Joining the Jieren Team

"Thump! Thump-thump!"

At night, Xu Tong stood before the door and took a deep breath before knocking lightly. The door opened, and the moment Zhang Hu saw him, a look of delight appeared on his face. "You finally showed up. I thought you were going to flake on us, kid."

"Uh... I felt bad coming empty-handed, so I prepared a gift for you, Big Brother."

Xu Tong rubbed his hands back and forth against his pant legs, his nervous, restless demeanor exactly like that of a student summoned to the headmaster's office.

"Come in!"

A hoarse voice came from inside the room. Yang Zixuan was sitting on the bed, engrossed in a handheld game console, but he had been keeping his eyes on Xu Tong for a while. His sharp, venomous gaze swept up and down over Xu Tong, as if trying to see right through him.

"Sit down." He gestured toward a stool nearby.

"Right!"

Xu Tong sat on the chair, but he only dared to perch on the edge, his legs held tight. He hurriedly took out the Deerskin Jacket and placed it in front of Yang Zixuan. "I... this... this garment was made by a young girl named Yang Guanjin. It's exceptionally well-made. I... I'd like to offer it to you as a greeting gift, Big Brother."

The three men exchanged glances, and the last remnants of their wariness vanished. They had seen this kind of scene more than once.

In reality, Yang Zixuan dealt in loan sharking or extorting nude photos from students.

When those desperate students met him for the first time, or when they begged for an extension on their payments, they looked exactly like this.

Having seen so many people, Yang Zixuan had honed a pair of discerning eyes and was exceptionally confident in his ability to judge character.

From the moment this guy walked through the door until now, he could be certain that the person before him, this Chen Xuguo, was truly a greenhorn.

Naturally, these were the types he liked best: obedient, easy to control, and no need to worry about them suddenly rebelling or pulling a fast one.

It wasn't as if such things hadn't happened before; there had been cases in the circle.

One established Farming Team had been wiped out because a ruthless character hidden among the Livestock had quietly developed their strength, eventually slaughtering all six core members of the team, not even sparing their families in the real world.

Therefore, a qualified piece of Livestock was exactly this kind of timid, submissive rookie.

Thinking of this, Yang Zixuan narrowed his eyes. "From now on, you're Number Four. Don't worry, our team values fairness above all. As long as you contribute, I guarantee you'll get your fair share of the benefits."

"Yes, yes!" Xu Tong's spirits lifted, his expression one of flattered surprise, which caused Zhang Hu and the other to exchange a knowing, amused smile.

"Tell us, you've been here for a while now. What clues have you found? Let's hear them."

"Yes, yes, yes..." Xu Tong nodded like a pecking chicken and immediately recounted everything they had encountered since arriving.

This included nearly being crushed by a rock when he first arrived, the information he had gathered regarding the Golden Dagger, and even the process of teaming up with Mad Dog to complete the blade-guarding mission—he recounted it all without missing a single detail.

Except for the incident where he was attacked by a monkey that night, he disclosed almost every piece of information.

Yang Zixuan listened carefully, occasionally glancing at the second-in-command, Song Kuang. Seeing Song Kuang give a subtle nod, he fell into deep thought.

"I didn't expect there to be such a mysterious expert."

The mysterious expert who killed Mad Dog, as described by Xu Tong, made Yang Zixuan feel somewhat surprised, because according to Xu Tong's account, the opponent was not only immune to physical damage but also possessed powerful mental attacks. Such plot characters were rarely easy to deal with.

"Since the opponent is so strong, how did you survive last time?" Zhang Hu suddenly turned to look at Xu Tong.

Xu Tong's expression became somewhat awkward. "Last time... I ran away."

Having said that, he took out his Prop Catalog. After opening it, aside from miscellaneous trifles and two gold bars, the most eye-catching items were the two cards inside.

One was the [Red Mandarin Lantern] that Zhang Hu had given him as a greeting gift, and the other was, naturally, the title card he had received from the previous Script World.

"Huh?! You actually have a title card!"

The eyes of Yang Zixuan and the others flashed with surprise as they carefully scrutinized the information on the title card named [Retributor].

When they saw that this title card could actually grant 80% immunity to mental damage and 30% to physical damage, the three of them cursed inwardly—it was a complete waste on such a person.

From their perspective, the ability of this title card was absolutely overpowered. Even Xiong Tao, the team's main tank, felt his eyes turn green with envy upon seeing it.

A dual-immunity shield for both mental and physical damage was an essential, must-have ability for any melee player.

It was fortunate that this card was a title card and could not be traded or transferred; otherwise, Yang Zixuan and his cohorts would likely have bared their fangs right then and there, ready to tear Xu Tong apart just to force him to cough it up.

"Yeah, I was given this title after clearing the last Script World. It was all thanks to a guy named Li Bo. If it weren't for him, all of us would have died."

