'Team' and Rewards

Chapter 20: 'Team' and Rewards

The 'zombies' attacking the skeletons were clearly different from those in the undead army. Upon closer inspection, one could see they were wearing the clothing of Dawn City residents, some even clad in Crusader armor. They ranged from young to old, and judging by their wounds, these were fresh injuries; blood still flowed from the upturned flesh.

"What is going on here?"

How had these monsters started killing each other?

Even more surprising was that the bespectacled man, previously presumed dead, was currently waving at Li Wei and his two companions from outside the horde.

By the time the three of them broke free from the skeleton swarm and reached a safe zone, they had yet to recover their senses. Zheng Yutong and Bai Jie, in particular, looked as if they had seen a ghost upon seeing the man.

They had personally confirmed that he was crushed to death by falling rocks; seeing him alive and well before them now would have left anyone unable to react immediately.

Of course, Li Wei, possessing the 'Eye of Perception', was an exception.

"Great, I thought you had already left the city. I forgot to introduce myself earlier—I'm Wang Kai, ID 1627!" The bespectacled man, Wang Kai, reached up to adjust his glasses and smiled.

Seeing the puzzled looks from the two women, Wang Kai continued, "I forgot to mention, I am a T-Virus enhancer. While I lack high strength or agility, I possess the 'Regeneration' and 'T-Virus Infection' abilities. Those zombies just now were created by me!"

Hearing Wang Kai's words, Li Wei confirmed his own assessment. Indeed, his previous assumption that this guy had been crushed in the ruins was a lapse in his own judgment.

His own Constitution was 39 points, the highest among the five. High Constitution represented powerful vitality; without a corresponding special skill, how could a newcomer like himself have such an outrageous attribute value?

Watching the few 'zombies' created by the T-Virus wandering nearby, the three of them felt an inexplicable sense of security. Although these zombies were even uglier and more disgusting than the undead creatures, the feeling was entirely different when they were on the same side. Looking at these rotting corpses now, they even felt a sense of kinship!

"Alright, now our team has one more person. Li Wei, according to your deduction, in a multiplayer scenario mission, every person is indispensable. Bai Jie has the support spell 'Slow', Wang Kai has 'Infection' and corpse control, and I have the highest combat rating. So, what about you? What kind of role do you play in this team?"

Zheng Yutong summoned her Yellow Paper, and a pile of food instantly appeared on the ground. She elegantly picked up a sandwich and took a light bite, her eyes fixed on Li Wei.

Li Wei felt a headache coming on regarding this shrewd woman. She clearly knew the answer but asked anyway—wasn't she just trying to figure out how he knew about Bai Jie's special skill and how he had selected the escape route?

If he didn't reveal something now, it would surely cause unnecessary misunderstandings among the other three. Thinking this, Li Wei made his own plans.

He grabbed a bag of vacuum-packed chicken legs from the pile of food, tore it open, and began to eat heartily. "My special skill is that I can see the attributes and skills of target creatures. As for choosing the right escape route, that just takes a little bit of technique. Dawn City is a town built on flat land. Of the four directions, only the west leads to a forest, which is favorable for escape. Furthermore, there is a knight training ground in the forest—meaning that is the only place where we might find reinforcements. Didn't you all look closely at the scenario map on the 'Yellow Paper'?"

Li Wei's casual remark left the other three stunned. They were, of course, aware of the mission introduction and scenario map on the 'Yellow Paper', but the situation had been critical. Aside from the time they had to check it at the very beginning, they had been fleeing ever since; how could they still remember the information on the map?

The three hurriedly summoned their own Yellow Papers to check the detailed mission introduction. Soon, all of them wore expressions of surprise. Li Wei was right; if one just looked carefully at the mission introduction and the map, choosing a suitable escape route wasn't difficult at all.

But in such an urgent situation at the time, who would have noticed these things? Even if they had, it would have been impossible to consider every detail of the escape; such judgments could only be made on the spot when faced with the actual situation.

To be able to do this, one had to possess a calm mind, superhuman memory, and excellent analytical and reasoning skills. Whether it was Zheng Yutong, Bai Jie, or Wang Kai, they all asked themselves if they could have done it.

Looking back at the man who was devouring a chicken leg, the three's gazes were completely different from before. Zheng Yutong suddenly had an absurd thought: in this team, the most indispensable person was the man before her.

Just then, a message appeared on everyone's Yellow Paper simultaneously.

"Mission: Escape Dawn City, Completed. Mission completion rating: A. Reward: 500 points. Additional reward for A-grade rating: 1000 Gold, Healing Tent ×1, Militia ×10, Apprentice Crossbowman ×5."

"Mission Scenario Two: The Griffin Empire's Counterattack. Mission [Recapture Dawn City Occupied by the Undead], Mission Difficulty: B, Non-interruptible, Time limit: 7 days... The ruler of the Griffin Empire is furious at the invasion of the necromancers. He has dispatched his most elite Griffin troops, swearing to wash away the humiliation. Within seven days, integrate forces and soldiers as much as possible to help the Griffin Knights recapture the lost territory!"

