Bin City was a sub-provincial city known as the Garden City and the Romantic Capital. It had six districts: Zhongshan, Xigang, Shahekou, GJZ District, Jinzhou, and Lushun District, listed in order of their geographical locations.
Li Xian currently lived near Sanba Square in ZS District, while his mission's destination, Gaoxin Wanda Plaza, was in GJZ District. In other words, he had to cross two districts to reach it.
The distance between them was about twenty kilometers.
Taking the bus usually meant transferring at least twice along the way. Even with good traffic, the trip would take over an hour. A taxi would be much faster, but not by all that much. There were so many traffic lights along the route that nobody could say how long delays might set him back.
He only had thirty minutes for the mission. Wasn't that just setting him up to fail?
Li Xian was a little annoyed, but he didn't have time to complain. The clock was ticking, and every minute of delay might cost him millions.
This was for real. Millions up or down by the minute.
As soon as the countdown began, Li Xian opened a ride-hailing app and entered his destination, adding a hundred yuan tip.
He had to admit, ride-hailing apps were convenient. Before, getting dressed, heading outside, and finally getting into a car would have taken him at least seven or eight minutes.
Now, with a hundred-yuan tip on offer, his ride was snapped up the moment he posted it.
Li Xian hadn't even finished putting on his pants when the driver called. The guy was unbelievably efficient.
Money really did make things easier!
From getting dressed to going downstairs and climbing into the car, Li Xian took three minutes in all.
The main reason he'd gotten into the car so quickly was that the driver was nearby. He'd only needed to turn the corner to reach Li Xian's building, saving him quite a bit of time.
Countdown: 26 minutes 17 seconds.
"Driver, hurry it up. I'm in a rush." Sitting in the passenger seat, Li Xian urged him on before he'd even caught his breath.
The driver was a middle-aged man in his forties. He seemed pleased to have landed a big fare and wasn't annoyed by Li Xian's urging. Instead, he said cheerfully, "Sure thing. We're off!"
The car started up and slowly picked up speed after turning a corner. The driver glanced at Li Xian, who kept checking the time, and asked curiously, "In such a hurry, young man. Running late for a date?"
Since the destination was a shopping mall, the driver naturally assumed it was a date. Didn't young people these days like to go shopping, then have a meal and catch a movie?
"Heh. It's more important than a date." Li Xian didn't explain further. He couldn't exactly say, "I have a date with a G-Wagon, and if I'm late, it'll be gone."
The driver shot him a knowing look and pressed the accelerator, speeding up again. "Don't worry, young man. I've been driving for over twenty years. I won't let you down."
Countdown: 25 minutes 10 seconds.
How could he not worry?
Li Xian checked the mission countdown and then the time. It was now 11:10, and he had to arrive before 11:35.
He really had no idea whether he could make it in such a short time. He tentatively asked, "Driver, can we get there before 11:35?"
"Huh?" The driver glanced at the time and said, "How could we? That's way too tight. Around 11:50, maybe."
"By 11:50, it'll be too late," Li Xian muttered, bringing out his trump card. "If we get there before 11:35, I'll add another two hundred to the fare!"
"Young man... It's not about the money," the driver said helplessly.
"Five hundred..."
"Uh... I'll do my best, but I can't promise."
"One thousand..."
"..." The driver turned to look at Li Xian, his eyes burning. "Young man, you're serious?"
"Absolutely..." Li Xian nodded firmly. "I'll add a thousand to the fare, plus another hundred for every minute early."
"Damn... We have a deal, then. Don't go back on your word."
"I won't. If I don't pay you, you can keep me in the car."
"Heh, no need for that... Hold on tight." As he spoke, the driver stomped on the accelerator. The car shot past the vehicle ahead, then deftly overtook several more.
Big rewards brought out brave men. Having money really was great.
The experienced driver in his forties had turned into the Nameless Car God. His speed spoke for itself.
That thousand yuan was money well spent. Compared to a G-Wagon worth several million, it was nothing.
The shortest route from Sanba Square to Gaoxin Wanda Plaza was Zhongshan Road, but it looped around the roundabout at Zhongshan Square and passed the train station, making it extremely congested.
So the driver chose to detour along Shugang Road. The distance was longer, but they could make better time. Avoiding the train station meant dodging at least ten traffic lights, saving them ten minutes.
Once they passed the train station and Qingniwa, the busiest shopping district, the roads became much easier to navigate.
They then passed Xinghai Square and the Ocean Park before turning onto Huangpu Road. With less than five kilometers left, the driver finally relaxed. "Young man, you don't make this money easily."
Was making money really that easy?
