Chapter 32

If this vial of enhancer had a spirit, it would probably feel quite melancholic.

"What are you looking at?"

"I'm just looking, what's the big deal?"

"Keep looking!"

"What if I keep looking?"

"If you keep looking, I'll hit you!"

Such a conversation would clearly not happen to Chu Ci. He rubbed his chin and read the instructions several times. As for the test tube containing the enhancer, Cheng Rui was currently playing with it, knowing it wouldn't break even if dropped.

There's a bit of a problem! Chu Ci felt deeply regretful and called over Cheng Rui, squeezing the test tube in his hand.

"Obtained [Basic Enhancer]"—a very prominent notification appeared before Chu Ci.

This thing seems to have some value! Chu Ci pondered. He wasn't unfamiliar with taking items from the cycle world, but so far, only two items had triggered the notification from the Overlord: one was Red Queen, and the other was this Basic Enhancer.

Considering the conditions for exchanging Red Queen in the Overlord's space, Chu Ci couldn't help but understand the value of this item.

"An item that requires a side plot to exchange, it doesn't seem to be a common item." Chu Ci had a strong urge to use the enhancer right away, but thinking of the probabilities given in the instructions and the Overlord's space—0.03% chance of generating an undirected superpower, 49.97% chance of enhancing physical attributes to varying degrees, 50% chance of no effect, and only one use—this would require a stroke of luck to gain superpowers.

Chu Ci, considering his usual bad luck, restrained his urge to try it out.

"Take it easy, go slowly. We don't even know if this thing has quality control or a warranty. It might be a fake." Chu Ci whispered to himself, and the sound reached the ears of the organizers, making some people almost spit blood in anger.

The man in the military uniform wanted to activate the island control system and eliminate Chu Ci directly, but he knew he couldn't. Once he did that, the reputation would be ruined. "Damn, what is this guy suspicious about? Do we look like we would deceive people with fake items?"

This thought flashed through Chu Ci's mind. Fake? Could anything fake escape the Overlord's appraisal? He was just complaining about the extremely low probability of the enhancer.

Putting away the test tube and sweeping the food reserves in the tree hollow once again, Chu Ci greeted Cheng Rui: "Let's go, find your stepfather."

After this delay, the explosions from the direction of the military factory became less frequent, indicating that the second half was almost over. Considering the possibility of extra time, Chu Ci immediately bent down and carried Cheng Rui on his back.

"Hurry up, or they'll start fighting again."

Ironically, the direction Chu Ci was heading was completely opposite to the direction Yin Yihan was retreating. Otherwise, Chu Ci might have died before even meeting up with the others, ending his journey prematurely.

As soon as they stepped out of the almost untouched forest, the smell of gunpowder and unburned explosives hit them. The ground was churned up, and the scene was desolate.

Chu Ci's appearance immediately raised the alert of the military factory side. A few panicked shouts carried on the wind, and then four or five heads irregularly poked out and retreated from various cover points, observing the outside while avoiding being shot.

Soon, the other side also noticed the anomaly and someone shouted from a distance, crouching behind the wall: "The contestant on the other side, please leave, or you will be considered our enemy."

At this critical moment of resisting Yin Yihan, the contestants at the military factory neither wanted to waste energy guarding against others nor wanted to casually recruit teammates with unclear intentions. Therefore, a firm but not overly harsh attitude was necessary.

"Wait, we're on the same team." Chu Ci, not expecting to be rebuffed before even speaking, put Cheng Rui down, raised his hands high, and shouted to the other side: "Bond, it's me, Chu Ci. There's also a little girl named Cheng Rui here. We're allies."

"Bond?" The person on the wall hesitated, looking... like there was no ill intent?

Chu Ci's voice wasn't small, at least reaching inside the military factory, making two people simultaneously pause.

"Sir?"

"Cheng Rui?"

Bond glanced at Angus and secretly gave Chu Ci a thumbs up.

"Come on, Angus, let's go out and take a look." Bond put down his work and patted Angus on the shoulder.

"Okay!" Angus was also excited, his face a mix of guilt and worry, almost rushing out.

Climbing the wall, Angus immediately saw his stepdaughter Cheng Rui by Chu Ci's side and became excited: "Rui, it's me, it's Dad!" He shouted and jumped down the wall, running towards Cheng Rui.

"Dad." Cheng Rui shouted happily, her laughter like a silver bell, moving towards Angus.

The reunion of father and daughter was a touching and warm scene, even the allies who had fought together for two days were happy for them.

Chu Ci had just greeted Bond and was about to understand Bond's situation when Angus, holding Cheng Rui, came over to thank him: "Chu Ci, I'm really grateful you saved Cheng Rui. If you need anything, I'll help."

"Thank you, there will be an opportunity." Chu Ci smiled and nodded.

