"That makes sense."
Chen Mang silently withdrew his gaze from the shop assistant. Since no one was buying, there was no need to restock. However, he soon realized something and turned back to the assistant: "It's been so long, is this stuff still edible?"
"It's all perfectly fine to eat."
"Really?"
"Yes, it is."
"Why do you add a 'ha' at the end of every sentence?"
"It's the boss's setting, it makes it seem more friendly, ha." The shop assistant behind the counter smiled as she answered Chen Mang and his group.
Seeing this, Biao Zi instinctively shivered, hugging his arms and rubbing the goosebumps that had risen on his skin. Honestly, during the day, with all the hustle and bustle, these robots seemed quite interesting, dressed in bikinis with lifelike human bodies.
It could even stir some feelings.
Really impressive.
But at night, if you were alone in this city, it would truly turn into a horror movie. The way they talked always gave off a creepy vibe.
Wait.
Biao Zi suddenly thought of something. After hesitating for a while, he walked up to the shop assistant and tentatively placed his hand on her shoulder.
In the casino, those women in red bikinis were all flirtatious and provocative. With any physical contact, they would say, "Sir, want to? 100,000 points."
Although in the casino environment, it didn't seem out of place.
But this shop assistant was dressed in a short-sleeved shirt and jeans, a very normal outfit, looking just like the girl next door. Surely she wouldn't be like those flirtatious women in the casino, right?
The next moment—
Feeling the physical contact, the shop assistant turned to Biao Zi with a smile.
"Sir, want to? 30,000 points."
"Damn it, I knew it!"
Biao Zi cursed in frustration and quickly withdrew his arm. He had discovered that it wasn't just the casino environment—it was the entire city. In this city, anyone could do whatever they wanted as long as they had the money.
But
Only 30,000 points? That's two-thirds cheaper than in the casino. The value for money is pretty good.
Although he still thought it would be better to just go to a brothel. Aren't brothels even cheaper?
Wait, he was getting sidetracked. Why go to a brothel? What's the fun in a bunch of robots? Why play with robots when you can have real people?
Just then—
The wind chime at the door suddenly rang. A burly man strode into the store, shouting angrily, "Where is everyone?"
He completely ignored Chen Mang and the others, directly placing his wristwatch on the counter device. As the sound of 30,000 points being deducted echoed, the burly man walked behind the counter, stood behind the shop assistant, and pressed her onto the table.
"Wait..."
Biao Zi looked bewildered, glancing at his reflection on the refrigerator: "Lord Mang, we're not invisible, are we?"
"How could he just ignore us like that?"
"..."
Chen Mang narrowed his eyes, carefully observing the scene. The burly man was putting in a lot of effort, and the shop assistant was cooperating fully. The previously normal situation had instantly taken a bizarre turn. The burly man was, of course, also a robot.
A plant for this city.
Around this convenience store, aside from their group, there was no one else. Others couldn't reach this area for now.
This setup couldn't have appeared here for no reason. The scene of the clerk being pinned down seemed more like a program set by the original owner of this city, deliberately creating this absurd sense of depravity to gradually lure customers into sinking deeper.
"Let's get out of here."
Chen Mang put down the Redheart Nut in his hand and led Biao Zi and the others straight out of the convenience store. After lingering at the entrance for thirty seconds, he suddenly strode back in.
"Hey, are you still at it?"
"Never mind, sorry to interrupt. Carry on."
He had initially thought these two robots were just putting on a show for them. Since they were gone, the act would naturally stop. But to his surprise, they were still going at it. It seemed the program was set to finish what it started.
However—
Chen Mang suddenly laughed. He had thought of a way to earn points faster. These robots were all loaded with cash, spending so generously. Perhaps he could try asking each robot individually to see if he could trigger any money-making tasks.
Like the one at the casino.
Without hesitation, he strode back into the convenience store and looked at the burly man busy behind the clerk, speaking earnestly, "Hello, brother."
"Is there anything I can help you with?"
"Of course there is!"
