A red taxi drove through the less populated streets of Red Oak City. Behind the wheel sat a middle-aged man, close to tears. The sparse hair on his head threatened to fall out at any moment.

The car took various turns, trying to lose those pursuing it. But they remained stubborn. Whenever the car tried to slow down, they would close the distance, almost touching.

In the black vehicle behind sat two burly men, one of them playing around with an ominous black composite bow.

The driver was frightened out of his mind, almost dying form a heart attack. Liam wore a grim face as well, discussing with his bodyguard.

“What do they want? Are they only threatening us?”

“I’m not sure. But I can’t imagine that they would dare to take action. Within the city the army serves as a deterrence.”

Liam took a deep breath. After his recent experience he didn’t know if those words held true.

Racking his brain, he tried to come up with anything he could do. Eventually he only thought about asking for help.

Taking out his phone he quickly wrote a message to Silver Blade. But a moment later his stomach sank. A notification on his phone told him that the message didn’t get through.

Liam’s bodyguard’s face paled at the same time. He spoke with a heavy voice:

“I couldn’t inform the company.”

“I can’t get any message out either. Who has the means to jam our signal?”

“I’m not sure…”

Liam looked at the back mirror with worried eyes.

Naturally he suspected Star Gazer behind all this, but there was no way to prove it. And even if there was it didn’t help him in the current situation.

At this moment the man in the car behind them suddenly waved his arrow around. The trembling driver mustered his courage to speak up:

“Th… they want us… to turn left.”

“Let’s do it. We shouldn’t provoke them unnecessarily.”

The driver nodded stiffly before turning his steering wheel. The same scene repeated a few times. Driving according to the pursuers’ instructions, the taxi quickly entered some shadier parts of the city.

Liam glanced outside, mumbling in a pressured tone:

“The lower city…”

Soon, they reached an area filled with colorful lights. Nightclubs, casinos, and bars advertised their services accompanied by loud music.

Even early in the morning people could be seen coming and going. Eventually the car behind signaled the taxi to park in front of a block-shaped building covered in purple neon lights.

A sign read Pink Cave, which was obviously the name of a nightclub.

Suddenly a burly man holding a knife appeared next to the car. With a grin he hit the window with the handle. Everyone inside the car flinched from the sound.

“Get out, you guys! We prepared a nice welcome for you!”

Liam and his bodyguard glanced at each other. Seeing multiple armed men lingering around the club, they could do nothing but comply.

Although both of them were players, the highest level right now was only level 20. A single martial artist of the third stage like Silva could suppress them with one hand.

Under several mocking gazes the three people in the car stepped out.

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“Hehe, welcome, welcome. Come with me.”

The man with the knife spoke happily, leading the three people towards the building. Staring at the kidnapper, Liam got a weird feeling, but he couldn’t put his finger on it.

A rude palm landed on his back, shoving him forward. Another voice spoke mockingly, eliciting laughter from his colleagues:

“Hurry up! We don’t have all day!”

Subsequently the three men were led towards a side door. Entering an empty stairway, they went up two floors before arriving in a hallway decorated with purple carpet, void of people.

Without giving Liam and the others time to look around their kidnappers shoved them through a large heart-shaped door.

They entered a pink room, containing a few cushioned armchairs surrounding a small stage with a metallic pole.

“Haha, do you like our surprise?”, mocked the kidnapper.

“Get comfortable! You won’t leave soon.”

The men left with a loud laugh. As soon as the door closed, a click could be heard. Liam’s bodyguard tried to open it, but it was futile.

Outside the room the two kidnappers who led Liam scoffed at the shaking door.

“What use is there in trying? Do you really think we would give you such a chance?”

“Haha, why even struggle? Aren’t we already nice enough, providing a private booth like this?”

As the two men were laughing, muffled steps could be heard. They looked towards the side seeing a thin woman with burn marks on her skin approaching.

“Eve!”

The men straightened their bodies, showing obvious respect. Their hands reached for their faces, taking off the masks they had been wearing.

“Mhm. Good job. Now, don’t let our guests get bored. They should stay here for as long as possible. Boss Serin promised generous rewards this time.”

“Of course, Eve. We won’t disappoint you.”

Eve nodded at her two subordinates before leaving contently. She was quite happy about the job this time. After all, their client wasn’t the only one feeling pressured by Bleary Mirage.

Inside the room, Liam sat on an armchair, scanning his prison.

“I can’t find anything.”

“Will we die here? You! You got me into this!”

Liam glanced at the driver who was huddled in a corner, his eyes shaking crazily.

“Don’t get worked up. If they would’ve wanted to kill us, they would’ve already done so,”

“Right. They must have another purpose.”

At this moment, loud music suddenly started playing, shaking the entire room. Loud banging noises could be heard from outside.

“What, what’s this? Make it stop!”

The driver shivered in horror.

Liam frowned heavily, gritting his teeth.

“It seems they really want to keep me out of the game.”

“What a sinister method…”, commented the bodyguard.

Every player knew that it was important to find a quiet place when playing. Outside stimulus would be amplified multiple times in the game. It would disturb the connection, making it more difficult to move.

If the strain got too big it might even damage the brain. Luckily at this point the console would automatically disconnect the player, prioritizing their safety.

“Do you think your friends can do without you?”

Liam remained silent for a moment while a confident smile formed on his face. Suddenly a voice appeared in his head.

[Player Liam, receive your next challenge.]

[Defeat at least one dungeon boss within the next twelve hours.]

[Rewards will be based on degree of completion.]

It seems you know exactly what I was thinking, C!

“Just let me know when someone comes to get us out.”, said Liam.

His bodyguard stared at him strangely:

“What do you plan on doing?”

“I have a game to play.”

“No! That’s way too dangerous!”

“Don’t worry. I know what I’m doing.”

Do you think I never played in a nightclub?

Liam scoffed inwardly at the people who kidnapped him. Did they really think a bit of music could distract him?

In his old life he had played under way worse conditions. And he was by far not the only one.

Just then a small light on the console lit up. Liam knew that it was time. Without hesitation he logged into the game.

When his vision returned Liam found himself in Svebrial. He immediately checked in on his friends, fearing that some of them might have been kidnapped as well.

Luckily, everyone was there. They quickly gathered around the teleportation platform.

Although Liam tried not to show anything, not wanting to distract his friends, Silver Blade felt a strange sensation looking at him. Her sixth sense was tingling.

After some pestering Liam reluctantly revealed what had happened.

“You were kidnapped?!”

Everyone shouted in unison, shock all over their faces. Without saying anything more Silver Blade directly left the game, mobilizing all the help she could get.

When she returned, her face was still filled with worry.

“Mirage, it’s alright. We can scout the dungeon without you. Let’s wait until you are safe.”

“Wouldn’t we give them exactly what they want, though?”

“Who cares? Your health is at risk here!!!”

Silver Blade gritted her teeth, her eyes almost spewing fire. Liam was taken aback by her intense reaction.

The young man subconsciously reached out with his hand, holding Silver Blade’s shoulder. He spoke while looking deep into her eyes:

“Thank you! Really! But you can trust me, this bit of music is nothing. The best way to pay them back is to clear the dungeon before them.”

Liam could feel Silver Blade’s body shivering. Eventually she took a deep breath and calmed down. With a slight jerk of her shoulder, Liam’s hand slipped off.

“I guess it’s your life. You decide.”

The others watched silently, feeling the complicated atmosphere. A moment later Radiant Shield couldn’t stand the silence, speaking carefully:

“I feel like what happened to Mirage wasn’t the only attempt to sabotage us.”