Rewards

When Blondie and his men saw the Kirk–Little Fatty brothers turn against each other, they burst into mocking laughter. Blondie pulled out his Tyrannosaurus Glasses again to check Little Fatty, only to discover two major problems. First, the glasses had only 50 energy points, and that single use had drained them completely. Second, they couldn't be used again for 72 hours. He knew Little Fatty had been having a miserable time ever since entering the scenario, a typical short, poor nobody. With a penniless guy like that saddled with such a money-grubbing big brother, of course he was dirt poor.

Put simply, Blondie was used to robbing people. This was just a "routine" mugging. He'd been careless because the brothers had kept such a low profile and seemed like losers, not rich men.

He was also eager to keep killing walkers and racking up Contribution Value, so he wasn't about to waste time here. He waved his hand. "Kid, remember that your big brother Blondie saved your lives! When you get something good in the future, hand it over right away, or you're dead! We're leaving!"

As Blondie's team turned around, they saw Ma Ruiqi and her group aiming their guns at them. They immediately drew their own weapons and pointed them back.

The air grew tense.

Ma Ruiqi glared at Blondie, her face dark. "Did you do this?"

Blondie whistled. "Your big brother Blondie did it all!"

Actually, Ma Ruiqi was referring to the whole sequence of events: setting off the alarm, drawing in the walkers, and killing them all. Blondie thought she meant killing the walkers. He'd killed plenty of them here, so he naturally took all the credit.

"Who told you to do this?" Ma Ruiqi demanded. "Do you have any idea how much risk you've brought down on the team?"

"Fuck off!" Blondie was furious too. "Bitch! Don't push your luck. So you can seduce Rick—big deal! Since when do you get to tell your big brother Blondie what to do?"

Ma Ruiqi also glanced at Kirk and Little Fatty. She'd suspected all along that a plan this clever couldn't have come from a simple-minded bruiser like Blondie. The quiet nerd seemed much more suspicious. Could they have been working together, with the nerd coming up with the plan and Blondie carrying it out?

Thinking Ma Ruiqi was standing up for Kirk and Little Fatty, Blondie sneered. "Ma Ruiqi, you and I have always stayed out of each other's way. So what if I took everything these two had? Don't stick your nose where it doesn't belong!"

Kirk and Little Fatty looked utterly dejected, like lambs stripped of everything they owned. Their bruised and swollen faces made the act convincing. Ma Ruiqi froze. So the two of them had already been robbed clean by Blondie. That suggested they had nothing to do with this and might be worth recruiting.

Ma Ruiqi channeled the righteous spirit of Mu Guiying, Liu Hulan, Hua Mulan, and all the other heroic women of past and present, and proceeded to denounce Blondie's many crimes with righteous indignation. She started with international affairs and moved on to the Taiwan issue, from the country's economic growth to comprehensive social order, from the team's interests to personal feelings. Her speech was so passionate it brought her to tears, and Kirk and Little Fatty felt the full warmth of the organization's care.

Blondie had long since lost patience. He shoved Ma Ruiqi and the others aside and walked off with his lackeys.

Ma Ruiqi kindly comforted Kirk and Little Fatty. After learning about the terrible ordeal of being robbed of everything, she sighed with sympathy and sincerely invited them to join her team. Kirk declined, saying he'd think it over. Ma Ruiqi didn't take offense. She smiled and told them to take their time, that her team would always welcome them, then waved them off. She plunged into the Control Room and generator room to rummage through everything in search of anything valuable.

As soon as Kirk and Little Fatty left Zone D, they received a System Prompt: "Contractor No. 4444, you have completed the Branch Main Storyline—Conquer the Prison."

"You killed 355 walkers. You killed 42% of the walkers in Zone D and earned 42 Base Team Contribution Value!"

"Your temporary team (the system considers Kirk and Little Fatty a temporary team) completed over 70% of the team contribution, increasing your reward by 70%. Taking the newbie trial and difficulty bonuses into account, your reward has been increased by 100%."

