Chapter 162 – Only Civilian Players Like to Team Up

“Once you enter Smokeless City, do not leave the city limits without permission, or you will immediately be considered to have voluntarily withdrawn. Make good use of the wristwatch on your hand. Pay close attention to the information posted and updated on it… The performance points you earn during the assessment will be converted into corresponding merit points after the assessment. Even if you don’t pass the assessment, you can still exchange them for a large sum of money…”

“So… do your best!”

At the shuttle hatch, the middle-aged man responsible for explaining the assessment rules handed Lu Yuan a black wristwatch with an LCD display.

Then he patted him on the shoulder, offering a final word of encouragement.

Lu Yuan nodded, put away the wristwatch, and watched as the silver-gray shuttle ascended in front of him and quickly flew away.

He was the last of the five assessors on this shuttle who had ultimately decided to participate in the assessment to disembark.

The shuttle “deployed” the five of them at different locations within Smokeless City.

It seemed that they did not want them to stay together and act collectively right from the start.

Lu Yuan found himself in an old alley with a traditional feel. There was no one around, front or back, except for a black cat squatting quietly next to a trash can not far away, watching him.

Lu Yuan moved forward.

The black cat seemed unafraid of him and even took the initiative to approach him.

Then, two meters away from him, it lazily lay down, its eyes half-closed, looking at him provocatively.

Lu Yuan blinked in slight surprise.

Before he could react, a small wooden door in the alley creaked open from the inside.

“Mi Mi—”

A long-haired woman in a white dress came out, gently picked up the black cat.

As she left, she politely smiled at Lu Yuan, but her eyes turned exceptionally cold the moment she looked away.

“Tsk…”

Lu Yuan clicked his tongue, feeling a surge of inexplicable emotion.

With his heightened perception, he sensed that both the black cat and the woman exuded an almost “numb” emotion.

Their emotional fluctuations were much calmer—or rather, more indifferent—than those of ordinary people.

It gave the impression of having “seen through the world” and “lost all interest in life.”

“Looks like the so-called ‘longevity’ of the new era… isn’t necessarily a good thing after all.”

Lu Yuan sighed as he walked out of the old alley.

The area where the shuttle had dropped him seemed to be a nostalgic old district of Smokeless City. Everywhere he looked, there were buildings with an old-fashioned style.

This was in stark contrast to what he had seen from the shuttle—a cityscape filled with futuristic designs like sailboats, bird nests, and discs, all adorned with neon and flowing light strips, exuding a sense of high technology and futuristic aesthetics.

Lu Yuan walked down the street for a while.

There weren’t many pedestrians, and everyone appeared lethargic, giving him the same feeling as the black cat and the woman he had seen in the alley.

He stopped at an outdoor cafe playing classical blues music.

After randomly ordering something, he sat down and started fiddling with the electronic wristwatch used for the assessment.

The operation was similar to using a mobile phone, but when he touched the screen, a virtual screen would magnify the interface above the wristwatch.

This was a product of the new world’s high technology.

Lu Yuan tapped the screen, and the first thing that appeared was a map of Smokeless City No. 3.

A light dot on the map represented his current location.

The upper left corner displayed the real-time clock and a string of numbers—[14:23:55:22].

The numbers were continuously decreasing, indicating the countdown for this assessment.

In the upper right corner, it showed—Number of Assessors: 179.

There were 179 participants in this new blood assessment.

The map had dozens of areas in different colors.

These areas were mainly divided into Four Types—black, red, blue, and green.

The quantities of these areas decreased in that order.

There were only three black areas, eight red areas, and more than fifty blue and green areas combined.

Lu Yuan attempted to click on an oval-shaped black area, and information immediately popped up in front of him—

[Task Level: S]

[Task Details: Not Unlocked]

[???]

Lu Yuan’s expression shifted slightly as he continued to click on the red, blue, and green areas.

The feedback revealed that these three colors represented Level A, Level B, and Level C task points, respectively.

Within each level, tasks were further divided into three sub-levels based on the depth of the color: A-, A, A+; B-, B, B+; and C-, C, C+.

Both the Level A and Level B task points were locked.

Only the Level C task points were fully open.

[Task Level: C-]

[Task Objective: Rescue the hostage]

[Task Reward: 100 points (base)]

[Task Details:

Task Point Map: Click to expand

Guard Distribution Map: Click to expand

Guard Information:

Ordinary Guards: Level D robots, primary attack methods (7.62MM caliber automatic rifle, Type 59 bow grenade…)

Leader: Blood Wolf, comprehensive strength assessment D+, boxing power 795kg, speed… proficient in military martial arts techniques, skilled in killing techniques.

Note: Death row prisoner, killable]

Lu Yuan’s gaze lingered slightly on the words “death row prisoner, killable” at the end of the data. Suddenly, he had a deeper understanding of the format of this simulated task assessment.

“They’re using actual criminals as test subjects… which makes sense of the Death Waiver Agreement we signed before the assessment…”

As the coffee was served, Lu Yuan politely thanked the waiter, who wore a fake smile.

At the cafe entrance, the TV opposite him was broadcasting the morning news of Smokeless City, filled with mundane content like fires, car accidents, and lost pets.

Lu Yuan glanced at it briefly, losing interest quickly.

He took a sip of the warm coffee and nearly spat it out due to its terrible taste.

He considered calling the waiter back to complain but, thinking about their life conditions, he decided it was understandable and let it go.

“New Blood Ranking.”

Lu Yuan found a new option on the wristwatch and clicked on it.

The list was empty.

It seemed that someone had to complete a task before appearing on the ranking.

“Tasks, rankings… it’s like playing a realistic online game.”

