Chapter 20: I am VIP
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The soothing background music, the icy mechanical sounds, the chaotic crowd of challengers, conflicts, fighting, and shouting – in just sixty seconds, the entire square had turned into a boiling pot.
Tang Lin and his two companions squeezed their way into the square amidst the chaos, risking being trampled on. With the protection of Zheng Luozhu’s “One Iron Plate,” they managed to push forward to a position about ten meters from the subway entrance. However, they found it increasingly difficult to make further progress.
The four major forces joined hands and started forming a human wall around the subway entrance, starting from a radius of about ten meters from the entrance. It wasn’t just one circle, but a layered “ring” formation, similar to the formation used when they countered Nan Ge’s scream, effectively trapping the subway entrance at the center.
“This is shameless, using a human sea strategy!” Zheng Luozhu grumbled while using the Iron Plate to push forward.
Several members of the Huanxiang Society who were confronting him, also protected by armor, didn’t yield an inch. “With just the three of you, you want to compete with us? Go to sleep early.”
Zheng Luozhu gritted his teeth, wishing he could just blast the subway entrance open with a cannon.
Many challengers who shared his sentiments had already put their thoughts into action. They launched attacks from various directions against the human wall, and their methods escalated, intensifying localized battles, occasionally causing breaches in the “rings.”
[5, 4, 3, 2, 1——]
The countdown ended, and the background music and mechanical sounds suddenly stopped. The bronze-colored metal door of the subway entrance slowly opened, and the leaders and a few key members of the four major forces entered first.
The number above the subway entrance immediately changed accordingly.
5200… 9200… 14200… 20200…
In the blink of an eye, 10% of the slots were taken!
“F*ck, this is outrageous—”
“Brothers, even if we don’t complete the challenge today, we can’t let them enter so easily—”
“Everyone, charge forward—”
People who had grown angry started to incite the crowd. Emotions were pushed to the highest point. Whether you knew each other or had fought before, it didn’t matter. If you weren’t part of the four major forces, you were brothers.
The square was completely out of control.
Tang Lin and his two companions felt the crowd behind them pressing forcefully. The human wall of the four major forces was forced to compress further inward, and Zheng Luozhu was squeezed so close to those few members of the Huanxiang Society that their faces were almost touching.
“F**k, stay away from me!” one of the Huanxiang Society members exclaimed, looking disgusted.
“Why don’t you move out of the way?” Zheng Luozhu felt like he was getting the short end of the stick.
The number above the subway entrance was still changing in real-time; currently, it was 87,200, but the growth rate was clearly slowing down. The external attacks made it difficult to maintain the human wall’s integrity. Those members of the major forces who didn’t enter the subway entrance in time had to contend with the other challengers who rushed in.
Tang Lin and his companions were positioned diagonally across from the subway entrance, not in the most fiercely contested area of the battle. Moreover, they couldn’t bring themselves to harm others just to advance in the challenge, so most of the time, they were in a stalemate.
Tang Lin made a quick decision and turned to his companion, who was shielding him with the “Iron Plate.” “We can’t wait any longer.”
Fang Peiyang nodded, understanding his intention.
Tang Lin sighed almost inaudibly. “It’s a shame; I thought we could save it all to the next level.”
Fang Peiyang was nonchalant. “We bought them to use them.”
Tang Lin: “I’m just afraid that such stationery is hard to come by, and we won’t be able to buy more later.”
Fang Peiyang: “If it’s really that rare, he won’t sell it for just thirty thousand.”
Tang Lin thought for a moment. “You’re right.”
“Rumble——”
Deafening thunder resounded, and a large chunk of the human wall directly facing the subway entrance was blown away. Everyone saw the situation and rushed towards that area, giving Tang Lin’s group some relief.
Zheng Luozhu quickly distanced himself from the Huanxiang Society members to create some breathing space, but a woman’s scream pierced through their eardrums.
A scream that was both everlasting and heart-wrenching.
Zheng Luozhu couldn’t even hold the Iron Plate steady. He turned his head with difficulty, searching for that slender figure.
What was a Screaming Queen? It was someone who, from a distance of seven or eight meters away, could create a horrifying sound effect that felt like it was right in your ears.
While the scream was deadly, breaking through the layers of protective equipment that made up the human wall was close to impossible. So, the Queen had gone mad.
“Why don’t you go over there?” one of the Huanxiang Society members and Zheng Luozhu had both matured through the “squeezing” experience and started getting talkative.
Zheng Luozhu was so frustrated that he scratched his teeth. “I’d rather fight with you.”
With that said, he held his breath, focused, and prepared to use the Iron Plate as if it were a banana leaf fan, even if he ended up breaking his arm to clear a bloody path.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he started breathing evenly, Tang Lin lightly tapped the Iron Plate.
“Zhuzi, put it away.”
Zheng Luozhu suspected he had misheard something and was about to ask when Tang Lin loudly called out to someone nearby, “Nan Ge, come over here——”
Zheng Luozhu’s head turned, and he suddenly realized. Immediately, he put away the Iron Plate and nonchalantly cradled his arm.
The Huanxiang Society member, amused by the situation, asked, “What’s going on? Have you finally realized the reality and given up?”
“No, no, no,” Zheng Luozhu waved his index finger and said, “It’s that our boss has finally decided to abandon the civilian route and return to his dominant CEO style.”
The Huanxiang Society member looked at him puzzled, suspecting that the confrontation just now had driven him mad.
Nan Ge’s screams couldn’t penetrate the human wall, but in this area where the crowd was slightly more dispersed horizontally, it was possible. In no time, she arrived next to the three of them, her disordered breathing, heaving chest, and furrowed eyebrows all revealing her frustration and disarray.
