Ignoring the low growls of zombies nearby, Li Wei sat down on a stone platform with a smile and watched the group before him without saying a word. Zheng Yutong had followed his advice and quietly sat beside him. She had complete faith in his abilities.
There were more than a dozen people. The highest-ranked among them had a score of only around 3,000, making them complete newcomers. The best weapon anyone had was a katana. The worst... well, one of them had just picked up half a brick from the ground.
"Please, take us with you! We promise we won't hold you back!" pleaded a middle-aged man in a shirt.
His eyes were fixed on the rifle in Li Wei's hands, full of envy.
"Uh, joining our team isn't easy," Li Wei said, the corner of his mouth lifting. He picked up a stone and crushed it in one hand. With a crunch, it broke into several pieces.
A few shady characters who had been sneaking glances over at him hurriedly looked away. Give them a break—this was an experienced survivor who could crush stones with one hand. By a conservative estimate, his strength was at least 20 points.
Twenty points of strength was four or five times that of an ordinary person. If he were squeezing their necks instead of a stone, they wouldn't stand a chance. So the people who had noticed Li Wei and Zheng Yutong were alone and considered stealing their guns quickly abandoned the idea.
"What would it take to join your team?" The middle-aged man was quick on the uptake and immediately understood what Li Wei was after.
"I want permission to view each of your Guardians—in other words, your Yellow Papers. Don't worry, I only need viewing access. In return, you'll get one Type 95 Rifle and five magazines, and, of course, our protection!"
Li Wei's terms seemed harsh, but the newcomers would lose nothing. The only issue was giving up their privacy on their Yellow Papers. But compared with their lives, which mattered more? Any sensible person could figure that out.
"I'll join!"
"I'll join too, as long as you can help us complete this mission!"
"I agree too."
"..."
Soon, seven people stepped forward and granted Li Wei permission to view their Yellow Papers. The remaining two or three looked nervous and backed away. They clearly didn't want him seeing the missions on their Yellow Papers.
So, not everyone has the same mission.
Li Wei stroked his chin. He had only suspected it before, but now he was sure.
"Those of you staying with us, meet us on the twenty-third floor. We'll hand out weapons there and go over our next moves. Listen carefully: you must obey my orders without question. If you disobey, I'll take your weapons back and kick you off the team!"
The building had thirty-five floors. Before the T-Virus outbreak, it had been a high-end hotel and entertainment complex. The twenty-third floor was where the building's security guards were stationed, and it had a full surveillance system. Li Wei had chosen it after checking the map displayed on the Guardians.
After everyone had entered the floor, Li Wei swiftly locked the doors to the corridor, then dropped onto a soft sofa. Zheng Yutong sat quietly nearby, watching him with her beautiful eyes. His heart began to race.
This girl wants to see how I'll plan our next move. Fine, I'll show her.
After clearing his throat, Li Wei said, "All right. Since you've chosen to join our team, we're teammates now. First, I want to congratulate you all. You made the right choice..."
He paused. Seeing that the newcomers looked unconvinced, Li Wei continued, "After checking your Guardians, I can tell you that we all have the same mission: evacuate Wanxiong City within twenty-four hours!"
The newcomers nodded. The middle-aged man from before was among them. But what was there to congratulate them for?
"Heh, judging from your faces, I'm sure you know this mission won't be easy. Right. A D-Rank mission wouldn't be easy. You chose to attach yourselves to an experienced survivor, and I'm congratulating you because you made a wise decision. This team includes the highest-ranked experienced survivor in this mission!"
As soon as Li Wei finished speaking, the newcomers looked visibly shocked. They had assumed the strongest person in the mission was Shao Yang, whose number was 114. They had considered joining him, but no matter how capable Shao Yang was, he couldn't possibly protect everyone. So they had settled for the next-best experienced survivor.
Sometimes, having more people didn't mean being stronger. That was especially true in a world like Resident Evil.
When Li Wei turned his gaze toward her, Zheng Yutong was so annoyed she could grind her teeth. She knew the man was up to something. But her own mission was to protect at least five newcomers and get them out alive, so Li Wei was helping her. Besides, she didn't know his plan yet and naturally assumed this was part of it. So Zheng Yutong played along and stood up.
She didn't need to make a speech. All she had to do was release some of her power!
Once someone reached C-Rank combat strength, they could project an aura and killing intent—an invisible force. It had little effect on opponents of the same rank, but it could easily reveal the gap in strength between people.
Number 103, Zheng Yutong, had exceptionally high scores in all four basic attributes. She was clearly no weakling. Under her deliberate control, her powerful aura surged outward. Though the room was sealed, a breeze suddenly swept through it.
The newcomers, whose ratings were only F1-Rank, felt the effect most strongly. Several girls trembled so hard their legs could barely hold them. Seeing this, Zheng Yutong withdrew her aura in time.
