Li Wei's Plan

Ignoring the low growls of zombies echoing in his ears, Li Wei sat on a stone platform with a cheerful smile, staring at the group of people before him without a word. Zheng Yutong had long since followed his advice and sat silently by his side; she held great faith in Li Wei's capabilities.

There were over a dozen people in this group. The highest-ranked among them only had a serial number around 3000, making them indisputably newcomers. The best weapon among them was merely a katana, while the worst... well, one had just picked up half a brick from the ground.

"Please, take us with you! We promise we won't hold you back!" a middle-aged man in a dress shirt pleaded bitterly.

His eyes remained fixed on the Type 95 Rifle in Li Wei's hands, filled with envy.

"Heh, joining our team isn't an easy task," Li Wei said, the corners of his mouth curling up. He reached out, grabbed a stone, and crushed it with one hand; a sharp crack echoed as it shattered into several pieces.

A few unscrupulous individuals who had been sneaking glances at them quickly looked away. Just kidding—this was a veteran who could crush stone with one hand; a conservative estimate placed his strength at at least 20 points.

20 points of strength was four to five times that of an ordinary person. If he were to wrap his hand around their necks, they wouldn't stand a chance. Consequently, those who had seen that Li Wei and his companion were alone and had intended to seize their firearms immediately abandoned the idea.

"If we want to join your team, what are the requirements?" The middle-aged man was sharp enough to immediately understand what Li Wei was after.

"I need the authority to view your respective 'Guardians'—that is, your Yellow Paper. Don't worry, I only need the 'view' permission. In exchange, you will each receive a Type 95 Rifle, five magazines, and, of course, our protection!"

Li Wei's conditions seemed harsh, but in reality, these newcomers wouldn't lose anything of substance. The only issue was the loss of privacy regarding their Yellow Paper, but compared to their lives, any normal person could weigh which was more important.

"I'll join!"

"I'll join too, as long as you can help us complete this mission!"

"I agree as well."

"..."

Soon, seven people stepped forward and opened their Yellow Paper reading permissions to Li Wei. The remaining two or three retreated with nervous expressions; clearly, they did not want Li Wei to see the missions written on their Yellow Paper.

As expected, not everyone's mission was the same.

Li Wei stroked his chin. He had only suspected it before, but now he was certain.

"Those staying behind, we'll gather on the 23rd floor. We'll distribute weapons there and discuss our next deployment. Listen, I demand absolute obedience to my orders. If you violate them, I will immediately reclaim your weapons and kick you out of the team!"

The building had 35 floors in total and, before the T-Virus outbreak, must have been a high-end hotel and entertainment club. The 23rd floor was where the building's security was stationed, and it featured a complete set of surveillance equipment. Li Wei had chosen this location only after checking the map displayed on his Guardian.

Once everyone had entered the floor, Li Wei nimbly locked the corridor door and plopped down onto a soft sofa. Zheng Yutong watched him quietly from the side, her beautiful eyes making Li Wei's heart beat a little faster.

This girl wants to see how I plan the operation? Fine, I'll let her watch.

After a dry cough, Li Wei said, "Alright, since you have chosen our team, we are now teammates. First, I want to congratulate you all on making the right choice..."

He paused, seeing the skeptical looks on the newcomers' faces, and continued, "By checking your Guardians, I can tell you all that our missions are the same: evacuate Wanxiong City within 24 hours!"

The newcomers nodded, including the middle-aged man from before, though they wondered what there was to congratulate them about.

"Heh, but looking at your faces, I'm sure you realize this mission is by no means easy. Yes... how could a D-Rank difficulty mission be simple? That's why you chose to rely on veterans. I congratulate you because you made a wise decision—this team contains the veteran with the highest serial number in this mission!"

As soon as Li Wei finished speaking, the newcomers' faces showed clear shock. They had originally thought the strongest person in this mission was Shao Yang, whose serial number was 114. They had wanted to join him, but they figured that no matter how strong Shao Yang was, he couldn't possibly protect everyone, so they had chosen a slightly lower-ranked veteran.

Sometimes, having more people didn't mean being stronger, especially in a world like this Resident Evil scenario.

Noticing Li Wei shifting his gaze toward her, Zheng Yutong felt a surge of annoyance. She knew this guy was up to no good, but since her own mission was to protect at least five newcomers, Li Wei was helping her. Not yet understanding his full plan, she naturally assumed this was part of it and cooperated by standing up.

She didn't need to give a grand speech; she only needed to release some of her power.

Upon reaching C-Rank combat strength, one could project their aura and killing intent. It was an intangible force; while it had little effect on opponents of the same rank, it was very effective at distinguishing strength levels.

As serial number 103, with four basic attributes that were exceptionally high, Zheng Yutong was clearly no weakling. Under her deliberate control, a powerful aura surged forth. Despite being in a sealed room, a gust of wind inexplicably began to blow.

The newcomers, whose evaluations were only at the F1-Rank, felt it clearly. Several girls were already trembling so hard their legs were shaking, and seeing this, Zheng Yutong retracted her aura at the right moment.

