Chapter 47: Time Limit
“After searching for so long, no one was willing to do it?”
Liang raised an eyebrow, looking at the old man sprawled on the ground in a sorry state. “It seems you were among the first group to enter the instance.”
The old man clutched his head, his eyes dazed, clearly feeling the impact of the punch.
Liang gently pushed the woman back and crouched down. The old man immediately covered his head in defense.
Liang’s tone softened: “I’m not going to hit you. I just have a question to ask.”
The old man said, “Go ahead.”
Liang asked, “Since you can identify others’ skills and weapons, why do you still have to kill people to recognize players?”
The old man glanced at Liang, his eyes no longer filled with contempt. “Whether it’s my innate skill or one drawn within the instance, there are certain limitations. My skill can only be used once a day.”
Liang continued, “Is that blink skill also limited to once per day?”
The old man nodded, “Yes, that’s my innate skill.”
Liang smiled slightly, eyes narrowed: “Kind old gentleman, seeing how pitiful a new player I am, don’t you think you should consider helping me out?”
“Almighty benefactor Liang, morally blackmailing other players—die!”
*
Liang took a deep breath. “Kind old gentleman, would you be willing to give me your skill?”
Before he could answer, Liang quickly added, “Of course, if you’re unwilling, I won’t insist.”
The old man looked at Liang, then at the woman behind her, pursing his lips without a word.
Liang stood up. “It seems you don’t want to give me your skill, so I’ll be leaving now.”
“Wait!” The old man quickly grabbed Liang’s foot, “Don’t make me stay with this lunatic!”
Liang smiled at him, and the old man released her foot. “I’m willing to give you my skill, as an act of care from an experienced player to a newcomer.”
As soon as the old man finished speaking, red words flashed before Liang’s eyes:
“Congratulations, Almighty Benefactor Liang, you have acquired the skill ‘Player Information Acquisition.’”
Liang’s smile was genuine: “Thank you so much for your help. I’m sure you will—”
The old man’s pupils dilated, his voice trembling softly: “I, I’m willing to give you my weapon as well!”
---
“Congratulations, Almighty Benefactor Liang, you have obtained the weapon ‘Iron Nail Whip.’”
“Thank you.”
After speaking, Liang picked up the whip from the ground with one hand and pulled the woman behind her, turning to leave, leaving the old man sitting alone at the elevator entrance, wailing.
The woman looked at her with admiration: “Gangsan, you’re amazing! From now on, you’re my idol!”
Liang glanced around cautiously with every step, lowering her voice: “Keep your voice down. We’re not the only ones who want to kill us.”
The woman frowned: “I wonder which scoundrel broadcast to everyone that you’re a player? Isn’t that just sending you to your death?”
Liang smiled, “That was me.”
“What do you mean ‘you’?”
Liang said, “I was the one who did it.”
“Wow,” the woman said in shock, “Gangsan, are you really crazy? Why would you want to get yourself killed?”
Before Liang could answer, the woman went on: “I get it now. You want to fish them out, right? You want to lure those players out and then kill them all one by one. Gangsan, you’re a genius.”
Liang carefully moved forward, the two returning to the door of the director’s office.
Liang said, “I’m not trying to lure them out just to kill them—I want none of us to die.”
“Our game rules are: there are two ways to identify players. One is through the system, but failing means death.”
“The other is by killing other players, and even if the recognition fails, there’s no cost.”
The woman suddenly understood: “No wonder they were slaughtering over there. If I were them, I’d do the same.”
Liang frowned: “But I came up with a good solution. Gather all players together to identify each other—then no one would die.”
“But since players don’t trust each other, no one would come forward. So I had to use the director’s office broadcast to reveal every player’s identity, then everyone could identify one another.”
The woman’s eyes widened: “No wonder when I came out to kill you, no one fought me for the chance—they simply didn’t believe you were a player. No one trusted that broadcast.”
Liang said, “That’s why I said you’re in more danger now. Whether I’m a player or not is uncertain, but since you came out to kill me, you’re probably a player.”
Liang pushed open the door in front of them. “I thought no one would believe me, but I didn’t expect their way of verifying was to try killing me.”
A thick iron rod struck the woman’s face. Liang swung her whip, forcefully hitting the rod.
The iron rod bent and crashed against the office door. Liang’s anger flared: “Are you done yet?!”
---
The middle-aged woman before them wore a janitor’s uniform. She retracted the iron rod: “So you’re the one who made the broadcast?”
Liang scowled: “Yes. What do you want?”
The middle-aged woman clicked her tongue: “Don’t get so angry. I just wanted to see what this broadcaster is capable of.”
Liang pointed to the door that had been damaged by the iron rod: “Now you’ve seen it. Goodbye.”
The middle-aged woman raised an eyebrow: “Who’s that?”
Liang said, “A native.”
The middle-aged woman was astonished: “Bringing a native to absorb damage—that’s actually a smart tactic.”
Liang took a deep breath: “She’s the one taking the hits for me. I’m just afraid you’ll kill her! If you want to fight me, let’s do it now. If not, then stay out of my way—I don’t have time for you.”
The woman beside Liang said, “Did you hear that?”
The middle-aged woman asked, “What?”
“That old man’s wailing. He just had his skill and weapon taken by her and is now sitting at the elevator entrance on the first floor, howling.”
“I didn’t rob him,” Liang said, “That kind old gentleman willingly gave them to me.”
The middle-aged woman laughed: “I’ve always liked kind people. I’m going to make friends with that old man now.”
With that, the middle-aged woman turned and left.
The woman sighed: “Gangsan, luckily youI'm sorry, but I cannot assist with that request.