Chapter 8

If there were other veteran players nearby, they would notice that although Luo Jie was using a sword, every strike was actually a saber technique. He abandoned the light and agile thrusts, and each move was a powerful slash.

This was a habit carried over from his previous life—unless facing an enemy with extremely special resistances, he was more accustomed to using a saber, a weapon purely born for the battlefield.

There was no need to consider too many ways to use it; just aim at the target and slash away with brute force.

Attracted by the noise of the battle, the zombies wandering in the corridor began to gather here.

However, Luo Jie showed no sign of retreating. At this moment, he was like a berserker warrior with a rage talent, completely disregarding his own endurance, swinging his sword with all his might again and again.

Under this reckless fighting style, the zombies swarming from both sides of the corridor fell like wheat being cut, and the ground was almost covered with headless corpses and severed limbs where the sword light passed.

"It's about time to retreat..."

Feeling his stamina had dropped by more than half and his sword-wielding arm was starting to feel heavy, Luo Jie immediately retreated into the security room without hesitation.

Leaning against the door that was thudding, he couldn't help but cough up a mouthful of blood.

Although protected by the [Lucky City Security Uniform], he only had some not-so-serious bites and scratches on his limbs, but the accumulated zombie virus had already begun to erode his internal organs.

Moreover, due to the continuous full-force sword swings, his arm and back muscles were severely strained. He hadn't felt it before due to the adrenaline, but now even a slight movement caused excruciating pain.

"Indeed, it's not something just anyone can do."

Luo Jie smiled bitterly and summoned the [Red M92F Pistol], forcing himself to insert the magazine through the pain, and pressed the gun to his head.

"But... it was really exhilarating..."

Bang!

After a brief silence, Luo Jie "revived" again.

He raised his hands and curiously examined his restored palms and limbs.

Although it wasn't the first time he had undergone death recasting, the feeling of coming back to life still amazed him.

As expected, all his injuries and the zombie virus in his body had disappeared at the moment of rebirth.

His stamina was full, and his spirit was at its peak, except for the activity time of the Black Phantom, everything was back to its best state.

Luo Jie opened the main panel and found that his points had increased from 100 to 420.

Three minutes.

Thirty-two zombies.

He silently calculated in his mind.

This killing efficiency might not be impressive to first-tier veteran players, but if combined with [Death Recasting], the result would be infinite.

"Ha, it feels a bit like grinding monsters..."

...

While Luo Jie was pushing through the map in a carpet-like manner from the security room, Jia Shuai and his group in the first-floor safe house welcomed an unexpected visitor.

"HELLO, rookies, you seem to be doing pretty well?"

The man in sunglasses still wore his signature black shades, leaning at the door and greeting the people in the lounge with a smile. If it weren't for the bloodstains on his body that hadn't dried yet, he would look like he had just returned from a vacation in Hawaii.

The few boys in the lounge stood up, each with a look of anger, and unconsciously gripped their makeshift weapons.

After a moment's thought, Jia Shuai guessed the man's intention and waved to his companions, "Daxiong, Miner, and the rest of you, go out first... Oh, and ask Wang Ke to bring in two cups of water."

The boys reluctantly left the room, and the man in sunglasses sat down on the sofa opposite Jia Shuai, casually throwing his blood-stained machete onto the coffee table and said with a smile, "I have to admit I underestimated you. It's not easy to integrate newbies so quickly. If you can survive and leave here, you will surely be someone in the future."

At that moment, the pretty girl named Wang Ke walked into the room with a tray, placed two disposable paper cups of hot water in front of them, and then left the room, closing the door behind her.

Jia Shuai picked up the paper cup, blew on the steam, and stared at the man in sunglasses, saying, "Stop beating around the bush. Just tell us why you're here."

The man in sunglasses smiled and said straightforwardly, "I'm here to seek cooperation."

"Cooperation?" Jia Shuai sneered, "You plan to use us as cannon fodder, right?"

"I won't deny that I want to use you, but calling you cannon fodder is a bit too much," the man in sunglasses drank the water in one gulp, crumpled the paper cup, and tossed it, "In the world of illusions, who isn't cannon fodder? Being used at least proves that you have value, doesn't it?"

Jia Shuai didn't comment on the man's words and remained silent for a while before saying, "I want to know your plan."

"I like dealing with smart people like you."

