A City of Villains

Crime City, a friendly and peaceful city.

Unlike the bustling city that never sleeps and has a lot of intelligent machinery for infrastructure construction, this city has not been repaired for nearly 20 years. The rusty railway and the broken sewers on the streets bear witness to its history. The dilapidated buildings are filled with traces of homeless people. Early in the morning, countless symphonies are played.

Gunshots in the streets symbolize the city's vitality, keeping its residents energetic every day.

Similarly, the trade in pharmaceuticals, personal integrity, and organs showcases the city's unique business atmosphere.

The kidnapping of lawmakers, the assassination of high-ranking officials, and the military coup demonstrate the city's political openness.

The latest form of democracy is gun democracy; the number of weapons you possess determines your votes as a friendly citizen.

The city's burgeoning underground forces and diverse fighting styles also provide its citizens with a rich and varied leisure life.

Illegal androids, viral robots, cybernetic psychopaths, wanted AI criminals, bio-engineered experimental subjects, bankrupt celebrities, religious fanatics, disruptors, and rebels.

Everyone lives together in harmony and happiness.

In conclusion, this city can serve as a model of the mechanical age for outsiders to learn from.

Black Ice Number Two, a henchman for a debt collection group, never dreamed that he would be robbed on his very first day in the city.

With dozens of high-quality guns pointed at his head, he took a careful look at his health bar and decisively chose to surrender.

So, he was left with only his underwear.

Then, he found his superior, a mid-level manager in a debt collection group, wanting to receive a mission... at the very least, a coat.

However, this superior is being hunted down.

He was hacked and had illegal programs downloaded, resulting in the theft of many bills and causing significant losses to the group, which is why he was sent here.

There's not much else here, but there are tons of deadbeats who frequently resort to violence to settle their debts.

Black Ice II finally understood why others looked at him with such strange eyes when he was sent here.

Then, his boss used him as a scapegoat, and unsurprisingly, he died.

Three days later, he was resurrected and successfully killed his former boss through a sneak attack.

The group representative told him that because of his outstanding performance, the higher-ups had decided to let him replace his superior in his position.

Thus, he successfully rose to a middle management position in the Wu Group and was given a "nightmare-level" mission: to recover the group's bills.

It's worth mentioning that 90% of the debts in the crime city are bad debts, meaning either the creditor or the debt collector is dead.

He then realized that his rise to power was not due to his qualifications, but to his character.

A negative number indicates poor character.

Then, he consulted the mission master Baozi on how to complete this nightmare-level mission.

The elder gave him a tip: follow the people's line—no, follow the players' mass line. Who would refuse a high-level quest?

Black Ice II thought it made sense, so he did it.

Then he met offline—no, in-game—with several players who supposedly had leads.

Then he was killed.

The older player comforted him, saying it was just bad luck, and that there were always stupid players in the game.

So when he died in a face-to-face meeting for the fourth time, Baozi Da Lao decisively pretended to be dead and didn't reply, just like a certain writer who wanted to add more chapters but pretended to be dead and lay dead.

Hey, isn't it said that when fellow villagers meet, their eyes are filled with tears?

Have you ever seen a face-to-face meeting end with the person being mowed down by machine guns?

This is what Black Ice II experienced in the first half of the month.

Then he realized!

None of the players in the City of Crime are normal.

Players from the city of crime undergo "prefrontal cortex surgery" upon entering the city, becoming reserve members, much like a brainwashed leader.

Then, as the fourth natural disaster, they escalate, they commit crimes, they escalate again, they commit crimes again, forming a wonderful cycle.

Of course, there were also players who, after being killed, regained their senses during this process.

These players who "turned back to the right path" were quickly taught a lesson.

"Are you awake?"

"Hmm, you're awake now? Come here quietly, I'll tell you a secret."

"What secret?"

Gunshots rang out.

"Excuse me, but who's the good guy? Who are we going to bully?"

We're all players, who doesn't know we'll be resurrected?

Are you a good person? You're beating up good people!

And so, the good guy turned evil.

There are no good people here, only evil people everywhere!

