Thunder King Battle Suit

Evening, Queens Police Station.

"Damn, what kind of crappy game is this? The NPCs even ambush people! If I ever see that bastard again, I'll show him exactly why flowers are red!"

Li Hao walked out of the police station with a sour look on his face, gritting his teeth as he muttered at the darkening sky.

He cursed the whole way. His mood was already foul, and by the time he crossed a shadowy alley and reached its exit, it had only gotten worse.

Three men were crouched at the alley's mouth, smoking. With their shaved heads, tattoos, and hippie getups, they clearly weren't the respectable sort.

He had no faith in law and order in this game. Several of his friends had been mugged while walking home at night, and the unluckiest one had been robbed three times in a single night. They hadn't even left him a pair of underwear.

The game's developers had to be crazy. What kind of screwed-up society had they designed? Citizens could legally carry guns? Did they think the population was too high?

After hesitating for a moment, Li Hao saw that the three thugs at the alley entrance hadn't noticed him. He slowly backed into the shadows.

But then—

A hand suddenly landed on his shoulder.

Li Hao was already on edge, so the unexpected touch made his hair stand on end and his heart race. It felt as if his heart were about to leap right out of his chest.

He turned around, stiff and slow. A huge face, so close it was practically pressed against his, filled his vision. His pupils contracted, and he instinctively stumbled backward.

"Hey, buddy. You interested in some good stuff?"

The man behind him grinned, completely oblivious to how badly he'd startled Li Hao.

"It's you!"

The moment he recognized the man, Li Hao flared with rage. Forgetting all about the thugs at the alley entrance, he grabbed the man by the collar.

"Being impulsive isn't a good habit."

Li Si grinned and gently placed his right hand on Li Hao's arms, which were gripping his collar.

Bzzt—bzzt—

A crackle of electricity sounded, and the owner of those hands immediately began convulsing and trembling wildly.

The few seconds felt as long as several years.

When Li Si pulled his hands away, Li Hao slumped straight to the ground, his face full of alarm and uncertainty. "You... you..."

"I told you not to be so impulsive."

Li Si was still smiling. He reached out to help Li Hao up, but the latter scrambled backward in fright.

"Don't worry. They're just a few little gadgets. I can control them."

Li Si raised his black-gloved hands to show him, then held one out again.

Li Hao hesitated, repeatedly reassuring himself that it was only a game. In the end, he accepted Li Si's help and let him pull him to his feet.

Once the shock had passed, he gradually calmed down and stared straight at Li Si. "You wanted something from me?"

If they hadn't run into each other now, he might still have wondered why this NPC he'd never met had deliberately set him up. But since they'd met again, he didn't believe it was a coincidence.

"Let me introduce myself. I'm a researcher at Osborn, and, well... I also run a little side business."

Li Si grinned. "I saw you at the corporate headquarters earlier and thought you'd make a good customer. But it wasn't convenient to approach you then, so I had to resort to that little trick to keep you here. I hope you don't mind!"

A hidden shop!

Li Hao's heart suddenly began to race.

Hidden shops were nothing new in virtual games. Many open-world simulation games used them to sell game items when it was inconvenient to set up functional NPCs.

But no one had heard of hidden merchants or hidden shops in Earth OL. Maybe the one he'd found was the first in the entire game!

He'd read the speculative posts on the forums. There was no doubt that the game had a supernatural combat system; the players just couldn't access it yet. Maybe this was his chance to get involved.

Even if he only bought some equipment, he'd still be the only player with it. Showing it off on the forums would make a ton of people jealous.

A shop controlled by the game system couldn't possibly be selling everyday necessities, could it?

"What do you sell?"

The more Li Hao thought about it, the happier he felt. He'd already forgotten about being set up earlier.

"Just a few little things to protect yourself. I think you could use them!"

Li Si chuckled, took off his gloves, and tossed them to Li Hao.

"Shock gloves?"

Li Hao caught them instinctively and opened the item panel.

Item: Lee Stein's Shock Gloves

Type: Technological Item/Weapon

Attribute Bonuses: None

Equipment Skill: Electric Shock

Electric Shock (Active): The gloves release an electric current that paralyzes enemies on contact.

Li Hao's assessment of the simple little device was that it was pretty basic.

Honestly, there was nothing special about shock gloves. Given the level of real-world technology, plenty of tech enthusiasts could make them without much trouble. Even the technology in the game was advanced enough that making something like this would be easy.

But there was one catch.

Players couldn't make them, damn it. This virtual game allowed a lot of freedom, but it didn't go so far as to simulate every material and physical law. Who knew how much server capacity that would take?

"At least it's equipment. It looks a lot cooler than a gun, and I won't have to worry about getting a gun license."

Suppressing his disappointment, Li Hao looked up and asked, "How much? I'll take them."

"Don't rush. These are just little accessories."

Li Si glanced at him, then handed him another item that looked like a black outfit.

But there was hardly any fabric on it. There were patches only over the chest and limbs, and even those were in separate strips. Without the wires connecting them, it might as well have been a pile of rags.

"Is this thing really safe...? It won't short-circuit, will it...?"

Li Hao's face twitched at the exposed wires and the battery pack dangling beneath the outfit, but he still took it and checked its attributes.

Item: Lee Stein's Thunder King Battle Suit

Type: Technological Item/Support Equipment

Attribute Bonuses: None

Equipment Skill: Professor Lee's Loving Electrotherapy Package

Professor Lee's Loving Electrotherapy Package (Passive): When attacking with your limbs, strength +50%, attack speed +200%.

Note: When this skill is active, it will cause a slight numbing sensation and make your attacks somewhat stiff. Remember to recharge the equipment after use, or this equipment skill will become inactive.