Tang Cuo choosing to split up was, of course, unrealistic. He ultimately accepted the Big Red Flower and headed to the Mission Hall with Jin Cheng once again to enter an instance together.
As for the crowds gathering in the Mission Hall, they ignored them completely. Whoever the system selected as their teammates would simply be their teammates—this was the effortless confidence of top-tier players.
Over in Zone A, Miao Qi was squatting on the windowsill of their home, peering through binoculars at the distant Tianzhi headquarters. He caught sight of figures moving past their windows several times before turning back to Lin Yandong, who was reading a book. “Sir, Chong Yanzhang is still there.”
Lin Yandong didn’t look up, his eyes remaining on the page as he spoke in a mild tone. “Since Chong Yanzhang neither tried to make Jiang He stay, nor is he willing to demote himself to Zone E to fight for his life, Tianzhi’s journey ends here.”
Miao Qi tilted his head, thinking it over carefully before asking, “Sir, since you admire Jiang He, why only send someone to watch him instead of just recruiting him? If it were you asking, he would definitely agree.”
Lin Yandong finally raised his eyes. “So you know what recruiting means now?”
Miao Qi curled his lip. “Sir, I’m not actually stupid.”
Lin Yandong smiled and shook his head. “Since I chose to cooperate with Jin Cheng, I don’t need an extra Jiang He. Remember that rookie beside Jin Cheng? He’s no weaker than Jiang He.”
Miao Qi really hadn’t noticed that. Aside from the initial Knife Gang incident, Tang Cuo hadn’t seemed to display any specific talents. Most of his current reputation was brought on by the Blacklist and Jin Cheng.
After a long pause, Lin Yandong added, “Leng Miao, on the other hand, is worth considering.”
Meanwhile, in Zone E.
Cheng Ke had long since been released from prison and upgraded from Zone F to Zone E. Given his level of caution, he naturally wasn’t going to fight over the Twelve Movements. Especially after he asked An Ning for detailed information about Jin Cheng and Tang Cuo, this thought became even more resolute—
When gods fight, mortals like them shouldn’t join the fray.
“Guide that kid Chi Yan well and keep the others in line. If you gather any intel about the Movement, quietly leak it to Chi Yan. Selling them a favor is never a bad idea.”
Cheng Ke was determined to stay on Jin Cheng’s good side, and as a result, his estimation of An Ning rose. This young girl, An Ning, was decisive and bold; she was indeed a promising talent.
An Ning nodded in agreement. Just then, someone knocked and pushed the door open. It was the burly man who had stormed off to East Cross Street for revenge after learning of Cheng Ke’s murder. His face was grave as he immediately announced, “Another team got completely wiped out.”
Cheng Ke couldn’t help but click his tongue. Since the news of the Twelve Movements spread, how many people had thrown their lives away? The estimated clearance time for this Special Trigger Instance was twenty-four hours. Anyone who hadn’t returned after thirty hours likely wasn’t coming back at all.
“Make absolutely sure to keep a close eye on everyone,” Cheng Ke warned An Ning again. “The Twelve Movements are not something we can touch. Don’t throw your little lives away.”
At the same time, gasps of shock rang out in the Mission Hall of the Central District.
“My God, look at the Red Board!” “Rong Yi dropped a grade!” “Holy shit, even this guy is making a move? He didn’t intervene during the whole East Cross Street incident. The waters in Zone E are way too deep right now…” “That’s not dropping a grade, that’s a double jump!”
Unlike Jin Cheng, who was abruptly punished from Zone A straight back to Zone F, the Twelve Movements had appeared this time in a Zone E instance. If a Zone A player wanted to enter a Zone E instance, they had to be demoted to Zone E.
How to precisely land in Zone E was a challenge, so to be safe, this mentioned Rong Yi did a double jump. He dropped from A to C, and then from C to E, falling two levels at a time.
Some newly arrived players didn’t know about the Red Board or Rong Yi, so the gathered gossips quickly educated them.
Yong Ye City’s Mission Hall featured three boards: the Black Board, the White Board, and the Red Board.
The Black Board was naturally Mr. Crow’s Blacklist, with the immovable G79081 Jin Cheng sitting firmly at the top.
