50: Chapter 50: Phase Summary and System Upgrade

"Internet cafe manager, add three cups of instant noodles, two sausages, and a bottle of iced black tea."

Qin Feng slapped a crumpled twenty-yuan bill onto the greasy counter.

This was a shady internet cafe hidden deep within an urban village.

The air was a mixture of foot odor, cheap tobacco, and the scent of instant noodle seasoning packets.

The sound of typing was a clatter, like thousands of ducks squabbling.

"There are still terminals in the last row; you can get on without an ID card."

The manager was a young man with dyed yellow hair, not even lifting his head, busy pushing towers in his game.

Qin Feng lowered his hat brim and led Pei Ji and Su Tang into a corner.

The lighting here was dim, making it a perfect place for a debriefing.

Pei Ji flopped down onto a cracked leather sofa chair, his whole body looking as if his bones had been removed.

"I'm exhausted… this is even more tiring than running a marathon."

Pei Ji tore open the lid of his instant noodles, the Mario mustache on his face not yet fully removed, stuck halfway, looking both ridiculous and pitiful.

Su Tang, on the other hand, was in high spirits.

She pulled a pack of wet wipes from her pocket and meticulously wiped the fox mask she'd swiped from the anime convention.

Qin Feng turned on the computer and skillfully entered a string of garbled commands.

The screen flickered, and a system panel only he could see popped up.

[Ding!]

[Congratulations to the host! The first phase, "Urban Breakthrough," has concluded perfectly!]

[Calculating Shock Value…]

The numbers began to jump crazily.

Ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, ten-thousands…

The red numbers rolled faster than a slot machine, dizzying to look at.

Finally, it settled on a breathtaking astronomical number.

[Total Shock Value gained from this operation: 8,500,000!]

[Current Total Shock Value: 12,000,000!]

The corners of Qin Feng's mouth curled up slightly, his fingers tapping lightly on the desk.

Twelve million.

Enough to squander for a while.

This wave was not a loss; it could even be called a massive profit.

Especially that final move of accepting the award at the anime convention; it was like harvesting leeks.

[Ding! Detected that the host possesses a massive amount of Shock Value. System Mall automatically upgraded to LV2 (Intermediate).]

[New items unlocked: God-level Voice Mimicry (Permanent Version), Top-tier Hacking Skills (Trial Card), Anti-reconnaissance Intuition (Passive), If I Were a DJ Would You Love Me (Exclusive BGM for Atmosphere Group)…]

Qin Feng scanned the dazzling list.

His gaze finally locked onto the first item.

[God-level Voice Mimicry (Permanent Version)]

[Price: 3,000,000 Shock Value.]

[Description: You can perfectly mimic any human voice you have heard, including tone, speech habits, and even the frequency of vocal cord vibrations. As long as you speak, no one will be able to tell the difference between real and fake.]

"Buy it."

Qin Feng gave the command in his mind.

Without any hesitation.

For an "actor" currently on the run, a voice is a second face.

Even more important than a face.

[Ding! Purchase successful! Modifying the host's vocal cord muscle group…]

A warm current instantly surged into his throat.

Qin Feng felt his throat itch, as if ten thousand ants were crawling inside.

He subconsciously touched his Adam's apple, feeling the cartilage inside seemingly undergoing some kind of micrometer-level adjustment.

Ten seconds later.

Modification complete.

Qin Feng cleared his throat.

He turned his head to look at Pei Ji, who was slurping noodles.

A flash of mischievous glint crossed his eyes.

"Pei Ji!"

A shout exploded in Pei Ji's ear.

The voice was deep, hoarse, carrying an air of unforced official authority, along with that signature raspy tone.

It was practically ripped straight from Zhao Shanhe's throat!

"Pfft—!!!"

Pei Ji shuddered in fright, spraying out the braised beef noodles he hadn't yet swallowed.

Noodle soup splattered all over the screen.

"Director… Director Zhao?!"

Pei Ji slid off the chair, scrambling and stumbling, his legs weak, almost kneeling on the spot.

He looked around in terror.

"Where? Where are the police? I surrender! I'll surrender right now!"

The elementary school students playing games nearby looked at him like he was an idiot.

"What are you shouting about? Are you sick?"

Pei Ji was stunned.

He blinked his beady eyes, looking at Qin Feng, who was sitting beside him with a faint smile.

"Brother… was that you just now?"

Qin Feng picked up the iced black tea, took a sip, and switched back to his own voice.

"It was."

He switched his vocal line again.

This time, it was the cold, even slightly neurotic deep voice of Xie Qingshang.

"Pei Ji, eat less chocolate; it causes cavities."

Pei Ji was completely dumbfounded.

He opened his mouth wide, a strand of noodles still hanging from the corner of his lip, his IQ seemingly dropping another fifty percentage points.

"Holy crap… Brother, are you hacking?!"

"Is this a sentient sound card?"

Su Tang also stopped what she was doing in surprise.

She looked at Qin Feng, a bit more admiration in her eyes.

"This skill is amazing."

Su Tang whispered, her eyes shining with excitement.

"If we used Xie Qingshang's voice to command those police officers, that scene…"

Qin Feng smiled but didn't speak.

He already had an extremely bold script in his mind.

