Two Countermeasures

"You think I'm stupid? What good is cash? You can even track every serial number on the bills. Did you think I wouldn't know? I want gold!" Gao Linzhi said directly.

He didn't need to worry about them guessing anything.

Because in the game, those Corporate Players couldn't recharge, but gold was just as useful—the village accepts gold.

"Yes, yes, I have gold at home, a full 30 kilograms. I'll take you to get it right now." Xu Hai breathed a sigh of relief, terrified that the other party wouldn't want money.

"Slap!" Gao Linzhi slapped him to the ground. "I told you, don't take me for a fool."

"Then how do you want it?" Xu Hai asked aggrievedly.

"It's very simple. Find someone in your family who will listen to you and place the gold on Nanshan, at the second peak counting from the mountain entrance road..." Gao Linzhi stated a location.

"Okay, okay, I'll have them handle it right away," Xu Hai thought to himself.

Good, as long as I notify my family, they'll definitely find a way to rescue me.

Gao Linzhi then took Xu Hai's phone and had Xu Hai make the call.

He knew perfectly well that cell phones could be tracked.

Xu Hai quickly called his wife.

The call rang three times, and after a full five minutes, it was finally answered.

"Wife, I've been kidnapped. Quickly get those dozens of gold bars from my safe, a total of 30 kilograms, and deliver them to..." Xu Hai began urgently.

"Hai Zi, are you kidding me? Who in Xu City would dare touch you? Don't let your scoundrel friends fool me again!" A woman's lazy voice came from the other end.

"It's true. If you don't believe me, open a video call."

The video call connected.

A middle-aged noblewoman in pajamas appeared on the screen.

She looked to be in her thirties, had just removed her makeup, and was sitting on a bed while on the phone. The bed had sunk deeply under her weight.

Gao Linzhi looked and scoffed, A tiger.

The woman on the other end was immediately shocked: "Who are you? Let my husband go immediately! Do you believe me, I'll have you arrested right now!"

"I'm tracking your location now!"

"Let my husband go quickly!"

Gao Linzhi slapped Xu Hai twice, then said to the other person, "Understand?"

"Don't hit him, don't hit him, I'll get the gold for you right now."

The next day at noon.

Nanshan, on the second peak counting from the mountain entrance road.

Gao Linzhi was, of course, not there. He summoned his pet, the Corpse Vine, to guard the location.

This was where having loyal subordinates came in handy.

Besides, this pet could be resurrected after death.

It was most suitable for this kind of task.

Actually, he hadn't considered kidnapping at all.

It wasn't due to moral purity, but because such work was too troublesome.

However, kidnapping Xu Hai was fine.

That damned Xu Clan had caused him to lose tens of millions in assets, leaving him unable to convert them into gold legitimately.

Damn it.

He was just taking back what he deserved.

Gao Linzhi stood below the fifth peak, with Xu Hai at his feet.

Xu Hai's phone had been placed elsewhere by Gao Linzhi.

He watched the second peak from a distance.

A team was seen stealthily climbing towards the peak.

They were all fully armed, with bulletproof helmets, body armor, and assault rifles, displaying a determined posture.

As expected, the other party hadn't honestly handed over the gold.

He patted Xu Hai's head. "It seems your position in your Xu Corporation isn't very high."

"They don't care about your safety at all."

"Originally, I was thinking that if they honestly handed over the gold, I would let you live."

"After all, this is my first time doing this kind of thing, I need to have some credibility. Otherwise, if I kill the hostage immediately, no one will pay ransom in the future."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Grandpa, please let me go, I'll get the gold for you myself!" Xu Hai cried, tears streaming down his face.

He truly felt that death was imminent.

"Heh, if I hadn't heard what you said before, I would have believed you," Gao Linzhi said, twisting his hand.

In his final moments, Xu Hai had only one thought:

Damn commoner, they have power!

The clan elders were all wrong!

This game world, while giving aristocratic families and corporations opportunities for monopoly, also gives ordinary people a chance to suddenly turn things around.

We should absorb them through arranged marriages, just like we did with talented commoners before, and squeeze the non-game players together!

Rogue players are also players. When they have the qualifications to play, they should be absorbed...

Xu City.

At the very center, on the top floor of a ninety-nine-story building, in a large conference room.

Five people sat around a long table.

These five represented the First Branch of the Xu Clan, holding great power in the corporation.

This showed the importance of this emergency meeting.

"Xu Hai of the Third Branch has been kidnapped. The security department has confirmed the perpetrator is a game player," a beautiful female assistant stood by, narrating a report like a robot.

"The location provided by the kidnapper for the ransom payment was empty. Xu Hai's body was found on the fifth mountain peak."

"This kidnapper is not a novice; they have certain counter-surveillance experience..."

After finishing, the female assistant placed the report on the long table.

Xu Zongxin, the Chairman of the Xu Corporation and representative of the First Branch, said indifferently:

"Alright, everyone, speak. How should we deal with this lawless individual?"

Xu Zongtong, the General Manager of the Xu Corporation and representative of the Third Branch, said fiercely:

"What's there to say? Seal off the entire city, issue a bounty in the game, and search every inch of land until we catch this damned guy!"

"I'll skin him alive!"

Xu Zongyin of the Second Branch looked up at Xu Zongxin:

"Big brother..."

Xu Zongxin immediately frowned: "Address me by my title during company meetings."

"Oh, Chairman, I think we need to change our methods."

"As you know, I advocated for using arranged marriages and appeasement to win over rogue players when the game posters first appeared."

"After all, game talent is incredibly varied. How can we guarantee no one is missed by using high-pressure tactics?"

"There are billions of commoners anyway. We only need to offer a tiny bit of scraps to win over those rogue players, and even use them against the rogue players who refuse to bow down."

"It's the same as how we dealt with talented commoners before. Our old methods worked well..."

"Nonsense!" Xu Zongtong stood up abruptly upon hearing this. "If we listened to you, we'd be courting death!"

"Third brother, what do you mean?" Xu Zongyin asked, displeased.

"Hmph, you need to understand that these game players are different from others. We can't do things the old way," Xu Zongtong said disdainfully.

"It's very simple: players have the ability to form an army on their own! They are not like those talented commoners."

"No matter how high the intelligence of those talented commoners is, even if they have an IQ of 200 or 400?"

"Their talents still need to rely on the corporation to be realized. Even if we give up some profit, we can still gain more benefits and control them through our family's deep foundations and vast numbers."

"But players are different. Once they are given a chance to grow, if they develop well, they can suppress an entire aristocratic family alone!"