A chill ran through my heart. I looked at him suspiciously. If nothing unexpected happened, this guy was the Left Hand who had appeared on the Star Map.
"What do you mean?"
"You know!"
His face was full of excitement. "We're on the same side... Should we exchange code phrases? That one... 'The imperial jade liquor,' then what's the next line?"
I gave him a bored look.
"Fine, maybe you don't know that one. Let's switch."
Left Hand gestured wildly. "The spring breeze of reform blows across the land, hey, the Chinese people must strive, hey!"
I remained expressionless.
"That doesn't work either? Then another one. Watch closely... Genshin Impact~~~ launch!"
Left Hand carefully studied my expression, nearly breaking down. "Holy crap, that still doesn't work? How about this? What are you doing~~~ Ow~~~"
Watching his smugly annoying expression, I was on the verge of breaking down too.
"Still no? Then let's do a brain teaser. I ask, you answer."
Left Hand pondered for a moment. "Question! American money is called dollars, so what is British money called? Answer me!"
"Go screw yourself!"
I finally snapped. "Don't talk here. We'll speak on the Star Map tonight!"
"Got it, bro!"
That night, in bed.
I slowly awakened the Star Map and entered directly. "Left Hand?"
"I'm here, bro!"
Left Hand went online in an instant and laughed. "After all these days, you finally gave yourself away. Honestly, this level of caution is something worth learning from!"
"Mm."
I nodded lightly. "How did you find me?"
He grinned. "By observing carefully. Over the past five days, you've been deliberately keeping your score down, trying not to stand out too much but also not to get eliminated. But I could tell your shooting was actually very accurate."
"Not bad."
I took a deep breath. "Where's Puff? I haven't seen her speak lately."
"She was transferred out of Death Mine."
Left Hand said, "Now there are only two miserable brothers left on this Death Mine map. You're No. 033, I'm No. 066. You're ahead of me in the rankings, so you're the older brother. I'll listen to you."
"You want to work together to escape Death Mine?"
"That's exactly what I mean!"
Left Hand said excitedly, "Death Mine is heavily guarded. It's almost impossible for one person to leave alone unless they have support."
"Mm."
I agreed deeply. "Unfortunately, our levels are too low. We're both only level four right now, and there's no way to gain Experience Points. If we can't awaken the Essence Furnace, we're no match for those level 10 to 15 NPCs."
"That's not a problem."
Left Hand said, "Before Puff left, she told me that one training cycle at Iron Blood Training Camp lasts ten days. The first five days are mainly for awakening two Gene Enhancement Skills and training shooting, close-quarters combat, and so on. The last five days are practical combat. Death Mine has raised quite a few monsters, all of them experience fodder. I've already fed my Basic Shooting to level three with bullets, so killing monsters won't be a problem. What about you? What level are you at?"
"Higher than you."
"Holy crap, that's awesome..."
Left Hand drew in a deep breath, then fell silent. His confidence had probably taken a heavy blow.
I continued, "During training tomorrow, we'll find a chance to team up so we can watch each other's backs. Then don't use the character experience we gain to level up. Save it until we make our move and give these instructors a surprise."
"Alright!"
Left Hand said, "I've taken plenty of crap from these damn instructors lately. Once we level up and awaken the Essence Furnace, we'll kill every last one of them if we get the chance!"
"That's enough for now. We'll play it by ear during training tomorrow."
"Got it, bro!"
The next morning.
Instructor Lakuri announced the practical combat training. Then the base dispatched large trucks, transporting all the test subjects out of the tunnels and up to the surface. Aboveground was a massive enclosed area, and a strange smell hung in the air.
"Pick your weapons. Then the hunt begins!"
Huge metal crates opened one after another, filled with all kinds of guns, magazines, bullets, and more.
