Wanderers

Late at night.

"Drop!"

After I lay down in bed, a light suddenly flashed on the star map, and Cai Cai's voice came through the team chat channel. "Brothers and sisters, tomorrow is the weekend, and we've rested for two days. Shouldn't we go out and level up again? We can't slack off on leveling up!"

Agreed.

The fat guy, a shameless level 32 noob, said, "I'm in a hurry to reach level 40!"

Ruolin asked, "Ding Han, what do you say?"

Subconsciously, everyone has long regarded me as the soul of the team, and in fact, that's the case. Only when I'm there can the team challenge some high-difficulty bosses or missions that are beyond their level.

"I'm fine with anything. I don't have a girlfriend, I'm very free, I'll listen to everyone else."

"Oh?"

Ruolin smiled and said, "Didn't Ying'er invite you to go for a walk in the park or anything this weekend?"

"What are you thinking? She's a workaholic, how could she have time for me?"

"Too."

"Then how do you say it?"

Cai Cai said, "Let's meet at nine o'clock tomorrow morning and go to the Frigid Tundra again?"

"Can."

I immediately agreed, "If there are no objections, let's meet at the Phase Teleportation Array at nine o'clock tomorrow morning, and then go to the Frigid Tundra to see if we can do some quests or fight some monsters."

"OK!"

Ruolin, Kou Mei, and Fatty all agreed.

The next day, Lin Qingying went to work as scheduled. After having breakfast with me downstairs, we walked side by side out of the community. She had parked her car on the side of the road because she had come back too late last night and her parking space was taken.

"Ding Han!"

Not far away, the fat man and Shen Yue walked side by side.

It seems Shen Yue stayed at his place again last night. Fatty, you're really lucky.

"Manager Lin..."

When Shen Yue saw Lin Qingying, she looked a little restrained. After all, the other party was the CEO of the Yue Ning Group, someone an ordinary employee would never have the opportunity to meet.

"Um."

Lin Qingying smiled and said, "You guys are busy, I'll go to work now."

"Yes, Manager Lin."

Shen Yue took out her keys, turned on the car parked on the roadside, and said, "Where are you two going? Do you need me to give you a ride?"

"No need, we can just take a taxi. You can go back first."

The fat man had a heartless, cruel expression.

"Snort!"

Shen Yue got into the car and left in a huff.

Watching CC drive away, spewing exhaust fumes, I whispered, "You didn't tell her you're a gamer, did you?"

"Don't worry, no."

The fat man pondered for a moment, then said, "I understand that. The Crimson Dragon Country's attitude towards the Player Faction is currently ambiguous. Even your closest spouse cannot reveal their identity. I know that."

"Good."

I nodded, hailed a taxi, and the two of us headed to the Player Black Market.

In the morning, the courtyard of the Player Black Market was very lively, with many people already setting up stalls. Many players were enthusiastic about this, feeling that it was best for players to trade on their own, eliminating middlemen and preventing them from being exploited by unscrupulous merchants like Old Ma.

Fatty and I squatted by the flower bed for a while, and then we saw Zhang Ruolin and Kou Mei walk in, eating jianbing guozi and drinking soy milk. The bright sunlight shone on these two beautiful women with long, straight black hair, making them look extremely radiant.

"Boss!"

A few minutes later, Cai Cai rushed in, a fried dough stick dangling from her lips, and asked with a smile, "I'm not late, am I?"

"No."

I glanced at him and said, "Cai Cai, your schedule isn't good... People need to have a proper job to make their lives more regular. What do you do now?"

"Nothing was done."

Cai Cai said, "I'm just a lazy bum, an unemployed vagrant, a social parasite, supporting myself by the money I earn from farming equipment."

"Awesome..."

The fat man laughed, "You say such shameless things so frankly."

Cai Cai grinned, but didn't refute.

"Let's go, it's time!"

I turned around and switched into Combat Form, revealing my ID and health bar. Instantly, my body was surrounded by surging Yuan energy, and in the blink of an eye, I was wearing purple armor, holding an Explosive Gun in my arms. I looked incredibly cool!

Cai Cai, Fatty, and the others also entered their Combat Form, each displaying their own unique style. The five of them crossed the courtyard and arrived at the Phase Teleportation Array. After confirming that the teleportation coordinates were the Frigid Tundra, they each paid the fees. Immediately, the Teleportation Array began to hum and vibrate, creating a truly breathtaking sound.

"Whoosh!"

With one step, one has entered the Frigid Tundra. Outside the Teleportation Array is a small market. Clearly, after a period of development, it has become much more prosperous than before. There are even rows of second-hand off-road vehicles waiting for players to rent outside the market.

"Awesome, now we have a car!"

Cai Cai laughed and asked, "Who wants to rent a car?"

"I'll do it."

This time I wasn't being stingy, and I really felt bad about being stingy. Last time when we went to Twilight Wasteland to fight the Spinal Butcher, no one earned as much as I did. I managed to get a full set of purple gear in one go, plus an orange Monsoon Traveler's Boots. So it's time for me to cover these small expenses for the team. A leader should act like a leader.

"Boss!"

He stepped forward and asked a lean player, "How much does it cost to rent an SUV that can carry five people?"

"The rent is 2000 yuan per day, and you will have to pay for any damages at that price."

The businessman chuckled, "But... you're the Shadow Chaser, so it'll be fine. Just give me 2000. If it's overdue, we'll settle the bill again when I return the car."

