Chapter 79

"Ha ha, too funny, too funny. Sweeper, you didn't see the faces of those imitation engineers; they all turned green with envy." Tao Hua Yan walked in from outside, laughing exaggeratedly, and Kan Tu, who was following him, was laughing so hard his stomach hurt.

Since the three of them had planned to play a trick on those imitators, Kan Tu and Tao Hua Yan had a new job every day. They would run to the place where Ban Ji set up his stall to watch the players who were attracted by the temporary attribute-boosting recipes Ban Ji had modified, filled with envy, jealousy, and resentment. When the imitators realized that their imitation path was blocked and they had to start over, they were so angry they were fuming.

"Don't overdo it. Be careful not to outsmart yourself. When everyone feels you're playing tricks on them, they might decide to research and find a way to outmaneuver us," Sweeper said while organizing his equipment. Standing next to Sweeper was a mechanic, but it wasn't Ban Ji; it was Wang Meng.

Wang Meng chose the mechanic profession after entering the game. As player levels increased, not having a mechanic or a doctor in the team became very inconvenient. Ban Ji liked to research things, unlike Kan Tu, who preferred combat. So, after consulting with Sweeper and considering his own strengths, Wang Meng chose the mechanic profession.

"Hehe, have you gathered all the Lei Gong equipment? Today we're going to have a big day." Tao Hua Yan walked over and patted Wang Meng on the shoulder. Lei Gong was Wang Meng's in-game name.

When Sweeper introduced Lei Gong to the team a few days ago, Tao Hua Yan and Kan Tu didn't have much of a feeling about it. But after teaming up with Lei Gong a few times, Tao Hua Yan found that Lei Gong's combat power was extremely fierce. Although he was slightly inferior to Sweeper, he was far superior to the still-learning Kan Tu and Tao Hua Yan, providing a significant boost to the team.

After marveling at how Sweeper had found such a treasure, the group became more familiar with each other. Sweeper didn't introduce much about his relationship with Lei Gong or Lei Gong's real-life situation. This way, Lei Gong could interact with the others more freely, without feeling inferior or indebted.

"Everything is ready. How's Ban Ji's business today?" Lei Gong, who had quickly become friends with Ban Ji due to his exceptional talent in mechanics, asked. They had a good relationship, and Lei Gong had quickly adapted to the environment.

"Ha ha, it's selling like hotcakes. Today, after we complete our tasks, we can gather enough points and merit to claim another plot of land. The system's tasks are starting to change on a small scale, so the city-building tasks are likely to begin soon. We need to secure the land as soon as possible."

"How many points do we need today?" Sweeper asked.

"4 million, but the point ratio is now 100:1, which is the maximum the players and the market can accept. This ratio should remain stable for a long time. We won't spend much money, so we need to secure the land quickly. The land we buy now is all ruins, so it's cheap. Once the planning starts, the price will skyrocket."

"Let's split up. I'll go into the decapitation dungeon first, and you three let Lei Gong lead. After completing it, we'll do other tasks. This will give us 200,000 points."

The decapitation task rewards points that are evenly divided among the team members. Although players have found some tricks to complete the task after discovering the hidden setting, the more people there are, the fewer points each person gets.

For most players, the fewer people, the lower the chance of success. So, while 100,000 points seem tempting, most players actually lose money. However, this loss is only relative to the deposit they pay before entering the dungeon. Even if the task fails, players can still make a profit by selling the equipment and merit they obtain inside, often more than they would by killing monsters outside. Therefore, despite the high failure rate, many players are still drawn to the decapitation dungeon because it can be profitable. This helps Ban Ji collect some merit from ordinary players when selling temporary attributes, easing the pressure on Sweeper to obtain merit.

"Let's split up like that. After completing the dungeon, we'll resupply and head to Blue Bay Creek. Most of the tasks are there now. After we finish, we'll see which ones to take. By the way, Sweeper, any news on the main quest?" Thinking of Blue Bay Creek, Tao Hua Yan couldn't help but think about the main quest, which had no clues.

"No, I don't know what this quest is about. It might be related to my initial choice, making it a bit strange. When I talk to Officer Pete, he always says something unhelpful. I think I need to meet the little girl Sang Sang for something to change. We'll look for her carefully in Blue Bay Creek."

