That night.
Chu Guang had a very long dream.
Although he could not remember the specific content of the dream, the vague sense of déjà vu told him that it was probably some bizarre nightmare.
To be honest.
Sometimes Chu Guang felt that at least half of the reason why he was so quiet was related to those dreams.
The dream was so real that it seemed like it really happened...
"What kind of death is this time?"
Chu Guang muttered to himself and sat up from the bed.
It was probably the result of the hard work and exercise over the past few days.
Hard work pays off.
He was upgraded again.
[
ID: Chu Guang
Gene sequence: Manager (second stage)
Level: LV.16→LV.17
——Basic attributes——
Strength: 17
Agility: 11→12
Constitution: 16
Perception: 12→13
Intelligence: 15
]
Medical laboratory.
Chu Guang, lying on the scanning bed, looked at the attribute panel in front of him, and a look of surprise appeared on his face.
Wow.
This time, two points were added!
I remember there was a similar situation before, but it was a long time ago.
1 point of perception and 1 point of agility, strengthening the intuition and reaction ability to crises.
As for talents, it has not changed, still "Wild Instinct" and "Mind Deterrence".
The former's full attribute improvement effect, combined with power armor and nitrogen power hammer, can deal tons of damage in a short period of time.
The latter is very useful during interrogation.
Apart from that, in Chu Guang's impression, it seems that only the cutscenes when new players just enter the game can be used.
Looking at the 17% progress bar, Chu Guang couldn't help but feel a little bit of anticipation.
Only three levels away from the second awakening.
I don't know what kind of talent will be unlocked in the third stage of the gene sequence.
"Your DNA is very unstable."
Standing next to the terminal, Heya poured a basin of water on Chu Guang's head who was excited.
Pinching her chin with her index finger and thumb, her fair face was full of confusion.
If it weren't for her nagging look, which made her look a little neurotic, she should be a beauty with white hair and a young face.
What a pity.
Add the attribute of silence, this SSSR card will be perfect.
"It shouldn't be like this."
"Gene expression should be a stable process. Even with human intervention, it is difficult to adjust the representation shape repeatedly in such a short time."
"And the most incredible thing is that these 'adjustments' actually occur in completely different directions!"
Chu Guang interrupted her mumbling and got straight to the point.
"Just tell me, is it a good thing or a bad thing."
Heya thought for a while and shook her head.
"It's hard to define good and bad-"
Got it.
It's a good thing.
Chu Guang nodded.
"Okay, I know, you don't have to say it anymore."
Seeing that Chu Guang was not interested in her judgment, Heya's face showed a helpless expression and shrugged her shoulders.
"As long as you are happy."
...
The west gate of the outpost.
This is the shooting range of the guards and the cells where prisoners awaiting trial are held. It is also the place where the administrator keeps the Death Claw.
Hearing the footsteps outside the shed, the Death Claw curled up in the haystack and slightly rolled up its wrinkled eyelids.
Human breath?
No...
There is also a familiar smell.
The amber pupils moved gently, scanning the people at the door, and finally stopped on a strange figure.
It was a lizard.
This guy was wrapped in strange cloth and dressed like a person. In addition, there was a big pot emitting heat on his back.
Is there something cooking in it?
It has never seen such a strange guy.
But...
Too weak.
Standing up, it is only more than two meters, not even as long as its own tail. How did this little thing survive until now?
A "snort" snorted from the fist-sized nostrils, and the slightly mocking greeting blew away a few pieces of hay.
The thick and long tail changed direction to form a circle, and the Death Claw closed his eyes without interest and continued to take a nap.
The players standing at the door looked at each other in bewilderment.
This reaction...
It's not quite what they had planned.
They originally thought that Garbage-kun and this guy could have a common language.
Ye Shi: "That expression just now..."
Fang Chang: "I think I understand."
Kuang Feng: "I feel sorry for Garbage-kun."
"Fuck! You feel sorry for a ball of yarn!" The 99-level garbage picker said with a smile, "I told you it was useless? You still don't believe it!"
This thing is not a bear!
It's a death claw, brother!
If you don't count the nest, this thing is at least one of the top species in the food chain in the wasteland.
Rationally analyzing, at least level 80!
And I've just reached level 8...
Mosquito, who joined in the fun, touched his chin thoughtfully, his eyes full of confusion.
"Something's wrong, this beast is not like this when he sees the manager."
Lao Bai nodded in agreement.
"Yes, I saw it once... This beast is much more honest."
More than honest.
The shivering look on the ground is almost frightening, okay?
Of course, it might be because of the power armor.
Looking at that kind of iron lump that has nowhere to bite and hurts the teeth, any beast with a normal IQ will be panicked.
Not to mention that it is seriously injured.
Mosquito looked at Garbage Jun and continued with a suspicious expression.
"Could it be that you are too weak?"
Hearing this, Garbage Picker Level 99's nose was crooked and he cursed.
"You are the weak one! You little old man, your level is not as high as mine!"
WC Really Mosquito: "Get out! I'm already LV7, okay?"
Garbage Picker Level 99: "Haha, 鶸!"
