Raider's Stone City

"This area ahead is a radiation exclusion zone. We can't go any further. Let's go back and level up by fighting regular Raiders and mutated creatures."

Lin Tang, Thin Dog, and Demonic Fox, who had been exploring the map, had arrived at the southernmost area of the Four Mountains.

It was a massive pit.

It looked very much like the epicenter of a nuclear explosion.

The surroundings were covered in radiation-laced thorny roses, bearing flowers of various colors that were exceptionally alluring.

A single prick would inflict a radiation status and start draining health.

The three of them cautiously hid behind the thorny roses, observing the vast green pit ahead.

It stretched as far as the eye could see.

But they could vaguely make out movement within.

As soon as the group had stepped into the pit, they were all afflicted with the radiation debuff and began to slowly lose health. Terrified, they hastily retreated. After a short recovery, the radiation status on their bodies finally disappeared.

Clearly, this area was not yet something they could brave. Otherwise, they would have suffered radiation poisoning and died without even seeing anything.

Thin Dog, wearing a ring that increased radiation resistance by 11%, took the opportunity of their recent injuries to calculate the effect of his equipment.

Indeed, the damage he received was 11% lower than that of his two teammates.

"So, if we can increase our radiation resistance to a very high level, we can explore in here, right?"

"Theoretically, yes," Demonic Fox agreed with Thin Dog's assessment.

But that was a matter for the future. For now, the three of them could only head back.

On their way back, the trio had discovered another Raider camp. If they could stake out the vicinity, they might be able to catch a stray Raider.

Just as the three were turning to get up, a line of Raiders appeared from the north.

"Down! Conceal yourselves!"

The three crouched among the thorny roses, watching as nearly 10 Raiders walked into the radiation pit.

The intense radiation did not seem to harm the Raiders. After all, their species mutated by absorbing radiation and could even evolve by absorbing radiation energy.

Demonic Fox: "Do those three green-skinned muscle-bound leaders look familiar?"

Lin Tang exclaimed, "Whoa! Isn't that… isn't that the elite monster from the Raider camp we visited before? How did it get here?"

The three Raiders, noticeably larger than the others, were leading the group.

Thin Dog: "Strange. Are Raider spawn points not fixed? Do elite monsters move around with their minions? What kind of design is this? Let's go, let's get out of here before they spot us. We can ask a Sentinel about this game's monster spawn mechanics after we log off."

"Alright, let's retreat!"

"Oh, right, let's pick a few of those flowers to take back. Flowers that grow in such harsh conditions and survive radiation might be useful."

The three of them each took a few of the vibrant, radiation-laced thorny roses.

With their current team strength, they could handle one Raider with the utmost stability. If they absolutely had to fight two, they might have a chance, but the margin for error would be extremely low. This was even after Thin Dog had updated his equipment. With his skill, he would need to land some critical gold damage hits to even have a chance of winning.

The three marked the two Raider camps they had explored so far on their smartwatches.

They were named Raider Camp 1 and Raider Camp 2, respectively.

The trio returned to Raider Camp 2 and lay in ambush for a long time in the vicinity.

Finally, they managed to catch a Raider who had become separated from the main group. They immediately launched into an unending combo.

After thoroughly confusing the Raider, they proceeded to finish it off.

In the end, each of them gained another 8 Experience points and harvested a corpse.

Thin Dog glanced at his smartwatch.

[Experience: 42/500]

He himself had killed one Raider alone, earning 12 Experience points. The two Raiders the trio had killed together that morning yielded 16 Experience points, killing two Mutated Hyenas gave 6 Experience points, and the one Raider they had just killed together gave 8 Experience points.

The other two teammates only had 30 Experience points.

Thin Dog: "Experience is increasing so slowly. At our current efficiency, if we find these two fixed spawn points and grind them one by one, it'll take at least a week to level up."

Lin Tang: "Yeah. If only we had some kind of area-of-effect weapon to wipe out the entire Raider camp at once and kill dozens of them. That would speed up leveling."

Demonic Fox, meanwhile, was deep in thought.

"Lin Tang has a point. We need to find a way to speed up the game. We can't let the developers keep dictating the pace."

"I think I remember some crucial piece of information…"

"I'll think about it carefully after we log off later."

