Working Records in a Weird World - 106

 

| WRIAWW | Debt and Interest | 106

The S-level weird at the entrance was indeed formidable, even strength type survivors might not be able to handle on their own, so Qin Ye specially left Si Yuyan outside to command.

Losing one strategist wasn’t a big deal, as the team still had Joshua and Yu Anlian, they were more than capable of arranging tactics and adapting.

The aging community complex had a narrow entrance, and the parking pole at the entrance has fallen, making the entrance road very narrow, only allowing a few people to pass at a time.

"Don't turn on the lights, we will form groups of four. The arrange group will be with strength types on the outside and mediums on the inside. We have too many people, so we must enter the community one by one. Do not rush, we can’t risk alerting them."

Seeing this, Qin Ye commanded cautiously, "Anlian, you’re familiar with the layout. You’ll lead the front. I’ll cover the rear and stay out of the way for now."

"Ah, okay, Guild master Qin."

Everyone has strengthened their bodies and has night vision, so they sneaked in.

Everyone was careful, except Joshua, who was surrounded and protected in the center, was strolling leisurely.

Along the way, he was abnormally silent. Not only did he not interrupt to increase his presence, but he also looked up from time to time to look at this seemingly shabby and ordinary resettlement community, and it was unknown what he was thinking.

Zhou Ke’er and Bai Shao deliberately lagged at the back, they decided to do the bare minimum in this operation.

"Careful!"

The survivors in the front entered first. Under the faint moonlight, the scene in the open courtyard was unmistakable.

Dozens of cheap plastic tables and chairs were neatly arranged, covered with colorful tablecloths, and the corners were full of grease. There were many trays on each table, and bloody pieces of meat were placed on the side, some of which were still connected to the bones.

The bright red blood was slowly flowing along the snow-white tendons and dripping onto the surface of the tablecloth. Obviously, they were all very fresh, and were served to these tables not long.

On the grill in the center, a piece of an unknown animal's arm was still hanging there, the fat slowly melting and oozing out oil. In the pot next to it, the brown broth was boiling quietly, and they could vaguely see a skeleton surging inside.

The survivors were used to such sights and barely reacted.

An agility-type checked the setup. "The coals are still burning. They must’ve left recently."

"So they were having a feast before we arrived?"

"Probably, look at these plates of raw meat, isn't that their favorite food?

"Then where are they now? You don’t just abandon a meal mid-feast."

"Maybe... we should regroup, and scout the area before deciding."

Yu Anlian hesitated. "We could send a few agility-types ahead to recon—"

An S-level survivor cut her off impatiently. "Seriously? Is this your first time leading? With this many S-levels, why bother being cautious? Let's just push through. Where is building four? Let’s move now and get it over with."

"You're making such a big fuss over a B-level NPC. The Watchtower Guild's forced mobilization this afternoon has already wasted my time today. And it's not a mission, so there's not even any compensation either."

"Exactly, hurry up! Catching that talented newcomer would be a huge achievement. Since we made it this far, we can't miss this opportunity!"

Although she had agreed to Qin Ye's request to join this operation, Yu Anlian was only a C-level, and was clearly outmatched among a group of S-level survivors.

What's more, this was her first time participating in a mission with her idol 1st. She was nervous throughout the mission because she wanted to leave a good impression on others.

However, she lacked experience in group combat command, and the full grasp of S-level combat capabilities. Due to various reasons, she lacked confidence, fearing that she would make mistakes in command, and was more accustomed to taking cautious tactics.

But the S-level's words snapped her back to her senses.

"Alright, Building four is at the far end of the building. Just follow this path."

Finally, they rounded the last building and stopped at its entrance.

"This is Building four. According to the information we have, Unit 302 is Zong Le's residence..."

Yu Anlian quickly relayed details based on her memory: "Inside is a Butcher, a weird child, and a female weird. They are all B-level, each with their own weird domain. Proceed with extreme caution."

Before she could finish, the S-level survivors at the front charged ahead without hesitation, showcasing their prowess. Some leaped dozens of feet, shattering windows to storm into 302, while others vanished on the spot.

Clearly, none of them viewed these B-level weirds as a threat. Each was eager to be the first to capture Zong Le and bask in the forum's limelight.

Left behind, Yu Anlian sighed.

Although the line up was changed from stealth to attacking, survivors continued pouring in from behind, so there shouldn't be anything to worry about.

'Ten S-levels charged in, this should end very soon...'

As this thought crossed her mind, her gaze landed on the building's number, and she froze.

