Chapter 108. Lin Xiao and the other person quickly...
Eight minutes passed, and the battle ended.
[Congratulations to Xiao Weizhi and Lin Xiaoxiao for assisting the 0468 Squad in eliminating the Polluted Beasts - Pea Swarm and Black Vine Swarm; Experience gained: ...]
Lin Xiaoxiao made Xiao Weizhi bend down and took out a handkerchief to carefully wipe away the few drops of purplish-black bloodstains on his mask: "It's gone."
Xiao Weizhi reached out and tucked the stray hairs that were stuck to her mask behind her ear, then whispered again, "Don't stray too far from me."
Lin Xiaoxiao's lips, hidden behind her mask, curled slightly: "Okay."
Just as the two were chatting in hushed tones, four of the logistics personnel from Team 0468 pulled out long sticks with daggers strapped to them and swiftly made a cut at a designated spot on the lifeless bodies of the polluted beasts.
Two people pulled out specially made hooks from behind;
The other two people, carrying special clips, followed behind the four professionals who had made cuts, constantly searching through the items. Once they found something, they would throw it directly into a specially made black bag.
Every few seconds, large and small, colorful crystal cores could be extracted from the bodies of those polluted beasts.
These crystal cores are different from the monster crystal cores in the secret realm; they are much smaller: the smallest is only the size of a little fingernail, while the largest is about 5 centimeters in size.
They emit a faint glow in the darkness, looking more enchanting than the most expensive jewels. The closer you get, the more comfortable you feel, as if these crystals can purify the impurities in your body.
Jiang Yu tallied the casualties and whispered to Jin Buyi, "Captain, seven are dead, all new recruits; thirteen are lightly wounded; and one is seriously wounded."
Jin Buyi crossed his arms, his gaze fixed on Xiao Weizhi, who was six meters away, his voice unchanged: "Which one is seriously injured? How serious are their injuries?"
Jiang Yu said helplessly, "It's Lao San. He has a 30-centimeter-long gash on his chest, which exposes his sternum."
Jin Buyi sneered. This Lao San always does this on every mission. Every time he walks a few kilometers and gets injured, he uses the excuse of going back to recuperate, and then he still wants a share of the team's profits.
His voice was calm: "Have Lao San's wound bandaged and let him continue with the team."
When Jiang Yu heard Jin Buyi say this, she knew that his patience was almost at its limit, and a look of happiness flashed in her eyes: "Okay, I'll go and inform Lao San right away."
They finished collecting the data after only a few words.
Meanwhile, the lighting equipment in the sky burned out its last bit of energy and spontaneously combusted in mid-air, destroying itself. The team then set off again in the dark.
Less than 20 minutes later, after walking just over 1,000 meters, they encountered another large group of snake-type pollutants. It took the team about 20 minutes to clear out the group of pollutants.
For the next seven hours or so, the journey repeated itself: encountering corrupted beasts, fighting them, and then continuing on our way.
It took more than eight hours to walk only twenty-five kilometers.
Xiao Weizhi helped Lin Xiaoxiao walk at the back of the group, his voice low and his tone worried: "Are your legs hurting?"
Lin Xiaoxiao's voice sounded tired: "It's alright."
My right leg is a little swollen and painful, but it's still within a tolerable range.
After noticing that Lin Xiaoxiao's walking pace had unconsciously slowed down, the black cat jumped off her shoulder and followed beside them with its red tail.
Xiao Weizhi tightened his grip on Lin Xiaoxiao's hand, almost lifting her up as she walked.
Lin Xiaoxiao lowered her voice helplessly and said, "Weizhi, you're treating me like a little chick."
Xiao Weizhi's brows furrowed beneath the mask, and his voice was gentle: "I'll carry you on my back when the time is right."
If we suddenly picked Lin Xiaoxiao up now, it would be too abrupt and might attract everyone's attention in the team.
Unbeknownst to them, while they were whispering to each other, Jin Buyi, the captain of 0468, had secretly looked back several times.
After seeing that it was almost Xiao Weizhi supporting Lin Xiaoxiao as they walked, the furrowed brows deepened even further, almost enough to trap a mosquito.
In the end, Xiao Weizhi did not carry Lin Xiaoxiao on his back, because not long after, they arrived at a safe campsite.