Almost at the same time, a group of people walked out from a small path. They were wearing leather armor and helmets, some holding spears, others carrying wooden crossbows. Seeing Li Wei and the others, the group quickened their pace.

"Great, honorable Sir Knight! We ran for a whole day before meeting our own people. Now we don't have to fear those hateful undead creatures!" A sturdy militiaman was the first to run up to Li Wei and his group.

"A group of militia and crossbowmen admire you and wish to join your troops! Do you accept?"

All four chose to accept simultaneously. Just kidding—if they didn't accept something like this, they would truly be fools. Now with these troops, at the very least, they could win quite easily if they encountered units like vampires again.

The large group, plus Wang Kai's zombies, shuffled off into the depths of the forest.

This was Li Wei's suggestion!

At this moment, the closer they were to Dawn City, the more likely they were to encounter undead units. This was not what anyone wanted to see. The mission on the Yellow Paper was to gather as much strength as possible within seven days to participate in the counterattack. Anyone familiar with the game Heroes of Might and Magic naturally knew what these seven days meant.

It meant using the 1000 gold and troops on hand to occupy resource points, creature dwellings, and other important resources as much as possible, then assembling an army capable of contending with the necromancers to recapture the lost territory. Therefore, not a single moment could be wasted.

After studying the strategic map, everyone agreed with Li Wei's suggestion. Across this forest lay an area composed of mountains and plains, where the Dawn City knight training ground was built.

"Miss Zheng... you and Wang Kai go to the knight training ground first. Bai Jie and I will be responsible for exploring the resources and creature dwellings in this forest. Any other opinions?"

At this time, even Zheng Yutong had no better plan. Although Wang Kai wore glasses, he offered no better suggestions. Instead, it was Bai Jie who looked thoughtful.

Watching the woman, Li Wei knew what she was worried about. Among these four, only her special skill lacked offensive power. Even Wang Kai had super-strong regenerative abilities. If they encountered danger, she was the most likely to be injured or even lose her life.

However, this was reality. To survive, one had to contribute their share. Li Wei was no nice guy; if someone were truly useless, he wouldn't mind leaving them behind as a snack for the undead.

Evening, the fallen Dawn City.

Firelight was everywhere. Debris from buildings destroyed by catapults lay scattered about. Humans hiding in cellars and rooms were found one by one by the undead, followed by one-sided slaughter. The screams of humans before death echoed over Dawn City from time to time, lingering endlessly.

Guo Jian hid in the gap of a collapsed wall, vigilantly watching the undead rampaging outside. Even though he had been enhanced by strength, he was exhausted after a full day of fighting.

If Li Wei were here, he would certainly recognize this man as the burly fellow who had been the first to rush out of the room.

"Those four, except for the woman with ID 103, the others should be dead by now, right?" Spitting on the ground, Guo Jian sneered.

He had been the first to leave the room, but after coming out, he found the situation even worse than he had imagined. The entire town had been surrounded by undead creatures. He had originally thought that relying on his powerful combat strength, he could easily break through, but he only sank deeper and deeper, especially after encountering the undead's third-tier units; he had completely lost his advantage.

The cause of all this was the third-tier unit: the Ghost!

Ordinary physical attacks had absolutely no effect on such things. Even though he had cultivated the Primordial Origin Skill to the second level and possessed attack skills like the Rakshasa Three Forms, he still couldn't deal with something like a Ghost.

Watching the sky gradually darken, Guo Jian felt anxious. He hadn't studied the mission map like Li Wei; otherwise, he would have discovered that his escape route from the very beginning had been a mistake.

Just then, Guo Jian suddenly noticed that the skeleton soldiers and zombies wandering around were starting to gather together consciously. Lacking much intelligence, they were like creatures being herded, lining up in a formation.

Immediately following this, Guo Jian heard the sound of hoofbeats. He peeked outside, and his face turned deathly pale in an instant!

A large group of vampires clad in black robes crowded around a figure riding an undead warhorse as they approached. What filled Guo Jian with terror was the person sitting atop that horse.

It was nothing short of a monster.

It possessed a head that was half-human and half-bat, with enormous ears pricked backward and a pointed snout filled with fangs. Its protruding forehead and brow bones made its crimson eyes appear brimming with bloodthirsty malice. From the sleeves of its wide magic robe extended hands tipped with razor-sharp claws, which seemed capable of tearing a strong bull to pieces with ease.

This freak was powerful. Guo Jian was certain that if he were to face this monster head-on, he would not last even a minute. Having already survived seven plot missions, this was the first time he had felt such utter despair.

He could not be exposed, or he would surely die!

Yet, sometimes, the development of events does not always go as one wishes. As the monster on the undead warhorse passed the spot where Guo Jian was hiding, it came to a halt. Its crimson eyes swept over the ruins, and a terrifying, cackling laugh erupted from its fang-filled mouth.

(My thanks to brother Transparent Shadow for the donation, I am deeply grateful. Also, requesting votes and follows!)