At dusk, golden sunlight fell across the massive walls of Weir City, as if draping the ancient, imposing city in a thick coat of gold.
Horse-drawn carriages moved along the streets. Pedestrians strolled unhurried. It looked like a scene from a fairy-tale painting.
But so corners of the city were anything but tranquil — more like a battlefield.
That was the standby zone of Weir City's mission hall.
A space roughly the size of a basketball court was packed wall-to-wall with people, because today was the opening day of the once-every-three-years rookie mission cycle — and several other missions' standby periods had coincided on the sa day. Not only were many standby candidates waiting to choose which mission to join mid-run, but nurous freshly graduated second and third-generation players were also here to begin new mission journeys.
Their parents and older siblings had co along, cheering them on and rattling off lists of precautions.
That was the advantage of being a second-generation player — all those built-in benefits.
Which naturally drew so envy and contempt from the first-generation standby candidates, who either looked down on them or simply ignored them.
But for now, the two groups were unlikely to cross paths. Second-generation players — future lords who had graduated from the Lord Academy — had customized missions designed specifically for them, the kind that could absorb twenty people per branch.
In one quiet corner of the standby zone, however, things were relatively subdued. This was the Pioneering Mission standby area — the highest-difficulty mission available at the Weir City tier.
About thirty players waited in silence. Nearby, five or six people of different status — advisors of so kind — were whispering among themselves or receiving a steady stream of magical ssages.
To the uninford, it might have looked like a stock exchange floor.
In practice, the nature of it was much the sa.
On the large screen at the front of this small area, fourteen teams were listed, each with a brief description. To the untrained eye, there wasn't much to read — just a few nas. But to experienced veterans, it was deeply interesting.
It was almost six o'clock — normally dinner ti. After dinner ca the Month-End Summary, then ten minutes for Plot Kills, then the Head of Household competition. If that went smoothly, the standby list would be released.
Under normal circumstances, the standby list was finalized before noon on the sa day.
The fact that it still hadn't been released ant this round of Pioneering Missions was about to produce so surprises — or a dark horse.
Experienced veterans who understood the situation were quietly withdrawing their standby applications. No connections, no backing, no strength — no point wading into murky waters. Better to apply for a lower-difficulty mission elsewhere. The rewards were smaller, but at least it was safe.
Of course, so veterans refused to be deterred and kept their nas on the standby list.
Results would definitely be out within the hour.
Maybe luck would be on their side.
What they didn't know was that at this very mont, all five departnts — Ministry of Internal Affairs, Comrce Departnt, Tactics Departnt, Logistics Departnt, and Resource Departnt — were in a state of tense standoff.
"Those bastards really have nerves of steel. What is Scorpion thinking?"
The head of the Comrce Departnt was agitated. His departnt's top seed player, Scar Glenn, had been pushed out of the top five and was now sitting at sixth. What should have been a comfortable situation had beco stressful.
All because of that little upstart from the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
"That Li Wei — he should rank second this month, right? I just don't get it. How did he pull it off?"
"How else? He pushed the extra mission difficulty to 180%, forced Scorpion to compromise, forced the Yang Widow to compromise. With those two on his side, the Pioneering Points were always going to skyrocket."
"Speaking of which — has the Ministry of Internal Affairs made a move? Is Night Owl going to go all-in on Li Wei or all-in on Hathaway?"
"Not yet."
"Damn, what is she thinking?"
The Comrce Departnt head let out a breath, then couldn't help laughing. "Night Owl must have a headache right now. On one side is a dark horse who ca out of nowhere. On the other is her most trusted favorite. I'd be torn too. And the key is she only has one designated slot."
Right. It was a genuinely agonizing choice.
Of course, if it were him, he'd pick Hathaway — the safer bet.
Li Wei's side, on the other hand, had Scorpion and the Widow — two notoriously volatile wildcards. Too unstable.
"She's decided. Night Owl has made her choice. She's sending Lu Ziming to Hathaway's branch."
A ssage arrived suddenly.
"Finally. That's what we've been waiting for."
In an instant, as the news spread, standby lists were finalized one after another — the lineup was unprecedented in its quality. Across 14 mission branches, 28 standby slots, there were five directly designated five-star cross-border players, twelve sequentially assigned four-star players, and only eleven random public standby candidates.
—
"I'd like to raise a toast to everyone. Thank you all for your hard work this month."
In the fourth-floor small dining room, Li Wei and the others were at dinner. The atmosphere was warm and cheerful — glasses clinking, laughter flowing. Except for Zhang Jinjun, who was a little invisible, everyone was in good spirits.
What else could they do? Li Wei's word was now law. There was no point in scheming or causing trouble. In this mont, they truly were one happy family.