"The world is in turmoil; even legitimate business is hard to do," the gun shop owner lamented, handing over the poisoned bullets as he did so.

Black Ice No. 2 didn't answer. Relying on his "Advanced Handgun Proficiency" skill, he skillfully loaded the disassembled bullets and then fired three shots at the boss.

The boss stared at the smoking chest, looking at the other person in disbelief.

"Damn it! You're ripping off our loyal customers!" Black Ice No. 2 cursed. "Using fake poison is one thing, but you fucking gave me blank rounds? Do you want me dead?"

"The real thing is expensive. You have no idea how scarce bullets are right now," the shopkeeper grumbled, skillfully taking off his outer garment to reveal a bulletproof bra and a semi-metallic body.

"Besides, is selling weapons a legitimate business? Selling fake weapons is the legitimate business. If you don't believe me, look at those prostitutes in the red-light district. They've become legitimate now. They were electrocuted as soon as they fell asleep. Damn it, robbery is robbery, but you can't just do half the service."

"You should be glad you don't have any organs to sell," Black Ice No. 2 said dismissively, then realized, "You have a wife, right? Oh, by the way, your wife works there."

"Yes, I was picking up my wife from get off work," the boss explained.

"Bullshit! You picked me up? How come I didn't know? Damn it, you won't pay me when you sleep with me, but you're so generous with other women, and you even got robbed! Why don't you just die!"

A blonde woman covered in tattoos, middle-aged and wearing only a bra, walked out.

Where are your underwear?

"I don't know which pervert bit me yesterday."

Seeing this, Black Ice No. 2 could only silently mutter to himself, "No censorship in the eyes, but censorship in the heart."

"Hey, isn't this number two? You're always patronizing my deadbeat's business, when are you going to patronize your sister's business? I'll give you a 20% discount, or maybe your modified body doesn't have certain modules installed? I have some, though they're secondhand, but they're pretty good. I've tried them myself, they last a long time, are powerful, and consume little power. Shall I sell them to you?"

Black Ice II chuckled dryly. "I can understand the first two, but how do you know about the low power consumption?"

The proprietress snorted and turned on the holographic TV.

The boss, with his pointed face and monkey-like features, blushed and coughed lightly, saying, "It's a private matter between my husband and me, so please don't pry."

Black Ice II sighed, put away his bullets, and prepared to leave. He felt that if things continued like this, it was hard to say whether he could continue playing the game, and he himself would be the first to be ruined.

"Wait, wait," the boss called out to Black Ice Number Two, glancing slyly to his left and right, and whispered, "I heard you're from the City That Never Sleeps?"

Black Ice II immediately became alert. "Why are you asking this?"

"I heard you have some connections over there."

"I guess so, I know some friends."

"No, I mean, I heard you have some 'connections'!"

Black Ice No. 2 took two steps back and looked the other party up and down.

To be honest, in the days since he arrived, his account has been hacked, his equipment has been stolen, and he has no hope of completing the quests.

But that doesn't mean there were no gains at all.

For example, he successfully activated a "secondary position": a reseller.

It involves taking some special products from Crime City, such as hacked military cybernetic bodies and disposable chips, and selling them at a higher price to the City Never Sleeps, which is where the players are located.

It was precisely because he made a fortune as a speculator that he was able to level up and return to the top tier.

"Hehe, I have some goods that I want to sell through you. Of course, I'll give you a good price."

Black Ice II fell silent.

Meanwhile, a new headline is playing on the news.

Without a doubt, here, there is no news other than crime news.

According to the latest news, a new criminal organization, the "Akudama Family," has claimed responsibility for the bombing of the "Eternal Building." This new organization is the most notorious and brazen criminal group in recent times, having committed over a hundred different crimes in less than two weeks.

Based on current information, the "Akudama Family" consists of seven members: Scissorhands, Mortar, Hacker, Ignitioner, Andy Lau, Swallow, and Debt Collector.

"These seven members are all notorious crime stars."

"Scissors Hand, a super psychopath who enjoys torturing her enemies by a thousand cuts. Anyone who falls into her hands will be subjected to this torture livestreamed, resulting in extremely bloody and violent scenes. What's even more terrifying is that whenever she kills someone, she screams 'No mosaic! No mosaic! Waaaaaah!' The exact nature of this 'mosaic' is currently unknown."

