When Bai Lixin found Xia Chi and Liang Xi, Xia Chi was clutching his head, looking very upset.
On the huge screen above their heads, the live broadcast of a live action CS game was playing.
“What’s wrong, Xia Chi?” Bai Lixin approached them from behind and asked quietly.
“Huh, God Xin, when did you stand behind us?” Liang Xi turned around when he heard the voice and realized Bai Lixin had been standing there for who knows how long.
Bai Lixin: “I just arrived. What’s wrong with him?” He pointed at Xia Chi and repeated the question.
“Nothing, the nerves on his head cramped earlier, and he got a headache.”
Xia Chi looked a bit aggrieved. “Brother, my head hurt so much, it felt like someone kicked my nerves.”
Bai Lixin: “…”
It seemed like he really was kicked by “someone.”
Liang Xi looked at Bai Lixin and then became a bit nervous, focusing on Bai Lixin’s collar position. “God Xin, did you just go to find the Little Overlord?”
“No, why?” Bai Lixin replied.
“Oh, nothing,” Liang Xi sighed in relief. “I saw a button on your shirt was missing and thought Little Overlord was unhappy and tried to fight with you secretly.”
“Him?” Xia Chi pouted. “He’s no match for my brother. Not to mention unbuttoning his shirt, he wouldn’t even touch a single hair of his.”
After saying that, Xia Chi’s gaze also fell on Bai Lixin’s collar. Bai Lixin hesitated for a moment before discreetly adjusting his collar to cover the hickey.
“What are they doing?” Bai Lixin asked while adjusting his collar, diverting their attention back to the big screen.
Liang Xi replied, “Oh, remember when we analyzed that there might be a token here? Zhou Guang and the others signed up for the live action CS event.”
The large screen showed multiple small screens, resembling real-time surveillance. Some screens displayed the movements of NPCs controlling hostages, some showed the actions of players, and others showed surveillance of important locations like staircases.
Bai Lixin quickly found Zhou Guang and the others among these small screens.
They were fully armed, sneaking cautiously into a concealed staircase entrance.
Two thugs dressed in camouflage lay on the ground with bloodstains around their necks, seemingly killed without any sign of struggle.
Xia Chi exclaimed, “Brother, this Li Cangshan you brought into the guild is not simple at all!” He raised his fist in the air. “He had a dagger in his hand just now, and without blinking, he directly took down those two guards.”
“He’s no ordinary athlete; he’s like a superhero. He’s amazing! So manly! I envy him. If only I had such muscles and skills. He’s fantastic, so handsome.”
“Ouch.” Xia Chi suddenly held his head in pain again and looked pitifully at Liang Xi. “Brother Liang Xi, the cramp is happening again.”
Bai Lixin: “…”
Now he understood why Tan Yue kicked him.
Well, it served him right.
Oh, my dear Xia Chi, please be a bit more cautious.
Bai Lixin lifted his head, his gaze landing on Li Cangshan among the three.
At this moment, Li Cangshan’s usual gentle appearance had transformed into a fierce and imposing demeanor. Every inch of his body’s muscles seemed to be activated, and Bai Lixin could even see the hidden muscles under his shirt.
A gun holster hung on his shoulder, and he held a blood-stained dagger in his hand.
Li Cancan was in the middle, and after Zhou Guang’s gestures, the three moved cautiously, making no sound.
Footsteps came from the stairwell in front of them. Li Cangshan quickly gestured, and the three of them swiftly retreated into the dark space beneath the staircase.
After a moment, two masked men appeared in front of them.
When they came within striking range of the three, Li Cangshan rushed out like a bolt of lightning and killed one of them instantly.
The other man reacted and was about to raise his gun to attack when Li Cangshan forcefully kicked the weapon out of his hand. In the blink of an eye, Li Cangshan dislocated the man’s jaw before he could call for backup.
The sound stopped abruptly, and the masked thug was dragged by Li Cangshan into the stairwell.
The masked man looked at the three players with vigilance, unable to utter a word.
Li Cangshan pointed at the bodies outside and threatened, “I’m going to ask you a few questions. If you dare to resist, your fate will be the same as theirs. Understand?”
Seeing his companion’s lifeless body outside, the masked man nodded quickly. Li Cangshan then swiftly disabled him.
The masked man asked, “What do you want to know?”
Li Cangshan: “Where are the hostages?”
Masked man: “In the conference room on the third floor.”
Li Cangshan: “How many hostages are there and how many terrorists?”
The masked man hesitated for two seconds, but when he saw Li Cangshan raising his hand coldly, he hurriedly answered, “There are five hostages, and there are 15 of us.”
Zhou Guang added, “We killed two just now, so there’s one left, which means there are still 12.”
The masked man widened his eyes. “You killed two guards?”
“I’ve told you everything you want to know. Can you let me go now?” the masked man asked.
Li Cangshan: “Of course.” He raised his hand, and the masked man instantly lost consciousness.
Then, Li Cangshan swiftly dragged the body of the other thug inside and pointed at their clothes. “Zhou Guang, let’s change into their clothes and sneak in.”
