Chapter 61 Cleaning Up the Apprentices: Welcome to the Bear Market

A day with strong winds.

The glass rattled and clattered in the wind and sand, and the dust on the wasteland swirled up, creating a hazy yellow haze that obscured everything.

Chu Zhao turned on the high beams.

The headlights have been upgraded, and the beams pierce straight through the dust and fog, revealing withered grass and branches swirling past.

The journey on the road was always the same, so Fang Zhiyi went to the radio and tuned in, wanting to listen to some music.

Sizzle—

The sandstorm affected signal reception, and the noise was ear-piercing, so I had to turn the radio off immediately.

Looking out the window, a strong wind was blowing, and I could only vaguely see the lights of the car behind me.

Fang Zhiyi knew that some players had ulterior motives towards them, but despite being on guard the whole way, he hadn't seen any tricks. He rubbed his nose and yawned, somewhat bored.

The train carriage was enclosed, and the scenery on both sides was blocked by sand and dust, so there wasn't much to see. He rummaged through the supermarket shelves and took out a large bag of potato chips.

Cucumber-flavored potato chips.

Upon opening the package, the cucumber flavor is refreshing, and the potato chips are very crisp; a gentle tap with your teeth produces a crisp sound.

Crack.

The crossbow bolt was loaded, its tip gleaming with a sharp luster.

The archer in the passenger seat leaned out against the howling wind and exclaimed, "I see them!"

The skinny man, controlling the steering wheel, asked, "How's the situation?"

The archer sat back down, wiped his face, and spat twice, his mouth full of dirt.

After vomiting, he said, "They have two cars."

Skinny guy: "It's just two cars, but we have more people, so the advantage is on our side."

The archer smacked his lips, realizing the man's words made sense, and gently wiped the bowstring: "The wind is too strong, we need to get closer."

The skinny man stepped on the gas, the engine roared, and he closed the distance to the car in front as quickly as possible.

The first person to notice that a car was chasing them was Brother Cai.

"Damn, why are there so many cars?"

The headlights of the cars behind shone brightly, each one looking menacing.

The gluttonous girl said, "We need to remind the boss and the others."

Brother Cha pressed the steering wheel hard.

"Beep beep—"

The horn blared incessantly, "Boss, there are people behind us!"

I don't know if the car in front heard me or not, but it continued to move forward at the same speed.

The greedy girl peeked out, and the wind blew her ponytail away. In the corner of her eye, a cold light appeared before her.

"careful!"

Before the gluttonous girl could explain further, she leaned over, grabbed the steering wheel, and swerved sharply to the left. The car lurched, nearly lifted off the ground for a moment, and then landed heavily on the road.

"wipe!"

Before the sound had even faded, the sharp arrow grazed past the car and embedded itself directly in the road.

The vehicles in the road survival game are all quantifiable, with defenses and health points. Once the health points are depleted, the vehicle will explode on the spot, eliminating the players inside.

Judging from the arrow's attack power, I estimate that it will take two hits to reduce my health to almost zero.

Brother Cha gripped the steering wheel tightly, ready to dodge again, but fortunately the other party didn't seem to be giving chase. They accelerated past them, heading straight for the car in front.

[fzy & Chu Zhao's Tier 1 Sedan]

The archer squinted one eye and aimed at the rapidly spinning tire.

Cars also have weaknesses.

If a tire blows out, the car will roll over, causing even greater damage.

call out.

An arrow flew out, and just as it was about to hit the tire, the car in front suddenly accelerated, and with a nimble drift, dodged the arrow.

The skinny man asked, "Are you sure you can handle it? They've already spotted us."

"Tsk." The archer licked his palate and drew another crossbow bolt. "One more shot. My bolts deal 8 points of damage; two shots will blow up their cart. So what if they find out? What do they have to compete with me?"

As he spoke, he looked up, about to continue aiming, when he saw the car window in front of him roll down and a head pop out.

The young man looked over, a bright smile on his face, his amber eyes sparkling.

Archer: "You can still laugh at a time like this..."

The sound stopped abruptly.

The skinny man asked curiously, "What's wrong?"

