Chapter 37

Chu Guang turned his head.

He saw a burly man standing at the door, his left arm firmly locking around Ye Shi's neck and her bound hands, and his right hand holding a gun, the muzzle pressed against her temple.

However, the moment he uttered the words "Let her go," two guns were already swiftly aimed at him.

Seeing this, the burly man instinctively hid behind Ye Shi, hurriedly shouting.

"Don't move! Your friend is in my hands! I know you're strong, but can you be faster than a bullet?"

Chu Guang, holding the gun, was taken aback for a moment, his lips curling up unnaturally.

I'm strong?

Heh, how embarrassing.

After more than five months in the wasteland, this was the first time someone had praised him for being strong.

"Chen Yang? You're not dead?!" Xia Yan widened her eyes, looking at the man at the door.

The burly man's expression was clearly awkward, but he managed to force a smile.

"Hehe, I'm not that easy to take down. Wait, I'll save you first!"

Hope reignited in Xia Yan's eyes.

If she could, she certainly wouldn't want to fall into the hands of these "savages." Even with her remaining five toes, she could imagine what would happen to her if she were captured.

Occasionally, captured mercenaries would be ransomed back by their teammates or insurance companies from slave traders, if they happened to be sold to Boulder City.

But even if they were still alive, they were no different from the dead.

Both mentally and physically.

Finally managing to wriggle free from the burly man's arm, Ye Shi, who was almost suffocated, didn't even catch her breath.

She struggled desperately, shouting.

"Shoot! Fire at me!! What are you waiting for!"

"Damn... this guy has body odor, it's going to kill me!"

If the burly man knew what this guy was shouting, he might have accidentally shot him.

But unfortunately,

The man couldn't understand, only finding the hostage to be unusually noisy.

Raising the gun and smashing the back of the hostage's head, Chen Yang shouted sternly.

"Behave!"

Ye Shi wasn't about to behave.

The pain was beyond his limits, and he couldn't even feel it. Instead, he shouted even louder because of the hit.

"Fire at me! Administrator, don't worry about me, I won't die!"

Nonsense.

Of course, I know you won't die.

Do you think I'm the one keeping you alive?

Chu Guang rolled his eyes inwardly, but his face showed no emotion. He looked calmly at the burly man at the door, named Chen Yang, and said casually.

"I don't like being threatened. You'd better put down the gun, raise your hands over your head, and lean against the wall. I can spare your life."

Chen Yang said excitedly.

"I'm not joking! I will shoot!"

"I'm the same," Chu Guang said calmly, "Do you want to try? We'll count to three and act together."

Xia Yan, who was hiding behind the bar, couldn't bear to see her teammate, who had just escaped death, die because of her.

"Enough, Chen Yang, you can go alone... don't worry about me."

Chu Guang ignored her and softly said the first number.

"3."

Seeing Chu Guang start counting, a cold sweat ran down Chen Yang's forehead.

This lunatic!

Doesn't he care about his teammate's life at all!

And the hostage, with a look of readiness to die, didn't look like a hostage at all.

"2."

Crazy.

They're all crazy!

"Wait, stop, I don't mean to threaten you! I'll give you the person, I just want one thing!"

Chen Yang admitted he was scared.

Glancing quickly at Xia Yan on the ground, he continued rapidly, "Give me the key on her, and I'll let her go immediately!"

Chu Guang raised an eyebrow, curious.

"Key?"

"A magnetic card! She knows what I'm talking about!"

Chu Guang looked at Xia Yan on the ground, but the woman didn't look at him, only staring blankly at her former teammate.

"So you're after the key..."

"Whatever you say, I'd rather complete part of the mission than die for nothing here."

Teammate?

This is the wasteland.

He had originally planned to wait until the crawlers left and then loot his teammates' bodies. Otherwise, he wouldn't have pretended to be dead and escaped, watching coldly from the side until now.

Chen Yang ignored his former teammate's disappointed look, slowly backing away with the gun pressed against the hostage's temple, his eyes fixed on Chu Guang's face.

"What do you say? A woman, and your teammate, I just want a card from her! You won't need it anyway."

Chu Guang nodded.

"Reasonable."

So I'm getting a bonus?

But...

It's unnecessary.

Chu Guang looked at Xia Yan.

"Give it to him."

Seeing the administrator not shooting but negotiating with the kidnapper, Ye Shi struggled even harder, fearing the NPC would compromise for him.

"Don't worry about me! Fang Chang, are you stupid, shoot!"

I'm a player.

What's there to fear!

Dying here would be a heroic sacrifice, and my favorability would skyrocket!

"I damn... don't move, let me aim."