WC Really Mosquito: "%￥#@!"
The two quarreled.
The people in the herd of cattle and horses were already used to this, so they didn't take it seriously at all.
Touching his chin and thinking for a moment, Fang Chang tried to analyze.
"There are two possibilities now. One is that the reproductive function of the alien players is defective, resulting in the lack of obvious secondary sexual characteristics. The other possibility is what Ye Shi said, that you are too low level now, and you are too weak in the eyes of this death claw, just like the cubs in its population."
Kuangfeng: "...It seems that the method of seducing the death claw with Jun Jun is useless?"
Ye Shi suddenly had an idea and said with a wide-open mind.
"Could it be because there is no one?"
"How about we give it a fake one and try?"
The air was subtly quiet.
Everyone was stunned there.
Lao Bai: "What the hell?"
Kuangfeng: "People can't, at least they shouldn't…"
Fang Chang: "Hiss, you little genius."
Garbage Picker Level 99: "Get lost!!!"
Just as the little players in the cattle and horse group were experimenting with Garbage, Chu Guang, who was standing on the third floor of the sanatorium, was watching from afar.
From a genetic point of view, Garbage's DNA does have a lot of similarities with Death Claw. It can even be said that except for the brain structure similar to that of humans, the rest of the body is designed based on Death Claw.
Or at least from the same source.
Unfortunately…
The female Death Claw didn't seem to be interested in Garbage, and didn't even bother to look at him.
"What a pity."
"It seems that Garbage's charm is not enough to conquer that Death Claw."
Is it because it's too small?
Chu Guang touched his chin and fell into deep thought.
Speaking of which. There seems to be a mouse in his shelter?
Compared to other mutant rats in the wasteland, the size of the big rat is obviously much larger than them.
If you can tame a few or even several nests of rats...
Chu Guang's eyes lit up instantly.
"Fuck!"
"Maybe this sequence that looks weak on the panel data is actually very powerful?!"
Thinking of this, Chu Guang couldn't sit still, and immediately opened the VM, edited a task, and sent it to brother [Forced].
[Task: King of Ten Thousand Rats]
[Description: Maybe we can try to unite creatures that are different from us. ]
The name of this task sounds not simple, and it should be fine to coax the little newbie.
As for the reward.
In addition to silver coins and contribution points, it should not be too much to give a special achievement.
As for the name of the achievement, Chu Guang hasn't thought about it yet.
Anyway, there is no rush.
Whether this task can be completed is still unknown.
It's not too late to wait until the little player completes it.
…
Located at the edge of the forest, Yuanxi Town was as quiet as ever today.
Standing next to the roadblock made of wood, the predator with a "Blade" assault rifle hanging on his chest yawned.
The shift from late night to morning was the most difficult.
Not only was he sleepy, but he was also hungry.
Would someone really attack at this time?
At this time, except for those who were standing guard and were very sleepy, everyone else was full of energy.
"When will the snow melt?" The predator holding a dog chain in his hand said boredly.
"I don't know. If it's in the north, we have to wait until early February."
"Maybe there will be less in the south, maybe next week? Or the week after next?"
"I can't wait."
"Hahaha, what a coincidence, me too!"
The two looked at each other and smiled at the same time.
Not just people.
Even the hyena lying next to the two of them bared its teeth and panted excitedly.
About yesterday, they heard that the Black Snake's people had set out from the southern suburbs of Tianshui City and marched south to the northern suburbs of Qingquan City.
That guy is a ruthless person.
Fighting all the way from north to south, it can be said that he won battle after battle. The number of survivors' settlements burned down cannot be counted with one hand, and the looted treasures are piled up into a small mountain.
Otherwise, the leader would not reward him with a tank.
They are only worried about one thing now.
That is, the survivors in the northern suburbs of Qingquan City are too weak.
Don't wait until they reach the northern suburbs and can't even drink a mouthful of meat soup.
That would be really uncomfortable!
Just as the two were chatting casually, a dark group of people suddenly appeared at the edge of the forest on the east side.
The two predators immediately became alert, hurriedly loaded their guns and opened the safety, pointing at the group of people coming from a distance.
"Stop! Stop there and don't move!"
"Who are you?"
The group stopped.
The man at the front of the team shouted at the top of his voice.
"We are Black Snake's people... I am his centurion Steel Teeth."
Black Snake's people?
Centurion?
Hearing this, the two predators were stunned.
Wasn't Black Snake in the south?
Why did his people appear here?
Could it be...
The fight is over?
Realizing that something might not be right, the two did not dare to delay and immediately sent one person to run to the camp.
After a while, the plunderer who went back to report the news came back again.
"Who of you is Steel Fang?"
"Lord Lion Fang said he wants to see you!"
The man who shouted earlier stood up and said.
"I am, take me there."
The plunderer nodded quickly.
"Please follow me!"
Passing through the heavily guarded camp, Steel Fang followed the footsteps of the plunderer sentry and came to Lion Fang's tent.
There was a brazier in the room and a bear skin on the ground.
Lion Fang, sitting on a wooden chair, was staring at the man who walked in from the door.
