After leaving the school and returning to the urban district, a light rain began to fall from the sky.
More accurately, the ceiling had begun to spray water.
"Simulated acid rain," Xin Ye remarked, retrieving a prepared umbrella from his fragments. He sent a message to Lian Muyun, telling him to take cover in a building and wait for him to deliver a raincoat. "To simulate rain on such a massive scale—Headquarters is certainly pulling out all the stops."
Tang Qiuqiu transformed into a cat and huddled on Xin Ye’s shoulder. "How long will this rain last?"
Xin Ye checked the weather forecast on his watch. "Since it’s a simulation, it’ll likely last the entire round."
Since the apocalypse began, the frequency of sun and rain had become extreme; every rainy period typically lasted about two months.
A pale silver mixed liquid flowed from a built-in container at the tip of the umbrella, filling the narrow gap between the two layers of transparent fabric. A special substance seeped through tiny pores in the upper layer, forming a protective film that filtered out the harmful substances in the rain.
The four of them entered the old building where Lian Muyun was resting. Xin Ye closed his umbrella, gave it a quick shake, and headed upstairs with Tang Qiuqiu to find their teammate.
On the top floor, Lian Muyun had just found a vantage point he liked. He watched the raindrops drift through a window blown open by the wind, landing just centimeters away from him.
"It’s too dark. Visibility is poor out there," he said, reaching out for the raincoat as soon as he saw Xin Ye approach.
Xin Ye handed him a raincoat of the same silver hue as the umbrella, then pulled out a pair of goggles. The dry ball of fur on his shoulder reached out a paw to steady the frames as he put them on. "Thanks for the hard work, meow," Tang Qiuqiu chirped.
As the scenery in his vision brightened again, the mood of the team’s lone scout improved. "It’s no trouble. Mission guaranteed."
And so, the group hurried back into the curtain of rain.
The junction between the Urban Area and the Natural Area lay directly to the north. Logically, having finished collecting the first material, the team should have headed straight into the second zone to begin the next phase of their search. However, Xin Ye suddenly requested they double back and linger in the Urban Area.
His surface explanation was: "Moving too fast isn't necessarily a good thing. No one has scouted the Natural Area for traps yet. Let's wait a bit and gather intel on the red material while we're at it, so we don't have to turn back if it's not in the remaining two zones."
The reality was:
Xun Yin: [The remaining three teams have entered the field.]
Xun Yin: [The 5th Division team has given up on themselves. They’re planning to rest at the entrance of the Natural Area and ambush anyone who passes. The other three had a small skirmish at the entrance, trading some HP. Want to guess what made them stop?]
"If the skirmish was meant to eliminate each other, the only reason for a ceasefire would be a method that allows all three teams to advance together."
The slightly murky droplets were pulled into straight lines by gravity, shrouding the ruined city in an oppressive atmosphere. Xin Ye raised a hand above his head, wanting to touch the darkness spreading through the city, but only felt the dampness soaking into his glove.
"They’ve set their sights on us and the 5th Division."
Wolves in front, tigers behind.
Xun Yin: [Precisely. But don't blame me for tripping you up; this is just how these people are programmed to act.]
Under the flickering streetlights of a narrow alley, the sound of footsteps splashing through puddles rang out.
"I can tell the difference between you sabotaging me and a normal difficulty spike," Xin Ye said, opening the map on his watch. This residential area was still some distance from the TV tower. "Where are they now?"
Xun Yin: [Quite a ways off. Enough for you to get into the TV tower. Fan Shuwan shared the intel on the yellow material with the 1st Division team; they’re retracing your steps.]
"...I knew that refined-looking guy had too many schemes. There was no way that intel would stay exclusive to us."
Fortunately, he had made quite a scene, scaring off a large portion of the creeping vines and blasting a basement full of them into ash, which would significantly increase the difficulty for those following behind.
The TV tower was located near the center of the Urban Area. When they had passed it on the way to the school district, Xin Ye had noted it as an excellent observation point—those above could see below, but those below couldn't see above.
He used the excuse of resting to lead the team there.
Xun Yin mentioned that the red material was on the TV tower, but it was currently unobtainable.
The tower was over four hundred meters tall, the elevators were broken, and climbing the emergency stairs was out of the question. Thus, Xun Yin suggested they just climb a few floors, and he would make the material "walk down" itself.
Then, the group ran into Fu Shu on the fifth floor.
The man wore a staff badge on his chest and greeted them nonchalantly. "What a coincidence."
"In here to dodge the rain? If you're not in a hurry, take a break."
The observation hall on the fifth floor was filled with tables and chairs, all covered in a thick layer of dust since no one usually used them. Naturally, no one sat down.
Fu Shu was merely offering polite platitudes to acquaintances. Seeing that they intended to rest on their own, he turned to leave.
Xin Ye stuffed a water bottle and compressed rations into Xing Yue’s hands and chased after him.
The two stopped in a side hall.
"Other monitors look like they can be bribed; I wonder if you're the same," Xin Ye said, shoving a biscuit bar toward Fu Shu. "Care to chat?"
Fu Shu readily accepted the bribe from his "life-and-death" comrade.
"Go ahead, what do you want to ask?" Before the conversation officially began, he took a bite of the biscuit.
"The worldview," Xin Ye said. "I don't buy that line about 'simulating a mission state.' The preliminaries had an independent world setting; there's no reason the finals wouldn't."
"So, what do you know?"
Fu Shu arched an eyebrow. "Give me one more biscuit and I'll tell you."
Xin Ye gave him another. The man with the loose lips actually started spilling information.
The requirement for this mission was ostensibly to "collect" materials, but in truth, it was to "recover" them.