Heh...
Li Xian smiled without saying anything. He wasn't in the mood for conversation and kept his eyes fixed on the countdown. Ten minutes remained.
Seeing that Li Xian didn't feel like talking, the driver obediently fell silent and kept driving. Five or six minutes later, Wanda Plaza finally came into view.
"We're here, we're here. It's 11:32..."
"Go to the underground parking garage, level B2, Zone B..."
"We're going into the parking garage too? All right, I'll head in."
The customer had spoken. For the sake of the money, the driver quickly turned the wheel and entered the underground parking garage. They reached the first basement level, and only then did Li Xian finally relax.
Countdown: 1 minute 32 seconds.
He'd finally made it. My G-Wagon!
"Phew..." Li Xian let out a breath and looked at the driver with a smile. "You're a good driver."
"Of course. I've been driving for over twenty years." The driver smiled, then hesitated. "About that money..."
"Don't worry, I won't stiff you." Li Xian took out his phone. "You have Alipay or VX, right? I'll transfer it to you."
"Sure, sure... I know you young people like using VX, so I got it set up specially." As he spoke, the driver took out his phone, logged into VX, and brought up his payment code. He kept his foot on the gas and drove down to level B2.
Li Xian promptly transferred him 1,300 yuan, then said, "Drive slowly while I look for a car."
"Sure..."
The driver slowed down. Li Xian rolled down the window and took the Mercedes-Benz key out of the system inventory, pressing the unlock button again and again.
"Click, click, click..."
The faint sound of the doors unlocking would have been hard to catch even in this quiet space. Fortunately, the car's lights flashed when it unlocked. In the dim underground parking garage, they were like a beacon.
There it was!
"Drive a little farther," Li Xian said, pointing toward the end of Zone B. At the same time, the system notified him that the mission was complete.
[Mission complete. Time taken: 29 minutes 28 seconds.] [Mission reward: Matte black Mercedes-Benz G65, Character Attribute Points +1, one draw.]
Holy crap! A ten-million-yuan car right at the start, and a G65 on top of that? This was the peak of life!
Li Xian stood excitedly at the front of the G-Wagon, his whole body trembling. This limited-edition 2014 G65 was the G-Wagon of all G-Wagons.
Other Mercedes-Benz models like the G350 and G500, even the V8 4.0T Mercedes-Benz G63, were nothing compared to it.
It had a V12 6.0T twin-turbo engine, 1,000 newton-meters of torque, and 630 horsepower. Its performance alone completely outclassed the other cars in the same series.
And that wasn't even mentioning the price. The base price was 3.5 million, and the on-the-road price was 4.3 million—1.5 million more than the G63. Even with the money, it wasn't necessarily possible to buy one. Only sixty-five had been made worldwide.
There was probably only one in all of Bin City.
It might not be able to compete with million-yuan supercars, but it was absolutely a dream car for men.
"Holy crap! Since when did Bin City have a G65?"
The driver had been about to leave, but when he saw Li Xian standing in front of a Mercedes SUV and staring at it, he got out of the car out of curiosity. The moment he saw the beastly Mercedes-Benz G65, he was stunned.
"Young man... Is this yours?" The driver looked at Li Xian uncertainly.
Li Xian smiled faintly and pressed the unlock button on the key. The car's lights flashed. "That's right. It's mine."
The driver's mouth fell open in astonishment. He gave Li Xian a thumbs-up and struggled for a long moment before managing to say, "That's awesome!"
"I've seen this G65 in a magazine. I think it's this year's latest limited edition. I can't believe there's one in Bin City. What a sight!"
The driver was a car enthusiast who liked reading car magazines in his spare time. He'd never seen a G65 in person, but he recognized it at a glance from the pictures.
"A V12 6.0T engine, 630 horsepower, a seven-speed automatic transmission with manual mode, a top speed of 230, and zero to a hundred in just 5.3 seconds. Tsk, tsk, tsk. This SUV is every man's ultimate dream." He stroked the hood and recited its specifications like he was reading from a textbook, then looked at Li Xian enviously.
Li Xian folded his arms and tilted his head. "This car's a beast, but it guzzles gas."
"Come on..." The driver was at a loss for words. He thought, You can afford a car worth over four million. Are you really worried about the gas money?
Of course, he couldn't say that out loud. He was hoping to get a look at the G-Wagon's interior while he was there.
"Young man, could I take a look at the interior?" the driver asked.
"No problem..." Li Xian nodded generously. Just as he was about to open the car door, an unwelcome voice sounded from behind him.
"Whose taxi is this? It's blocking my car. Move it!"
