Achilles' Heel had been keeping odd hours lately—sleeping during the day and active at night.
Right now, in the afternoon, the entire Mobile Task Force was sound asleep.
The one who responded to Site-CN-02's request for help was the white-haired, bespectacled man known as "The Master."
He was the brains of Achilles' Heel, with an intellect no less formidable than Loshu's.
Barbie, feeling that she had been too passive in her confrontations with Loshu, had brought him along this time.
The Master arrived at Loshu's room with a Kant Counter, powered it on, and immediately detected anomalies.
A spatial rift was itself a form of reality distortion, albeit a weak one.
The Kant Counter displayed an ambient Hume level of 60, corresponding to an individual Hume level of around 200.
This was roughly the level of a Level 2 Reality Bender—too weak to be detected by Kant Counter satellites, only measurable up close.
While a Reality Bender of this caliber didn't usually warrant the attention of a specialized MTF like Achilles' Heel, since they were already here, they might as well help out.
"Clearly, this disappearance is related to a Reality Bender!" The Master declared. "Who exactly went missing?"
The investigation team leader answered, "A guest named He Tu. Not Foundation personnel."
The moment The Master heard the name, his expression darkened. "He Tu... Loshu! Could it be him? Do you have a photo? Show me!"
"The front desk has his registration records. I'll take you there."
A moment later, The Master saw Loshu's photo—and his face went pale.
He raised his wrist and immediately called Barbie through his tactical terminal. "Boss! Wake up! Loshu is here! He's been here the whole time!"
Soon, a groggy Achilles' Heel squad gathered at the hotel lobby.
Barbie frowned. "How did 'White Eyes' miss him?"
Before "White Eyes" could answer, The Master cut in. "We overlooked him! No time for blame—I suspect Loshu checked into this hotel specifically to target Site-CN-02!"
Site-CN-02's security director rushed over. "So that guy really is trouble! Are you here to capture him? Any suggestions?"
Barbie's expression was grim. "He's slippery. He's pulled tricks right under my nose multiple times—I still haven't caught him! We suspect he's already infiltrated your site!"
The security director's face hardened. "We'll investigate immediately!"
Meanwhile, in the Game World
Loshu remained unaware that his "He Tu" identity had been compromised.
Right now, he was busy executing his "Conquer the City" strategy.
At noon, accompanied by The Elder, he headed to the city's central plaza.
Meanwhile, Shasha was forcibly left behind at the gang camp, guarded by dozens of believers.
Finally, he could shake off that troublesome little shadow.
The central plaza was the largest open space in the city, with almost no surrounding ruins where people could hide.
Twenty years into the apocalypse, sniper rifles were practically nonexistent—maintenance was difficult, spare parts scarce, and the few remaining functional ones were rare.
Especially in a third-tier city like this, gangs simply didn't have them.
Under these circumstances, meeting at the central plaza was acceptable to all parties.
The gang leaders left their armed subordinates at the plaza's perimeter, bringing only one bodyguard each to meet the Southern Coalition's Special Envoy.
Loshu's pristine, high-quality attire left no room for doubt.
And since the situation was still unclear, no one wanted to be the first to provoke the Southern Coalition.
Even if they wanted to cause trouble, they'd wait until actual negotiations began.
Seeing that the plan was proceeding smoothly, Loshu wasted no time.
During his opening speech, he activated his charisma powers.
Within minutes, most of the city's gang leaders had become his most devout followers.
The newly minted "Elders" then went to the plaza's edges to summon their subordinates, bringing them all to listen to the "Prophet's" sermon.
After two rounds of brainwashing, Loshu controlled half the city's armed forces.
And since the gangs already under his command had about 20% of their manpower left guarding their bases, they were effectively his as well.
Now, only one problem remained:
Would he use persuasion or brute force to subjugate the remaining gangs?
After some thought, Loshu decided on a two-pronged approach.
On one hand, he ordered his "Elders" to mobilize their forces, preparing for an all-out assault.
On the other, he had them issue an ultimatum to the gangs that had skipped the meeting, demanding they come to the plaza and pledge allegiance.
By evening, under pressure from the united gangs, most of the smaller factions submitted.
But the three strongest gangs still refused to yield.
Over the past twenty years, gangs in this city had risen and fallen, leaders replaced time and again.
There had been instances of smaller gangs banding together to pressure the larger ones, but they always fell apart.
The reason was simple—superficial unity, conflicting interests.
Everyone wanted others to take the risks while they reaped the rewards.
Such alliances could never truly threaten the major gangs.
So the three gang leaders assumed this would be no different. They ignored the ultimatum.
But they didn't know these gangs were now united under Loshu—fanatical believers who would die for him.
Day Four: The Final Push
At dawn, the "Conquer the City" operation began.
Loshu chose the strongest gang as his primary target—to make an example of them.
His fanatics charged fearlessly through gunfire, launching a full assault.
Loshu himself stayed safely at the plaza, waiting for news under his followers' protection.
The reckless fear the ruthless, and the ruthless fear the suicidal.
The major gang had never faced such insane opponents before. Their morale shattered instantly, their forces collapsing.
Within moments, the fanatics overran the strongest gang's stronghold.
The gang leader was killed on the spot, and his underlings surrendered en masse, kneeling in submission.
The other two gangs were terrified.
One leader came to the plaza begging for mercy, carrying a bundle of thorns on his back.
The other gang imploded—the second-in-command killed the boss and brought his head as a pledge of loyalty.
At that moment, a voice echoed in Loshu's ears:
"Dear Player, congratulations on completing Stage Two—Conquer the City!"
Back when Eule "N" Lau played this game, it took him over thirty days just to clear the tutorial.
But Loshu?
Four days.
And he had skipped straight to Stage Two.
The system voice continued:
"Dear Player, you may now choose to continue the game or leave temporarily."
Finally… I can get out.