Xu Xiaotian in Danger

The 11th day since the third Apocalypse Rule took effect, with 4 days remaining until its end.

In an arcade in Yunhua City, Xu Xiaotian stared dejectedly at his character collapsing on the screen.

"Damn it, died again!"

He had been playing this game for several days straight but still couldn't clear the final level.

"This difficulty is insane. I've tried dozens of times and still can't pass it," Xu Xiaotian muttered. "If I were playing before the Apocalypse Rules appeared, how many game coins would it have taken to beat this?"

"Buddy, you're not getting past this level."

A voice came from beside him. Xu Xiaotian turned to see a long-haired youth in a jacket speaking to him.

The long-haired youth looked at the screen and said, "The final level of this game is impossible. It wasn't designed for players to beat, it's purely to scam coins."

"Huh?" Xu Xiaotian exclaimed, "It's that rigged?"

"Yeah, that's how rigged it is."

Seeing that the long-haired youth looked a few years older than him, Xu Xiaotian said, "Brother, how do you know this? Have you been scammed out of a lot of coins before?"

The long-haired youth grinned. "I used to work here. What do you think?"

"I see!"

"But you've got some patience, buddy," the long-haired youth said. "Playing so many times and still not passing, yet you keep playing."

Xu Xiaotian chuckled. "I'm just bored. Besides, I loved arcades when I was a kid, but I never had money for coins. Now I can play without paying, isn't that awesome?"

The long-haired youth nodded. "It is pretty awesome."

As he spoke, he sized up Xu Xiaotian's complexion and chuckled, "Judging by your look, you've probably given up on challenging the third Apocalypse Rule, right?"

"Huh?"

"Most people out here are like that," the long-haired youth explained. "Those who want to pass the rule are listening to the officials and trying to minimize activity to conserve energy, right? So I'm saying, most people out here have given up."

"Oh, oh, you're right!"

Xu Xiaotian hadn't really thought about it before. Because he had the Instant Noodles artifact, he didn't pay much attention to the official advice for the third rule and naturally hadn't looked at the official challenge guide.

Now that he thought about it, it made sense. Those who wanted to pass the rule were basically staying home, not moving around and wasting extra energy. And those who were out having fun were basically people who had given up on the challenge.

"What, you haven't given up?" Seeing Xu Xiaotian's expression, the long-haired youth immediately asked.

Xu Xiaotian nodded.

"Oh, impressive," the long-haired youth's eyes lit up. "So you bought a Food Box, huh? You must have enough Ascension Coins to afford it, meaning your Mind Power must be over 80, right?"

"Something like that, hehe." Xu Xiaotian replied with a smile. He wanted to keep playing, but the long-haired youth grabbed his arm.

"Buddy, I know another arcade. They have new games on their machines that you definitely haven't played. Want to go play?"

"Really?!" Xu Xiaotian's eyes lit up. For an arcade enthusiast like him, new, unplayed games were a huge draw.

"Definitely, man. Would I lie to you? Let's go."

"Let's go, let's go!"

Xu Xiaotian followed the long-haired youth downstairs. On the way, the long-haired youth went to the restroom to make a call.

After they left the arcade, they waited by the roadside for a while.

Xu Xiaotian asked, "Brother, aren't we going straight there?"

"Someone's picking us up. Let's wait," the long-haired youth said.

"Oh, okay."

A moment later, a black car drove up.

Xu Xiaotian glanced at it. There were three people inside: one in the driver's seat, one in the passenger seat, and one in the back.

Adding himself and the long-haired youth, that made five people filling the car.

"Why so many people?"

"They're all buddies I play with. Get in."

The long-haired youth opened the rear door. Xu Xiaotian looked at the tattoo on the neck of the youth sitting in the back and felt a sudden sense of unease.

He suddenly remembered what Guan Tong had told him before, about suspected criminal gangs in Yunhua City kidnapping people with high Mind Power.

Then he recalled how the long-haired youth had probed his Mind Power in the arcade earlier, and he started to panic.

"Uh, Brother, I just remembered I have something to do. Maybe we can go another time!"

Xu Xiaotian turned to leave, but before he could take two steps, his arm was grabbed.

"Don't go, buddy," the long-haired youth pulled Xu Xiaotian back, a hint of ferocity flashing in his eyes. "If you leave now, you're disrespecting us."

"I..."

At this moment, the two people from the passenger and rear seats got out of the car. Together with the long-haired youth, the three of them surrounded Xu Xiaotian.

The man with the tattoo on his neck said fiercely, "Kid, get in the car now if you don't want a beating!"

This tattooed man, who wasn't even trying to hide his intentions, made Xu Xiaotian's face turn pale. He knew he had really run into criminals.

He looked at the three fierce-looking individuals, feigning obedience as he shrunk his neck. "I... I get it. I'll go with you..."

Mid-sentence, Xu Xiaotian suddenly launched his attack!

With a flick of his right hand, he summoned his Mind Power Artifact from his Storage Box—Instant Noodles.

"Splash!"

Xu Xiaotian vigorously splashed the boiling noodles and soup directly onto the faces of the three men, causing them to yelp in pain.

Xu Xiaotian seized the opportunity to bolt, pulling out his phone as he ran and dialing the number at the very top of his contacts.

When the call connected, it was Guan Tong's voice that answered.

"Hello, Xiaotian, what's up?"

Since the two had only recently met and exchanged phone numbers, Guan Tong's number was at the very beginning of his newly saved contacts.

"Guan Tong!" Xu Xiaotian shouted in terror. "It's bad! I've run into kidnappers! They're around the arcade! Help me call the Public Security Bureau, I—Ouch!"

Before he could finish speaking, he felt a kick to his back, sending him stumbling to the ground.

Looking up, he saw the young man who had been sitting in the driver's seat catching up to him. Since he hadn't gotten out of the car, he had avoided being hit by the instant noodle attack.

Now, this driver began raining punches and kicks down on the fallen Xu Xiaotian.

"You little brat, trying to play dirty! I'll beat you to death!"

"Ouch!"

At this moment, the other three also caught up, joining in with kicks.

"Where did this little bastard get instant noodles? They burned me! I'm going to beat him to death!"

"Stop hitting him for now, hurry up and put him in the car to take him back!"

"His phone, smash his phone!"

Crack—

This was the last sound Guan Tong heard before the call abruptly ended with a dial tone.

"Xu Xiaotian was captured by kidnappers? I need to call the Public Security Bureau immediately!"

This was a matter of life and death, and Guan Tong dared not delay.

He had gotten along well with Xu Xiaotian these past few days, and he himself had almost become a victim of this serial kidnapping case, so he certainly couldn't stand by and do nothing.

He immediately dialed the Public Security Bureau and reported Xu Xiaotian's situation. The Public Security Bureau was already rigorously investigating the kidnapping case and immediately attached great importance to the latest clue. The operator even asked Guan Tong to come to the bureau in person to provide a detailed report when he had time.

Guan Tong agreed. He hung up the phone and headed to the Public Security Bureau, wanting to get the latest news on the kidnapping case as soon as possible.