Chapter 1 A Tacit Understanding

Long before the vast majority of civilizations were in geographically isolated medieval times, the esoteric circles of various civilizations, unconnected with each other, had already reached a considerable consensus in some aspects.

For example, many memes, including languages, gestures, totems, talismans, symbols, and rituals, are necessary media for communicating with the "spirit of the world" and manipulating extraordinary energy (whether it is spiritual Qi, arcane energy, aether, or something else).

The Five Poison Sect, born in southern Africa, uses voodoo dolls woven from animal bones or straw, which are surprisingly similar to the puppet witchcraft of the Han Dynasty.

The human sacrifice ritual process of the South American Mayan civilization is also extremely similar to that of the Yin Shang civilization.

The broken cinnabar writing brush, although the cinnabar on its tip had only faded and had not been rubbed off, had undoubtedly lost the "integrity" that is universally recognized in the esoteric world.

Just like glutinous rice must be used to remove zombie poison, but not japonica rice, small differences will be infinitely amplified in esotericism, eventually leading to the complete failure of the entire "ritual."

Ao Yong @-mentioned everyone in the WeChat group, but no one responded.

"Hello? Is anyone there?!"

Ao Yong's new messages kept vibrating the screen, and he sent many exclamation points in a row.

Liu Wudai's fingertips gently stroked the phone screen. After hesitating for a moment, she privately messaged Li Ang and asked, "Shall we go down?"

"Um... let me think," Li Ang thought for a while and typed, "You should be carrying heavy weapons, right? Could you reveal what they are?"

Liu Wudai was silent for a while before replying, "AT-4CS and M202A1."

Whoa~

Li Ang on the other end of the phone couldn't help but smack his lips and shake his head.

The AT-4 is a single-shot, single-soldier anti-tank weapon produced by Saab Bofors Dynamics of Sweden.

It has been widely used in the Panama War, the Gulf War, the Afghan War, and regional wars in Mexico, Africa, and other regions. It is one of the most common anti-tank weapons in the world.

The AT-4CS is an improved version of the AT-4 that can discharge saltwater from the rear when the rocket launcher is fired, in order to neutralize the flame and prevent it from rebounding onto the user, making it suitable for firing in confined environments.

The M202A1 is a four-barreled rocket launcher that fires flame rounds. It was developed and equipped by the United States in the 1970s and can carry rockets, armor-piercing rounds, gas rounds, and even thermite incendiary rounds that can create an ultra-high temperature of 3,000 degrees Celsius.

Regardless of whether Liu Wudai obtained these two rocket launchers through smuggling channels, or directly purchased them from arms dealers in war-torn areas abroad,

it is enough to prove that she is not only financially strong but also well-connected, making Li Ang, who spends money to buy parts and assemble flammable and explosive products, look much less impressive.

Of course, Liu Wudai did not store these two rocket launchers and their supporting ammunition in her backpack. Instead, she hid them in a Hidden Dead Angle in the ceiling of a certain floor of the Longheng Shopping Center.

On the player forum, a recent statement has been gaining momentum, that the system will formulate script missions based on the player's own ability values.

If a player is very weak, has poor intelligence, and has terrible comprehensive qualities, but carries a large number of modern lethal weapons in their backpack,

then the player is likely to be subject to the system's hidden penalties.

For example, they might be placed in a world of ghosts and monsters where modern weapons are ineffective, or the mission time limit might be shortened, and the difficulty of the mission increased.

Modern weapons purchased through various channels will be identified by the system as "external objects," and the player will be subjected to hidden penalties, making it difficult to transform them into the player's personal advantages in the script mission.

However, if these modern weapons are made and assembled by the player themselves, they will be considered part of the player's personal ability by the system, and no hidden penalties will be imposed.

This view is quite popular in the player forum. Some professional strategy teams have even conducted special experiments on this and published the experimental results in the forum in the form of featured posts.

Due to the limited controlled variables and comparative samples in the experiment, the overall results of the experiment are relatively vague and cannot be recognized by all players. A widely accepted conclusion has not yet been debated.

But from the Special Affairs Bureau's performance, it is very likely that the official strategy team agrees with the theory that "the player's personal ability is the most important."

If players could freely carry modern weapons into the script, then players with official backgrounds (such as Xing Hechou) would probably be able to take out main battle tanks, third- and fourth-generation attack aircraft, all-terrain armored vehicles, and rocket launchers from their backpacks as soon as they entered the script.

What's the point of ordinary players holding菜刀 (cai dao - kitchen knives)?

Similarly, wealthy people who have power in the real world will find it difficult to convert the advantages of real-world power and wealth into personal ability advantages after becoming players and entering instances. In the end, it still depends on the person's own abilities.

This avoids the situation where players from ordinary backgrounds are suppressed and unable to get ahead in the early stages of the game.

Liu Wudai also believed in this theory, so after receiving the mission during the day, she made preparations in advance and hid both rocket launchers in the corners of the Longheng Shopping Center, instead of placing them in her backpack.

After being asked by Li Ang, Liu Wudai did not hide anything, but generously revealed this information.

This was both exchanging information in order to maximize the chances of passing this instance,

and also implying to Li Ang the power and potential value she possessed in the real world, in order to seek further cooperation in the future.

It's convenient to talk to smart people. Even if there is intrigue and mutual use, it is full of high efficiency.

Li Ang typed directly, "Bring the rocket launchers, we'll go to the third-floor lobby of Building A. I'll go to the left corridor, you go to the right."

"Okay."

Liu Wudai looked around to make sure there were no abnormalities in the surroundings, then walked straight to a corner, pried open the square ceiling, and took down two large wooden boxes from above,

then took out the two rocket launchers inside, loaded the ammunition, put one into her backpack, and carried the other on her back.

She walked down the stairs and came to the right corridor of the third-floor lobby of Building A, and saw Li Ang standing on the opposite corridor, with his legs crossed and his hand leaning on the railing, looking quite carefree.

Ao Yong was standing at the intersection of the corridors in the second-floor lobby of Building A. When he saw Li Ang and Liu Wudai and others arrive, he was very excited, standing in place and waving his hands repeatedly, gesturing for them to come over to support him quickly.

However, Li Ang and Liu Wudai acted as if they didn't see Ao Yong's gesticulations, standing still and not moving, with no response.

Ao Yong made hand gestures for a long time, and found that these two people had no intention of cooperating at all. He gritted his teeth, and typed in the WeChat group in a hurry and anger: "What are you doing?! Slacking off at this time? Don't just stand there doing nothing, do you still want to clear the level?"