Yet another criminal player.

Black Ice II glanced at it.

"Mortar, famous for his two ferocious gorilla arms, is said to have intentionally contracted cyberpsychosis and randomly kills people on the streets. According to our intelligence, when he's in a daze, he also says things that are incomprehensible, such as, 'It's so good to be infected and leave it running; it even levels up automatically. Anyway, I still have homework to catch up on, and I don't have much time to be online.'"

"To date, approximately 300 ordinary people have died tragically at the hands of this man, earning him the nickname 'Street Cleaner Tiger.'"

He's definitely a gamer, and a student gamer at that.

"The third one is a hacker, the only cyber expert in the Akudama family. He has breached corporate networks more than a dozen times, stealing countless pieces of internal data. But what he enjoys most is remotely hacking into people's minds and randomly detonating them."

Fourth place: The Ignitioner, a biological mutant, a walking fire scene, currently responsible for a staggering 153 fires.

Fifth on the list is Liu Dehua, a traitor skilled in disguise. According to statistics, he has betrayed 36 gangs, businesses, and organizations, and he also has the highest bounty on his head in this family.

"Sixth, Swallow..."

"Hey, don't just stand there! What do you think of my idea? I'll give you 80% and you 20%, I'll give you 20% commission."

"No way," Black Ice Number Two said, extending his palm. "At least split it 50/50!"

"Damn it, you might as well just rob it!"

"I'm quitting, I'm leaving."

"Come on, wife, take him to the secret room."

The boss gave his wife a look, and she stood up, feigning impatience.

"Your business is so complicated. Unlike me, I can just lie down."

"Why do you want to split it 50/50?" the landlady sent a message.

"Do business with him twice first, then kick him out and do it ourselves."

A hidden door opened, and the three of them went inside.

The news broadcast happened to be showing the last criminal.

Debt collectors force others to sign huge debt agreements and then collect the debts through various means, including but not limited to extortion, robbery, brainwashing, murder, and torture.

Breaking news! Tonight, the "Akudama Family" will be attempting to blow up the city's tallest building, the Twin Towers. Several large criminal organizations—oops, I let it slip—have announced they will protect the Twin Towers and thwart this new criminal organization's plot.

"What are your thoughts, our two guests?" the host asked.

"We don't doubt the combat capabilities of this new organization, but breaching the Twin Towers requires a large number of heavy weapons. How will the Evil Jade family handle that? As far as I know, they always follow a small-scale, highly specialized criminal route. What do you think, Old Xing? After all, you were a notorious local terrorist before you went to prison."

In my opinion...

"Look, this is our product, what do you think?"

Inside the secret room, the boss pointed to the row of rocket launchers and boasted.

"Where did you get such legitimate weapons?" Black Ice No. 2 asked in astonishment. According to the style of Crime City, nothing can survive without modification, so there is no way such a legitimate business could exist.

"If you can't give me a source, I won't do it; the risk is too great."

"Hehe, I collected them all secretly. They're supposedly things some bankrupt boss used to pay off debts. I beat him to it and bribed the warehouse manager. Don't worry, all the procedures are legal and compliant. Rest assured, those debt collectors are all dead—"

"Bang"

Black Ice II stepped forward, two Desert Eagles sliding down his sleeves, one pressed against the opponent's forehead and the other against the gap in the mechanical body, and opened fire wildly.

The boss was taken away in one fell swoop.

"You, you, you—"

The proprietress was stunned and quickly ran away, but was shot in the calf and fell to the ground.

"Waaaaah, please, please don't kill me, I can give you—"

Black Ice No. 2 stepped forward expressionlessly, stepped on the opponent's back, and fired shot after shot until the magazine was empty.

"You're too late," Black Ice Number Two said, wiping the blood from his face and looking up at the six wanted players in front of him.

"Wow, a whole mini armory! This time we can finally go for something big!"

"Hmph."

Black Ice II revealed a twisted smile. "How do you know I won't become a pervert after staying in this city for so long?"