Heh Heh

"Max, get in!"

Back in Bumblebee's driver's seat, Li Si smiled at Max, who still looked hesitant. "Don't worry. I'll drive slower this time. I was just testing the speed before."

"It's not that..."

Max sat in the passenger seat and said hesitantly, "Li, I think I saw someone watching you just now. You know I'm pretty sensitive to people's emotions. A few people kept their eyes on us..."

"Watching me?"

Li Si immediately understood what Max meant.

It seemed some of these lawless players had finally given in to their greed.

"Relax, Max. Don't forget what we're riding in. This is Bumblebee!"

Though he knew what was going on, Li Si comforted Max as if it were no big deal.

They might've had a chance if they'd tried something last time, but now... Li Si could only laugh to himself.

"Right. I forgot about the big guy we're sitting in."

After Li Si reminded him, Max slapped his forehead and grinned sheepishly.

The car started up soon after, and Bumblebee sped off again. But to accommodate Max, Li Si made a point of driving a little slower.

They hadn't gone far when he spotted a white minivan following them in the rearview mirror. It hadn't even turned on its headlights, as if that would fool anyone. Whoever was driving was clearly an amateur.

"Some people really don't value their lives!"

Li Si smiled helplessly, then simply pulled over. He and Max got out, leaned against the car, and waited quietly.

Screech!

The white minivan behind them braked hard and came to a sudden stop.

Max had never experienced anything like this before. He nervously backed away until he bumped into Bumblebee's side, which made him feel a little safer.

The players in the minivan were just as stunned. They hadn't expected their target to pull over and wait for them.

"I thought we'd have to go to a lot of trouble to force you to stop. Didn't expect you to pull over on your own!"

Six players climbed out of the white minivan.

"Well, look at that. They're all familiar faces. Did you guys start a circus?"

Li Si took one look at them and burst out laughing.

Aside from the bespectacled buzz-cut man leading them, whom he barely remembered, he'd dealt with all five of the others before. First were the tall-and-short pair of buffoons from a couple days ago. The other three were the players he'd beaten up at school last Friday. They were persistent, he had to give them that. They'd come out to rob someone even with their limbs still in casts.

"Didn't expect you to remember us!"

The trio of street thugs glared at Li Si, hatred written all over their faces. They pulled out three old revolvers and aimed them at him. "You're supposed to be good at fighting, right? Wanna see if you can dodge bullets?"

"I really can dodge them."

Li Si raised an eyebrow, amused.

The three thugs were enraged. Their hands shook as they held up the revolvers, and they looked ready to fire at any moment.

Just then, the bespectacled buzz-cut man—the one Li Si hadn't met before—raised a hand and stopped them.

"You're not an NPC, are you?"

The buzz-cut man adjusted his glasses. His question caught Li Si off guard.

"What makes you think that?"

Li Si soon smiled nonchalantly. He hadn't gone out of his way to hide that he was a player, so it was only natural someone had figured it out.

Besides, it wasn't a big deal if people knew. He'd pretended to be a hidden game merchant before just to draw players to New York and give himself a measure of security during trades. There was no need for that anymore.

"Heh. I wasn't sure at first, but then I noticed this!"

The bespectacled man gave a cold chuckle and pointed to the top of his head.

Only then did Li Si realize that the man had no green name hovering over his head.

So he'd discovered the hidden-name feature.

It had taken him this long to find out, and now he was acting like he'd cracked some great mystery. Li Si didn't even know what to say.

Did people really think putting on glasses made them look like geniuses? This guy seemed more like an idiot.

Li Si rolled his eyes. "So? You're going to rob me now?"

"Heh. At least you're not completely stupid!"

The bespectacled man chuckled coldly again. "Just tell me how to make those two pieces of equipment, and I won't even ask for the money you made last time!"

"Has anyone ever told you that you're asking to get punched?"

Hearing another "heh" that sounded like an insult made a vein bulge on Li Si's forehead. He'd lost his patience completely, and the thought of messing with these buffoons went right out the window.

"Heh. You want to punch me? Then you'll have to ask the guns in our hands—"

"Bumblebee, battle mode!"

Li Si called out, his expression blank.

Clank! Clank-clank!

A continuous series of metallic clanks and grinding sounds rang out.

"Holy shit!"

"Oh my God!"

"What the...?"

The bespectacled man and the other five players instinctively glanced toward the sound. Their eyes nearly bulged out of their heads, and their mouths fell open in little O's.

It was an ordinary bright yellow sports car.

But now, arms and legs had sprouted from its undercarriage, lifting it upright. Its front end separated and shifted to its chest. After a series of transformations, it had become a gigantic robot over four meters tall—taller than a single-story building.

"You kept telling us he was a player! Do players have anything like this?"

Jack Frank, one of the three thugs, glared at the bespectacled man through clenched teeth. If looks could kill, the man would've been hacked to pieces by now.

The three of them were still covered in injuries. They'd known better than to come looking for payback. If the bespectacled man hadn't kept convincing them that Li Si was a player and that there was a fortune to be made, they wouldn't be here. They'd be lying comfortably in a hospital right now.

"I..."

The bespectacled man was flustered too. He looked around, then forced himself to sound calm. "Everything's still under control. Don't worry. He's an NPC. He wouldn't dare kill anyone in the city!"

He seemed to convince even himself with that excuse, and his nerves began to settle. "Besides, we just need to hold him at gunpoint..."

"Is that so?"

Li Si smiled and snapped his fingers.

A few more metallic clanks rang out. The armor on Bumblebee's forearms suddenly split open, revealing two enormous six-barreled Gatling guns. The Micro Missile Pods on his shoulders popped open too, exposing rows upon rows of cigar-sized micro-missiles.

"..."