chapter 17 - Hoodwink

Seven or eight players frantically fled in terror, chased by an enormously bloated, highly decomposed fat man wielding a huge hook.

That Corrosion fat man swung his massive hook with a whoosh.

Immediately, three players who were running slower were struck and died on the spot.

Then, fiery red halos were sucked from their bodies and into the mouth of the zombie.

“Save us!”

The surviving players behind them, seeing Su Mo and others in the distance, yelled desperately as if seeing the first light of dawn.

“Run!”

Without a word, Su Mo turned on his heels and bolted.

It was really like seeing a ghost, how could there be a zombie with such a high level of evolution, fed by so many players?

Realizing Su Mo had taken off running, the other two snapped out of their daze and followed suit.

In his panic, Sun Duoxiang didn’t forget to look back and yell.

“Don’t harm others!!!”

“Big brother, save us, we don’t want to die!”

“You saying you don’t want to die makes it sound like we’re keen on dying.”

As a result, Sun Duoxiang ran faster and faster, soon rushing past Su Mo.

Su Mo was speechless.

Before long, the security bureau appeared before them, its gate ajar, though the entrance was littered with the corpses of numerous zombies.

Sun Duoxiang reached out to pull the doorknob.

“Don’t!”

Su Mo, realizing the danger, shouted out.

Unfortunately, it was too late.

Sun Duoxiang had already opened the door, and immediately several dark gun barrels extended from inside, aiming at Sun Duoxiang, Su Mo, and Lan Xi.

Sun Duoxiang decisively raised his hands in surrender.

Su Mo felt a sinking feeling, remaining still without any abrupt movements.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to fight back, but rather, with so many guns, there was just no escape, and any movement would have him shot to pieces.

“Come in!”

A middle-aged man with a scar on his left cheek threatened.

With no other choice, the three of them steeled themselves and walked in, only for the doors to be closed right after they entered.

They were then herded by gunpoint into the main hall where dozens of players were crouching with their heads in their hands, watched over by about a dozen tough-looking individuals armed with handguns and batons.

“Put your backpacks and any weapons you have on the ground.”

The scar-faced leader said to Su Mo and the others menacingly.

Su Mo’s expression remained unchanged as his mind raced, calculating how he could catch the scar-faced leader off guard and take him down.

“Don’t shoot, we’ll cooperate.”

Following the principle that a smart man doesn’t fight when he’s at a disadvantage, Sun Duoxiang immediately set his backpack down.

Lan Xi, without saying much, naturally placed her backpack down as well.

Soon, only Su Mo was left.

“Brother Zhang Hao, here’s one who’s not cooperating.”

A minion to the side, noting Su Mo’s inaction with a nasty expression, spoke up.

“Kid, you’ve got guts, but take a look at how many toys we’re holding.

If you don’t wise up, don’t blame us for not being polite.”

Zhang Hao sized up Su Mo from head to toe.

Su Mo’s eyes narrowed, just as he was about to burst out.

Unexpectedly, Sun Duoxiang was the first one to speak, against everyone’s anticipation.

“What do you all want to do?”

“Yo, you want to play hero?

Looking for trouble, huh!”

Zhang Hao chuckled as well, turning his head to look at Sun Duoxiang.

This guy really wasn’t afraid of dying.

“Let me tell you, don’t act so cocky.

I’m an executive of the Wuji Guild, and if you dare to touch us, just try it!

Our guild brothers are nearby, and with just a word to them, crushing a bunch of you would be a piece of cake.”

Sun Duoxiang threatened decisively.

It wasn’t that Sun Duoxiang was particularly brave, but rather that the sly fox knew how to read people.

To him, these guys were nothing more than small-time bullies, swaggering around because they got lucky with some weapons at the start.

They were the type that bullied the weak and feared the strong.

Upon hearing Sun Duoxiang’s words, Zhang Hao’s face instantly turned sour.

The Wuji Guild had a formidable reputation, reputed to have over ten thousand members.

His own organization was just a small fry in comparison; they hadn’t even reached thirty people in total.

They really couldn’t compete with them, and if this guy truly was a high-ranking executive, that would be troublesome.

“What should we do, boss?”

The little brothers present looked at Zhang Hao uncertainly.

Anyone who had done their homework had heard of the Wuji Guild.

Zhang Hao’s expression fluctuated, finding himself in quite the dilemma.

He knew that they couldn’t afford to offend the Wuji Guild, but if he backed down now, where would he put his face?

“You’re with the Wuji Guild?

Are they also?”

“Exactly, both of them are with me.”

Sun Duoxiang replied with a show of loyalty.

Lan Xi couldn’t help but take a second look at Sun Duoxiang, a bit surprised that he hadn’t quickly disassociated himself.

Of course, she wasn’t foolish enough to explain.

The Wuji Guild had a lot more face than the Dream Guild.

Su Mo was silent, accepting Sun Duoxiang’s kindness as his own.

After listening, Zhang Hao felt increasingly in a bind.

Sun Duoxiang could see that Zhang Hao was having trouble saving face so he quickly offered a way out.

“Actually, there’s no benefit for you in taking us down.

What we have on us isn’t valuable to you, so why give us a hard time?

Moreover, if you let us go, not to mention the prospect of future goodwill, I can tell you high-level intel.”

“What intel?”

Zhang Hao lifted his head to look at Sun Duoxiang.

“I’ll tell you the truth.

No matter how intimidating you look, armed and squatting inside the police station, you’re bound to be done for after a while.

But I have high-level intel that can save you.

There’s a safe zone within this city that all the guilds and forces are preparing to converge on at a fixed time.

If you let us go, once we reach the safe zone, we could look out for you.

Otherwise, even if you make it there, our guild won’t let you off.

That’s what you call a win-win situation.”

Sun Duoxiang started to sweet-talk again, and his words were convincing.

Upon hearing this, Su Mo couldn’t help but turn to Sun Duoxiang with an odd look in his eyes.

Wasn’t he the one who said the news of the safe zone was top-tier information?

Spilling it to everyone he meets, how valuable could it be!

Next time someone tells him they have high-level intel, he’ll definitely shoot them first.

“Hmph, how do I know you aren’t lying to me, just to betray us later?.”

Zhang Hao was somewhat skeptical about Sun Duoxiang’s claims.

Even though he was a thug with little education, he had seen plenty of this kind of deceit.

Sun Duoxiang quickly patted his chest and said, “How could I possibly lie to you?

Every word I say is true, and moreover…”

“Moreover, what?”

Zhang Hao stared intently at Sun Duoxiang.

“Moreover, I think you guys are rare talents, able to take the lead in such a dangerous city.

It shows your extraordinary strength…”

Sun Duoxiang began his flattery spree, showering them with wild praise.

Zhang Hao and the others immediately looked much more pleased.

Compared to Su Mo, they seemed much more receptive to flattery—who wouldn’t like a bit of brown-nosing?

“That’s right, each of our brothers is skilled.”

Zhang Hao stated confidently.