I quickly selected an MP25 Submachine Gun. This model was nicknamed the "Roarer," had a fifty-round magazine, 50–75 firepower, relatively high shooting stability, and considerable stopping power. Unfortunately, the equipment was marked "trial-use," meaning the system would reclaim it after the trial ended, so it could not be stored in the Dimensional Storage Space. Otherwise, I would definitely have collected more.
Even so, I stuffed the front and back of my combat uniform with loaded magazines, making sure I was prepared for anything.
I also took a Vanguard Bee Sting. It was a steel sword with a blade roughly thirty centimeters long, exceptionally sharp and the standard close-combat weapon for Vanguard members.
"Good luck!"
When we turned around, we discovered that Instructor Lakuri and the others had already left by helicopter. Meanwhile, rumbling sounds rose from underground, as though some entrance had been opened.
"This is bad!"
A blond, blue-eyed white man turned pale. "Bugs... bugs... Those damn Dark Tide bastards actually hid a bug nest underground and are using bugs as training targets!"
"This isn't good..."
Left Hand quickly moved closer and said in a low voice, "Third Brother, what do we do? We fought bugs during the closed beta, but these are fucking real bugs right in front of us! If our firepower can't suppress them, we're done for!"
"Calm down."
I swiftly scanned the surroundings, then pointed at a dilapidated lighthouse in the distance. "Get up the lighthouse. We don't need to kill all the bugs. We just need to survive until the end. The Dark Tide organization won't let every test subject in the entire base die."
"Good point. Let's go!"
The two of us left the crowd and rapidly climbed onto the lighthouse structure.
In the distance, a dense swarm of bugs charged toward us, making everyone's scalp tingle!
The insectoids were also one of the villainous factions in Star Abyss. However, we were currently in the 1.0 Open Beta version, Origin of Dark Tide, so the insectoids' power had not yet been fully unleashed. The ones appearing now were merely low-tier units.
If this had been the 3.0 version, Insectoid Uprising, Left Hand and I would probably have died here.
"They're here!"
Below us, countless test subjects formed a defensive line and began firing wildly.
I frowned as I looked down. A black mass of bugs was climbing up the lighthouse. They had four legs, barbs covering their bodies, all manner of nauseating gelatinous substances smeared over them, and bodies about the size of a human face.
Dense health bars clustered together, looking terrifying.
[Nest Bug] (Normal) Level: 5 Attack: 5–9 Defense: 0 Health: 350 Skill: Gnawing, deals an additional 10% damage to ordinary armor Details: Nest Bugs are basic insectoid units from bug nests. Though their attack power is weak, their numbers are vast.
Left Hand raised his Submachine Gun and unleashed a burst of fire. Nest Bugs immediately began falling from the structure.
"Don't spray blindly."
I frowned. "Our ammunition is limited. Use three-round bursts to improve accuracy."
"Alright!"
As Left Hand changed tactics, I pulled the bolt as well, aimed at the Nest Bugs below, and maintained a steady rhythm of three-round bursts, pumping bullets into their bodies!
"72!"
"70!"
"69!"
Damage numbers sprang up one after another. Sure enough, it was the same as the closed beta settings. Firearm damage depended on the weapon's own firepower; a player's stat allocation could not affect the final damage.
Fortunately, the Nest Bugs had weak health pools. Two bursts were usually enough to kill one. Soon, the area below was filled with the sight of Nest Bug bodies bursting apart with repeated pops, green fluid spraying everywhere in a gruesome display.
"Damn, you still dare act fierce? I'll shoot every last one of you unfilial brats!"
Left Hand fired burst after burst crazily, his face full of ferocity.
This guy really was suited to this kind of realistic game. He got into character quickly, adapted well, and would definitely become a top player in the future.
Fortunately, I had level 10 Basic Shooting backing me up. Within fifty meters, every bullet hit its target; practically every shot landed. Unlike Left Hand, whose miss rate was around thirty percent. His skill level was what it was. Thankfully, the swarm was dense, so most of his shots still found targets.
