ca-book Chapter 95 How about we scout it out beforehand?
Chapter 95 How about we scout it out beforehand?
Chapter 95 How about we scout it out beforehand?
After "Ghost-Faced Tiger" made his threats, he was also assigned to the 44th division as a loyal henchman. He began to spam the channel, adding fuel to the fire and making his declaration of war even more offensive.
Whether it was Ghost-Faced Tiger's special instruction or these underlings' own attempt to provoke Yu Wang and use him as a tool to kill their master, it's unclear.
In short, he worked extremely hard at this task, and many original residents of the 444 section couldn't stand it anymore. They joined the survivors from the former 522 section in hurling insults, and the channel became a chaotic mess for a while.
Clearly, "Ghost Tiger" is a beneficiary of the survival-of-the-fittest model in Division 522.
He had long been accustomed to a life of arrogance, exploitation, and maintaining his status through violence and fear.
Suddenly changing environments and finding that their interests have been touched is like a cat whose tail has been stepped on; they immediately feel intense discomfort and anger at having their interests threatened.
Whether it's to maintain the environment that's most suitable for the development of the 444 partition or to completely solidify its position, Yu Wang has to face the challenge.
To some uninformed people, he might just be someone who's lucky and upgrades his ships quickly, and not actually that strong in combat.
Even without Ghost-Faced Tiger's provocation today, Yu Wang would still find a reason to start a fight with someone later. He had already thought of the targets to establish his authority: "The world is going downhill" who likes to stand on the moral high ground and complain, and "It's time for dinner again" are perfect targets.
Only by proving one's strength can one truly secure one's position.
Otherwise, if too much time passes and the survivors become too powerful, he'll just be a fat sheep who throws money around.
While the chat was filled with angry comments, countless eyes were actually focused on the user ID "You're Going to Have a Lucky Break," waiting for a response.
This response will determine the survival tone of the 444 partition for a long time to come.
You're going to hit the jackpot! "Okay."
"Accepted! The big boss accepted!"
"Are we really going to fight?!"
"Whoever wins gets to decide? What do they take us for? The ocean is so vast, who can control us?"
"Are you stupid? Do you think you can go your whole life without ever doing long-duration dungeons or participating in raids? That's no different from a painful, slow suicide! Besides, there might be an item like a teleportation card."
Before everyone could process this, Yu Wang's next message arrived.
You're going to hit the jackpot: "But the timing is up to me."
Ghost-Faced Tiger: "Fine! You lost, which proves your hypocritical tactics won't work! From now on, the 444 partition must fully implement the old tradition of the 522 partition! All survivors will be ranked, and resources will be forcibly centralized and uniformly allocated!"
The strong rule everything, the weak give their all!
He never considered the possibility of losing, or rather, he was so confident that he had a winning hand that he didn't mention what would happen if he lost in the bet.
Yu Wang wouldn't bother with such details about a dead person and continued typing.
You're in for a ton of luck! "There are too many people exploring the dungeon during the day, and fighting there can disturb others. The time has been changed to midnight tonight. There will be fewer people in the dungeon at night, making it quieter. See you at the Lion Ant Dynasty dungeon entrance!"
Ghost-Faced Tiger: "Nighttime is nighttime! Do you think I'm afraid of the dark?! Don't get so scared of the monsters that you wet your pants and hide away!"
After exchanging harsh words, Yu Wang privately contacted Lin Che and some survivors from the original 522 section who had been assigned to the 444 section, inquiring about information related to Ghost Face Tiger.
They quickly obtained some important information.
Lin Che didn't hide anything and told everyone he knew.
Ghostface Tiger, formerly the second-in-command of Division 522, is a staunch ally and cunning strategist of the former captain of the "Ghost Pirate Ship".
He was the one who proposed the centralization of supplies and the determination of the daily quota for supplies to be handed over.
Before entering the game, he must have been a professional specializing in numerical calculations, and he just happened to position the amount to be handed over at the critical point where everyone was neither starving nor able to develop.
As for the boat, he once boasted in the 522 chat area that he was piloting a two-story sightseeing boat with a reinforced iron exterior. It looked unremarkable, but the interior was said to be extremely luxurious, and people would often sleep inside.
As for its strength, apart from the fact that it's a Tier 2 ship, I don't know much else.
After learning this information, Yu Wang nodded, gaining a clearer understanding of Ghost-Faced Tiger.
