Changing Target

Chen Xiaolian exerted great effort to lift a large piece of concrete block, and there, he saw Roddy lying in a pit beneath, panting, with a metallic arm supporting his body. When Roddy caught sight of Chen Xiaolian’s figure, he didn’t seem too surprised. He just spat out some sand from his mouth and smiled bitterly, saying, “You finally made it. We were almost wiped out by those people.”

Chen Xiaolian reached out and pulled Roddy up, asking, “How are you?”

“It’s all external injuries,” Roddy replied as he got up, then sat down cross-legged on the ground to recover. He took out a pack of spicy strips and tore it open to eat.

Lun Tai’s injuries were the most severe. He had endured the fiercest battle and had taken the attacks from the enemy’s leader, One-Eye. Chen Xiaolian helped Lun Tai to the side and, after a simple examination with a medical diagnostic device, couldn’t help but furrow his brows.

Lun Tai had at least six broken bones, especially his ribs, which were severely damaged. His left shoulder was dislocated, and the excess burst of muscle power had overdrawn his body, causing a certain degree of deep tissue damage.

Lun Tai looked almost like a bloody mess.

Chen Xiaolian watched with anger in his heart and walked over to the young electronic boy. Without saying a word, he slapped the guy’s face a few times, leaving it swollen.

“What… what are you doing?!” Electronic Youth was full of fear.

“Don’t like it? I’m hitting you to vent my frustration. Problem?” Chen Xiaolian said coldly.

Electronic Youth lowered his head in fear.

All the team members were gathered together by Chen Xiaolian.

Including Qimu Xi and Xia Xiaolei, they all sat together.

Chen Xiaolian took a few minutes to listen to their recounting of their previous experiences on Stonemason Mountain.

He frowned as he listened.

The Demon King… It was just as Shen had said.

When he heard about Qiao Qiao dealing with those feathers, Chen Xiaolian furrowed his brows and turned to look at Qiao Qiao, who was still unconscious on Soo Soo’s legs, with a hint of concern in his eyes.

The Viscount of Darkness… Has the skill been activated?

Chen Xiaolian sighed inwardly.

This skill… was not something good!

In fact, there had always been an unspoken rule within the team that, unless the person was willing to reveal it, others generally wouldn’t inquire about the specific details of their teammates’ hidden skills – this was the biggest secret of every Awakened.

Of course, Chen Xiaolian, Qiao Qiao, Soo Soo, and Roddy, the four of them had a special relationship, so they had no secrets among them.

However, the others followed the widely accepted rule in the Awakened world.

In other words, everyone would disclose what their skill was to their companions, but when it came to some special aspects, they would be more reserved.

For example, some flaws in the skills, as well as weaknesses and so on.

Everyone had always known that Qiao Qiao’s skill was in the Dark category, called the Viscount of Darkness.

The Viscount of Darkness skill needed to be activated and allowed the user to phase their body.

But apart from that, no one asked or said much about it.

However, only Chen Xiaolian knew that this skill had some very troublesome side effects and hidden dangers!

All along, in battles that Qiao Qiao participated in, Chen Xiaolian had been very careful and subtle in protecting her, trying to prevent her from using or activating this skill.

But now…

Chen Xiaolian sighed deeply and decided not to mention these things for now.

After listening to the group of people recap the battle process, Chen Xiaolian’s brows furrowed.

It was too chaotic!

And too messy!

After the calm settled in, Lun Tai’s expression didn’t look good either. After wiping the blood off his face, he showed a worried expression.

“Little Face, as the vice-captain, I feel like I’ve been derelict in my duties.”

“No, Lun Tai, you’ve done well enough,” Chen Xiaolian smiled bitterly. “If we talk about dereliction of duty, it’s on me. As the team leader, my responsibility is the greatest. I should have… been with everyone. Going on a solo mission led to this attack, the team was not at full strength, and I wasn’t present for the mission against the Demon King. All of these are my responsibilities.”

One couldn’t help but say that when evaluating the current combat power of the Meteor Rock Guild, it was practically shining with brilliance on paper!

Even in Chen Xiaolian’s absence, this level of combat power was definitely the configuration of a top-tier team.

Lun Tai was a melee powerhouse, the existence of the Muscle Fruit allowed him to unleash strength above A-level and had robust resistance to attacks. He was the king of close combat, a natural choice for a meat shield!

