The first round of tower defense was still going on, but in the second half, the style had become like a civil engineering site.
Combined with the screen image of the Dawn team being divided into six, the audience watching the live stream in the square felt somewhat disconnected.
“What is the Dawn team doing in this instance?”
“Didn’t you hear the previous conversation? They said that this instance seems to be their original world?”
“You must be kidding. Unless they are NPCs, an instance is just an instance. How can it be linked to the real world?”
“F*k now that you mention it… are they really NPCs?”
“What nonsense!”
“Stop arguing. Is this the main point? Isn’t the main point now that the individual skills of the members of the Dawn team are so awesome!”
Honestly, compared to some of the top teams that had long been famous, the Dawn team really wasn’t good except for the news that God Lou was in charge. It was only due to the presence of the less favored Jazz team that their support rate didn’t become the lowest among all the teams.
However, at this moment, watching them showing their prowess one after another, the players outside finally realized that the abilities of the Dawn team weren’t inferior to the top players.
If there was a question that bothered them now, it was probably—why were these people so keen on burying all the aliens? Regardless of their enthusiasm, were these skilled actions that seemed to have been performed countless times really serious?
The fighting in the instance gradually subsided.
The number of attacks by the alien army in the first round was astonishing, but it still came to a smooth end due to the full resistance of the top teams.
The battlefield returned to peace, with only dust and sand left.
Occasionally, there were some tissue remains exposed outside, but even more had been buried in the ground. Only mounds of earth visible everywhere were left, rising one after another in strange harmony.
The countdown on the virtual panel had been updated when the first round of the alien army was launched. Now that the initial 12 hours had passed, the remaining time was less than 9 hours, but it was still enough for repairs.
According to this situation, if the interval between every two waves of monster attacks was 12 hours, they only needed to deal with two waves of attacks every day in the instance. The only thing to be afraid of was that each subsequent refresh would shorten the countdown time. Combine this with the continuous increase in the number of monsters, and the pressure on players would only increase.
After the battle, they returned to the safe zone. The battle-hardened team members quickly went to rest and recuperate.
Compared to the Jazz team, who had been participating in the battle in the rear, the others were much more tired than when they first entered the instance. However, it was obvious that they weren’t focused on resting but looking toward Chi Ting and the others.
Qiu Ji had known Dawn earlier than everyone else, so he directly asked the question that had been bothering him. “Captain Chi, why did you bury all these monsters?”
“This…” Chi Ting glanced at Lu Nanling.
The latter understood. He adjusted the position of his glasses and gave a very direct answer. “To avoid unnecessary radiation infection.”
“Radiation infection?” Qiu Ji was stunned for a moment, but soon figured out what it meant. “You mean these monsters…”
Lu Nanling nodded. “It should be what you think it means.”
He stated calmly, “Internal exposure will have minimal impact on the short term, but if left unchecked, the longer the time, the more serious the radiation will be. If it is a wasteland that has been abandoned, it would be fine. But according to the current situation, we still need to resist at least one more wave of enemy attacks here. In this case, if we leave it unchecked… To put it simply, for example, in the battle just now, the increase in the degree of alienation was only 2% without too much close contact. But in the high-radiation area, the increase is enough to reach 20%.”
Degree of alienation.
This was obviously a very unfamiliar term to many people, causing the others present to secretly exchange looks.
Qiu Ji roughly understood. “What will happen if the alienation level is too high?”
“What will happen?” Lu Nanling laughed when he heard this. His expression seemed like he was facing a low-quality question from an elementary school student. He pointed to the silent field outside and said slowly, “Probably, the person will completely lose their minds like those alien species.”
The words were plain and simple, but when they entered people’s ears, they seemed to go straight to the heart, making them feel creepy.
Qiu Ji opened his mouth and wanted to ask something else but finally swallowed it back.
But after all, he had contact with the Dawn team for some time. He still had a certain degree of trust in Chi Ting and his team. In comparison, this wasn’t necessarily the case for the other people they were meeting for the first time in the instance.
A figure walked out from the crowd. It was Lang Xuelin, the captain of the Heichao team.
He still had a smile on his face. His narrow eyes were curved, and he looked very good-tempered. However, deep in his eyes was a look of inquiry that he didn’t intend to conceal. “I know it is very presumptuous to ask this. I am very sorry, everyone in Dawn, but I still feel it is necessary to bother you to tell me. These things aren’t mentioned in the initial rules. How did you know about them?”
The moment this question came out, the surrounding discussions also quieted down. For a moment, one could feel everyone’s attention focused on him.
Lang Xuelin stared straight at Chi Ting. His expression was humble, but his attitude was firm.
