Chapter 277: Punishment Begins

Both Chen Xiaolian and Roddy walked out from the airport and reached the outside area. They were just about to flag down a cab when two Caucasian males in suits moved over.

“Excuse me, are you two Mr Chen Xiaolian and Mr Roddy?”

One of them, a brown haired fellow said while looking at Chen Xiaolian. There were two photos in his hand. Surprisingly, those two photos were Chen Xiaolian and Roddy’s passport photos.

From the way they were attired, in suits and the way they were talking, it was obvious that these two men were government servants.

Chen Xiaolian was surprised by this. He knitted his brows and asked, “What is it? Haven’t the issued been settled? Did you chase us all the way from San Francisco to New York?”

The brown haired fellow smiled. After having confirmed Chen Xiaolian’s identity, he put away the photos and said, “You must have misunderstood something, Mr Chen Xiaolian. We are the organizing staff members of this meeting. We have been ordered to receive you two and escort you to your accommodations.

After saying that, the fellow brought out a metal card from his chest.

Chen Xiaolian noticed that the shape and make of the card and also the pattern on its surface were completely similar to the invitation card that he had received. It almost appeared like a miniaturized version of his invitation card.

“Oh?” Chen Xiaolian’s eyes lit up and he exchanged a glance with Roddy.

Organizing staff members of the meeting?

Even now, Chen Xiaolian and Roddy had yet to uncover what this so-called ‘meeting’ was supposed to be.

Thinking about it, this was the system’s ‘punishment instance dungeon’. If so, the organizing side… it could not possibly be the Development Team or the Players, could it?

As they regarded the two fellows who came to pick them up, it would appear that these two were…

NPCs?

Interesting!

Chen Xiaolian thought about it before nodding his head. He said, “All right, since the organizing side had made the arrangements, that would be even better. Shall we be going now?”

“Of course, we have already arranged the car for this. Please follow us,” said the brown haired man with a courteous tone and smile.

As for Chen Xiaolian and Roddy, they weren’t too bothered by it.

From the way the two fellows in suit were walking, they could tell that those two were simply ordinary people and not Awakened ones.

Even if any danger arose, considering Chen Xiaolian and Roddy’s abilities, there was no need for them to fear those two ordinary people.

After walking through a passageway, they saw a Lincoln limousine parked beside the airport.

Chen Xiaolian was stunned while Roddy who was beside him could not help but let out a whistle.

“These organizers are pretty rich,” said Roddy with a laugh.

Chen Xiaolian pursed his lips to the side and replied: If the organizers are the Development Team… what value would money have in their eyes? This whole world was created by them.

“Please get on the car.” The brown haired fellow was unable to hear the exchanges they made through the guild channel. He took the initiative to open the door and courteously invited them into the car.

The interior of the car was decorated lavishly. The interior bar was filled with a dazzling array of wines.

A champagne had been readily placed within an ice bucket. There was also a decanter that was already filled with red wine. They turned to observe the empty glasses to their side and saw that those were all high-grade wine glasses made in France.

Chen Xiaolian and Roddy sat inside and did not hesitate to pick up the bottle of champagne. They poured two cups, clinked it and gulped it down in one go.

“Tastes pretty good.” Chen Xiaolian licked his lips.

Roddy laughed. “The flowers of Paris.”

The car slowly moved and they left the airport.

“Where are they taking us?” Roddy who was holding onto a wine glass asked Chen Xiaolian.

Chen Xiaolian observed the scenery outside the window and said coolly, “I don’t know… but right now, I feel like I’m on vacation. I wonder if our arranged accommodation could be the Waldorf Astoria. I’ve long since heard of it. Who knows if I’ll ever get the chance to stay there?”

It was at that moment that the window shutters on both side of the car compartment suddenly winded downward!

The black coloured shutters sealed off their view of the outside of the car.

A soft illumination came to life, lighting up the interior of the car.

“What is going on?” Roddy’s gaze turned serious and he clenched his fists.

Then, the shutters separating them with the driver position were opened and they saw the brown haired fellow sitting in the driver position. He turned around and said with a smile, “I am sorry, this is part of the arrangements made by the organizers. From this moment onward, we will be maintaining a state of silence. For security purposes, we will be closing the windows… because the venue of the meeting must be kept confidential.”

There was a look of confusion on Roddy’s face.

Chen Xiaolian who was beside him gave a light nod. He had a somewhat calm look on his face and he said coolly, “All right. Since this is the rule set by the organizers, we will follow it.”

“I am very sorry, I hope that the two of you can still find the trip enjoyable,” the brown haired fellow said.

Next, the rear part of the car became sealed off.

“Xiaolian?” There was a frown on Roddy’s face as he turned to face Chen Xiaolian.

Chen Xiaolian took a deep breath and said, “Since we are already here, we might as well go along with it.”

He appeared quite calm.

GM won’t be setting me up, would it?

…

Chen Xiaolian did not blindly followed without doing anything.