Soo Soo was an outstanding energy attacker with an [S] class fire power, the Child of Light, an embodiment of the Fire Phoenix.

Roddy was the bane of machinery, capable of controlling all machines, and possessed powerful equipment like floating and mechs.

Qiao Qiao had just awakened her Viscount of Darkness skill, with the ability to phase her body and employ anti-matter attacks. Phasing her body made her nearly invulnerable to physical attacks, while anti-matter attacks were highly lethal.

Although Xia Xiaolei and Qimu Xi’s combat power was slightly weaker, just looking at these four people, their skills were already shining brightly.

However, this battle was fought in such a sorry state! If Chen Xiaolian hadn’t arrived, it might not have been the enemy that was wiped out, but themselves.

In the previous battle, only Lun Tai fully showcased his abilities. In reality, when looked at on paper, Lun Tai’s combat power was weaker than Qiao Qiao, Soo Soo, and Roddy. His limitations in melee combat were significant. However, due to his rich combat experience, he played the most critical role in the battle. He managed to unleash 100% of his potential and achieved results that exceeded even that.

However, in comparison, Qiao Qiao, Soo Soo, and Roddy’s performances were lackluster.

Soo Soo had poor mental resilience. Although she remained calm in the face of everything, when she saw Qiao Qiao being attacked or even injured, she became anxious and distracted. This led to a lack of focus during the battle. Several times, she knocked down opponents with her fire abilities but, due to her distraction with Qiao Qiao, gave the enemy a chance to recover, nearly causing a reversal.

As for Roddy, it went without saying that the Floating Angel was not in perfect condition, being battle-damaged, and the environmental constraints prevented him from summoning his mech during the recent battle. Trying to summon a mech in such a confined space would have caused the tunnel to collapse completely, burying everyone.

Qiao Qiao, on the other hand, had just activated her skill and was not yet accustomed to it. She didn’t know how to use her abilities to their full potential, and her focus during the battle was also disrupted by Soo Soo.

It could be said that these two sisters were each other’s weaknesses.

Their weaknesses were exploited by the enemy, taking advantage of their vulnerabilities.

These opponents were indeed formidable, but not powerful enough to push the Meteor Rock Guild to the brink of annihilation.

Upon reviewing the battle, it became apparent that the enemy was a purely mechanized, technology-oriented team with a significant dependence on equipment.

Unlike the Meteor Rock Guild, which was almost versatile.

They possess magical, martial, physical, and long-range abilities.

However, even with these advantages, the Meteor Rock Guild still had a disappointing performance in this battle.

In reality, in terms of strength, if fully utilized, Qiao Qiao, Soo Soo, and Roddy in the Meteor Rock Guild, aside from Lun Tai, each had the potential to take on the One-Eye Team on their own – provided they could make the most of their abilities.

“Now it seems that we really need to sharpen our skills,” Chen Xiaolian sighed. “Although the difficulty of the task we encountered in the Instance Dungeon was unexpected, this kind of training is necessary from the beginning.”

“Yes,” Roddy also chuckled bitterly. “Looking back, we performed quite poorly just now.” He seemed somewhat dissatisfied. “If it had been on flat ground, I could have taken down all four of them by myself.”

“Don’t rely too much on your mech,” Chen Xiaolian shook his head. “We’ll encounter many situations with terrain limitations.”

“Floating Angel isn’t really mine,” Roddy sighed. “I always feel like, although I can control it, it resists my attempts to understand and modify it at a deeper level. Some core functions are beyond my reach, and I can’t do things like… like…”

He took a deep breath, his tone somewhat dry, “I can’t manipulate the Floating Angel to the extent that Nicole can, almost to the point of being one with it. Maybe Floating Angel should have some kind of special connection with its host.”

This was a question that Chen Xiaolian didn’t know how to respond to. When it came to Nicole, he was well aware that it was a hidden pain in Roddy’s heart.

“What we need now is to reassess this Instance Dungeon.”

Chen Xiaolian said, looking at everyone.

Injuries were sustained, and fatigue had set in.

“The situation in the Instance Dungeon has changed significantly due to the alteration of the Demon King’s side quest. The current difficulty far exceeds our previous expectations. As the only demon faction in the Instance Dungeon, we will be besieged by all other game participants, not just Awakened, but also regular players.”

