"Big brother, help me!"
"Damn, this gnawer is so unethical! Why is he trying to steal my equipment?!"
"Get out! Stop gnawing my shield!"
"Clothes! My clothes!"
"If you don't understand, just ask. Is this game serious???"
"Come closer to me! Damn! Don't run!"
The noise of players echoed in the subway tunnel.
The corner of the strength department was still trying to stabilize his teammates, but the agility department's white give with sniper had already run away, leaving only the lost newbie of the perception department trembling, and the prop guide of the intelligence department was chasing each other on the spot.
Looking at the four newbies running around the field being chased by the gnawer, Quitting felt a headache.
He felt that even if he smoked all night, he probably couldn't figure out how these people got the qualification for the closed beta test.
Damn!
So angry!
Looking at the IDs of these people, he thought they were so awesome.
Seeing that the boss didn't move at all, the prop master hurriedly asked for help.
"Boss! Shoot!"
Quitting couldn't help but spit.
"Damn, what kind of gun do you need to fight the gnawers!"
But if he didn't take action, these newbies might not see the sun tomorrow.
In the end, Quitting opened the safety, raised the sickle assault rifle in his hand, and shot the gnawers surrounding the prop master with two shots.
Then, he pulled out his short axe, rushed up and chopped wildly, and led his pit apprentices to kill a bloody way out of the gnawers' encirclement.
Holding the wall to take a breath, Quitting shook the axe covered with black mucus.
To be honest, this gnawer does feel stronger!
Whether it is speed or strength, there is a clear difference compared to those he met in the tunnel in the previous winter.
Even though he had been through hundreds of battles, he still felt a little tricky.
However, this did not prevent him from pretending to be cool in front of a newbie.
After taking a deep breath and breathing steadily, Quitting Smoking said calmly.
"There are only a few attack routines for the gnawers, grab with your hands, pounce on them and bite. Don't panic if they rush to your face, and don't get entangled with them. Just use a shield to make it lose balance, and then take the weapon to hit its head... You will master the trick after getting familiar with it a few times."
Leaning against the wall of the tunnel and panting, the four little players who survived the disaster listened to Quitting Smoking's explanation of the strategy and skills, their eyes shining.
"Big brother is awesome!"
"Too strong!"
"Is this T0 combat power!"
"Invincible!"
Listening to the awkward boasting of these people, Quitting Smoking coughed dryly.
"Hey... it's not as exaggerated as you say. Don't you guys read the guide?"
"Look! We've been doing our homework for a long time!" The sixth player in the corner laughed and said, "I'm a strength player! I'm the front row DPS player!"
The other three also raised their hands in unison.
Lost newbie: "I'm a perception player! Professional scout!"
Free sniper: "I'm an agility player, I just need a sniper!"
Item guide: "I'm an intelligence player! I plan to go for the brainwave mechanical flow after awakening! I'll be there in the later stages!"
Quit smoking: "..."
He seemed to know where the problem was.
...
All four hundred players have left Shelter 117 and followed the old players to the world outside the shelter.
Through the VM device associated with the "Passing on the Torch" mission, Chu Guang can easily grasp where the newbies have gone, what missions they are doing, and who is leading them.
With the "Hummingbird" drone patrolling in the air, he can even move the camera above the players' heads to peek at the screen.
Of course, there are a few stubborn players who decide to go to the wasteland alone with the 5 silver coins issued by the novice gift package.
It's a sandbox game.
High degree of freedom is part of the game content.
As an excellent planner, Chu Guang will certainly not interfere with the specific gameplay of each player.
He only makes macro decisions and rules to ensure that most individuals are on the right track.
A few exceptions are irrelevant to the overall situation.
The meaning of the rules will be reflected after they have property in the game.
When the newcomers are fully equipped with magical equipment and have a lot of brothers or sisters in the game who are closer than in reality, they will naturally understand that following the rules is not for others, but for themselves...
