Translator: AnubisTL
"Ah!!!"
The moment Chen Jiang's words reached the woman's ears, she sprang up like a tightly compressed spring.
She whirled around, pressing herself against the table, her face contorted with terror as she gasped, "Who... who are you?"
But in an instant, realizing her situation, her expression shifted as smoothly as a mask change. Her voice turned crisp and authoritative: "Players, return to the amusement park immediately."
"Otherwise, you'll face the consequences."
"Hmm."
Chen Jiang calmly scanned the woman before pausing and gesturing behind her. "Why don't you take a look behind you?"
The woman hesitated, clearly startled, but eventually turned her head.
The window behind her no longer showed the amusement park. Instead, it was blocked by a dark, hollow object—a pipe of some kind, its interior pitch-black and impossible to identify.
When did this thing appear outside the window?
Before the woman could react or speak,
The man's voice behind her spoke again: "My apologies, we're too close. Scar Dog, move back a bit."
"Yes, sir."
Then, before the woman's bewildered eyes, the black tube vanished instantly, only to reappear moments later, dropping from mid-air at a greater distance.
Thud!
It crashed heavily to the ground.
This time, she saw it clearly.
The black tube wasn't a tube at all—it was a goddamn massive cannon!
A cannon with a barrel nearly three meters thick!
And its muzzle was pointed directly at her!
"How about that?"
"See it clearly now?"
The man's voice echoed from behind her again.
The woman's face paled. She whirled around to confront the men standing behind her, only to freeze in place.
How could there be no one there?
She had clearly heard the man's voice just moments ago, right behind her.
But then—
The voice came again, this time from behind her.
"Looking for something?"
Instinctively, the woman spun around again, glancing out the window. There stood four men beside the massive cannon, staring at her.
The man in the middle wore a mocking smile.
The woman stood frozen, her expression shifting between anger and fear, unable to speak.
Originally, this woman, bound to the Ten Thousand Races Arena, maintained an absolutely superior attitude toward the players, like a superior crushing a subordinate.
After all, the players struggled to survive within the arena, while she, as its representative, looked down upon them from above.
This difference in status was absolute.
But after being repeatedly mocked by Chen Jiang, the woman finally lost her composure. The calm facade she had maintained toward the players vanished.
"Where are you looking?"
Chen Jiang stared at the woman standing at the ticket booth with a half-smile, saying nothing more, simply observing her.
He had speculated extensively about her identity.
Perhaps she was another player who had entered the amusement park earlier, spreading false information to mislead them into making the wrong choices.
But his strongest suspicion remained that she was an employee of the Ten Thousand Races Arena.
He wouldn't dare fire the cannon, but by provoking her reaction, he hoped to glean information about the arena itself.
And so, they remained locked in a tense standoff for about three seconds.
Suddenly, the woman at the ticket booth burst into genuine laughter—not the forced kind.
It was the kind of smile that comes from recalling a happy memory, a slight upturn of the lips that reveals genuine amusement.
With a casual wave of her hand, a holographic screen materialized before her. Glancing at the information displayed, she said in a light, cheerful voice, "Human Player Chen Jiang, is it?"
"No wonder you're so arrogant. Your performance in the Ten Thousand Races Arena was indeed quite impressive."
"Rest assured, this global event carries no risk of death. It's essentially a recreational activity designed to help players unwind."
"After all, balance is key. I hope you enjoy yourself."
"We'll meet again."
As she spoke, the woman began to fade visibly, quickly vanishing into thin air.
The entire exchange had lasted only a few seconds.
"She's gone?"
Scar Dog frowned slightly and strode over to the ticket booth, running his hands over its surface to confirm the woman's disappearance. Only then did he turn to Chen Jiang with a puzzled look.
"Brother Jiang... what was that woman's background?"
"How could she access your information so easily?"
"I don't know," Chen Jiang replied, shaking his head slightly. After a moment of contemplation, he continued, "Hasn't the Ten Thousand Races Arena already held one session?"
"Perhaps she's a member of the victorious race from the previous arena, and the arena hired her as an employee?"
"That can't be right," Scar Dog said, gazing in the direction the woman had vanished. "She's a member of the victorious race. How could she still be working at the Ten Thousand Races Arena?"
"Huh?"
Suddenly, Scar Dog froze, his eyes gleaming as he stared at the ticket booth table. "Brother Jiang, she left her tablet behind!"
"Damn it! What are we waiting for?"
Chen Jiang charged forward, snatching the tablet and shoving it into his jacket. At the same moment, Scar Dog crushed an energy block, and they vanished from the spot.
In the blink of an eye, the amusement park entrance was empty, as if nothing had happened.
Meanwhile, in a pink, plush room unknown to Chen Jiang and his group, a woman slowly materialized in mid-air. After landing gracefully, she casually removed the hair tie from her ponytail and slipped it onto her wrist. She then sank into the soft sofa, her body sinking into its depths.
"Ugh!"
The woman grabbed a throw pillow and covered her face, letting out a long, contented sigh. She reached into her jacket to retrieve her tablet, intending to vent about her day to her best friend.
But when she reached into her space bracelet, she found nothing.
The woman froze, a flicker of panic flashing in her eyes. She sat up straight on the sofa and began frantically searching through her bracelet.
A moment later.
"It's over."
The woman slumped back onto the sofa, her hair disheveled and her eyes staring blankly at the floor. She had left her smart tablet at the ticket booth.
Going back... that was definitely out of the question.
"Ahhh!!!"
A tearful scream echoed through the room.
The woman buried her face in the sofa, pounding it repeatedly, clearly on the verge of a breakdown.
Meanwhile, Chen Jiang and his group were hiding in a corner of the amusement park.
The four of them huddled together, studying the tablet before them.
