Phakin dragged Tangmo to the parking lot, pointed to the European car that he had driven her in last time, and shouted, "Get in the car!" While fleeing, Tangmo glanced back several times and saw that someone was indeed chasing them. Knowing Phakin claimed to be a reporter, she, not wanting to be in the news like any small Thai person, hurriedly got into the car.
Phakin wasted no time, started the car, and sped out of the mall immediately. Her parents, running after them, saw their daughter sitting in the car as it drove past. Her father also wasted no time, pressed the remote for his car to come close, and stepped on the accelerator to follow!
A chase scene like in a Hollywood movie unfolded.
Phakin gripped the steering wheel, glanced through the rearview camera, and saw one car speeding after him. He muttered, "Reporters these days are this persistent?" and then accelerated away. Her father, seeing the gap widening, roared and stepped on the gas to catch up!
Screech... screech... screech... screech... screech... The sound of tires changing lanes suddenly echoed repeatedly. Cutting in front of other cars, swerving, evading, switching lanes, making abrupt turns—Phakin did it all but couldn't shake off the pursuit!
What could be done? He had been on Mars for five years and hadn't driven for a long time. How could he compete with an experienced city driver like Tangmo's father?
However, even in the chaotic situation like a mercenary escaping with a prisoner, Phakin had feigned death. Escaping reporters was a minor task.
After analyzing the situation, he knew his car had a 400-horsepower engine, while the car behind was just an ordinary family car, at most with 150 horsepower. When Phakin saw an on-ramp to the expressway, he grinned.
"Can't beat you in the city? Let's see how it goes on an open expressway!" He'd use his speed advantage to flee!
Once on the expressway, Phakin moved to the far right lane, preparing. He looked through the rearview camera, still seeing the car following. He pressed the sport button to unleash all the car's power...
Floored the pedal immediately!
Whoosh... Click-click-click-click-click...
The expressway speed cameras clicked rapidly. Phakin's escape could potentially fund several new police motorcycles with the fines he would rack up. Both vehicles exceeded the legal speed limit. Her father, also ignoring the law out of concern for his daughter, stepped on the gas to the max, determined to catch up!
However, after about thirty seconds, the horsepower difference of threefold widened the gap from seeing the rear end closely to losing sight of it entirely. Her father slammed the steering wheel in frustration, roaring, "Young man, you're good!" Seeing it was impossible to catch up, he eased off the accelerator but continued to follow, guessing which exit the European car would take.
Meanwhile, her mother, gripping the grab handle and pressing her foot against the car's dashboard during the chase, sighed in relief, saying, "Dear, calm down. The kids are just going on a date; let's not disturb them."
"Disturb?!" her father roared, eyes scanning for any sign of the European car exiting, continuing, "It's suspicious! Why did they run from us? Even if that young man doesn't know us, he must have had trouble with others before. Otherwise, why would he flee upon seeing strangers looking at him?"
Then he turned the steering wheel to exit and continued, "We must wait near the house. If that young man drops Tangmo home before we get back, we won't be able to confront him!" Whoosh! He accelerated once more, fearing he wouldn't get Tangmo home in time...
And then he would get more speeding tickets.
Compared to the intense shootouts they had encountered together before, just accelerating with their backs pressing against the seats, speeding was not that exciting.
Tangmo rested her chin, deep in thought, as the sea breeze from Bang Khun Thian (district, south of bangkok) gently swept her face. Phakin did not do as Tangmo's father had guessed. He didn't drop her off at home but raced from the city center to the coastline of Bangkok, escaping so far that they surely couldn't be traced. Phakin walked to buy a large box of fresh seafood and returned to Tangmo, who was frowning. She spoke up as Phakin approached, thinking back for a long time, "The car following us looks familiar…" Well, honestly, even though there are many cars of the same model, it was her father's car, so how could it not be familiar?
Phakin asked curiously, "Have they been following you since before?"
Tangmo recalled again and shook her head, saying she hadn't noticed, then added, "My father also uses this brand and model." She waved her hand, mentioning that in Thailand, there are hundreds or thousands of Japanese brand cars like her father's in the city, so it wasn't strange for the following car to be the same model.
Besides, why would her father act like a nosy reporter?
It's normal for children not to understand their parents' concerns.
Phakin handed the seafood to Tangmo and said, "I troubled you again, so I'm giving you these."
Nowadays, nature needs restoration and conservation, so seafood caught from nature is regulated by the state, making it significantly more expensive than farmed seafood.
Usually, Tangmo would refuse, but this time she thanked him and happily accepted. "My family loves seafood. We couldn't eat it before because of the pollution, so we only bought farmed seafood. Now, even though the world has become much cleaner, seafood from the ocean is still very expensive."
Phakin smiled, "Glad you like it," as he put it in the back of the car. Tangmo turned around and said, "Since we're here, my mom loves natural salt. I'll buy some as a gift."
Phakin smiled even more and agreed, "Of course."
The girl who is proud and insists on standing on her own feet, refusing any help, now comes asking to be taken here and there. This signifies that she has accepted being close to someone. Not long after their first meeting, it's understandable since they have gone through many things together, including life and death. It's not strange if they become close.
For those who want to get close to obtain model A, they must struggle quite a bit to become close. However, the resolution of the meeting on the Solomon Islands has already stated that there's no need to become close!
