PFRG: Chapter 187

The person who spoke was the captain of the Jazz team, Qu Leng.

He felt the attention from everyone around him and smiled calmly. “When faced with absolute danger, you should know how to make choices better than I do. Of course, if someone can come up with a better solution, I can cooperate unconditionally. There is no problem.”

No one spoke.

Chi Ting’s gaze swept across the players from other teams and he raised an eyebrow lightly.

Obviously, the others had also realized that what Qu Leng said was indeed true.

After all, according to the mission details that were known so far, there was no disclosure on how to make judgments when facing the so-called infection. The final result only said that no source of infection could be allowed to enter the safe area of the No 2 stronghold. If they wanted to completely eliminate hidden dangers, eliminating potential risks was undoubtedly the most permanent way.

This might cause players to lose the trust points they could gain from completing the escort mission, but it at least ensured that these players wouldn’t face any risk of infection after arriving at the safe zone.

Compared to their own safety, what was sacrificed were just some NPCs in the instance.

But were they really just NPCs?

At this moment, the residents whose appearance had been completely changed were still standing there motionless, with dull movements and expressions.

Chi Ting saw this scene and couldn’t help recalling the blood everywhere.

In fact, when facing life and death, even if facing a fellow living creature instead of an NPC, humans standing at the highest point would still make the choice of complete sacrifice.

The other members of the Dawn team hadn’t expressed their opinions so far. Chi Ting knew that they, like him, were recalling the events of the past.

The designer of this instance was obviously very aware of everything that happened in the Benisaf Fortress that year.

The successive attacks by alien species put great pressure on the front lines, but the situation was still stabilized with the arrival of support teams. Afterward, the outside world had lingering fear when talking about the situation at that time. What many people didn’t know was that the so-called Benisaf Massacre didn’t refer to the waves of alien attacks from the front, but was completely caused by the outbreak of infection in the safe zone in the rear.

No one knew where the initial source of infection appeared from. By the time they reacted, it had already spread completely.

People who were infected didn’t have symptoms during the early incubation period. Once discovered, it was completely out of control.

People kept getting infected, people kept getting alienated, and accidents happened all over the safe zone… No one knew whether the friend they were chatting and laughing with would completely lose their mind and become a monster who would kill them the next second. Everyone became wary and suspicious of other people around them. A completely uncontrollable fear spread silently in every corner of the Benisaf Fortress.

Upon receiving such news, the coalition government quickly deployed new instructions. However, under the circumstances where they had no control over the source, they could only watch more and more infected people being born. The situation got even worse.

In the end, the guards originally responsible for protecting the people received such an order:

Once the absolute safety of a resident couldn’t be confirmed, all of them would be killed.

At that time, the Dawn people led by Chi Ting were still fighting on the front lines and had no idea what the residents they had escorted to the safe zone were facing. By the time they discovered the raging fire in the rear while fighting the alien army, it was too late to stop it. They returned to the safe zone as soon as possible, but what they saw was a whole area burned to ashes. There wasn’t even a complete body left.

In accordance with the above instructions, in order to prevent the infection from spreading further, all personnel in any area where the source of infection appeared would be treated as infected.

There was a faint breeze blowing, making the hair on Chi Ting’s cheeks slightly messy.

The corners of his lips curled up, and he smiled silently.

Thinking about it carefully, the decision made by the coalition government at that time was much more cruel and inhumane than it was now.

But if they allowed it to go unchecked, more people might end up dying from the infection in the end.

Remove the firewood from under the cauldron.

For them, who were used to dealing with their comrades before the alienation became too high, this should actually be something that was very familiar to them.

However, the people of the Benisaf Fortress weren’t people with special abilities like them, but ordinary civilians.

Perhaps compared to these human morals, the most important thing for them was how to live in peace.

Was it right to deprive people who might not be at risk of death just because of the risks that other people might face?

“How about this?” In the silence, He Yuanqing was the first to speak up. “There are less than two hours before the infection breaks out. No matter what, we still need to find a solution to the problem. If there is no progress towards the end, then… we can only do what Captain Qu suggested.”

Ji Xingque was the first to get anxious when these words came out. “Why are you following his suggestion? No matter what, we can’t just kill people randomly!”

“People?” A team member nearby was stunned and pointed at the motionless NPC residents. “You actually call these things people? Wake up, little brother. Don’t you know where this place is? They are NPCS! Man-made NPCs!”