Lu Yuan tapped his fingers lightly on the table, his eyes brightening.

“It seems kind of interesting.”

Just then, a notification popped up on the wristwatch—[You have new group messages, please check them promptly.]

“Yo.”

Lu Yuan couldn’t help but laugh. “It seems there’s player interaction.”

He clicked on it immediately and found himself in a group chat.

Born Dominator (Ye Wuqiang): “1”

The message alert came from “Born Dominator (Ye Wuqiang).”

Lu Yuan recalled the signatures on the life-and-death contract. Instantly, he connected this name to a long-haired youth wearing a black exoskeleton.

One Shot Headshot (Xu Chengying): “Idiot?”

Born Dominator (Ye Wuqiang): “???”

Ah, this Xu Chengying must be the punk girl who sat across from him in the shuttle, the one with untied shoelaces.

Her name sounded quite pleasant, a stark contrast to her appearance.

Blue Electric Finger (He Jun): “LOL.”

Immovable Mountain (Xiang Shenghao): “(smile) Hello, everyone.”

The blue-haired boy who modified new martial arts and the pure martial artist youth.

Lu Yuan thought for a moment and sent an emoji with interest.

Lu Yuan (Lu Yuan): “(cool)!”

Born Dominator (Ye Wuqiang): “@One Shot Headshot (Xu Chengying), what do you mean?”

One Shot Headshot (Xu Chengying): “(smile) Literal meaning.”

Born Dominator (Ye Wuqiang): “@One Shot Headshot (Xu Chengying), where are you? Come and taste my five-ton punch power.”

One Shot Headshot (Xu Chengying): “Your family grave. (smile)”

Born Dominator (Ye Wuqiang): “I XXXX (rage)!”

Immovable Mountain (Xiang Shenghao): “Stop it, everyone. We’re all partners. Let’s think about how to complete the task first. (frown)”

Blue Electric Finger (He Jun): “Xiang Shenghao is right. Everyone, head to my coordinates now. Let’s discuss the assessment. (location)”

Born Dominator (Ye Wuqiang): “??? Why should we gather at your coordinates?”

Blue Electric Finger (He Jun): “Look at the name. I’m the strongest. I think I have the right to lead you.”

One Shot Headshot (Xu Chengying): “(middle finger)”

Born Dominator (Ye Wuqiang): “(middle finger)(middle finger)(middle finger)”

…

Lu Yuan stared at the group chat for a while, finding it increasingly boring.

It felt as if he had joined a group of elementary school students.

“Do I really have to complete this assessment with these teammates?”

He shook his head. “Forget it, I can skip the teamwork points.”

With that thought, he exited the group chat.

As soon as he left, he saw a friend request notification.

He clicked on it and saw that it was from “One Shot Headshot (Xu Chengying).”

After a moment’s hesitation, he accepted the request.

He then explored the chat channels further and discovered a global chat channel in addition to the team group chat.

People were already calling for team members in the global chat.

It seemed that, like him, others were dissatisfied with their initial teammates and were looking to form new teams for the new blood assessment.

“The freedom is quite high here. It looks like team collaboration is crucial in this assessment… The Yellow Bear examiners probably want to see us tackle high-difficulty tasks through teamwork.”

Just like the middle-aged White Bear who explained the assessment rules on the way here had emphasized, they didn’t recommend solo operations.

“But…”

Lu Yuan stood up from his chair and lightly adjusted his black-frame glasses.

He casually clicked on the nearest Level C+ task point and started walking towards it.

“I can choose not to follow that suggestion.”

“Casual players prefer teaming up. Ranking experts…”

“Always solo nightmare dungeons.”

…

“Alright! Let’s compromise! Everyone meet at the Dreamseeker Bar on the map in half an hour!”

On a bustling street, a long-haired youth wearing a black exoskeleton typed quickly on his wristwatch, feeling a bit agitated.

Finally.

The group chat members had no objections.

After all, they had already spent quite a bit of time arguing and throwing insults at each other.

Half an hour later.

In the eastern region of Smokeless City, a bar full of futuristic and sci-fi vibes.

The four who had just parted ways on the shuttle regrouped.

The long-haired youth, wearing an exoskeleton and taking up almost two seats, glanced at the time on his wristwatch and said in a deep voice, “Alright, let’s begin.”

“Someone’s still not here.”

The punk girl, chewing gum, yawned as she spoke.

“Right.”

The dark-skinned, muscular youth, Xiang Shenghao, nodded and said, “Lu Yuan from the group chat hasn’t arrived.”

“Do we really have to keep waiting for him?”

The blue-haired boy urged impatiently, “If we don’t start soon, I’ll find another team.”

“Yeah, let’s not wait.”

The long-haired youth thought for a moment and then agreed, “I remember Lu Yuan. He doesn’t have any signs of technological modifications and didn’t carry any strong equipment. He’s probably on a pure martial artist path. But judging by his physique…”

The long-haired youth glanced at Xiang Shenghao and continued, “I estimate his pure martial artist strength is average. Having him won’t make much of a difference in our combat power. Besides, he might have found another team. Let’s kick him out of the group chat and discuss our plans.”

Looking around, the long-haired youth straightened up slightly and said, “Before we start the team cooperation, it’s essential to understand each other.

So, I suggest we all share our strengths and abilities openly, so we know what we’re working with.

I’ll go first.

I’m Ye Wuqiang, on the exoskeleton enhancement path. My boxing power can reach…”

“Ding!”

Before the long-haired youth could finish, the wristwatches of the four people at the table emitted a pleasant chime.

The other three instinctively looked down to check.

Before long, someone exclaimed in surprise, “Wow, someone has already achieved the first completion of a Level C task!”