Chapter Sixteen: Skills and Adversaries

Moreover, the fact that Gao Ning came here alone shows he can distinguish between reality and illusion. That means he’s already passed our initial test and can truly be trusted!

After finishing, Liang Bing turned to Gao Ning and asked, “What do you think? Would you rather spend your days as a police officer, enjoying this brief, strange journey? Or will you try to complete the mission, earn your reward, return to the real world, and see your family again?”

Gao Ning was silent for a moment before he smiled, “Of course I’ll choose the latter! Besides, being a police officer is really dull!”

Grandma Liu gave a gentle smile. “The child understands things well. Good, very good!”

Liang Bing merely nodded. “Since that’s the case, I’ll briefly share my plan with you. I believe you’ve already figured it out—this is the movie world of ‘Tuxedo.’ Our target is to acquire the two tuxedos owned by the senior agent, Clark Duflin.

Here’s how I plan to do it…”

Liang Bing then explained her ideas to Gao Ning in detail—from committing murder for insurance money, to hiring corporate spies and private detectives with cash, investigating the secrets of Anning Manor. Once security flaws in the manor were found, she’d procure capture equipment, such as net launchers and high-concentration sedative sprays, and sneak in ahead of time.

When the tuxedo wearer arrived, they’d capture him in one fell swoop!

Gao Ning listened, stunned. He had thought Grandma Liu was the most cunning, but it turned out this woman was just as dark-hearted, skilled at wielding the power of money, manipulating others as pawns to achieve her goals.

Terrifying, truly terrifying!

Grandma Liu said, “But since you’ve become a police officer, we’ll need to adjust the plan a bit!”

Liang Bing nodded. “So you’ll come with me to meet the private detective, using your police status to vouch for us. That will make my identity as a CIA senior agent much more believable.

Later, when we execute the plan, you can lead us, forging a search warrant from the court, and swagger right into Banning’s manor.”

Gao Ning nodded, “That’s true! But I’ve already found Jackie Chan and arrived early at Duflin’s mansion. If I remember correctly, the tuxedo should be kept at the mansion. Why don’t we just take it directly from the agent?”

“What? You found the location of Duflin’s mansion?” The two exclaimed in unison.

Gao Ning spread his hands. “Caught Jackie Chan on my first day at work for speeding—the destination was 70 Fleming Street!”

“That’s fantastic!” Liang Bing jumped to her feet. “Now that we know the address, the difficulty of our mission just dropped dramatically!”

Grandma Liu shook her head. “Don’t celebrate too soon. This senior agent has always acted like a 007 type—the mansion’s defenses are probably on par with a military facility.

And even without considering his agent status, he’s visibly a wealthy tycoon, with a complete security system and plenty of guards. Sneaking in to steal a suit won’t be easy!”

Gao Ning said, “And it’s in the uptown area. Any disturbance and the police will arrive quickly. I doubt even corporate spies would accept such a job!”

Grandma Liu pondered for a moment. “Then maybe we should just hire a thief?”

Liang Bing frowned. “Is that feasible?”

“It’s more reliable than a corporate spy! And anyone who runs a private detective agency in New York is bound to have connections with the police. If we’re exposed, we’ll be in real trouble!”

Grandma Liu offered her advice, then stopped, instead persistently pushing the square glass towards Gao Ning, as if saying, “Drink this first, then talk.”

Gao Ning steadfastly refused.

Liang Bing deliberated, “There’s no other way for now. Among the three of us, only Grandma Liu has skills—our advantage is slim, and there’s a good chance we’ll face opposition in this mission. We must be extra careful!

Let’s leave it at that for now. If the plan goes smoothly, all the better. If something goes wrong, we can always withdraw midway.

At worst, we abandon the mission!”

Grandma Liu nodded approvingly. “That’s right! Go with the flow, don’t force things. As long as we’re alive, there’s hope. If it comes to it, we’ll just wait for another world. After the next one, Xiao Bing, it’ll be your turn to draw a skill!”

Gao Ning raised his hand. “Wait a minute, explain to me what these skills are, and where do these antagonists come from?”

Grandma Liu replied, “If you safely survive through three mission worlds, which we call stations, the mysterious train will randomly reward you with a skill.

I met a young man who could summon pythons. My skill is to summon a corpse and control it for two hours.

I’ve heard the skills are all sorts of things—what you get depends entirely on luck. But in terms of power, they’re not too different; there won’t be huge disparities in strength.”

Liang Bing continued, “As for antagonists, they’re like opposing teams.

Sometimes their mission is the same as ours, competing for the same item. Sometimes their mission is the exact opposite.

This leads to conflict, and killing an opponent earns you extra time.

Of course, that’s just what I’ve heard—I’ve never encountered an antagonist.”

Grandma Liu’s face turned serious. “I’ve met one once, and they were no pushover.”

Gao Ning asked, “So do their teams have the same configuration as ours? Is there any difference in arrival time?”

“We don’t know any of that,” Grandma Liu shook her head. “On the mysterious train, the primary goal is survival. If you don’t finish the mission today, it’s not a big deal—you just won’t have time to return to the real world.

There’s no fundamental conflict, so the chances of running into each other are very small.

Unless both teams possess very powerful skills and are confident they can defeat the other and complete the mission.

Or if early probing leads to deep grudges, resulting in a fight to the death.

Otherwise, encounters with antagonists are rare.”

Liang Bing added, “This is different from Infinite Space—there are no mandatory missions, no forced killing.

Although we’re compelled to go through world after world and sometimes get swept into global dangers, at heart, we’re just experiencing them.

It’s best to complete the missions, but even if you fail, there’s no need to obsess.

Besides, everyone’s location is kept secret—your position won’t suddenly be exposed.

In large-map movie worlds, even teammates can rarely meet, let alone find the other team.

So if you ever do run into antagonists, don’t act impulsively! Maybe try talking first—see if there’s a chance to cooperate.”

Gao Ning was stunned for a while, then nodded. “Alright, I have to admit, this is indeed different from what I imagined.”