The veins on Li Changyou’s forehead throbbed. He knew full well that this was not the right time to move against Black Feather, but if he didn't act now, he would lose his only chance!
Once the highway merge occurred, those old foxes would descend, and they would swallow Black Feather whole in a single bite. There wouldn't be a scrap left for him.
Only now—only by seizing this opportunity to devour Black Feather's resources—could he secure a foothold after the merge!
He was well aware of his own situation. In the previous world, no one had dared to cross him.
But now, forget about the era; the entire world had changed.
The things he had told Ling Yun and that man were nothing but smoke and mirrors.
He claimed the regional leaderboards were filled with official personnel and that he was one of them, so his status would naturally rise after the merge.
How could it be that easy? People outside the official circles might not know, but those old foxes would absolutely show him no mercy!
Power had to be fought for. Without chips in his hand, he would end up with nothing!
Li Changyou’s expression turned grim. After a long period of contemplation, he said, "Hand this person over to Black Feather first. Remember, find someone trustworthy who isn't part of Dragon Soul to handle it. Don't let the Crow figure it out."
The deputy immediately understood: "Understood. I will find someone with a tight lip and a clean identity."
Li Changyou nodded, his gaze dark as he looked out the window: "Ten thousand game coins. I'll take that money for now... Let her be smug for a few more days. Tell the people below to keep a low profile for now. We will find another opportunity."
"Yes."
...
Inside the vehicle.
Cheng Shuili watched the messages refreshing on the regional channel. Her private messages were also flooded with tips, but after filtering by 001, most were just ramblings from people trying their luck.
Su Rui was growing restless on the side. Having witnessed the attack on Cheng Shuili with her own eyes, she couldn't sit still, occasionally twirling her spear or spinning her dagger.
Cheng Shuili, however, was not in a hurry: "Be patient. The fish will always take the bait."
No sooner had she spoken than a new private message popped up. The sender's ID was 【Christmas Sock】.
【Christmas Sock】: Boss Crow, I have the information you want. Sign a trade contract with me. I will only tell you what I know after you pay the ten thousand game coins.
Quite cautious.
But caution was useless.
The reason Cheng Shuili had issued this bounty was partly because no one inside Black Feather knew who this person was, and this was the fastest way to find them.
As for the second reason...
Who said this ten thousand game coins wasn't bait?
Cheng Shuili stood up. Su Rui was confused: "What are you doing? Aren't we waiting? This person seems genuine; aren't you going to reply?"
"Reply, of course I'll reply."
Cheng Shuili smiled and took out a Designated Player Duel Card: "I was afraid they wouldn't take the bait. Now, haven't they?"
A Designated Player Duel Card?
Su Rui paused, suddenly realizing: "Boss, you never intended to pay those ten thousand game coins?"
"It's not that I didn't intend to, it's just..."
Cheng Shuili entered the ID: "We need to be sure this person wasn't sent by them, right? Assassinate me, hand the person over to me, and still want my ten thousand game coins?"
She sneered: "Where in the world is there such a good deal?"
Su Rui understood, but remained doubtful: "Are we just going to go over and ask them? They won't tell the truth. But if we interrogate them, what if they have no connection to those people? Wouldn't we be hurting an innocent?"
Cheng Shuili glanced at her with surprise, then shook her head with a smile: "It doesn't matter. This isn't a peaceful place. Since they wanted these ten thousand game coins, they are already involved in this matter. Whether this person is connected to them or not, we have to interrogate them."
Cheng Shuili waved her hand: "We'll pay compensation later. If we pay them twenty thousand game coins, I'm sure they won't have any objections."
"Wicked rich person," Su Rui sighed, then added: "Why didn't I meet someone like you who insisted on giving me game coins back then?"
Cheng Shuili couldn't be bothered to respond. She had already bought this person, and yet she was still saying things like that.
After using the card, the highway merged.
There were no accidents, and no one blocked the way. It seemed this person wasn't cautious enough.
Cheng Shuili and Su Rui got out of the vehicle together. They remained cautious, both holding their weapons.
The person in the other vehicle was still oblivious. They seemed to be communicating with someone, speaking like an old-timer, their voice loud and heavily accented.
"The message is sent! No reply yet. Give me what you promised first."