In this way, the motive and logic behind Ghost-Faced Tiger's sudden challenge become very clear:
Ghostface and the former captain of the Ghost Ship were originally a team with shared interests. The captain was responsible for military deterrence and ultimate judgment, while Ghostface was responsible for system design and daily management. Working together, they turned Sector 522 into their private hunting ground.
However, the former captain of the Ghost Pirate Ship went to hunt down Lin Che but failed to return, and Ghost-Faced Tiger knew that his old partner was probably in grave danger.
Having lost the teleportation ability of the Ghost Pirate Captain, he immediately became extremely vulnerable in the already dog-eat-dog, nemesis-filled 522 district. He could no longer accurately strike down the disobedient as before, nor could he suppress those survivors who were already harboring resentment but were only intimidated by his power.
On the vast ocean, if everyone disperses, the probability of encountering an enemy is indeed very low. He can live a life of hiding with his accumulated wealth.
However, now that the "regional dungeons" have been opened, unless you never go to the regional dungeons to obtain key resources and development opportunities, it is difficult to avoid being ambushed by those with ulterior motives.
Instead of passively waiting for possible retaliation, it's better to take the initiative and challenge "You're Going to Make a Big Move" in the 444 district, while you still have the wealth you've accumulated, newcomers are just arriving, and people's hearts are unsettled. In one fell swoop, you can establish your new authority and bring the 444 district under your "rule"!
For Ghostface Tiger, this was a gamble he had no choice but to take!
"So what exactly is his reliance?" Yu Wang leaned against the ship's railing, gazing intently at the sea, pondering deeply.
Do you think that because "Lion Ant Dynasty" is a land-based instance and you can't rely on ship level, you're fearless?
At the same level, a metal boat is indeed more durable than a plastic or wooden boat, but the difference of one level is enough to make up for this.
Later on, the differences between each level become enormous! Material is no longer an advantage!
It's only 6:30 in the morning, and there are still 17 hours until the midnight showdown.
He turned off the noisy control panel and looked up to see Zhang Xinlan staring at him nervously.
"??" He gave him a questioning look.
Zhang Xinlan suggested, "Why don't we skip training today and go scout out the dungeon first, and practice our skills while we're at it?"
And don't be nervous, that Tiger is a latecomer, he didn't participate in the Pac-Man Ship dungeon, he doesn't have any beans, he definitely can't beat us in a war of attrition.
Upon hearing this, Yu Wang chuckled softly, "Little girl, he may not have participated in the 444th Division's 'Pac-Man Boat' dungeon, but I haven't participated in the 522nd Division's group dungeon either. Do you think the rewards he received as the second-place finisher in the 522nd Division's group dungeon would be bad?"
Zhang Xinlan's excitement froze instantly, then she suddenly realized, slapping her forehead: "That's right! How could I forget that! Their district has been exploited so badly, the best stuff must all be concentrated in Ghost-Faced Tiger's hands! I'll go find a few people and ask what the 522 district's dungeon is!? What rewards do we get!"
"No need to bother, I've already asked."
"What is it?" Zhang Xinlan immediately leaned closer, her face full of curiosity.
This isn't a secret, and there's no harm in telling you.
Yu Wang explained in a general way: "The instance itself is fine. Its name is Treasure Miner, and its location is on the sea surface above a trench."
The goal is to use the grappling hook to delve into the dark trench below and salvage all sorts of junk that have sunk to the bottom. Points are then awarded based on the value of the salvaged items.
The salvaged items included fragments of a broken ship, a locked obsidian metal box, ancient pottery jars, the remains of an unidentified creature, damaged tools, and more.
The rules allow you to keep the salvaged items yourself; if you manage to salvage an intact item, you've hit the jackpot!
Zhang Xinlan listened with a strange expression: "Isn't this just a reskinned version of the classic game 'Gold Miner'? I used to really enjoy playing it when I was a kid."
Yu Wang's eyes narrowed: "That's where the problem lies."
"The dungeon mechanics sound unremarkable, even like 'Pac-Man Ship,' a simple dungeon with a welfare aspect. But according to the descriptions from those I inquired about, and confirmation from Lin Che, out of the nearly 30,000 people who participated in the dungeon in Zone 522, a full half died!"
"What?!" Zhang Xinlan gasped, her face filled with shock and disbelief. "Half of them are dead?!"
"How...how is this possible? Is there a monster down in the trench?"
"It's infighting."
