Chapter 97: Accepting the Mission

Long Yi quickly realized that Wang Zhi didn’t like to get involved in big operations, so he changed his tone: “Then I wish Team Leader Wang a safe and smooth return!”

“Alright!” Wang Zhi nodded and then continued with his training.

Previously, Wang Zhi had considered the idea that if they were to accept a more difficult mission again, he would just wander around the outskirts of the city, fighting wild creatures and picking up trash. However, he later realized that the main source of Contribution Points was through mission rewards. If he only picked up trash, although it wasn’t impossible, it would take him a month of collecting to earn what others could earn in just a few days of completing a mission. Plus, spending a month outside would be far more dangerous than staying just three days.

Therefore, most people took on a mission once a month and picked up some trash along the way. It was only when their Contribution Points were used up that they would go out to scavenge, trying to make ends meet. The randomness of mission assignments was like a lottery—if they drew the “big prize,” they’d end up facing mutated creatures, which could be deadly.

After more than two weeks of recovery training, Duan Qingtian had returned to his previous state. Wang Zhi, too, noticed the changes in his body. He could feel the pent-up energy inside, almost as if he could leap off buildings and smash sandbags with a single punch.

For the next few days, the group pushed themselves to the limit during training. If they didn’t feel fatigued by the end of the day, they increased the intensity the next day. They made sure to keep their bodies constantly challenged.

Three days before they were scheduled to accept a mission, Wang Zhi finished his last day of training, and the remaining days were reserved for rest and recovery. At that moment, Wang Zhi was lying on his bed, feeling drained and staring blankly at the darkness around him. Recently, Su Mu Ying had been considerate and didn’t ask Wang Zhi to give massages to the others. Everyone was too exhausted to spare any extra energy.

The other two had already fallen asleep, but Wang Zhi, although tired, couldn’t seem to fall asleep. He wasn’t sure if it was because he was finally going to rest the next day or because they were about to go on another mission.

Dragging his heavy body, Wang Zhi went to the living room. Whenever he couldn’t sleep, he liked to curl up on the couch and watch a movie through Lingling Yao, which helped distract him and calm his anxious mind.

He had no idea how long he had been watching when the movie noise from Lingling Yao woke him up. The lights were still off, meaning the others hadn’t gotten up yet. Wang Zhi stretched and moved his stiff shoulders, trying to think of what to eat in the morning when Lao He walked out of his room.

“You’re up early!” Lao He remarked as he saw Wang Zhi moving about in the living room.

“I just woke up,” Wang Zhi replied.

“Did you sleep on the couch again?” Lao He noticed the movie still playing on Lingling Yao.

“Yeah, couldn’t sleep. Just watching a movie to kill time,” Wang Zhi said.

“Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. Just do your best,” Lao He said, offering some advice.

“Mhm…” Wang Zhi paused, understanding that Lao He was talking about the upcoming mission. Since Zhang Ming’s accident, Wang Zhi had changed. He had become more cautious and increasingly afraid. He had gone from leading their team as the first expedition out of Dawn Tower to now hoping that the last possible moment would arrive before they took on another mission.

The true fear wasn’t death—it was witnessing the people he cared about die before his eyes.

“We should go grab breakfast,” Wang Zhi said, snapping out of his thoughts. He walked out of the room with Lao He.

In the past half month, seven teams had ascended to Level 3, bringing the total number of teams up to 15. Wang Zhi sincerely hoped they would grow stronger and quickly form a Level 4 team to take the lead.

Soon, the two of them returned with breakfast, bringing back a large bag of steamed buns. By the time they returned, the others had woken up, except for Fatty, who was still sleeping in his room. Wang Zhi didn’t bother waking him up; after all, everyone deserved a break once in a while. The five of them left three buns for Fatty and went on with their day.

Today was a special day—it was the day to accept the mission lottery. Since they needed to prepare and make plans ahead of time, they typically accepted missions three days in advance.

Once Fatty finally got up, the six of them gathered around the sofa and stared at Lingling Yao’s mission board. Wang Zhi silently prayed in his heart: please don’t let them draw a mission to collect medicine or something similar.

“Sister Ying, why don’t you take the mission this time?” Wang Zhi suggested after staring at the board for a while, deciding to let someone else take the task.

“Tch, I’ve got this!” Su Mu Ying rolled her eyes at Wang Zhi, then decisively spoke to Lingling Yao.

“Accept mission!”

Mission Objective: Rescue at least five survivors.

Mission Reward: If five or more survivors are successfully rescued, the reward will be 500 Contribution Points per person. If fewer than five survivors are rescued, the reward will be 100 Contribution Points per person.

Wang Zhi read the mission carefully. It seemed like recently the casualty rate for teams going outside had increased, so now rescuing survivors was the primary mission.

On the surface, the mission seemed good. Normally, rescuing a survivor would grant 100 Contribution Points, but with this mission, rescuing five would reward them five times that. It sounded like a great deal, but realistically, after the disaster had passed for over three months, there were few survivors left in the outside world. They might not even find a single one.

“This mission could end up in one of two extremes: either we’ll find a camp full of survivors, or it’ll be a waste of time,” Wang Zhi analyzed the mission to the group.

“True,” Lao He agreed, “Those who managed to survive outside for this long must be capable.”

“Actually, the reward isn’t the most important part. The real value of this mission is that we can improvise and not have to focus on any particular location. From a safety standpoint, it’s a good mission,” Wang Zhi praised.

“Tch, when has my luck ever been bad?” Su Mu Ying smirked, running her fingers through her silver hair.

“Alright, then let’s all rest up for these next three days! We’ll set off in three days!” Wang Zhi stood up from the couch, a bit excited.

With that, they all split up to prepare. Wang Zhi took them to the weapons hall to stock up for their mission.

He bought six grappling devices, 18 high-explosive grenades, 5,000 rounds of various firearm ammunition, and 12 smoke grenades.

The total came to 2,250 Contribution Points. Wang Zhi stared at the expensive price list, suddenly remembering that the military discount event had ended!