"Wait!" Startled, she grabbed the arm of the agile-type woman who'd stayed by her side. "This was definitely Building four, I couldn't have remembered it wrong! Why does it say Building one now?!"

In her shock, she looked back, the team that had followed them was gone.

Although she'd been paying attention to the noise behind her, but in just such a moment, their footsteps had vanished in an instant.

"Wait, it's a layered weird domain!" Recalling Sun Ming's account of encountering a "weird wall" in Building 4, Yu Anlian instantly understood the issue. 

Yet she couldn't fathom how they'd entered the domain.

With so many S-levels present, especially mediums, and even a high level medium overseeing things, how could they have entered the weird domain so easily?

Was the psychiatric department's boss pulling strings behind the scenes?

The more Yu Anlian thought about it, the more frightened she became. She quickly organized a plan in her mind: "Go to the forum to contact the other survivors! This weird domain has—"

But before she could finish her words, someone chopped her neck with a knife and knocked her unconscious.

As darkness swallowed her, Yu Anlian was shocked and wanted to look back to see clearly...

She needed to find out who this ruthless person was that was attacking their own people, but her consciousness had already sunk into darkness before she could see. 　

Tao Buxin casually caught the unconscious Yu Anlian, kicked open the door of an empty room nearby, and placed her inside.

After finishing this, she drew the folding knife from her waist and carefully concealed it in her hand. 

Coincidentally, at that moment, a group of S-level survivors who had been teleported into the space and trapped in a "weird wall" illusion had also begun to act erratically, wandering around aimlessly like headless flies.

Tao Buxin immediately activated her Flash Step skill, silently closing in behind this S-level medium who was weak in close combat. With practiced ease, she delivered another chop to the neck, then dragged the unconscious body back into the empty room, placing it neatly beside Yu Anlian.

Even the lurking weirds lying in wait to deal with the intruders were left utterly baffled.

"Wait, what’s going on here?" Number Two scratched his head. "Are they fighting among themselves?"

Number Five, who was busy controlling the weird domain and gradually planting psychological suggestions in the S-level group, spared a glance in their direction. "Oh, that woman, don't you remember? Back in the psychiatric ward, the boss had me wipe her memories. After brainwashing, she became obsessively loyal to the boss. She’s one of us now."

"Brother, you should’ve said so earlier! If she’s one of us, then there's no need to worry!"

"Right. Later, I’ll use mental suggestions to lure these people right in front of her. We might as well let her deal with them, since these outsiders see her as an ally, they probably won’t suspect a thing."

At this point, Number Five suddenly had a brilliant idea. "Speaking of which, I remember Bluebeard and that Jiang Chou used to be outsiders too. Since you are not really needed here, why don’t you go pass the word to the other buildings? Tell them they can make good use of these two prisoners, and have them infiltrate as moles. They might pull off something unexpected."

"Brother, you’re a genius!" Number Two was thoroughly impressed. "Heh, I’ll get right on it!"

After receiving news that Morris was about to attack, the weirds of Ankang community had all prepared to capture him alive and present him to their boss as a trophy. 

But unexpectedly, Morris never showed up, instead, these outsiders had beaten them to the punch.

Just as everyone was trying to figure out the situation, the floating orb nearby spoke up, briefly recounting the events that had recently unfolded in the Central Court.

Now, all the weirds knew that their boss had been bullied by these outsiders.

How could they tolerate this???

Especially after hearing these people arrogantly declare they would capture their boss alive, the weird’s fists clenched in fury.

But as subordinates, they all knew their boss had an unusually good relationship with these outsiders. Not only had he saved them multiple times, but he’d also never asked for anything in return.

Plus, while their boss was easygoing, he had zero tolerance for killing. Naturally, they couldn’t risk crossing that line. So they unanimously agreed to teach these outsiders a lesson, without taking any lives.

And thus, the following scene unfolded.

In truth, the moment the survivors stepped into Ankang Community, they had simultaneously entered six weird domains. Among them, Number Five’s domain specialized in psychological suggestion and mental hypnosis.

Under the overlapping effects of these domains, its influence was maximized, unless a survivor was exceptionally sharp, they wouldn’t even notice.

The first group of survivors who entered had unwittingly walked straight into the trap.

A few minutes later, at the entrance of Ankang Community...

As Shu Xingwen at the center of the group stepped forward, the necklace around his neck suddenly burned hot. His expression changed drastically as he shouted "Fall back!" while swiftly retreating.

