Performance Is an Art

Fight or not? Li Aoz prided himself on being a Master Player, not some terminally ill fool. Only hotheaded idiots thought of picking fights with everyone they met.

His Primary Attribute, Charisma, was as high as 21 points, with actual gains equivalent to 27 points. In terms of his highest attribute alone, he probably was not much worse than her.

He could handle most people, but Nimoting was an exception.

As an Alpha Rank assassin with an advanced veteran elite template, she had at least 30 points in Dexterity and Strength, and no fewer than four Combat Feats.

Li Aoz remembered how assassin players had once despairingly discovered that Nimoting possessed a full eighteen Combat Feats.

In the story, Nimoting was timid and hesitant, tossed around like a ball by every faction. Her political methods were exceedingly crude, she was unpopular, slow to react, and had let several enemies escape by missing opportunities.

But against players, she really hit hard. Despite being a superhuman herself, she summoned reinforcements and called in artillery support, driving assassin players to the point of collapse.

Their builds could not withstand three rounds of 105mm artillery bombardment, and they could hardly beat her in a one-on-one fight. If it were Li Aoz, with less than 100 HP, Nimoting could kill him instantly with a casual slash.

In the end, unsurprisingly, players on the forums studied her move patterns so thoroughly they practically knew what underwear she wore, then countered every move by rote and beat her to death.

If it had merely been an encounter in the wilderness, Li Aoz would have avoided her if he could. She would not have been able to catch him anytime soon, either.

But from the looks of things now, she had come specifically for him, with both vehicles and manpower prepared.

This was difficult.

Li Aoz was a little conflicted. Should I fight? There's no benefit in it. My level is up now, so I don't need the experience from these minor enemies—and it'll delay my mission.

Most importantly, he had no reliable way to kill her.

If he did not fight, this woman would definitely cling to him without letting go. Assassins had tracking abilities comparable to bloodhounds, and being chased all the way was genuinely infuriating.

"What a pain..."

Though Li Aoz found the situation extremely troublesome, he was even more puzzled.

"How did Nimoting get lured here? Among the Special Service Bureau elites, she was originally responsible for suppressing riots and uprisings... Could it be that the Rose Army really deployed intelligence contacts here? Nimoting followed the Rose Army's people here."

Rose Army... contacts...

Nomi, Janelia, members of the Rose Army guerrillas...

That Wanderer named Benny had headed north to join the Rose Army as well...

It seemed Nethermark Humanity had only taken in Nomi within the last few months. And traveling from Law Enforcement Division Four headquarters across the vast wasteland to the Border City would take at least two months...

Li Aoz was somewhat bewildered. After carefully piecing it together, he suddenly realized something.

"No way."

Li Aoz twitched the corner of his mouth.

"Could Nomi be the contact the Rose Army planted here?"

If that was really the case... then the Frostplate Republic was rotten to the core.

For a starting nation with forty thousand registered players, such an obvious and coherent plotline had somehow never been uncovered.

Nomi hid beneath the chassis. This roughly assembled vehicle had no padding, and she mouthed to him through a gap, "Don't panic. Other than the woman leading them, we can deal with everyone else."

Hanging upside down beneath the vehicle's chassis, she began adjusting the car's settings.

"Wait a moment. I'll start the engine. Make some noise, and we'll leave immediately."

They could deal with them... but Li Aoz did not want to waste time here.

What kind of place was this? The Outland!

Its climate and terrain changed unpredictably, and storms or blizzards could strike at any moment.

But once they got in the car, with Nomi's driving style of flooring the accelerator without ever lifting her foot, combined with the Outland's dim light, they would definitely be able to shake them off.

Nimoting did not give him time to think. Armed personnel surrounded the car, and Li Aoz slowly stepped out with both hands raised over his head to show that he had no weapons.

He needed to buy time for Nomi, and provide cover for her.

The white beam of a flashlight shone on his face. His black hair fluttered in the wind, revealing his handsome features.

The agents beside Nimoting immediately whistled and began whispering among themselves. "Oh, he's pretty good-looking."

"How does he compare to that celebrity from last time?"

"This one's obviously better! Look at those delicate collarbones. His skin's a little too pale—but those features really are gorgeous."

"Those gray eyes are clear as crystals. I love them so much, I want to dig them out..."

Nimoting could not be bothered to respond to such remarks, nor did she want to correct this atmosphere—female field agents at the grassroots level of Law Enforcement Division Four had grown arrogant from habit. This was normal.

To put it bluntly, without these filthy perks and privileges, what woman would join an institution with such a bad reputation, one that was always out in the field doing dirty, exhausting work? If they could sit comfortably in an office and steal a salary, why would they come out to shoot and kill people, running back and forth across the country?

