Zero-Dollar Shopping Event

Three days later, after escaping from GENTEC's research facility, Li Wei was hiding in the home of a kind-hearted family in Manhattan's Clinton District.

Unfortunately, those kind souls had already gone to meet their loving God, so he couldn't repay them for the rundown rental apartment they'd given him.

Over those three days, using news reports on TV and various information he'd gathered on his own, plus two days of on-site investigation, he made a bold guess.

He had arrived in the world of the game Prototype!

Though he couldn't quite remember the protagonist's name, the wanted posters plastered everywhere showed Alex Mercer in a hoodie and leather jacket—identical to the game's Alex.

Comparing this, Li Wei noticed many similarities to Prototype's setting, like the infamous Blackwatch.

From that connection, he realized yesterday that the abilities he'd gained were almost no different from Alex's...

He could glide hundreds of meters like a flying squirrel, walk between skyscrapers, and fall from hundreds of meters without a scratch.

The abilities were secondary. After the initial excitement faded, Li Wei gradually felt the strangeness of this world. He wanted to go back to his original world—even though it had plenty of flaws, and he had no family or friends, it was still where he felt most comfortable.

The key to going home was the translucent key floating in his field of vision.

Staring at the toy-like key hovering before him, Li Wei recalled the ugly face of that old locksmith who'd made him a key that day...

"Are you worthy? How many keys do you deserve? Let me make you a nice one—young people like you have it hard enough!"

Damn it...

Every time he remembered what that old bastard said, his teeth itched with rage, and he wanted to curse him out.

But the only way home now relied on that key in his vision. Beside the transparent key was a progress bar, already at 3% energy.

He'd tested it: using his assimilation ability to consume lifeforms accelerated the energy gain.

The key also charged on its own—one method he'd found was sunlight, but the sky over Manhattan rarely saw sunshine. It was always overcast, and news reports kept coming in about bases being attacked.

Ninety percent chance it was Alex's doing...

After three days of drifting, Li Wei decided today to head into the Infected Zone and consume those infected creatures to build up energy, leaving this messed-up world before the nuke arrived.

He opened the door. The clothes on his body dissolved in a ripple of crimson lines, replaced by an ordinary black suit.

The black jacket was unbuttoned, the white shirt had no tie, a cigarette dangled from his mouth, and his hands were shoved in his pockets as he walked out of the noisy cheap apartment, exuding pure thug energy.

Walking down the long hallway, the young couple in room 418 were arguing again.

Room 409's door was open. A white-haired old lady smiled kindly at Li Wei and said good morning.

In room 406, a few junkies were snorting strange powder.

From room 401 came the light strumming of a guitar. Li Wei paused to listen for a moment—not bad~!

He went down the narrow stairs to the outdoors. The sky was still a dreary gray, with even a hint of red creeping in.

Manhattan's Infected Zone kept expanding. Protests had already started in Washington, with countless people demanding the government give answers.

The streets were no longer filled with cars, but with marching crowds. Despite knowing a strange virus was spreading, they still weren't wearing masks!

"Reveal the truth!"

"Reveal the truth!"

Li Wei moved through the middle of these protestors, planning to blend in and slip straight into the Infected Zone.

Yesterday, he'd done the same to reach the zone cordoned off by Blackwatch. No need to scale walls or dodge helicopter patrols—he could even enjoy the scenery along the way. How great!

Reality wasn't a game. Anyone with eyes could see the American government was pulling all kinds of stunts in Manhattan. The protestors had been marching back and forth for over ten days, but the politicians just kept muddying the waters.

Li Wei walked with a cigarette in his mouth, shouting along with the crowd now and then, a grin never leaving his face.

Who was the real "scenery country" now? Crystal clear!

Bang!

The sound of something smashing came from ahead. Li Wei moved closer to look—oh!

The Zero-Dollar Shopping Event had started again!

Seeing another supermarket being stormed, countless citizens shoved their phones back into their pockets and flooded in to join the event. Naturally, some pushing and shoving broke out.

Li Wei was jostled by the chaotic crowd. He was actually enjoying this feeling of "freedom"—how bitterly ironic.

"Ah!"

A sharp female scream rang out. Li Wei looked to his left. A young woman with a small backpack was being shoved by the enthusiastic Zero-Dollar shoppers and was about to fall.

In a crowd this dense, falling often meant injury. Even worse, some protestors were riding bicycles—if she fell and didn't react in time, it could cause a chain reaction.

Li Wei's hands were quick. He stepped forward, reached out, and pressed his hand against the woman's back, pulling her close to him. "You okay?"

Vanessa thought she was about to be knocked down, but a strong arm caught her and pulled her into an embrace full of masculine scent.

The slightly low voice by her ear tugged at her heartstrings, flowing into her ears and sinking into her heart.

She turned to look at her rescuer.

She'd expected a young gentleman, but instead found a young Asian man. She'd seen plenty of Asians before, but they were all thin and frail-looking.

A whiff of cigarette smoke hit her nose—she didn't like it—but as the smoke drifted away, she saw a face that made her heart race.

He wasn't unrealistically handsome, but he was exactly her type.

Vanessa nodded blankly, her eyes fixed on Li Wei's face, searching for a word to describe a man like him—bad boy!

Perfectly fitting!

Li Wei shrugged. "Let me walk you out first. Did you come alone?"

With that, he led the woman of uncertain age away from the supermarket that had been hit by the zero-dollar shopping spree and toward the sidewalk.

Vanessa snapped out of it at the "bad boy's" question, suddenly realizing—her friend was gone!

Wait...

"Yes, I came alone! My name is Vanessa, and thank you for your help!" Vanessa instantly threw her teammate under the bus, grabbed Li Wei's arm, and under his lead, pushed through the crowd, giving her name.

"Li Wei. If there's nothing else, I'll be going now. You should still be careful on your own."

Now that he knew her name, Li Wei was ready to leave. After all, he'd only given a little help to these naive people.

Seeing Li Wei about to leave, Vanessa grew anxious. She reached out and grabbed his arm—at least get his contact info before he left, or this whole protest would be a total waste!

"Vanessa!"

Just as she grabbed his hand, her friend's voice rang out from the other side.

A blonde woman in glasses pushed through the crowded throng, waving in their direction.

Li Wei spotted the woman approaching, and also noticed a drone closing in...