Shelter No. 404.
Chu Guang, who had just gone to the shelter next door to talk to the newbies, took off his power armor and went straight to the medical laboratory on the B3 floor.
When he arrived here, Bachi, dressed as a tin can, happened to be there.
Since he settled down in the shelter, he would go to the medical laboratory whenever he had time to inquire about the latest research progress on mutant slime mold.
Heya hadn't come out of the analysis room yet. Chu Guang looked at Bachi sitting on the chair and asked curiously.
"Are there no mutant slime molds in Yunjian Province?"
Bachi: "Of course there are. Whether it is Yunshi or Yunxia, it is almost impossible to completely eradicate them."
Chu Guang: "I heard that the Legion will limit the living space of slime molds by demolishing cities."
A chuckle came out of the tin can.
"Haha, don't listen to the bragging of the idiots in the Legion. Demolish those high-rise buildings? They didn't do it even with all the nuclear bomb reserves of the entire human alliance. Can they do this?"
Chu Guang looked at him strangely.
"Why would the Human Union demolish its own house?"
"Who knows what happened two hundred years ago," Bachi shrugged, "I heard that there are still many companies in the prosperous era."
As he was talking, the alloy door of the sample analysis room opened.
Heya, wearing a white coat, walked out from behind the door and handed a tablet computer converted from a wrist computer to Chu Guang, who had just returned from outside.
Chu Guang glanced at the dense data on the screen. Although he knew every letter and number, he couldn't understand them together.
But it didn't matter.
If he could understand it himself, what would he need her for.
"What is this?"
With excitement that could not be concealed between her eyebrows, Heya said with a beaming face.
"A detailed analysis report on the juvenile mother nest! Thanks to the samples your residents obtained earlier, we now have a more comprehensive understanding of the formation of the mother nest, and this further confirms my guess that these slime molds are dominated by a unified consciousness, and this information transmission is likely to be achieved through spores!"
In other words...
Spores are not only reproductive cells, but also a medium for information exchange between mutant slime molds?
Similar to insect pheromones?
Chu Guang, staring at the tablet, fell silent.
What a convenient creature.
At this time, Bachi, who was standing aside, suddenly became nervous.
"Wait, that is to say... the mother nest issues orders through spores? Then will the slime mold on my body be controlled by the spores released by the mother nest?"
Heya looked at him and said.
"You were infected outside Qingquan City, right?"
Bachi nodded nervously.
"... After I was infected, I walked west and north for five or six hundred kilometers before I arrived in Qingquan City."
Chu Guang said.
"Five or six hundred kilometers, it should be out of the territory of the Valley Province."
Heya said in a relaxed tone: "Then don't worry, these mutant slime molds have strong regional attributes. They rely on RNA transcribed proteins to identify the same kind. Only the same kind can have a unified consciousness coordination, and the slime molds in different regions have different "identification codes."
Hearing this, Bachi finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Chu Guang looked at Heya and asked the question he was most concerned about.
"Does this mother nest have weaknesses?"
Heya answered very straightforwardly.
"Its weakness is the weakness of all creatures. If it is killed, it will die."
Chu Guang: "..."
This is as good as saying nothing.
Heya answered straightforwardly.
"If you want to kill them completely, the best way is undoubtedly fire, followed by explosives. Strong acid is also a good way, but the cost is too expensive. If you want to ask if there is any shortcut, unfortunately, there is none at present, unless..."
Chu Guang immediately asked: "Unless?"
"Unless we can find a way to get samples from the mother nest in the city center," Heya said with confidence, "According to the model I built, more than 80% of the spores are produced by the mother nest in the city center, and the other fruiting bodies including the gnawers, hatcheries, and even the new mother nests, the ultimate source is the oldest mother nest in the city center!"
Chu Guang: "..."
What's the difference between this and not saying it?
Honest and straightforward Bachi spit out his inner thoughts for him.
