Unexpected Incident

Before him stood several people clad in various types of armor, both men and women. The one speaking was over two meters tall and wore the most complete set of armor; Li Wei recognized it at a glance as the standard-issue plate of a Crusader. The man also carried a longsword on his back, looking every bit the knight.

As for the man's serial number, Li Wei caught a glimpse and felt a jolt of shock, though he kept his expression neutral.

"Which one do you want?"

"All of them!"

Li Wei did not for a moment think the man was bluffing. Based on that serial number, he certainly had the strength to purchase these three stacked weapons, and even the companions standing beside him possessed enough capital to buy them out.

"If you want the whole lot, the price is fixed: 10,000 points. Not a single point less!" Li Wei was asking for the moon, and the moment his words fell, a gasp rippled through the crowd.

10,000 points was an astronomical figure for any newcomer. Generally, after completing an initial trial, a rookie would be doing well to have 500 points; those who aborted their missions early often walked away with 100 or less. Thus, Li Wei's asking price caused an immediate uproar.

"What are you playing at? That's way too expensive! The firearms over there don't cost more than 200 points, and you're averaging over 3,000 per item here. Why don't you just go rob a bank!"

"Yeah, exactly! It takes me back-breaking effort to finish a mission just to get 200 points. Kid, have a heart!"

The crowd clamored, clearly finding Li Wei's price tag exorbitant. However, the true veterans and those in the know understood that Li Wei's price wasn't high at all—in fact, it was somewhat of a bargain!

Setting aside the two weapons with added attributes, the Desert Eagle with infinite ammunition alone would easily fetch over 3,000 points if sold individually. In that sense, Li Wei was actually taking a loss.

The man dressed like a knight naturally understood this. As one of the first people to arrive at Shadow Street, he rarely found items for sale here that piqued his interest. He had only been wandering out of boredom today when he stumbled upon Li Wei's stall and, out of curiosity, examined the three weapons.

One look had left him stunned!

All three weapons were of a design he had never seen before, and the attributes they carried were quite impressive. Given his experience, he couldn't identify which plot world they originated from, which left only one possibility: these items were created through some sort of crafting skill.

If that were the case, they were even more precious, so he agreed without a moment's hesitation upon hearing Li Wei's price.

"Brother, my name is Long Ling. You crafted these items yourself, didn't you?" After the trade was completed, the veteran, who looked like a knight, began trying to strike up a friendship.

Li Wei understood the man's intentions perfectly, but he didn't want to draw any more attention to himself, so he had to find a way to divert the man's focus.

"I'm Li Wei. I got these items from a Treasure Chest during a plot mission. I just got lucky, so I brought them here to trade for some points!" Li Wei acted like a greenhorn with no experience, 'spilling' the origin of his goods.

"Oh!" The man named Long Ling nodded thoughtfully. Just as he was about to press for details on which plot world it was, Li Wei cut him off.

"Brother Long, this armor you're wearing is truly magnificent. It's my first time seeing something like it!" Li Wei reached out with a hand still stained with mud and 'admiringly' touched the plating.

Long Ling frowned, clearly unable to handle the rookie's enthusiasm. His initial suspicion that the boy might be a veteran shifted into a dismissive belief that he had simply encountered a lucky fool.

However, Li Wei's look of envy and reverence still gave Long Ling a secret thrill. It was no wonder; there was no need to wear this gear on Shadow Street, but he had worn it specifically to show off.

"It's just a set of Crusader defensive armor, nothing special. It's only rated at C-rank..." Long Ling said with a faint smile, pulling away from Li Wei's 'dirty hands.'

The words caused another stir. A C-rank set—what did that even mean? You could scour the entirety of Shadow Street and likely wouldn't find a handful of items of that caliber.

Yet, this man had managed to acquire a full set. As the saying goes, comparing yourself to others only leads to frustration; the eyes of the surrounding crowd turned green with envy.

Basking in the 'fervent' gazes of the crowd, Long Ling maintained his smile, fully embodying the demeanor of an expert. With no one paying attention to him anymore, Li Wei quietly slipped away from the crowd.

"Wait, where did that guy go?" By the time Long Ling and his group realized, Li Wei was nowhere to be found.

Walking into a deserted corner, Li Wei took out the Yellow Paper and opened the portal to the real world. A second later, he was back in his own room.

Lying comfortably on his bed, Li Wei recalled the serial number of the man named Long Ling: 99. His four attributes were all over 30 points, except for his mental power, and his stamina was a staggering 43 points.

Such immense strength could kill him in an instant. It was fortunate he had been masked and his face hadn't been revealed. If that man had harbored any ill intent, Li Wei would have had no way to fight back.

"Still too reckless. Stacked items will clearly attract the attention of those who know their value. I'll have to be more careful in the future, but this is certainly a shortcut to getting rich!"

Items bought for 1,000 points had been stacked and sold for 10,000—a ten-fold profit. Anyone would be excited by that.

Dreaming of a bright future, Li Wei drifted off to sleep. He hadn't had a single good rest in the game's plot world, so now that he was back in the real world, he intended to sleep well.