“There are too many people; we didn’t time our rush well,” she lamented. “If we had been a little earlier or a little later, it wouldn’t have been this intense.”
Tang Lin raised an eyebrow: “What do you mean?”
Nan Ge: “This time, all the leaders of the five major forces are participating in the Underground City, so they’re short of manpower.”
Tang Lin: “Why did they all choose this time?”
“Maybe the major forces are short of manpower upstairs?” Nan Ge guessed playfully. “Or maybe something big happened.”
The affairs upstairs were too far removed from their concerns, and Tang Lin only cared about the present. He asked, “Are you going to continue?”
“Of course,” Nan Ge replied without hesitation. “As long as there are less than 200 people who haven’t entered, I still have a chance.”
There was fire in her eyes, not just determination but also a burning urgency.
Tang Ling silently looked at her and suddenly asked, “Why does it have to be this time?”
Nan Ge hesitated for a moment, instinctively wanting to cover it up, but when her gaze met Tang Lin’s, she gave up.
Those were eyes that were too perceptive, able to see right through people.
“I’ve been waiting for six years, and I don’t want to wait any longer,” she said honestly, her voice not deliberately lowered but still carrying a tinge of bitterness.
Tang Ling’s eyes flashed with surprise.
Fan Peiyang furrowed his brows in confusion, and Zheng Luozhu was simply stunned.
In the end, Tang Lin didn’t ask any more questions. Instead, he said to Nan Ge, “If you don’t want to wait, then don’t.”
Fan Peiyang raised his hand and activated the interface of his Stationery Box, saying, “Receive.”
Tang Lin and Zheng Luozhu also raised their arms and opened their Stationery Boxes.
Seeing Nan Ge still standing there bewildered, Zheng Luozhu urged her, “Accept the stationery.”
Nan Ge, in her confusion, chose to “Accept the Gift.” Soon, she heard three “ding” sounds, coming from her, Tang Lin, and Zheng Luozhu’s arms.
At the same time, her Stationery Box had one more item in it.
“What does this mean?” Nan Ge couldn’t understand the situation, couldn’t grasp Tang Lin’s intentions, and now she couldn’t even comprehend the stationery.
Tang Lin didn’t answer, while Zheng Luozhu took out a pair of sunglasses from his pocket and handed them to her.
Nan Ge asked, “What’s this now?”
Zheng Luozhu: “A gift.”
“……” Nan Ge started to panic. A woman’s intuition told her that this might be a strange and dangerous organization.
The Huanxiang Society member looked at the three men and one woman in front of him, who were distributing stationery and sunglasses, and couldn’t help but ask, “What are you guys up to?”
ang Lin gave him a faint glance and said, “We’re going in.”
The Huanxiang Society member sneered, “You say you’re going in, but did your family open this challenge level?”
“The challenge level wasn’t opened by us,” Tang Lin replied with an uncommonly good mood and gave the other person a smile. “But we’re VIPs.”
The three men simultaneously put on sunglasses and activated their stationery.
What was going on? Nan Ge’s mind was completely blank, but with the atmosphere at this point, she followed suit without thinking—put on the sunglasses, activated her stationery, and went along with it.
The mechanical countdown voice started again, but this time, the background music changed to fireworks and cannon fire, cheerful and lively——
[Next is the exclusive time for VIPs to enter the level. Non-VIPs, please make way voluntarily.]
A dazzling beam of light descended from above, completely enveloping Tang Lin and his group, like the most brilliant spotlight, instantly making them the focus of the stage. Everything around them, even the subway entrance, paled in comparison.
But the spotlight didn’t stop there; it flowed down from the four of them like a cascading Milky Way, eventually reaching the entrance to the level.
Along with this silvery river of light, there was also a transparent pathway.
All the challengers who were fighting, crowding, and entangled at the entrance had to give way for this pathway, like the parting of the Red Sea. No matter how they tried to charge forward, they couldn’t budge the transparent pathway in the slightest.
The dazzling silvery light extended all the way to the entrance, stopping only when it matched the width of the entrance itself, as if an aisle of silver carpet had been laid out from beneath the four VIPs’ feet to the entrance.
And the transparent pathway seamlessly connected with the entrance. Except for the four VIPs inside the pathway, no one else, no matter how close they were to the entrance, could enter the challenge level at this moment.
The exclusive time was indeed as its name suggested.
The atmosphere in the square froze completely due to this strange turn of events.
“What kind of move is this…”
“Stationery, huh…”
“This is so unfair!”
“What’s so great about being tall——”
Outside the pathway, the crowd was excited, while inside the pathway, the four VIPs strolled leisurely, like two completely different worlds.
Zheng Luozhu was on the verge of bursting with happiness. He waved to bid farewell to the Huanxiang Society member and approached Fan Peiyang with a fawning smile. “Boss, you can even collect stationery like this. It’s amazing! How much did this cost?”
“Three hundred thousand,” Fan Peiyang paused for a moment, remembering the dark and murky supplement, “each.”
Zheng Luozhu: “…”
Happiness was so short-lived, and now he was left with the painful sting of blood loss.
Nan Ge was also taken aback by this extravagant display. “I don’t have the money to repay you.”
“No need,” Tang Lin said, “Consider it repaying a favor.”
Four screams, three hundred thousand, and bringing her into the challenge level, this favor was certainly significant.
Nan Ge wanted to say thank you, but at this moment, saying thank you felt too trivial.
Taking a deep breath, she buried all her gratitude deep in her heart.
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