"...I think even if we don't use model analysis, we can draw this conclusion by looking at it with our eyes."
Heya glanced at him.
"Eyes can deceive people, but data can't."
Chu Guang coughed lightly.
"You're right, data won't lie, but what we need most now is a way to crack the wave, and we don't have much time left."
However, what surprised Chu Guang was that he didn't expect these slime molds to have formed a highly organized hive society as Heya guessed.
They imitate not only the forms and hunting methods of other creatures in nature, but also go deep into a more complex social level.
Some fruiting bodies are responsible for reproduction, some are responsible for development, and some are responsible for hunting. When necessary, the "worker bees" will even sacrifice themselves to become nutrients for the expansion of the fungal blanket in the incubator.
The spore cloud covering the entire city can even provide information services for the slime mold aliens in the city like a local area network, and these aliens themselves play the role of routers, releasing spores all the time.
There is no shortcut to destroy them.
After a pause, Chu Guang continued.
"As for the samples of the mother nest... your request is difficult to do, but I will try my best to help you find a solution."
The Boulder City on the edge of the Third Ring Road may have a solution.
Chu Guang had heard from Xia Yan before that some powerful mercenary groups could go deep into the city center to search for the remains of pre-war civilization.
As long as he had enough chips in his hand, this problem might be solved with money.
Just as Chu Guang was lost in thought, Bachi, who was sitting next to him, hugged the tin can on his head in pain.
"Damn... why did I go on this long journey?"
He had already begun to regret it.
Perhaps, he should have just traveled around Yunjian Province like other alumni who chose graduation trips.
There was no need to go so far, and there was no need to set such a high goal right from the start.
When he thought about his handsome face turning into this ghostly look, he wanted to die in pain.
No matter how he thought about it, it was Luo Hua's fault that he became like this!
Chu Guang looked at his friend who came from afar with a strange expression, and said with a kind reminder.
"It doesn't matter if you take off your helmet. I think... the people in the shelter won't mind your appearance."
Or rather...
Are NPCs with strange looks more popular?
However, after hearing Chu Guang's words, Bachi shook his head and showed strong resistance.
"I don't want it even if you kill me!"
...
In the evening.
The newbies who had been playing the game for a whole day returned to the outpost with their tired bodies and broken equipment.
When they set out from Shelter No. 117, many of them were still carrying engineer shovels and axes produced by Steel Plant No. 81, or shields, javelins, bows and arrows, and spears made from the carpenter's hut.
However, now, almost everyone's equipment has been replaced with steel bars, sticks, and even bricks picked up from nowhere.
Some players simply didn't even come back.
After being cloud players on the forum for several months, they finally experienced how real a "100% real" virtual reality game can be.
Throwing the broken stick on the ground, the newbie with the ID "Painter" sat down at the south gate and cursed.
"Damn, this gnawer is too strong. It held the shield and gnawed it all over. It almost gnawed my nose off!"
A good friend with the ID "Illustrator" also agreed.
"That's right! Isn't it said that the gnawer is a novice monster? This strength is too outrageous!"
The experience of the two newbies is not an isolated case.
In fact, it's not just the newbies who feel it's difficult. Even the awakened players can clearly feel that the gnawer is much stronger than before.
And this enhancement is not just the optimization of "monster AI". It's obvious that even the panel data is one or two points higher than before.
Once surrounded, even the awakened players of the strength and constitution system can easily fall into a dangerous situation.
Not to mention the newcomers whose panel attributes have not yet grown up.
However, despite the complaints, no one was discouraged.
If you can't even accept this little difficulty, it is unlikely that you can complete the questionnaire with increasingly ridiculous questions and difficulty, and it is even less likely that you will have the opportunity to become a lucky closed beta player.
It's not just the unloading point at the south gate and the market at the north gate that are bustling, the wooden house in front of the Hunter's Guild is also bustling.