When the car left the airport, he had begun to calculate the time.

Although he was inside the car and within a sealed space, he could still estimate the velocity of the car by the sensing the bumpiness of their ride.

At the same time, he also calculated the time.

After travelling for over an hour.

Chen Xiaolian and Roddy felt the car slowing down. They could also feel it going downhill.

A moment later, the car stopped.

Two “peng” sounds of the car doors being slammed shut could be heard.

“Mm? We’ve stopped?” Roddy was surprised.

He rapped the shutter in front.

No response.

Chen Xiaolian reached out and pulled the door handle.

The door was locked.

“What now?” Roddy turned to Chen Xiaolian.

Although the door was locked, it would be a simple thing for them to break out of the car.

“… let’s wait for a bit.” Chen Xiaolian’s mind raced and he said in a hushed tone.

He did not sense any incoming dangers.

Then, the two of them suddenly felt the car shudder!

Next, there was a soft buzzing sound.

“It seems… we’re moving down?” Roddy said.

Chen Xiaolian nodded his head.

It was a very familiar sensation, similar to when they were going down on an elevator.

Chen Xiaolian waved his hand, signalling to Roddy to maintain silence. He himself had already summoned out the Sword in the Stone.

“Later on, open the car door and I will rush out first,” Chen Xiaolian said as he retrieved a PS9 handgun and a military dagger for Roddy.

Roddy accepted them and nodded.

The descending sensation finally came to a halt and there was silence.

“There doesn’t seem to be any sound outside.” Roddy placed his ears close to the car body and glanced at Chen Xiaolian, “Open now?”

There was a serious expression on Chen Xiaolian’s face and he nodded his head.

Roddy grabbed onto the handle of the door and utilized his Mechanical Heart skill.

Pata.

The door was unlocked.

Chen Xiaolian pushed open the door and took a big stride out of the car!

He had the Sword in the Stone within his hand!

Blessing of the King’s Eminence! Eliminate all negative mental effects!

The sharp blade of the sword was pointed forward to pave open a path as Chen Xiaolian rushed out of the car. He then got into a defensive posture. However, when he got his bearings, he became flabbergasted!

Roddy followed suit and rushed out of the car, one hand carrying a dagger while the other carried a handgun. He followed Chen Xiaolian closely as he protected Chen Xiaolian’s rear side.

The moment the two of them got out of the car, they tacitly got into a back-to-back position.

At nearly the same time, the both of them sucked in a mouthful of cold air as they checked their surroundings. There was utter shock on both their faces and eyes.

“This… am I dreaming?”

…

An endless great plain of red coloured land and rocks!

Some distance away, a towering red coloured rocky pillar could be seen rising up like a mountain!

They had clearly arrived in New York during the evening hours. Yet, at that moment, the sky before them was one of sunset.

The remnant light coming off the setting sun spilled over the red coloured plains, creating a grand feeling of desolation!

It resembled the standard view of the red coloured wasteland that one could see in the West side of the US.

Most importantly, when Chen Xiaolian turned to face the left side of the car, he saw a great canyon located a good distance away!

It was as though God himself had brought a great axe down upon the lands and split it in half!

At that moment, there was no doubt in his mind that it was the uncanny workmanship of Mother Nature.

The luxurious Lincoln limousine was parked on the barren wasteland. Beneath its tires were soil and no other mechanical devices could be found around it.

“We… how did we get here?” Roddy stared with bulging eyes. He turned about as he surveyed his surroundings; the gun in his hand was put down as he looked about in a daze. He said, “I recall that feeling earlier… we should have been going down on an elevator, right?”

He then raised his head to look at the sky. The rays of sunset coloured the sky and a hawk could be seen gliding through the sky.

A gust of wind blew past them, carrying soil and sand in its wake.

The wind carried with it the clear scent of a wasteland.

[System prompt: Punishment instance dungeon numbered 1075, main part opening.

[Presently in the preparation phase. Participants are invited to make preparations for battle. You will all have 24 hours within this grand canyon to rest up and find other companions.

[Prompt 1: Within 24 hours’ time, find other participants to establish a cooperation. This will be an important part for the later phase of the storyline.

[Prompt 2: After 24 hours is over, the preparation phase will end. Please familiarize yourself with the terrain as soon as possible.

[Prompt 3: During the preparation phase, participants are forbidden from killing one another. Those found in violation of this will be punished by the system.

[Prompt 4: This instance dungeon imposes no restriction on any equipment or skills. However, the usage of high-grade equipment or skills will affect the difficulty of the later phases of the quest. Fellow participants are advised to practice self-restraint according to one’s own abilities.

[Prompt 5: Permission to form alliances is now allowed. Teams and solo participants can now form alliances. Once an alliance is formed, the members of the alliance becomes a temporary faction. No killing is allowed within a faction. Additionally, the members of a faction may use the temporary faction’s channel to communicate with each other and share information. Once an alliance is made, it may not be cancelled until the end of this instance dungeon unless every member of the alliance is dead.]