I sent He Yi a private message next. "Moonlight Stone is bullied in Candle Dragon’s gaming base, so Little Gui, Chengfeng and the rest of us will be leaving immediately to take her home, Eve!"

He Yi didn’t stop me. She simply replied, "Got it. Bring anyone you need and take care of yourselves. If this cannot be solved privately, call the cops. No one can stop Moonlight Stone from leaving Candle Dragon if she wants to."

"Got it!"

……

I immediately logged out of the game and removed my gaming helmet. I then left the apartment after putting on a black jacket and grabbing my car keys.

My X12 roared out of the district and arrived at Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls’ gaming base in just ten minutes. Gui Guzi, Xu Yang, Du Thirteen, Li Chengfeng, Chaos Moon and more were all waiting for me outside the building entrance already. The moment I came to a stop, Li Chengfeng opened the front passenger car door without hesitation and sat beside me. He said, "There’s probably going to be a fight, right? As a police officer, it’s my duty to come with you and make sure that you don’t commit a mistake you may regret later."

Gui Guzi and Du Thirteen took a seat in the back. "We ain’t missing out on a fight!"

I said to the rest of the people outside, "Xu Yang, Fighting Spirits, you guys should stay behind. We aren’t actual gangsters, bringing too many people to Candle Dragon’s base is just asking for trouble. The four of us should be able to handle everything."

However, Chaos Moon ignored my advice, got into Buick parked in the basement and started the engine. After she drove the car behind me, she ordered, "Fighting Spirits, You and Yun, hop in. Xu Yang, you should stay. The base must have a leader at all times!"

Xu Yang clenched his fists. "No way! I just found out what those animals did to Moonlight Stone, and there’s no way I’m staying out of this!"

I hurriedly said, "No, no, the seven of us are enough! Think about it, what if they send someone to attack the base in retaliation? Do you expect boss to hold the fort all by herself?"

Since I brought up He Yi, Xu Yang had no choice but to swallow his frustration. "Fine. Just make sure you bring Moonlight Stone back no matter what!"

"Of course!"

……

I slammed my foot on the gas pedal and drove onto the G2 Beijing–Shanghai Expressway. Every second counted because the longer we dilly-dallied, the likelier Candle Dragon might notice our coming and prepare for it. Ideally, we would storm Candle Dragon’s base and take Moonlight away from Shanghai before anyone could react to it. No matter what happened in the past, she was our former companion. No one was allowed to bully her, least of all Candle Dragon.

Less than one and a half hours later, we entered Shanghai. Candle Dragon’s gaming base was located at the 7th, 8th and 9th floors of Yanlong Building, Xujiahui. The three floors were rented, and there were over 1200 players living on them. They also represented the cream of the crop of Candle Dragon. It was they who enabled Candlelight Shadow to stand over his Wind City competitors such as Purple Lily and Peach Garden. Naturally, Candlelight Shadow valued the gaming base a lot.

Creak!

The moment the X12 stopped in front of the building with a sharp braking noise, Li Chengfeng, Gui Guzi and Du Thirteen got out of the car immediately. A second after I caught up to them, High Fighting Spirits and Eighteen Steeds of You and Yun joined us as well. Chaos Moon was the only one who didn’t come with us. Remaining in the driver’s seat and waving us off, she said, "I’ll stay and keep the engines warmed for y’all. Once you’ve found Moonlight Stone, just drop her in my backseat so I can put my foot on the gas pedal and drive away immediately!"

I nodded approvingly. "Good idea. Honestly, I don’t want you to come with us anyway. It’ll be too dangerous."

"Yeah. Now go!"

……

The six of us went up the floors with me leading the way. The security guards on the ground floor stopped us in our tracks and asked, "Excuse me, but which company do you belong to?"

I smirked. "Candle Dragon’s gaming base is on the 7th, 8th and 9th floor, right?"

"Oh, you’re Candle Dragon? In that case, please register your names here!"

