Speaking of Zhou Ying’s team, there was much to say about them!
After parting ways with the little black kitty that afternoon, the three had begun preparing to complete Mission (4) that night. They not only designed how to destroy the production facility but also mapped out multiple escape routes. Everything was ready, just waiting for nightfall.
The three even returned to their rooms to rest a bit, saving energy for the mission.
But who could have expected that the NPCs, who were supposed to come round people up at 7 PM, instead came at 5 PM., herding all the “customers” resting in their rooms into a giant warehouse.
A woman in a white lab coat, flanked by a group of subordinates, began inspecting the “customers,” picking and choosing, checking their health and mental states.
All the “customers” were like lambs awaiting slaughter.
Zhou Ying’s team had already reached Main Mission (4); one glance and they understood what was happening.
The woman was selecting experimental subjects!
Among the “customers” were two other players — a man and woman posing as Mr. and Mrs. Jiang. They had bad luck for them. They’d only come back quietly to scrounge some food, but had run headlong into a room inspection.
The couple had been focusing more on side missions, only just having finished Main Mission (2). They shared their progress with Zhou Ying’s team, who in turn revealed they were already on Main Mission (4). The couple were shocked, praising them endlessly for being so strong and so impressive.
The white-coat woman was the head of the experimental team, Yu Shang. She soon had a new idea. With too few subjects at hand, she decided to pick from this batch of customers.
She selected five players, praising their physiques as unusually robust little lab mice. She even took a liking to Wen Nanxing, considering dragging him into her harem. Under the watchful eyes of the female players, Wen Nanxing righteously rejected her.
Yu Shang, affronted, decided to make him the first example. She ordered him bound.
Zhou Ying’s team were each escorted into separate rooms.
Before being split up, they had agreed that too many NPCs made resistance suicidal. Better to wait until numbers thinned, act then, and regroup at their designated safe point.
But Yu Shang’s black-uniformed NPCs guarded them tightly, making escape near impossible.
As the “customers” around them were led away one by one, Zhou Ying and Cheng Li were next.
Seeing their chance as the guards in their room dwindled, the two used items to knock out the black-uniformed NPC at the door, then fled.
But this was an unfamiliar place. They had no idea which way to run, stumbling into a frantic chase with the guards. Nearly exhausted, they finally managed to escape Yu Shang’s clutches. But by then, dawn had broken.
What worried them most was that Wen Nanxing was nowhere to be seen at the designated safe point. He might not have made it out.
At this moment, there were only about 16 hours left before the game ended.
Main Mission (4) was still incomplete. Without clearing the previous mission, no one could trigger the next one!
And then came even worse news. The two players Zhou Ying and Cheng Li had just met earlier ran into them again and told them that Zhao Renfu’s study had been broken into the previous night. Now there was a sweeping investigation, with management far stricter than before. Any rash move could get them caught by Zhao Renfu’s men, and the consequences would be dire.
Mrs. Jiang said, “You don’t know, do you? Zhao Renfu only suspected Lin Xie, yet still used electric shocks to force the truth out of him. Kevin Yang truly betrayed the old man. He was dismembered and dumped into the river outside the restaurant. If we’re caught, it won’t just be a bullet in the head.”
Zhou Ying and Cheng Li had seen Zhao Renfu kill He Xiaobi with their own eyes, and the memory made their hearts run cold.
But the mission still had to be done!
Mr. and Mrs. Jiang asked if they should try to find the remaining players and come up with a plan together.
Zhou Ying and Cheng Li did the math. Excluding the two who had already died, eight remained. Among them, Yan Jiyun was capable of operating alone, elusive and unpredictable, and thus not considered for cooperation. That left only two players, whose whereabouts were currently unknown.
Still, Zhou Ying and Cheng Li decided to wait for Wen Nanxing. If he hadn’t escaped Yu Shang within two more hours, they would proceed with Main Mission (4) first.
Yan Jiyun, after resting a night and unable to leave, woke up to see only 16 hours left on the clock, and felt a jolt of anxiety.
What happened to Zhou Ying’s team?
Could they have been captured?
Once Lin Xie finished washing up, Yan Jiyun began clawing at the door, desperate to go out and continue the mission. Otherwise, he’d be doomed in this dungeon!
Lin Xie told him: “Blake, you can’t run around today. If you get caught again, I might not be able to save you in time.”
Zhao Renfu already knew someone had broken into his study last night. Internal security would certainly be airtight today.
Of course Yan Jiyun knew Zhao Renfu would react. But finishing the mission was far more urgent.
Seeing how insistent the cat was, Lin Xie sighed helplessly and let him out. After all, this wasn’t a house cat; it was normal for him to roam.
He speculated with a half-smile, “Blake, don’t tell me you’re going to see your little lover? I remember there’s a pretty white cat out there. I’ll bring her back for you one day.”
Yan Jiyun, dashing out, nearly tripped over his own paws. What nonsense!
Free at last, he ran straight to Zhou Ying’s safe point.
By now, he knew every stairwell of every building. The black-uniformed guards recognized whose cat he was and no longer stopped him. He was smooth sailing all the way. His days of playing the obedient pet had paid off.
Zhou Ying and Cheng Li were still waiting for Wen Nanxing. Mr. and Mrs. Jiang was with them as well, hoping to ride along on Main Mission (4). Given their current progress, clearing the dungeon in a mere 10 hours was impossible. Banding together was their only hope.
