"Thud! Thud-thud!"
At night, Xu Tong stood before the door, took a deep breath, and gently knocked. When the door opened, Zhang Hu saw him and immediately looked delighted. "You finally made it. I thought you were going to stand me up, kid."
"Uh... I felt bad showing up empty-handed, so I prepared a gift for you, big brother."
Xu Tong rubbed his hands back and forth against his pant legs, looking so uneasy that he might as well have been standing outside the dean of discipline's office after being summoned.
"Come in!"
A hoarse voice came from inside. Yang Zixuan sat on the bed, engrossed in a handheld game console, but he had been watching Xu Tong from the moment he arrived. His shrewd gaze swept up and down Xu Tong as if he meant to see right through him.
"Have a seat." He pointed to a stool nearby.
"Okay!"
Xu Tong sat down, but only perched on the edge, his legs tensed tight. He hurriedly took out the Deerskin Jacket, set it in front of Yang Zixuan, and said, "I... um... this jacket was made by a young girl named Yang Guanjin. She did a great job. I... brought it as a gift for you, big brother."
Yang Zixuan and the other two exchanged glances. The last of their misgivings vanished. They had seen this sort of thing before.
In the real world, Yang Zixuan had been involved in loan sharking and had even offered students nude loans.
When those poor students met him for the first time, or came to ask him for an extension, they acted pretty much the same way.
After meeting so many people, Yang Zixuan had developed a keen eye for judging others and was especially confident in his ability to read people.
From the moment this guy walked in, Yang Zixuan had been certain that the fellow before him, Chen Xuguo, was a complete rookie.
And rookies like him were exactly Yang Zixuan's favorite kind. They were obedient and easy to control, and he didn't have to worry about them suddenly rebelling and stabbing the team in the back.
It wasn't as if that had never happened. There had been cases like that in their circle.
A Farming Team that had grown to a considerable size had once been brought down by a ruthless character among its Livestock. He had quietly kept his head down and built up his strength until he wiped out all six of the team's core members. He hadn't even spared their families in the real world.
So a proper Livestock needed to be a rookie with this sort of timid, submissive personality.
At the thought, Yang Zixuan narrowed his eyes. "From now on, you're the fourth brother. Don't worry, our team is all about fairness. As long as you contribute, I guarantee you'll get your share of the benefits."
"Okay, okay!" Xu Tong perked up, looking as if he couldn't believe his good fortune. Zhang Hu and the other man exchanged glances and smiled knowingly.
"Tell us what you've found. You've been here for a while now. What clues have you picked up?"
"Yes, yes..." Xu Tong nodded vigorously and immediately recounted everything that had happened since they arrived.
He told them how he had nearly been crushed to death by a rock on the way there, what he had learned about the Golden Dagger, and even the entire process of teaming up with Mad Dog to complete the guard-the-dagger mission, without leaving out a single detail.
He kept quiet only about the time Monkey had attacked him that night. Apart from that, he told them almost everything.
Yang Zixuan listened closely, occasionally glancing at Song Kuang, the second brother. When Song Kuang gave an almost imperceptible nod, Yang Zixuan fell into thought.
"I didn't expect there'd be a mysterious expert like that."
The mysterious expert Xu Tong said had killed Mad Dog. Yang Zixuan was surprised by the story, because according to Xu Tong...
The opponent could not only shrug off physical damage, but also had powerful mental attacks. Script characters like that were usually tough to deal with.
"If they're that strong, how did you survive last time?" Zhang Hu suddenly turned to look at Xu Tong.
Xu Tong looked a little embarrassed. "Last time... I ran away."
With that, he took out his Prop Catalog and opened it. Among the odds and ends and two gold bars, the most eye-catching things were the two cards inside.
One was the Red Mandarin Lantern Zhang Hu had given him as a welcome gift. The other was naturally the Title Card he had received after the previous Script World.
"Huh! You have a Title Card too?"
Yang Zixuan and the others' eyes lit up in surprise. They carefully examined the information on the Title Card named Retributor.
When they saw that the card could negate 80% of mental damage and 30% of physical damage, all three cursed inwardly. What a waste of a powerful item!
From their perspective, the card's abilities were insanely powerful. Even Xiong Tao, the second brother and the team's main tank, felt jealous enough to turn red when he saw it.
A shield that reduced both mental and physical damage was absolutely essential for any close-combat player.
Fortunately, Title Cards couldn't be traded or transferred. Otherwise, Yang Zixuan and the others would probably have shown their fangs right then and there, devoured Xu Tong alive if they had to, and made him cough up that card.
"Yeah. I got the title after clearing the last Script World. It was all thanks to a guy named Li Bo. Without him, every one of us would've died."
