Chapter 71

"Is something wrong? I thought you had logged off to sleep." Returning to his quarters, Tao Huayan saw Kantu sitting there in a daze, walked over, sat down next to him, and nudged him with his shoulder, saying. During the previous 24 hours, whenever the scavengers were on guard, the two of them would always sit shoulder to shoulder like this.

"Captain... Captain logged off?" Kantu glanced at the entrance, his voice trembling, his face uneasy, as if he felt very guilty.

"What's wrong?" Tao Huayan turned his head and looked at Kantu in surprise.

"I... I blew up the captain's sniper rifle." Kantu, like a child who had done something wrong, lowered his head, wanting to cry, but the tears that welled up in his eyes were held back by him. Kantu could hardly remember the last time he had cried, but in the past 24 hours, he had wanted to cry many times. In the end, he cried over that landmine. However, his tears were not out of fear or weakness, but out of joy and gratitude to the scavenger.

"The captain hasn't logged off; he's back. Don't worry, he'll bring the sniper rifle back. That's his weapon, and no one is more suitable for it than him." Seeing the guilty Kantu, Tao Huayan was taken aback for a moment, then raised his hand and patted Kantu's shoulder, saying, "Go to sleep. Maybe when you wake up, the captain will be back with the sniper rifle."

Two days passed in the real world, not in the game. By then, four days and nights had already passed in the game. During these two days, Kantu did not go to kill monsters. Tao Huayan, who usually liked to tease Kantu and Trigger, was unusually quiet, and the room was very silent, as if waiting for someone to return.

In these few days, some teams had already completed the decapitation mission. Tao Huayan had almost gathered all the information he could. He even risked a trip to the game's database and obtained some hidden settings that players did not know. However, as more and more players completed the mission, the scavenger did not come out of the instance.

Bang! The three people in the room were startled by the sound of the metal door being hit, then they saw the scavenger walk in with a tired but smiling face. The system did not announce that the scavenger had completed the mission because he had already been in the instance for three days. Some elite teams who had collected information on the instance completed the mission within a day, and the scavenger, who had been in the instance for three days, did not break this record, so the system did not announce it.

"What's wrong with all of you? Just staying in the room and not going to kill monsters, always trying to squeeze me." Seeing the three people looking at him with worried and surprised eyes, the scavenger felt very familiar.

"Captain, I..."

"Alright, I brought the sniper rifle back. Use it whenever you want, no need to ask for my permission anymore. You've earned the right to use it. But if you disobey orders again, just wait and see." The scavenger glared at the uneasy Kantu and threw the sniper rifle to him. Although his glare looked fierce, the uneasy Kantu smiled.

"This is something I got from the instance. Fatso, come and check its value. I'm going to log off and sleep. I'm exhausted. We'll talk about it when I wake up." Throwing the backpack on the ground, the scavenger logged off without waiting for the three people to speak.

After three days and nights without sleep, although he was just lying in bed, and both in-game and real-life food and water were guaranteed, the continuous intense battles for three days made the scavenger feel deeply exhausted.

Wang Fusheng, who had logged off, walked into the bathroom with a slightly dizzy head, took a shower, and then, despite his fatigue, went down to have a hearty breakfast. Then, the scavenger returned to his room and quickly fell into a deep sleep.

"Hasn't he slept for three days and nights? He still had the energy to take a shower and then come down for breakfast?" Looking at the data on the monitor showing that the scavenger was asleep, Zhao Huan muttered in confusion.

"When a person is extremely tired, sleep can greatly alleviate this fatigue. However, the body still needs some nutrients to repair the damage from the lack of sleep over these few days. Eating before sleeping can reduce the body's energy demands during sleep, which means reducing the body's energy deficit, thus extending the combat life of a warrior, or the vitality of a health expert." Wu An sighed in relief when he saw Wang Fusheng calm down.

During these three days, although the scavenger did not leave his room, the food was delivered to him. However, the data showing that his brain cortex activity remained at a peak level kept Wu An on edge, especially after the activity level increased even more in the last two days. Wu An almost submitted a report to request mandatory measures.