"Let's fight monsters for now. It'll be time to log off when it gets dark. Let's try to get some more Loot and Experience."

They didn't dare to charge directly into Raider Camp 2. They could only look for stray Raiders to hunt and raid.

The Raiders, who had been plundering for so many years, never expected that one day they would become someone else's prey.

After all, in the Wasteland, Raiders, these mutated humans, were pure vermin. Their corrosive blood and flesh made their corpses difficult to handle. Humans, like merchant caravans, would usually dispose of their bodies in the wilderness. Animals would not consume Raider flesh and blood, leaving them to rot.

The three, keeping an eye on the time, searched for manageable monsters to fight while heading back towards the base.

Meanwhile.

Inside the radiation deep pit.

There was a stone city built entirely of stone.

The inhabitants were deep green Raiders, each over 2.5 meters tall, with explosive muscles and skin as hard and tough as stone, exuding a sense of power. Unlike ordinary Raiders, they didn't seem dull-witted; they possessed a degree of intelligence and could communicate.

Three elite Raiders from Raider Camp 1 were kneeling on the ground, facing the tallest Raider among them.

"Human, stole, sacred object, please punish us, leader!"

The Raider in the middle was five meters tall. Countless small cracks had appeared on its skin, and the skin within the cracks writhed continuously, resembling tentacles growing out of its skin – slippery and disgusting. The blood beneath its skin was black-green.

Crack!

The Raider leader's feet didn't move, but the skin on its feet shifted, transforming into a tentacle that lashed out, knocking the 2.5-meter-tall Raider elite to the ground.

"Idiots, you can't even handle such a weak, incapable human. You've been absorbing the sacred object for so long for nothing!"

"Yes, Commander, but I desperately need the sacred object now. I request you give me another piece."

The skin on the Raider leader's hand twitched, and it took a green radiation source from its pocket.

"This sacred object is lent to you temporarily. Bring it back in a week."

"The old humans can't absorb the power of the sacred object. They must be hiding. You need to find them."

"These days, I will have all our Raider camps at Four Mountains assist you in sweeping through the humans. Our population should have increased somewhat."

The tall Raider who came to confess received the 'sacred object' and, having accepted the command, left the radiation deep pit.

But on the way, it was still wondering why two of its kin, who had gone out to search for humans that morning, hadn't returned yet.

He rubbed his stiff head, unable to figure it out.

At 5:30 PM in the Wasteland, Thin Dog and his two companions dragged their loot back to the Calamity Base.

They saw Ink Dye Sword Xiao and the Forgiveness Hat Wholesaler still working on building houses.

Their eyes met.

Thin Dog grinned, "Yo! New players?"

Lin Tang: "666!"

Demonic Fox, however, looked at the wooden cube-shaped matchbox houses they were building, and his mouth twitched.

"You guys... really understand MC (Minecraft)."

The amount of loot the Thin Dog trio had was still considerable.

Two Raider corpses, one Mutated Vampire Rabbit, and one Mutated Hyena.

It could be said that the three of them had been grinding monsters non-stop.

After a busy day, their physical functions had declined to their absolute limit. Even though the negative effects had been weakened, they could still feel their bodies reaching their breaking point.

Thin Dog started boiling beans. After exchanging pleasantries, they began sharing information.

Xiao Xiao directly tossed the polished stone spear, "Take a look, guys. Is this weapon any good? If it is, I'd like to trade it for some of your prey. Enough for me to complete my novice quests is fine, as I'm not very good at fighting monsters."

Thin Dog: "Whoa! The minimum attack power on this wooden spear is so high! And it even comes with 5-7 points of base piercing damage, which is great. It also feels much lighter than a mace. Did you really make this yourself?"

"Mhm! I can make more than just this kind of weapon!"

Xiao Xiao puffed out her chest proudly.

The four pairs of eyes present briefly focused on her.

Thin Dog and his companions conferred and decided it was worth befriending such a skilled craftswoman.

"Alright! If you make us another spear, we'll trade you a portion of biological raw materials."

Demonic Fox: "Oh, right. Before you craft it, let me appraise this thing first. It might be useful."

He placed the thorny rose from their pockets onto the [Attribute Conversion Tower].

A flash of light.

PS: Seeking monthly and recommendation tickets, seeking donations. During the ranking period, I desperately need everyone's help. Thank you!