Zhou Guang agreed, “Okay, no problem.”
Li Cancan asked, “What about me?”
Li Cangshan hesitated, “You…”
Zhou Guang suggested, “Why not let Li Cancan pretend to be a hostage? We’ll take her up with us as captives.”
Li Cangshan shook his head after considering it. “That’s not a good idea. She’d be too conspicuous, and these thugs might have seen the hostages before and could recognize them.”
He surveyed the first floor for a while and found a concealed spot. “Sister Cancan, how about you hide here first? Make sure not to expose yourself. Once we encounter danger, you’ll be our last resort.”
Li Cancan nodded, “Alright, I don’t want to cause any trouble. Be careful.”
Li Cangshan looked deeply at Li Cancan, “You too.”
Li Cangshan and Zhou Guang quickly took off their coats. When they put on the headgear, they could already pass off as someone else.
After bidding farewell to Li Cancan, Li Cangshan and Zhou Guang continued forward. On the way, they encountered three thugs, all of whom Li Cangshan easily dealt with.
They soon reached the third floor and successfully found the conference room.
The door to the conference room was closed, but they could see the situation inside through a small glass window at the back.
Just as the thug mentioned earlier, there were a total of five hostages detained inside the conference room.
The hostages had their wrists tied behind their backs, looking disheveled and terrified as they crouched on the floor.
Zhou Guang carefully surveyed the room; there were a total of six armed thugs inside.
Rescuing the hostages in this live-action CS game wouldn’t be difficult, the challenge lies in safely rescuing all the hostages.
No matter how strong Li Cangshan was, he couldn’t rescue the hostages from under the guns of the six people and come out unharmed.
Once something happened, the thugs were very likely to turn their full attack power on them.
That’s also why this live-action CS game had never been perfectly cleared.
Rescuing five hostages resulted in an SSS grade score.
Rescuing one hostage only gave a B grade score.
So far, the highest rank achieved in the live-action CS was SS.
Even though players tried many methods, the best result they achieved was rescuing four hostages.
Bai Lixin’s expression became serious; he wanted to see what Li Cangshan would do.
Excluding the three dead NPCs and the one unconscious, there were eleven thugs left.
There were six people in here, which meant there were five more outside.
After observing the hostages inside, Zhou Guang tugged at Li Cangshan’s sleeve, wanting to discuss the next strategy with him.
After entering the game, they found that the private chat was temporarily disabled, so they could only communicate externally.
However, Li Cangshan didn’t rush to leave but kept his gaze inside. Only his eyes were visible, and they revealed a slightly puzzled expression.
It was only when Zhou Guang tugged at him again that Li Cangshan responded and followed him into a hidden stairwell.
Once they hid in the dark corner, Zhou Guang lowered his voice so that only the two of them could hear, “I observed earlier that there are three sniper rifles near the windows. When we entered, all three were firing, indicating there were three thugs there.”
“There were six people in the conference room, which made nine people in total, but we still hadn’t found the remaining two.”
“I think we should deal with the other thugs first. If we rushed in to rescue the hostages, there will undoubtedly be a gunfight, which will alert the other five. If those five rush in, we would get caught in a crossfire.”
“Or we could think of a way to lure them away to another location.”
Li Cangshan glanced in the direction of the conference room and made a startling conclusion, “There is a thug hiding among the hostages.”
Not only Zhou Guang but also the viewers watching the livestream were stunned.
———————-
In the live broadcast room
[What? What did he just say? A thug is hiding among the five hostages?]
[If that’s the case, then there were only four hostages, right? Where did the fifth one come from? No wonder everyone playing only got an SS grade at best; the game was deliberately designed to prevent players from succeeding by cheating.]
[Tsk, you didn’t understand the implied meaning. He didn’t mean there were only four hostages. He meant one of the thugs is pretending to be a hostage, and now the original hostage might be wearing the thug’s clothes.]
[Hmm, so if players attacked the thugs on sight, they might accidentally kill the actual hostage who needs rescuing.]
[Wow, this was a good police and gangster game, how did it suddenly become so intellectual?]
[But how did he figure it out?]
————-
“How do you know?” Zhou Guang also asked, echoing the audience’s curiosity, “And who do you suspect?”
Li Cangshan: “The middle-aged man at the back wearing glasses. Although he’s tied up, the way he’s tied is different from the others; it’s a knot that most people wouldn’t know how to tie. So even if you look closely, you can’t distinguish it.”
“I recognized that knot because I had specific training before.”
“Also, his posture is strange. He’s crouching on the ground with a slight tilt, which is a defensive posture in a relaxed state. And this defensive posture is interesting, it’s not something he deliberately did, but a natural reaction formed from long-term combat experience.”
After a momentary pause, Li Cangshan struggled to regain his disguise under Zhou Guang’s gentlemanly gaze, “Uh, that’s how they portray it in TV dramas. I particularly enjoy watching military-themed movies, TV shows, and literature.”
“Oh,” Zhou Guang nodded slowly, “When this game ends, recommend some military-themed works you’ve seen to me. I’d like to check out such knowledge-rich pieces.”