Agent Ya Wen, however, seemed somewhat displeased. She remained where she was, her gaze fixed on Li Aoz.

Li Aoz had excellent hearing, but such disgusting remarks meant little to him. Players spent every day chatting nonsense on Tieba forums; what absurd, outrageous comments had he not seen?

With both hands raised, he said in a deep voice, "Ladies, I am Li Aoz. I am not carrying any weapons. I admit it: I was the one who set fire to the Town Bank, but that was to drive away an evil demon—I have not betrayed my country! There cannot be two suns in the sky; in my heart, there is only one sun: His Excellency President Kalise. Please do not arrest me immediately. I have reasons I cannot speak of..."

"Save your words for the interrogation."

Nimoting waved her hand:

"Break his legs and take him away."

She was not the type to pity handsome men, but Mr. Li Aoz was well-featured and pleasant-looking. His words were steady, his attitude neither servile nor overbearing, and he carried himself with solemn composure. The shabby, worn clothes on him could not conceal his calm bearing; every gesture radiated Alpha charm, making him rather pleasing to look at. On top of that, he had been extremely cooperative, so she did not make things difficult for him.

But when it came to the Rose Army, she had no intention of inviting unnecessary complications.

Upon hearing her order, her subordinates immediately worked the bolts of their guns without hesitation. Several rifles were promptly aimed at Li Aoz. Just as they were about to pull the triggers at his legs, Li Aoz suddenly spoke.

"Ma'am, don't you want to know where the Rose Army is?"

"Stop."

Nimoting raised a hand and walked forward with interest. The pressure of an Alpha Rank Extraordinary instantly descended upon Li Aoz like a force field. An icy chill climbed up his spine and drove straight into the back of his skull. Li Aoz shuddered violently—this was a purely physiological response. When humans faced something cruel, a natural enemy, or a predatory animal, the vigilance and terror carved into their genes were awakened, urging them to flee for their lives.

"You're quite interesting, Mr. Li Aoz. More attractive than many breeding males and men of our country—honestly, if your skin were not quite so pale, you'd look a lot like the Red Arrow People from the east."

Nimoting was very tall, a full 197 centimeters. As an assassin, she also possessed a lean, well-proportioned figure. She lowered her head and extended her right hand, clad in a leather glove, gently lifting Li Aoz's chin as her blue eyes met his.

"I suspected you from the very beginning. No matter how I look at you, you don't seem like a lackey of the Rose Army."

"I have not betrayed the great motherland or the sacred female protagonists!" Li Aoz declared firmly. His chin was covered in force, coated with a layer of cold white frost.

Nimoting was using force to infiltrate his nerves. Assassins did not possess the specialized applications of force that Martial Artists did, but they were highly adept at using force for delicate, minute manipulation.

As force flowed into his blood vessels, Li Aoz gradually lost the temperature in his face. He could no longer control his own facial expressions. This was Law Enforcement Division Four's most commonly used interrogation technique—Expression Breakdown.

In primitive times, humanity's ancestors huddled together for warmth and hunted cooperatively in order to survive. Cooperation required constantly improving the efficiency of communication. After a long process of evolution, those primitive humans who more readily displayed emotions, and could convey intent through nothing more than expressions and eye contact, were able to communicate silently during hunts and succeed in catching prey. Thus, they survived and passed down genes that gave people rich facial expressions, allowing them to convey their inner emotions with only their brows, eyes, and facial muscles.

No matter how someone lied, even if they could conceal sudden changes in their heartbeat through long-term training to speak without restraint, the key still lay in controlling their facial expressions while putting on an act.

Expression Breakdown was practically infallible. Even the finest spies would have their faces infiltrated by Law Enforcement Division Four agents using force, directly exposing the fact that they were lying.

Nimoting had great faith in this technique. She continuously brought up various countries, ethnic groups, and interesting social anecdotes to test Li Aoz's reactions.

Yet Li Aoz merely watched her. His gaze remained unwavering, his expression stern, as he continued to insist:

"I, Li Aoz, am iron-boned and unyielding, devoted to one cause alone. I have absolutely not betrayed the great motherland!"

Low emotional intelligence: Which motherland are you talking about?

High emotional intelligence: I am Li Si, and I am also Li Aoz.

Two good books recommended: "Extraordinary Bloodline Integrator," a premium work about an iron-blooded tough guy. Real men are meant to fight!

"Heroes of Might and Magic: Hidden Building Master"—very fun and relaxing, with excellent readability!