Survivors who hadn't yet entered the community immediately realized something was wrong and raised their voices in warning, but the people in front had already been captured by the strange domain, as if they were controlled like puppets on invisible strings. They turned a deaf ear to the warnings and continued to move forward mechanically.

This chilling sight sent shivers down everyone's spines.

"What's going on?" Madame Spider frowned.

"Wait a moment."

Shu Xingwen, now on high alert, picked up a branch and tossed it toward the community. The moment the branch crossed into Ankang Community's boundary, it vanished without a trace like mud sinking into the sea.

Seeing this, the high medium didn't hesitate to activate his sensing ability. His eyes turned completely white as powerful mental perception extended outward, attempting to discern everything within the community. After a moment, he vomited blood with a "wow" sound.

With the help of the members from the Spiritual Guild, Shu Xingwen barely managed to steady himself and whispered: "It's an overlapping weird domain... at least five, no, six domains overlapping! Among them... more than two are S-level, and one feels particularly familiar, like the one we recently encountered at the Central Court."

Even these battle-hardened survivors stood frozen in shock.

Having cleared countless final ?-level missions, their most difficult encounters had involved facing a single boss's domain at most, perhaps with an additional subodinate. Even the notoriously difficult Temple raid mission only required dealing with two overlapping domains in the final mission.

But this? S-level weirds overlapping domains? It's unheard of!

Moreover, one of these domains likely belonged to the Judge, a rule type domain where all enhancements became sealed upon entry, reducing anyone inside to ordinary people.

"I thought that weirds prefer operating alone within their own territories?"

"Something's wrong, isn't group planning and coordinating attacks something only survivors do? How did these weirds learn them?"

"It seems our worst fears came true. This really is that psychiatric department boss's territory, even the gatekeepers are S-level. How extravagant."

Qin Ye's brow furrowed deeply.

Not long after they left, the Blood Scythe had also deployed its domain. Now trapped between advancing and retreating, they faced a true dilemma.

At this moment, the strategists' opinions became particularly important.

"Lord Joshua, what are your thoughts..."

Just as Qin Ye turned to Joshua for guidance, he found the man already expertly raising a hand to his forehead, exuding a soft and weak aura of "I just revived and am still weak"—his acting so masterful that even his eyelashes trembled with perfect fragility, evoking instant sympathy from all who saw him.

A loyal survivor in the Temple Army immediately interjected: "Guild Master Qin, Lord Joshua has already exhausted himself resolving this question mark level mission. This time he participated in this operation with injuries, purely out of concern for our safety. If it weren't for his compassion for everyone, Lord Joshua would have recuperating in the Temple. Please refrain from troubling him further with such trivial matters."

Qin Ye: "......"

He wanted to say that over a dozen S-level survivors had gone missing and are facing a six-layered overlapping weird domain, the boss of the psychiatric department might have already appeared... With so many crises at hand, how could this be considered a trivial matter?!

Even if Joshua were reduced to nothing but a brain, he wouldn't stop thinking.

His current refusal to act wasn't due to inability, he simply chose not to intervene.

But seeing the disapproving looks from those around him, Qin Ye had no choice but to swallow his frustration.

"Fine... I may have been inconsiderate. But the arrow is already on the bowstring, we can't go back now. Even with overlapping weird domains ahead, we can't abandon our comrades who just entered the community."

"Guild Master Qin, you can't be serious! It's an overlapping weird domain!"

"Exactly! One weird domain is bad enough, but multiple overlapping ones? If we violate one rule, a lot of people will die. Moreover, overlapping domains might trigger multiple weird domains to become even difficult, who would dare test that?"

"You're 2nd rank with plenty of lifesaving cards and artifacts, of course you don't need to consider these things. However, those of us with weaker abilities have much more to worry about."

"How ridiculous. The dignified Watchtower Guild didn't do a proper background check and directly launched an attack. Now we're wasting both time and energy."

Although no one spoke out, the appearance of the high-ranking S-level Blood Scythe weird followed by these overlapping domains had already planted seeds of retreat in many S-level survivors. 

Qin Ye, as the leader of this operation, faced growing criticism.

Those who'd climbed to these enviable positions naturally valued their lives above all else.

Returning to the real world only mattered if they survived to make it in the Infinite Space. Their initial agreement with Qin Ye had been based on the fact that Zong Le was merely a B-level, and easy to handle.

But now that he might truly be a subordinate of the high level weird, and that they may have to break into the lair of this big weird this time, they naturally began to hesitate in their hearts.

Most importantly, past missions assigned by the main system carried the threat of termination for failure. This operation had no such requirements. Who would be willing to complete it with such risks present?

