Li Fu said, "..."
She had heard from a senior who had just been transferred back to the team that Cheng Tingyu was quite a formidable flesh-and-blood player.
If being formidable could be seen from Cheng Tingyu's smooth discovery of the way to log into the instance, then what about the flesh-and-blood type players? Normally, when flesh-and-blood type players encounter enemies, shouldn't they unhesitatingly choose to confront them head-on and seek improvement through actual combat? What kind of move is it to turn around and run?
How did this person manage to get a temporary position at the "Screwdriver" Insurance Company?
Cheng Tingyu's behavior made Li Fuci doubt his own common sense.
After realizing that He Xijiang had caught up in time, Cheng Tingyu slowed his pace and explained to the puzzled intern from the inspection team, "I really do rely on skill." He added, "And getting beaten up before fully understanding the mechanics of the scenario doesn't align with my personal aesthetics."
"..."
Li Fuci looked at her expression, as if she had seen a close-combat fighter who had put all their points into intelligence, filled with incomprehension.
The inspection team had some doubts about the "Fiery" Superstore instance. For a moment, they wondered if this girl had anticipated today's situation before the inspection team even requested to explore the store and had planned to use the inspection team's force.
If this guess is correct, then although Cheng Tingyu is a temporary worker, he actually has quite a bit of the "screwdriver" style.
Li Fuci sighed inwardly, feeling that with the arrival of the peak season, the atmosphere of unscrupulous merchants in F0631 City was becoming increasingly pervasive.
Cheng Tingyu: "Who are these people?"
Li Fu said, "It's 'Hound'." Noticing that Cheng Tingyu still had a questioning look on his face, puzzled, "Haven't you heard of this scavenger team?"
Cheng Tingyu thought for a moment and smiled, "Maybe I've heard it before, but I don't remember anymore."
She was telling the truth—as someone with amnesia, Cheng Tingyu found it hard to vouch for her past experiences.
However, these words also reached the ears of the four members of the "Hounds."
Originally, because he was stationed farther away, Ka Suo, who had been waiting in place, now cast a gaze full of danger towards Cheng Tingyu.
She had clearly taken the words she just heard as a provocation.
Cheng Tingyu noticed the other person's gaze and looked up, giving Kaso a smile.
Kasuo, with his icy gaze, did not act immediately.
Although Cheng Tingyu's strength seemed quite ordinary based on her tactical choice to retreat, the fact that she entered the dungeon with Li Yetai suggested she was either an intern with the inspection team or had some unique qualities. Given that they were outnumbered and the opponent was prepared, she was reluctant to act rashly.
Li Fuci didn't know if Cheng Tingyu was genuinely unaware or just intentionally trying to provoke hatred. He quickly explained the concept of scavengers, hoping that once the other party understood the situation, it would reduce their presence a bit.
If it weren't for the inappropriate setting, Li Fuci would have wanted to shake Cheng Tingyu vigorously—you're a flesh-and-blood player who doesn't plan to face off directly, so stop using your face to tank monsters!
The other two sides also temporarily ceased their mutual beatings.
One reason was that the scavenger was unwilling to engage in a war of attrition; after missing the opportunity for a sneak attack, he preferred to conserve his energy. Another reason was that Qiqi, whose senses were no longer suppressed, heard new sounds coming from around the corner of the corridor.
The "Hound" had already familiarized himself with the layout of the "Fiery" department store, knowing that there were public restrooms around the corner. Initially, there were four, but over time and with the reduction of maintenance funds, only two were still in use, while the other two had been abandoned.
——That is a public area that does not belong to any shop.
Although the day the copy was generated was a Monday, and many stores were closed, not all shops were shut down. When the copy area formed, some people were trapped inside the marketplace.
If those people are still alive at the moment..
Kiki was not the only one who realized this.
Li Yetai looked coldly at the scavenger in front of him. Although he didn't make a move, his stance was clearly one of obstruction.
The corner from which the sound emanated was located in the southwest, while Kiki's position was closer to the northeast corner, so she did not force herself to approach the source of the sound.
Her ability didn't require close proximity to activate.
Five seconds later, several piercing screams of agony echoed from the abandoned restroom around the corner. Accompanied by chaotic footsteps, four people stumbled out, tripping over each other.
There were lights in the corridor of the marketplace, and the participants all saw that blood had already started to flow from the ears of the four people.
Kiki's real name was [Calamity Bug · Raucous Speech]. She could have continued for a while longer, but the sudden surge of fear in her heart interrupted her. She quickly retreated, dodging the long whip that Li Yetai had already swung, and gave a playful smile to the four newcomers. "Your defense is quite high. Is it because you've been in the dungeon for too long?"
According to the data previously collected by the inspection team, when the copy emerged, thirty-one people were trapped inside the mall.
Now they saw only four people, and four people who were particularly weak due to the lack of food.
Their faces were covered in tears, trembling all over, like four lambs waiting to be slaughtered. To the scavengers, they were a powerful temptation, because compared to Wei Xu and the others, they were much easier to kill.
The inspector's strength was indeed formidable, but trying to protect these ordinary people, who severely lacked combat ability, within a dungeon full of unknown events was an extremely difficult task.
Moreover, Kiki knew that although the inspection team had the duty to protect the residents, they would never prioritize the protection of ordinary people as their primary task.
——They have too many tasks to complete, and if they don't strive to protect themselves, the inspection team will soon be left with no one available.
Qiqi smiled, revealing his pearly white teeth: "'The Hound' is reasonable too. You guys are quite strong, so how about we split the blood of these four people evenly?"
