Chapter 245: Glitch

Li Cheng's expression stiffened; within the field of view of his Information Integration Glasses, the label above the other party's head, originally displaying "Brown-Haired Young Woman," had now changed to "Sakura Kinomoto," with several skull icons hanging after the name,

silently testifying to the terror of this person's strength.

Sakura Kinomoto noticed Li Cheng's silence, held a can of beer in one hand, and asked with an amused tone, "Have you heard my rumors?"

"I've heard a little."

Li Cheng nodded honestly; the person before him was a figure akin to the founding ancestor of the magical girl world, capable of smashing a group of demon gods with her staff while still in the fourth grade of elementary school.

"Don't be so tense; we are all just toys, not the original characters."

Sakura Kinomoto took a listless sip of beer, wearing the worn-down expression of a corporate slave whose edges had been smoothed by time, devoid of any trace of her former magical girl self, and said, "By the way, what kind of toy were you originally? Why is your modeling so detailed?"

Li Cheng, who had transmigrated from the real world, possessed a body whose "modeling" detail far exceeded that of the Lego couple next door, making him appear as if he existed on a different layer entirely.

'Actually, I'm a super handsome, super gorgeous, eight-pack abs, life-size figure.'

This reason spun through Li Cheng's mind for a moment before being suppressed; his Charm value was currently only 5 points, giving him little confidence to say such a thing.

Fortunately, a sudden clamor rising from downstairs attracted everyone's attention.

"Don't come over! None of you come over!"

A Lego toy citizen draped in a blanket, wielding a kitchen knife, shouted shrilly, ordering a group of people in medical protective suits to retreat.

"Sir, please calm down!"

The medical staff in white protective suits dared not approach; hiding behind community security guards holding riot shields, they spoke patiently, "We mean you no harm; you have contracted an infectious disease, and we are here to help you..."

"Help me? Don't think I don't know! Toys infected with infectious diseases are all dragged away by you to be silenced! Not a single one has ever returned alive!"

That Lego citizen, filled with grief and indignation, ripped the blanket off his body, drawing gasps from the surrounding crowd.

Various parts of his body were covered in a purple-black substance that resembled both slime and rust stains.

From the seventh floor, Li Cheng narrowed his eyes; his Information Integration Glasses scanned this Lego citizen and extracted two pieces of information.

【Late-Stage Glitch Syndrome】

【Infected Areas: Head, Chest, Arms, Ankles】

Glitch Syndrome must be what was known as the Toy Plague.

More and more onlookers gathered around, and many citizens quietly took out their phones to film the infected individual.

"Film away, film away! Let everyone know that City Hall has deceived us!"

The Lego citizen suffering from Glitch Syndrome stood tall and proud, displaying his infected areas, and shouted loudly, "Mayor Dumbledore and Vice Mayor Einstein—they are the source of the disease!"

Just as the situation was about to spiral out of control, reinforcements finally arrived.

Several hovering vehicles emblazoned with the TOYPD (Toy City Police Department) logo sped over and stopped at the community entrance.

A group of Stormtroopers from Star Wars jumped out of the vehicles; clad in full-coverage white armor, wearing helmets, and holding laser rifles, they looked quite imposing and majestic.

The leading Stormtrooper raised a megaphone and shouted, "Citizen, you are under arrest for failing to cooperate with City Hall's work; stand still and raise your hands..."

"Even if I die, I won't go with you!"

The Lego infected person angrily threw the kitchen knife; the blade grazed past the Stormtrooper's helmet, nearly hitting him.

"What? You dare throw a kitchen knife at us? This is no longer an ordinary citizen; we must use heavy force. All units, fire at will!"

The Stormtrooper commander shouted in exasperation, and the soldiers below immediately raised their rifles to fire.

Then, a rather regrettable scene unfolded.

Over twenty Stormtroopers, holding their laser rifles, swept back and forth for a full minute; every single thermal beam struck the ground beneath the Lego infected person's feet,

plowing up the concrete surface, yet not a single shot managed to hit its target.