"No, we’re not. We’re just an old friend of theirs."

"In that case, it’s even more important that you register your names…"

"Surely you can skip the process this once!"

I threw the security guard’s hand away from my wrist and continued toward the elevator without a care. Gui Guzi and Du Thirteen’s grim expressions also helped to intimidate the security guards further. After we all entered the elevator, Li Chengfeng said, "Does anyone know which floor Moonlight Stone is at? There are three floors in total, and we can’t afford to search them one by one. Now that I think about it, we don’t even know if she’s in the base right now."

Du Thirteen said, "Don’t worry, I talked with Tiger Leopard Knight on the phone earlier. Moonlight Stone is definitely inside the gaming base right now, and the female players of Candle Dragon all reside on the 9th floor, so that’s where we need to go. However, Candlelight Shadow posted 4 security guards on the 9th floor to ensure the female players’ safety, and I doubt we’ll be able to get through without a fight this time."

"We’ll see what happens once we get there. Remember, we are here to take Moonlight Stone home as her friends, not to beat up the Candle Dragon’s men as gangsters. Let’s avoid fighting unless we have no other choice," I instructed.

Li Chengfeng smiled. "Well said."

……

The elevator door slowly opened. The ninth floor was surprisingly spacy, and the guild emblem of Candle Dragon was hung on the wall directly in front of us. Candle Dragon was a for-profit organization who made use of their elite players to develop their golden age and relied on guild territories and guild warehouses to make a profit. It was rumored that their gross monthly income was over 10 million, which was in stark contrast with over 95% of all the guilds in China.

Unfortunately, we ran into two female players in casual wear the second we stepped out of the elevator. One of them looked at us and said, "Eh? You guys are on the wrong floor, you know? The president mentioned that no male player besides the guild’s cadre are allowed on this floor. Surely you know the rules, right?"

I cleared my throat and began, "Excuse me, ladies, but is Moonlight Stone staying on this floor? Is it okay if we ask for her room number?"

"Moonlight Stone? Why do you want to see her? Who are you?"

"We are her friends. We haven’t seen her in a long time until we heard that she’s staying in Candle Dragon’s gaming base. It so happened that we were free today, so we decided to visit her and see how she’s doing…"

"Oh, I see! Well, she’s staying in room 9179, Block C. Just go down the right corridor and keep going straight."

"Thank you very much!"

I smiled, but one of the girls’ widened her eyes suddenly. She then asked in a feeble voice, "Excuse me, but… would you happen to be Lu Chen?"

I barely kept my surprise from showing on my face as I shook my head hastily. "No, you got the wrong person."

"Is that so? You look really similar to him though…"

I shot Li Chengfeng and Gui Guzi a meaningful look instead of answering her. Then, the three of us began walking down the way we were told. We couldn’t let the girls delay us for long.

Unfortunately, a security guard chose this exact moment to walk out of the security room. He looked to be around 24 years old, but his face was stretched in a way only a ruffian could. He was carrying a cup of tea when he saw us. "Hey you! What are you guys doing here?"

Li Chengfeng walked up to him. "Oh, we’re here to see a friend!"

He shot me a look while doing so. He was clearly telling me to go ahead first.

Du Thirteen, High Fighting Spirits and Eighteen Steeds of You and Yun joined Li Chengfeng and surrounded the security guard at the center. I immediately ran ahead after the security guard was occupied. Gui Guzi followed right behind me while counting the door numbers out loud, "This corner is 9101 to 9109, and that one is 9111 to 9119. Damn, this building is huge…"

I kept running. Going by the numbering, Moonlight Stone’s room should be at the fourth corridor, which was less than a hundred meters away from our current location.

