Time to Eat!

"Oh! Look who's guarding the commander. Oh~ It's our sunny boy~" The next morning, Zhuang Xiaolin had just woken up when he saw a guy striking a cool pose, dressed a little like Surge from Brawl Stars, posing at him and glaring provocatively at Doc, who stood guard beside him.

"Mozzie, have you forgotten how we got beaten into submission because of you last time?" A man in heavy armor and a French military uniform stood behind Mozzie, a P90 in his hands.

"Rook, Mozzie, cut it out, okay? The commander still needs plenty of rest." A woman wearing a felt hat, a thick coat and body armor, with a Canadian flag patch on her shoulder, leaned against the side.

"Frost, aren't you interested in hunting? We can watch things here."

A man in Russian heavy body armor, wearing an Altun helmet and holding a DP27 light machine gun with a pan magazine, spoke up.

"Tachanka, this isn't free time. The commander is not out of danger yet. We need to escort him until he is safe."

Frost pushed herself off the wall and slowly took a 9mm C1 submachine gun from behind her back.

"Montagne, Glaz, you can come in now," Tachanka shouted toward the cave entrance.

Before long, a burly man in French heavy armor, his head wrapped in a mask and helmet, slowly walked in carrying a massive shield. A French flag patch sat on his shoulder.

A sniper wearing a headset and face mask, dressed in camouflage, followed behind him. A Russian flag patch rested on his shoulder, while his "artist-like" eyes were utterly captivating.

Zhuang Xiaolin did not know what to say. He merely checked the rules of the Rainbow Six Squad card beside him in silence.

[Rainbow Six Squad (Purple) LV1 (1/1000)]

[Description: When the world fell into peril, a legendary squad appeared when it needed them most. Its members came from every region. Some were officers and soldiers, while others were thugs or mechanical experts. Yet without exception, they all eventually became part of this squad. Amid explosive, dazzling fireworks, a shield and a flag stood tall before the world.]

[Initial effect: Randomly summons seven Operators into reality. Operators may carry all weapons and equipment, and come with ammunition, food, and water. These refresh once per day. Depending on the nature of an Operator's skill, skill refresh times vary.]

[Each level gained enhances Operators' physical attributes, weapon damage, and skill effects. Every ten levels unlocks one branch and seven new Operators. A major branch unlocks at level 50, and the final branch unlocks at level 100.]

Only after reading it carefully did Zhuang Xiaolin realize that this damn thing was random. No wonder he had been so muddled yesterday.

"The commander is weak. Frost, go outside and try to hunt something."

Doc examined Zhuang Xiaolin's condition and spoke to Frost, who had already been prepared nearby.

Frost silently picked up her gun and walked out of the cave. Rook looked around, then slowly pulled an armor pack from behind his back. Opening it, he took out a ballistic plate and handed it to Zhuang Xiaolin.

Zhuang Xiaolin frowned deeply as he watched. He slowly accepted the ballistic plate, but the instant he took it, his hands and feet began moving on their own. His hands skillfully slid the plate into the inside of his clothes.

"The commander lacks protection. This ballistic plate refreshes once every hour, so the commander can stack one layer of defense per hour." Rook knew the rules regarding their abilities, limitations, and refresh times fairly well.

Once Rook set down the armor pack, the group, who had been scattered around moments ago, instantly swarmed over. One after another, they hurriedly grabbed ballistic plates and stuffed them into their vests.

This was what they called "eating." A good Rook usually handed out the entire armor pack during the preparation phase. Even if there were plates left over, he would immediately blow it up rather than give the enemy any chance to eat them.

After putting on the ballistic plate, Zhuang Xiaolin felt as though there was nothing at all on his chest. He was curious whether it truly was a ballistic plate, whether it had fused with his body, or whether some kind of rule was affecting it.

Zhuang Xiaolin quite liked playing Rainbow Six, so he naturally knew these Operators' abilities well.

Doc, commonly known as the "revolver quack," had a stim pistol. It could instantly revive downed teammates and restore them to full health, even granting some extra health.

Rook's ability was to place an armor pack for teammates to use. As long as they were not shot in fatal areas such as the head, they could go down and revive themselves under other circumstances.

Tachanka, commonly known as the "machine gun guy," wielded a weapon called the Loud Launcher. It could fire incendiary grenades that bounced and burned enemies.

Frost's ability was to place a hunting trap called a Welcome Mat. Any enemy who stepped on it would immediately be downed.

Mozzie's ability was a weapon called the Pest Launcher. It could fire small machines that hacked mobile enemy mechanical units.

Montagne, commonly known as the "big shield," carried the Le Roc extendable shield. When danger arose, it could fully deploy into a huge shield that protected him across 180 degrees.

Glaz carried an OTs-03 semi-automatic marksman rifle. It had a small magazine capacity but high damage, and came equipped with a folding scope. Through complex image sensors, it could outline distant targets, see through smoke, and under normal circumstances even detect human bodies.

Each of these Operators had their own distinctive abilities. Zhuang Xiaolin had arrived in this unfamiliar place without knowing anyone, constantly worried that he would starve to death or die where he stood. At last, those risks had been lifted.

A little over ten minutes after Frost left, she returned with a deer-like animal. Glaz and Tachanka, two Russian counterterrorism soldiers who had received training in distant Siberia, began skillfully processing the prey.

Frost often hunted in Canada as well, so she was quite proficient at handling prey. However, under the two men's enthusiastic insistence, the animal was ultimately left to them.

They skillfully separated the hide from the meat and handed the choicest cut to Doc.

Doc did not hesitate. He made another campfire and had Tachanka light it with an incendiary grenade from his launcher. Montagne fashioned a simple pot, and everyone got busy, leaving only Frost and Mozzie with nothing to do.

One of them went outside to keep watch, while the other stayed beside the commander. Naturally, Mozzie was the one who went out. Frost put away her gun, clicked on the safety, then slowly sat down beside the commander and began chatting with him, one sentence after another.

Though Frost had no interest in things outside the mission, chatting with teammates and building rapport was something she could grudgingly manage.

In that harmonious atmosphere, everyone enjoyed a hearty meal before resting in shifts. The day passed quickly, and during that time, Zhuang Xiaolin and the others stacked several more layers of ballistic plates.

The ballistic plates were especially miraculous. Their supply was virtually endless, but each person could only take one during each interval. Although wearing them did not feel like much, Zhuang Xiaolin could clearly sense an increasingly invisible layer of defense around his body—heavy, solid, and reassuring.

And so, the second day arrived.