Fang Chang was extremely nervous.

How could he dare to move?

It's not that he couldn't do it; he had killed teammates in "PUBG" before, but this game wasn't "PUBG." The administrator hadn't moved, so how could he dare to act?

What if he missed a key plot point?

Xia Yan silently fished out the blood-stained magnetic card from her pocket, which the captain had given her before dying.

Logically, Chen Yang shouldn't know about this card.

Unless he had already looted the captain's body.

Everything became clear in an instant.

Xia Yan looked at her former teammate with a blank face, feeling more numb than sad or scared.

Perhaps her future would be terrible.

Like a dirty rag thrown in the corner to rot, or sold to other slave traders by these savages until she could no longer work.

But suddenly, she felt these things didn't matter anymore.

"Take it."

Holding it between two fingers, she threw the card.

Seeing the card land at his feet, Chen Yang's eyes flashed with joy and greed, stepping on it and trying to kick it out the door.

But at that moment, something unexpected happened.

Almost as soon as he extended his right foot, the struggling hostage suddenly went limp, slipping from his arm and kneeling on the ground.

Before Chen Yang could react, two gunshots rang out, one of which shot straight through his forehead.

A spray of blood burst from his forehead.

Chen Yang, eyes wide open, fell backward, never understanding what had just happened.

"Damn! Hit!"

A headshot!

Moving the gun, Fang Chang shouted excitedly.

"That was me, your bullet hit the street lamp... practice more."

Chu Guang, reloading the rifle, looked exasperated.

He had no hope for these players' shooting skills.

Speaking of which, this was the first time he had used the "GM" authority to forcibly log a player out of the game.

Surprisingly, it worked well.

Of course, if the player asked, he wouldn't admit it, just explaining it as network fluctuations.

"You... you killed him..."

Xia Yan looked at Chu Guang blankly, clearly not expecting him to shoot.

Chu Guang said impatiently.

"I said, I hate being threatened, and I gave him a chance."

Especially since the guy was pointing a gun at him.

As he spoke, Ye Shi, who had been kneeling on the floor, suddenly twitched and woke up, looking confused.

"Why did I log out?"

His gaze moved to the dead body behind him, and Ye Shi jumped up reflexively.

"Damn, how did this guy die?"

Another plot twist?

Fang Chang patted his shoulder.

"Maybe network fluctuations, it's good you're back... headshot, hehe, brother, you're awesome, right?"

"Awesome, awesome, super awesome!"

Alright.

Looks like I don't even need to explain.

Turning his attention from the two players, Chu Guang felt he had recovered enough and stood up from the chair.

Walking to Chen Yang's body, Chu Guang picked up the blood-stained card and the dropped gun.

The card wasn't useful for now, but the gun was a good find.

Chu Guang played with the gun, which seemed to be semi-automatic, and its power was unknown but likely significant.

"I'm leaving, good luck."

Hearing Chu Guang speak to her, Xia Yan looked up blankly.

"Aren't you taking me with you?"

Chu Guang asked.

"Did I say I would take you?"

Xia Yan was stunned.

This was completely different from what she had expected and completely unexpected.

But there was no time to think.

Seeing the man named Chu Guang, along with his two loyal subordinates, heading for the door, she panicked.

"Aren't you raiders?"

Chu Guang stopped, looking at her mockingly.

"Disappointed?"

"I, " Xia Yan opened her mouth, awkward for a moment, then coughed and continued, "I mean, are you nearby survivors? Can you take me to your settlement?"

She had nowhere else to go.

Walking back to Boulder City on one leg was as absurd as taking on a crawler alone, and she couldn't go back anyway.

Since these people weren't raiders or slave traders, it wouldn't be bad to follow them.

But Chu Guang didn't want to take this burden.

The current medical conditions in the shelter couldn't give her a mechanical prosthetic, at most a wooden crutch.

Missing a leg, she couldn't do heavy work and would just be an extra mouth to feed. The food could be better used to recruit another player.

But then he heard the two players whispering.

"Is this woman a new NPC?"

"Maybe, but not sure... looks like the administrator doesn't plan to take her."

"But I think she can be saved."

"True, she seems to be a mercenary. Even with a missing leg, she should still be able to make guns and weapons, right?"

Emmm...

That made some sense.

Chu Guang thought for a moment and looked at Xia Yan.

"Let's be clear, you're a burden now. Even if I leave you at a nearby survivor settlement, your fate won't be much better than death."

Xia Yan bit her lip and lowered her head.

It was the truth.

She could imagine her fate.

Looking at the silent woman, Chu Guang continued.

"Of course, if you have a special skill, I might take you..."

"As long as you're willing to work for me."