It was a good al. When the ti felt right, Li Wei set down his chopsticks. Everyone straightened up, watching as a wisp of smoke-like mist drifted up and settled over the entire table.
The routine Month-End Summary had arrived.
["This was a month of harvest, abundance, unity, and striving. Under the leadership of Head of Household Li Wei, through everyone's efforts, the Scavenger Camp has advanced to Level 4 — a formidable force in the post-apocalyptic world, worthy of genuine respect."]
["This month, harvest was the enduring the. High-quality wheat, high-quality vegetables, more high-quality wild greens, mushrooms, and dicinal herbs have filled the camp's warehouses. The successful construction of the Level 3 City Wall and its accompanying defensive systems have dramatically increased the camp's security."]
["500 tons of coal, 50 tons of iron ore, 2,000 raw timber logs, 100 tons of cent, and 10 tons of iron and steel ingots in reserve — a solid foundation has been laid for the camp's future developnt."]
["This month, the Freen completed a Quarterly Settlent. The establishnt of the free market represents the stabilization of morale."]
["This month, the maximum earnable Family Contribution cap reached 33,000 points. As of now, 21,900 points have been earned (including all mbers' additional earnings, but not counting Monthly Main Task rewards)."]
["This month, the Scavenger Camp led by Head of Household Li Wei earned a total of 135 Pioneering Points. Cumulative total: 471 points. Current ranking on the Pioneering Scoreboard: 2nd place."]
["Head of Household Li Wei perford steadily this month, instilling firm conviction and unshakeable confidence in all mbers. He has earned an additional 10% Clearance Evaluation bonus. Cumulative total: 43%. He has also earned 2,000 Contribution points, all 2,000 of which ca from Freen. Cumulative total: 10,700 Contribution points."]
["Family mber Li Yue completed her vice-captain Monthly Main Task this month. She earned 300 Contribution points. Cumulative total: 4,000 points."]
["Family mber Liang Yuzhi completed her vice-captain Monthly Main Task this month. She earned 300 Contribution points. Cumulative total: 3,500 points."]
["Family mber Leon completed his vice-captain Monthly Main Task this month. He earned 300 Contribution points. Cumulative total: 2,100 points."]
["Family mber Thomas completed his captain-level Monthly Main Task this month. He earned 500 Contribution points. Cumulative total: 2,200 points."]
["Official Camp mber Zhang Jinjun completed his vice-captain Monthly Main Task this month. He earned 300 points. Cumulative total: 1,500 points."]
["Official Camp mber Zhao Xuanxuan completed her captain-level Monthly Main Task this month. She earned 500 points. Cumulative total: 2,200 points."]
["Current family real-ti total Contribution: 26,200 points."]
["Head of Household Li Wei will continue his tenure. The Leader BUFF remains in effect."]
["For continuing tenure: Prestige 10. Cumulative total: 250 points."]
["Within twenty-four hours, the Scavenger Camp will welco two new camp mbers: Thomas's younger brother, Three-Star Butcher Julian; and Li Yue's university professor, Four-Star Mountaineer He Yuying."]
—
Well.
Back in the running — and this month, they'd shot straight to second place on the scoreboard.
The remarkable thing was that Li Wei had barely worked this month.
Even he found it hard to believe. It didn't make sense.
He looked around the table. Liang Yuzhi and Li Yue weren't the least bit surprised. Everyone else was stunned.
Second place. What did that even an? Were they actually that good?
They looked at each other, forgetting entirely that this was the Plot Kill phase.
Of course, no one was going to bother launching a Plot Kill right now. They were all Family Elders — and more importantly, they were all on the sa side.
After ten minutes of silence, a howling gust of wind swept in — carrying with it sothing like terrible, festering resentnt, like the wail of a ghost. A cold, venomous presence seed to seep in and spread, black mist tearing at the air. The paper from last ti was gone — not even a scrap remained.
The strange wind lasted three seconds, then condensed into a human silhouette and lunged directly at Li Wei. He tried to dodge, but couldn't. He felt a cold sensation pierce straight through his chest — and then everything gradually returned to normal. The scoreboard was gone.
Not that it seed to matter anymore.
"Cough — cough — cough!"
Li Wei suddenly coughed violently, spitting blood — and then, impossibly, coughed up clumps of blood-soaked hair. They fell onto the table, arranging themselves into a strange, bloody new list.
But on this list, only Li Wei's na was visible. All the others were obscured by mist. Then, a blood-red claw appeared from nowhere and tore Li Wei's na to shreds.
This ti, everyone saw the sa notification.
["Because the extra mission difficulty of your Pioneering Branch has been raised to 180%, you have been cursed. As ti passes, the curse grows stronger. When the radiation storm sweeps this world, there is a considerable probability that your Scavenger Camp will be targeted by a special Magic Zombie. Prepare accordingly."]
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