While Phakin was taking Tangmo to buy souvenirs for the family, on the same afternoon, Shamshir traveled across the sea, spending the highest fare on an airship to the mid-sea city called Rigel 2. The name of the city reveals that Robby Tiger 0001 was obsessed with his first city, so he named his new city Rigel 2. It makes sense due to the significance of the battle of Rigel, which has been studied even outside the game. The strategy of making the sea freeze to move land troops across was a tremendous surprise to all strategists.
Academically, this is the case. In terms of reputation, it is embarrassing to be branded as the defeated until now. Robby Tiger 0001 is known to have lost to Sagittarius in the battle of crossing the sea on foot. Everyone remembers this. How could Robby Tiger 0001 not hold a grudge against Sagittarius when there was a mysterious joint proposal to change power within the game, including taking down Sagittarius? Of course, he accepted it.
At this moment, the loyal stuntman at his post, who "happened" to be present during the incident, drags the clueless witness to broadcast it throughout the social world. Everything is ready; they are just waiting for Shamshir to show up.
Bang!
At the south gate of Rigel 2, a thin man in strange clothing kicked a player from the Rigel City Defense Guild flying.
The city still stands in the middle of the sea like the Rigel island that was seized by Sagittarius. However, it has moved to the east of the main continent's map. With the experience of past injuries, Robby tiger 0001 built city walls right along the coast to prevent another invasion where the sea could be frozen and breached.
The thin man strutted in, swatting away swordsmen, mages, men, women, and even children with a wave of his hand. No one could stop him.
Shamshir, as he fought unrelentingly, didn't care about anything because he could invoke the name of Sagittarius! This gave him the opportunity to tarnish the reputation of the metropolitan lord.
Innocent bystanders, unwitting witnesses to the event, were not only informed but also caught in the crossfire and kicked several times by Shamshir.
Before long, Robby tiger 0001 arrived with his forces.
A western-looking man, his face stern like in the anime "Fist of the North Star," even spoke that legendary line, "Omae wa mō shindeiru (You are already dead!)" and commanded the Rigel City Defense Guild to charge.
The thin man sheathed his sword, raised his hand to signal them to stop, and said, "I have been delegated to deliver a message to you, Robby tiger 0001."
Upon hearing this, the western-looking man ordered his forces to halt, remaining in a state of readiness, adhering to the protocol of diplomacy before engaging.
The thin man introduced himself, "I am Shamshir."
This ignited a buzz among the surrounding crowd of witnesses who had been gathered, "Isn't that Shamshir, the strongest player?"
"That's what he looks like?"
"No wonder he dared to come into the city alone; he's sent dozens of people respawning!"
This showed that a legend remains a legend; everyone had heard of him.
Shamshir took a small amount of pride in himself, knowing that his past exploits were deeply embedded in every player's memory. Despite having to live in hiding after that, eventually joining the gaming revolution, it was his main reason for participating in this operation. The world was unjust. He was incredibly skilled, capable of singlehandedly defeating champion parties. Instead of improving themselves, those clubs would resort to mobbing him to eliminate someone superior like him.
Such a society was despicable!
Reflecting on the corrupt nature of this gaming world, Shamshir was more determined than ever to ensure the plan's success, to eradicate this rot once and for all. He continued, "I am on probation for Sagittarius and have been ordered to inform you, Robby tiger 0001..." while pointing his finger stylishly to create more buzz for the witnesses to spread further."
On the MGC Online forum
Topic of discussion: "Hey, hey, I heard that Sagittarius sent the Great Sword God Shamshir to deliver a message to that dumb Robby Tiger 0001 who foolishly backstabbed Chandra City when the dwarf army attacked Seven Lakes City."
Comment 1: "Just found out! How's it going???"
Comment 2: "The message was: One, have you learned your lesson?
Two, if not, I'll come with golems myself.
Three, if you still haven't learned your lesson after that, I will raid your city every three days without taking any land, waiting for you to go bankrupt.
Four, if you still haven't learned your lesson after all those raids, Shamshir will wait at Robby Tiger 0001's respawn point and kill you immediately every time you respawn."
Comment 3: "Oh my, that's brutal."
Comment 4: "This basically ruins a player's future."
Comment 5: "The first point already states it. That fool just has to apologize to Sagittarius and promise not to do it again, then he will be considered to have learned his lesson, and Sagittarius will keep his word."
Comment 6: "True, the port city Lanhai got hit once before."
Comment 7: "I'm close with LanLan HaiEr. She says she's very happy now and understands what it means to live under a powerful protector. She regrets not surrendering as a subordinate city from the start."
Comment 8: "Is being a vassal city under Sagittarius really that good?? Comment 7?"
Comment 9: "Lan Lan is one of the players who makes a living from this game. Initially, she thought that having to pay tribute to Chandra City would decrease her income, but it actually didn't. Once identified as a vassal of Chandra City, more shops, more ships docked, and the player crowd increased. If you, Comment 8, go check it out, you'll see."
Comment 10: "That's because Chandra City's protection is quite beneficial. Not bad, maybe I should become a vassal to the Lord of the Metropolis ^^"
Comment 11: "Yes, yes, that way I wouldn't have to worry about other cities attacking! I totally agree, +1!!"
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