Qing Li opened her eyes. She was now standing in the center of the hall. The glaring light from the crystal chandelier made her slightly uncomfortable. She frowned, and the murmurs of others reached her ears.
“Aren’t they on a four-star mission? How did they all make it back alive?”
“Four-star missions are practically death traps—ten deaths for every survival. Not a single casualty? Has the difficulty of four-star missions dropped?”
“Hey, tell us everything you encountered during your mission. Be thorough. Don’t leave anything out.”
A tall, burly man looked down at Qing Li from above, his arms crossed over his chest, contempt evident in his eyes.
He despised female players the most, believing they were always burdens—screaming and panicking in the face of danger.
Of course, the top-ranked female players were exceptions.
“Are you asking me?”
Qing Li yawned. A full night of exhausting driving had left her mentally drained. Her clear eyes were bloodshot, a trace of darkness flickering in them. Sleep deprivation made her easily irritable.
The man snorted coldly and said unhappily, “Don’t waste time, damn it. I’m asking you a question—answer me honestly.”
“You’re asking me, and why should I answer?” Qing Li’s eyes narrowed, and a cold smile tugged at the corners of her lips.
A female player who was clinging to the man softly explained, “I think your name is Qing Li, right? This is your second time completing a mission, so you might not know the rules. Every time a player comes back alive, they must share every detail of their mission experience. This helps everyone learn and increases our chances of survival.”
The other three players who had returned from the mission were lying on the ground, unconscious. No one knew what they had experienced, but the stench of urine and feces coming from them made it clear they had been scared out of their wits.
At this moment, most of the players in the hall had their eyes on Qing Li, waiting for her response.
Qing Li didn’t relent because of the woman’s explanation. She pointed at the man and said with a sly smile, “You want to know what happened? Sure. But just now, this guy yelled too loudly and scared me. I need compensation for emotional damage, along with an apology.”
“You filthy bitch, don’t push your luck!” The man erupted in anger, his beefy face contorted. He raised his hand and swung it toward Qing Li’s face.
Crack—
The sound of bones breaking echoed.
The scene before them left everyone present in shock.
The man froze, his eyes wide with disbelief. The searing pain from his wrist hit him like a tidal wave, making him let out a hoarse scream: “Ah! My hand! You’ve crippled my hand!”
“I only broke one of your hands. But you yelled at me and scared my fragile heart. A heart is way more important than a hand. Now hurry up and compensate me for the medical expenses.” Qing Li’s small face turned serious, her tone firm as she demanded compensation. Her grip on his wrist tightened.
“H-how much?”
The man’s face turned pale, beads of cold sweat dotting his forehead. The pain made his teeth chatter, and his speech grew slurred. His triangular eyes, which had been full of arrogance moments ago, now brimmed with fear as he looked at Qing Li.
You act tough? I can act tougher. This is the law of bullying the weak while fearing the strong.
The other players who had gathered to watch the drama were equally stunned. None of them had expected this frail-looking girl to crush the man’s wrist with such brutality.
Just how much strength does she have?
When it came to discussing money, Qing Li’s demeanor shifted instantly. She smiled warmly and said, “We’re all unlucky souls thrown into this livestream. We should unite, support each other, and advance together…”
Hearing this, the man’s expression softened slightly. He thought she wouldn’t go overboard and demand an outrageous amount.
Qing Li: “So I won’t rip you off too much. Let’s say 200,000 popularity points should be enough.”
The man: “…”
Two hundred thousand? And you say you’re not ripping me off?
“Two hundred thousand is too much. Can you lower it a bit?” the man asked hesitantly, forcing himself to stay calm.
“Of course I can.”
Qing Li’s face lit up with a cheerful smile, looking as if she was easy to negotiate with. Her demeanor made the man drop his guard again.
But her next sentence wiped the smile right off his face.
“I could just break your other hand, and we’ll call it even. How about that?”
Qing Li blinked innocently, her smile pure and harmless. Yet those black-and-white eyes sent a chill down the man’s spine, making him feel like he was facing a ghost.
“I… I’ll pay. I’ll pay the 200,000.”
Shaking, the man quickly made the transfer.
After receiving the transfer, Qing Li’s mood brightened significantly. She turned to the players around her with a radiant smile and said, “Our mission this time was really simple. We just had to ride the bus to the final stop. The only issue was the driver being a bit mean, so I tossed him out and drove the bus myself. Once we reached the stop, the mission was complete!”
“That’s it?”
A player nearby muttered in disbelief. It was hard to accept that a four-star mission could be so straightforward.
At that moment, the three unconscious players began to wake up.
Their expressions were blank, their eyes vacant and unfocused.
“Hey, what exactly happened to you guys?” a player standing closest to them stepped forward and asked.
Li Tao: “Ghosts. So many ghosts. All ghosts!”
Bai Yueyue: “Corpses. So many corpses. All corpses!”
Wang Ge stared vacantly into space, but when his gaze landed on Qing Li, he suddenly let out a blood-curdling scream: “Murderer! Psychopathic murderer!”
With that, he passed out again.
The crowd wore indescribable expressions: “…”
What on earth had these three gone through?
At that moment, the screen at the top of the hall began to display the mission results.
Mission Name: Death Bus.
Mission Completion Rate: 100%.
Mission Level Evaluation:
– Bai Yueyue: E rank. Reward: 100 experience points. Rank: 69 → 67.
– Li Tao: E rank. Reward: 100 experience points. Rank: 71 → 70.
– Wang Ge: E rank. Reward: 100 experience points. Rank: 85 → 83.
– Qing Li: F rank. Reward: 1 experience point. Rank: 91 → 94.
Seeing her mission results, Qing Li’s lips twitched.
Not leveling up was one thing, but actually dropping in rank? What the hell?
“System, you better give me a reasonable explanation, or compensate me with money.”
Qing Li bit her lower lip with her small tiger tooth, her cheeks puffed up in indignation, looking ready to fight to the bitter end.
However, the system didn’t respond. Not even a half-hearted excuse. It simply played dead, like a scumbag who ghosts you after toying with your emotions.
—
On the second floor of the hall, two pairs of eyes were fixed on Qing Li.
“This new girl is pretty interesting, don’t you think?” A woman’s lips curved into a faint smile. Her ash-blond curls cascaded over her shoulders, accentuating her slender, elegant figure. Though her features weren’t stunning, her cold, fair skin seemed to glow, and her soft, refined features gave off a friendly and approachable air.
If anyone saw her, they’d undoubtedly be struck speechless with excitement. She was none other than the second-ranked figure in the livestream rankings—No. 2, Bai Jinse. She was even regarded as a savior by some players!
Standing beside Bai Jinse was a handsome man with a mischievous grin. His long, fox-like eyes gleamed with a devil-may-care attitude as he looked down at Qing Li in the center of the crowd. He said leisurely, “She is quite interesting. I’m looking forward to doing a mission with her.”
He licked his lips, a hint of bloodthirsty malice flashing in his eyes.