Yu Wang continued, "Lin Che was also in that instance at the time. But he was quite alert. When he realized that something was wrong and the death toll was rising at an abnormal rate, he immediately and decisively chose to give up his points and quit the instance midway, which is how he narrowly escaped death."
"And it was precisely because so many people died that his score, which should have been in the lower middle range, actually climbed to the upper middle range in the final settlement, and he even received a decent reward as a result."
"I suspect these changes are related to the winner of that game, Ghost-Faced Tiger."
Ghost Tiger's arrogance may not stem from inheriting the resources of the original 522 district, but rather from his survival in the group dungeon and the potential gains he might have made.
After all, there's a lot of trash in the trench.
"If it were for the sake of points, no matter how much they fought each other, they couldn't have killed half of them. There must be some other reason. Tonight—" Zhang Xinlan looked at Yu Wang, her eyes filled with worry.
"I will still go. Even a lion uses its full strength to hunt a rabbit. Besides, the opponent might not be a rabbit, but a venomous snake that crawled out of a trench."
Having learned the general details of his opponent, Yu Wang immediately focused his energy on preparations for actual combat. He believed that "Ghost-Faced Tiger" must also be frantically trying to find out information about him through various channels.
However, he has always been very careful to protect his own intelligence.
So far, apart from Zhang Xinlan and Lin Che, no one else knows whether they are male or female, how old they are, or what kind of boat they drive.
This information asymmetry can give you an advantage in some ways.
I calmed myself down and cleared my mind of all distractions.
Yu Wang walked to the relatively wide top of the Little Yellow Duck ship and began to calm down and practice the temporary experience ability that the 444 section administrator had drawn for everyone.
He focused on two combat-oriented skills in the experience skill set: "Heroic Leap" of "Storm Herald Blazegard" and "Charged Electric Gun".
All day long, Yu Wang practiced repeatedly on the roof of the Little Yellow Duck the timing of his "Heroic Leap," the control of his landing point, and the connection with the crab claw and harpoon attacks.
At the same time, they are also trying to speed up the process of condensing the "energy storage gun".
Feeling the tingling sensation of electricity gathering in his palm, as if countless tiny electric snakes were crawling under his skin, he carefully controlled the output of his mental energy to avoid excessive consumption that could cause dizziness.
After he became familiar with the process, he tried to fuse the "energy-storing electric gun" with the crab claw harpoon.
Instead of firing the electric gun immediately, he tried to guide the unstable current along his arm and slowly pour it into the crab claw harpoon he was holding!
Sizzle—
A layer of leaping blue-white electric light instantly appeared on the metal parts of the harpoon! The entire weapon seemed to come alive!
"It really works!" Yu Wang thought with delight.
This means that as long as he can maintain the energy output of the "charged electric gun" without firing, his crab claw harpoon can inflict paralysis and additional electric shock damage for a long time during melee attacks!
The whole process seemed simple, but Yu Wang actually practiced it more than thirty times. Each practice session consumed about 40% of his mental energy. In order to quickly recover his mental energy, he consumed a total of sixty mental energy beans in just one day. He also consumed twelve stamina beans to familiarize himself with the power of "Heroic Leap".
This results in a current reserve of only 42 Spirit Beans and 387 Stamina Beans.
Only his family could afford to use beans as training materials.
As for Zhang Xinlan's long-cherished idea of scouting the dungeon locations, it was actually completely unnecessary.
After the "Lion Ant Dynasty" dungeon from the previous life was opened, although there were not many lion ants left inside, the maze-like ant nest still contained abundant resources.
Mineral deposits, special soils, rare plant seeds, and other unique materials such as remnants of lion ant hairs, shell fragments, and even larval secretions may be found in the passageways of the nest and in abandoned nurseries and storage rooms.
To stockpile materials for making winter clothing, he visited the lair dozens of times, exploring every corner of it and knowing the map by heart.
Just like Metroidvania games, no matter how complicated the map routes seem at first glance, you can basically say goodbye to getting lost after playing for a while and going back and forth many times.
Zhang Xinlan tacitly left the space for Yu Wang to train, only occasionally bringing him water and food.
In her spare time, she didn't forget her side job, guiding the pronunciation and memorization of the character "鸭C".
To her delight, after this period of learning, Duck C had been able to recite the lengthy "Environmental Guardian Oath" in its entirety! However, due to some pronunciation issues, it was unable to successfully trigger the event even while holding the "Environmental Guardian Badge."
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