It was described as a safe campsite, but it was actually just a square platform 5 meters high, made of special stones.
The platform is about 60m x 60m, without stairs, and can barely accommodate two hundred people to pitch tents and rest. Every 3 meters along the edge, there is a uniquely shaped torch.
Inside the torch was an unusually foul-smelling lamp oil, which smelled like garbage that had been sitting for days, mixed with salted fish, stinky tofu, and a strange, putrid stench.
The professional who came with the resistance army for the first time instinctively reached out to cover his nose, but touched a hard metal mask instead.
Lin Xiaoxiao and Xiao Weizhi remained motionless; one was familiar with the smell, while the other was stubbornly holding on.
Their performance earned them some respect from the veterans in Team 0468.
Jin Buyi commanded in a deep voice: "Go up to the platform, Jiang Yu, take the men to light the torch."
Jiang Yu nodded, squatted down slightly, tensed all his muscles, and suddenly jumped up with five people. After checking that there was no danger on the platform, he took out a simple-looking lighter.
Use the purple flame from the lighter to light the torches one by one.
Although the flame on the torch was purple, the light it emitted was a very warm yellow.
The darkness was illuminated by these torches. Jiang Yu squatted on the edge of the platform, waving to the team members below, signaling them to come up.
After receiving the signal, the more than one hundred people present each used their own methods to get onto the platform. Some jumped up, some used skills to walk on air, and some threw out a three-pronged grappling hook to climb back up...
A dozen seconds passed, and the team's veteran members stood at the edge of the platform, looking down and greeting the new members:
"New guy, come up here."
"Don't be shy, show us your best skills and come up quickly."
"right."
...
This is a recurring activity in Team 0468; they love watching new members make fools of themselves.
Seeing this, the other newcomers to the team could only use their best skills to climb onto the platform.
Xiao Weizhi bent down and carried Lin Xiaoxiao on his back, his gaze sweeping over the black cat and the red-tailed cat.
Seeing the black cat nod slightly, he snapped his fingers lightly, mobilizing the meager amount of wind element in the air to create more than forty invisible small steps, each 10cm x 18cm, and quickly ran up the steps.
In the blink of an eye, Xiao Weizhi and Lin Xiaoxiao arrived at the platform.
When everyone's attention was elsewhere, the black cat created a spatial rift and quietly appeared beside Lin Xiaoxiao and Xiao Weizhi with its red tail.
A man who was 2.5 meters tall, weighed about 260 kilograms, had exaggerated muscles all over his body, and had a buzz cut, gave a thumbs up in the direction of Xiao Weizhi: "Kid, you're not bad."
When his gaze swept over Lin Xiaoxiao, he immediately turned his face away, looking disgusted and unwilling to pay attention to her.
Xiao Weizhi nodded aloofly to the person, then helped Lin Xiaoxiao, along with Black Cat and Red Tail, and found a less crowded corner to stand in.
Then came a series of tedious arrangements: first, assigning people to keep watch, then having everyone find a suitable place to pitch their tents, and then eating and resting.
After resting, using this platform as the central point, we will go out at fixed times every day to sweep away the polluted animal population within a radius of tens of kilometers with a 360-degree, no-dead-angle cleaning method.
In just seven days, Lin Xiaoxiao's level rose from 234 to 236, while Xiao Weizhi's level rose from 201 to 210.
Both of them are still dozens of levels away from completing the quest to reach the seventh job advancement.
At this rate, before Team 0468 completes its mission, the two of them should be very close to the peak of the sixth rank.
With just a little more time spent fighting the polluted beasts, becoming a seventh-tier professional is just around the corner.
That day, everyone in Team 0468 gathered around the torch, eating compressed biscuits.
A man with a slightly protruding belly, a rounder build, messy hair, and a stubble beard took a big gulp of liquor from a metal bottle, staggered to his feet, and pointed at Jin Buyi, angrily shouting, "Jin Buyi, you bastard! I'm injured and you still forced me to stay with the team. How could you do this to my sister?"
Jin Buyi glanced up, then casually looked down, ignoring him, and continued eating the compressed biscuits in his hand.
The man continued his drunken rampage, shouting, "Jin Buyi, speak up! Speak to me!"
