First Gathering

Bai Yi raised an eyebrow. "They bought temporary teleportation scrolls?"

He opened the group chat and quickly skimmed through the earlier messages:

Xie Xu and Mu Mu had both responded in the group. Xie Xu had encountered danger but luckily survived. Mu Mu had run into a minor problem, which had also been resolved.

After that came the usual introductions, along with messages calling for him in the group. He had been performing surgery at the time, so naturally, he had not replied.

Then, after the forum, plaza, and channels unlocked at eight that evening, Zhang Zhen gathered 500 Mist Coins through trading and unlocked the team function. The others joined one after another.

Finally, at eight this morning, they had decided to hold a meeting at Wang Ziyi's shelter to discuss their future development and the team's functions.

"The team has a gathering function..."

As Bai Yi thought, he accepted the team invitation and replied in the group chat.

[Zhang Zhen has invited you to join the (Unnamed) Team. Accept?]

"Yes!"

[Bai Yi has joined (Unnamed).]

"Bai Yi: Something held me up. I just finished. What happened?"

"Xie Xu: Wang Ziyi's shelter is under siege by Rotting Corpses."

"Bai Yi: Wait a moment. I'll be right there."

With a thought from Bai Yi, the Tang Dao and revolver lying in the workshop were lifted by tentacles and carried before him.

While that was happening, Bai Yi looked through the newly unlocked team functions.

[Team: Unnamed

Members: Xie Xu, Zhang Zhen, Wang Ziyi, Tang Zheng, Li Zihua, Wei Fen, Mu Mu, Bai Yi (8/10)

Team Skill: Unlocked

(Team members cannot inflict fatal injuries upon one another)

Description: A well-rounded team!

Abnormal status "Mutual Aid" unlocked. "Portal Door" unlocked.]

[Mutual Aid]: Sanity recovery speed increased by 10%, injury recovery speed increased by 5%, psychological stability greatly enhanced.

[Portal Door]: After obtaining consent, you may travel through a "door" to a team member's shelter. No limit on usage.

"Teams can teleport between members. Then guilds probably can too. Overall, it's more cost-effective than temporary teleportation scrolls. The system seems to favor players banding together..."

As Bai Yi considered this, he stopped before the newly appeared door in the hall.

The portal door was nothing unusual either. It was made of flesh and bone. He placed his hand on the handle, and the names of his team members automatically surfaced in his mind.

After selecting Wang Ziyi, the words "Application Approved" immediately appeared on the other side. Bai Yi pulled open the door. Dense white mist filled the space beyond it, making it impossible to see through.

"Let's go, Little White. Time to meet our teammates."

Bai Yi called out, then stepped into the mist.

At that moment, in a shelter made from plant roots and stems, the team members were scattered throughout the meeting hall—some standing, some sitting, some anxious, some calm.

"Dog Bro is here!" Wang Ziyi suddenly looked up. She had just accepted Bai Yi's access request.

The next second, the portal door opened, and he stepped out from within.

The man's tall, slender figure stood there like a cold weapon still sheathed.

His short black hair was slightly messy. Beneath his sharp brow bones were a pair of dark golden eyes, and flames seemed to burn within those inhuman pupils.

Thirty years had stripped the boyishness from his face, replacing it with steadiness. His slightly pale skin was wrapped in a black tactical shirt, and his half-rolled sleeves exposed his strong forearms.

The silver revolver hanging at one side of his combat pants gleamed with a metallic sheen, speckled with blood. The Tang Dao held upside down in his right hand was as straight as a ruler.

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Behind him, a white wolf slowly emerged.

Every strand of its silver-white fur was clearly defined. Its dark golden pupils seemed forged from solidified metal, while its powerful limbs supported a height nearly equal to that of a human.

The slight bulges around its claw joints radiated immense strength. Even while still, its tail remained in a wary, faintly curved posture.

"Holy shit!" Tang Zheng stared blankly at the man and wolf who had just appeared, completely forgetting about the cigarette in his hand that was about to burn his fingers.

The others reacted much the same way. They could hardly be blamed—Bai Yi's mature appearance was genuinely intimidating. Just standing there, he gave people a sense of reassurance.

Bai Yi briefly looked over the people present, trying to match them with the names in his mind.

Seeing Bai Yi's awkwardness, a steady-looking middle-aged man with a well-maintained physique took the initiative to walk up to him and extend a hand.

"Dog Bro, we finally meet. I'm Zhang Zhen."

"Hello." Bai Yi extended his hand as well.

Then Zhang Zhen began introducing everyone to Bai Yi one by one:

"This was Xie Xu, a young man with an inexplicable smile constantly tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"This was Wei Fen, a gentle woman.

"This was Li Zihua, a somewhat taciturn and shy young man.

"This was Tang Zheng, a muscular giant standing 190 centimeters tall.

"This was Mu Mu, a young girl clutching a cup of water."

As Zhang Zhen introduced them, Bai Yi greeted each of them in turn and accepted the cigarette Zhang Zhen handed him.

"You definitely know this one, Dog Bro. Wang Ziyi."

Bai Yi nodded slightly. Wang Ziyi had pulled him into the group, and he had seen what she looked like in the photos she sent during their chats afterward.

"I do know her."

After everyone had been introduced, Zhang Zhen clapped his hands.

"Little Wang, explain the situation to Dog Bro."

Wang Ziyi nodded. She first sent Bai Yi a screenshot, then began describing what had happened:

An hour earlier, everyone had arrived one after another. Before they began, Wang Ziyi took out the cherry tomatoes she had already planted and went outside the shelter to fetch water and wash them.

Tang Zheng offered to help, but the moment he stepped out of the shelter, he triggered an abnormal status. The Rotting Corpses around them immediately rushed over and completely swarmed the shelter.

This continued for ten minutes before the number of Rotting Corpses finally stopped increasing.

By now, more than half of the Rotting Corpses had dispersed on their own. At the same time, other Rotting Corpses were drawn over by their herd instincts, keeping the number outside at roughly three to four hundred.

Fortunately, Wang Ziyi had upgraded the shelter into a special shelter, allowing it to restore its durability by drawing nutrients from underground. Otherwise, it would not have even withstood the first wave.

But the nutrients in the surrounding area were nearly drained dry now, while the Rotting Corpses continued attacking the shelter without pause.

After roughly understanding the situation, Bai Yi opened the log.

[Autism]: For ten minutes, nearby aberrant demons can detect the player's location and hunt them down.

He checked his information panel. The abnormal status section showed that [The Displaced] had been triggered, but there was no [Autism].

At that moment, Wang Ziyi's anxious voice rang out. "Dog Bro, the shelter's about to give out! Xie Dog said you have a way!"

Noticing Bai Yi's gaze, Xie Xu gave an awkward smile.

"If one person goes out alone, [Autism] won't be triggered."

Xie Xu added.

Bai Yi nodded. He took out a lighter, somewhat awkwardly lit the cigarette, and put it in his mouth. Then he walked to the shelter's entrance.

"Open the door. I'll—"

Smoke drifted from Bai Yi's nose and mouth.

"Kill them all."