Yuto Saito led the team back to the floating island, and they gathered in the villa's living room, sinking into the plush sofas after the intense battle.
Natto, her eyes sparkling with excitement, was the first to break the silence. "That was amazing! I've never taken down so many zombies in one go!"
Ni Shuang grinned, matching her enthusiasm. "Yeah, it was great, but those regular zombies are too weak. I want to try my hand at taking down one of those giant zombies next time."
Yuto Saito, ever the strategist, cautioned her. "Be careful, Xiao Shuang. Giant zombies aren't easy to kill. You have to hit them in their weak spot—at the back of the neck. Anywhere else and they're practically invincible."
Ni Shuang nodded, taking the advice seriously. "Got it."
Yun Yun, always curious, leaned forward. "So, Xiaotu, how much did we collect this time?"
Yuto glanced at the virtual interface, giving a quick rundown. "We earned 3,730 experience points, one red sapphire, and 85 white crystals."
Yun Yun's eyes lit up. "A red sapphire? We've never seen one before!"
Ruoruo, always the inquisitive one, piped up. "Brother Su, what's so special about the red sapphire? Is it the same as the white ones?"
Yuto explained patiently, "Spars come in different colors, each indicating their value. The most common are white, then red, green, blue, and purple. One red sapphire is worth ten white crystals. The higher the tier of the zombie, the rarer and more valuable the spar."
Ruoruo's eyes widened in amazement. "So the red one's like getting ten white ones at once?"
"Exactly," Yuto said with a nod.
Ni Shuang, ever the quick thinker, chimed in, "That means the tougher zombies drop rarer spars, right?"
Yuto smiled at her sharpness. "Exactly. The zombies we fought before were only first or second tier, so they only dropped white crystals. But once you start facing stronger monsters, like third-tier and above, there's a chance to get red or even green spars."
Ni Shuang narrowed her eyes playfully. "You seem to know a lot about this stuff, Xiaotu. Where are you getting all this info?"
Yuto chuckled, waving it off. "When I got the floating island, it came with some details about how everything works. Just passing along the knowledge."
The room filled with casual chatter, but Natto suddenly glanced at her phone and exclaimed, "Hey, someone uploaded a video of our fight with the zombies!"
Yuto, intrigued, asked, "Who posted it?"
Natto scrolled through the post. "Looks like one of the survivors from the mall."
Without missing a beat, she cast the video onto the living room's large screen, and they all watched the action replay. The camera was shaky but clearly showed Yuto slicing through the horde with ease, ending with the decapitation of the massive giant zombie.
As the video played, the comments section began to explode.
"F**k, who are these people? They're insane!" "Are they all Awakened?" "God of War Squad, calling it now!" "I can't believe they killed a giant zombie that easily!"
Ni Shuang grinned widely. "Looks like you've got some new fans, Xiaotu."
Yuto shook his head with a smile. "It's not just me—it's all of us. We're a team."
Ruoruo, delighted by the attention, beamed. "The netizens even gave us a nickname—the God of War Squad! How cute is that?"
As the group laughed, Orange glanced at the comments, pausing on one in particular. "Hey, there's a post here about a third-tier mutant leopard causing havoc in someone's hometown. Should we go help?"
Yuto considered it for a moment, then shook his head. "The military can handle third-tier monsters. Besides, it's too far away. We don't need to take every fight."
Ni Shuang chuckled, leaning back. "Yeah, leave the small fry for someone else. It'll take something tougher than that to get our squad moving."
The group, relaxed and confident, enjoyed their drinks, knowing that their next challenge was only a matter of time.