“What’s wrong with an NPC? Who said that an NPC isn’t…” Ji Xingque was eager to go up and argue, but he felt his body become lighter. Before he could take two steps forward, he was dragged back by Hua Qianmei. He immediately became furious. “Sister Meimei, why are you stopping me?”

“If I don’t stop you, will you just go up and argue with them? With your mouth, you won’t be able to win an argument. Leave the problem to people like Lu Nanling, who are more thoughtful, and don’t join in the fun. Can’t you see that the captain hasn’t spoken yet? Why are you in such a hurry?” Hua Qianmei had a smile on her face, but her gaze was deep. She subtly lowered her voice so that only the two of them could hear it. “Let’s take a step back. Even if they want to do something, won’t we also be able to act?”

The ‘act’ in the latter part was obviously not the same as the ‘want to do something’ in the former part. Ji Xingque’s eyes lit up as he realized. “Sister Meimei, it has to be you!”

Seeing that Ji Xingque understood, Hua Qianmei let go of him and put him back on the ground. She pretended to pat off the dust on her hands. “Let’s go and see what the captain and the others are going to do.”

After He Yuanqing spoke, the members of the four teams also found their own places to discuss it.

The Dawn team was about to stand up when they saw a figure walking towards them from a distance.

After seeing who was coming clearly, the members of the Dawn team exchanged looks. They moved aside slightly and glanced at Chi Ting.

Lou Yueren paused and his eyebrows visibly twisted.

Chi Ting hadn’t expected Qi Xiu to come to him at this time. He asked in confusion, “Is there something?”

“Yes.” Qi Xiu nodded and looked directly at Chi Ting with a complicated expression. He thought for a moment before speaking, “The Benisaf Fortress should be a scene you have experienced before.”

Judging from the time alone, Qi Xiu had died long before the establishment of the Dawn team. He naturally had no idea of the situation of the Benisaf Fortress. But Chi Ting wasn’t surprised that his former partner could detect something. This was why he didn’t intend to hide from this belated question. “This instance simulates a mission we accepted that year.”

“Sure enough, this is our original world…”

There was a brief silence before Qi Xiu shook his head helplessly. “Then I understand. As for Qu Leng, I will try my best to convince him.”

Chi Ting was slightly surprised after understanding what Qi Xiu meant. “You…”

“What about me?” Such an expression made Qi Xiu laugh a bit. “Are you trying to say that this isn’t my style? But with your style, even if you can’t find a solution in the end, you definitely won’t allow them to do it, right? In that case, why not let me step in first…”

Before he could finish his words, a tall figure suddenly intervened between them.

Qi Xiu looked at Lou Yueren, who appeared in front of him. Before he could speak, the other person had already opened the virtual panel and made a polite gesture for him to look at the countdown number on it. Even his tone sounded extremely gentle and elegant. “Sorry, if there is anything you need to communicate, please talk when it is convenient. Now the time is indeed quite tight. If you want to solve the problem better, I think it is best to focus on meaningful things. What do you think?”

Qi Xiu paused. After hearing the word ‘you’, he could only smile back. “Indeed, now that I have understood what I want to know, I will go back first.”

Lou Yueren smiled and waved. “We won’t see you off.”

Chi Ting stood there without saying much until he met Lou Yueren’s gaze. Then he slightly raised an eyebrow and gave a sincere comment, “You look quite polite when you are jealous.”

The identity of the person standing opposite him changed, and Lou Yueren’s fake smile instantly became much brighter. He put his hand on Chi Ting’s shoulder and walked forward. “After all, he is your old partner. I should give Captain Chi some face. In addition, why am I jealous? I am telling the truth. Time is really tight now. If this instance is really designed by No 7, this pervert plays with human nature all day long. Now he is using time to pressure us. He must’ve set some trap…”

Chi Ting suddenly asked, “You just said, what time?”

“Time is tight? After all, there are less than two hours. Completing this task in such a short time is indeed a bit…” Lou Yueren answered. Then something flashed through his mind, and his steps paused slightly. “By the way, time.”

Chi Ting opened the virtual panel and went over the mission details again. Then a smile gradually appeared in his eyes.

It was indeed like this.

The key point of this emergency mission had never been the source of infection, but time.