Delta: Who are you saying has suffered a loss of strength?

Chapter 239 The Death Was Illusory

Raven took a deep breath and shouted loudly towards the group of prison guards gathered a dozen meters away.

"Shi..." He paused, thought for a moment, swallowed the name that was about to come out, and used another name instead.

"The warden is dead!" Raven pointed at Shi Ding, who was submerged in the water. "Stop the futile resistance! You've already lost!"

Da da da da!

As soon as the words were spoken, the prison guards opened fire in unison. Raven's pupils contracted sharply, and he lunged to the side, rolling on the ground. Bullets flew past him and hit the water, splashing up sprays.

Then, led by the warden's personal guard, followed by the prison guards, they ran in two lines towards this side.

The sight made Raven's lips twitch. He ran while looking back, seeing the prison guards surging towards him like a tide. He hurriedly ran backward, yelling, "Go collect your warden's corpse! I'm off!"

Raven glanced at Shi Ding one last time, then rushed to the railing of the corridor, took a deep breath, and jumped into the water.

He held his breath and dived deeper, bullets still flying on the surface, exploding in the water above his head.

He continued diving deeper and deeper, as it grew colder and darker.

……

"There isn't a single prison guard in the core area, only prisoners?" Old Zhou said in bewilderment after shooting and killing a prisoner who was wandering around in the middle of the corridor without any cover.

"And the difference between these prisoners and the prison guards is just too great!"

Cai Chengfu nodded in agreement, "It should be said that the prison guards are too strong. Logically speaking, this level of strength is normal. They are very similar to the NPCs in other maps."

Once inside the core area, the NPCs are mostly prisoners wearing yellow prison uniforms. Not only are their weapons rudimentary, but they also like to wander around in the open spaces.

They shout loudly whenever they see someone, as if afraid others won't know they exist.

This situation relieved even the usually cautious Cai Chengfu. He no longer needed to use grenades to deal with such an enemy; he could simply shoot them down.

"We're here... Shall we go in?" Old Zhou looked up and saw the warden's special emblem painted on the wall; the warden's office was just ahead.

"Since we're already here, let's go in and take a look!" Xiaobai nodded.

Everyone nodded in agreement, except for Han Che, who reluctantly followed the others to tour his office.

"The big insurance!" Qi Shao spotted the big insurance next to the warden's desk at a glance and immediately wanted to rush over to search it, but Cai Chengfu held his shoulder down.

Qi Shao turned around in confusion, while Cai Chengfu looked at Xiao Bai, "Boss Xiao Bai, we'll just open this key card in a bit, you guys can arrange the search here."

They hadn't eaten many supplies on this trip, so Xiaobai stopped being modest and said, "Okay," then looked at Lao Zhou and Han Che, "Let's search first. Who's going to handle this big search?"

Old Zhou nudged Han Che's shoulder, "Little Han, go ahead. You've gone through so much trouble today, and you even lost a gun. Go and get something good out of there."

Han Che waved his hand, a bitter smile playing on his lips. "In my own territory, I can't sell anything here. Old Zhou, you go ahead. I'm too unlucky to drive this. You drive the big truck and treat us to dinner."

After a brief exchange of polite refusals, the three of them didn't dwell on it too much and decided to let Lao Zhou go and get the insurance policy, while Xiao Bai and Han Che each ransacked one side of the office.

He wasn't interested in these things since he couldn't sell them, so he went behind the bookshelf to avoid other people's gaze and started dawdling.

Just as he was idly fiddling with a file folder, Qi Shao tiptoed over.

"Brother Han?"

Han Che looked up. "Hmm? What's wrong? Is something the matter?"

"Will we be resurrected if we die?" Qi Shao asked in a low voice.

Han Che stretched his neck and looked around but didn't see his "guardian".

"Brother Cai said he needs to go outside to queue up, and told me to stay here..." Qi Shao explained, seeing Han Che's searching gaze.

Han Che understood and nodded, then explained, "He will be resurrected, don't worry. You'll see Li Hao as soon as you get out."

"Really!" Qi Shao was somewhat pleased, but then worriedly asked, "Won't something unexpected happen?"

Han Che found it amusing to watch Qi Shao's changing expressions. According to Xiao Bai's introduction, this Qi Shao should already be an adult, but he is still in high school and still has a childish air about him.

"No surprises. He's just a bodyguard you paid for. Are you really that worried about him?" Han Che teased.

Qi Shao nodded solemnly, "Yes, we did pay them, but aren't we comrades-in-arms fighting side by side?"

Han Che was taken aback. "You're the boss. You've spent money. Since you've spent money, you don't need to invest any more feelings or anything."

"But..." Young Master Qi hesitated, "He's a person too. Making money is one thing, but he's no less than anyone else."

Han Che's mouth was slightly open as he looked into the other person's eyes, trying to find something—scheming, self-interest, treachery, whatever.

But all he saw were a pair of clear eyes waiting for an answer.

"This is a dangerous area. Dying in here isn't scary; you'll revive. The real danger is surviving until the area is closed. Don't worry."

Qi Shao breathed a sigh of relief, as if he had finally gained confidence. "That's great! Thank you, you were amazing just now too!"

Han Che smiled.

"But it's so amazing. Everything feels so real, except for death, which feels fake." Qi Shao sighed, looking down at his hands, gently clenching them, and feeling the texture of his hands.

"If our world were like this, I could see my mother again after a while."

Han Che's smile froze. "Your mother?"

"She was a field medic. She was killed in a bombing during the border war a few years ago," Qi Shao said calmly, as if he were talking about a trivial matter.

"Aren't you... your family involved in real estate?" Han Che asked in surprise, recalling what Xiao Bai had told him.

"Huh? Real estate? You mean my dad? He's in engineering, not real estate, I don't think. I don't really know much about it. He said his line of work is tough and he wants me to learn from my mom."

"It's a pity Mom is gone." Qi Shao's mood was a little down.

"At the beginning of this year, there was some kind of project that was said to be very big and required many companies. My dad went there and hasn't come back since."

Han Che fell silent; this didn't seem to be the rich second-generation heir he had imagined.

"Why did you come to Tide Prison?" Han Che asked.

"My friends went to dangerous areas recently, and I can't join in their conversations anymore, so I thought I'd give it a try too."

"Friends? They only recently stopped talking to you? Were you and them close before?"

Qi Shao lowered his head, a little embarrassed. "It used to be okay... I would occasionally invite them out to have fun or something, and we had a pretty good relationship."

"..." Han Che was speechless for a moment, which was not surprising.

It was only then that a question suddenly occurred to me: if even an economically independent adult like Xiaobai is so uneasy about his family, how did a rich second-generation like Qi Shao, who is still in school, manage to escape into a dangerous area?

Now I understand. His parents weren't around and no one cared about him. What about his friends?

If they were all rich kids like Qi Shao, would their families allow them to come to such a dangerous place?

Or did they not go at all?

Han Che curled his lip, his heart filled with disdain.

"My name is Han Che. Let's be friends." Han Che extended his right hand to Qi Shao.

"Really!" Qi Shao's eyes lit up, and he reached out to shake hands with Han Che. "That's great! My name is Qi Yuhao!"