Soon, the black sedan came to an abrupt stop not far from the high-speed train station. Liu Wu Dai glanced at her wristwatch, then pulled open the car door and stepped out. Her ponytail and long-sleeved trench coat sufficiently concealed the watch on her wrist. The cap, sunglasses, and mask she wore completely obscured her face, preventing easy identification by surveillance cameras.

Beneath the sunglasses and mask, she also wore a flexible rubber mask from the Special Affairs Bureau, completely changing her appearance to that of someone else. Even if seen, her real identity would not be discovered.

Silently, Liu Wu Dai descended the subway station escalator. On her drive over, the red dot representing her teammate hadn't moved, apparently waiting in place for her.

It had only taken her a few minutes to drive there. Since she hadn't seen any sign of the Ball Technique mentioned in the mission briefing along the way, she didn't have to worry that her teammate had been captured by the enemy and was now being used as bait.

The moment Liu Wu Dai entered the subway station, the two players recognized each other. They exchanged a silent glance and, with a mutual understanding, drew closer, like a long-awaited reunion of a couple.

"Good evening."

Li Ang sized up the other party, his fierce, slanting eyes narrowing. "Came by car?"

Liu Wu Dai nodded silently. He probably figured out I drove here because of my speed—and he likely thinks I'm a good driver.

Neither party displayed their player information. This was a deathmatch task, the objective being to eliminate other players. If they left any trace that could lead to them being identified and subsequently hunted by other organizations or individuals, it would be problematic.

Even with teammates, there was the concern that after the mission ended, one might turn around and sell their player information to a large organization.

Li Ang spoke first. "Although we can't reveal our identities, let's introduce ourselves so we can coordinate when the fighting starts."

Liu Wu Dai nodded. That sounded reasonable.

Since their last meeting, she had raised her level to Lv10 and changed her Title Skill from "Thunderbolt Bow" to "Arrow Falling Swan."

Thanks to her family's power and wealth, her skills, equipment, and items had all been completely upgraded.

For pay-to-win players, anything purchasable with money was a good thing.

"I'm quite good at long-range attacks," Liu Wu Dai said softly. "If necessary, I can snipe from a kilometer away, provided we can pinpoint the enemy's location. We'd need the assistance of a long-range Scout skill for that."

"Long-range Scout? I don't have that one."

Li Ang shook his head. "My skill is Stand User. When necessary, I can summon a Stand that is extremely powerful in both strength and agility, but I need to get in close first."

Liu Wu Dai raised an eyebrow. "...Like Platinum Star?"

The concept of a Stand User, much like Li Ang's Ripple Breathing Method, originated from the manga series *JOJO's Bizarre Adventure* by Hirohiko Araki. A Stand is a powerful apparition generated from a person's life energy, granting them extraordinary abilities.

As a player, Liu Wu Dai had diligently studied classic cultural works from around the world, frantically consuming various comics, movies, novels, TV series, and video games. Naturally, she had seen *JOJO's Bizarre Adventure*.

"You know about it?"

Li Ang rubbed his chin, muttering to himself, "It seems Stand Users really do attract each other."

"..." Liu Wu Dai's eye twitched, but she said nothing.

BEEP.

Suddenly, both their wristwatches vibrated in unison. Li Ang, maintaining his composure, bent down, using his body to block the surveillance camera as he pretended to tie his shoelaces, stealthily glancing at his wristwatch.

Displayed on the 2D virtual map of Yin City on their wristwatches were two non-concentric circles of different sizes.

The larger green circle was presumably the barrier mentioned in the mission briefing. Li Ang and Liu Wu Dai were inside this green circle.

A smaller blue circle, completely enclosed by the green one, likely indicated the next area the barrier would shrink to. It was due east of Li Ang and his companion.

At the top of the wristwatch map, the words "Countdown 33 minutes 44 seconds" hovered.

[The first barrier shrinkage will commence in 33 minutes and 44 seconds. The System will broadcast all player death events globally.]

[A special item has appeared. All players can confirm it on their wristwatches.]

[Item Name: Lunar Phase Locator]

[Type: Tool]

[Special Effect: Passively displays the exact locations of all players in this standard mission.]

[Consumption: None]

[Note: The Locator cannot be stored in the backpack and will disappear after this standard mission ends.]

Liu Wu Dai's expression changed slightly. At an angle invisible to the surveillance cameras, she pulled back her sleeve to glance at her wristwatch.

Within the green circle symbolizing the barrier's range, a shiny golden, diamond-shaped icon blinked. Next to the icon were the words [Special Item: Lunar Phase Locator].

It was about a ten-minute car ride away from them.

"..."

Li Ang pretended to finish tying his shoelaces, then stood up with an indifferent expression and sprinted towards the subway exit. He quickly said to Liu Wu Dai, who was following, "We'll take your car."

"Yeah," Liu Wu Dai nodded and broke into a run.

If there hadn't been a Locator, Li Ang would have opted for a strategy of hiding and lurking, staying in the subway station until the barrier began to shrink before taking the subway out.

But the appearance of the Locator completely changed the mission's tone.

The team that acquired the Locator first would essentially have a full-map hack, like in an e-sports game. They could predict enemy movements, avoid all hostile players, or leverage their map vision to hunt down isolated or diminished teams.

Fortunately or unfortunately for them, the Locator was too close to ignore. Even if they had to compete with other teams, it was completely worth it.

Both players ran out of the subway exit and got into the black sedan. Before Li Ang could even buckle his seatbelt, Liu Wu Dai barked, "Hold on!"

She slammed her foot down on the accelerator, sending the car aggressively into an unmanned Land Rover SUV parked tightly ahead.

The massive Land Rover SUV was violently shoved aside, its rear caving in significantly. In contrast, the black sedan was unscathed.

The sedan was heavily modified with thick armor, and its torque and horsepower rivaled that of an apex sports car. At that moment, its engine roaring at full throttle, it shot into the dense traffic like a black arrow.

A barely discernible flicker of excitement glinted in Liu Wu Dai's eyes. Her slender hands gripped the steering wheel tightly as she expertly wove the sedan through traffic, ignoring all red lights and speeding towards the Locator's position.

This mission was vital for her father and the other victims poisoned by Datura; this was no time to fret over traffic regulations.