The White Board was the Equipment Evaluation Board, often called the Artifact Board by players. Jin Cheng’s mechanical bow was prominently listed, though it wasn’t ranked at the very top.
The Red Board was the Comprehensive Strength Leaderboard. The current top ranks were as follows:
First Place: Zone A, A28377
Second Place: Zone A, D22422
Third Place: Zone A, C01724
Fourth Place: Zone A, E57456
Fifth Place: Zone A, G79081
Among this sea of Zone A players, the number one spot starting with ‘A’ belonged to Lin Yandong. Therefore, even though he rarely showed his face, he remained an unshakable mountain.
Second place, D22422, was Rong Yi. Fourth was Leng Miao, and fifth was Jin Cheng.
“How is Jin Cheng only fifth? Isn’t he supposed to be incredibly strong?” A new player was confused. Since entering Yong Ye City, all he had heard were tales of Jin Cheng; the Blacklist Maniac’s reputation was thunderous.
“That’s because you don’t understand,” a veteran player said with profound mystery. “The Comprehensive Strength Leaderboard doesn’t represent everything. It’s a weighted calculation of a player’s points and equipment. Among those top-ranked players, if they actually fought it out, it’s impossible to say who would come out on top.”
The new player nodded, half-understanding, when another voice chimed in from the crowd. “Tch, Jin Cheng has only been here three years. To those old monsters in Zone A, he’s practically a rookie. Just wait and see; give it another two years, and who knows how this leaderboard will shift.”
Soon enough, someone excitedly recounted the tale of Jin Cheng’s early days in Yong Ye City—parachuting into Zone A, continuously defeating superiors as an absolute rookie, and smashing into the Red Board’s top ten within six months.
Jin Cheng was a man who generated his own spotlight.
As for Tang Cuo, there was currently no trace of him on the Red Board. Overshadowed by Jin Cheng’s halo, though he was occasionally mentioned, the lack of information meant he was usually reduced to: The guy always hanging around Jin Cheng, or Jin Cheng’s disciple.
His current spot on the Blacklist was 88th—a rather auspicious number.
Before long, some people started mulling over the deeper implications. “That whole group that went to prison last time doesn’t seem to be making a move, yet ancient tomb sect hermits like Rong Yi are.”
“Yeah, who knows if the third place on the Red Board will also stick their nose in.”
“Aren’t Leng Miao and Jiang He still locked up?”
“I heard someone might have gotten out. Did Jin Cheng scare them so badly they don’t dare make a move…?”
Noisy discussions filled every corner of the Mission Hall. Ordinary players couldn’t even touch the fringes of something like the Twelve Movements, but this only deepened their inner anxieties.
Who the Movement ended up with and what kind of ending it would trigger was a complete unknown. The Sixth Movement held massive authority; what would it bring to Yong Ye City?
The great blade of fate was quietly descending upon the heads of all ordinary players.
“I’d rather Jin Cheng got it,” someone muttered softly in the corner, their timid eyes sweeping guardedly over the players entering the mission wall.
There were many who shared his prayer, and the continuous reports of total team wipeouts brought, more or less, a sense of grim relief.
“If you want the Twelve Movements, you have to see if you have the life to take it.”
“If those guys got their hands on it, wouldn’t Yong Ye City descend into chaos? Better they die in there.”
“A snake trying to swallow an elephant out of greed.”
“Die, it’s better if they all die! I refuse to believe those people would do anything good after getting a Movement!”
“I’ve really had enough!”
Some worried, some brazenly unleashed their malice, but the vast majority remained silent. Countless eyes closely monitored the mission wall and the current movements in Zone E, terrified that someone might snatch the Movement first.
In just one short night, while Jin Cheng and Tang Cuo were still inside their instance, the power dynamics in Zone E underwent a massive reshuffle.
“Boss, that group that always opposed us is gone too. Six people, not a single one came out of the instance.”
“We’re withdrawing.”
“Boss?”
“This isn’t something we can interfere with. Pull back. Even though life in Yong Ye City is awful, I don’t want to die.”
In the face of death, more and more people began to retreat. Yet there were still those who chose to put all their eggs in one basket, like red-eyed gamblers throwing their lives onto the betting table.
“It’s just death either way. I’ve already died once, so what if I die again? Is staying in Yong Ye City grinding missions a good way out? It’s all fucking bullshit!”
