Gamers Are Fierce-Chapter 643 - 641: Hijacking

「Thirty seconds earlier.」

When the four players heard the round-faced girl outside the bank say, "Anyone who possesses a ring is a contestant," the mission log on their player panel updated once more.

[Phase Two Mission Objective: Seize the rings and participate in the Death Race.]

The moment he saw the new mission, Li Ang sprang up from the ground with lightning speed. He brazenly attacked Franklin from behind, choking him.

The reasons for not killing these characters outright were twofold:

First, they all possessed self-destruct tactics, like pulling Individual Rocket Tubes out of a Four-dimensional Chrysanthemum.

Second, Li Ang hadn't yet figured out this world's basic rules and didn't want to make enemies so soon.

The reason for choosing to kidnap Franklin was also simple. Among the three GTA5 protagonists, Trevor had temporary invincibility, and Michael could enter bullet time. Only Franklin's special ability—slowing time while driving—couldn't be used when not in a vehicle, making him the easiest target.

Moreover, Franklin had the best relationship with Michael and Trevor, unlike the supporting character Lamar, who wasn't particularly loved or cared for by anyone.

Seeing the tall, muscular Franklin held hostage by Li Ang, Michael and Trevor froze for two seconds. "Beauty?"

"Well, aren't people from the United States called 'beauties'?" Li Ang explained seriously, tightening his grip on Franklin's neck. This caused Franklin's eyes to turn red and made him gasp for breath.

"Hey, hey! What are you doing!"

Seeing the guide near the door and their companion held hostage, Michael, the most concerned for Franklin, quickly said, "Hey, man, don't get excited. Let's talk this over."

"Put your guns down. Now."

Li Ang slightly increased the pressure on Franklin's neck and snatched the ring from his hand.

Against Li Ang's monstrous strength, Franklin struggled desperately but couldn't break free. Soon, his eyes rolled back, and his struggles weakened.

"FUCK!" Michael cursed, reluctantly throwing his gun to the ground and kicking it away. He then glared at Trevor, who was standing by muttering curses. Eventually, Trevor also grudgingly tossed aside his Individual Rocket Tube.

"EH?!!" The guide, witnessing bank staff turning the tables on robbers in the lobby, couldn't help but exclaim in shock.

Li Ang looked at the guide from *Monster Hunter: World*—her nickname was Aibo, a young Tyrannosaurus Rex, a glutton known for pilfering from the mute assistant's supplies—and asked, "So, as long as we have a ring, we count as contestants, right?"

"Yes, that's right," the guide hesitated before responding.

"Good." Li Ang nodded and looked at Trevor and Michael. "Now, take off your rings and throw them to me."

"Do you know how much effort we went through to get these rings?! You—"

Trevor was about to spew filth but was stopped by Michael.

They exchanged glances filled with reluctance and regret before silently removing their gloves, taking off their rings, and tossing them over.

Li Ang caught the two rings and then turned towards Lamar—who, under Michael and Trevor's furious glares, grudgingly dropped his weapon and, with a rapper's cadence, cursed as he tossed his ring over.

Li Ang tossed the three rings to his teammates—he himself hooked the last one with his pinky finger—then turned to the guide. "That makes us contestants now, doesn't it?"

"Uh... yes." The guide nodded nervously. "But are you sure, sir? The participants are all unique data entities. A randomly generated city resident like you might not survive..."

"You don't need to worry about that."

Li Ang smiled. He had Sunset Gold Smelter pick up the box Trevor had just carried out of the bank vault, and then shouted for the police officers outside to come in and arrest Michael and his crew.

Only after all three GTA5 characters were handcuffed did Li Ang release Franklin, pushing him towards the officers.

Carrying the box, Sunset Gold Smelter whispered, "Hey, is it really okay to do this?"

"Of course, it's no problem. After all, the System said so, so we just have to follow its instructions."

Li Ang consoled him, "Luckily, this world doesn't seem to have cell phones yet. Otherwise, those GTA characters would be even more troublesome."

(In the GTA games, players can enter specific cheat codes on their cell phones to activate cheats, such as summoning sports cars and airplanes, temporary invincibility, lowering wanted levels, or obtaining large amounts of cash.)

"Do you think you've won?"

Trevor, handcuffed by the police and roughly pushed towards the door, turned his head and roared at the four players, "With your data strength and anomaly levels, you won't even survive the first leg of the Death Race! You'll be torn to shreds by those monsters! You're doomed! Doomed!"

Data strength? The players' hearts skipped a beat. Hearing such a term from a video game character was indeed strange.

If time permitted, the Witch would have loved to capture the GTA quartet and interrogate them thoroughly for intelligence. Unfortunately, the guide glanced at her watch, exclaimed, and hastily urged the players, "We're running out of time! Hurry and get on the plane with me; the race is about to start!"

She hurried out of the bank. The players, now wearing the rings, had no choice but to follow, grabbing onto a rope ladder to board the Pelican Aircraft.

The space inside the plane was actually much roomier than the players had imagined.

When the players entered the cabin, several figures were already seated on either side:

A man with a large beard wearing a white shirt, one eye bigger than the other, and a saucepan on his head (Crazy Dave from *Plants vs. Zombies*, known for speaking completely unintelligible gibberish).

Three small, green, big-eyed aliens (astronauts from *Kerbal Space Program*).

A short, blue humanoid with no visible nose or ears, wearing a large mushroom cap on his head (Chino Bio from *Super Mario Brothers*).

The most normal-looking, and arguably the most handsome, was a young, silver-haired man in a black coat, carrying a Great Sword on his back.

He looks a bit like... Nero from the *Devil May Cry* series?

But why does he have that cowlick?

Apparently noticing the players' stares, Nero, lounging in his seat, shot them a glare. The skin on his right hand began to faintly glow with blue light.

"Please refrain from using force inside the cabin!" the guide shouted.

Nero merely pursed his lips, and the blue light on his arm dissipated.

An announcement came over the cabin intercom: "Please prepare for takeoff and fasten your seatbelts." The four players found seats and buckled in. Once the guide, with Chino Bio's help, closed the hatch, flames erupted from the Pelican Aircraft's engines, thrusting it skyward.

"So, what's the deal with this scenario anyway..." the Witch muttered, her eyes narrowed. It's been completely nonsensical from the start. Really frustrating.

"If you want to know, just ask," Li Ang said. He then cleared his throat, raised his hand, and addressed the guide, "Ahem, excuse me, could you please explain the rules of the Death Race to us?"

"Eh?" The guide, Aibo, looked momentarily stunned. "Sir, you mean you're participating in the race without even knowing the rules?"

"Not me, it's my friend." Li Ang patted Sunset Gold Smelter's shoulder with a somber expression. "He suffers from anterograde amnesia—he can only remember things for about thirty minutes. He often gets beaten up at night markets for asking people, 'Hey, do you know who I am?' And his pay is constantly docked because he always forgets to flush the toilet. I've already explained the rules to him several times until my mouth went dry, so I was hoping you could help out."

Don't saddle me with such a ridiculous backstory! Sunset Gold Smelter fumed internally. However, he had no choice but to play along with Li Ang's introduction, putting on a dazed expression, his eyes and mouth askew.

"Really...?" Aibo, the guide, scratched her head. She gave Sunset Gold Smelter a sympathetic look, then lightly tapped her fist into her palm. "Alright then, I'll explain the rules of the Death Race to everyone."