After dinner.
The group rested directly in the lobby on the first floor of the villa so they could respond quickly to any emergencies.
Except for Hella, the other four took out their crystal cores and attempted to absorb them.
It was exactly as the middle-aged military officer had said.
One only needed to hold it in their hand to attempt to extract the energy.
A warm current flowed from the Crystal Core through the palm, and they could clearly feel a certain power within their bodies continuously increasing.
About 1 hour later, the absorption was complete.
After checking her Personal Panel, Mu Bai was surprised to find that her Spirit attribute had increased by 5 points, breaking through the initial value limit to reach 22 points.
‘Such high Mental Power… is there any use for it?’
After 20 days of learning, Mu Bai knew that this attribute had no direct relationship with thinking or intelligence.
Currently, its only two uses seemed to be resisting Mental Power debuffs for longer and using items that consumed Mental Power at a higher frequency.
And both of those could more or less be compensated for by her [Power Bank Constitution].
In Mu Bai’s view, a 5-point increase in Spirit was not as good as adding it to Strength or Constitution, which would make it less tiring to move around.
Even Agility, which provided a boost in combat, would have been better…
Since Hella was still nearby, Mu Bai and the others couldn’t blatantly discuss the changes in their stats.
However, because Hella couldn’t see the System Interface, they could unscrupulously send private messages and exchange information with each other.
Ye Yuan’s stats also went into Spirit, while Tang Shifu and Mo Cha both saw increases in Strength.
It was worth mentioning that Tang Shifu’s initial Strength was 13 points.
After the boosts from the Dragon Tiger Pill and the stew, it reached 17 points.
With the addition of the 5 points from the Crystal Core, it had already reached 22 points in her daily state, breaking through the limitations of the initial maximum value.
In Tang Shifu’s perception, she was already at a level where she could cooperate with her Talent to shatter a thick iron plate with a single punch.
Looking at it this way, if the stats representing physical fitness could continue to increase, she would eventually be able to confront thermal weapons with her physical body…
As it grew late, Mu Bai and Ye Yuan shared a sofa and fell into a peaceful sleep.
***
The next day.
Mu Bai and the others were woken up by the sound of shouting outside.
The four of them quickly went out to investigate the situation.
In the plaza, Scarface was questioning a Level 1 Player who was guarding the armored vehicle.
Several Level 2 Players stood around them; some looked displeased, while others had playful glints in their eyes as if they were watching a show.
Su Wan and Zheng Mingyuan were also present.
Seeing Mu Bai, Su Wan proactively approached them.
“What’s happening?”
Mu Bai asked.
“Someone cut a hole in the armored vehicle, and the Crystal Cores inside are gone,” Su Wan said with a strange expression.
This matter wasn’t particularly huge — it was only three Crystal Cores.
The value of a single Crystal Core was at least two or three Train Coins, but none of them had viewed the remaining cores as their own property because there was too much demand and too little supply.
But being stolen was another matter.
It meant those three Crystal Cores had been intercepted by a single person or team.
Seeing someone using such underhanded methods to eat so well, how could the others stand it?
“So you’re saying you took a nap last night and didn’t see anyone come near here, is that it?”
Scarface asked, his face ashen.
“I really didn’t expect… I’m sorry, I’m sorry! Give me another chance, I beg you!”
“A hole was cut in the armor, and you weren’t even woken up by that much noise? You were sleeping like a dead pig!”
Scarface pulled the Nagant Revolver from his waist and pressed it against the head of the pleading Player, gritting his teeth as he said, “Since you want to sleep so badly, I’ll give you the chance to sleep forever right now.”
“No, please…”
Bang!!
The Player’s forehead was pierced by a bullet.
Blood flowed out like a fountain as they slumped to the ground.
“Phew… Everyone, it’s getting late. Let’s organize the ranks and set out,” Scarface said, letting out a long breath to calm his anger.
He turned to face the other Level 2 Players who were watching the commotion nearby.
Ever since Scarface had secured more benefits for everyone yesterday, his authority had become slightly higher than that of the other Level 2 Players.
Major matters were decided by a vote, but many minor issues were handled by Scarface, and the others didn’t have much to say about it.
As for Zheng Mingyuan… he wished his presence were even lower.
Although being the first to stand up and integrate the Players was a merit, it also meant he had offended the Level 2 Players to some degree.
Right now, it was fine while everyone was working together on the surface, but if internal conflicts arose, he and Su Wan would certainly be among the first to suffer.
Everyone ignored the executed ordinary Player.
After surviving in the Survival Game for so long, they were practically numb, if not cold-blooded.
Mu Bai also understood Scarface’s reasoning.
If the armored vehicle drove at full speed to the Research Institute, the estimated time required would be less than 1 hour.
However, the speed of some Variants could even match a vehicle.
If they encountered a tide of Zombies controlled by a Zombie King, the mission would be almost certain to fail.
No matter how tough the armored vehicle was, it couldn’t crush its way through a siege of hundreds or thousands of Zombies.
Therefore, they needed the ordinary Players to clear the way.
By traveling at a normal walking speed and starting early, they could reach the Research Institute before dark.
The depletion of the Player count didn’t matter…
After all, a Slaughter Station was meant to consume the number of Players, wasn’t it?
***
Under the threat of assault rifles, even the ordinary Players who were unwilling to follow the main force and perform the Escort Mission had to obey the orders of the Level 2 Players.
After leaving the camp, where else could they go if they didn’t stick close to the main force?
With the Level 2 Players hiding the existence of the Zombie King, anyone with a brain knew that it was safer to stay with 1,000 people than to face the Zombies of a Level 5 Station alone.
Nearly 2,000 Players formed a group and set off on the journey to complete the Escort Mission.
The armored vehicle carrying the researchers drove at walking speed, positioned in the front third of the column.
The Level 2 Players were scattered in the front, middle, back, and around the four sides of the armored vehicle, carrying guns to supervise the ordinary Players.
Every so often, a group of Players from the rear would take up steel bars and iron pipes to replace the Players clearing the way at the very front, rotating continuously.
Mu Bai and her group of four were assigned to the middle.
It was fine at first, but after walking a distance while carrying a bulging ammunition pack, Mu Bai was quickly becoming breathless.
Her Constitution and Strength had been enhanced once by the stew, but they were still far below the average level of a Player.
A normal walking speed was almost no different from a jog for Mu Bai’s short legs!
Tang Shifu took Mu Bai’s backpack.
After a while, seeing that Mu Bai still couldn’t keep up, she simply handed one of the backpacks to Mo Cha and hung the other one in front of her.
Then, she hoisted Mu Bai onto her back.
With 22 points of Strength and a nearly maxed-out Constitution, Tang Shifu could carry a person without any effort.
Under the boost of the [Power Bank Constitution], Tang Shifu showed no sign of struggle.
Lying on Tang Shifu’s back, Mu Bai felt secretly ashamed that she had to be taken care of, her face turning slightly red.
In the eyes of the other two nearby, she looked shy.
Mo Cha simply thought it was amusing, but the aura around Ye Yuan turned inexplicably cold.
It had always been her who got close to Mu Bai.
This time, someone else was the one carrying Mu Bai through the Station, which made Ye Yuan very uncomfortable.
However, given the circumstances, she had no reason to stop them.
After all, her Strength wasn’t high enough to carry Mu Bai and move freely while also being weighed down by a backpack and a gun…