"With the domains this strong, forget about conquering Ankang Community. It's still not guaranteed if we can even capture Zong Le."

"The strength power of weirds is not at the same level as survivors. Usually, a mission assigns multiple S-level survivors to fight against a single S-level weird, with ten ganging up on one weird. This situation's like throwing a stone and hitting a hornet's nest. We should know our limits."

"There are six overlapping weird domains. Only the top ten ranks can enter without injury. Lower level survivors are at risk of injuries or death, and the risk-reward ratio's is not worth it."

In just half an hour, the survivors' attitudes had completely reversed from their initial nonchalance.

They finally realized this was no pushover B-level mission, but a true dragon's den.

"These weirds are all subordinates of that psychiatric department boss. Just imagine how powerful their boss must be."

"I'm starting to suspect we accidentally stumbled into the final boss mission of an ultimate dungeon..."

"Now that you mention it, that's not entirely impossible."

The survivors who did not belong to any guilds complained, and the guild masters were naturally not idle.

Yi Siqi was the first to protest: "I'm sorry, but most of our Moon Guild members are support types. We're simply incapable of handling the current situation. All of us will be withdrawing from this operation."

All the Moon guild members stood behind her in silent agreement.

"Vice Guild Master Yi Siqi, you can't back off now. This was a group operation you voted to participate in. Withdrawing midway shows your lack of commitment. Aren't you afraid of being criticized?"

"Guild Master Qin, there is no need to tell me these empty words. You've seen the situation of Ankang Community. Are you willing to let your men die in vain?" Yi Siqi replied calmly.

"So, in order to show support, we won't completely withdraw. We will stay at the entrance to provide immediate medical aid until the two-hour countdown ends."

Feeling the force of her clothes being pulled , she reluctantly added: "Our Guild Master's friend accidentally entered earlier, so she'll join your search party. That's all, there is nothing else to discuss."

"At this rate, there will be only a few people who actually enter the community in the end."

"The core members of Watchtower Guild have their received orders and must go in. Other guilds and independent survivors might muster ten people at most. I think this operation is completely asking for trouble."

......

"My Lord." Several Temple Army members silently walked beside him.

"Mm, well done."

Listening to the surrounding whispers, Joshua wearily massaged his temples.

It's not that he didn't make trouble along the way because he was in a bad mood as Qin Ye thought.

In fact, Joshua had actually been pulling strings throughout their journey, orchestrating much of the current discord.

All S-levels are a force that cannot be underestimated wherever they are gathered. It just so happens that this force has the same goal.

Joshua understood well that to dismantle such strength, one must attack from within, creating fractures that spread.

Just now, there was a voice that raised objections, the first words that expressed complaints, and the infinite exaggeration of the weird overlapping domain power, emphasizing that this was a no-cost deal that did not require them to risk it...

All of them were carefully arranged and then told through the Eros Code through the mouths of others. It was like chiseling a crack in a flawless crystal, and all he had to do was wait for it to collapse on its own.

This is the power of words.

A few seemingly casual remarks had decisively shaped this fragmented situation.

"So, is the discussion over?"

Judging the timing right, Joshua smiled and added more fuel to the fire: "There's no need for such concern, everyone. I'll be entering with you. Although I am a little weak after just being resurrected, I still have basic healing ability."

"That's wonderful news!"

"As expected of Lord Joshua, ever so compassionate."

"Hurry up! Don't keep his Lordship waiting!"

Soon, the survivors willing to voluntarily enter the community had all gathered.

Joshua followed in the center of the group, watching the situation he had personally orchestrated. His originally terrible mood became much more pleasant.

After all that manipulation, out of over a hundred survivors, fewer than ten were now willing to enter. 

Moreover, their unified purpose of "capturing Zong Le" had splintered into separate goals like "finding friends," "rescuing people," and "searching for clues."

The effectiveness of such tactics relies entirely on having overwhelming numbers. Without that huge participation advantage... they pose no threat whatsoever.

Not to mention the current situation where everyone's interests are different.

Among this crowd, only Qin Ye, with his military background, still considers capturing Zong Le as his sole objective. It was hardly worth worrying about.

Satisfied with this arrangement, the silver-haired man withdrew his gaze.

Of course, Joshua was never the type to do good deeds quietly in the background without expecting anything in return.

He remembered everything, every debt owed to him recorded meticulously in his mind.

Once this matter is settled, he would track down that black-haired young man and collect what was due, and get it back with interest.

But what he wants now is completely different from what he wanted at the beginning.

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