The survivors, forced to run out from their hiding places, immediately began to tremble upon hearing Qiqi's words.
"Swish, swish—"
The tense atmosphere between the different factions was finally broken by a sound resembling the flapping of wings.
Cheng Tingyu lifted his eyes and looked towards the open atrium in the middle of the marketplace.
"..."
She saw a pile of clothes.
A pile of colorful clothes, waving their sleeves or pant legs, fluttering in the air.
As a keen observer, Cheng Tingyu sharply noticed that among the flying clothes, a flash of bright red would occasionally appear.
Li Fu was stunned on the spot: "So this is what they call, restocking?!"
So they didn't need to fight to the death at all; they just had to find the right goods among this pile of clothes?
A cream-colored jacket: A jacket with flying capabilities, commonly seen in F0631 city.
Note: High combat power.
Li Yetai's expression was cold and stern.
The scavenger Yote also turned his gaze to the clothes swirling in the air.
After the electronic voice announcing that the store needed to restock disappeared, the clothes did not appear immediately. It was only after a while that they flew into a place where they could be seen.
Wei Xu Gui let out a hoarse, mocking laugh.
So this extra time in the middle is not for the participants to prepare, but for them to slaughter each other.
When they all began to suspect that they needed to dye their white clothes red with blood, the real goods would slowly appear, mocking the participants' previous doubts and conflicts with their very existence.
Cheng Tingyu smiled slightly.
If the ones appearing in the dungeon at this moment were not the scavengers and the inspection team—two organizations already at odds with each other—it would have been difficult for the participants to genuinely cooperate after the recent struggle.
Qiqi adapted well, she squinted her eyes and smiled: "So we don't have to do it ourselves." Then she said, "In that case, let's talk after we clear the level."
"The bustling marketplace is clearly a place with rules."
If the others were not cargo, they did not intend to risk punishment by continuing to provoke the inspection team.
Li Yetai looked at the other person and slowly turned his face away.
In the ceiling, countless clothes swirled and danced. With a flick of his whip, Li Yetai precisely snagged a red shirt from the chaos.
The expressions of the four scavengers all tightened for a moment.
The flying clothes moved quickly, and there were few red clothes that met the requirements, almost only one percent. Li Yetai was able to strike successfully in one go, showing his exceptionally precise eyesight. Even if this person did not possess the abilities related to disaster insects, he was still a very formidable expert to deal with.
Li Fuci whispered to Cheng Tingyu, "There are probably five or six hundred pieces of clothing there. Red clothes... I don't know if we can gather nine sets."
Cheng Tingyu's gaze swept over Feiyi, and he came to a conclusion in his heart—
Insufficient.
Based on eyesight alone, she should be no worse than anyone present. Cheng Tingyu had already seen clearly that there were a total of five hundred and sixty-three pieces of flying clothes. Among them, six were red, including four tops and two pairs of pants. Without considering the styles, at most, only two sets could be put together.
Maxi shouted loudly and swung a punch at the flying clothes.
As a genuine flesh-and-blood player, Maxie's formidable strength disrupted the trajectory of the flying garments with the force of his punches, as if imposing a one-second paralysis on these items.
Among the other scavengers, Kaso remained patiently in place, while at some point, Yote had quietly switched places with Qiqi, becoming the person closest to Li Yetai.
In the corridor, Kiki shot out like a javelin, reaching for the red clothes she had long had her eye on, while Yote simultaneously launched an attack on Li Yetai.
——Even though they already knew they didn't need to dye their white clothes with other people's blood, they were still competitors.
Yote's target was not actually Li Yetai, but the red clothes in the inspector's hand.
Normally, after obtaining the item, Li Yetai should have immediately placed it into her portable space, but when she tried, she noticed a significant obstruction.
——Employees of the "Hot" megastore are not allowed to hoard goods.
Moreover, at the moment he touched the clothes, a faint electronic whisper sounded in Li Yetai's ear—"'Big-Eyed Cow' children's clothing store obtained [Red Top] ×1."
Yote moved swiftly, grabbing the sleeve of the red garment in an instant. Li Yetai initially intended to dodge, but his expression suddenly changed. He unexpectedly let go, then stepped back two paces to create some distance. At the same time, his long whip lashed out, leaving a long tear on the surface of the red garment.
The others initially thought that Li Yetai was adhering to the principle of "I'd rather destroy the goods I seized than let anyone else take them," until they saw an identical wound appear on Jote's waist and abdomen, and only then did they gradually begin to understand.
"..."
Jot, with a ferocious expression, released the red garment he had snatched. His gaze fell upon Li Yetai's wrist.
In that place, a dark greenish handprint gradually appeared.
He Xijiang whispered, "So that's how it is."
Once the employees received the clothes, the clothes were temporarily bound to them. If the clothes were attacked, the employees would suffer the same attack.
Qiqi looked at the red clothes she had just received, her expression obscure and unreadable. Then, she unexpectedly let go, allowing the red clothes to return to her companion.
The four people who had run out of the abandoned public health center huddled together, trembling, their faces filled with terror as they watched the scene of gods clashing, almost collapsing to the ground.
Cheng Tingyu shifted his gaze away from Feiyi and lingered on the four people for a moment.
[Name: Bai Wenji]
[Name: Ding Shile]
[Name: Du Ranqing]
[Name: Chen Jiajia]
The information identified by the "Mystic Eye" in the right eye was very simple, just a name.
Immediately, Cheng Tingyu glanced at the intern from the inspection team beside him—
[Name: Li Fuci]
Exactly the same as the previous information, there was nothing except the name.
Cheng Tingyu gently rubbed the spot beside his right eye.