"Even Bo Le would call this a fine horse."

Looking down from the building, Li Cheng ranted wildly in his heart; although the marksmanship of the Stormtroopers in Star Wars was already notoriously tragic, unable to hit even a stationary Bantha, witnessing this absurd scene firsthand still made one unable to hold it together.

Maybe you gentlemen should just blindfold yourselves; pulling the trigger aimlessly might actually result in a few lucky hits.

The Lego infected person hadn't expected to survive either and stood there in a daze,

until finally, a medical staff member in a protective suit quietly approached from behind, plunged a syringe into his neck, and anesthetized him into unconsciousness.

The farce finally ended; the medical staff brought a stretcher and loaded the infected person into an ambulance.

The Stormtroopers then walked toward the crowd to confiscate people's phones, deleting the recorded videos under the guise of a "City Hall decree."

"Glitch Syndrome has appeared for nearly a year; similar scenes have occurred quite often."

Holding her beer, Sakura Kinomoto remarked indifferently, "A group of doctors has researched this for so long, yet they still haven't figured out the cause or the mode of transmission;

they only know that the infected will gradually fall into stagnation and paralysis within half a year, their bodies becoming rigid and immobile, requiring injections of nutrient fluid to sustain life.

Rather than turning into that state, it's better to end one's own life while still able to move freely; at least that preserves some final dignity."

Having said that, she finished the remaining beer, burped without any semblance of a magical girl's image, turned around, returned to her room, and slammed the door shut with a bang.

"..."

Li Cheng pondered thoughtfully; if one evaluated the current situation using the theory that "the Killing Field grants weaker parties more momentum in deathmatch games," then everything made sense.

Because his paper strength was inferior to Level 23 Gouchen, Level 22 Frankenstein, and others, the Killing Field had granted him the legal identity of a Toy City citizen at the start of the mission,

and staged this farce to quickly explain the reproduction method of Toy City citizens, the dangers of Glitch Syndrome, and showcase the city's armed forces—although the Stormtroopers' tactical and combat proficiency was truly lacking.

Other players must be taking action by now; Li Cheng had no time to hesitate, immediately returned to his room, rummaged through boxes and cabinets, and finally found a smartphone and several crumpled banknotes in a drawer.

The phone's contact list contained no entries; inside was only one rather suspicious text message, with content identical to the note in Li Cheng's pocket: "Chengnan Park, 18:00."

The banknotes ranged in denomination from 5 to 200; the obverse of each depicted a panoramic view of Toy City—a solitary city built upon a floating island.

The reverse featured portraits of working people—such as the truck driver Optimus Prime, the dockworker Popeye, the chef Xiao Dangjia, and so on.

With money in hand, things became easier; Li Cheng took the elevator downstairs and hailed a yellow taxi.

However, as soon as he sat down, Li Cheng regretted it; this taxi was a car creature from the animated film Cars, containing no driver, as the vehicle itself was an independent lifeform.

Sitting inside gave one the distinct sensation of being eaten.

The taxi itself felt nothing amiss and stated calmly through the in-car broadcast, "Passenger, where would you like to go?"

Li Cheng braced himself and reported the address, "Chengnan Park."

"All right, please fasten your seatbelt."

The taxi let out a whistle and floored the accelerator.

In racing movies, the highest realm of driving is the unity of man and vehicle, emphasizing a perfect tacit cooperation between the driver and the car.

And this taxi itself was the driver — its driving skill was off the charts, threading straight through the dense traffic, weaving and darting, tearing south at full speed.

Even with Li Cheng's physical and mental fortitude, he couldn't help reaching out to grip the door handle, worried he might get flung out.

Squeal, squeal.

Just then, the in-car broadcast suddenly went off, and a woman's voice said in a stern tone: "Warning, a terrorist attack has occurred at the City Center Museum. All citizens please note, a terrorist attack has occurred at the City Center Museum. This is not a drill."

(End of chapter)