Jin Buyi swallowed the last bite of the biscuit, took out a bottle of water, and asked in a deep voice, "What did you say? Lao San?"
The third brother laughed maniacally, picked up the wine in his hand and took another swig, then pointed at Jin Buyi's nose and cursed: "I'm injured, I need to go back to recover, so you should take care of me, this is what you owe my sister."
Lin Xiaoxiao quietly broke off a piece of compressed biscuit and stuffed it into Xunbao's pocket. Then she leaned against Xiao Weizhi, holding the biscuit but not eating it, and watched the show with great interest.
Xiao Weizhi put his arm around her shoulder, picked up the compressed biscuits in his hand, stuffed a few bites into her mouth, and reminded her in a low voice, "Eat while you watch."
Lin Xiaoxiao looked at the two arguing with bright eyes, and nodded casually to indicate that she understood.
Xiao Weizhi sighed helplessly, took out another pack of compressed biscuits, broke them into a few small pieces, and put them on a plate the size of a palm.
Place the plate in front of Redtail, who is sitting to the side, and gesture with your eyes for it to eat quickly.
On the other side, Jiang Yu blocked Jin Buyi's path, pointing at Lao San and angrily cursing, "You're talking nonsense! No matter how much I owe you, supporting a parasite like you for five years is more than enough, not to mention your sister's lover back then!"
Jin Buyi interrupted Jiang Yu in a deep voice, saying, "Jiang Yu, that's enough."
Then he turned to Lao San, his face cold and his voice deep, and asked, "Lao San, what is the purpose of all this?"
Lao San stood unsteadily, grinning to reveal a mouthful of yellow teeth: "Send me back to recover from my injuries, give me three million points, and also, send me this sixth-rank woman from the team."
As he spoke, Lao San pointed at Lin Xiaoxiao, his large eyes revealing a lewd look, and he disgustingly licked his lips at her.
Lin Xiaoxiao was so disgusted that she forgot to chew the compressed biscuit in her mouth. Her face suddenly turned pale, and she clenched her left hand, crushing the biscuit into a ball.
Xiao Weizhi's eyes darkened instantly, her right hand slowly clenched into a fist, her head began to buzz, and a thought suddenly rose from the depths of her mind: kill this bastard in front of her who had lewd thoughts about her...
Jin Buyi slowly stood up, chuckled, and kicked Lao San away, but his voice was unusually cold: "Lao San, you violated the team rules: drinking alcohol and speaking rudely during the mission. You are suspended from this harvest distribution."
Lao San was kicked more than ten meters away, rolled several times, and then curled up in a ball, howling incessantly on the ground.
Jin Buyi ended the farce in a forceful manner.
Seeing that the farce was over, everyone present dusted themselves off and turned to leave, returning to their respective tents.
After they all left, Gou Tian, who was on night watch, led a few people to help Lao San, who was lying on the ground groaning in pain.
Gou Tian's gaze swept over Jin Buyi's tent, his eyes filled with deep resentment, but his expression showed nothing. Instead, he acted like a peacemaker, speaking in a very gentle tone: "Brother Lao, Captain Jin had no choice. Please be understanding."
After being helped up, Lao San spat out a mouthful of saliva, his tone disgusted: "If it weren't for my sister, Jin Buyi would have been dead long ago. He wouldn't be here pretending to be the captain..."
Amid Lao San's relentless scheming, Gou Tian's lips curled into a cold smile; his calculations were taking shape in the darkness.
Over the next ten days, Lin Xiaoxiao used the black cat to find out the relationship between Jin Buyi and Lao San, as well as what had happened.
The incident began when Raul, Lao San's sister, and Jin Buyi were once a couple. However, due to their differing ideals, they separated and reconciled multiple times, with several new lovers appearing in between. Later, during a mission to eliminate the polluted beasts, Raul shielded Jin Buyi from a fatal blow.
Before losing consciousness and transforming into a polluted being, Raul asks Kim to take care of her younger brother, Raul.
That's why Lao San was taken in by Jin Buyi and brought into his team.
For five years, Lao San spent his days idly in the team, causing trouble, drinking heavily, harassing and committing crimes. In the end, Jin Budong used his connections to smooth things over.
If it weren't for this person, Jin Buyi's abilities would have been upgraded long ago.
