Gao Neng was too drained to complain. He just waited to lose a level.
'Some side quest this is,' he thought. 'To hell with it!'
But as he watched the time rapidly ticking away, a sliver of indignation grew in his heart. 'I earned that level-up fair and square. Why should I lose it?'
Besides, the most important thing was that this time, the reward wasn't a beginner's treasure chest, but a random reward!
'A random reward…'
'Will it randomly give me a Transformer? Or at the very least, a cute loli with twin ponytails? If all else fails… how about a divine book that can materialize weapons, or a cosmic portal that lets me travel the universe?'
"CREAK."
Just as he was lost in thought, the conference room door was pushed open.
Two soldiers entered, propping up Tang Weiwei and Ah Si.
Gao Neng glanced at Tang Weiwei. He was in a pathetic state. His face was swollen like a pig's head, and his own head was wrapped in thick, blood-soaked bandages. If it weren't for his hate-filled eyes, Gao Neng truly wouldn't have recognized him.
As for Ah Si…
...he was completely unrecognizable.
He was wrapped up like a mummy from head to toe, with thick plaster casts on his legs and arms. He limped along, and Gao Neng had no idea what could have happened to him.
In fact, Tang Weiwei and Ah Si could be considered extremely lucky just to be alive.
Ah Si had been knocked unconscious by falling debris and collapsed, which saved him from the worst of it. Tang Weiwei, on the other hand, had been swatted by the Iron Dragon's tail and sent flying to the edge of the balcony.
Otherwise, even if the unconscious Shen Ning'Er had no specific target, the Iron Dragon's rampage alone could have smashed them both to death.
"Lieutenant Qin, we didn't do it, I swear! It was him... Gao Neng! He went into Major Shen's room first! By the time we got there, Major Shen was already unconscious!" Tang Weiwei shouted the moment he entered the conference room. He was so agitated that the bandages on his head strained, turning his face a livid color.
"Yes, it was him, Lieutenant Qin! We really didn't do anything… We just wanted to save Major Shen, honestly, that's all…" Ah Si could barely stand, but he still forced himself to speak.
"Save Major Shen?" Qin Tianxiong gave Ah Si a cold glance but didn't call him out on the lie. Instead, he turned to Gao Neng. "Student Gao Neng, do you have any explanation for their words?"
"Huh? Um... who's Major Shen?" Gao Neng asked, blinking.
If it had been anyone else, they would have probably blurted out, 'I'm innocent! They're conspiring to frame me!'
But Gao Neng wasn't just anyone.
He saw the issue with a single glance.
Only someone who had entered Shen Ning'Er's room last night would know her rank as a Major. If he hadn't gone in, how could he possibly know?
"Oh? It seems you really don't know." Qin Tianxiong's eyes narrowed. He then turned back to Tang Weiwei and Ah Si. "In that case... are you two framing him?"
"No, Lieutenant Qin, we're not framing him! Last night, at the hotel entrance, I gave him fifty Alliance Coins to... to..." Tang Weiwei said anxiously.
"To do what?"
"To..."
"Speak!"
"No, that's not right! He gave *me* fifty Alliance Coins to steal the hotel's key card! He wanted to get into Major Shen's room! He had ulterior motives!" Tang Weiwei immediately changed his story.
"Is that so? Gao Neng, did you give Tang Weiwei fifty Alliance Coins to steal the hotel's key card?" Qin Tianxiong asked, turning back to Gao Neng, his expression unreadable.
Gao Neng blinked again. 'Such an obvious lie, and Lieutenant Qin can't see it? He's actually asking me about it? Well, no helping it. I'll just have to play along.'
"I... I didn't give him any money. Besides... besides, I don't have any money. Everyone at the Third Senior High School knows that..." Gao Neng said, holding out his hands.
"But you spent forty Alliance Coins on a room yesterday?"
"Well, actually... he gave the money to me... Here's the remaining ten." Gao Neng fumbled in his pocket, pulled out ten Alliance Coins, and tossed them in front of Tang Weiwei.
"Oh? And why would he give you Alliance Coins?"
"He wanted me to steal a key card, but I was scared. I'm a coward... I only got here by pulling some strings, and I was afraid they'd retaliate against me at school, so I had no choice but to agree..."
"Hm. So because you're a coward, you had to agree. And then you took their money and got a room for yourself? That's a pretty good reason... Tang Weiwei, is that what happened?" Qin Tianxiong nodded, looking at Tang Weiwei again.
"I... I... Lieutenant Qin, you have to believe me! It was him! He went into Major Shen's room first last night! He was on her bed! We even fought, and he kicked me! Right, Ah Si?" Tang Weiwei tried to lift the bandages on his head to show them, but they wouldn't budge.