"Yes, the trade contract is signed, but if the Crow doesn't reply to me, am I just supposed to wait? The items were agreed upon. Are you trying to welsh on the deal?"
"That's ten thousand game coins! I can't give all of it to you!"
"What trade contract? The contract didn't say I couldn't keep a little for myself."
"Anyway, I've sent the message. As soon as the Crow replies, I'll get those ten thousand game coins, and then..."
Cheng Shuili kicked the door open.
Very good.
No need to pay compensation or bounty fees now; she could interrogate them directly.
The person inside the vehicle jumped in fright at the sudden noise, nearly dropping what they were holding.
They spun around, and upon seeing Cheng Shuili and Su Rui, their face turned deathly pale.
"Cr-Crow?!"
They shrieked, forgetting their accent entirely.
Cheng Shuili ignored their shock, her gaze sweeping over the active call on their interface. Her tone was icy: "Caught you red-handed."
Su Rui’s spear was already pressed against the person's throat to prevent any sudden moves.
"Boss, looks like a big fish. They're still on the line."
The other end of the call seemed to hear the commotion, as a hurried voice asked: "Hey? What's going on? Speak! Christmas Sock? What's your situation?"
Cheng Shuili stepped forward, glanced at the ID of the person they were talking to, and hung up.
Settling scores would happen one by one.
The moment the call ended, the vehicle fell into a deathly silence, save for Christmas Sock’s heavy breathing and the uncontrollable chattering of their teeth.
Cheng Shuili looked down at them, her eyes devoid of any ripples, as if looking at an inanimate object.
"Now, we can have a proper talk."
Su Rui’s spear tip pressed further, the cold sensation making Christmas Sock shudder violently.
"I'll talk! I'll tell you everything!" They almost screamed, "It was Wild Ghost who told me to do it! It was all Wild Ghost! He told me to contact you, give you that person’s ID, and trade it for ten thousand game coins!"
"What is that person’s ID?"
Su Rui’s spear tip pressed against their bobbing Adam's apple, the threat clear.
But they had signed a trade contract. If they spoke, it would be a breach of contract.
The penalty for breaking a trade contract...
Christmas Sock shivered, ignoring whether the spear tip would cut them. They fell to their knees, crying and begging for mercy: "Boss Crow! Spare me! I really can't say! I signed a trade contract. If I say it, I'm done for!"
Indeed.
But what did that have to do with Cheng Shuili?
They had plotted to scam her, yet they still hoped for her forgiveness?
It wasn't as if they hadn't known they were scamming the Crow. Since they had done it, they had to bear the consequences.
"Too late to beg for mercy now, isn't it?"
Cheng Shuili rested her chin on her hand, her expression unreadable, showing only a near-cruel calm: "When you agreed to the other party, you should have considered this possibility."
"Boss Crow... I was wrong... I really know I was wrong..." Beyond repeating pleas for mercy, they could say nothing else.
"Wrong?" Cheng Shuili chuckled softly, "In this world, right and wrong don't matter; choices do. You chose to stand against me, so you must bear the consequences of that choice."
She stopped looking at them and turned to Su Rui, her voice suddenly softening: "Ask them, Miss Su. I await your good news."
Su Rui was no stranger to her changing demeanor. She felt no discomfort, simply clenching her hanging hand into a fist and replying: "Alright, Boss."
...
"It's over." Wild Ghost muttered to himself, cold sweat dripping continuously from his forehead.
"The Crow has found them. That guy doesn't have a tight lip; he'll definitely sell me out. I'm finished."
Wild Ghost’s face was ashen, his mind buzzing.
He certainly couldn't sit and wait for death. Once the Crow was done with that guy, he would be next!
What to do? What to do?
He was filled with anxiety, but then his eyes suddenly lit up! This job had been handed to him by someone else. He hadn't dared to provoke the Crow, so he had passed it on. Now that things had gone wrong, they were all on the same boat. He might as well go to them for help!
Wild Ghost grabbed at the lifeline, frantically opening his friend list to find the person who had given him the task—Shadow.
His trembling hands sent a voice message, his tone filled with unprecedented panic:
【Wild Ghost】: Shadow! Something's happened! The Crow has found Christmas Sock! That guy won't be able to hold out; he'll sell us out any second! You have to think of something! You were the one who brokered this deal in the first place!