It's not like they've been stuck in such an awkward position for so many years—the captain of the lowest-level squad in the resistance, forever only able to reach the edge of the Black Abyss, hunting down the lowest-level contaminated beasts and earning the meager rewards.
As the battle drew to a close, Lin Xiaoxiao and Xiao Weizhi huddled together, one wielding a sword and the other holding an energy gun, working in perfect harmony as they chatted and fought off the contaminated entities.
Xiao Weizhi swung his hand and cleaved a 2-meter-tall, tainted beast covered in pustules in two, then asked with a smile, "Where did you find this information?"
Lin Xiaoxiao chuckled and whispered, "Brother Cat listened to it back for me."
In order to ask Black Cat to help her gather information, she agreed to several conditions.
Xiao Weizhi nodded, guessing that she had agreed to many conditions to get the black cat to help with this boring 'investigation work' (finding gossip).
Lin Xiaoxiao changed the subject again: "Weizhi, we're going back in 3 days. How much more do you need to level up?"
In the past two weeks, Lin Xiaoxiao has leveled up from 236 to 240; Xiao Weizhi has leveled up from 210 to 236; and Hongwei is also on the verge of advancing to epic level.
Xiao Weizhi replied gently, "The experience bar is still one-tenth short."
Lin Xiaoxiao silently calculated in her mind that, based on his level and experience bar, one-tenth of that would be more than 200 million experience points, and a single polluted beast could provide about... Based on three days, with some effort, he should be able to reach level 237.
She nodded slowly: "Then there shouldn't be any problem."
After completing this mission, completing another one should allow you to reach the seventh job advancement.
After reaching the seventh reincarnation, apply to switch to a higher-level team and continue to level up discreetly. It is not advisable to be high-profile before the ninth reincarnation.
While everyone was focused on cleaning up the contaminated animal herd, Lao San sneakily took out several packets of powder from his pocket and secretly scattered them around the group in a circling motion.
Meanwhile, Gou Tian and several of his teammates, who were not far away, exchanged glances after seeing Lao San's actions. In between the fighting, they secretly took out a few handfuls of special powder and sprinkled it directly on themselves.
Just as the battle was ending, an anomaly occurred. Before anyone knew it, the surrounding area was already densely packed with countless hordes of corrupted beasts.
Their eyes were bloodshot, with no whites showing; some spewed black mist from their mouths; some had their flesh torn apart; some were covered in pustules; some left behind saliva that resembled sulfuric acid, capable of corroding the ground…
Jin Buyi frowned, flicked his whip a few times, switched the weapon mode, turning the whip into a sharp longsword, and calmly commanded: "Hold on, continue the fight."
"Received" was said by different people *166.
Lin Xiaoxiao glanced at the surrounding polluted beasts and, noticing something amiss, silently switched her low-power energy gun to its maximum power.
He slowly approached Xiao Weizhi and lowered his voice, saying, "Weizhi, something's wrong. Conserve your energy to escape."
A cold glint flashed in Xiao Weizhi's eyes, and he nodded in response, "Mm."
Before long, a three-meter-tall, four-legged, heavily polluted beast with most of its skin and flesh ripped off pounced on Lin Xiaoxiao.
Lin Xiaoxiao turned the energy gun around, aimed it at the polluted beast, and pulled the trigger hard.
A blue energy blast, about 25 centimeters in size, shattered the head of the polluted beast into pieces. The beast's body crashed to the ground, creating a faint tremor.
[Congratulations to Lin Xiaoxiao and Xiao Weizhi for defeating the Polluted Beast...]
Xiao Weizhi slashed five times, cutting the head of the polluted beast to his left into several pieces, and then kicked the lifeless body of the polluted beast flying towards them.
[Congratulations to Xiao Weizhi and Lin Xiaoxiao for defeating the Polluted Beast...]
Redtail followed beside Lin Xiaoxiao, and every few minutes, it would prepare to unleash a fireball, smaller than a basketball, to attack the lone polluted beasts.
The black cat simply disappeared into the darkness. With each outstretched claw, it accurately took the life of a corrupted beast, and the force of its attacks was just right, each time 'just' knocking out the crystal cores.
Before the crystal cores come into contact with the ground, they will fall into a pre-prepared spatial rift.
The battle raged on for more than four hours.