The next day, Li Wei set off for work, full of energy. Although he could dominate on Shadow Street, there were still things he had to do in the real world, such as earning money to support himself.

Sitting on the bus, Li Wei pondered what items he should stack to sell next. He now had over 60,000 points; he could afford to buy whatever he wanted.

Just then, the bus jolted violently, followed by a deafening crash. The entire vehicle seemed to be struck by something and tilted sharply. The passengers erupted into piercing screams.

Li Wei instinctively grabbed the handrail. His immense strength kept him from being thrown by the force of the rollover, his body locked tight against the iron bar until the bus finally came to a stop. Only then did he let go.

Looking at the metal rail, he saw deep indentations left by his grip. Li Wei was shocked—when had he become this strong?

But this was clearly not the time to dwell on it. The accident had left the interior of the bus in chaos, with cries and pleas for help echoing everywhere. Li Wei saw an elderly man in sportswear lying on the floor, motionless, his head bleeding from an unknown impact. A young girl, who looked like his granddaughter, was sobbing and shaking the old man's body.

Li Wei hurried over and knelt to check the old man's injuries. Because of his grandmother, Li Wei held a special place in his heart for the elderly.

"It's alright, it's just a scrape!" Li Wei examined the wound on the old man's head, took off his jacket, and pressed it against the injury, ignoring the blood soaking through.

He glanced at the girl, who was weeping like a flower in the rain. She had a delicate, porcelain-like face with large, expressive eyes that were now brimming with tears, giving her a unique, poignant beauty.

"Damn it, what am I thinking?"

Cutting off his wandering thoughts, Li Wei felt a bit embarrassed. The girl didn't notice; seeing Li Wei help stop the bleeding, she thanked him politely.

"What happened to my grandfather?" The girl wiped her tears. Lost and overwhelmed, she had latched onto Li Wei as her only hope. She was clearly terrified.

"It should just be a scrape..." Before he could finish, Li Wei's eyes narrowed. He saw blood pooling from the old man's abdomen.

He pulled back the clothing and gasped. The old man's stomach had been sliced open by something, leaving deep, gaping wounds. Blood was pouring out, and through the lacerations, he could faintly make out the sight of bloody intestines.

The girl went blank. She couldn't even cry anymore. It was no wonder; anyone would be stunned by such a sight, let alone when the victim was their own grandfather.

By now, the people on the bus were regaining their senses. Most were scrambling out through the windows, crying and screaming. Only a few kind-hearted souls gathered around, but upon seeing the old man's wounds, they all shook their heads. It was clear to them that such an injury was fatal.

"You bastard, look, you've killed someone!" A commotion erupted from outside the car.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out a luxury sports car had just slammed into a bus. The perpetrator had initially tried to flee, but was blocked by an angry crowd. Even after causing such a massive accident, the person in the car remained indifferent, and after being 'invited out,' he continued to spew foul language.

"So what if someone died? Isn't it just a matter of paying some money... tell me, how much do you want?" The speaker was a young man wearing a T-shirt and sunglasses; although there was a hint of panic on his face, arrogance was far more prominent.

This single sentence instantly ignited the fury of the onlookers. Some hot-blooded young men were about to step forward to teach this kid a lesson, but the next thing he said made them stop in their tracks.

"Do you know who my father is? My father is Guo Jian..."

As soon as the words fell, those who had been about to rush forward froze.

Who was Guo Jian?

He was one of the most powerful men in T City. Not only did he hold the position of Police Chief, but he was also the son-in-law of a high-ranking central official. If a figure like that were to stomp his foot, T City would tremble three times over. The consequences of crossing such a person were easy to imagine.

With this outburst, the scene suddenly turned cold and quiet.

"Hurry, call 120!"

Someone shouted, and immediately people pulled out their phones to make the call, but no one dared to grab the perpetrator again. This was human nature; as long as they were safe themselves, there was no need to invite trouble for the sake of others.

Those who had seen the old man's wounds, however, shook their heads in secret.

"Young man, don't waste your effort!" Perhaps it was a final burst of clarity before death, but the old man woke up. The first thing he saw was a young man pouring white medicinal powder from an antique green bottle onto his abdomen.

There, several deep, ghastly wounds were bleeding profusely. Having lived for more than half a lifetime, he naturally knew that such injuries might not be survivable even if rushed to the hospital immediately, let alone when he had already lost so much blood and was likely suffering from infection. Even a celestial being from the heavens, he thought, could not save him now.

Yet, the young man continued to apply the powder to the wounds regardless. Strangely enough, a faint coolness spread from the areas where the powder was sprinkled, followed by a sensation as if he were soaking in a hot spring—it was incredibly comfortable.

"This is?"

Even the dullest person would have realized something was wrong. Logically, wounds like these should be causing excruciating pain, and excessive blood loss should have left him delirious or even unconscious.

But at this moment, apart from feeling a bit weak all over, the old man's mind was remarkably clear. The original pain in his wounds was gradually receding into that comfortable, hot-spring-like sensation, and that wasn't even the most astonishing part.

What he found most incredible was that he could clearly see the wounds, under the effect of the medicinal powder, healing at a slow but visible pace.