Bow pointed ahead, his fingers trembling incessantly, unable to utter a single word.

The skinny guy said, "Why do you look like you've been scared out of your wits?" As he spoke, he looked in the direction the finger was pointing.

The sandstorm has subsided.

A dark, gaping opening peeked out from the window of the car in front. The opening was small, but the connecting pipe was long, dark, and cold.

The skinny man opened his mouth wide.

The archer finally found his voice: "They really do have snipers!"

"Run!"

At the same time, the trigger was pulled.

The bullet burst from the muzzle, magnified and swirling before my eyes. First, I smelled a strong gunpowder smoke, then I heard the screeching sound of brake pads rubbing violently and tires skidding on the ground.

Sizzle—Bang!

The car overturned to one side, rolled on the road, and finally crashed into the wasteland, exploding with a loud bang.

Flames shot into the sky, mixed with dust, obscuring everything.

You destroyed a car; the player has been eliminated.

[Obtained 149 parts, 3 screws, 6 rubber, 1 crossbow, and 6 bolts]

Fang Zhiyi put down the AWM in his hand; the immense recoil caused him to temporarily lose feeling from his fingers to his shoulder. He twisted his wrist and turned his head to look back.

Another car was chasing after them.

Pulling the bolt, the bullet enters the chamber, and the muzzle protrudes out of the window.

It's probably because the hunter was using a shotgun to hunt wild animals. The title of "Snow Hunter" is unexpectedly suitable for the AWM. The passive skill "Insight" is activated, and it's as if there is an additional scope in front of you. All the details are magnified. Through the gale, you can clearly see the details on the vehicle behind you.

Rolling tires, roaring engine, two players talking inside the car.

The player driving the car wondered, "Why did I hear an explosion ahead?"

The player next to him said without thinking, "It must be that Skinny and his team have already succeeded. Pshaw—what big shot? I bet they're just bragging."

"Yeah, I think that's just bragging. No matter how good they are, they still crashed in our hands."

"Stop talking nonsense and hurry up and catch up. Don't let the skinny guy and his gang get away with it."

The player opened the channel and eagerly sent a message, "Skinny, you have to leave us some, we do all the dirty work—" He wondered, "Why can't I send it?"

At first, he thought there was something wrong with the private chat channel, so he pressed the button twice, but still couldn't send the message. Then he noticed that the skinny guy's avatar had turned gray.

"The profile picture is black, does that mean I'm offline?"

The driver added, "Where is the offline status? It's only for those who have been eliminated. Whose profile picture is blacked out?"

"Who else... the skinny guy got eliminated!?" The two of them realized what had happened, looked at each other, and their faces were full of disbelief.

"Was that the skinny guy's car that just exploded?"

"impossible!"

"The skinny guy has a bow on his cart, what are they going to use to fight him?"

Just as this question was raised, another player stammered, "...gun."

"What gun? Are you scared out of your wits?"

"They...have guns!"

The dark muzzle of a gun came into view.

The two of them swallowed hard without even realizing it.

Living in peacetime, where had they ever seen such firearms? They were trembling with fear.

"Run!"

The driver's voice was distorted: "How do you drive?!"

"Turn around!"

Realizing what had happened, the driver slammed on the brakes and swerved to the left, making a U-turn on the open highway to drive back. In their extreme fear, they even forgot that it was forbidden to turn back on the highway. In the instant they made the U-turn and drove against traffic, a thick fog swept over them, like a gaping maw, swallowing the car and its occupants whole.

Fang Zhiyi ultimately did not fire the gun. He watched the churning, boiling mist, in which a twisted claw seemed to flash, grabbing the wreckage of the car and stuffing it into its mouth.

Crackling sounds.

Car parts flew everywhere, tires rolled off, and people picked them up and stuffed them into their mouths.

The monster in the fog seemed to notice Fang Zhiyi's gaze, and grinned to reveal its fine, twisted teeth. The fog swirled around it, as if it were laughing "heh heh heh".

...I see you.

Don't let me catch up with you.

Fang Zhiyi understood its meaning. Instead of being afraid, he raised his middle finger at the monster in the fog.

monster:"……"

The monster has been provoked.