As magazine after magazine emptied, I soon had enough accumulated Experience Points to reach level six. But now was not the time to level up. I had to endure.
On the ground, some test subjects were still desperately holding their positions, while others had already been swallowed by the swarm. After the bugs ravaged those people, however, they were gnawed down to nothing but blood and white bones. The scene was incomparably brutal. The so-called practical combat trial had completely turned into countless test subjects scattering in every direction while being hunted by the swarm.
"Bro, I'm almost out of bullets." Left Hand's face was deathly pale.
"Use your pistol for single shots. Just coordinate with my attacks."
"Alright!"
Thus, working together, we piled up large numbers of Nest Bug corpses below us.
At that moment, the gates of Death Mine slowly opened, and two machines were pushed out.
"Bzzzz~~ Bzzzz~~~"
Those two weapons were actually the legendary ultrasonic weapons!
"Screee~~~"
Countless Nest Bugs panicked and lost all will to fight. In the blink of an eye, the swarm retreated like a receding tide.
"Those damn Dark Tide bastards..."
Looking into the distance, Left Hand said bitterly, "They only acted to disperse the swarm after nearly half the people were dead..."
The others were similarly resentful. Anger shone in some of their eyes, but after the instructors and guards entered the field, they could only suppress it. One by one, they returned to expressionless, dull-faced obedience.
I said nothing. Under the escort of a group of guards, I silently returned to the base along the same route, committing every detail of the terrain I had seen on the surface to memory.
"No. 033, you are no longer qualified to live in a private room!"
At the mining pit base, a guard sneered at me. "Instructor Lakuri has arranged special accommodations for you."
So instead of returning to my own room, I was led by a guard to a dilapidated storeroom.
After failing evolution twice in a row, I had finally lost my room.
Instructor Lakuri had said that trash should live with trash.
The storeroom contained many old and damaged devices. Rather than feeling disappointed, I felt like a fish in water as I looked at the pile of broken equipment, as though I had found a trove of treasure. I immediately began tinkering with it.
Several old, scrapped light motorcycles and small engines were quickly repaired, rewarding me with a large amount of Skill Experience. Then my gaze fell upon an Unmanned Submersible.
Only its drive wheel was slightly damaged. It could be put back into use with a minor repair, and an escape plan suddenly formed in my mind...
There was a river above the surface of Death Mine, very close to the base exit. If I used the submersible, could I evade the eyes of Dark Tide's ground forces and aerial drones?
By sheer coincidence, I found an old-model set of Artificial Gills among a pile of discarded junk. It would work after a little dusting.
So I secretly placed both the Unmanned Submersible and the Artificial Gills into my Dimensional Storage Space, acting as though nothing had happened...
Late at night, I sat in the old storeroom, brimming with ambition. I could not help curling my lips into a smile.
Everything was ready. All I needed was the right opportunity!
Time passed quickly, and four days went by in the blink of an eye.
Over those four days, I accumulated a huge amount of character experience, enough to jump straight to around level eight or nine. I had also accumulated plenty of Skill Experience, so the next two or three skill levels would not be much of a problem.
And now, the day for the third injection of Pandora Solution was almost here.
"X033!"
Early that morning, Instructor Lakuri's voice rang out. His gaze was cold. "This is your final chance. If you still can't awaken any Gene Enhancement Skill, hmph... then go die!"
I frowned but said nothing.
Before long, I was once again tied to a mobile hospital bed and wheeled into the operating room. A medical worker held an orange syringe—the third dose of Pandora Solution!
When the injection entered my arm, the entire limb immediately felt as though it had been plunged into lava, burning hot. The pain was excruciating. Then two guards pushed me into the small room to wait for the drug to take effect and trigger the mutation.
Before one's eyes, familiar azure words appeared one after another—
[Pandora Solution is taking effect!] [Your genes have officially begun to mutate!] [You may choose between Directed Mutation and Free Mutation as your evolution method!]