"Don't worry, boss, we've been to this place seven or eight times, and we can touch it with our eyes closed."
The person who answered the call was Monkey, the scout in the team. He was in his early twenties, with a lean build and nimble movements like a real mountain monkey.
He was carefully tying an alloy dagger to his calf and checking the magazine of the pistol on his waist.
"Blow, keep blowing, who almost fell into the quagmire last time?"
Big Bear, who was wiping a broad-handed heavy sword, made a fuss angrily.
He is tall and strong and is the team's main attacker.
That heavy sword has no fancy special effects, it is just pure heaviness and hardness. With its 200 points of source energy, it can be swung with brute force, and it has a good effect against the rough-skinned and fleshy low-level Abyssal Beast.
"I was not careful! Besides, it wasn't sister Nightingale who pulled me up!" Monkey retorted with a frown.
The woman known as Nightingale did not speak, but silently arranged the various gadgets in the leather bag around her waist: extremely tough alloy wire, trigger-type micro alarm, and first aid bandage.
She is about 27 or 28 years old, with a delicate face but alert eyes. She is a trap expert and deputy detective in the team.
She gently pinned a small energy sensor on her collar. This was the best early warning device their team could afford.
The last person to get off the bus was Bamboo Pole.
As the name suggests, he is tall and thin. He is the long-range support and "technical officer" of the team. He carries a modified sniper crossbow. The arrowhead of the crossbow flashes with a faint luster of source energy, which can slightly enhance the penetration.
The five people gathered quickly. The equipment could not be said to be sophisticated, but their movements in checking the equipment were meticulous. They could understand each other's meaning with just one look. This was a tacit understanding developed on the edge of life and death countless times.
They failed to join the well-disciplined and well-equipped Source Martial Army.
Maybe it's because he's not talented enough, maybe he's too old, or maybe he just doesn't adapt to the system.
But they chose another path, relying on the officially released Merit System to take over the "dirty work" that Source Martial Army looked down upon but someone had to do it.
For example, clean up the periphery of Small Nest and slow down its expansion speed.
"Boss, after all, if this mission goes well, if you go back and hand in the collected crystals and cleanup indicators, your merits should be enough to exchange for that copy of <Source Condensation and Consciousness Forging Method>." Bamboo Pole's tone was filled with uncontrollable excitement.
Old Cat Hearing this, the deep wrinkles on his face also relaxed a little.
He looked at Nightingale, who had been silent in the team. "Well, Nightingale, I will change it for you when the time comes. With that secret book, practice hard and try to sense the bottleneck early and attack Stardust level."
Nightingale A flash of light flashed in his eyes, and he nodded vigorously. "I will, boss."
"Stardust level." Big Bear picked up the heavy sword, his honest face full of longing.
Monkey came over and said with a playful smile, "When sister Nightingale becomes the boss of Stardust level, can we try the waters outside Medium Nest? I heard that the achievements there are several times higher than this small shack that starts with the letter B!"
Bamboo Pole heard the words and took over the conversation. He analyzed. "Theoretically, this is the case. Source Martial Army is mainly responsible for the limited expansion tasks of Medium Nest, but they occasionally issue some commissions for peripheral cleaning or specific resource collection. The difficulty is high, but the merits are indeed rich."
"And I have studied the battle reports. Source Martial Army will regularly organize forces to enter Medium Nest to clean up and limit its expansion, so the outside is relatively less dangerous."
"More than medium-sized!" Monkey got excited again, lowered his voice and said mysteriously, "The gossip I heard last time at Settlement No. 7's "Veterans Tavern", It is said that Training Corps's group of monsters are so powerful. They regularly enter the large lair, not just outside it, but directly in, specifically hunting down Stardust level's Big Guy."
Big Bear took a breath of cold air. "A large nest? My dear, how powerful is the Stardust level Abyssal Beast in there?"
"That's nothing." Monkey's voice was even lower, with incomparable awe, "I heard that that one would sometimes personally take action. He would directly enter the main nest and kill Beast King of Star Core level! Star Core level. There are more than one million Source Energy Unit. It's scary to think about it."
At the mention of "that one", the team members were silent for a moment, their eyes full of awe, as if they were talking about gods in the clouds.
That is the giant pillar that supports the entire Xia Country Yuanwu era. It is a height that ordinary Yuanwu warriors like them struggling in the mud cannot imagine.
"Okay, stop daydreaming."
Old Cat interrupted everyone's reverie and clapped their hands, "Star Core level is too far away from us, take care of the immediate situation first. Act! Maintain alert formation, Monkey goes forward fifty meters for reconnaissance, Nightingale flanks, pay attention to deploy early warning, Big Bear is in the center with me, Bamboo Pole is behind, separated by thirty meters."
"Understood!"
The five-person team seemed to blend into the shadows in the forest, sneaking towards the Abyssal Beast territory quietly.
Their movements cannot be said to be elegant and unrestrained, but they are practical enough.
Monkey takes advantage of the terrain to move around flexibly, Time Stop without moving down, listening with his ears to the ground, or climbing to the treetops to observe.
Nightingale cleverly placed almost invisible alloy wires and miniature sirens on the forks and commanding heights where the team passed.
Old Cat and Big Bear were on the left and right, scanning the front with sharp eyes, while Bamboo Pole was holding a sniper crossbow, alert to possible threats from the rear and flanks.
Soon, they encountered the first wave of Abyssal Beast.
Three elites.
This is a type of Abyssal Beast that looks like an enlarged version of a hyena. Its body is covered with dark red cuticles and is named "Bone-Eroding Hound".
They have a keen sense of smell, discovered the team, and rushed towards them with a low growl.
"Two ends are facing forward, one is going around the left. Big Bear block the right front, Monkey harass the left wing, Nightingale restrict it, Bamboo Pole looks for opportunities to shoot in the eyes." Old Cat quickly ordered.
Big Bear let out a low roar, and poured energy into his legs. He stepped forward suddenly, and the heavy sword swept across with evil wind, forcing back the two Bone-Eroding Hound that were charging forward.
Monkey flashed out from the left like a ghost, and the poison-quenching dagger accurately struck the joints of the third Bone-Eroding Hound. Although it failed to cause serious injury, it successfully attracted its attention.
Nightingale promptly throws a smoke bag containing a pungent smell to interfere with Bone-Eroding Hound's sense of smell.
At the moment when a Bone-Eroding Hound was confused by the smoke, its movements were stagnant.
"Whoops!"
A crossbow arrow shot through the air and accurately hit its left eye. The source energy attached to the arrow exploded, directly shattering its brain.
Once one of them is eliminated, the pressure will be reduced drastically.
Big Bear roared angrily and resisted the attack of the other one. The heavy sword hit its head hard, making a dull sound of bone cracking.
Old Cat cooperated with Monkey to eliminate the last one cleanly.
The battle was short and fierce, not spectacular, but very efficient, and no one was injured.
They skillfully picked up the crystals and packed them in special bags.
"It's all bad luck, Source Energy Crystal." Monkey curled his lips.
"A little adds up to a lot." Old Cat is concise and concise.
This is their daily life.
Jump repeatedly on the edge of danger and profit, fighting these ferocious monsters for dozens or hundreds of merit points.
Every mission is like dancing on the edge of a knife.
They continued to go deeper, cleaning up scattered Abyssal Beast, and collecting crystals.
The atmosphere was not relaxed, but the team members occasionally talked in low voices, with expectations for the future. Nightingale looked at the slowly beating numbers on the merit recorder, his eyes becoming more determined.
However, just as they advanced to three kilometers away from the huge pulsating whirlpool at the core of the lair and prepared to turn to another area, a sudden change occurred.