"You have gained 114 Team Contribution Value, bringing your total to 139 Team Contribution Value."

"Little Fatty, did you get a prompt too?"

"Big bro, I got one. I killed 251 walkers, 30% of the total. Maybe the system counted the ones we burned as team kills and split them between us. But for completing the Walker Slayer title, you only needed to take part in a kill, so the numbers don't match. Then there's the team bonus and newbie bonus and everything—I got 81 Contribution Value!" Little Fatty was excited all over again. He'd never earned a single point of Contribution Value before.

But the rewards weren't finished yet. Another prompt sounded: "Contractor No. 4444, since this mission is a Main Plot mission, the system will provide you with a special reward. Calculating..."

"Reward: 5 Skill Potential Points (base reward: 2 Skill Potential Points; reward bonus: 270%). 5 Base Attribute Points (base reward: 2). 2,700 Survival Points (base reward: 1,000 Survival Points)."

Little Fatty shouted happily, "Big bro, so many Survival Points, so many Skill Potential Points! We're rich! But why did the rewards come in two installments?"

"I guess the first was the team reward and the second was the system reward. They're different. Don't you think neither reward was especially high for a Main Plot mission?"

Little Fatty was stunned. "They weren't high enough?" He asked Kirk, "Big bro, Ma Ruiqi claims she knows the plot inside out, and Blondie's ruthless. Sally, the Korean guy, and the Japanese guy are no pushovers either. The others have all been through life-or-death situations too. Why didn't they get rewards like this?"

Kirk thought for a moment. "My conclusion boils down to one thing: read the situation and dare to risk your life! Everything we did fit the Main Plot, and it was all very risky. On top of that, we're newbies with very little personal ability, so the system gave us such generous rewards. I doubt we'll get this kind of opportunity again!"

"The system brought us here like a conscription officer rounding up a bunch of recruits. The newbie trial is meant to test our courage and potential, not kill us. If you're willing to take risks, the rewards will naturally be greater. If you're always afraid of this and that, the difficulty will keep rising until we die anyway. We have to go all in and fight our way out. Only by taking every chance to strengthen ourselves can we survive!"

As soon as he finished speaking, as if to confirm his point, the system sounded another warning: "Warning, warning. At midnight tonight, the walkers will undergo a second mutation! Their strength, speed, and stamina will increase by another 10%, and their senses of smell, hearing, and sight will continue to improve. Plot Difficulty is increasing again, from C to C+. The corresponding reward bonus will also increase. All Contractors, be prepared!"

Little Fatty checked his watch. It was 6 p.m., leaving six hours.

The two walked out of the prison, chatting and laughing. The Plot Character team was already waiting for them. Blondie and his men had returned earlier, but their expressions were grim. They were probably unhappy with the Main Plot mission rewards. Before long, Ma Ruiqi returned with her team, her face even darker than the bottom of a pot. Blondie and Ma Ruiqi exchanged a glance, hatred flashing in their eyes. Each believed the other had secretly seized the biggest share of the rewards.

Kirk sighed inwardly. How could a team like this have any fighting strength? He had no idea when The Governor's people would attack, or how they'd deal with them when they did.

Rick knew nothing of this. He stepped into the middle of the group. "I'm glad you all stepped up this time and showed us a different outcome. You've proven your worth. Thank you!"

The newbies exchanged envious, jealous, resentful looks and gave a few halfhearted claps.

Green, T-Dog, Andrea, and even Shane praised the newbies' performance. While the newbies were moving quickly through Zone D, the Plot Characters had cleared the plaza in front of the prison and Zone B. The front half of the prison was now under the Plot Characters' control.