Xu Tong pretended not to see the greed in their eyes, describing the process of the previous Script World with exaggerated flair, though he swapped the roles of everyone involved.

"I see..." Yang Zixuan nodded, not doubting his words in the slightest, but whispered to his second and third-in-command, "Remember, if you ever run into this Li Bo, be careful."

"Got it!" The two nodded to show they had taken note.

They knew in their hearts that anyone who dared to play like that during their rookie phase either died early or grew increasingly formidable.

When encountering such people, if you can kill them, do it; if you can't, stay far away and don't provoke them.

"Boss, are we still going ahead with tonight's operation?"

Zhang Hu checked the time; it was already nearly nine o'clock, and there wasn't much time left before their planned schedule.

Yang Zixuan smiled mysteriously. "Of course. Number Three, you and the others go grab that dagger tonight. Oh, and try not to kill anyone."

Number Three, Zhang Hu, nodded. "Don't worry, I understand the principle of the repulsion effect."

"Number Four, you go with Number Three. Tonight depends on the two of you." As soon as Yang Zixuan finished speaking, a notification sounded in Xu Tong's ear:

[The Jieren Crowd team has sent you a temporary teammate invitation. Do you wish to confirm and join the squad?]

[After joining a squad, you can access shared team missions and gain exclusive team privileges.]

[Note: Once you join a temporary squad, you may not inflict any malicious harm upon your teammates within this Script World. Doing so will result in expulsion, a deduction of 10 Script Points, and a 5-second stun penalty.]

[Note: After joining a temporary squad, you cannot leave directly for 12 hours. After 12 hours, you may apply to leave by paying 10 Script Points, or force an exit by paying 15 Script Points.]

Xu Tong did not hesitate for a second and immediately chose to confirm.

Upon officially joining the team, he immediately received the shared team mission.

[Side Mission: Prepare to Enter the Mountains]

[Mission Description: During the morning meeting, the negotiations between Zhou Huasheng and Captain Wang reached a stalemate.

Zhou Huasheng does not intend to stay here for long and plans to head into the mountains as soon as possible. Before entering, they need a guide—and of course, it would be best if they could obtain the key item.]

[Mission Reminder: Do not cause a huge commotion, or you will bear the consequences yourself!]

Looking at the mission, Xu Tong raised an eyebrow. He had already roughly guessed that the target of Yang Zixuan and his group was likely Yang Guanjin, the forest ranger.

After all, as a forest ranger, no one was more familiar with this place than she was.

"Go. Once the mission is completed as quickly as possible, we will go find Old Man Zhou. We'll trigger the main mission then, finish it, and return."

Yang Zixuan took a deep breath. As a Farming Team, they had absolutely no interest in side missions regarding the development of the Script World.

Completing the main mission, farming the Livestock, gathering a massive amount of Script Points, and using those points to purchase more powerful items—that was the perfect gameplay loop for a Farming Team.

If this mission hadn't been unavoidable, they wouldn't have wasted their time on it.

"Got it!"

Zhang Hu nodded and led Xu Tong outside.

The two walked one after the other toward the room where Captain Wang and his men were staying. On the way, Xu Tong curiously asked, "Third Brother, what exactly is the exclusion effect?"

Zhang Hu explained casually, "It's complicated. Just think of it as not committing large-scale massacres, crimes against humanity, or things that deviate from the plot. Otherwise, you're likely to suffer from the Script World's exclusion."

Zhang Hu gave an example, using Captain Wang and his men. They were going to steal things now, but if they killed all of them, it would trigger a major case that would alert the authorities.

It would inevitably cause a massive stir, and they would become targets for the entire nation to crack down on.

"Just imagine, a group of PLA uncles wearing Type 65 Uniforms and Red Star Helmets coming to kill us. Even if we have some strength, that's just suicide. That is the exclusion effect."

Xu Tong pondered this for a moment. "So, you mean the exclusion effect is actually related to the level of influence? If Captain Wang and his men follow us into the deep mountains later and we take them out silently, the exclusion effect would be greatly reduced, right?"

Zhang Hu was stunned for a moment. He thought about it and said uncertainly, "It seems... that might be the case."

While they were talking, the two had already approached the small building where Captain Wang and his men were staying.

It was the only two-story building on the Forest Farm. It was originally intended to be housing allocated to the youths, but the incident with the Old Farm Director had delayed that.

Now, it was being used as temporary lodging for Captain Wang and his men. The two-story building had only one entrance, with guards stationed on the roof and at the front door, maximizing security.

But to Zhang Hu, this was child's play. He turned back and grinned coldly at Xu Tong. "Kid, let me show you today what the strength of a veteran player looks like."

As his voice fell, Zhang Hu suddenly activated a prop card, and his figure actually began to fade away right before Xu Tong's eyes.