It could be said that Mr. G’s offer of cooperation sounded very sincere. Even Black couldn’t help but be moved by his gesture.
He had initially found it difficult to accept Mr. G’s deception. Still, after hearing the latter’s broader picture of the future and looking back at what had happened in New Shanghai 0297, his initial feelings didn’t matter that much anymore.
New Shanghai 0297 was a city built on lies, and Mr. G had only added one more. If what he saw on the screen was true, then even if they had followed the original plan, they would still be living another lie.
Mr. G had now, however, provided a real way out of this city of lies. Then, after leaving, instead of living like most ordinary people on the screen, he could control his own fate and even the fate of thousands of people. The mere thought of such power was already an exciting prospect.
This was perhaps why Mr. G wasn’t worried about Zhang Heng from beginning to end. He was simply confident enough that he could convince the latter to join his cause.
To Black’s surprise, Zhang Heng shook his head.
“Sorry. Not interested.”
“Why?” Mr. G was also stunned. “You’ve been to Shengtang Morgan’s secret base yourself, so you should know the situation. Are you willing to live a lie the rest of your life?”
“It doesn’t matter. I won’t be staying here long anyway.” Zhang Heng Shrugged. “Speaking of which, I have to thank you. After your unremitting efforts, you provided me with 50 shellac records in the shortest time possible. My goal here has been accomplished… so whatever happens next is purely my personal preference.”
“…”
Mr. G’s biggest mistake was to treat Zhang Heng as an average person from the beginning. At first, he treated Zhang Heng as one of the thousands of residents who diligently played their role in the city. After that, he placed Zhang Heng in the same position as himself; hence he really could not think of any reason for Zhang Heng to reject him.
However, Zhang Heng was different from anyone he had ever met. If New Shanghai 0297 was just a fabricated lie in the eyes of Mr. G and Shengtang Morgan, then in Zhang Heng’s eyes… everything from Shengtang Morgan to the so-called outside world was just a dungeon. Therefore, to him, there was no essential difference between here and the outside world.
He had obtained 50 shellac records from Mr. G and 16 from Old Man Geng. He had already obtained 660 points from this dungeon, enough to advance to the next round of the game. Moreover, if nothing unexpected happened, he could smoothly enter the top 50 and receive the small gift the bartender mentioned.
Naturally, there was no need for Zhang Heng to risk it and open up a new map. Moreover, even though Mr. G said it was easy, it was, in reality, nowhere near that. In the era of memory coding, the board of directors would not be helpless against such a crisis. Mr. G’s move might work in new Shanghai 0297, but it might not in the face of a higher existence.
Even if he succeeded, it would be useless for Zhang Heng to be assigned to eight new cities. After all, he would still leave when the game time was up.
Mr. G obviously could not understand Zhang Heng’s obsession with shellac records, just as he could not understand how a person lacked any thought whatsoever about power. Nevertheless, he still did not give up trying to convince Zhang Heng. Before he could open his mouth again, however, Zhang Heng had already waved his hand to stop him from continuing.
“It’s getting late. After this matter is settled, I still plan to take a good look around the city.”
Zhang Heng held the Hidden Scabbard in his hand and smiled at Mr. G. “Next, please try not to get hit by me.”
…..
Miss F didn’t know how long she had been unconscious. When she opened her eyes again, she found that the signal tower not far away had become a sea of fire. The people below were busy putting out the blaze, but since the elevator had been burned to a crisp, they were unable to find any other way to get up, leaving most of them anxious.
“You’re awake?”Black saw Miss F open her eyes and said happily.
The first thing Miss F said after she woke up was, “Where is he?”
“Mr. G is still up there. He did not escape.” Black thought Miss F was asking about her fiancé, and his eyes dimmed.
“I’m not talking about him.” Miss F paused. “Wait, you said Mr. G is still up there. Is he dead?”
“Although I too hope for a miracle, the possibility of him surviving the fire is indeed close to zero.” In order to avoid Miss F’s excessive grief, black tried to put it more tactfully.
“Were you there as well? What exactly happened up there?” Miss F asked.
“Everything was going according to plan. Mr. G was almost done coding the management’s memory, but Zhang Heng barged in at that moment. There was a big fight between the two of them. Mr. G told me to take the management and leave first. He blocked Zhang Heng, but when I sent him to a safe place, this place… this place would have turned into a sea of fire.”
Even though Black’s words were reasonable, Miss F still felt that something was wrong. However, when she looked into Black’s eyes when he spoke, she could not find any signs of him lying. In other words, everything he said was true. At least, he believed that everything he said was true.
“Where is Zhang Heng Now?” Miss F asked again.
“I don’t know. I haven’t seen him since I came back. He should have left already, right?” Black looked a little lost. “You’ve finally woken up. What should we do now?”
He didn’t know whether the uprising was a success or not. They had kidnapped the management team according to the original plan and coded the latter’s memory. Although a success, their leader, Mr. G, had unfortunately perished in the fire. They had no idea what happened after that.
Black said to Miss F, “Everyone is waiting for you to make a decision.”
“Wait for me to make a decision?” Miss F frowned. “Why? where is Chief Zheng?”
“Chief Zheng’s body was just found in the sewer across the street. We suffered heavy losses this time. The rest of the people have already discussed it and hope that you can lead us. Not only is your prestige now at its highest, but you are also Mr. G’s fiancée. He has been guiding us all this time and has finally given his life for our cause. No one can replace his position in our hearts. Therefore, no one other than you can inherit the legacy he left behind.”
Black paused for a moment, probably worried that Miss F had just woken up from her coma and was still in a daze, so he reminded her again. “The most important thing now is how to get the police to rescue the management team in a reasonable manner. Also, we need to take revenge for Mr. G. Please issue an open-ended death warrant for Zhang Heng. The initial reward will be set at five million, and it will be increased by one million credits every month. Although we are not his match, New Shanghai 0297 is so vast, in it lurk crouching tigers and hidden dragons. As long as the reward is high enough, there will naturally be people who can deal with him.”
Miss F fell silent. She had always felt that there was something wrong with him, but she simply couldn’t put her finger on it. Finally, after a long silence, she nodded.
“Let’s do it.”