And what were Tang Cuo and Jin Cheng doing at this exact moment? They were fighting zombies in a doomsday town.
Zombies besieging a city—a classic trope. Tang Cuo had originally wondered when they’d run into it, and suddenly, here it was. Compared to Pass the Parcel, this instance was much simpler and more brutal. The final score was evaluated based on zombie kill counts. Whether a player wanted to hide until the end or go on a killing spree, as long as they survived for twelve hours, they could clear the instance.
Currently, there was exactly one hour left until clearance.
To earn more points in preparation for the upcoming Special Trigger Instance, Jin Cheng and Tang Cuo chose the most aggressive and dangerous stationary combat strategy.
First, they scavenged for gear in the town. After looting a weapon shop, they scoped out the perfect stationary point: the town’s TV tower.
It was a Western-style town, and the TV tower had both an elevator and stairs leading to the uppermost observation deck. Tang Cuo and Jin Cheng camped out here, using the scent of blood and the massive loudspeakers inside the tower to draw the zombies in.
There were still twelve players in this round. Aside from Jin Cheng and Tang Cuo, the other ten were scattered throughout the town. As they fought, they began to notice the surrounding zombies dwindling. Only after rushing toward the TV tower did they realize—they had stumbled upon big bosses carrying the lobby.
However, this zombie instance wasn’t actually that difficult; even those with low combat power could survive by hiding. Everyone had originally hoped to farm some extra points, but now they could only gaze up at the big bosses and lament their fate.
Some people even started playing cards while hiding in the corners.
Up on the TV tower.
Jin Cheng glanced at the situation below, then turned back to ask Tang Cuo, “Tired?”
Holding a machine gun, Tang Cuo turned his head, a few drops of blood splattered across his cold face. “What did you say?”
Just as Jin Cheng was about to speak, Tang Cuo heard noises coming from the stairwell. He decisively turned back around. Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat! He unleashed a sweeping barrage at the top of the stairs.
Gunsmoke instantly filled the air, and spent casings clattered to the ground in a cacophony. The forceful blowback whipped the hem of Tang Cuo’s trench coat, but his expression didn’t change in the slightest.
Jin Cheng chose to shut his mouth.
The elevator had long been destroyed, and under continuous suppressive fire, the stairwell was utterly riddled with holes. Jin Cheng yielded the vast majority of the kills to Tang Cuo, and Tang Cuo wasn’t coy about it, taking every single one.
An hour later, the instance finally neared its end.
The other ten players were incredibly curious about the battle at the TV tower. They didn’t dare go up and disturb the big bosses or try to steal a piece of the pie, but that didn’t stop them from using various methods to peek.
However, what thoroughly baffled everyone was that the moment the “Ding!” sounded, Tang Cuo suddenly and expressionlessly materialized a Big Red Flower in his hand.
What the hell?
Nowadays, you even get rewarded with a big red flower for killing zombies? Not gonna lie, that flower was vividly red and had an incredibly retro vibe, as if in the next second he would wheel out a vintage 28-inch bicycle with a giant loudspeaker strapped to the handlebars.
They never expected Jin Cheng’s partner to have such unique tastes. Much respect.
Up on the TV tower, Jin Cheng was also struggling to hold in a laugh.
Tang Cuo’s deceptively proper and handsome face paired with that massive red flower was simply too brilliant. If Tang Cuo wasn’t pointing a machine gun in his direction, Jin Cheng felt he absolutely would have taken a picture as a souvenir.
After returning to Yong Ye City, the two checked their haul.
Jin Cheng had naturally gathered enough points to upgrade, and Tang Cuo, alongside the doubled points from the Big Red Flower, unexpectedly acquired a Gatling gun. The heavy firepower slightly diluted the sorrow of being forced to hold up a big red flower in celebration.
After allocating his points, his character stats were:
ID K27216: Tang Cuo
Character Points: 18
Force: 72
Intelligence: 34
Charm: 8
Rating: A
Health: 35%
Survival is not easy, please keep up the good work.
Tang Cuo saved the remaining 18 points to buy medicine. As the saying goes, one can never have too much medicine; when the crucial moment hits, he still needed to save his own life.
Next stop: The Special Trigger Instance.