The burly man grumbled while exerting force, "I'm pissed off! A batch of goods I just received this morning was stolen by those damn 'Viper Gang' from the next street. If you can help me get them back, I'll reward you handsomely!"
"Huh?"
Biao Zi, standing behind Chen Mang, looked at the scene in disbelief, his voice rising uncontrollably, "What the hell? This works?!"
"Fighting is our specialty."
Chen Mang laughed, genuinely pleased. It seemed this city had indeed set up some triggerable story missions for certain robots, providing guests with a more immersive experience.
It allowed those who weren't particularly wealthy to participate in the city's activities.
At the same time, it added more playability.
So this "convenience store" must be the trigger point for such missions.
When a guest enters the convenience store and stays for a certain period, this burly man would walk in, appearing furious, and pin the clerk, who earlier seemed like a girl-next-door, under the table.
If you leave at this point, there's no follow-up.
But if you ask a question, the hidden mission is triggered.
"So…"
"When do we set off? When can you finish here?"
"At least half an hour."
Outside the convenience store.
Chen Mang leaned against the off-road motorcycle, lit a cigarette, and waited patiently. Half an hour it is. Even if it were an hour, he'd wait. Those robots that seemed to act unusually often had hidden missions.
"Lord Mang."
Biao Zi squatted stiffly by the roadside, his face looking as if he'd eaten something foul, "What the hell can a robot shoot? Code?"
"Check if Dad's code has no excessive complexity or redundancy."
"Are the comments on each line concise and clear?"
"Be patient."
Chen Mang said casually, "Haste makes waste."
"I'm not impatient, just curious," Biao Zi said as he stood up and strode towards the store. "Wait for me, Lord Mang. I'll go take a look and see if they really have that thing."
At that moment—
A burly man walked out of the store, fastening his belt while cursing under his breath.
"That felt great!"
"But I'm still pissed off."
"Hey, weren't you guys just saying you'd help me get my goods back? Come with me. The 'Viper Gang' next door is tough. I wonder if you can handle them."
With that, he turned and headed into a nearby alley.
"Hey, this guy talks tough, huh?"
Biao Zi chuckled in anger, then turned back to the store and looked at the clerk behind the counter, who was pulling up his jeans.
"Welcome!"
"Thanks for your hard work," Biao Zi said sarcastically, rolling his eyes before quickly jogging to catch up with Lord Mang, following him into the alley.
Behind them, the clerk's cheerful voice rang out.
"Come again next time!"
"Definitely will when I have the money!"
Soon—
Led by the burly man, the group twisted and turned through the alley until they arrived at the underground parking lot of an office building.
Chen Mang surveyed the underground parking lot.
Not a single support column in sight.
The view was incredibly open, and each parking space was unusually large, almost as if it were designed for trains.
It almost resembled a train station.
However, there were no trains in sight at the moment. Instead, there were about twenty to thirty men in floral shirts, looking sloppy, covered in tattoos, smoking cigarettes, and holding bottles of alcohol, gathered together and laughing loudly.
"This is great! After this job, we won't have to work for months!"
"Hahaha, after all, we're the Viper Gang!"
"..."
Biao Zi looked at the scene before him and muttered expressionlessly, "Such a stereotypical and flat portrayal of villains."
It seems the two civilizations still have some similarities, at least in their stereotypes of gangsters.
The next moment—
"Bang!"
The burly man who had led them there angrily pulled a bottle from his coat and smashed it on the ground. The sound of the shattering bottle echoed throughout the basement as he pointed at the group with a sinister grin.
"You dared to steal my goods! I've found help now. Let's see if you can handle them!"
"Let's go!"
"Where did you even pull that bottle from, old man?"
"Huh?" The burly man in front turned back, confused, and glanced at Biao Zi. "I bought it at the convenience store earlier. What's the problem?"
"Nothing, go ahead. Are you done with your lines?"
"Yeah, didn't I just say 'let's go'?"
"So, are we going, Lord Mang?"