"By the way, how is your situation now? It doesn't look good." Chu Ci turned to Bond and began to ask about the situation.

"We now have five male contestants and four female contestants. Three of us, including me, have minor to moderate injuries, but it doesn't affect our combat ability. As for our supplies..." Bond's mouth was bitter, and he said with a pained expression: "The ammunition provided by the organizers is almost gone. We are now using our rest time to manufacture crude explosives, using the most primitive explosive packages to resist that woman."

"Good, you've worked hard." Chu Ci also felt sympathetic for Bond. Before entering the Overlord's space, the two of them hadn't considered the situation of being separated at the start. As a result, Bond, to play the role of a passerby, only had a few small tools on him, no gun, no magazine, and had been struggling against a veteran cycle player with bare hands.

Chu Ci completely believed that if Bond had enough tools and weapons, he could use various conditions to deal with Yin Yihan. A skilled housewife can't cook without rice!

Fortunately, the two of them successfully reunited, which was good news.

"I'll get your equipment out for you." Chu Ci immediately had the idea to arm Bond, but Bond stopped him with a look. "Wait, I have something to say to you, it's not convenient here." Chu Ci read this from Bond's face.

Bond quickly found a reason to create a private meeting space for the two of them.

"007, what's up?" After successfully reuniting, Chu Ci was a bit relaxed, leaning lazily against the grayish-white wall, asking slowly.

"Sir, I have a question for you?" Bond's expression was very serious, making Chu Ci also become serious.

"Ask away."

"Have you seen 'Island 72 Hours'?"

"What is it?"

"A movie."

"Wait a minute!" Chu Ci took out his laptop, searched for the keyword, and then shook his head: "No."

"But I have." Bond's words were often unexpected.

"What's going on?" Chu Ci was completely confused, thoroughly puzzled by Bond.

"I mean, a movie that hasn't appeared in your world, I have seen." Bond repeated and explained.

This time, if Chu Ci still didn't understand, he would be ashamed of his intelligence.

"What's the plot?" The Overlord's space using movies from other worlds as cycle world research projects would be studied later. Chu Ci's primary concern was the plot. Knowing the plot would allow him to participate in it, and participating in the plot would earn more reward points.

"The plot... has already been completed." Bond's expression was very strange, and after a long time, he squeezed out these words.

At the same time, a notification from the Overlord appeared in Chu Ci's mind.

"Rescue Cheng Rui, protect Cheng Rui until she is returned to Angus, 103 hours, 77% completion, 2310 reward points, two D-level side plots."

Chu Ci's mouth twitched. What was this? Good deeds bring good rewards? Did he look like a good person? Chu Ci believed that at least the contestants who died at his hands would never agree with this.

"Besides this plot, are there any other plots?" Chu Ci rubbed his chin, his expression the same as Bond's. "Introduce me to the complete plot."

"Sure." Bond briefly and clearly explained the plot to Chu Ci.

A classic Hollywood individual heroism movie, telling the story of a father and daughter, Angus and Cheng Rui, who are not blood-related, being captured by evil forces to participate in a killing game on an island. Before this, the fastest record for completing the task was 72 hours. So, after the father and daughter were separated, Angus, a member of the Navy SEALs, had to find his daughter as quickly as possible and break through the evil forces to return to a peaceful life.

Along the way, Angus experienced various hardships, betrayal from teammates, the despicable actions of enemies, and the anxiety brought by Cheng Rui's disappearance, but he overcame all these. In the end, within 72 hours, Angus not only found Cheng Rui but also completed the requirements of the killing game and, when the organizers returned them, destroyed the enemy's lair and defeated the evil forces.

"That's the general plot." Bond spread his hands, his face showing a 'What the hell is this?' expression.

Chu Ci's expression was similar. If Bond watched the regular version, then what they were facing now was a heavily modified version. The intrusion of cycle players and the appearance of superpowered individuals meant that even with his protagonist aura, Angus would likely end up dead if Chu Ci and Bond were ignored.

"So, what's your suggestion?" Chu Ci rubbed his forehead, feeling a headache.

"First suggestion, eliminate everyone here, including Angus, and with the shares I've gathered over the past few days, we can directly return to the Overlord's space." Well, no wonder he's the heartless and emotionless agent 007, selling out his teammates right away.

"Change it, if it's a matter of the heart, I've killed hundreds of people." Chu Ci's mouth twitched, and he waved his hand, asking Bond to change the plan.

"Oh, since we have a way out, we can implement the second plan, which is the best plan." Bond immediately beamed. "Let's go and talk to the female tyrant outside. I'm sure a lucrative side quest can turn enemies into friends."

PS: Haha, who guessed Cheng Rui's true identity? She is actually a plot character, and the heroine!