Chapter 4

The treasure-seeking rat leaped down from Link's hand.

Although it was still in its juvenile stage, being of the green quality, it was far superior in both speed and ability compared to an adult common rat.

The description of the treasure-seeking rat was impressive, but Link still held his dagger in his hand, not planning to place all his hopes on his pet.

If it were a professional class or a well-established strategy, countless players would have already tested and validated it, formulating an effective plan, allowing Link to act with confidence.

However, Link's current golden finger had never been obtained by any player before, making it a completely new path that required exploration. Given Link's cautious nature, he would not stake his life entirely on it.

The treasure-seeking rat moved along the walls of the maze, with Link closely following behind.

After a few turns, Link's eyes grew brighter.

The treasure-seeking rat really had something!

This little guy didn't lead him on any detours; it was taking the path that would lead out of the maze.

Squeak, squeak, squeak...

The treasure-seeking rat suddenly stopped, looked up at Link, and then at the wall.

Link's eyes widened in shock; he actually understood what the treasure-seeking rat meant!

Not long after the treasure-seeking rat finished, Link heard the sound of military boots.

Link crouched in the corner, dagger in hand, his small stature making him even less noticeable.

Due to the insect nest, a mental link had been established between Link and the treasure-seeking rat. Even without speaking, Link could give commands to the treasure-seeking rat.

The treasure-seeking rat squatted at Link's feet, mimicking his posture and movements, looking like a miniature version of Link.

Link found this quite helpless.

Children, being young, love to imitate adults.

╮(﹀_﹀」)╭

Perhaps because the treasure-seeking rat had just been born and its bones were not fully formed, after a short while of imitation, its back began to ache from the strain on its spine and muscles.

The treasure-seeking rat placed its little paws on its waist and began to rhythmically move its back, loosening the stiff muscles...

Link raised his hands in a gesture of innocence, swearing he didn't teach it that.

The sound of rubber-soled military boots on the ground became clearer, and Link could already lock onto the enemy's position.

Link patted the treasure-seeking rat, which was rubbing its back against the air.

The treasure-seeking rat stumbled, rubbed the back of its head, and lay down, entering a combat-ready state.

"Execute the plan!"

With a thought, Link issued the command, and the treasure-seeking rat received it.

The whiskers at the corners of its mouth and its super-sensitive sense of smell accurately outlined the image of the mercenary.

The sound of the mercenary's footsteps, wave after wave, was received by the treasure-seeking rat, confirming his exact path.

The treasure-seeking rat remained motionless, as if it had been frozen in the wild overnight.

But in the next second, the treasure-seeking rat suddenly stretched out its paws, scratched the wall, and threw small stones at it, creating various noises.

The mercenary, holding a pistol, though he claimed not to care, was still subconsciously cautious when turning the corner of the maze.

Navigating the maze was frustrating; if he had a grappling hook, he would have climbed over the wall instead of walking through the maze.

At this moment, the mercenary heard the noise from the corner ahead and smiled slightly.

Not running, but trying to ambush him in the corner, making everything even more intense?

I'm amused.

Since you love to play games, I'll play with you before you die.

The mercenary even imagined the scene: he would suddenly turn and shoot the slave in the head, the slave's eyes wide with disbelief, never understanding how he was exposed...

Dealing with such an injured, useless slave,

A sip of cappuccino's time would be enough.

The mercenary raised his gun, not bothering to hide his footsteps.

The noise from behind the corner was fleeting, making the mercenary even more certain that the kid was hiding behind the wall.

If he had escaped, there would have been no sound at all.

The mercenary lowered the muzzle of his gun a few inches, remembering that the slave was short. This height would allow him to aim at the slave's forehead as he turned the corner, giving him a surprise.

The treasure-seeking rat felt the mercenary getting close and began to execute the command.

It crouched on the ground, its back slightly arched, like a sprinter preparing to run.

"Go!"

As the mercenary lifted his foot to step forward, the treasure-seeking rat darted out from the corner.

The mercenary, focused on the slave hiding in the corner, was startled by the sudden appearance of a rat, causing him to shiver.

Caught off guard!

The treasure-seeking rat climbed up the mercenary's combat boots and onto his camouflage pants, then circled around to his back.