"Yes! And he slapped me!" Ah Si chimed in immediately.
"Nonsense!" Qin Tianxiong slammed his hand on the table, his presence suddenly immense. "You two filled Major Shen's room with knockout gas! If Gao Neng had been inside, he would have been knocked out too! So how could a gassed Gao Neng possibly beat the two of you? Gao Neng, isn't that right!!!"
"I... I don't understand. What are you talking about? Knockout gas?" Gao Neng blinked again.
'He's trying to trap me!'
He wasn't falling for it.
The corner of Qin Tianxiong's mouth twitched. He gave Gao Neng a long, hard look, then broke into laughter. "Hahaha... It seems you really are clueless. However, I recall you were staying in the room right next to Major Shen. There was a huge commotion. Are you telling me you were completely oblivious? Gao Neng, you're lying!"
"..." Gao Neng was speechless.
"Gao Neng, you think you're clever, trying to deny everything, but you're wrong. Your story is full of holes. If you confess now, I can still try to get you a lighter sentence. But if you continue this nonsense, you know the consequences. The Military Department has ways of making you understand the meaning of 'a fate worse than death'!" Qin Tianxiong's gaze was glacial.
Stared down by Qin Tianxiong, Gao Neng grimaced internally. 'This is unavoidable.' This Qin Tianxiong was in a completely different league, intellectually, than Tang Weiwei and his cronies.
No matter what he said, Qin Tianxiong would find a way to pin the blame on him.
Gritting his teeth, he had no choice but to change tactics. He began to tremble and back away as he spoke. "I am lying, but... but aren't you lying too, Lieutenant Qin?
"Oh? You say I'm lying? What lie might that be?" Qin Tianxiong watched Gao Neng with great interest.
"You're trying to... help Tang Weiwei get off the hook, aren't you?"
"Hm?!"
"If not, then why are you so fixated on me, an innocent person? Is it really because... I rented a room in the hotel? Or is it because... you actually have some kind of deal with Principal Tang, and you plan on making me the scapegoat?"
"You little brat, how dare you spout such nonsense!" Qin Tianxiong's fists clenched.
"I lied, yes! Because I've already figured it out... Major Shen is Shen Ning'Er, right? I did hear the commotion last night, but I was already checking out in the hotel lobby by then. You can check the time! Wait, stay back... You're not going to kill me to silence me, are you?!" At the end of his tirade, Gao Neng seemed to sense Qin Tianxiong's rage and rapidly backed away.
"Kill you to silence you? I'm a dignified..."
"AH! MURDER! HE'S SILENCING A WITNESS! SOMEBODY! HELP ME!" Gao Neng ignored Qin Tianxiong and just started screaming.
"Kid, shut your mouth! What are you shouting for?!"
"AHH... I've exposed your conspiracy, and now you want to kill me! HELP!"
"If you don't shut up, I'll..."
"BANG!"
The door was violently thrown open.
Li Qingping and Zhang Dafan burst into the room.
"Qin Tianxiong! As a lieutenant of the Military Department, you promised you wouldn't torture Gao Neng! Why did you go back on your word?" Li Qingping had clearly heard the commotion from outside the door and looked furious.
"THUD!"
Just then, Gao Neng suddenly tripped over a chair and fell headfirst to the ground. He scrambled back up quickly, but he seemed to be in a daze.
"Gao Neng, what's wrong? Are you okay?" Zhang Dafan asked, moving to help him.
But Gao Neng immediately jumped away.
TICK, TOCK, TICK, TOCK!
Remaining Time: 03:13
Gao Neng glanced at the remaining time. Then, swaying unsteadily, he began to perform a set of calisthenics, a look of pure joy on his face.
He knew his acting was perhaps a little over-the-top, with plenty of room for improvement. But time was short, and even with his top-student intellect, he couldn't come up with a better plan.
His only saving grace was that both Qin Tianxiong and Shen Ning'Er were members of the Military Department.
Without concrete evidence, they couldn't do anything to him for the time being, no matter how suspicious they were. Once he got into the Military University and gained some power and status, perhaps then he could truly protect himself.
'To complete the quest.'
'I'll go all out!'
"Hahaha... You all just want to frame me... My life is worthless anyway! You just want me to confess, right? Fine... I confess! I'm the true culprit who did in Shen Ning'Er! What can you do to me?! Hahaha... What can you do to me?!"
"Ding. Prompt: Voice not loud enough. Please shout loudly: I'm the true culprit who did in Shen Ning'Er! What can you do to me!"
Remaining Time: 02:45.