The creeping vines had returned to the school district where Headquarters first discovered them, and the other two mutated species had fled to their respective habitats. Consequently, Headquarters dispatched five teams to recover these precious research materials.
The yellow resin belonged to the Urban Area, the white to the Natural Area, and the blue to the Water Area.
"As for the special red material, all I know is that it’s also an escapee. Anything else?"
Xin Ye watched the "escapee" in front of him happily munching on a biscuit and tilted his head. "Why is inter-team combat allowed this time? Is it just to emphasize that this is an elimination-based competition?"
Fu Shu stopped chewing.
"That is an excellent question."
"Do you think it's possible... that among the five teams, there are opposing factions, and one side needs to be eliminated by force?"
"Which ability users does Headquarters dislike? Which ones do they have no intention of hiring as official employees?"
***
The third team had just passed by outside the TV tower.
Xun Yin: [Wait another fifteen minutes, then you can head out. You’ll reach the Natural Area tonight and can get a good night's rest.]
Xun Yin had already planned the schedule. [Thought of a way to break through the 5th Division's blockade?]
"I have," Xin Ye said, looking out the glass with a somewhat weary expression. "Let's just send them out of the competition."
"They had a six-hour head start and gained zero advantage. Now they're wallowing in self-pity and blocking my path. Might as well eliminate them."
He didn't voice the rest of his thoughts; Xun Yin could hear them anyway.
He had just confirmed with Xun Yin that the 5th and 8th Division teams were the unlucky ones—not just because they had the lowest average ability levels, but because they had "no connection" to Headquarters yet had stubbornly made it this far.
Teams disliked by Headquarters wouldn't be able to survive for long, even if they forced their way into the top three.
Xun Yin: [In twenty-four hours, the two teams selected to 'assist the mutants' escape' will receive a notification. It looks like their path to victory is preventing you from obtaining the red material. In reality, if they actually win that way, Headquarters won't keep them for long.]
Xun Yin: [Martial force, wisdom, loyalty—Headquarters is only testing these three things. The last one might not help you win, but it determines whether you live or die after the game.]
Fifteen minutes later, Xin Ye said "Let's go" to his teammates.
The rain intensified as night fell, the sound of droplets hammering the ground masking many other noises.
Under the dim moonlight, they approached the border between the Urban and Natural Areas.
The boundary was simply marked by a white wall, with a gap in the middle serving as the passage. The broken ends of the wall hadn't been patched with white paint, exposing the red bricks bonded by cement.
Two tents were pitched at the passage. Xin Ye stood under his umbrella in the overgrown garden of a derelict villa, a receiver hooked over his ear. "I'm too lazy to look closely. Why don't you take a peek through your scope?"
"Sure, I'll take a look for you." Lian Muyun was prone atop a high wall. The freezing rain beneath him made him shiver, but his mouth wouldn't stop. "...The sentry looks like he's dying of boredom. His head is nodding off. Forget you standing in the garden—you could walk two steps in front of him and he wouldn't see you. This level of professionalism and they made the top five? Ridiculous."
"Why else would they say talent is scarce and they're only hiring three teams?"
Xin Ye nodded to Tang Qiuqiu, who was already wearing a raincoat. The B-rank ability user shifted into a cat, and the silver raincoat transformed into a thin membrane clinging to the feline's body, complete with tiny rain boots on his paws.
The yellow-and-white cat trotted forward, approaching the tents.
"I've sent Tang Qiuqiu over to lighten your load," the commander said, his gaze forward, calm and cold. "Use the silencer this time. We don't want to attract nearby teams."
"Got it. I'm on it."
Lian Muyun aimed at the sentry's head, quietly waiting for the moment.
Once Tang Qiuqiu entered the first tent, he shifted back into human form.
Rainwater dripped onto the uniforms of the sleeping men, but the dampness was too natural to wake someone in a deep slumber.
Claws pressed against a throat, a glint flashing in the cat-like eyes.
He moved with lethal speed.
The limiter virtualized the claws as they sank into flesh, ensuring no actual pain was felt. Invisible blood sprayed from the hole beneath the Adam's apple, but it wasn't until the virtual HP dropped into the red and the watch emitted an alarm that the victim jolted awake—realizing he was "dead."
Tang Qiuqiu knocked him out with a swift chop to the neck and immediately moved on to the second person.
The two alarms finally startled the man at the tent entrance, who had been huddling under his jacket to dodge the rain. He took one look at the scene inside and scrambled in a panic, trying to run and warn his two teammates in the other tent.
Before he could even stand up, a transparent bullet pierced the center of his forehead. A third multi-function watch beeped its alarm, then quickly fell silent.
HP zeroed out.
Lian Muyun heard the sound of the shot and clicked his tongue in annoyance. The silencer couldn't fully mask the sound, which made him feel uneasy, unable to achieve perfect stealth.
Therefore, to regain his peace of mind, he had to eliminate all remaining enemies.
The other two emerged from their tent, eyes bleary with sleep. Before they could process the scene, Tang Qiuqiu lunged forward, his claws swiping at a lethal point on the throat. Lian Muyun didn't wait for Tang Qiuqiu to move; he sniped the other person the moment their head appeared. The virtualized bullet grazed Tang Qiuqiu's face, docking a fraction of his HP.
The cat ears beneath the raincoat bristled, but he followed Xin Ye’s orders, knocking the men unconscious and tossing them back into the tent.
By the time Xin Ye, Leng Xianye, and Xing Yue walked over, the obstacles had been completely cleared.
The team leader reached out to smooth down the bristling cat fur, then looked at the tents. He mouthed silently, "Goodnight. Sleep well."
Then, cloaked in the night, he led his team into the Natural Area.
***