Looking at the predators with their hands and feet tied, Yu Hu's expression was a little confused.
If I remember correctly, the task I issued should be to search for slime mold aliens in the area, clean up the hatchery that produces gnawers, and the source of spore spread.
However...
How did these "players" catch a lot of living people?
A rough count showed that there were more than a hundred.
His Hunter's Guild didn't have the task of catching slaves.
Looking at the president of the Hunter's Guild, the Fountain Commander chuckled: "We didn't find the hatchery, but we did find the predator's nest."
The Battlefield Atmosphere Group sighed: "These people are really awesome, hiding in the bridge hole!"
I am the worst: "Too stinky!"
Lao Wang next door: "Hey, the ones I caught are even more awesome, their nest is actually on the hanging tower!"
Kakarot: "Fuck, aren't you afraid of falling down when you sleep so high?!"
Lao Wang next door shook his head and poked the predator next to him with the muzzle of his gun, "I don't know, why don't you ask him?"
The predator poked by the gun trembled, afraid but dared not hide to the side.
The same was true for other predators.
In addition to fear, there was more confusion on their faces.
They had no intention of paying attention to these poor guys who didn't even have a two-headed cow. Those fat caravans were their target.
However, when these people saw them, their eyes seemed to glow green, and they rushed up without saying a word.
In fact, from the players' point of view, it is understandable.
After all, the combat power of the alien species has been significantly enhanced, and the only unchanged ones are the predators.
Those old players are too experienced in dealing with predators. From bloody hands to chewing bones, which one is not defeated by them?
Not to mention that these predators are much fatter than gnawers. They can earn silver coins and increase their contributions by destroying their nests.
Who would refuse a walking experience pack?
In addition to the captured predators, there are also slaves rescued by players from their nests.
Among them are men and women, some with intact limbs, some with missing arms and legs, and even dying.
Some of them even have big bellies.
Yu Hu, who has never dealt with predators, didn't know how to deal with it for a while.
Fortunately, the manager came over at this time.
After understanding the situation, Chu Guang immediately found Guo Niu, who was in charge of the warehouse of the outpost, and gave him instructions.
"Send them to the prisoner-of-war camp first. The guards there know how to identify looters. After the interrogation, looters stay in the prisoner-of-war camp, and other rescued survivors are sent to Changjiu Farm."
"If they have other places to go, let them go. If they are willing to stay, place them in the refugee village and let Jiuli find things for them to do."
There are large tracts of farmland on the west side of Changjiu Farm that need to be cultivated.
In addition to farm work, Changjiu Farm has recently opened a number of hotels and taverns for merchants, and is recruiting accountants, accountants, cooks, cleaners and waiters.
Whether you have a skill or not, as long as you want to work, there will never be a shortage of job opportunities there.
Guo Niu nodded seriously.
"Okay, sir!"
According to the price of 50 silver coins and 50 contributions for a prisoner and 80 silver coins and 80 contributions for a looter, Chu Guang settled the players' task rewards.
Looking at the players rushing to the north gate in high spirits, Yu Hu lowered his head with a face full of shame and said in a muffled voice.
"Sorry, I didn't do this little thing well."
Chu Guang said in an encouraging tone.
"Don't say that, you have done a good job. As for similar things, you will have experience after dealing with them a few times. If you are really undecided, you can contact me or Xiao Qi."
In fact, let alone Yu Hu, Chu Guang himself was quite surprised.
Originally, his original intention of establishing the Hunter Guild was to cope with the upcoming wave and enrich the gameplay of hunter players. Unexpectedly, the hunter players did not find a few hatching rooms, but destroyed many predators' nests.
The large piece of land in the northern suburbs was worried about not being able to be cultivated.
It was a pleasant surprise to be able to pick up so many captives.
Clearing his throat, Chu Guang looked at Yu Hu and continued.
"Let's talk about business first. How is the matter I asked you to investigate going?"
Yu Hu nodded quickly and said immediately.