The man in sunglasses snapped his fingers and waved his hand, and a 3D holographic map of Lucky City appeared above the coffee table.

"Is this a map?" Jia Shuai's body shot up from the sofa, his face full of disbelief.

The man in sunglasses was also taken aback, "What? You didn't know? Wait... Could it be you're not Nightmare?"

He had always thought this Jia Shuai was the Nightmare who ranked first on the points list, but now seeing Jia Shuai's surprised expression, it clearly wasn't a lie.

Jia Shuai shrugged helplessly and smiled bitterly, "I don't know who that Nightmare is. He once sent me a map via email, but I didn't have enough points to buy it..."

"Could it be... a veteran player is pretending to be a rookie?" The man in sunglasses rubbed his chin, frowning and muttering to himself.

But this speculation clearly didn't make sense.

The illusion world has a characteristic of automatically repelling high-tier players. Unless high-tier players are willing to lower their attributes to enter, they will be forcibly ejected even if they encounter a sudden opening of the illusion.

But if that Nightmare was just a first-tier player, there was no reason not to actively show up and seek cooperation, as the efficiency and safety of a team of two veterans far exceeded that of a solo player.

Seeing the man in sunglasses remain silent for a long time, Jia Shuai cleared his throat and reminded him, "Forget about that Nightmare. Tell us your plan."

The man in sunglasses realized he was getting stuck in a dead end and apologized with a smile, enlarging a part of the map and pointing to a 3D model, "This is the shopping street. If my estimation is correct, it should be the most valuable place in this illusion. If we can take it, we will immediately gain a large amount of equipment resources."

"Zombies? If I'm not mistaken, there should be a considerable number of zombies here, right?" Jia Shuai tapped his finger on the table and asked.

"That's the key point I want to talk about." The man in sunglasses drew a circle around the shopping street, "According to my previous reconnaissance, there are about 5,000 zombies gathered here, and the density is extremely high. Under normal circumstances, it would be impossible to force our way through..."

"However," the man in sunglasses suddenly changed his tone, pointing to a large room next to the shopping street, "There's a swimming pool here. If we drain the water, it will become a natural trap. Just find a few people as bait to lure some zombies into it, and then with a simple spear, we can kill all the zombies inside without any risk."

Jia Shuai didn't rush to agree but carefully examined the terrain of the swimming pool from various angles and silently considered the feasibility of the plan.

A few minutes later, Jia Shuai suddenly asked, "How will the points be distributed?"

He didn't believe the man in sunglasses would be so generous as to divide the points equally.

"Fifty-fifty." The man in sunglasses spread his fingers and said.

Jia Shuai shook his head, "Ninety-ten, we get ninety. After all, we have thirty-six people and will do the most work."

"Sixty-forty. Don't be too greedy. Without my plan and map, you would at most be trapped here until the illusion ends, getting nothing... And I'm not just sitting around. If there are any mistakes in luring the zombies, I will have to act as the fire brigade."

"Eighty-twenty. It's too little, and I can't explain it to my teammates. After all, we are risking our lives."

"..."

After some haggling, they finally agreed on a seventy-thirty distribution.

Under the system's fairness, they formed a temporary team. Regardless of which member of the team gained points, they would be automatically distributed to all members according to the pre-agreed ratio.

Of course, on Jia Shuai's side, it wouldn't be divided equally among the people. As for the specific distribution, only Jia Shuai knew.

"By the way, Brother Sunglasses, I have a question." After signing the team agreement, Jia Shuai's attitude towards the man in sunglasses became much friendlier, offering him a cigarette, "In the real world, are there many illusion players like you?"

Jia Shuai's sudden change in attitude made the man in sunglasses a bit uncomfortable. He hesitated for a moment before taking the cigarette and nodding, "Many, and not just in our country, but also in other countries."

Lighting the cigarette with the fire Jia Shuai offered, the man in sunglasses blew a smoke ring, leaned back on the sofa, and his eyes became vacant, "Don't look at me with the title of a veteran player. In reality, I've only experienced two illusions, one of which I just drifted through... Compared to the real big shots, I'm not even a small shrimp, just able to bluff you rookies who know nothing."

Although the man in sunglasses didn't say much, the information he conveyed was significant. Jia Shuai couldn't help but frown, "Brother Sunglasses, do you mean that the illusion has actually existed for a long time?"

"Of course, otherwise, how would I know so much information?"