"...Are you Steel Fang?"
The Fang clan is very large.
There are at least ten people named Steel Fang.
He had never seen this tribesman before. He only felt that his ragged clothes made him look like a scavenger, not like a member of the Bone Chewing Tribe.
"I am, sir."
Steel Teeth knelt on one knee on the ground, his forehead slightly lowered.
Lion Fang looked down at him with a thoughtful expression on his face, and said in a deep voice.
"Since you are under the command of Black Snake, why don't you follow him to fight in the northern suburbs of Qingquan City, but come to me instead."
A bitter expression appeared on Steel Teeth's face.
"Lord Black Snake was ambushed by the survivors of the northern suburbs at the provincial highway entrance. We fought desperately, but our enemies were too numerous... Gunshots came from all directions, and at least hundreds of shells fell on our positions."
"We had to move westward, fighting and retreating, and escaped into the woods. After a battle, both sides left hundreds of bodies..."
"Lord Black Snake's whereabouts are unknown, and the four hundred-man teams around him are almost wiped out. The remaining five hundred-man teams scattered around cannot be contacted. We can only risk our lives to pass through the woods and meet up with you."
Everyone in the tent held their breath at the same time, with disbelief and surprise written all over their faces.
Except for one person.
"Hundreds of shells?! Are you sure?!"
Bernie stared at Steel Teeth, who was kneeling on one knee, and asked aggressively.
"Also, how many people ambushed you?"
To be able to fire hundreds of shells in a short period of time, at least ten guns are needed.
He would never believe that a poor survivor settlement in the northern suburbs could build ten cannons!
And what use would that kind of homemade shells have on the Legion's No. 10 tanks? If it was a high-explosive shell, it wouldn't even scrape off a layer of skin!
"It's absolutely true, sir. If I lied, you can chop off my head."
Steel Teeth lowered his head and said in a low voice.
"As for the number of people... I don't know, but I heard from the brothers who ran out of the front line that there are at least four thousand-man teams!"
Lion Teeth and Bernie's faces changed at the same time.
Four thousand-man teams!
How could there be so many people?
Lion Teeth said angrily.
"Are you kidding? There are four thousand people in the entire northern suburbs?"
Even if all the old people, women and children are counted, there can't be so many people, right? !
There are no wealthy survivor settlements in the entire northern suburbs, they are all small villages with a population of hundreds.
The larger survivor settlements had to go further south, deep into the dangerous city, until they reached the edge of the third ring.
They had already obtained this information long before they came here!
"... If what he said is true, it's probably the people from Boulder City who took action."
Bernie continued with a heavy expression.
"I didn't expect their combat effectiveness to be so strong, far beyond our expectations."
Lion Fang swallowed his saliva, and a rare expression of helplessness appeared on his face, looking at his staff.
"What should we do?"
Bernie smiled bitterly.
"What should I do? I don't know."
"If Black Snake joins us, the two thousand-man teams will be united, and there may be a chance of winning. But now, we have to bear all the risks alone."
Lion Fang fell silent, his ten fingers tightly clasped the armrests of the chair.
A thousand-man team!
There are armored pickups, tanks... and even heavy artillery and support from the "Torch".
Whether in terms of equipment or combat experience, the troops under Black Snake's command are elite.
However, such an elite force was completely wiped out in less than a day.
There is no doubt about it.
Conquering the northern suburbs of Qingquan City is beyond his ability.
Bernie, standing aside, glanced at the silent Lion Fang and said in a low voice.
"After the snow melts, they may take the initiative to attack. My suggestion is... to shift the strategy to Xizhou City."
"You mean retreat?" Lion Fang said angrily, "We have been preparing here for a whole winter! If we leave without fighting a battle, how will the others in the clan see us! They will laugh at us and think we are cowards!"
The plunderers who believe in killing and war respect the strong.
This is even more true for the Bone Chewing Tribe.
The weak do not deserve to enjoy the spoils of war. This is not only about his reputation in the clan, but also about his prestige in the eyes of his subordinates.
Guessing what Lion Fang would say, Bernie sighed in his heart and continued.
"We didn't not fight a single battle, and this can't be considered a retreat. I prefer to call it a strategic shift... to preserve strength and conserve energy for future victory."
"You heard it too. They have four thousand-man teams and more than ten artillery pieces. Our current strength is not enough to chew this hard bone."
"We need more manpower and equipment, otherwise we will repeat the mistakes of the Black Snake."
"If anyone thinks we are cowards, let them come. We can exchange with them."
Lion Fang was silent.
He actually had the answer in his heart as to how to choose.
He just didn't want to accept it.
"Retreat..."
When he said this word, Lion Fang felt that all the strength in his body was drained.
He wasted two or even three months here, and even lost a hundred-man team.
The result was such a humiliating ending.
He swore.
When his iron hoof steps into this place again, he will kill everyone here!
Bernie, who was standing aside, breathed a sigh of relief.
Although his previous words were alarmist, it was obvious that if even Black Snake was defeated, he could not think of any reason for himself to win.
Nodding slightly, he said softly.
"A wise choice."