Chapter 906: Full-Fortune Bank

“Finally, we have enough money, but this apartment lacks a certain something!”

Zhang Yi and his two companions, Wang Han and Song Ren, had been grinding missions for over an hour in the game, finally accumulating enough money to buy an apartment and equipment.

However, due to their low level, despite grinding missions for more than an hour, only a few weapons were unlocked.

“It’s already pretty good. It’s even a small two-story place, and that floor-to-ceiling window… in real life, in a big city like Los Santos, you couldn’t get this without tens of millions. The housing prices in this game are even cheaper than in reality!” Zhang Yi remarked with some emotion.

They toured it from top to bottom. Though called an apartment, it felt more like a small villa, nearly three hundred square meters in size.

It had two floors. While it lacked luxury features like a swimming pool, it boasted a gigantic floor-to-ceiling panoramic window.

Standing before the window, one could take in the prosperity of Los Santos at a glance.

“And it’s already fully furnished. Where in real life would you find such a good deal? You probably wouldn’t even have enough money for renovation materials,” Song Ren sighed from the side.

“Alright, stop chattering. It’s getting late. Let’s do one heist mission and call it a day,” Wang Han suggested after finishing her tour of the in-game apartment.

What had they been grinding for over an hour for?

Wasn’t it to fulfill the prerequisites for a heist mission and then experience the game’s heist gameplay?

Although the Payday game had already offered players a very exhilarating heist experience, the details were different. Payday leaned more towards magical robbers in its later stages. But based on the previous trailers for Vice City, the multiplayer heist gameplay here seemed more comprehensive and detailed.

To put it figuratively, Payday’s gameplay was more like a straightforward, brutal activity, letting players experience the most thrilling part directly.

But Vice City’s heist gameplay was different. The preliminary scouting and recon felt like a prelude, allowing players to fully immerse themselves and dedicate their minds to the heist game.

“Huh… there’s only one heist mission right now! Do we need to unlock more little by little?” The three entered the small heist mission room, looking at the heist conditions displayed on the computer screen. Song Ren spoke.

The first heist mission: Full-Fortune Bank job.

The estimated earnings weren’t the main concern; it was the number of participants, which showed 1-2 players.

“How about…” Seeing the estimated player count, Song Ren lightly coughed and tentatively began.

But before he could finish, he saw Zhang Yi and Wang Han’s expressions turn completely blank. They froze in place, then suddenly vanished.

Simultaneously, the friends’ status in the bottom right corner of the game displayed: [The other party is currently participating in a mission]

Song Ren: ?????

………………

A cutscene triggered, and Zhang Yi and Wang Han followed Lester out of the apartment and into a car.

“Is this really okay?” Wang Han asked, a little embarrassed.

“It’s fine, Old Song has a very strong will,” Zhang Yi said, driving the car according to Lester’s instructions towards the Full-Fortune Bank for recon.

Feeling a second of guilt for Old Song’s predicament, Zhang Yi and Wang Han quickly immersed themselves in the game mission.

Although it was the first heist mission, it was essentially a tutorial mode.

And this bank wasn’t very large; its security forces, in the eyes of veteran robbers like Zhang Yi and Wang Han, who had 500 hours in Payday, were practically non-existent.

However, in terms of heist plans, this game was more advanced compared to Payday.

Also, the roles and responsibilities were distinct.

For the Full-Fortune Bank heist, players could take on two different roles: the Driver and the Drill Operator.

Each had entirely different tasks.

The Driver, as the name suggests, was the player who needed to drive, picking up and dropping off teammates at the Full-Fortune Bank, then controlling the scene to prevent civilians from calling the police, thereby delaying the arrival of officers as much as possible, and finally driving away after the heist was complete.

The Drill Operator, on the other hand, needed to assist Lester by playing a Snake-like mini-game on their phone to hack into the bank’s operating system, then open the vault door. After entering the vault, they had to use a drill to open the safe deposit boxes and retrieve the valuables.

This entire heist process wasn’t actually much different from Payday.

The truly significant differences were the preparations before the heist and the escape after its successful completion.

“This Armored Kuruma is too powerful! It’s bulletproof! Completely different from Carl’s car before!”

Arriving at the top of a parking garage, Zhang Yi and Wang Han completed the prerequisite mission, driving away an ‘Armored Kuruma’ with expressions of surprise.

The Armored Kuruma was not unfamiliar to Zhang Yi, or indeed to any Vice City player, because in the Los Santos storyline, Carl would obtain this initial vehicle after completing the first mission.

And on the streets of Miami and Liberty City, there was also a certain chance for NPCs to drive this car.

But in those versions, this car wasn't an ironclad fortress; once attacked inside, there was a high probability of being taken out.

However, in this multiplayer online mode, this classic car had become a sports car, and it was incredibly sturdy.

Not only was it bulletproof, but more importantly, it was practically indestructible, only suffering paint damage no matter how many times it crashed.

One of the most frustrating things for players in Vice City was crashing their cars.

A perfectly intact car would, after driving for a while, lose its hood, doors, and windows, then smoke would billow from the engine, and finally, it would catch fire and explode.

“Don’t even think about it, 525,000, twice as expensive as the apartment,” Wang Han mumbled, glancing at the price.

The two chatted as they drove the car to their destination.

The initial Full-Fortune Bank heist mission was relatively simple, consisting of only three steps.

Recon, preparation, and the final payout.

After completing all the preliminary work, Zhang Yi and Wang Han had also unlocked the final payout stage.

Playing Snake to open the vault door, the bulletproof Armored Kuruma parked at the bank’s entrance. Just like in Payday, they put on their masks. One, with a drill, rushed straight into the vault, while the other controlled the scene.

The drill whirred, piercing through the safe’s lock, and Wang Han’s spirits were high.

“What’s a professional robber? This is a professional robber! This is the drill a robber should use!” Wang Han exclaimed with emotion.

Aside from Vice City, the other bank robbery game was Nebula Games’ previous Payday.

But what all veteran robbers had to complain about was that in Payday, no matter how much money the robbers earned, they always remained true to their origins.

The cutter would break after just a few uses, and the drill would break multiple times.

Vice City, however, was different. A drill would only break due to one’s own poor technique; but if the technique was precise, that drill would go all the way through.

“Mission accomplished, job done! The rest is up to you!”

With a click, the safe door swung open. Wang Han rolled up her sleeves, swept the contents into a bag, and ran towards the bank entrance.

At the same time, the police, having received the alarm, had mobilized all their forces.

“GOGOGO!”

Watching Wang Han open the car door and get into the passenger seat, Zhang Yi stomped on the accelerator. The Armored Kuruma instantly sped off, heading straight for the highway bridge.

Police officers leaned out of their patrol car windows behind them, firing wildly, but their bullets had no effect on the armored Armored Kuruma.

Reaching the middle of the highway bridge, just like the mission in Los Santos where a plane would use a magnet to pick up an armored vehicle and fly away with it.

Here, the mission that had once thrilled Zhang Yi so much was repeated.

Except this time, he was the one being lifted by the magnet.

“So satisfying!” Wang Han exclaimed as she looked at the settlement screen, receiving a 100,000 payout after the mission was completed.

Meanwhile, Zhang Yi, who had received a 30% cut, only just over 40,000, fell into a deep silence.

(End of Chapter) <>