At that moment, the Japanese boy Ranmaru stepped forward and handed Rick a Plot Item, the "Prison Key," which he'd found in the warden's office in Zone A. He said he'd gone off alone and fought his way into Zone A, the most dangerous area, where the prison guard walkers were thickest, and taken the key from the warden's office. It was obvious that handing over such an important Plot Item would earn him an extremely generous reward. Sure enough, the major Plot Characters looked astonished. Even Blade Woman, who was usually so cold, looked pleased. Rick repeatedly patted the girlish boy on the shoulder. Kirk laughed to himself, pleased to see the complicated expressions on Ma Ruiqi and Blondie's faces as they looked at the Japanese boy.

Muddy water was easiest to fish in.

Still, it seemed there were hidden talents among the newbies. This Japanese boy was no ordinary person. Zone A was still locked down, and there couldn't be fewer walkers inside than in Zone D—at least a thousand or so. Fighting his way to the warden's office, the very heart of Zone A, killing the warden, and taking the key required an ability, courage, and insight that few newbies possessed.

The news wasn't all good, either. Blondie's team had lost one man: a lackey called Affies, nicknamed "Hot Dry Noodles." Sally's team had lost another member too, a middle-aged Latin American man named Morsy. The number of newbies kept shrinking. But after wave upon wave of eliminations, those who remained grew stronger.

Kirk didn't care who had died now. He only cared about the next mission and how to get an even bigger reward.

Who knew? Maybe one day he'd end up rotting in some godforsaken corner too.

The important thing was to treasure the present and strengthen himself. Nothing else mattered.

Rick continued, "All right, everyone, listen up. Now that we have this lovely key, we have control of half the prison and can ensure our safety. Not all of it, but we're safe for now. I want every one of you to move into the prison. Get moving, quickly!"

The entire team of over a hundred people sprang into action. Compared to the dozen or so Plot Characters who had originally moved into the prison, it was quite a commotion. Rick led Shane and the others in locking down all the cleared areas with the warden's key and marking out the safe zone. With such a large team and so many veterans, moving everyone in took a full two hours. They didn't settle down until after eight.

The Plot Characters called the newbies to another meeting, of course to assign that night's Plot mission. The system prompted them again: "Your performance has earned the trust of the Plot Characters. They no longer see you as a burden. Tonight's mission is [Defend the Prison], your last refuge. Reminder: at midnight tonight, all walkers will undergo a second mutation, further enhancing their abilities."

This time, Ma Ruiqi, Blondie, Sally, and the Japanese boy all stepped forward, each demanding command of the night's defenses. They argued among themselves, and the Plot Characters were seriously divided too. Rick supported Ma Ruiqi, Shane backed Blondie, Laurie and Carl supported Sally, and Blade Woman and Doctor Old Man's family supported the Japanese boy. Kirk was thoroughly enjoying the show when Mori walked over with a grave expression.

Mori looked Kirk up and down. "You little idiot. You seem to have gotten a tiny bit stronger. You're starting to look more like a man."

Kirk smiled. "What is it this time?"

"Yes." Mori said gloomily, "I've noticed something. We're not alone in the prison. I heard movement on the other side of the prison wall. It sounded like there were survivors. And while patrolling outside the prison, Daryl found footprints. They weren't theirs. They belonged to people."

Kirk raised an eyebrow. "Human?"

"Yes." Daryl came over, holding a crossbow. "Human. The footprints were clear, and the strides were long. Their steps were orderly, unlike the walkers' messy, dragging ones, so I'm sure of it."

Kirk frowned. It was obvious that an unidentified team had found them and was keeping them under surveillance.

Daryl added, "The footprints belong to at least two people. They came by car, a heavier SUV. Its tire tracks were 20% deeper than those of an ordinary SUV, which means they had equipment and supplies. They drove here from the highway. That means they were armed, because the highway is packed with walkers. Roaming teams basically don't dare travel along it; they explore along the coastline instead."

Kirk asked, "Does Rick know?"

"He knows. He just said we'd go take a look tomorrow morning, but I can tell he isn't taking it very seriously. Maybe he's confident in the prison's defenses." Daryl shrugged.

A hard-to-describe feeling rose inside Kirk. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but it didn't seem like good news.

Could the war with The Governor break out early?