Chapter 28

“With each step down the stairs, the air grew colder and darker. Soon, Xia’er and Bǎolì found themselves standing before a massive steel gate.”

“Open it quickly,” Xia’er said, pulling back the hammer on her weapon, producing a sharp click.

Bǎolì trembled violently, his knees almost giving out beneath him. He dared not hesitate and limped towards the steel gate, using a key to unlock the box beside it and retrieving two keys to insert into the locks of the rotating wheel beside the gate.

Turning the keys, the thick steel plate in the center of the wheel popped open, revealing a combination lock inside. Bǎolì swiftly turned the wheel, setting the correct combination before turning to look at Xia’er.

“M-Miss, this gate requires the strength of three grown adults to open. The two of us don’t have enough strength…”

Xia’er quickly recalled her shadow, taking the two double-barreled shotguns from its hands and turning to aim at the dark staircase behind them. Meanwhile, the shadow crouched over the wheel and began turning it forcefully.

The heavy mechanical sounds echoed as the massive gate slowly slid to the side.

Once there was enough space for one person to pass through, Xia’er tossed the double-barreled shotguns back to her shadow and bent down to pick up the sack, rushing directly into the glittering vault.

Inside, rows of cabinets and shelves lined the walls. On the shelves were not only neatly stacked gold pounds in boxes but also solid gold bars that had been cast.

Seeing this, Xia’er’s breathing became labored.

Time was running out.

She quickly summoned her shadow, instructing it to help fill the sack with gold pounds. Unfortunately, the safes were beyond her reach, according to Bǎolì. Inside those safes were genuine treasures—possibly priceless gems—or perhaps just important letters.

Xia’er didn’t have time to open the safes; she could only mechanically pour the gold coins into the sack.

It was truly a case of picking up money in a sack.

At this moment, Bǎolì, who had entered the vault with the double-barreled shotguns floating beside him, finally mustered the courage to open a secret compartment on the wheel door and smashed the red button inside.

Hiss!

Scorching steam erupted from the gaps in the steel door, accompanied by the rumbling of giant gears. With a loud “boom,” the gate closed and locked, sealing the intruders inside.

Exhausted, Bǎolì collapsed onto the ground, his face a mix of laughter and tears. He felt a surge of relief at having survived.

Bank robbery was like this: the bank manager only needed to show the way, while the person filling the sacks had to consider many things.

Remaining Time: 00:00:58

One minute left!

Xia’er paid no attention to the closing gate behind her; the thick gate would shield her from the guards outside. She continued pouring gold into the sack.

After filling nearly half the sack, Xia’er couldn’t drag it anymore—the gold coins were too heavy.

But there was no other choice. Xia’er still needed the gold. While gold bars could be exchanged in the black market, their value would decrease, and there was always a risk of being tracked. Gold pounds, however, were safe to use.

If she were only after lighter loot, she could have simply taken high-denomination Su Pounds, bonds, and checks, but that would violate Xia’er’s principle of staying low-profile.

Clatter—

The sound of gold pounds falling into the sack echoed like coins tumbling in a slot machine.

Ugh, the sound of coins clashing against the stainless steel trough continued endlessly.

Oh goddess, please let me fill one more box, just one more…

Xia’er felt her hand had gone numb, and by the end, she could only hold the mouth of the bag, letting the gold pounds clang inside.

In the last three seconds, Xia’er tightened the bag’s opening and hugged the sack, which was nearly as tall as she was, with her whole body.

This was undoubtedly the warmest embrace Xia’er had ever experienced.

A white light flashed, and Xia’er staggered slightly, already standing in a silver-white space.

In front of her sat another version of herself, hugging a sack full of gold pounds with closed eyes.

“Save character save?”

“Can the save file overwrite?” Xia’er asked directly.

“Yes”

“Then save it to slot No.2.”

Xia’er saved the surviving Avenger Xia’er directly into slot 2.

Although the surviving version of herself was much better off, Xia’er was still more accustomed to saving to a new slot when there was an available one.

Just like in a galgame where each option needs to be saved separately, if she overwrote, Xia’er feared she might miss something she wasn’t even aware of.

“Save successful”

“Returning to reality”

The silver light covered Xia’er’s consciousness.

…

“Reality”

“Sheng Year 741, June 18, 4:00”

“Evaluation: You’ve found another way to survive, learned some art of conversation, and revealed more secrets about the world.”

“It’s also letting you play the legitimate GTA; giving you 10 Mortality Points for a simulation is quite a loss.”

“You realize that the heinous crimes in the simulation will be completely washed away in reality; no one will know what you did, your sins will go unnoticed, and your merits will be ignored… Enjoy it, but don’t get lost in it.”

“Take it, this is the reward you deserve.”

“Reward: Mortality Point*15, 【Art of Conversation Lv.1】”

“Mortality Point: 48”

Xia’er opened her eyes, looking at the system evaluation and the familiar ceiling, trying to calm her racing heart.

To be honest, the feeling of committing a crime like robbing a bank made her heart rate spike — something she had never dared to imagine, let alone do.

In this state, coupled with the frequent switching between simulation and reality, her memories began to blur.

With the help of 【Calm Thinking Lv.1】, Xia’er gradually sorted out her memories.

That moment felt like a dream within a dream within a dream, and upon waking up, she couldn’t distinguish between dreams and reality.

Was it because she had slept during the simulation?

This feeling made Xia’er feel a bit wary. Once her heart rate returned to normal, Xia’er first opened the skill description.

“Art of Conversation Lv.1: Your conversations become easier to listen to and believe.”

Is this the ability she gained after talking with Aivana?

To be honest, it was a decent ability, and its level could be upgraded.

This would make her words more convincing.

If she kept improving this skill, could she eventually make people believe her even if she was spouting nonsense?

Kind of like having a bit of superpower…

Xia’er exited the skill description and opened the Mortality Store.

What she wanted to know most now was whether the Order Contract and those gold pounds had been brought back.

A series of items appeared before her in the system list.