"Okay, thanks!"

I immediately took out 2000 Star Coins to pay, and the other party tossed me a car key. As usual, they tossed the car key to Fatty. I sat in the passenger seat with my Explosive Gun in hand, while Cai Cai, Ruolin, and Kou Mei squeezed into the back.

"Which way?" the fat man asked.

"Heading north," I said.

What's the explanation?

Ruolin asked, "Besides the song that pays tribute to Jay Chou?"

"The Frigid Tundra, so if we go north, there might be slightly more mutant species and demon spirits, and we can earn a little more profit."

"Understood."

The fat man stepped on the gas, and the car sped away across the icy plain.

About half an hour later, intermittent red lines suddenly appeared in the northeast direction of the large map.

"Fatty, pull over closer to the woods!" I ordered.

"Um!"

The fat man immediately slammed on the brakes, stopping the SUV in a patch of weeds within the woodland.

I grabbed my Explosive Gun and plunged into the woods. After speeding forward for several hundred meters, I found myself on a hillside covered with weeds and moss. Sure enough, there was movement ahead.

It was a convoy of 12 vehicles, loaded with various supplies, and surrounded by a dense crowd. The people were dressed in very shabby clothes, some even with patches on their clothes, and most of them looked pale and emaciated, as if they hadn't eaten in a long time.

But their eyes all shone with fanaticism.

"Holy crap..."

Cai Cai frowned and said, "They are wanderers from the wilderness."

"A wanderer?" The fat man looked surprised.

After arriving in Star Abyss, he just drifted through life in Huaining City, so it's normal that he didn't know some of the settings in the wilderness.

As for me, I am no stranger to the Wanderers. They are a group of humans who are not accepted by the Crimson Dragon Country and the Star Maple Federation. They wander in the wilderness, living a life of hunger and thirst, relying on the weapons in their hands to fight each other, and even besieging the settlements of other humans, just like a swarm of locusts, doing whatever it takes to survive.

"Someone's there!"

Suddenly, someone shouted from the front of the tank, followed by a series of gunshots. Dust rose from where Cai Cai and I were lying down.

The opponent's marksmanship was mediocre; the sniper rifle didn't even manage a single shot at such close range.

"Die, all of you!"

Immediately afterwards, in the second vehicle, a burly man with a thick beard suddenly gripped the large-caliber heavy machine gun welded to the rear of the vehicle, aimed it in our direction, and began Continuous Shooting!

"Get down!"

At my command, the five men immediately dropped to the ground, and bullets began to fly overhead.

"Holy crap..."

The fat man, clutching Explosive Gun, looked up at the sky and asked, "Who are these wanderers? Good or bad?"

"It's difficult to categorize the people in <Star Abyss> as simply good or bad."

I patiently explained, "However, we are now players of the Crimson Dragon Country faction, so these wanderers are considered the opposing faction. You can see their names are red. Once they encounter players like us, they will show no mercy, otherwise they wouldn't have shot directly at us."

"Right."

Cai Cai said, "To put it bluntly, wanderers are like a pack of wild dogs in the wilderness. They only care about food, ammunition, supplies, and women. For these things, they can easily abandon their humanity."

Kou Mei frowned. "That does sound pretty bad..."

"Walk!"

I slowly looked up and found that the group of wanderers did not pursue us. Instead, they headed east, where there was a small, light green icon on the large map.

In Star Abyss, green represents friendliness, so it was a small camp belonging to the Crimson Dragon Country, and these wanderers were most likely heading there.

If we go and lend a helping hand at this time, the chances of triggering the mission will be extremely high!

Completing quests for the Crimson Dragon Country faction will earn you Reputation Value. Gradually, you can increase your Reputation Level. I value Reputation Level quite a bit. According to the Reputation Level system in <Star Abyss>, the player's relationship with the faction is divided into the following categories: Blood Feud, Arch-enemy, Hatred, Hostile, Neutral, Respected, Respected, Revered, Worshipped, Glorious Comrade, Oath of Sanctification, Eternal Covenant, and Genesis Bond.

Starting with "Respected," players enjoy a 5% discount on purchases. The higher the Reputation Level, the greater the discount. It is said that once players reach the Genesis Bond level, they can enjoy a 40% discount on purchases within their faction, and can also obtain various bond breakthroughs, and even call on nearby allies to assist in battle!

So I crouched down and stood up, whispering, "Come with me. Let's avoid their line of sight and quietly follow them to see if we can get any quests. Now that we're higher level, we can't just focus on experience points; Reputation Value are just as important."

"Clear!"

Cai Cai and the others nodded and quickly followed.

About ten minutes later.

In a snowy forest, tents were linked together, with a simple watchtower in the middle and two large-caliber heavy machine guns mounted on the outer perimeter. They were already engaged in fierce fighting with a large number of wanderers on the outskirts!

The Crimson Dragon Country soldiers in the camp were few in number, while the number of roamers was as high as several hundred. In addition, the enemy had a considerable number of RPGs, and under their relentless bombardment, the camp suffered heavy losses!

"Depend on..."

I frowned and said, "Ready to make a move?"

"Um!"

At that very moment, a bell rang in my ears:

[Your squad has triggered a battlefield mission: Relief (Rank B)! Mission objective: Eliminate the roamers and rescue the Crimson Dragon Country camp. Mission rewards: A large amount of Experience Points and Reputation Value, with a certain chance to obtain additional rewards!]