The feeling of awe without anger came entirely from the absolute strength that had walked between life and death many times. If it was an ordinary player, they would’ve subconsciously wanted to surrender long ago. However, Chi Ting looked at him like this, and his expression remained the same. After a few seconds, he smiled suddenly and answered politely, “I’m afraid that you, Captain Lang, will have to find the answers to these questions. After all, If I remember correctly, there seems to be a competitive relationship between us. We aren’t close enough to talk about everything.”
This answer obviously surprised Lang Xuelin, but he had no room for rebuttal. He paused before smiling faintly. “Indeed,I was abrupt.”
He glanced at the current countdown time. “Then before the second wave of attacks begins, it would be best for us ‘rivals’ to move freely and explore on our own.”
Lang Xuelin said this and left with the Heichao team.
Afterward, the other teams also dispersed one after another. He Yuanqing and Qiu Ji had a good relationship with the Dawn team, so they at least came over to say goodbye before leaving.
In the flash, the surroundings became empty. The Jazz team, who remained there motionless, seemed more and more out of place.
Chi Ting looked at Qi Xiu standing next to Qu Leng, only to notice someone approaching. He turned around and happened to meet Lou Yueren’s smiling gaze. Before he could say anything, he was pulled away. “What’s wrong?”
Lou Yueren did this and calmly asked Chi Ting to turn his back to the Jazz team’s defense line. He glanced at the tall figure in the distance, who was obviously looking at this side, and said with a smile, “Nothing. I just feel a bit surprised. When Lang Xuelin asked you just now, I was afraid that you would say that you came out of the world of this instance.”
Chi Ting laughed. “I’m not stupid. How could I possibly say something that might cause trouble?”
“You aren’t stupid, right?” Lou Yueren fixed his gaze on the face right next to him, and the corners of his mouth curled up. “Wouldn’t it be troublesome to just go over and clean up the mess without any preparations? You might not like to hear some of these words, but sometimes I still think I should remind you that providing excessive help to others might not necessarily make them appreciate it. You have already seen the attitude of those people just now. That type of questioning and vigilant look isn’t the right attitude to have towards a lifesaver.”
Chi Ting told him, “I didn’t intend to ask for any thanks.”
“But I feel it is unworthy of you.”
Chi Ting was stunned for a moment when he heard these words.
He met Lou Yueren’s gaze for a long time before suddenly smiling. “Okay, it isn’t worth it. I got your message.”
“You…” Lou Yueren was about to say something, but was forced to take a step forward under Chi Ting’s guidance. He glanced at the two hands that were being held very naturally and could only smile helplessly. “Forget it.”
Hearing this bitter and vengeful tone, Chi Ting laughed and didn’t continue the topic. He called the others from a distance and led Lou Yueren to a small path nearby.
This path was much more hidden than the avenue outside, and looked like a mess. It was as if no one had passed by for a long time.
Ji Xingque had always obeyed the captain’s orders. He was just following the group the whole way. He only reacted belatedly when he got deeper. “Hey? Isn’t this…?”
“Yes, the underground entrance,” Chi Ting replied. “In the initial rules, Rule 4 mentioned supplies, and Rule 7 mentioned residents. I was busy dealing with the first wave of monster attacks and didn’t have time to search too much. Now that I have some free time, I can go and take a look. After all, it seems that no one has been active on the ground for a long time. If the so-called supplies and residents are real, they are either in other bases or…”
As he spoke, he stopped in front of a wall. He groped around for a while before finding the mechanism hidden on it. “It is hidden underground.”
After entering the password from memory, the plywood on the ground opened up, and a door appeared in front of everyone.
The underground entrance appeared.
Chi Ting said, “Light a fight.”
Ji Xingque was in a daze, but upon hearing this, he took out a small fire with a skill.
Except for Lou Yueren, it wasn’t the first time for everyone else to come here. It was just that their feelings were a bit complicated after recalling the scenes during the mission and revisiting the old place.
The narrow passage was bottomless. They finally reached the bottom after groping along the way. Chi Ting turned on the dim ceiling light with a click. Before he could observe the surroundings, a voice rang out without warning. “Who is it?”
Chi Ting looked over when he heard the voice. Before he could speak, Ji Xingque had already shouted in surprise, “Conrad? You’re still alive?”
The soldier standing not far away held a spear in his hand. His alert expression didn’t subside at all. He just repeated, “Who is it?”
“How could it be…” Seeing such an attitude, the joy on Ji Xingque’s face suddenly froze. He felt a strange feeling, as if an electric current jumped from the soles of his feet directly to the top of his head.
He looked back with a slightly stiff feeling of numbness, and saw that the expressions of the others were also complicated.
As comrades who had fought side by side before, everyone obviously didn’t feel unfamiliar with him. But now—
Rather than saying he was an acquaintance, it was more accurate to say that the person who appeared before them was just an NPC in an instance.
Apparently, Conrad had no memory of them at all.
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