"There are results! I was just about to report to you!"
After a pause, he continued.
"According to the clues collected by the hunter team we sent to the edge of the Fifth Ring Road to the Fourth Ring Road, a large number of gnawers are moving along multiple highways out of the city from the city center to the suburbs."
"They are not fast, but their pace is firm. Especially at night, their marching speed is almost twice that of the day... If they maintain the current speed, the first wave of gnawers will probably reach the northern suburbs within two days, and the scale may not be less than 100,000!"
100,000? !
Chu Guang's face was slightly solemn.
"Has something similar happened in the northern suburbs before?"
If the scale of the wave is really that large, the power of the northern suburbs is not enough to resist it.
Not to mention the bolt-action rifles in the old leech warehouse, even if Brown Farm and the Blood Hand Clan are added together, it is impossible.
Yu Hu frowned and pondered for a while, shook his head and said.
"I haven't heard that the wave goes north before, but there have been a few fogs... but not every year."
The difficulty of the wave has increased significantly this year.
Is it because of the population?
Chu Guang said with a serious look.
"I need to know the specific route of the wave. Do you have a map here?"
Yu Hu nodded immediately.
"Yes! I was just about to bring it to you!"
As he said that, he returned to the wooden house of the Hunter's Guild, quickly took out a map, and walked out of the wooden house again.
Returning to Chu Guang's side, Yu Hu unfolded the map in front of him and pointed to the mark he drew on the map.
"It's here!"
On the paper map, a red line and four yellow lines were drawn with a marker.
These two colors of lines respectively represent the main direction of the "wave" and the branch lines that run through the streets of the city.
The Garden Street subway station between Beth Street and Brown Farm is right on that red line!
Without a moment's delay, Chu Guang took the map and went directly to the guard's station, recalling the guard captain Wrench who was far away at Changjiu Farm, as well as his capable men.
The combat meeting began.
Chu Guang spread the map on the table.
"...If the wave continues to advance, not only will our neighbors suffer, but Shelter No. 117, the outpost base, and the new industrial zone will all be in trouble."
"There is a relatively open area at the entrance and exit of the ring road south of the Garden Street subway station. I plan to build a direction around this area and deploy more than 500 troops and heavy firepower weapons."
"Do you have any good suggestions? You can put them forward now!"
Vanus, staring at the map, thought for a moment and suddenly spoke.
"I want to know if our opponents are only gnawers, or also crawlers and tyrants?"
Chu Guang: "Maybe all!"
Everyone in the meeting room held their breath at the same time.
If it were just the Gnawers, it would be fine. Those aliens that can only run and bite can only give themselves up to death in front of guns and cannons. A few heavy machine guns are enough to crush them to the ground.
However, if there are even "all-terrain mobile" monsters like the Crawler and "unfathomable" Tyrants, the situation may not be optimistic.
Add to that the "Martyr" monsters that do not play by the rules, this battle may be a disaster.
Vanus only took half a minute to think and immediately made a judgment.
"One line of defense may not be enough! Based on this line of defense, we only need at least three kilometers of strategic depth to stop them from advancing through multiple levels of defense!"
Wrench frowned.
"Three kilometers may be too late. It will be difficult to build this line of defense before they arrive!"
Vanus did not speak, but looked at Chu Guang.
The same is true for others.
As if he is the only hope.
Under the gaze of everyone, Chu Guang nodded slowly and said only three words.
"It's still in time!"
It's still in time at any time.
It just requires a little sacrifice...
At the same time, on the viaduct more than ten kilometers away.
In the queue that was moving forward like a tide, a pair of scarlet pupils were staring at the northern sky intently.
In that sight, there was a pressure that even the claws of death could not look at it.
It opened its mouth.
The hoarse voice was like the howling of a ghost.
"Children..."
"Burning..."
"Necessary... Purification..."
In those scarlet pupils, there was a desire for killing and blood!