Looking towards the source of the voice, Shen Yi was astonished to find that it was Fatty who had requested to join their team.
Shen Yi, Jin Gang, and Hong Lang exchanged glances. They weren't surprised by Fatty's desire to join them. For Fatty, this mission seemed like a hopeless situation. In previous missions, he could survive by paying Bloody points, but this time survival depended on rankings. Given Fatty's timid nature, he likely couldn't achieve in a year what other adventurers could in a day.
In other words, unless something unexpected happened, Fatty was as good as dead.
What surprised Shen Yi and the others was that Fatty didn't approach the new, unfamiliar adventurers but came to them instead. Despite his cowardice, Fatty wasn't stupid; he must have known that Shen Yi's team was unlikely to accept his request.
"Give me a reason," Shen Yi said.
Fatty, red-faced, stammered, "I... I can give you all the Bloody points I earn."
"You mean the Bloody points you earn yourself? If you could earn them on your own, you wouldn't be asking us," Shen Yi replied.
Wen Rou covered her mouth to hide her smile, while Jin Gang and Hong Lang crossed their arms and sneered.
Fatty, realizing his offer wouldn't sway Shen Yi, hurriedly added, "I don't need Bloody points, just the kill value. As long as you help me stay off the elimination list, I'll work for you for free. I can create psychic armor, you know that."
"You can also lead to disasters and get your companions killed," Hong Lang retorted angrily. "You're lucky to be alive as it is."
Fatty raised his hands in defense, "That was an accident. If you help me, I'll... I'll tell you two big secrets!"
"Your secrets aren't worth much," Shen Yi dismissed.
As he turned to leave, aware that they had already formed their team and it was pointless to waste more time there, Fatty grabbed Shen Yi, crying and sniffling, "Please, help me, my secrets are really valuable."
"Speak your secrets first, then we'll talk terms. If they're really valuable, we might consider helping you," Jin Gang said, placing a hand on Fatty's shoulder.
Trembling, Fatty took a moment before blurting out, "Alright, I'll tell you the first secret. Do you know why I'm so afraid of dying?"
The four of them were startled.
"Is there a reason to be afraid of death?" Wen Rou asked with a smile.
Fatty's face showed a bitter helplessness, "Indeed, no reason is needed, but for me, death is not just a feeling, it's a tangible presence."
"What do you mean?" Shen Yi didn't understand.
Fatty looked up, speaking loudly, "I mean, I can feel the presence of death. Because I also have a special ability... Danger Perception!"
Fatty, whose real name is Luo Hao, was a typical otaku before entering Bloody City. His life was simple: eating, surfing the internet, sleeping, repeat. Until one day, he was suddenly pulled into this fantastical world.
The first world he entered was the world of superpowers - Heroes.
At that time, Fatty was not as deathly afraid as he is now. In that world, he cooperated with other newcomers and succeeded in the mission. It was during that novice mission that he acquired a very special ability... Danger Perception.
Danger Perception is a passive ability that doesn't require active use. It should have been a very useful ability, but Fatty didn't expect it to turn into a nightmare.
"You know, actually, everyone has a sixth sense, it's just stronger in some than others. When danger approaches, some people can sense it in advance and take precautions," Fatty explained helplessly. "When I got this ability, I thought it was my best safeguard. But I didn't expect... it turned into a nightmare."
"Why?" they asked.
"Because this is a world full of danger!" Fatty exclaimed. "This ability doesn't just let you know in advance when danger is coming. It intensifies your sixth sense, making you feel the presence of danger more acutely. But you can't imagine how terrifying that feeling of danger is. It's like standing on the edge of a void and looking down, feeling a shiver down your spine. But this is worse, it's like being thrown from tens of thousands of meters in the air without a parachute, feeling death rapidly approaching and enveloping you, and you have no way to escape! Can you understand that kind of despair?"
"My God," Wen Rou exclaimed in shock.
"Yes, that's the effect of my ability. It intensifies your sense of danger, making you feel it ten or a hundred times more than others. When danger approaches quietly, this ability immediately alerts you to all potential risks. But when danger overtly looms over you, when bullets fly and bombs explode everywhere, this magnified fear can drive a person insane!" Fatty yelled hysterically, his face streaked with tears. "I was never very brave, but I was still a normal person who knew what to do in dangerous situations. With this ability, I almost went mad. Every time I entered a mission world, I felt danger everywhere, as if devils were screaming at me from all corners. I tried desperately to resist, but it was useless…"
Fatty sobbed, "In the last mission, when that tank came at me, I was terrified. My only thought was that there might be a chance of survival with Ah Sheng and the others. So I ran towards them, thinking they would solve the problem, but instead, they died for me. I hate this ability; I want to get rid of it, but the Forgetting Spell doesn't work on abilities, I have no choice!"
"Why didn't you mention this before?" Shen Yi asked.
"I couldn't," Fatty cried. "On my first official mission, I told a few adventurers that I could sense danger in advance. Guess how they treated me?"
Shen Yi was taken aback as Fatty shouted, "They made me charge ahead! They put me on the front line because I could sense danger, using me to detect the safest and most dangerous spots. They risked my life to ensure their own safety, and that mission almost drove me to a mental breakdown!"
"And then?" Shen Yi asked.
"Then?" Fatty snorted, "I couldn't take it anymore. I misled them to the most dangerous route. They died, and I survived. Because in the battle, I used my ability to find the last chance to live, but I didn't tell anyone else."
"So from then on, you stopped telling others about your ability to sense danger and let them think you were just a coward?" Shen Yi surmised.
Fatty hung his head and nodded without speaking.
Shen Yi raised his hand, and a psychic probe touched Fatty's head.
"ID E5429, Luo Hao, Private rank. Strength 5, Agility 5, Constitution 40, Spirit 30, Willpower 5. Ability: Danger Perception. D-class Skill: Create Psychic Armor Level 4: Consumes 5 spirit points to create a psychic armor for the target, health 200, defense 4, can stack with any defense equipment, cooldown 1 minute. No equipment."
Shen Yi hadn't paid much attention to Fatty on their last mission, so he hadn't used his precious psychic power on him.
This time, he was surprised. Fatty had one of the most extreme attribute enhancements he had seen, using all his Bloody points on Constitution, with the only skill being for survival, and no equipment at all. The only commendable thing was the Psychic Armor skill, which had been upgraded from level 3 to 4, presumably due to the skill point.
"How many missions have you participated in?" Shen Yi asked.
Fatty replied timidly, "Six... six times."
Shen Yi was shocked.
This guy was an adventurer even more experienced than Jin Gang.
"But you've only one skill and a Private rank after six missions..." Shen Yi sighed.
After a moment, Shen Yi said, "Your Danger Perception ability is somewhat useful. What's the second secret?"
Fatty immediately answered, "This is a world of superpowers. If I'm not wrong, the main reward for this mission won't be skills but superpowers. But you won't know which superpowers are more useful."
Shen Yi looked at Jin Gang, who seriously replied, "I have a superpower too. After gaining a superpower, the Bloody Emblem opens a superpower ability column for us. Each person can only have one superpower. All adventurers' superpowers are not allowed to have direct attack capabilities, and they rely on energy. My energy value is 100, level 1. Using a superpower consumes energy, and once it's not enough, it can't be used. If that's the information you're offering, I already have it."
"What about increasing energy?" Fatty challenged.
Jin Gang was speechless.
"I know," Fatty confidently answered. "Not only do I know how to increase energy, but I also know there's a way to break the limit of having only one superpower."
To add, being the top individual in the entire region but fourth in your own region still results in elimination. The consequence is that there will be no overall top individual.
In this mission world, there is no perfect performer.