Luckily, Wang Qianduo only spent a little while at the police station before they let him go.
Quite a few higher-ups came out to apologize to him and even gave him a reward.
That was because both his identity and that of the Black Shark Pirate he had killed had been verified.
Besides, Wang Qianduo was a Sergeant First Class in the interstellar army. Being brought to the police station in handcuffs wouldn't do relations between the two sides any good.
There seemed to be a lot of complicated politics involved, but Wang Qianduo wasn't in a position to meddle in them yet. Saying too much could also lead to trouble.
Summoning a Mecha in the city was a serious crime, but making an exception to catch interstellar pirates was another matter, even if those pirates had all been shot dead.
The reward for killing one of the Black Shark Pirates' minor leaders earned Wang Qianduo some experience, Gold Crystal, and a car.
It was the black car the interstellar pirates had used to haul him around, and someone had passed it off as a reward.
Wang Qianduo was speechless. Did you have some kind of grudge against someone behind my back?
What's the deal with giving me a Santana?
And it's a freaking manual!
But after looking into it, Wang Qianduo learned that the Fairy City police weren't just fobbing him off.
The car really was a valuable antique, with very few still in existence. It was especially precious among NPCs.
The Black Shark Pirates had gone to great lengths to acquire it, using threats and bribes to get it from a wealthy merchant at a Homeworld Base.
They usually used the car to lure people in. How else could they hook those nouveau riche?
When people saw a car like that in their private hire, they'd climb aboard, hoping to score a bargain—and then they'd get taken.
In fact, if Wang Qianduo hadn't been brought back in handcuffs this time, the Merit he earned from killing the pirate leader alone wouldn't have been enough to get him the car.
The Fairy City police had brought it out as a special reward to repair their relationship with him.
Wang Qianduo: ...All right! You win!
But somehow, it felt like the rift between them had only grown wider!
Since Wang Qianduo hadn't gotten his driver's license yet, this "rare, precious ride" could only gather dust in his vehicle storage.
But he could worry about his license later. First, he'd unlock the Instance Dungeon.
This time, he took a proper maglev taxi and headed to the mission hall in the city center.
He'd better avoid black cars from now on. You couldn't walk by the river all the time without getting your shoes wet.
"Hello, Sergeant First Class. The Black Shark Pirates have been growing more and more rampant in Fairy City lately, and we don't know why. Could you investigate the cause?"
After Wang Qianduo accepted the Gate-Opening Quest, the NPC spoke to him.
Ever since he'd been promoted to Sergeant First Class, NPCs treated him differently from everyone else.
"Sure, leave it to me!"
"System Notification: You have accepted the special quest [Rampant Black Shark Pirates]."
Rampant Black Shark Pirates (Special):
The Black Shark Pirates have been growing increasingly rampant in Fairy City. There must be some special reason behind it. Go to the Black Shark Pirate Outpost in the west of the city and investigate.
Completion Conditions: Kill 10 Black Shark Pirates at the outpost and obtain intelligence from them.
Reward: 200 experience, 1 Gold Crystal
Apart from the lousy reward, the conditions seemed straightforward and easy, with no difficulty at all.
But the quest wasn't actually that simple. The Black Shark Pirate Outpost was inside the city, where summoning a Mecha was forbidden. Most people would struggle to kill 10 pirates without forming a team.
But that wasn't a problem for Wang Qianduo. He had weapons, and he had the strength to use them.
After taking a taxi to the Black Shark Pirate Outpost, Wang Qianduo once again entered story-instance mode.
He didn't waste time. He kicked the door open and opened fire with the Desert Eagle and another weapon.
All 10 Black Shark Pirates were shot dead on the spot. Wang Qianduo picked up the intelligence and sauntered away, looking utterly unfazed.
With Zero's help, not one of the pirate underlings had managed to hurt him.
(There are insufficient test subjects for the cyborg project at the outpost outside the city. Please provide more as soon as possible.)
The 10 fragments of intelligence pieced together into just one sentence. That was right—those bastards were conducting human experiments.
Some of the minor enemies at the Black Shark Pirate Secret Base were even cyborgs created by their experiments.
The Black Shark Pirates, the main enemy of players in the current version, were a blight on humanity. They were basically guilty of every evil under the sun.
And with the battle at the Interstellar Frontline growing more urgent, the experts of the Human Alliance were too busy to wipe them out.
The pirates were also good at hiding. On top of that, someone within the Alliance was covering for them, hoping to recruit them and bolster their own strength. That was why the Black Shark Pirates had grown increasingly rampant.