……

The lighting grew dimmer over time, but I still saw the plate with the numbers "9171-9179" the second it entered my view. However, there were also two youngsters smoking right beneath the plate, so I slowed to a walk so as not to attract any suspicion. As my sports shoe clacked against the floor, their conversation grew clearer and clearer—

"I don’t understand what boss is thinking. It’s not like Moonlight Stone’s body is all that impressive. She has a semi-perky butt, sure, but that’s it. Like seriously, her breasts are even smaller than God’s Dance’s, and I can cup it all in one palm. I’ve never seen boss going so far for a subpar woman…"

"Shh, not so loud! Anyway, Moonlight Stone’s true strength lies in her innocence and purity… Anyway, let’s just wait for him to finish. Maybe he can win her heart this time with his 99 roses. If he can’t, hehehe… If it were me, I would’ve just drugged her outright. You know how women are. Once there is a first time, there’ll be a second, third and fourth. Plus, Moonlight Stone is mild-tempered. She won’t resist once she becomes boss's woman."

"Keke, I know right? I only wish we don’t have to wait for him too long to finish his business."

"What, did he bring the drugs after all?"

"No, but he did bring the condoms!"

"Kekeke!"

……

Indescribable fury swelled in my heart. I quickened my footsteps a little and stopped in front of the two youngsters.

"Hey bro. You new or something? I don’t think I’ve seen you on the 7th or 8th floor before…" one of them said while blocking my way.

I smiled. "Yeah, I’m a newcomer."

"Don’t you know the rules? Male players can’t be on the 9th floor."

"If that’s true, why are you guys up here?"

For a time, neither youngster knew how to respond. One of them puffed up their chest and declared, "We’re different. We’re from Wind Pavilion; the pillars of Candle Dragon, so we get special treatment."

I looked at the right corridor and frowned a little. "Well, I know a girl in room 9177, and I brought her some… ahem… special chocolate for her today…"

"Oh. Oh! Hahaha, I see, I see! Okay, in you go! Why do you have this guy with you though?"

"I’m here to cheer him on!" Gui Guzi replied while very deliberately showing his fist.

The two youngsters didn’t make a huge fuss upon noticing that Gui Guzi was extremely fit and strong.

……

I strode straight toward room 9179 and rapped on the door. A male voice immediately came from inside, "Little Five? Don’t interrupt me now, man! Just keep the nuisances away from here!"

I narrowed my eyes and clenched my fists. Then, I punched the lock with everything I got![1]

Bang!

There was a loud bang and a sharp pain coursing through my knuckles. They were even bleeding a little. However, the quality of the lock clearly wasn’t very good because it was loosening already. I immediately raised my legs and kicked the door in!

BOOM! The chains on the lock ripped open and fell on the floor, and the sight greeted me stunned me to complete silence—

A terrified Moonlight Stone was curled into a ball at a corner like a frightened rabbit. The upper part of her shirt was torn to pieces, and her arms were covered in bright red scratches. Her face was covered in tears as well. There was a man crouching next to her like he was consoling her, but the hand sliding up and down her shoulder was all I needed to see to know the truth.

The floor was covered in roses. It was probably the 99 roses the two youngsters had mentioned earlier. Clearly, Moonlight Stone didn’t like the "gift" at all.

……

"Who are you?!"

The man rose to his feet and yelled at me. I knew him. He was none other than Wind Listener, the guild leader of Wind Listening Pavilion and the new corps commander of Candle Dragon. His face looked exactly the same as his in-game self.

Instead of answering him, I pointed a finger at Moonlight Stone and said in a quiet voice, "Once upon a time, we swore to treasure her like diamonds and protect her from all harm no matter the cost. That oath hasn’t changed even now."

"The hell are you talking about?" Wind Listener frowned.

BANG!

My fist was already flying toward his cheeks before he could finish his sentence. Right before he could hit the floor, I seized him by the collar, pulled him up, and punched him another two times before screaming, "I’M TELLING YOU TO GET YOUR FILTHY HANDS AWAY FROM HER, YOU ANIMAL!"

1. T/N: Oh my god, you did not just punch a lock open.