"This thing looks like it could be worth a fortune," Scar Dog declared confidently.
The screen displayed high-definition footage from an amusement park ride, showing a dozen players screaming with their eyes closed on a drop tower.
Chen Jiang hesitated for a moment before tapping the screen.
The video shrank to the lower left corner, revealing a main interface with several buttons. He cautiously tapped the first one.
"Holy shit!"
Scar Dog froze, staring at the screen with a flicker of shock in his eyes. "Is this woman a selfie addict or what?"
The screen displayed an album with nine thumbnail photos.
All were selfies of the same woman, and her features bore a striking resemblance to the woman they'd encountered at the ticket booth earlier.
To be precise, if you mentally removed the digital enhancements, they were undeniably the same person.
"Unbelievable," Zhao Ritian murmured, his eyes glued to the screen. "The woman in these photos looks nothing like that fake-smiling woman at the ticket booth."
"Exactly," Chen Jiang agreed. "The fake-smiling one looked like a corpse. This one's much better."
There were dozens of photos.
Chen Jiang scrolled upward, hoping to find something related to the Ten Thousand Races Arena.
Since the woman worked there, surely her album would contain some information about the arena?
If they could get a sneak peek at upcoming events, they could gain a crucial advantage!
But after scrolling through the album seven or eight times, all he found were selfies. Not a single landscape photo.
"..."
Scar Dog spoke expressionlessly, "Isn't this a bit much? Can't we find something useful?"
"All these selfies, day in and day out... is that even interesting?"
"Uh, I think something's coming up."
Li Hao glanced at the latest image Chen Jiang had scrolled to. "Do private photos count as useful?"
"Yes."
Scar Dog nodded solemnly. "Brother Jiang, scroll slower. I can't see clearly."
"Get a grip."
Chen Jiang shot Scar Dog a speechless look.
Soon, Chen Jiang had scrolled through the entire album. Honestly, aside from a few private photos of her lying in bed in pajamas, there was nothing useful.
"Her skin is so fair," Scar Dog murmured, nodding appreciatively. "It's a bit embarrassing to admit, but this is the first time I've ever looked through a girl's photo album."
After finishing the album, Chen Jiang didn't linger. Instead, he tapped the second button on the main interface.
A new screen popped up.
This... looked like a messaging app?
Scar Dog's eyes widened as he noticed the contact name in the first chat window. "Bestie? Quick, Brother Jiang, I want to see this!"
The first chat window, pinned at the top, clearly displayed the contact name: Bestie.
A flicker of curiosity flashed in Chen Jiang's eyes, and his finger, as if guided by some unseen force, tapped the screen.
Immediately, a chat window popped open.
"Whoa," Scar Dog exclaimed, glaring at the chat history on the tablet. "So while we were risking our lives inside, this woman was just sitting here gossiping about us?"
"What's she doing, mooning over someone?"
Chen Jiang casually scanned the chat log, then focused on the sub-buttons at the bottom of the window:
[Send Location] [Item Transfer] [Star Coin Transfer]
[Star Coin Transfer?]
Were Star Coins some kind of internal currency used by employees of the Ten Thousand Races Arena?
But what about the [Item Transfer] function? Did this tablet allow for remote item transfers?
"Hmm..."
Chen Jiang hesitated, then tentatively typed a message in the woman's tone:
[Xiaoyu, I'm so bored! You wouldn't believe how ugly all the players in my amusement park are.]
[How's things on your end?]
[Oh, and do you have any items you could transfer over? I need a few for my side.]
"Do you think this will work, Brother Jiang?" Scar Dog asked uncertainly.
"I have no idea," Chen Jiang replied.
Chen Jiang felt a knot of uncertainty in his stomach as he stared intently at the chat window. "I never imagined I'd end up in the scamming business," he muttered. "If I'd known this was coming, I would've studied it properly."
But the reply came swiftly.
[Xiaoyu: Why do you suddenly need items? What kind are you looking for?]
"She replied! She replied!" Scar Dog exclaimed, pointing excitedly at the screen. "Quick, tell her to hand over everything she's got!"
"Hold on, you're breaking my concentration, you idiot." Chen Jiang took a deep breath to calm his nerves and was about to type a response when another message arrived.
[Xiaoyu: Hahaha, I get it now! Your crush is acting up again, isn't it? You did the same thing last time—gave away all your items to some handsome player and insisted he was a "promising investment," refusing to admit you were just being a simp.]
"Perfect!" Scar Dog clapped his hands in satisfaction. "She's practically handing us the script!"
Chen Jiang's confidence solidified. He quickly typed back:
[Ugh, this one really is a promising investment, trust me! Just lend them to me, okay?]
Xiaoyu: "Fine, fine, fine! Ugh, when are you going to get over your obsession with handsome guys?"
Soon.
A notification popped up on the tablet:
[Xiaoyu, a contact in your address book, has transferred three two-star items and five one-star items to you. Accept?]
"Accept, accept, accept!!!"
"This isn't just a windfall!"
Scar Dog, standing beside him, exclaimed excitedly, "Send messages to all her contacts! We're going to scam every single one of them this time!"
"Let's start our telecom fraud right here, right now!"
Chen Jiang naturally tapped "Accept."
Immediately, a white halo materialized a few centimeters above the tablet, and like a wormhole, eight items tumbled out.
Chen Jiang hastily stuffed the items into his pocket without even checking their attributes before continuing to type in the chat box.
[Thank you, Xiaoyu! You're the best! Mwah!]
[Hey Xiaoyu, could you lend me a few more Star Coins?]
A reply came quickly:
[Star Coins? You're not planning to give them to that player, are you?]
[That's strictly forbidden! Players from the Ten Thousand Races Arena must never have access to Star Coins.]
(End of the Chapter)
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