"What do we do now, just watch him sleep?" Since the last time he saw Wang Fusheng's combat ability in the hospital, Zhao Huan had been eager to challenge him, but unfortunately, the rules did not allow it, so he had been itching to do so for days, especially after seeing Wang Fusheng's brain cortex activity data over the past few days, which made him even more restless.

The brain is the command center of the human body, and the activity level of the brain cortex also reflects a person's combat ability to some extent. Otherwise, Wu An would not have been so tense these past few days. However, everything finally calmed down.

However, while Wu An was calm, some places were not. In the grand auditoriums of various military districts in the real world, rows of soldiers sat upright. The atmosphere was very solemn, and the military headquarters suddenly called a meeting of elite troops from various units, which was ordered two days ago but only confirmed today. No specific time was given beforehand, indicating that the higher-ups were also uncertain about the matter.

The people who could sit in this meeting were not many with high ranks; most were frontline soldiers. However, if any of these soldiers' names were mentioned, they would be well-known, and some were even champions in military competitions or top three in team events.

"I know you are all busy, but today I have gathered you to watch a video. We paid a significant price to obtain this video, so I hope you watch it carefully. After watching it, those who do not want to participate in the virtual combat training should write a report to your superiors. Those who have already participated should reflect on themselves."

Half an hour later, when all the elite soldiers from all military districts in China were present, the giant screen at the front of the auditorium turned on. A general with the rank of major general appeared on the screen, and without any extra words, the video started.

The content of the video was simple and could be understood at a glance. It seemed to be a team executing a field combat mission, with three members. The video was marked as a game video, which caused a buzz in the originally solemn meeting room.

These were the elite soldiers from various units, some of whom were very opposed to virtual combat training, believing that real combat was the only truth. Therefore, when the higher-ups gathered them to watch a game video, they felt somewhat resentful. Elite soldiers often have their own pride, so when they saw the source of the video, they began to look down on it. After all, in a game, if you die, you can respawn, so what's the point of watching it?

Even more so, when they saw that two of the three team members were novices, the originally buzzing meeting room erupted in laughter and whistles. Soldiers admire strength and show no mercy to novices.

However, as the video continued, especially when the player driving the wolf mech dodged the intense bombardment from the helicopter behind him, the originally noisy meeting room fell silent. None of the soldiers called to this special meeting were fools.

Although it was just a game, and death could be respawned, the series of evasive actions of the mech were recognized by the experts present. Imagining themselves in the same situation, whether they could react as well as the player, everyone fell silent.

"Do these troublemakers ever quiet down?" Seeing the soldiers suddenly quiet down, a major general shook his head and laughed. The other generals sitting beside him also nodded in agreement. Good soldiers have their own personalities, and to nurture these good seeds, they had spent a lot of effort.

Originally, some officers saw the commotion and were about to stop it, but before they could, the auditorium fell silent, and they also breathed a sigh of relief. Their attention was also drawn to the video, even though it was just a game video.

Because it was a video, some parts were sped up, and some were slowed down, allowing everyone to see the key moments and the actions of the player they were focusing on. As the video played, all the soldiers' breathing became heavy, and their hearts began to race with the protagonist's encounters with danger and the successful elimination of enemies.

In the end, the sharp shot that destroyed the armed helicopter left everyone speechless. A single armor-piercing round and a single shotgun blast took down a fully armed helicopter. Even in a movie, such a scene would require a rocket launcher, but the player used only two bullets. Jumping out of the mech, raising his hand to shoot, and then turning to dodge, all the actions were performed in one fluid motion, giving everyone a sense of momentum.

Yes, it was a momentum, a confidence that he could take down an armed helicopter. If he couldn't, his teammates might die, but even under such pressure, he fired two shots and immediately turned to dodge, without any hesitation or doubt about whether he could take down the helicopter. This absolute confidence in his own abilities made all the soldiers' eyes sparkle, for only the strong could possess such absolute confidence.

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**End of Chapter**