Following the voice, he saw a man about 1.8 meters tall standing beside the taxi, looking extremely impatient.
The man wore a well-fitted casual suit. He was on the thin side and reasonably good-looking, maybe a six or seven out of ten.
"That's my car. I'll move it right away." The driver was the first to react and quickly apologized.
His taxi was parked right in front of a space, blocking a blue BMW 3 Series. The tall, thin man was its owner.
The driver hurried to move the car. Li Xian stayed where he was, glancing at the man. Just as he was about to look away, he caught sight of two women approaching from farther behind him.
One was tall and the other short. The taller one was about 1.7 meters, with delicate features. The shorter one was just over 1.6 meters and cute. Though their styles were different, they were about equally attractive, both easily over a seven out of ten. They were beauties.
That wasn't the point. Li Xian knew both of them.
The tall one was his ex-girlfriend, Zhang Ning. The shorter one was Zhang Ning's best friend, Cao Xue.
What were the odds?
A narrow escape? No, a narrow path?
Li Xian froze for a moment as those two phrases popped into his head.
But it immediately felt wrong. He thought, There's no way this is such a coincidence. We just broke up this morning, and now I run into her at noon. System, show yourself. Did you set this up?
The game system didn't respond. It was like it had frozen.
But Li Xian was sure the system was up to something. He absolutely didn't believe in chance meetings or accidental run-ins.
This damned random mission had sent him twenty kilometers to pick up a car and given him only thirty minutes. So this was the trap it had set for him.
What was this supposed to be? Did the system come with a revenge-finding navigation feature?
Li Xian gave a bitter smile. He didn't want anything more to do with Zhang Ning, but there was no way to avoid her now. Zhang Ning and her best friend, Cao Xue, had already spotted him.
"Li Xian?" Cao Xue was the first to speak.
Zhang Ning furrowed her brows and stared straight at Li Xian, her tone unfriendly. "What are you doing here?"
She spoke as though Li Xian had deliberately followed her, which was unpleasant to hear.
"Heh, that's funny. Did you buy the place? Am I not allowed to come here?" Li Xian shot back without holding back. Since she'd seen him, there was no point in sneaking around.
He had money now, and plenty of confidence!
"I'm warning you. Don't harass me!" Zhang Ning watched Li Xian warily, her expression growing uglier by the second.
Li Xian rolled his eyes at her and said disdainfully, "Harass you? You wish... Xiaoxue, you look lovely today." Ignoring Zhang Ning's glare, he greeted Cao Xue.
The tall, thin man clearly hadn't figured out what was going on. He looked at Zhang Ning and asked gently, "Ningning... You two know each other?"
"Not very well..." Zhang Ning said stiffly.
Li Xian smiled mockingly and deliberately replied in a wounded tone, "That's a bit cold. We were together for six months, after all. If that doesn't count as knowing each other, what does?"
"What are you talking about? Lu Yang, don't listen to him..."
Zhang Ning was furious and hurried to disavow any connection to Li Xian, but he didn't give her the chance. He draped an arm over the man called Lu Yang's shoulder and said playfully, "Buddy, you're Zhang Ning's new lover, right? You've got good taste. She's great in bed."
"Who's your buddy? Who even are you?" Lu Yang's expression changed as he slapped Li Xian's hand away.
Li Xian raised an eyebrow. "What? Zhang Ning never mentioned me? Fine, I'll introduce myself. I'm Li Xian... So I guess that makes us brothers-in-law."
That was a vicious thing to say. Lu Yang's expression turned ugly in an instant, while Li Xian grinned from ear to ear, thoroughly pleased with himself.
"Lu Yang... Listen to me. He's a scumbag." Zhang Ning came over and grabbed Lu Yang's arm, then glared fiercely at Li Xian. "You're shameless! I just turned down your advances. Did you really have to smear me like this?"
What a masterclass in twisting the truth!
A cold smile crossed Li Xian's face. He was about to say something when Lu Yang seemed to think he understood what was going on. He stupidly sided with Zhang Ning and glared at Li Xian. "I'm telling you, get lost! Ningning is my girlfriend now."
Then he turned to Zhang Ning and said gently, "Don't worry. I'll protect you."
"Mm..." Zhang Ning nestled against his arm and nodded obediently. What a loving couple, perfectly in sync.
What a pair of trash! They were made for each other!
No, that was insulting trash.
Li Xian really couldn't stand watching them. Even Cao Xue behind them couldn't take it. She wanted to say something, but only parted her lips before hesitating.
[Random mission: You must vent your anger.]
Li Xian: "..."
This game was hardcore!
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