It wasn't until recently, when Wang Qianduo exposed their plans to control the Insectoids, that they crossed humanity's bottom line and brought trouble down on themselves.
After handing the intelligence to the NPC, Wang Qianduo received the second stage of the special quest: investigate the location of the Black Shark Pirate Secret Base outside the city.
It was an investigation quest. All he had to do was collect three stones bearing the Black Shark Pirates' insignia. Once he completed it, the Instance Dungeon would open.
At the same time, players would receive the final special quest: destroy the Black Shark Pirate Secret Base.
The quest rewarded players with a random piece of rare level-10 equipment they could use.
It was a pretty good reward, and the easiest way for players to get rare equipment.
But for Wang Qianduo, the reward was kind of lousy, since the equipment was bound...
He couldn't sell it, and it took up space. Apart from dismantling it, he didn't seem to have any other options, but Wang Qianduo couldn't care less about the materials it yielded.
At least the materials weren't bound, so he could sell them for a bit of money. Otherwise, he'd have gained nothing but experience and cash.
The collection quest was easy, and there was a guide on the forum. Wang Qianduo completed it quickly, but then it was time to scratch his head over the Instance Dungeon.
Black Shark Pirate Group Secret Base
Difficulty: Normal
Entry Requirements: Level 10–17
Party Limit: 3–5 players
"Looking for a group for the Instance Dungeon! Need a pro to carry us through the outpost dungeon. First run's free, so hurry up, everyone!"
After a moment's thought, Wang Qianduo shouted out an offer. But no one responded, even after quite a while. His fearsome reputation in the Dark Forest hadn't reached here.
(︶︿︶)
Just as he was running out of ideas, a party invitation came through.
"Manager, are you running the dungeon?" Wang Qianduo asked Lin Qimeng after joining the party.
"Of course. Why else would I invite you? When did you get to level 10?" Lin Qimeng asked, looking at Wang Qianduo's level.
She hadn't wasted a single bit of leveling resources these past few days. With her teammates' help and the progress she'd built up before, she'd finally reached level 13.
How had this guy reached level 10 in just over 10 days?
Luckily, they'd run into some problems with their quest that day and had delayed their dungeon run. That was why they'd happened to meet him.
Ever since the incident with Li Mingzhou, Lin Qimeng had practically fallen out with the company's professional players.
The main reason was that Zhang fellow's "spurned love" had turned into hatred, but Wang Qianduo had played a part too.
Otherwise, they wouldn't have fallen out so quickly, right?
After breaking with them, Lin Qimeng had found a few friends and started her own professional gaming Studio. She'd also saved a spot for Wang Qianduo.
She just hadn't formally invited him yet.
That was because she hadn't expected him to reach level 10 so quickly.
She also hadn't figured out how to bring it up.
But for all these past few days, they'd been bringing one random player along to the Instance Dungeon, and they'd had only four people for leveling.
"Yesterday! Where are you? I'll come find you!" Wang Qianduo asked.
"No need. Wait for us at the dungeon entrance. We'll be there soon," Lin Qimeng replied.
"Where are you?" Once everyone reached the dungeon entrance, Lin Qimeng messaged Wang Qianduo. She hadn't seen the Lord of the Elements before, so she hadn't recognized him.
"Over here!" Wang Qianduo recognized Lin Qimeng's Dragon Princess Mecha. He waved at her and called out.
"Your Mecha evolved? What tier is this new form?" Lin Qimeng asked with a frown, looking at the completely new Mecha Wang Qianduo was piloting.
Hadn't she told him not to evolve his Mecha carelessly, or it might affect his future prospects?
"I got the chance, so I evolved it. Don't worry, it's definitely a rare Mecha," Wang Qianduo said with a smile.
Of course it was rare. It might even be the only one in existence. After all, even if someone got the Elemental Crown, they were unlikely to gather seven Epic Elemental Crystals.
"Do you have a regular party?" Hearing that Wang Qianduo's Mecha was rare, she didn't ask anything else.
As long as it was a rare Mecha, it couldn't be too weak.
"No."
"Join my team. We're short one person."
"Sure!"
Wang Qianduo agreed without a moment's hesitation. He really did need a regular party.
And after getting to know Lin Qimeng over this period, he'd come to understand what kind of person she was.
Besides, his unique hidden quest might require a team again at any moment.
He didn't need one this time, but he had no idea when he'd complete the quest.
And most importantly, he wanted to win the heart of a beautiful woman...
Heh heh heh!
(﹃)
Before you continue