The number of polluted beasts has not decreased; on the contrary, there are signs of an increasing number. Some members of Team 0468 have already succumbed to the strain and sacrificed themselves.
But they always adhered to one principle: never cry out when injured, never howl even when dying.
Before he breathed his last, he gave his companions a look: 'Sever my head after the battle, let me die with dignity.'
The reason for this is that if any living creature dies without having its head removed and is left in the Black Abyss for an extended period, it will transform into a polluted entity.
The heads of fallen comrades must be severed or cremated; this is a common understanding within the Black Abyss.
At this moment, the number of people in Team 0468 has plummeted from 166 to 88, with more than a dozen already critically injured and on the verge of death. They are determined to fight until the very last moment before they die.
Lao San had his leg bitten off by a polluted beast. He howled, "Gou Tian, didn't you say they wouldn't bite me? Why did they bite me? Ah!"
The screams attracted more polluted beasts, and also revealed the reason for this sudden encirclement and suppression.
The expressions of Gou Tian and the others changed, and they cursed inwardly: 'Lao San, that good-for-nothing who only knows how to ruin things.'
Faced with Jin Buyi's furious, almost murderous gaze, Gou Tian quickly pulled out a large bag of powder, threw it in their direction, and then fled in the opposite direction: "Sorry, Captain Jin, I didn't want to agree, but that person offered too much."
Jiang Yu pulled out a bow and arrow and fired several arrows in the direction the group had fled.
Unfortunately, due to limited visibility, the bullet only hit one person's right leg, allowing them to escape.
Jiang Yu, who hadn't killed these traitors, kicked Lao San, who was lying on the ground clutching his legs and howling in pain, flying to the place with the most polluting beasts. In the process, he also attracted more than a dozen polluting beasts to Jin Buyi, blocking his way and preventing him from asking for help.
Jin Buyi glanced helplessly at Jiang Yu beside him.
Amidst the agonizing screams and cries, accompanied by the sickening sound of chewing, Lao San's wails ceased in a short while.
Meanwhile, after the seven people turned and ran away, Lin Xiaoxiao looked up at the black cat hidden in the darkness and in the direction the people had fled.
The black cat instantly understood her meaning, quickly opened a spatial rift, disappeared from its spot, and chased after them.
Xiao Weizhi raised his sword to block the corrupted beast in front of him, then kicked it away, gritting his teeth and saying, "No, we don't know what was spilled on this place. There are too many corrupted beasts. We'll be worn down and die here."
Lin Xiaoxiao raised the energy gun in her hand and fired a few shots, blowing the heads of all the polluted beasts surrounding them to pieces.
He nodded in agreement: "We need to move to another place. If we delay any longer, the number of polluting beasts in this place will only increase."
Clearly, Jin Buyi and his men had also considered this issue, raising their hands to signal a retreat, fighting as they ran...
Seven days later, in the lobby of the resistance headquarters, Squad 0468—188 people—went on a mission, but only 13 returned alive.
Including Lin Xiaoxiao and Xiao Weizhi, all of their bracelets were taken away for investigation (the bracelets have special detection, and once the number of polluted beasts becomes abnormal, the recording mode will be forcibly activated).
After two days of investigation and review, Lin Xiaoxiao, Xiao Weizhi, and two other professionals unrelated to the matter were released from the interrogation room.
Jin Buyi, as the team leader and a key figure connected to the conspiracy that destroyed the team, has been detained in the interrogation room pending further investigation and judgment.
As for Jiang Yu and others, they still need to be investigated again and cannot be released for the time being.
Lin Xiaoxiao's whole body ached, and she said helplessly, "What kind of mess is this?"
I was inexplicably and inexplicably dragged into this mess, I ran away for my life, and when I came back I was locked up for two days. Most importantly, Team 0468 was disbanded.
The two of them were forced to become unaffiliated individuals without a team and had to submit their information again to apply for a new team.
Xiao Weizhi put his arm around her shoulder, hugged Red Tail, and led her forward, comforting her in a deep voice, "It's okay, we can just switch to another team, uh..."
His voice suddenly stopped. Lin Xiaoxiao noticed something was wrong and looked up. She saw a middle-aged man standing ten meters away, who was covered in dirt and looked just as travel-worn.
The man looked utterly shocked...
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