Suddenly, the slightly-ajar safehouse door creaked open.
But no one entered.
Mr. and Mrs. Jiang tensed immediately.
Zhou Ying and Cheng Li, seeing the little black cat slip through the gap, pressed their hands down. “Don’t worry, it’s our partner!”
Cheng Li explained the NPC black cat’s role to them.
Mr. and Mrs. Jiang were shocked. “We only saw it once, on the first day. To think it’s this important?”
Zhou Ying and Cheng Li nodded. “Very much so.” But they didn’t elaborate further, because Yan Jiyun had already turned and left.
Mr. and Mrs. Jiang watched Zhou Ying and Cheng Li rise without a word, following the cat out, and quickly followed themselves, not wanting to miss out.
Yan Jiyun led them through twists and turns, deliberately drawing away the guards. After some time, they arrived at the production workshop. Zhou Ying and Cheng Li donned white coats and ID badges they had swiped elsewhere. They had been seen here before, so no one questioned their presence.
The trio had scoped out the site yesterday; they knew exactly what they had to do.
Once inside, Yan Jiyun deliberately split off. Zhou Ying and Cheng Li understood immediately: they had to hurry and complete the Main Mission (4).
He knew Mr. and Mrs. Jiang were players too, but since Zhou Ying hadn’t run into them before, and Wen Nanxing was missing, he could guess they had been through something dangerous the night before.
Every player was dancing on the edge of a blade. One wrong step and it would pierce them through.
The four set off separately. Mr. and Mrs. Jiang proved capable as well, even refining Zhou Ying’s plan.
Zhou Ying had the heaviest task: infiltrating the power room to cut electricity to the factory. Yan Jiyun followed her in secret, ready to warn her if needed.
Mr. Jiang carried small explosives, enough to blow the entire workshop.
The plan was clear: first disable the power, then sow chaos in the production floor. Only then could Mr. and Mrs. Jiang sneak in and plant the charges.
The factory was ablaze with lights, making stealth difficult even for Yan Jiyun. Fortunately, Zhou Ying’s lab coat lent her authority; her bearing cowed others. When questioned, she answered firmly and logically. By the time anyone realized something was wrong, she was gone and the NPCs chose not to pursue.
This wasn’t a legitimate state-run facility; the power room was unmanned. Zhou Ying simply took a pair of heavy shears and cut the wires.
She could have thrown in a small bomb, but that risked collapse and her own life. Cutting the power was safer, a solution designed with their own escape in mind.
One by one, the workshop’s lights went dark. Confusion spread quickly.
Yan Jiyun stuck with Zhou Ying until they reached the rendezvous point to hide. The other three had prepared as well, heading to their targets to plant the explosives. Five minutes more, and the key workshop would be destroyed. Cheng Li led Mr. and Mrs. Jiang to the Red Field Poppy workshop.
They had studied the map — the Red Field Poppy workshop sat at the very center, the most hidden spot.
Yan Jiyun and Zhou Ying waited outside in the safe zone.
Before long, they saw Mr. and Mrs. Jiang return, but Cheng Li was nowhere in sight.
Zhou Ying’s face darkened. “Where’s Cheng Li?”
Mrs. Jiang answered: “When we were about to set the charges, an NPC spotted us.”
Zhou Ying’s voice went cold. “What do you mean? You just handed her over?”
Mrs. Jiang bristled, “Getting mad at us won’t help. We didn’t want to be exposed either. That NPC only recognized the little girl.”
Zhou Ying pressed on, “You knew she was just a girl. The blast is about to go off, and you left her inside! Who took her?”
Mr. Jiang replied: “She called him Supervisor Zhang. He noticed something off about her and had her seized. If you want to save her, find her yourselves.”
Zhou Ying trembled with fury. “You—!”
From the start of this dungeon, Cheng Li had been her trusted partner. She had long since considered her a sister. They had fought side by side with seamless teamwork. Now these two strangers had simply abandoned her, speaking such callous words. Zhou Ying lunged forward and slapped Mrs. Jiang twice, hard.
Mrs. Jiang, stunned, tried to strike back, but Zhou Ying was already rushing back into the workshop.
Mr. Jiang held his wife back. “Forget it. We’ve cleared Main Mission (3). Once Main Mission (4) is done, we’re set. Don’t bother with them. Going back in now is suicide. And without them, our dungeon points will be even higher.”
Yan Jiyun seethed. If NPCs had done this, he wouldn’t have felt such rage. But these two had tricked their way into the team’s trust, then abandoned her at the critical moment, coldly justifying it with words that cut to the bone.
To him, Cheng Li was an especially endearing girl. She never acted delicate while searching for clues, never backed down when it was her turn to step up. She’s brave, clever, and has a sharp memory. She had just turned eighteen. At this moment, he found these two players more disgusting than Zhao Renfu himself.
From the shadows, he darted straight at Mr. Jiang. Before the man could react, Yan Jiyun raked three deep, bloody gouges across his face.
Mr. Jiang screamed, not yet understanding what had attacked him, when Yan Jiyun was already bounding after Zhou Ying into the workshop.
At that moment, there were only five minutes left before the explosives went off.
Yeah get him Yan Jiyun!!!