"Wait, IronBarbie, go attract those skeletons first.
I don't expect you to defeat them, but make sure they keep their focus on you."
Ember Wilde looked at IronBarbie and said, "I believe in you."
"Attracting monsters, piece of cake!" IronBarbie gestured with a thumbs-up.
Ember Wilde nodded and turned to the other two players.
"WTF and what the hell, once IronBarbie has the skeletons' attention, slip outside the shelter. Take a right, and there's a water tank about ten meters away.
Bring it in here. After that, use any leftover furniture to block the shelter's entrance, trying to keep as few skeletons from entering as possible."
WTF squinted his eyes and raised his hand, asking, "Hey, Ember, I get using furniture to block the door, but why bring the water tank inside? Are you planning to drown those skeletons?"
"Exactly."
"Are you sure the skeletons will be drowned by water?"
"You just need to trust me," Ember Wilde replied calmly, looking at WTF.
"..." WTF was at a loss for words.
"After moving the water tank and blocking the door, you two help IronBarbie continue to attract the skeletons. Leave the rest to me."
Ember Wilde finished speaking and noticed the three players looking at him with surprise and doubt.
He couldn't help but laugh and said, "I will demonstrate how to kill these skeletons."
Ember Wilde, with the system's help, had traveled to the apocalypse.
However, it didn't mean that this world was a game world; it had simply been transformed into a data-driven existence by some mysterious power.
In other words, he could level up just like the players, but he didn't have the option to exit the game, and he didn't know if he could respawn like the players.
Mainly... he didn't dare to test if he had the respawn ability.
If he did... well, that would be reassuring.
If not... then he would truly die!
During his month in the apocalypse, he had killed countless mutated creatures.
Though they were all small mutants like two-headed fish and six-legged frogs, he gained valuable experience points from them.
After a month of hunting monsters, he had reached level 9.
His personal attribute panel had undergone significant improvements compared to when he first arrived.
His current personal attribute panel looked like this:
----------------------------
ID: Ember Wilde
Race: Human (Not specialized)
Level: 9 (12%)
Occupation: None
Constitution: 10 (3+7)
Strength: 10 (3+7)
Agility: 13 (3+10)
Spirit: 7 (7)
----------------------------
As a transmigrator, Ember Wilde's attributes weren't the system's standard [5, 5, 5, 5] four-dimensional attributes.
They reflected his pre-transmigration values as a white-collar worker [3, 3, 3, 7].
With the additional 24 attribute points from leveling up to level 9, Ember Wilde immediately allocated them all to his physical attributes without hesitation.
His four-dimensional attributes were now at [10, 10, 13, 7].
Originally, Ember Wilde had considered allocating most of the attribute points to Strength.
After all, hunting, carrying supplies, even dissecting prey, all required strength. With a higher Strength attribute, the physical exertion for these tasks would be reduced.
However, what Ember is unsure about is whether the players would directly stab his legs to escape while being chased by the undead creatures.
But as long as he could run fast, these wouldn't be problems.
Indeed, for a gazelle, it didn't need to run faster than a lion, it just needed to be faster than its slowest peers to avoid being eaten. The same principle applied here.
In this way, not only did he have double the Strength attribute compared to the players, but he also had an Agility attribute that was 2.3 times higher.
With his current Strength attribute, dismantling a skeleton unarmed wasn't difficult, as demonstrated when he dismantled one during the day.
However, at night, the skeletons' movement speed increased significantly.
If Ember Wilde tried to dismantle a skeleton then, he would undoubtedly get injured, possibly severely.
He needed other people to attract the skeletons, and then he could strike.
----------------------------
The battle strategy was now set. IronBarbie was the first to follow the plan and went out to attract the skeletons' attention.
When he opened the door and stepped outside, he took a glance at the remains of his own body, which had been torn apart by the skeletons.
"It's really tragic..." Even someone as experienced in reality as IronBarbie couldn't help but swallow hard.
No time for more thoughts.
"Clank, clank, clank, clank!" The sound of the skeleton's bones colliding echoed again. They had noticed IronBarbie and were running towards him.
IronBarbie remained composed; he had experience in attracting these skeletons.
He simply ran in a straight line, then changed direction. Though not as fast as before, this method was still effective.
"It's time."
Ember Wilde glanced at the hall's situation and waved at WTF and What the hell. They exchanged glances and cautiously walked out of the room.
"I hope these two can handle it..." Ember Wilde watched their trembling legs and doubted their capabilities.
WTF and What the hell were just ordinary city workers.
Facing such a high-pressure and terrifying environment, their composure couldn't match IronBarbie's.
Fortunately... they had a mental tool to calm themselves. They kept telling themselves, "This is a game... this is a game... I am immortal, this is just a game!"
Step by step, holding their breath, they walked out of the respawn point hall. Ember Wilde watched and worried that they might suffocate.
The main point was, these were skeletons, not ghosts relying on smell. You can still breathe!