It threw away the half-eaten car wreckage, crawled quickly on all fours, trying to break through the fog and reach for Fang Zhiyi's car.

Its hand was only halfway out when it seemed to be trapped by an invisible barrier, unable to move forward any further. Finally, as the mist dissipated, it could only reluctantly retreat back inside.

Fang Zhiyi sat back in the passenger seat, closed the window to keep out the strong wind and sand.

Due to class restrictions, the car's maximum speed is only 60 km/h, and with the wind being too strong, we haven't even covered the halfway point yet.

Playing in the bear market is 350 kilometers away from Camp 2, and it looks like it will take another 5 hours to get there.

It took another half hour to drive.

The fiercest winds had passed, and the sound of the wind gradually subsided, causing the fallen leaves on the ground to swirl around.

Chu Zhao pulled over, unbuckled his seatbelt, and got out of the car to clear away the sand and weeds.

If not cleaned in time, the contents can easily enter the hood through the gaps and cause engine damage.

Fang Zhiyi also went down to work with them.

While I was busy wiping the car windows, another car came into view.

Fang Zhiyi subconsciously took out the AWM.

The car braked suddenly, and before the person arrived, a voice came first: "Damn! Don't shoot, it's me!"

Brother Cai jumped out of the car and started chattering away: "Boss, I thought you guys were in big trouble, so I rushed over to help. I didn't expect you to handle it all by yourself. You really are worthy of being my brother Cai."

Fang Zhiyi: "..."

When Brother Cai saw the AWM in his arms, he blurted out, "Damn, boss, this toy of yours is so cool! Where did you get it? Can I get one too?"

Fang Zhiyi put the AWM into his backpack: "I got it from a box in the weapon shop."

Brother Ca rubbed his hands together, eager to open one: "Alright, I'll go open one too."

The greedy girl glanced at it and said, "Forget it, let's clean the car first."

After cleaning the car, the group prepared to set off again, but before they could get in, they heard a wolf howl coming from the sandstorm.

Immediately afterwards, several prairie wolves appeared in the sandstorm, surrounding two vehicles on the highway.

"Aww—"

[Triggering Steppenwolf's Revenge]

They smelled the wolf blood on your hands and have come to avenge their kin.

Hunt them, or be hunted by them.

[Reward: Survive]

"Damn it," said Brother Ca loudly. "I've killed wolves on the road before."

Fang Zhiyi calmly said, "I've killed before."

The gluttonous girl timidly raised her hand: "Me too..."

It's likely that too many people who had killed Steppenwolves gathered on the highway, which triggered Steppenwolves' revenge.

There were a total of 6 Steppenwolves on the highway.

There is one strong alpha wolf, one female wolf, and the other four are male wolves.

Steppenwolf

[Stamina 50/50]

[Anger] [Ethnic Halo]

As they ventured deeper into the highway, the wild beasts they encountered grew increasingly powerful. Steppenwolves are pack animals, and with the alpha wolf leading the way, each one possessed a pack aura, significantly increasing its strength and attack power.

The alpha wolf of the wasteland possessed him and let out a low howl.

Behind them, a pack of wolves stirred, baring their teeth and exhaling a foul stench.

It's tricky.

Fang Zhiyi reached out to take out a weapon, but hesitated and chose a crossbow instead of an AWM.

The AWM is a bolt-action sniper rifle, which has an advantage in long-range attacks, but with the wolves right in front of us, there's simply no time to aim. It's better to use a crossbow.

Fang Zhiyi's usual weapon in the previous world was a bow. Even in a different world, his instincts remained. He pushed the arrow into the crossbow and shot it directly at the wolf pack.

The arrow flew with great force, but the wolf pack was too fast and scattered, narrowly missing the arrow.

Although it missed, it still served as a deterrent, preventing the wolf pack from advancing easily.

"Damn, I'll do it!" Brother Ca stepped forward, grabbed his spiked club, and charged forward, swinging it with tremendous force as he smashed it at the wasteland wolf.

The Steppenwolf was fast; it dodged under the spiked club and opened its mouth to bite the arm holding the club.