Chen Mang tilted his head and looked at Zhang Yi. "Go easy on them. Don't kill anyone, just seriously injure them."
Normally, attacking others isn't allowed in this city. Earlier, at the entrance of the "Mechanical Train Parts Store," a Train Conductor tried to rob the store and was immediately kicked out of this Fortuitous Encounter map.
But now the situation is different. He's been invited by a local gang to join the fight. They can't just kick him out, right? This should count as one of those "Fortuitous Encounters" mentioned in the map's information.
Still, to be safe, it's better not to go for the kill.
"Got it."
Zhang Yi nodded with a serious expression, then tossed the refrigerator to Zhang Er. He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a briefcase, throwing it into the air. The all-black briefcase disassembled mid-flight and, in the blink of an eye, transformed into an incredibly imposing mech.
The blue mech, Thunderbolt!
In the next moment—
Zhang Yi immediately piloted the mech and charged forward. Seeing this, the members of the "Viper Gang" pulled out steel pipes and machetes from a nearby bag, roaring as they rushed to meet him.
"Steel pipes?!"
Biao Zi shouted in disbelief, "You guys don't even have a single gun?!"
"Are you seriously fighting a mech with steel pipes?"
Three minutes later.
The battle was over.
Victory was secured. All the members of the "Viper Gang" lay on the ground, battered and groaning in pain. However, there was no blood—instead, numerous mechanical parts had been knocked loose and scattered around.
The reason it took so long was mainly due to the requirement of not dealing fatal blows, which made the fight unnecessarily difficult.
"Hahahaha!"
"This is what happens when you mess with our 'Battle Damage Gang'!"
The burly man who had just been fighting ran over excitedly, picked up a briefcase, and hurled it toward Chen Mang with force: "Brother, thanks! This is the batch of goods that was stolen. Consider it your reward!"
"You're giving it all away?!" Biao Zi couldn't help but raise his voice in disbelief again.
What's the difference between this and Lord Mang robbing you?
You might as well have let the Viper Gang take it.
"Hahahaha!"
Immediately after, the burly man walked away laughing, looking rather carefree, while the battered members of the "Viper Gang" muttered curses under their breath as they prepared to leave.
"I can understand you."
Li Shiji patted Biao Zi's shoulder, sighing with emotion: "As a game designer, this plot has way too many flaws. It's clear that the original creator of this city wasn't very skilled in this area. If I were to design it, I could make it much more interesting."
Just then—
"Wait."
Chen Mang looked at the battered members of the "Viper Gang" and suddenly called out to stop them, speaking in a serious and loud voice: "Brothers, is there anything I can do to help you?"
The group paused, and soon a leader stepped forward, his face filled with anger as he shouted:
"I'm furious! A batch of goods that just arrived this morning was completely stolen by those damn 'Battle Damage Gang' from the next street over. If you can help me get those goods back, I'll reward you handsomely!"
"Huh?" Biao Zi's mouth hung open as he couldn't help but speak up again: "Did he seriously not change his lines? Are they reading from the same script?"
In the next moment.
The burly man who had just been laughing and walking away so carefree was caught by Zhang Yi and dragged back, held in the air like a chick.
"We've accepted the 'Viper Gang's' commission. Hand over the goods you stole from them."
Chen Mang looked seriously at the burly man being held in the air.
"Didn't I already give you that batch of goods?"
"What if I give it back to you?"
Chen Mang tentatively handed the bag of goods to the burly man.
"Then... I'll hand it over."
The burly man, somewhat confused, handed the bag back to Chen Mang, who then passed it to the leader of the Viper Gang.
The leader of the Viper Gang, his face flushed with excitement, threw his head back and laughed heartily. He then tossed the bag of goods back in front of Chen Mang.
"Brother, thank you. This is the batch of goods that was stolen. As a reward, it's all yours!"
"Hmm."
Chen Mang tilted his head and glanced at the burly man being held by Zhang Yi. "Don't you have anything to say? Any new requests?"
(End of Chapter)