Since Sang Bo turned into a werewolf and was killed by Sweeper, the main quest has been inactive, leaving Sweeper feeling frustrated. But without any clues, he can't rush it and can only search around and hope for luck.

Entering the dungeon alone, Sweeper didn't buy any heavy weapons from the system. The original 100-kilometer task area was reduced to just over ten kilometers. Even without Tao Hua Yan's radio lock, searching this area was easy for Sweeper. Without the enemy's helicopters and machine guns, Sweeper completed the dungeon task very easily.

When Sweeper completed the task and walked out of the dungeon, Tao Hua Yan and the others emerged less than half an hour later. They returned to their residence, equipped all the advanced gear they could carry, and set off for Blue Bay Creek.

"What's in Blue Bay Creek? Why is the system planning to build a road there?" Kan Tu, driving a modified jeep with a light machine gun, took out monsters that occasionally rushed over. The group moved forward through the bumpy terrain. Seeing the players clearing monsters nearby, Sweeper asked curiously.

Although the city-building task hasn't been released, the current tasks already show some trends. For example, large-scale and regional monster clearing is a prelude to city expansion and major road construction. Once players kill all the monsters in an area, it becomes safe for construction. Sweeper remembered that the planning map showed a road from the safe base to Blue Bay Creek.

"I'm not sure, but there might be some mineral resources there. Even if there aren't, the rich forest resources need a road for extraction. I don't know how the extraction rights will be defined or if players can invest," Tao Hua Yan said, fiddling with his computer.

Their task this time was to find a herb, a player's bounty of 5,000 points and 500 merit. The points were a bit low, but the bounty of 500 merit for just a herb was significant, so Tao Hua Yan took the task.

The herb, called "Worry Grass," had an unknown effect but was worth about 6,000 points per plant. The player who posted the bounty was likely in a hurry to complete a task and couldn't find the herb on the market, so they offered the bounty. The task had a 3-hour time limit, and if they failed, they would lose the 1,000-point deposit.

Tao Hua Yan shared the detailed task information and gathered all the data on the area where the monkeys lived, including their combat strength after the mutation. However, the data was rough, as ordinary monkeys were G8-level monsters, and stronger ones could reach F-level, with the monkey king BOSS likely at F5 or higher. Fighting in the forest made the monkeys one of the most challenging monsters for players, so there was little information about them.

"Extremely strong, which is a problem for close combat. However, because of their large size, they can't jump quickly in the trees and have to run on the ground, which we can use to our advantage with landmines and grenades," Sweeper analyzed after looking at the monkey data.

"Just the monkeys wouldn't be so troublesome. We can stand far away and snipe them. The biggest problem is the man-eating flowers and tree vines mixed in. These are natural plants, and their ambushes are hard to defend against," Tao Hua Yan added, sharing the data on the man-eating flowers and tree vines.

"The monkeys' activity area is deep in the forest, and we can't avoid these plant monsters," Lei Gong said, comparing the data with the task area map.

"We'll have to see when we get there. Any news on the task we posted?" Sweeper, having no better ideas, shook his head and asked about something else.

"Not yet, but posting a task is better than searching on our own," Tao Hua Yan replied.

To find clues for the main quest faster, Sweeper followed Tao Hua Yan's suggestion and posted a bounty to find Sang Sang. This way, many players would be on the lookout for her, and if they encountered her, they could take a screenshot to prove it and earn 500 points, making it a profitable and easy task. This would save Sweeper a lot of time, as the game world was vast, and even just Blue Bay Creek was a challenge, let alone other areas.

"Hey?" Tao Hua Yan, who was typing on his computer, made a surprised sound.

"What's wrong?"

"Hope City issued a warning that the monsters around the safe base are showing unusual activity, advising players to be cautious."

"What's the warning for?" Kan Tu asked, puzzled.

"Do you think this is related to the city-building task? The safe bases are separated by monster territories, and building a city requires driving away the surrounding monsters. Constructing roads or airports is to enhance our combat capabilities and restore human dominance. So, the monster activity is likely a counterattack," Tao Hua Yan mused.

"It's possible, but there's still something mysterious about it. Let's do the task and see what happens," Sweeper said, frowning.

---

(End of the page with ads)