The mercenary instinctively turned and reached out to swat the rat, raising his gun hand a few inches.

This was the moment!

Link suddenly rushed out from the corner, immediately seeing the black pistol.

The sharp dagger flashed, plunging directly into the mercenary's olive-green T-shirt, straight into his heart!

[You hit the enemy's heart! Caused five times the critical damage!]

At the same time, Link saw a large number 120 appear above the mercenary, indicating a critical hit.

"Ah!"

The mercenary, caught off guard, was hit in a vital spot.

By the time he reacted to shoot, Link had already cleanly pulled out the dagger and retreated behind the corner.

Throughout the entire process, the mercenary never saw Link's face, only the edge of his linen shirt as he turned and left.

The dagger was pulled out of the chest, and the punctured heart immediately began to bleed, accompanied by a hissing sound. The mercenary's T-shirt was stained red, and blood sprayed everywhere.

The other mercenaries in the latter part of the maze heard their comrade's scream and were startled, shouting, "Brother, what's wrong? Say something!"

The treasure-seeking rat appeared on the mercenary's wrist, starting to gnaw at his hand holding the gun.

The mercenary fell to the ground, one hand clutching his bleeding heart, the other trying to raise his gun for self-defense. But the treasure-seeking rat clung to his hand, refusing to let go, continuing to gnaw.

-1!

-2!

-2!

...

Faint blue numbers kept appearing above the mercenary.

The treasure-seeking rat, enhanced with metal, had stronger teeth and a more powerful bite than a common rat.

In just a moment, the mercenary's hand was covered in blood.

"Help! Help me!"

The mercenary, enduring the pain, used all his strength to shout for help.

But before he could finish, several of his fingers were bitten off, and he could no longer hold the gun.

Clang!

The pistol fell to the ground.

Link's eyes lit up; this was the opportunity he had been waiting for.

He rushed out from the corner again, the sharp dagger in his hand now stained with blood.

"Don't come closer! Don't come closer!"

The mercenary panicked, kicking his legs backward.

With each movement, more blood gushed from between his fingers.

With the treasure-seeking rat focusing on the mercenary, Link ignored him and walked over to pick up the dropped pistol.

[You obtained a Glock 17 pistol.]

Link checked the interface; the magazine was full, and the gun hadn't been fired.

The Glock 17, named for its 17-round magazine capacity.

Link held the gun in one hand and the dagger in the other, blood dripping from his right arm, and walked up to the mercenary without expression.

In the mercenary's eyes, this slave had become the grim reaper.

Thud!

Another stab.

Into the throat, ending his life.

[You killed a Wasteland Gang mercenary, gaining 200 experience points.]

The treasure-seeking rat stopped gnawing and hopped around the mercenary's pockets, reminding Link that there were still valuable items on him.

As a veteran player with six years of experience, Link wouldn't forget to loot the body.

His hands skillfully searched the mercenary, and he found several good items.

[You obtained a multifunctional ammo belt x1, magazines x2]

The treasure-seeking rat stood on the mercenary's body, alert.

Link fastened the newly obtained ammo belt around his waist, then let down his linen shirt, making it impossible to see the gun from the outside.

"Now I don't have to hide the dagger in my pants anymore."

The multifunctional ammo belt had a dedicated slot for the dagger, and Link breathed a sigh of relief.

With two full magazines and 17 rounds of 9mm ammunition in the Glock, Link now had 51 bullets in total.

Link glanced at the treasure-seeking rat, surprised by its strong search ability and not weak attack power.

Though each bite only caused a few points of damage, its speed was impressive!

While Link was hiding, the treasure-seeking rat had bitten the mercenary at least a dozen times!

Especially with its small size, it was particularly troublesome.

"One left, let's go!"

With a gun in hand, Link felt more confident.

Holding the pistol, and with the advantage of the maze, the situation had shifted from defense to offense.

The treasure-seeking rat leaped down from the body, the strong scent of blood not affecting it, and ran ahead to lead the way.

The other mercenary, upon hearing his comrade's scream, immediately ran through the maze.

But after a moment, the vast maze was silent, terrifyingly so!

The mercenary soon realized his comrade must have met with disaster, but the eerie atmosphere made him lose the courage to move forward.

