Mr. G's offer for cooperation could be said to be very sincere. Even Black couldn't help but be tempted.
Initially, he found it a little difficult to accept Mr. G's behavior of deceiving everyone. However, after hearing the broader prospects described by Mr. G, he looked back at what happened in New Shanghai 0297, and it didn't seem so important anymore.
New Shanghai 0297 was a city built on lies, and Mr. G just added another lie to it. If the things he saw on the screen were true, then even if they followed the original plan, they would still be living in another lie.
But now, Mr. G had really provided them with a way to escape from this City of Lies. And after leaving this place, they would not have to live numbly like most of the ordinary people in the picture. Instead, they would be able to control their own fate and the fate of thousands of people. Just thinking about such power was exciting.
This might also be the reason why Mr. G was not worried about Zhang Heng from the beginning to the end. He was confident enough to convince the latter to join his cause.
However, to Black's surprise, Zhang Heng shook his head and said, "Sorry, I'm not interested."
"Why?" Mr. G was also stunned. "You have been to the secret base of Shengtang Morgan Group. You should know the situation here. Are you willing to live in a lie for the rest of your life?"
"It doesn't matter. I won't be here for too long anyway." Zhang Heng shrugged. "And speaking of which, I have to thank you. After your tireless efforts, you provided me with fifty shellac records in the shortest time possible. My goal of coming here has been achieved. So what happens next is purely my personal preference."
"…"
The biggest mistake Mr. G made was to treat Zhang Heng as a normal person from the beginning to the end. At first, he regarded Zhang Heng as thousands of residents who played their role in this city. After that, he put Zhang Heng in the same position as himself. Hence, he couldn't think of any reason for Zhang Heng to reject him.
However, Zhang Heng was different from anyone he had ever met. In the eyes of Mr. G and Shengtang Morgan Group, New Shanghai 0297 was just a fictional lie. In Zhang Heng's eyes, Shengtang Morgan Group and the so-called outside world were just a quest. Hence, there was no essential difference between this place and the outside world to Zhang Heng.
The fifty shellac records he got from Mr. G, coupled with the sixteen shellac records he got from Old Man Geng earlier, gave him a total of 660 points in this quest. This score was enough for him to advance to the next round of the game. If everything went smoothly, he would be able to enter the top fifty and receive the small gift that the bartender lady mentioned.
Naturally, there was no need for Zhang Heng to take the risk to explore a new map. Although Mr. G made it sound easy, it might not be that easy to carry out the plan. In the era of memory coding, the board of directors would not have no countermeasures to deal with similar crises. Mr. G's trick might work in New Shanghai 0297, but it might not work when facing a higher existence.
Even if he succeeded, it would be useless for Zhang Heng to get eight new cities. Anyway, he would have to leave when the game time was up.
Mr. G obviously couldn't understand Zhang Heng's obsession with shellac records, just like how he couldn't understand a person who had no thoughts about power. However, he still did not give up trying to persuade Zhang Heng. Before he could speak again, Zhang Heng had already waved his hand to stop him from continuing.
"It's getting late. After I solve this matter, I plan to tour this city."
As Zhang Heng spoke, he held the Shrouded Sheath in his hand and smiled at Mr. G. "Next, please try not to get hit by me."
…
Miss F did not know how long she had been unconscious. When she opened her eyes again, she found that the signal tower not far away had turned into a sea of fire. The people below were busy putting out the fire. However, because the fire had destroyed the elevator, they could not find another way to go up. Most of them could only worry about it.
"You woke up?" Black was overjoyed when she saw Miss F opening her eyes.
However, the first thing Miss F asked when she woke up was, "Where is he?"
"Mr. G is still up there. He didn't manage to escape." Black thought Miss F was asking about his fiancé, and his eyes dimmed.
"I'm not talking about him," Miss F paused. "Wait, you said Mr. G is still up there now. Is he dead?"
"Although I also hope for a miracle to happen, judging from the fire, the possibility of him surviving is indeed infinitely close to zero." To avoid Miss F from being overly sad, Black tried to be tactful.
"Were you there at the time? What happened up there?" Miss F asked.
"Everything was going according to the original plan. Mr. G was about to complete the memory encoding of the management, but Zhang Heng broke in at this time. A big fight broke out between the two of them. Mr. G asked me to take the management's people away first, and he blocked Zhang Heng. By the time I sent them to a safe place and came back, this … this place had turned into a sea of fire."
Although Black's words were reasonable, Miss F still felt that something was wrong. When she looked into Black's eyes when he spoke, she did not find any signs of lying. In other words, what he said was true. At least, he thought he was telling the truth.
"Where is Zhang Heng now?" Miss F asked again.
"I don't know. I didn't see him after I came back. He should have left." Black looked a little confused. "You finally woke up. What should we do now?"
He did not know whether the uprising was a success or not. If it was a failure, they had kidnapped the management according to the original plan and completed the memory encoding of the latter. If it was a success, their leader, Mr. G, died in the fire. They had no clue what happened after that.
Black said to Miss F, "Everyone is waiting for you to make a decision now."
"Waiting for me to make a decision?" Miss F frowned. "Why? Where is Director Zheng?"
"Director Zheng's body has just been found in the sewer on the opposite street. We have suffered a heavy loss this time. The rest of us have discussed it and hope that you can lead us. Not only because you have the highest prestige now, but you are also Mr. G's fiancée. He has been guiding us all this time, and in the end, he sacrificed his life for our cause. No one can replace his position in our hearts. So, no one can inherit his legacy except you."
Black paused, probably worried that Miss F had just woken up from a coma and had not fully recovered. He then reminded her, "The most urgent thing now is how to get the police to rescue the management members. Other than that, we have to avenge Mr. G. Please issue an indefinite manhunt order for Zhang Heng. Let's set the initial bounty at 5 million credits, and then increase it by 1 million credits every month. Although we are no match for him, New Shanghai 0297 is a huge place with crouching tigers and hidden dragons. As long as the bounty is high enough, someone will naturally be able to deal with him."
Miss F was silent when she heard Black's words. She felt that there was something wrong with it, but she could not point it out. After a long silence, she nodded and said, "Let's do it then."
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