Xu Tong pretended not to notice the greed in their eyes and exaggeratedly described what had happened in the previous Script World, switching around the roles everyone had played.
"I see..." Yang Zixuan nodded, not doubting him in the least. Then he quietly told Song Kuang and Zhang Hu, "Remember: if you ever run into this Li Bo, be careful."
"Got it!" The two nodded to show they would remember.
They understood that people willing to play like that during their rookie period either got themselves killed early or grew stronger and stronger.
If they met someone like that, they should kill him if they could. If they couldn't, they should stay far away and avoid provoking him.
"Boss, are we still going ahead with tonight's operation?"
Zhang Hu checked the time. It was almost nine, and the time they had planned for the operation was fast approaching.
Yang Zixuan smiled mysteriously. "Of course. Third brother, you two take the dagger tonight. Oh, and try not to kill anyone."
Zhang Hu, the third brother, nodded. "Don't worry. I understand how the rejection effect works."
"Fourth brother, go with him. Tonight's up to you two." As soon as Yang Zixuan finished speaking, a prompt sounded in Xu Tong's ear:
[Jieren Crowd has sent you a temporary teammate invitation. Do you confirm joining the temporary team?] [After joining the team, you can share team missions and receive exclusive team privileges.] [Reminder: Once you join the temporary team, you cannot inflict any malicious harm on your teammates in this Script World. Otherwise, you will be expelled as punishment, lose 10 Script Points, and be paralyzed for 5 seconds.] [Reminder: After joining the temporary team, you cannot leave directly for 12 hours. After 12 hours, you may apply to leave by paying 10 Script Points, or force your way out by paying 15 Script Points.]
Xu Tong confirmed without hesitation.
Once he officially joined the team, he immediately gained access to the team's shared missions.
[Side Mission: Prepare to Enter the Mountains] [Mission Description: At this morning's meeting, negotiations between Zhou Huasheng and Captain Wang reached an impasse. Zhou Huasheng doesn't plan to stay here much longer and intends to enter the mountains as soon as possible. Before they go in, they need a guide. It would be even better if they could get their hands on a key item.] [Mission Reminder: Don't make a big scene, or you'll be responsible for the consequences!]
Looking at the mission, Xu Tong raised an eyebrow. He had a pretty good idea what Yang Zixuan and the others were after. Their target was probably Yang Guanjin, the forest ranger.
After all, no one knew the area better than a forest ranger.
"Go. Finish the mission quickly, then we'll find Old Man Zhou. Once we trigger the main mission, we'll complete it as soon as possible and return."
Yang Zixuan took a deep breath. As a Farming Team, they had no interest in side missions in the Script World.
Complete the main mission, farm Livestock, amass a large number of Script Points, then use those points to buy more powerful items—that was the perfect game plan for a Farming Team.
If they couldn't avoid this mission, they wouldn't waste time on it.
"Okay!"
Zhang Hu nodded and led Xu Tong outside.
The two headed straight for the room where Captain Wang and the others were staying. On the way, Xu Tong asked curiously, "Third brother, what's the rejection effect?"
"It's pretty complicated. Just remember not to carry out mass slaughter, do anything inhumane, or do things that go against the story. Otherwise, you might provoke the Script World's rejection."
Zhang Hu gave Captain Wang and his men as an example. They were going to steal something, but if they killed all of Captain Wang's men, it would become a major criminal case that would shock the whole region.
That would inevitably cause a huge uproar, and they would become targets of the entire country.
"Just imagine: a bunch of People's Liberation Army uncles wearing Type 65 Uniforms and Red Star Helmets come after us. Even if we're somewhat capable, we'd still be dead. That's the rejection effect."
Xu Tong thought it over. "So the rejection effect is actually tied to the impact of what we do. If Captain Wang and his men chased us into the mountains afterward and we quietly took them out, the rejection effect would be much weaker, right?"
Zhang Hu froze for a moment. He thought about it, then answered uncertainly, "I guess... that's how it works."
As they spoke, the two reached the small building where Captain Wang and his men were staying.
It was the only two-story building at the Forest Farm. It had originally been meant for the youths who were going to be assigned there, but Old Farm Director's situation had put those plans on hold.
Captain Wang and his men were temporarily staying there now. The two-story building had only one entrance, and guards were stationed on the roof and by the front door, making it as secure as possible.
But for Zhang Hu, this was child's play. He turned and grinned coldly at Xu Tong. "Kid, tonight I'll show you what an experienced player can do."
As his voice fell, Zhang Hu suddenly activated an Item Card, and his body began to disappear right before Xu Tong's eyes.
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