Everyone let out a long breath.
"See?" Li Wei stood up from his chair and, as if performing a magic trick, took seven Type 95 Rifles and thirty-five magazines from the storage space inside his Yellow Paper. He had seized them from Guo Jian's Yellow Paper, and now they were coming in handy.
Li Wei didn't plan to use Art of Stacking on the newcomers' weapons. First, stacking weapons would take a great deal of energy. Second, he didn't truly trust these new teammates yet, so some basic precautions were necessary.
At the sight of the weapons, the seven newcomers' eyes lit up. Most of them had only taken part in the Initial Trial. They had around a hundred points each, and some had only a few dozen. With so few points, they couldn't buy a decent weapon on Shadow Street's marketplace. The Type 95 Rifle wasn't particularly powerful, but buying one would cost at least a hundred points.
With Li Wei's approval, the newcomers took the seven rifles. The middle-aged man who had spoken earlier handled his gun with practiced ease. Holding a weapon gave him a peculiar air, setting him apart from the other newcomers, who fumbled awkwardly with theirs.
"Did you serve in the military?" Li Wei asked suddenly.
The middle-aged man paused, then nodded with a faintly bitter expression. At the same time, his estimation of Li Wei rose again. The young man didn't look very old, but he was not only strong—his analytical and observational skills were exceptional too. No wonder the woman, who looked like the strongest fighter here, listened to him.
"Good. You have half an hour to teach the others how to use their guns. They don't need to hit every target. Just teach them how to shoot and change magazines!"
After giving his instructions, Li Wei paid the newcomers no more attention. To be honest, he doubted many of them would still be alive twenty-four hours later.
"Li Wei, what's your plan?" Zheng Yutong came over. After the previous mission, she had begun to feel she could rely on Li Wei, though she hadn't realized it herself.
Li Wei was fiddling with the surveillance equipment by himself. Without turning around, he said quietly, "There's only one thing we need to do first: gather intel!"
"Intel? About what?" Zheng Yutong repeated, clearly unsure what he meant.
"Everything. As much information as we can get!" A picture appeared on the monitor. Li Wei smiled and continued, "Miss Zheng, suppose you were suddenly thrown into a very dark room, and a voice told you to get out within ten seconds or die. What would you do?"
That was clearly his answer to her question. Zheng Yutong thought it over and replied seriously, "I'd find the exit and get out!"
"Right. But finding the exit within ten seconds requires intel. The room's size, layout, and furnishings—all of that is intel. If there's a light, switching it on could reveal the exit immediately. The light is intel too. Only after getting useful information can I decide what to do next. It's like a game of chess: we can only move after our opponent makes a move!"
"The first intel we got for this mission was its setting, its difficulty, and its objective. We just have to leave Raccoon City before the time runs out. It all seems straightforward, doesn't it? But there's actually a lot we still don't know..."
"Such as?" Zheng Yutong was completely drawn in by what Li Wei was saying.
He stroked his chin and continued in an unhurried voice, "For example... intel on the enemy. How strong are the zombies in a real fight? We can get a general idea from the game, but this isn't a game. It's a real battle for survival. We can't save and reload. Any mistake could lead to irreversible consequences!"
"And then there's the number of people in this mission. Why are there so many? What's the purpose? We don't have a clue. And there's one more thing: sometimes, missions aren't set in stone..."
Li Wei thought of his Initial Trial. He had recklessly burned down the Mountain God Temple, which was essential to the mission, and changed the course of the trial. That had eventually altered the entire mission chain—and brought him a great deal of benefit.
The previous mission had been the same. If he hadn't discovered the Refugee Camp hidden in the woods, he never would have encountered Mordel, the Dread Knight. He wouldn't have obtained the incredible Art of Stacking, either.
So this time, Li Wei didn't plan on following the usual course.
"We know too little right now. So, at this stage, there's only one thing we can do: wait..."
Keeping his eyes on the monitor, Li Wei found what he was looking for. It was the group of more than a hundred people who had left the rooftop earlier. Shao Yang, number 114, was leading them.
They had reached the twelfth floor. The huge crowd surged along noisily, an impressive sight. Li Wei switched cameras. There were hardly any zombies in the entire building, but a few were wandering around here and there from the seventh floor down.
"So you want to learn how dangerous the monsters are by watching other people fight them?" Zheng Yutong copied Li Wei and stroked her smooth, pale chin with a slender finger. Her beautiful face and that gesture left Li Wei a little parched.
"No. I don't think it's that simple." Li Wei realized his immunity to beautiful women was getting weaker and weaker.
"What do you mean?" Zheng Yutong wore the same irresistible expression as ever. Lately, she had been enjoying teasing Li Wei, the bashful young man.
But in the next moment, she saw something on the monitor that left her utterly shocked. The color drained from her flushed face.
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