At this moment, a short-haired girl with a pleasant aura walked by; she said with a smile.
"Tsk tsk, I was just getting bored, and having someone stir up trouble is just the thing to relieve my boredom. But, speaking of which, I feel like there's something off about the kid operating that drone; it doesn't seem like a coincidence at all. A normal person discovering a military base would take a good look around, right? They just fled without a second word; their vigilance is unmatched."
"Alright, maybe it's just a coincidence," someone replied.
"Maybe," she conceded.
...
Su Mo continued to calmly control the drone to fly around the vicinity. If that military base was unoccupied, it would be an excellent target.
Of course, it wouldn't be a big loss if it were already taken by someone else; after all, it was first occupied by others.
A while later, as the drone's battery level dropped to thirty percent, Su Mo was about to bring it back home.
Suddenly, an unimpressive and rather short building caught his attention.
The building was made of good materials, and most importantly, the roads all around it were exceptionally well maintained, branching off in all directions, with noticeable widening of the pavements.
Su Mo lowered the drone's altitude and observed carefully, noting that the concrete on the ground was specially formulated.
And the main road it connected to led directly to the military base.
Su Mo fell into a deep contemplation; combining several unusual characteristics, he immediately marked that building.
He quickly retrieved the drone, plugged in the charging cable, and began to recharge it.
He planned to use the last scouting opportunity to carefully investigate the roads along the way, to understand the distribution of Monsters, as well as the areas occupied by players.
In his view, gathering information was very important; it was not only about the success or failure of the exploration plan but also, if handled poorly, it could put him in danger.
After quite some time, once the drone was fully charged, Su Mo operated it to take off again.
----------------------------------
Inside the safe zone, Lan Xi was organizing her backpack, checking each item carefully. Not long ago, the guild issued the latest exploration missions to all the surviving teams in the safe zone.
Obviously, these exploration missions were all supported by reliable intel. As long as one was cautious, and luck wasn't too bad, normally there shouldn't be too great a danger. Furthermore, the target buildings designated held abundant resources; if everything went smoothly, they could expect a handsome reward.
Lan Xi quickly finished organizing and took a deep breath, silently cheering herself on; she had to perform well this time.
Meanwhile, other teams within the guild set off, talking and laughing with each other.
However, as they passed by Lan Xi, they couldn't help but take an extra glance at her and then started whispering among themselves.
"Did you see Lan Xi getting her backpack ready? Is she going on a mission too?" one asked.
"Of course, only Sister Wu is too soft-hearted to still take her into her team. If it was me, I wouldn't want her in my team and probably would have kicked her out of the guild already," another remarked.
"That's true, having her on the team is like carrying a ticking time bomb," someone else chimed in.
...
Lan Xi had heard bits and pieces of what they said, but she instinctively ignored it. Ever since she had arrived at the safe zone, similar remarks never stopped.
In the distance, Sister Wu was having an argument with her teammates.
A very competent-looking woman spoke out strongly against Sister Wu, "Sister Wu, why did you pull Lan Xi into our team? Both her character and conduct are problematic, she'll endanger us sooner or later. Now we're almost the laughingstock of the guild."
"Zhou Hong, don't talk like that. You know Lan Xi, don't you understand her temperament? The reason she did what she did before was out of desperation. You know her family's situation; she's just trying to survive. If she dies, her earnings will be greatly reduced, and she won't be able to sustain herself," Sister Wu defended.
"You're not wrong, and I do feel sorry for her. But it's precisely for this reason that she's dangerous. She could betray her own teammates to survive, so naturally, she could betray us too. As vice-captain, I don't agree with this decision, and neither will the other sisters," Zhou Hong replied firmly.
"Yeah, Sister Wu, you can't be too soft-hearted, or it will backfire on you," another teammate added.
...
The other sisters joined in to persuade her.
After Sister Wu listened to the others, a trace of hesitation appeared on her face before she finally spoke.
"I understand."
Not too long afterward, Sister Wu and the others came to Lan Xi.
As soon as Lan Xi saw Sister Wu, she immediately shouldered her backpack, perked up, and asked, "Sister Wu, can we set off now?"
"Well, Lan Xi, we've discussed it and there's a lack of logistics personnel inside the safe zone. So, how about you wait here for us to return after we complete the mission? Don't worry, you'll still be counted in the attendance," Sister Wu said, with a tinge of guilt in her voice.
Lan Xi, after listening to this, her eyes turned a bit dim. Then she put on a smile and replied, "You all go ahead. It's just as well, I'm not feeling very well myself."
"Alright, then we're off."
Sister Wu inwardly sighed and left with her team.
She really wanted to bring Lan Xi, but the other sisters in the team were so fiercely opposed that if she insisted on bringing her along, the team would become unsettled, and this could easily cause problems while carrying out the mission.
As Lan Xi watched Sister Wu and the others leave, she became increasingly silent.
"Yo, isn't this Lan Xi? Haven't set off yet? If I'm not mistaken, Sister Wu's team seems to have already left," Tang Zhi said with a smile as she walked over with her sisters.
Of course, she did it on purpose. Just a short while ago, she had deliberately whispered into the ears of Sister Wu's team members. Everyone wanted to earn money through this game—nobody wished to take the risk.
"It's none of your business."
Lan Xi bit her lip and replied defiantly.
"Hey, no need to pretend to be strong. Just by looking at you, it's clear that you've been abandoned. I advise you to have some self-awareness. No one wants to team up with someone like you."
"Heh heh"
"Haha"
...
The sisters around her covered their mouths and laughed softly.
Lan Xi's hands, which were hanging down, couldn't help but clench tightly. But even if she was angry, what could she do? A feeling of powerlessness emerged.
Reality was like this, and it remained unchanged even in the game.
Life seemed like darkness, with not a single ray of light.
Just then, an indifferent voice sounded.
"Time to go."
Lan Xi subconsciously lifted her head.
An automatic pistol was thrown towards her, and Lan Xi instinctively reached out and caught it.
Upon closer examination, it was an M92F automatic pistol, a high-end piece.
By the time Lan Xi came to her senses, Su Mo had already walked over without her knowing.
Seeing this, Tang Zhi's beautiful face twisted slightly, as her mood, previously pleasant, plunged. That damned fellow had come again and was extremely generous, giving her a fine weapon right away.
"Me?"
At that moment, Lan Xi still couldn't believe it.
"Any problems?"
Su Mo asked coldly.