Fortunately, although they were fearful, they didn't falter at the critical moment.
In less than two minutes, they brought back the water tank filled with Blackwater River water from outside the respawn point.
After bringing the water tank back, they started moving the old furniture to block the shelter's entrance as planned.
Their expressions and bodies betrayed their fear and anxiety, but their efficiency was at maximum.
Ember Wilde was somewhat surprised; these two guys seemed to be "not entirely useless" as he had previously assessed.
With the players having completed their tasks, it was now time for Ember Wilde, the "newbie guide NPC," to make his appearance.
He touched his armor to make sure everything was in place before pushing open the door and stepping outside.
At that moment, the three players were running in circles with eleven skeletons in the respawn point hall.
Ember Wilde approached the water tank and tripped one of the skeletons with his foot. Then, he sat on it, hugging the skull with both hands.
He proceeded to twist the skull forcefully.
"Crack!" The skull was directly twisted off by Ember Wilde!
WTF and What the hell were dumbfounded.
"Huh? Are these skeleton joints so easy to dislocate?" WTF and What the hell were amazed.
IronBarbie followed suit and attempted it himself. He quickly tripped one skeleton, then sat down and followed Ember Wilde's actions, placing his hands on the skeleton's neck and twisting.
However, he didn't have the same ease as Ember Wilde; his hands got stuck at the bone joint due to lack of strength.
Not only did he fail to twist the skull off, but he also got bitten severely as his hands were too close to the skull.
"Ahh!" IronBarbie winced in pain and couldn't help but wonder, "Just how high is Ember Wilde's Strength attribute? How could he do that so effortlessly?"
IronBarbie sighed and said, "Sigh, why can't I bring my real-life body into this game? With my original strength, I could have easily twisted off that skeleton's head!"
IronBarbie gave up trying to mimic Ember Wilde's actions and continued running circles with the skeleton.
Meanwhile, Ember Wilde continued attracting the attention of the other two players.
"Ember! The skeleton head in your hand and the skeleton bodies below are still moving!" WTF warned as he pulled the other skeletons while reminding him.
"I know, that's why I asked you to crush their bones earlier. But dismantling them won't work." Ember Wilde tightly held the skeleton head in front of him and replied.
"What should we do now? We still don't have weapons to perform the crushing attacks you mentioned."
"Ember dismantled all the skeleton heads. He should have a better way to deal with them."
"Yeah, we can even smash their heads against solid objects."
"Huh? What is Ember doing? Is he really planning to drown the skeletons?!"
"Plunk!"
Amidst the discussion between WTF and What the hell, Ember Wilde tossed the skeleton head into the water tank, which was about a meter high.
As for the skeleton on the ground that Ember Wilde had sat on, its bones seemed to lose their adhesive properties, and the bones scattered all over the place!
"What the heck? The skeleton really drowned?!" WTF exclaimed in surprise.
"Keep your voice down..."
Ember Wilde made a quiet gesture to him.
Then, he took the skeleton head out of the water tank and kept his gaze on the scattered skeleton remains.
After a few seconds, when he saw that they hadn't automatically reconnected, he finally relaxed.
"I'm not sure about the principle, but now it seems like the Blackwater River water is indeed effective against the skeletons."
Ember Wilde looked at the skull in his hand and said, "As long as the skeleton head is fully submerged in the water of the Blackwater River, the skeleton will lose all signs of life.
I tried it once before, but I didn't expect it to work so smoothly. Oh, by the way, to prevent them from resurrecting..."
Ember Wilde said as he pushed the skeleton head through a broken window and threw it outside.
This way, even if the scattered skeleton remains reconnected, it would take some effort for it to find its head again.
The four people in the respawn point had learned the strategy of killing the monsters, making the following battles easier.
The three players continued running circles with the skeletons, while Ember Wilde took the opportunity to reduce their numbers.
When IronBarbie ran until he was exhausted and got killed by the skeletons, Ember Wilde finally dealt with the last skeleton inside the respawn point.
"Swoosh!"
A sound effect rang out. In the players' view, a dazzling light appeared above Ember Wilde's head.
Then, the words "Level Up!" and "Level 9 → Level 10!" appeared.
"The NPCs in this game can also level up?"
WTF looked puzzled again.
"Not only that... It seems like he absorbed all the experience points from these ten, no, precisely eleven skeletons..." What the hell took a deep breath.
"Wait! Are we working for an NPC now?" WTF facepalmed and sighed, "In real life, we work for bosses, and now in the game, we're working for NPCs... Life is tough."
"Look on the bright side... at least we completed our mission."
"Hey, all the skeletons in the hall have been eliminated, so why hasn't the mission shown as completed yet?"
While the players were still puzzled, Ember Wilde had already gathered information about the surroundings through the game's map.
"Guys, I think we're in big trouble!"
Ember Wilde's words fell just as countless "clack-clack-clack" footsteps approached, accompanied by the howling of ghosts.
After a moment, a series of violent door-banging sounds erupted.