Chapter 1

The three figures, similarly clad in hazmat suits, leaped and darted through the dense forest, narrowly avoiding the giant jaguar's worm-shell bombardments each time.

A handsome man with delicate, feminine features and a rapier in hand, circled the jaguar like a specter, each time closing in to sever a cluster of worms with his sword, causing pus to explode.

A fair-haired, blue-eyed white youth wielded a thin, narrow craft knife, plunging the blade into the jaguar's flesh and lightly slicing, peeling off a large chunk of skin and meat like a butcher carving beef.

An ordinary-looking middle-aged man slid swiftly across the ground, dodging worm-shell projectiles and the jaguar's claws, while clenching his fists, which ignited with ten-foot-tall flames.

The middle-aged man suddenly leaped up, swinging his fist from below at the jaguar's jaw, the flames erupting and exploding, the force and shockwave staggering the jaguar.

The remaining two companions rushed to support him, a flash of blades slicing open the jaguar's neck, blood gushing out like a fountain, pooling on the ground.

The massive jaguar crashed to the ground, but the three did not relax in the slightest, quickly gathering together and warily scanning the depths of the dense forest.

The middle-aged man with the giant stone gauntlets shouted, "Friends, you've come all this way, why not show yourselves?"

The jungle was silent, with no response.

The white youth with the narrow craft knife hesitated, then raised his hands, put away the knife, and addressed the dense forest, "Our landing point was closer to the Tianping Corporation's biotech laboratory than yours.

"The low building on the surface is just a facade for the laboratory.

"The real laboratory is deep underground, accessible only by a long elevator ride.

"Many of these aberrations are lurking around the surface elevator entrance. Their individual strength isn't high, but they are extremely difficult to deal with in groups—most of them are guarding the low building, and only this jaguar could be lured out for us to surround and kill.

"A single team couldn't even break through the first layer of aberration guards, let alone enter the laboratory.

"We can only complete the mission objectives through cooperation."

He paused, as if giving the others time to think.

"You didn't attack just now, right?

"Completing this mission requires obtaining a positive three points. It seems like wiping out the other team would allow immediate teleportation,

"But in practice, it's difficult for two teams of similar strength to achieve a zero-for-three wipeout.

"At worst, the three of us can trade a team wipe for one or two of you.

"Even if you have a positive one or two points,

"You'll be forced to attempt the remaining extremely difficult script tasks with an incomplete team configuration.

"Failure to complete those tasks will result in obliteration."

The effeminate pretty boy with the rapier also spoke, "The Tianping Corporation laboratory is very close to both team battle squads. It won't take long to get there.

"Even going underground, one day is enough to explore the entire laboratory.

"So why did the system give us a seven-day mission time limit?

"We're all veteran players. We understand the system's hints—even if you want to wipe us out, as long as one of us escapes, we can hide and wait for an opportunity to strike during those seven days,

"And cooperate with the script world's own aberrant monsters to ambush and take out one of you.

"Then you'll either have to guard against attacks while trying to complete the script,

"Or spend the remaining time playing a game of cat and mouse.

"In conclusion, this mission seems to be pushing players to engage in a life-or-death team battle,

"But in reality, it encourages both teams to set aside their prejudices and temporarily ally,

"And only choose to attack the other team after completing at least two mission objectives and each obtaining a positive two points."

These two enemy players' analysis was logical and well-founded, not too different from what Li Ang and the others had imagined.

The benefits of fighting to the death upon meeting were not as high as temporarily cooperating to complete the script (the laboratory might contain biological engineering technology beyond the current era),

And the risks of temporary cooperation were lower than those of directly engaging in battle.

Li Ang and the others, hidden in the jungle, exchanged glances and slowly walked out in a triangular formation.

"Phew..."

The white youth couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, revealing his player ID: Mason

The effeminate pretty boy also sheathed his rapier, displaying his ID: Black Saint

The last one, a middle-aged man named Zhuang Pengpai, remained expressionless, shaking his fists to dissipate the flames.

Li Ang and his team, also materializing their player names, didn't approach rashly, but examined the other team from a distance.

Neither side spoke, the atmosphere somewhat oppressive and heavy, the air seemed to echo with cold, somber music....

All eyes turned to Li Ang.

The latter, with a serious expression, turned off his phone, which was playing the *halloweentheme* song.

"Sorry, this scene just goes well with this BGM."

Disrupted by Li Ang's interjection, it was difficult for either side to remain serious.

Mason waved his hand and said helplessly, "In any case, let's cooperate temporarily, at least to eliminate the aberrant monsters around the Tianping Corporation laboratory."

Wanli Fengdao and Dusk Knight nodded, watching the other three dissect the giant jaguar and divide its remains into three parts, each placing their share into their packs.

After cleaning up, Mason and his team led the way.

Li Ang and the others didn't follow directly behind them, but hung back to the left, using a drone to observe their position as they continued to advance.

Now that both sides had confirmed the other's location, they no longer needed to conceal themselves, and their speed increased significantly.

Soon, they saw the giant structure in the dense forest.

The modern building was roughly square, occupying a vast area, constructed entirely of reinforced concrete, with only a small row of transparent windows high up on the outer walls.

In this dense forest surrounded by trees and silent birds,

This building, covered in green vines, looked... like a giant coffin made of cement, oppressive and sealed.

A concrete pillar used for support and decoration stood at the entrance of the building, but it had already broken and fallen.

The parking lot in front of the main entrance was filled with abandoned vehicles, and low, verdant weeds tore through the concrete pavement and grew out.

After passing a stone that read "Tianping Corporation Boston Biotech Laboratory," Mason took a deep breath. "This is it."

Wanli Fengdao frowned and looked around. "How do we get in?"

"We can't go in through the main entrance. There are too many monsters inside."

Mason said in a low voice, "We'll climb in through a small window on the third floor. Before that, you can use your drone to scout the inside.

"By the way, the scene inside is quite spectacular...."

Player Ferocity