At that, everyone let out a long sigh of relief.

"See that?" Li Wei stood up from his chair and, as if by magic, retrieved seven Type 95 Rifles and 35 magazines from the storage space within his Yellow Paper. He had looted these from Guo Jian's Yellow Paper, and they were finally coming in handy.

Li Wei did not intend to stack weapons for these newcomers. For one, stacking weapons required a significant amount of energy, and for another, he didn't truly trust these new teammates yet; basic precautions were necessary.

Seeing the weapons, the seven newcomers' eyes lit up. Most of them were newcomers who had only participated in the Initial Trial, and they only had about 100 points—some even had only a few dozen. With so few points, they couldn't afford a decent weapon in the Shadow Street trading market. While the Type 95 Rifle wasn't a powerhouse, it would cost at least 100 points to purchase.

With Li Wei's permission, the seven rifles were taken. The middle-aged man from before handled his firearm with practiced ease; with a weapon in hand, he exuded a unique aura, completely different from the clumsy way the other newcomers held theirs.

"Were you a soldier?" Li Wei asked suddenly.

The middle-aged man froze, nodded somberly, and felt his estimation of Li Wei rise once more. This young man, who didn't look very old, not only possessed formidable strength but also top-tier analytical and observational skills. It was no wonder the woman who appeared to have the highest combat power listened to him.

"Very good. You have half an hour to teach these newcomers how to use their firearms proficiently. I don't expect them to be sharpshooters, just to know how to fire and reload!"

After giving his orders, Li Wei ignored the newcomers. Honestly, he doubted how many of them would survive the next 24 hours.

"Li Wei, what is your plan?" Zheng Yutong approached him. Having gone through the previous mission, she had developed a sense of reliance on Li Wei, though she hadn't realized it herself.

Li Wei, who was busy fiddling with the monitors, didn't turn around and simply said, "The first thing we need to do is one thing: 'intelligence'!"

"Intelligence? About what?" Zheng Yutong repeated, clearly not quite understanding.

"Everything. Every piece of intelligence we can possibly get!" Seeing an image pop up on the monitor, Li Wei smiled and continued, "Ms. Zheng, if you were suddenly thrown into a pitch-black room and a voice told you to leave within 10 seconds or die, what would you do?"

This was clearly Li Wei's way of answering. Zheng Yutong thought for a moment and replied earnestly, "Of course, I'd find the exit and leave!"

"Right. But how to find the exit within 10 seconds—that requires 'intelligence.' The size of the room, the layout, the furniture—that's all intelligence. If there's a light, turning it on would help you find the exit immediately. Of course, the 'light' is also intelligence. Only by obtaining useful intelligence can I decide the next step. It's like playing chess; we can only act after the opponent makes their move!"

"In this mission, the first intelligence we obtained was the background of the world, the mission difficulty, and the mission objective. According to the objective, we just need to evacuate Wanxiong City within the time limit. It sounds clear and simple, right? But in reality, there are too many things we haven't figured out..."

"For example?" Zheng Yutong was completely captivated by Li Wei's words.

The latter stroked his chin and continued in a measured tone, "For example... intelligence on the enemy. How strong is the actual combat power of those zombies? We might know the general idea from the game, but this is not a game; it is a real battlefield of life and death. We cannot save or load progress. Any mistake will lead to irreversible consequences!"

"Then there is the number of people on this mission. Why are there so many, and what is the intention behind it? We have zero intelligence on this. Furthermore, sometimes, missions are not set in stone..."

Li Wei thought of his own Initial Trial. It was because he had recklessly burned down the Mountain God Temple, which was essential to the mission, that he had altered the objective, ultimately causing the entire quest chain to change and allowing him to reap massive benefits.

The last mission was the same. If he hadn't discovered the Refugee Camp hidden in the woods, he would never have encountered the Dread Knight Mordel, and he wouldn't have obtained a divine skill like the Art of Stacking.

Therefore, this time, Li Wei did not intend to play by the rules.

"We have too little intelligence right now, so at this stage, the only thing we need to do is wait..."

Staring at the monitor, Li Wei found what he was looking for: the hundreds of people who had left the rooftop earlier, led by Shao Yang, whose number was 114.

They had already descended to the twelfth floor, a massive, bustling crowd that looked quite spectacular. Li Wei switched the camera feed; there were basically no zombies in the building, but from the seventh floor downward, scattered zombies began to roam about.

"Are you trying to obtain combat intelligence on these monsters by watching others fight them?" Zheng Yutong mimicked Li Wei, stroking her own smooth chin with a fair, delicate finger. Her beautiful face paired with that gesture made Li Wei's throat go dry.

"No, I don't think things are that simple!" Li Wei realized that his immunity to beautiful women was getting worse by the day.

"What do you mean?" Zheng Yutong maintained that heart-stopping expression of hers; she had recently grown quite fond of 'teasing' Li Wei, this pure-hearted young man.

However, the next moment, she saw a scene on the monitor that left her utterly shocked, her rosy complexion instantly turning pale.