Why would an injured slave cause such a terrifying scream from his comrade?

The unknown was the most frightening.

The mercenary stopped moving forward and turned to retreat.

But the maze was too complex, and in his panic, he couldn't find his way back, instead falling into a loop.

The mercenary stopped struggling and found a dead end, trembling as he took out his satellite phone and called the Wasteland Gang headquarters.

Ding... Ding... Ding...

The mercenary held a Bezos T1 submachine gun, the muzzle pointed at the corner in front of him.

Each ring of the satellite phone seemed to last an eternity.

"This is Wasteland Gang headquarters, Camp 52. What's the matter?"

"The camp was destroyed by quicksand, the ruins sank, and everyone is dead!" The mercenary clung to his last hope, taking advantage of the eerie silence to share everything he knew and ask for help.

"The camp is destroyed, the ruins sank, take it slow..."

The operator was shocked by the massive information in those few sentences and quickly began to record.

"There's no time for nonsense! My comrade and I were chasing an escaped slave to the abandoned city north of the ruins, in the territory of the Mechanical Cult. The slave was hit by a stray bullet, and we chased him to a maze-like place. We planned to surround him, but after a short while, my comrade screamed and lost contact. I don't know if there's something else in the maze, but I'm sure my comrade is dead! I'm sending my coordinates now, hurry! Send someone to rescue me!"

By the end, the mercenary was incoherent, his words disjointed and illogical.

"I received the coordinates. I've already sent the information and your report up the chain. I'm requesting a video connection. Please accept it; we need real-time footage from the front lines!"

A connection request soon appeared on the satellite phone, and the mercenary fumbled to open the camera, tucking the phone into his chest pocket to share his perspective.

When Link heard the mercenary's urgent plea for help, he no longer needed the treasure-seeking rat to lead the way.

By the sound, he already knew the mercenary's exact location.

What surprised Link was that the mercenary had a satellite phone!

This was truly... an unexpected bonus!

The satellite phone had two main functions.

One was for location, the other for communication.

Communicating with the Wasteland Gang was useless for Link, who only had a "Zuan Language Level 1 Certificate."

But to navigate the city ruins and return to safety, real-time location was essential.

In the vast desert, killing someone was incredibly easy.

As long as you didn't give them coordinates or a location, they would become desert bones within days.

Link quickly circled around to the mercenary's position, only a wall away.

The mercenary was still reporting to Wasteland Gang headquarters, and with Link not wearing shoes, his movements were extremely quiet, so the mercenary didn't notice the "grim reaper" approaching.

"Treasure-seeking rat, it's your turn again!"

The treasure-seeking rat sensed its owner's thoughts and stretched its limbs slightly by the wall.

Whoosh!

The treasure-seeking rat darted through the opening, followed by a burst of gunfire from the submachine gun.

Link's lips curled into a smile.

He had guessed correctly; the mercenary, hiding in a dead end, had his gun aimed outward, reacting instinctively to any movement.

The reflexive reaction had wasted at least a dozen bullets.

The Wasteland Gang equipped ordinary mercenaries with three types of weapons.

One was the Glock 17 pistol, with a 17-round magazine.

The second was the Bezos T1 submachine gun, with a 30-round magazine.

The third was a tactical dagger, like the one Link had previously hidden in his pants.

The pistol and submachine gun used 9mm ammunition, making resupply convenient.

Finally, the modified desert jeep was equipped with a BLN50 heavy machine gun, capable of handling most conventional battles.

The mercenary's face was pale, his features twisted with regret.

A rat had wasted a dozen of his bullets.

Due to the hasty departure, there were no extra supplies in the vehicle, and his submachine gun only had 30 rounds.

Now, he had only a dozen left.

"Don't worry, the approval has come through. Our helicopter is on its way and will arrive at the coordinates in an hour and a half. You must survive."

"Okay, I, I'll try my best!"

The mercenary swallowed, the news of the rescue slightly easing his fear.

But Link, hiding behind the wall, frowned.

This meant he had only an hour and a half to escape.

Time was tight!

Speed was essential!

P.S: Please give me recommendations and add to your favorites! The recommendations are a bit low, guys!