Li Cangshan smiled awkwardly, “Uh, okay.”
‘What “okay”? I don’t have any works to recommend to him!
I just said it casually.’
Zhou Guang: “So you mean, we can’t attack the thugs randomly?”
Li Cangshan: “We need to find the fifth hostage first and ensure their safety.”
Zhou Guang: “Where might this hostage be, given your expertise in military-themed works?”
Li Cangshan: “Firstly, he won’t be walking alone; he’ll be monitored by another thug.”
“Those with only one person can be attacked directly, but if there’s more than one person, we need to be cautious.”
Zhou Guang: “What if the hostage was among those three you killed?”
Li Cangshan: “No, I fought those people before, and they’re all skilled fighters. Besides, no thug would assign a hostage to guard an important entrance or patrol the building. They’re thugs, not fools.”
Zhou Guang: “…”
‘Why did I ask such a dumb question and put myself in trouble?’
Li Cangshan: “Zhou Guang, let’s take care of the snipers first.”
Zhou Guang: “Alright.”
The snipers were on the fifth floor.
Li Cangshan was still the one dealing with the enemies, and Zhou Guang had become a background character.
[I would like to call today’s game the personal solo show of a stranger player. By the way, what’s the player’s name? I’ve never seen someone so skilled before.]
[Neither have I.]
[He’s very unfamiliar.]
[I’ve seen him once accidentally while clearing a low-level copy around floor 30. I took a quick glance, and he left a bit of an impression. This player seems to be called something ‘Shan,’ a novice player.]
[Huh, he’s a novice? How did a newcomer reach floor 250? Was he invited? I wonder if he’s in a guild.]
[He should be. I wonder which guild has such foresight.]
Xia Chi’s face showed pride, and he leaned closer to Bai Lixin, whispering, “It can only be Brother. Right?”
Bai Lixin glanced at Xia Chi’s smug expression and silently looked away, “Xia Chi, has your headache gone now?”
Xia Chi exclaimed with wide eyes, “Brother, you even knew about that? My headache is really gone. You’re amazing.”
Bai Lixin: “…”
‘I not only know but also have the cure for your condition.
But I can’t tell you that.’
After thinking for a moment, Bai Lixin hinted, “Actually, Li Cangshan isn’t that great. Don’t praise him so much.”
“How could he not be great?” Xia Chi frowned, “Look closely; his rock-hard muscles are every man’s dream, you won’t believe how long it takes to get such iron. I envy his height too. Even though I’m already satisfied with being 1.8 meters tall, as a man, I still wish to be a bit taller. His height around 1.87 meters, it’s just perfect!”
After a pause, Xia Chi earnestly concluded, “All in all, he’s perfect.”
“Ouch!”
Bai Lixin: “…”
‘Sorry, Xia Chi, I can’t help you with anything.
I’m a bit worried about your brain cells.’
On the screen, Li Cangshan effortlessly took down the three snipers.
The speed at which these thugs fell made the players feel like they could play the game too.
“Do you know where the difficulty lies in this game?”
A spectator suddenly spoke up, asking the people around.
Xia Chi quickly perked up his ears, listening while enduring the pain.
“Where does the difficulty lie?”
“The difficulty lies in all the buffs being ineffective.”
“In other words, in copies, we become stronger largely due to enhancements from the points mall.”
“The live-action CS disables all our buffs and props. It’s like suddenly taking off all the armor we put on, participating with the most basic stats.”
“This player’s level isn’t high, so in copies, he may not be stronger than us. But what he’s displaying now is his inherent strength. No speed boost, no physical enhancement.”
“We’ve suddenly gone from high-level players who broke through limits to ordinary people in the most miserable state.”
“So that’s how it is!”
The more Xia Chi listened, the more excited he became. Just as he was about to praise again, Bai Lixin quickly covered his mouth, “Xia Chi, speak less and learn more.”
‘Kid, stop praising him, your life is more important.
I’m afraid your nerves will explode.’
On the screen, Li Cangshan found two thugs while searching the room.
The two thugs had no idea what was happening outside and were playing card games inside the room.
One of them was holding his cards with trembling fingers.
Zhou Guang and Li Cangshan exchanged glances, and Li Cangshan acted quickly, directly knocking out one of the thugs.
The other thug’s fingers trembled even more.
He looked somewhat dazed and scared, not understanding why the thugs suddenly turned against each other.
Only when Zhou Guang said, “We’re here to rescue you,” did the man slump back in relief, watching them with a relieved expression.
But he couldn’t make a sound as his mouth was taped shut.
No wonder he couldn’t speak.
It seems the fifth hostage has been found.
This game’s initial puzzle that troubled the players has finally been solved, but the game is not over yet.
———–
“The last SS completion was due to a guild’s coordinated effort.”
“They worked together seamlessly and suffered minimal losses in the early stages. By the time they took out all the thugs, there were only six players remaining.”
“Then the six players rushed into the conference room together, rescuing all the hostages at the cost of three players’ lives.”
“But these ones are only two.”
Among the spectators watching the scene, some were explaining, some curious, some disdainful, and some eager.