Brother Ca didn't dodge or flinch, letting the wasteland wolf bite him.

The sharp teeth bit down, but the bloody scene I imagined didn't appear. Instead, a layer of gray rock covered the skin of the wolf. When the wolf's teeth hit the rock, the impact made its gums go numb.

"Haha—" Brother Ca laughed loudly, and slammed his spiked club down, killing a Steppenwolf on the spot.

Upon seeing blood, the other steppe wolves' ferocity was unleashed, their eyes turning bloodshot as they surrounded Brother Cha.

The gluttonous girl stuffed food into her mouth: "Brother, let me help you." With each step she took, her body grew larger, until she became a 3-meter-tall iron tower. With a flick of her palm-leaf fan, she grabbed a Steppenwolf and tossed it aside.

The Steppenwolf struggled in mid-air before crashing into the barbed wire fence on both sides of the road and falling heavily to the ground. Its eyes rolled back and its legs kicked, clearly indicating that it was seriously injured.

With soldiers and tanks blocking the way, Fang Zhiyi could attack without any worries. He handed the crossbow to Chu Zhao and took out his AWM.

Pull the bolt and aim.

Bang!

The wasteland wolf fell to the ground.

The four worked together seamlessly, with a clear division of labor, and quickly wiped out the wolf pack in the wasteland.

[Obtained 6 pelts, 11 pieces of meat, 15 bones, and 1 undigested gold ring]

With the danger gone, it was time to distribute the spoils.

Fang Zhiyi chose the simplest and most convenient way to divide the spoils: "We'll split it equally."

The gluttonous girl returned to her normal size: "No need to divide it equally, just give us all the meat, and you can keep the rest."

Fang Zhiyi picked up the gold ring: "There's a special prop."

An undigested gold ring

What exactly did the Steppenwolf eat that resulted in this object being in its stomach?

[A lost item; perhaps you can send it to where it belongs.]

The gold ring fell from the alpha wolf's belly. It was corroded by stomach acid and covered with large, mottled marks, but the magnificent pattern of a crown of thorns could still be faintly seen.

The gluttonous girl and Brother Ca discussed it.

Brother Cai said, "Boss, you can keep this. Just let us know if any missions trigger later. I trust you!"

Fang Zhiyi nodded and put away the gold ring.

They lingered on this stretch of road for too long, triggering warnings. Without further delay, they got back into their cars and continued on their way to the bear market.

As soon as Fang Zhiyi settled in, he eagerly looked at the screen that appeared on the windshield.

The task progress has been updated.

[Mission - Highway Cleanup Association]

Obstacles cleared (10/10)

[Eligible for exchangeable basic repair kit]

Unexpectedly, the wasteland wolf that they killed together could be counted as part of the mission. Fang Zhiyi clicked "redeem," and the toolbox appeared in his hand.

[Simple Repair Kit]

[During long journeys, unexpected events are inevitable. With this simple repair kit, minor problems can be easily handled. It restores the vehicle's health and defense upon use.]

nice one.

Fang Zhiyi put it in her backpack, just in case.

The tasks on the screen refreshed again.

Congratulations! You have successfully cleared away those unsightly things on the highway and are now eligible to join the Highway Cleanup Association.

[Do you want to join?]

Fang Zhiyi accepted without hesitation.

Although he didn't know what the Highway Cleanup Association was, he knew that the rewards for completing tasks were very generous, and he wanted to join the association for the sake of the rewards.

Nothing else matters, I just really want to improve.

You have joined the Highway Cleanup Association.

Your level: Cleaning up apprentices

The following tasks are available.

[Task 1: Clear the abandoned camp]

【Task 2: Clean up the commercial street in the Bear Market】

[Task 3: Clean up the Bear Market Umbrella Biotechnology Company]

Fang Zhiyi chose to accept mission 3. They were on their way to deliver goods to Sun Umbrella Biotechnology Company, so they could do the Cleanup Association's mission along the way.

Sun Umbrella Biotechnology Company is developing a biological virus. During the development process, the virus leaked, infecting many employees. Furthermore, some experimental subjects escaped from the laboratory. The Highway Cleaning Association cordially invites you to clean up the infected individuals and experimental subjects. Generous rewards are offered.

