"Fuck! Five Clover juveniles!!!"
"Boss, can you hold them off?"
The voice was tinged with panic.
Just a second ago, the many members of Shazhou Team in the Main God Space had been influenced by Fang Xiu and grown calm.
But the next moment... even their captain couldn't help sighing. The newcomers would have to fend for themselves and pray for good luck.
Watching Tang Tian jump at every little thing beside him, Fang Xiu wore a grave expression. Still, he nodded and replied,
"We'll have to fight even if we can't hold them off. I thought that after our team-building bonus period ended, our first trial would be rated for at most fifteen people. But this time, the difficulty's maxed out."
Did the Main God think Shazhou Team's unlocking progress was too slow? They were probably close to the truth.
He answered while thinking rapidly.
Meanwhile, the protective barrier around the Main God's token—one that no entity could breach before the allotted time ran out—began its fifteen-minute countdown. This was the time the Great Light Sphere gave Reincarnators to discuss their battle plans, welcome newcomers, and help them gain a basic understanding of the situation.
"One Clover juvenile... It landed in New York late at night and began wreaking havoc. By dawn, the international metropolis, home to over ten million people, was reduced to ruins."
Emir's expression was grim. The brawny man, who considered himself the second strongest in Shazhou Team, muttered, "Even among city-busters, they're on the extreme end. And now there are five of them."
Cities came in different sizes.
Tang Tian, who loved to talk, had once explained a basic concept to everyone—
Destroy less than 100 square kilometers: small-city level, or low city level
Destroy 100–1,000 square kilometers: city level
Destroy 1,000–3,000 square kilometers: large-city level
Destroy more than 3,000 square kilometers: super-city level
New York was one of the world's foremost metropolises. Before Shazhou Team arrived, they'd used it as the top benchmark for measuring the final boss! But the Main God didn't give a damn...
In truth, no matter how often Fang Xiu had emphasized it, most of the team had clung to a sliver of hope.
Often, as they looked at the Great Light Sphere, which could grant all kinds of extraordinary powers, they even felt a sense of kinship with it. They believed that as chosen ones, they would surely survive to the end and become beings beyond their wildest imagination! Even Fang Xiu himself... sometimes thought so.
After all, he was somewhat special. He'd arrived with power already in his possession, and happened to join a Reincarnator team that was rebuilding. It was almost as if he'd been destined to become its leader.
"Firm conviction doesn't guarantee survival, but your chances are still better than if you've already given up and are waiting to die."
At this critical moment, Fang Xiu once again stepped forward.
He'd originally planned to discreetly thin the team's ranks during this trial, weeding out the weak and keeping the strong. He hadn't expected it to be a completely pointless effort.
The Main God would do the culling itself! Composing himself, Fang Xiu calmly said, "The main mission's difficulty has increased, but the information... also includes some good news. This world only has Clover in it. It's not connected to other parallel worlds, so we won't have to deal with a whole bunch of monsters and aliens."
"The plot's still simple. According to the original setup, a deep-sea beast devours the mysterious substance Seabed Nectar, crawls up from the abyss, and throws human society into turmoil."
As he spoke, an ID card suddenly appeared in his palm.
He looked at Tang Tian and Emir.
Both understood at once.
The latter shook his head.
On Tang Tian's Spider-Man mask, a glint flashed across the lenses. In the blink of an eye, he'd easily hacked the ID card and read its contents.
An electronic ID projected its information!
The display showed a portrait of Fang Xiu from the waist up, along with a brief profile listing his position: Taruato Energy Group—Biotechnology Subsidiary—Research Department Senior Director—Fang Xiu.
In the lower right corner was a line of small text: [Activated]
Yuan Meng, a construction worker wearing a pocketless combat suit because he'd exchanged for a Storage Ring, immediately checked his ring. An ID card of the same format, with a slightly lower-ranking position, floated quietly among the unfinished mechanical parts inside.
"As usual, the Main God has given everyone identities that let us get involved in the plot and dig up hidden perks, like Seabed Nectar, which can improve our physical abilities."
"Of course, we have to be alive to take advantage of them."
After showing them the ID card in his hand, Fang Xiu glanced toward the floor.
Following his gaze, Ye Mei, whose spiritual power far exceeded that of a veteran, quietly stated the facts. "It's not just us. The newcomers have them too."
"The Main God doesn't make pointless arrangements." Haida, whose style had changed completely from a conservative Arab woman to a barefoot beauty, chimed in.
"The inside information the actors received included a line about this. My memory might be fuzzy, so I can't remember the exact number, but I'm sure this energy company has research institutes all over the world."
John grew excited again. "As the center of the world, there's no reason New York wouldn't be one of them. And with these ID cards, we can use local resources to get another round of enhancements once we're inside."
"Hahaha! The boss is right. The Main God wouldn't leave us without a chance!!"
For a moment, optimism once again spread through the protective barrier...
Unfortunately, the truth was mixed in with the lies.
Five giant beasts were watching them like hawks, and they could land at any moment. Other threats might also be lurking in the shadows.
How could the Reincarnators be happy? Still, the captain had made a good point. They needed something to lift their spirits.
"We have ID cards, but no memories to go with them. So we need someone with the right skills to break through the internet security and gather useful information."
His gaze fell on Tang Tian again.
If he remembered correctly, the third-generation Spider-Man suit came with an advanced AI like Iron Man's, which could serve as a hacker.
"Sure. I'll take care of it once the protective barrier disappears."
Tang Tian reined in his restless side and answered with a sigh. "I hope we don't arrive too late in the timeline."
—It was good to have someone on the team who specialized in technology.
—Not all the news was bad.
There was another bit of good news now: these newcomers were a tough bunch.
With as many as twelve people, even if the Great Light Sphere had dragged in some random cannon fodder to fill the ranks and raise the difficulty, they could still sift gold from a pile of shit.
After they'd talked for a while, only a small part of the fifteen minutes had passed when the third newcomer quietly woke and instinctively opened her eyes—the first two were still pretending to sleep.
She was an East Asian woman wearing sunglasses, with a strong sense of style. Even in the Reincarnation World, where beauty had no upper limit, she'd still rank among the beauties.
She was probably a celebrity, model, idol, or something along those lines.
She'd been about to scream, but when she saw the surreal appearance of the entire Shazhou Team, she immediately covered her mouth and held it in, afraid Emir would get annoyed and smash her to pieces with his giant fist.
"Get up. You two pretending to be asleep, wake up too. You've been eavesdropping for a while."
"These newcomers are good material, but their luck is terrible."
Fang Xiu naturally took charge of the explanations again, easily earning five hundred reward points.
—Starting with a reward was a good omen, at least.
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