Chapter 155 The Abandoned Warehouse

Chapter 155 The Abandoned Warehouse

"What did you say?" Meng Wei's ears were also injured, hastily bandaged with ragged scraps of cloth to stem the bleeding, making him wonder if he had misheard.

"I need to see that the girl is safe and unharmed before I consider transferring the funds." Su Bai's expression remained as calm as it had been a week ago when he refused Meng Wei. "So, please take me to where the girl is now—whether it's the abandoned warehouse in the next block or somewhere else, I must confirm with my own eyes that the girl named Qiu Lei is alright."

"You're planning to save her? Use all your assets to save someone you've only known for a few days?" Meng Wei's face twisted into an expression of extreme disbelief. "A kid with zero work experience? An outsider of unknown origin?"

"I'm only considering it." Su Bai looked up at Meng Wei. "If you've made up your mind, we can leave now."

"Do you even realize that once you go there, you won't have the luxury of consideration? They're all there." For some reason, Meng Wei's face was etched with resentment and bitterness. "By then, forget considering—if you show even a hint of hesitation, those guys might torture that girl right in front of you."

"Thanks for the reminder."

"I'm not reminding you!!" Meng Wei snapped, letting out a long, frustrated breath. "I truly don't understand why you'd want to save that clueless, foolish girl, even though we both worked for you, yet you couldn't care less about whether I live or die? Is it just because she stayed in the shop a few days longer than I did?"

Despite his words, Meng Wei moved behind Su Bai's wheelchair and began pushing it toward the players' base.

"She took my cat."

"...Huh?" Meng Wei's face contorted in confusion, as if unable to comprehend his former employer's thought process.

"Whatever. I'm still looking forward to seeing you, this fake human, get tortured by those guys." Meng Wei chuckled a few times as he pushed the wheelchair, as if picturing a satisfying scene. "You'll definitely regret saving her."

"I don't regret the decisions I make." Su Bai didn't harbor much prejudice against Meng Wei. If this young player hadn't previously erupted with such overwhelming malice and hatred, Su Bai would have been happy to offer him the kind of help an ordinary employer could provide.

Soon, Meng Wei pushed Su Bai through a shortcut into Fourth Street, leaving the area monitored by the lounge projector. Unlike Fifth Street, which was mostly residential communities, Fourth Street was dominated by various manufacturing plants, assembly factories, and warehouses, making it a vital industrial artery for Fog City.

Although the people of Fog City had no concept of "vehicles," Fourth Street still featured some vehicle-like transport systems. These, along with the surrounding factories, made Fourth Street appear much grimier and more run-down than Fifth Street. The air seemed thicker with dust, which might explain why Fog City residents preferred walking over more convenient transportation. In this crumbling city, everyone prioritized the "present" over "future" and "development."

As a large, dilapidated warehouse came into Su Bai's view, he detected several individuals imbued with the Red Moon's power nearby—or, more precisely, gathered inside the warehouse not far away.

Earlier, when Yang Yu explained why Qiu Lei had suddenly left, he mentioned that a severely injured teammate, to whom they owed a great debt, was hiding in an abandoned warehouse in the next block. If Su Bai wasn't mistaken, the warehouse Yang Yu referred to was the one now in his sight—the base where the players behind Meng Wei had gathered.

Though Su Bai couldn't tell fortunes or read faces, he could discern that Yang Yu's concern for Qiu Lei was genuine. Yang Yu wouldn't deliberately trick Qiu Lei into entering a players' base with ill intentions. Yet, given the current situation, even if Qiu Lei hadn't been kidnapped shortly after leaving the shop, she would have been led into this warehouse by the information Yang Yu provided.

So, what went wrong?

Who was behind the misinformation?

"The answer seems obvious," Su Bai thought, watching the warehouse draw closer. He could almost make out the red graffiti on the rusted iron gate—though it was unclear whether the dark red color was paint or something else.

The closer they got to the warehouse, the more a stench of blood and decay permeated the air—a sense of corruption not found elsewhere in Fog City. Though Meng Wei repeatedly called Fog City people "fake humanoids," most areas of Fog City outwardly exuded vitality and smiles, with even the busiest streets spotlessly clean.

Compared to other parts of Fog City, these players—who considered themselves "real" humans—had instead created an abandoned base filled with rot and death, both on the surface and in its "reality." This contrast, Su Bai found, was quite interesting.

"Meng Wei? Back so soon? Did you have a pleasant... chat with your former employer?" A female player near the warehouse spotted Meng Wei and then noticed he was pushing a wheelchair, with the disabled grocery store owner they knew sitting in it.

"Is that him? The painter with leg problems?" These players clearly didn't care about Su Bai's identity as a "shop owner," believing only his "painter" identity could earn them the assets they coveted.

"Earlier, they just said he was in a wheelchair. Didn't expect him to be more handsome than that fortune-teller the boss went through so much trouble to bring back." The female player stared at Su Bai for a moment, then shook her head. "Why didn't you just take him straight to the bank? Why bring him back? You know the boss has been in a terrible mood lately. A few words might set him off."

"Isn't that perfect? He came here himself. It'd be even better if he ends up worse off than me." Meng Wei continued pushing the wheelchair forward. "This Owner Bai says he'll only consider transferring the funds after he sees with his own eyes that the girl is safe."

"Sounds like a decent guy. How did you mess things up last time?" The female player raised an eyebrow, then stopped Meng Wei and Su Bai. "Wait here at the entrance. I'll go in and inform the boss, and have them prepare for the meeting. You know tomorrow is the first score settlement after entering the game. Right now, this Owner Bai is one of the keys to whether we can leave this hellhole of a city soon."

With that, the female player pushed the rusted warehouse door open a crack and slipped inside alone.

About ten minutes later, she pushed the door open from inside, glanced sympathetically at Su Bai, and gestured for them to enter, allowing Meng Wei to push the wheelchair into the warehouse.