Seeing the generous reward, Fang Zhiyi felt confident that he had secured his position.

Having accepted Mission 3, I also want to accept Mission 2, which is also set in a bear market. It's a convenient option.

I just clicked on it, but it told me that I could only accept one task at a time, so I had to give up.

The journey takes 5 hours.

They stopped along the way to switch drivers and also found several treasure chests. With their numbers, they easily killed the beasts guarding the chests and collected a lot of materials.

With occasional surprises, the journey wasn't so boring.

In the blink of an eye, it was afternoon, and a different scene gradually appeared on the desolate highway. Dilapidated buildings, old billboards... everything told them that they were about to enter the city from the no-man's land.

Welcome to Highway Radio 401!

[Weather forecast for the next 4 hours]

【cloudy day】

[On a cloudy day, in a room without the lights on~]

Fang's intention is to look ahead.

In the distance, a city appears at the end of the highway, its towering buildings resembling a cold, steel forest.

The sky suddenly darkened, with dark clouds looming overhead, bringing an ominous atmosphere.

On both sides of the car, signs that read "Welcome to Play Bear Market" flashed by, covered in scarlet paint and marked with a huge "X".

Go down the road at the fork, and another road leads to the bear market.

From a distance, the bear market looked incredibly high-tech, with towering buildings, neon lights, and cars weaving through the streets… But upon closer inspection, you'd see roadblocks and water-filled barriers on the way into the bear market; cars parked sideways in the middle of the road, one on top of another; shop windows smashed, their interiors empty; and buildings charred black from fire damage…

end.

When I see scenes of playing the bear market, these two words are the only ones that come to mind.

Fang Zhiyi controlled the car's speed, bypassed the roadblock in front of him, and stopped at the entrance.

He got out of the car, stepped over the broken glass on the ground, and came to a police car that had been knocked askew.

He carefully opened the car door, crawled inside, and searched thoroughly.

"Boss, what are you looking for?" Brother Ca asked, leaning over.

Fang Zhiyi: "I'm looking for any useful props."

These vehicles look like they're heading out of the city, so they must be carrying something important that might come in handy.

Brother Cai rolled up his sleeves and joined in: "Let's do it too."

Once the bear market begins, we're no longer on the main roads, and there are no more warnings prohibiting long-term parking.

The group searched all the cars near the entrance, then gathered together to share their loot.

"Baton, energy bars... I also have chewing gum here. Eating it will put you into an excited state, slightly increasing your attack and speed."

Chu Zhao picked up a neatly folded A3 sheet of paper: "I found the map."

Unfold the map, and the full picture of the bear market appears before your eyes.

The terrain of the bear market is circular, divided into three rings: the outer ring is a residential area, the inner ring is a commercial area, and the middle ring is an office area. Sun Umbrella Biotechnology Company is located in the 28-story building in the very center of the middle ring.

Brother Cha: "We need to deliver the goods to the supply and marketing cooperative in the commercial area."

"cough."

Brother Cai: "Boss, where are you guys going? This place looks pretty eerie. Maybe we should stick together for company."

"...cough cough."

"Damn, who's coughing like that? It gives me a headache." Brother Crack turned his head and looked in the direction from which the coughing was coming.

In the alley, a figure huddled there, covered in blood, hugging his shoulders and trembling, coughing intermittently. He coughed so hard that each cough seemed to be trying to cough up his internal organs.

Brother Cha was stunned for a moment: "NPC?" He stepped forward to check on the NPC.

Fang Zhiyi stopped him.

Brother Ca stopped: "Boss, I'll go ask him if he knows what happened here."

"We can ask later." With that, Fang Zhiyi picked up a stone from the ground and threw it in the direction of the figure.

Thump.

The pebbles landed on the ground and rolled away, standing out conspicuously in the quiet alley.

Just as they were about to touch the huddled figure, the man suddenly raised his head. His cheeks were thin and his face was pale. He stared straight at the people in front of him. After hesitating for two seconds, he opened his blood-red mouth without warning, let out a "roar," and pounced on them.

[Infected Persons]