Chapter Fifteen: Sneaking and Scheming

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“What did you say?”

The man furrowed his brow and raised his voice. His intimidating presence was, indeed, enough to make anyone nervous.

But Liang Yi thought that this was a game where one’s life was at stake. If she did not summon a little extra courage, how was she supposed to survive?

“I said that if you want me to use my vehicle to tow yours, you’ll have to give me another bottle of water.”

This time, Liang Yi stated her demand outright.

Player 12 was naturally unwilling to agree. Since entering the game, aside from the bicycle he had found at the beginning, he had been remarkably lucky. Not only had he found a Level Three chest and obtained a blueprint for a power strip, but he had also acquired quite a lot of food.

Of course, he had eaten some of it along the way.

He had not been willing to hand over instant noodles and the like in the first place, and now she was asking for even more.

Player 12 glanced around. Seeing that there was no one else nearby, he licked his lips and thought to himself:

A three-wheeled vehicle had three wheels, and from the looks of it, it either ran on fuel or electricity.

Why not simply kill her? Then he would not have to go through the trouble of salvaging the vehicle.

Or perhaps, after killing her, he could use her vehicle to tow his own. That would work just as well.

Liang Yi naturally saw through his thoughts and said directly, “I’ve already hidden the key.”

“Even if you kill me, you still won’t get it.”

“And you won’t be able to drive this vehicle either.”

Liang Yi guessed that the man owned only a bicycle and certainly knew nothing about modifying vehicles.

So she gripped the key tightly in her palm, determined to see which of them had the stronger nerves.

【Player Liang Yi, you are making a deal with a tiger.】

【In my opinion, you have no chance of winning if you fight him.】

After detecting the dangerous aura emanating from Player 12, the Game Assistant immediately produced an assessment based on the data it had gathered.

【Who said I was going to fight him?】

Liang Yi gazed calmly at Player 12. There was not the slightest hint of fear in her eyes.

As a result, Player 12 began to hesitate.

He started wondering whether Liang Yi had some other trick up her sleeve.

【You may not want to fight him, but he may not share your opinion,】 the Game Assistant said.

【I’m engaging him in a battle of wits.】

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【You’re a robot. Since you don’t understand, just sit back and watch.】

After saying this, Liang Yi looked toward Player 12.

“What have you decided?”

After some thought, Player 12 realized that he absolutely could not get the vehicle up by himself. Besides, they had already reached an agreement.

After struggling inwardly for a while, he finally made up his mind. Gritting his teeth, he agreed to Liang Yi’s demand.

Following Liang Yi’s instructions, Player 12 first personally handed her a bottle of mineral water, then tied the rope to the three-wheeled vehicle.

However, at that moment, Liang Yi insisted that they complete the transaction first and that she would tow the vehicle only after receiving the supplies.

Rumble!

It was almost as though the heavens themselves intended to help Liang Yi. At this critical moment, the vehicle, which had been trapped by the flood, was swept away by the rushing current.

Fortunately, because the rope was still attached, the vehicle did not drift completely out of control. Instead, it bobbed up and down in the floodwater.

Even more fortunately, before connecting the rope to the vehicle, Liang Yi had cleverly threaded it around a nearby tree.

That way, even if the vehicle was swept away, she would not be dragged into the flood along with it.

“All right, all right, I agree!”

This time, Player 12 quickly nodded his consent.

Once Liang Yi confirmed that the supplies had arrived, she twisted the throttle and began helping tow the vehicle.

Player 12 did not remain idle either and helped pull as well.

The vehicle in the flood was a small two-seater car. It was not particularly heavy, and most of the floodwater was relatively calm. With their combined efforts, they successfully hauled it ashore.

Once the supplies were in hand, Liang Yi waited until the man was examining the vehicle, then placed one end of Player 12’s rope inside the rear compartment. Without saying a word, she quietly drove away.

“Hey, fuck! Put down my rope!”

When Player 12 saw Liang Yi making off with the rope still in her possession, he chased after her in fury for more than a dozen yards.

But then he remembered how many supplies he had spent to haul the vehicle up. If he abandoned it and someone else took it, or if he lost his bearings and could not find his way back, all his effort would have been for nothing.

The man could only stamp his foot and stop chasing, seething with frustration.

Liang Yi did not slow down even after the man realized what she had done. Instead, she quietly twisted the throttle farther and sped ahead.

After driving for more than twenty minutes, she finally reached the end of the flooded area. She then followed a crooked route for a while longer.

Only after making sure Player 12 would not catch up did she stop to rest.

【Player Liang Yi, behaving like a thief and sneaking off with someone else’s belongings is wrong!】

The Game Assistant gave Liang Yi two minutes to catch her breath before beginning its reprimand.

Liang Yi drained a bottle of mineral water and tossed the empty bottle into the rear compartment.

“Why is it wrong? Your game never said that stealing was forbidden.”

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“Besides, that man tied the rope to my vehicle himself. I didn’t force him to do it.”

The Game Assistant was rendered speechless. The game indeed contained no rule forbidding theft.

And so, it returned to standby mode once again.

Liang Yi happened to be feeling a little urgent.

The game’s designers had not thoughtfully provided any public restrooms.

So Liang Yi could only look around. In the end, she drove the vehicle in front of a large tree, which blocked most of the surrounding view, and then slipped into a patch of tall, dense grass.

After looking around and making sure no one was nearby, Liang Yi began unfastening her trousers and squatted down.

But barely two seconds after crouching, she suddenly felt something scratch her backside. It tickled.

Liang Yi turned around and looked, but aside from the grass and flowers nearby, there was nothing else.

Puzzled, she turned back and continued.

【Game Assistant, there aren’t any ghosts or monsters in this game, are there?】

Holding half a packet of tissues in her hand, Liang Yi asked nervously.

She had been carrying those tissues on her person before entering the game.

Liang Yi feared nothing under the sun, but there were two things she was afraid of: cold-blooded reptiles resembling snakes, and ghosts—which probably did not even exist.

【No!】

【We would never pull any cheap tricks involving ghosts and spirits.】

The Game Assistant answered.

However, there were indeed some non-player characters hidden within the game, a fact the malicious Game Assistant deliberately chose not to mention.

Hearing that there were no ghosts, Liang Yi relaxed somewhat and continued what she was doing.

Then her backside began itching again.

Immediately afterward, a sharp pain shot through her.

Liang Yi instantly half-rose, reached back to touch the painful spot, and then saw traces of blood on her palm.

She hurriedly cleaned herself up and looked around, but still could not find anything strange.

Just as Liang Yi was preparing to leave this eerie place, she suddenly noticed that the red flower she had seen earlier seemed to have acquired a little something resembling bloodstains.

She examined the flower. There seemed to be nothing unusual about it.

Surely it could not have bitten her?

With her usual boldness, Liang Yi reached out and touched the flower.

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