After the message was sent, every second of waiting felt like torture. Wild Ghost stared fixedly at the interface, cold sweat soaking his back.
A few seconds later, a call came through.
【Shadow】: Christmas Sock? Who is that? Didn't I give that Crow job to you? You handed it off to someone else?
Wild Ghost was silent for a moment, then suddenly exploded in rage: "Are you ****ing stupid or do you think everyone else is?! You didn't dare to do it yourself and gave it to me, so do you think I dared to do it? Of course I had to find someone else!"
【Shadow】: You ****ing piece of trash. I looked down on you by finding you, but I didn't think you'd be this pathetic!
Wild Ghost sneered, his anger overriding his fear: "You looked down on me? What did you look down on? That I was easy to manipulate and easy to push out as a scapegoat when things went wrong, right? I'm telling you, Shadow, don't think you can wash your hands of this! If the Crow tracks me down, you're the first one I'm selling out! If we're going to die, we're dying together!"
【Shadow】: Are you threatening me?
The other person’s tone turned abruptly cold.
Wild Ghost threw caution to the wind, grinning hideously: "Threatening? I'm notifying you! Either we figure out a solution together now, or we're both finished later!"
The other side was silent for a few seconds. When they spoke again, Shadow’s tone had become strangely calm, even carrying a hint of eerie reassurance.
【Shadow】: Fine, what's the point of arguing? What's done is done; finding a solution is the only rational path. Here, I'll come find you, and we'll discuss a strategy properly.
Wild Ghost paused, suddenly growing sharp: "Are you going to use a duel card on me? You want to kill me to keep me quiet?!"
Hearing that they had been exposed, the other party didn't even bother pretending: "What else? Sooner or later, the Crow will trace this line to me. If I don't kill you, I won't survive! Instead of us both dying, it's better if you die and I survive!"
Wild Ghost’s pupils shrank. Shadow’s undisguised killing intent made him freeze, but it also completely ignited his ferocity.
"Want me dead? Let's see who dies first!"
Wild Ghost roared. Just as he was about to cut the connection, Shadow suddenly screamed: "No! Wild Ghost, run! The Crow is already there! Someone has already used a highway merge card on you!"
Cheng Shuili and Su Rui, standing outside the door, couldn't help but look at each other.
Today was unexpectedly smooth. Witnessing a dog-eat-dog scene wasn't enough; now there was another one.
"Layered outsourcing, eventually outsourced to an idiot, and then they danced right in front of us."
Cheng Shuili said in a low voice, a trace of sarcasm curling her lips.
Su Rui shrugged, asking Cheng Shuili with her eyes if she should kick the door down.
Inside the vehicle, Wild Ghost was stunned by Shadow’s sudden warning and subconsciously looked outside.
A vehicle was parked right there; the highway had truly merged.
"The Crow... is already here?"
Wild Ghost’s voice trembled with disbelief. He had been so focused on arguing with Shadow that he hadn't noticed the movement outside.
Now that he was reminded, immense fear instantly gripped him.
He looked wildly at the vehicle door, as if the nightmare would burst through at any moment.
Run! He had to run!
He didn't care about anything else, scrambling toward the vehicle door.
Christmas Sock, Shadow—none of it mattered as much as his own life!
But just as his trembling hand was about to touch the door—
"Bang!"
The door was kicked open from the outside!
Blinding light flooded in, and two tall figures stood against the light. The cold glint of the spear in one person's hand dazzled Wild Ghost.
The Crow...
She really was here.
Wild Ghost’s heart sank to the bottom. What now?
"Where are you going, Mr. Wild Ghost?"
Su Rui’s voice carried a hint of mockery as she held her spear horizontally, blocking his path.
Cheng Shuili raised an eyebrow and recited the classic line: "Confession brings leniency, resistance brings severity."
She didn't even draw a weapon, just watched the limp Wild Ghost on the ground calmly, her gaze carrying more pressure than the spear in Su Rui’s hand.
Wild Ghost shivered, his last psychological defense collapsing.
He scrambled to Cheng Shuili’s feet, tears and snot streaming down his face: "I'll talk! Boss Crow! I'll tell you everything! It was Shadow! It was all Shadow who told me to do it! He promised me five hundred game coins to reveal the information to you. I promised Christmas Sock two hundred game coins to do the job. I really don't know anything else!"
Rate on N.U.