Just then.

All the computer screens in the internet cafe suddenly popped up a red window simultaneously.

Extremely eye-catching.

It was the highest-level notice from the Jianghai City police.

[Citywide Wanted! Class A Felon!]

In the center of the screen were three photos.

One was a high-definition screenshot of Qin Feng wearing the clown mask.

One was the back view of Su Tang's "Mai Shiranui" cosplay.

And another was a headshot of Pei Ji wearing Mario overalls, looking terrified.

Below was a line of bold, black text:

[Reward Notice: Anyone who provides effective clues to assist in the arrest will be rewarded with 50,000 RMB! Those who directly assist in the capture will be rewarded with 500,000 RMB!]

The internet cafe instantly erupted.

"Holy crap! Five hundred thousand!"

"These three people are still in Jianghai City? They're right here with us?"

"These aren't just wanted criminals; these are walking five hundred thousand!"

The people around them took off their headphones one after another, their eyes becoming greedy.

They began to look around, their gazes sweeping over every suspicious person.

Some even took out their phones to photograph the wanted poster.

Pei Ji looked at himself on the screen, then at the number below.

He swallowed, his eyes drifting a bit.

"Brother… five hundred thousand."

Pei Ji counted on his fingers.

"How many limited-edition figures can this buy? How many 648s can I top up?"

"How about… we negotiate? I tie you up and send you in, and we split the money 50/50?"

Qin Feng shot him a sidelong glance.

His gaze was cold.

Pei Ji quickly retracted his neck and gave a dry laugh: "Just kidding, just kidding, am I that kind of person? My loyalty to Brother Feng is as clear as the sun and moon!"

Qin Feng ignored the clown.

He stared at the number, his brow furrowing.

Very unhappy.

Very, very unhappy.

"Five hundred thousand?"

Qin Feng sneered, his tone full of disdain.

"That old man Zhao Shanhe is too stingy."

"Just one casual performance at the anime convention was worth more than this."

"Who does he think he's looking down on?"

Su Tang added a jab: "Indeed, even a thug leader like Chen Haonan has a bounty of eight hundred thousand. This is simply an insult."

Qin Feng stood up.

He tossed the bottle of iced black tea, which he had only taken one sip of, into the trash can.

His movement was light, but carried a sense of arrogance.

"Since they think this game is only worth five hundred thousand."

"Then I'll show them what priceless treasure is."

At this moment.

A tattooed man at the next table suddenly stood up.

He stared suspiciously at Qin Feng's profile, quietly gripping an ashtray in his hand.

"Brother, you look… a bit familiar?"

The tattooed man squinted, his gaze darting back and forth between Qin Feng and the photo on the screen.

Although Qin Feng wasn't wearing a mask now, his temperament was simply too striking.

Several young thugs surfing the internet nearby also gathered around.

The atmosphere instantly became tense.

The air seemed to solidify.

Pei Ji was so scared he wanted to crawl under the table.

Su Tang's hand had already reached for the scalpel blade in her cuff.

Qin Feng, however, just turned around calmly.

He looked at the tattooed man, his face showing an extremely standard, serious expression typical of someone in the system.

Then.

He spoke.

Using the voice of a criminal investigation squad captain.

Rough, majestic, with an unquestionable commanding tone.

"What are you looking at? Plainclothes investigation!"

"Did you bring your ID? We're checking the floating population!"

This shout was full of vigor.

The sense of oppression cultivated from long periods in interrogation rooms instantly stunned the whole room.

The ashtray in the tattooed man's hand clattered onto the table.

His face went pale.

"B-brought it! Officer, don't misunderstand! I'm a law-abiding citizen!"

The surrounding thugs scattered like birds and beasts, shrinking back to their seats and pretending to type.

Who the hell would dare to check plainclothes police?

Isn't that suicide?

Qin Feng snorted coldly and straightened his collar.

"Let's go."

He led Pei Ji and Su Tang, swaggering out of the internet cafe.

Only after walking out of the dark alley and returning to the main street.

Did Pei Ji let out a long sigh and plop down on the curb.

"I'm convinced."

"Brother Feng, this time I'm truly convinced."

"Your mouth is even more useful than a gun."

Qin Feng stood under a streetlamp.

The night wind blew the hem of his clothes.

In the distance, police sirens wailed one after another; the entire Jianghai City had turned into a giant net.

On the large LED screen by the roadside, the wanted poster was still scrolling.

Pedestrians hurried by, everyone looking at others with scrutiny.

Everyone was a soldier.

This was a real hunt.

Qin Feng looked up at the starry sky and the drones that were staying up all night to catch him.

He reached out and grabbed at the night sky.

As if he wanted to hold this entire city in his palm.

"It's just getting started."

Qin Feng whispered, his eyes flashing with the excitement of a hunter seeing prey.

"Five hundred thousand is too little."

"This time, I will make Zhao Shanhe beg to raise the price for me."

"Increase the price on the wanted poster by a hundred times!"

"Pei Ji, Su Tang."

"Are you ready?"

"The game has leveled up."

Qin Feng turned around, his figure blending into the deeper night.

Leaving behind only the internet cafe owner, who hadn't yet recovered, staring blankly at his inventory, which was missing a bottle of iced black tea.