As Chen Xiaolian spoke, he suddenly had a realization!

He suddenly understood why Thornflower Group, where Shen was, began attacking other game participants indiscriminately in the first stage of the Instance, at the beginning of the Instance Dungeon!

Maybe…

Shen had known about the Demon King’s side quest long ago, and his goal was to complete this route! Thornflower Group had planned to become part of the demon faction from the beginning! So, in order to reduce the difficulty of the tasks after the second stage, Thornflower Group had already taken action in the first stage, before other game participants even knew about the later tasks. They had preemptively taken lethal actions! Weakening the forces of the Light Camp!

With this realization, Chen Xiaolian felt a sudden clarity in his mind.

“A reassessment is necessary,” Lun Tai furrowed his brows. “Little Face, what’s your opinion?”

“I believe our first goal was to train the team, and that goal has been achieved,” Chen Xiaolian replied. “The brutal battle we just went through has given us enough experience points.”

“So…” Lun Tai’s heart skipped a beat. “Do you think we can abandon this Instance Dungeon?”

Roddy’s eyes also lit up. “Yeah! Abandoning this Instance Dungeon would mean the system judges it as a failure, and then we all go through a punishment Instance Dungeon! Punishment Instance… we can find a way to get through it!”

Others, especially Qimu Xi, who had once gone through a punishment Instance with Chen Xiaolian, immediately looked at Chen Xiaolian.

Chen Xiaolian looked at everyone, feeling a sense of concern.

After a while, he sighed, “From a strategic perspective, giving up this Instance Dungeon is the most sensible choice. Because it seems that the difficulty of this Instance has become very high now. We have become the enemies of this Instance!

By the way, I encountered some guys in knight attire in Jerusalem, most likely some Awakened. Their strength is quite formidable… I managed to kill one of them and escape.

Furthermore, there is the presence of the Thornflower Group here.”

He added in his mind, “Although that guy Shen said he won’t intervene personally, he didn’t say that the Thornflower Group wouldn’t intervene.”

The disparity in strength was undeniable, and the Meteor Rock Guild was at a severe disadvantage.

“So, are we giving up on this Instance Dungeon? We can’t voluntarily exit midway, we can only wait for the next stage, intentionally not complete the tasks, and then be forcibly removed from the Instance,” Lun Tai said slowly. “Is that what you mean, Little Face?”

“This may be the safest course of action for now,” Chen Xiaolian replied slowly. “From the current situation, proceeding to Tel Aviv to complete the second-stage task carries too much risk. We don’t need to push ourselves to the limit… It’s not about courage, it’s about not being necessary.”

After a pause, Chen Xiaolian added, “Moreover, we have good reasons to become enemies of other game participants.”

With that, Chen Xiaolian repeated the system prompt he received from Shen about being a Light Camp member.

He emphasized that killing a demon faction member would yield 500 points.

The faces of all the Meteor Rock Guild members looked grim!

This was practically tempting others to come and hunt them down!

Chen Xiaolian turned to look at Electronic Youth lying on the ground. “Is it because of this that you came to hunt us down?”

Electronic Youth shrank back in fear and remained silent.

“Regardless, we managed to survive this time by luck, and we even retaliated and gained points. Killing one person earned us 1500 points,” Chen Xiaolian shook his head. “But I’m not sure if the Awakened who come to attack us next time will be stronger than them… in greater numbers, or if they might be joined by the Thornflower Group.”

“Then let’s give up,” Lun Tai also nodded in agreement with Chen Xiaolian. “We don’t need to fight head-on. Our original goal was to train the team. Engaging in a deadly battle with demon magic formations doesn’t serve the team’s interests.”

The potential strength of the Meteor Rock Guild was already quite formidable.

Everyone had excellent skills, their own base, and had received a large amount of material support from the Blade Mountain Flame Sea Guild.

What the Meteor Rock Guild needed now was not to engage in a life-and-death struggle with anyone but to survive, gradually digesting this potential strength and converting it into real power.

They carefully reviewed all the contents of the system prompt again and confirmed one thing: the system would only erase a team member in the case of Will’s death as part of a mandatory punishment.

It didn’t mention that giving up on a task or failing a task would result in team members being erased.

With this point confirmed, everyone’s last bit of concern faded away.

“We can find a place to hide, and then… wait for the second stage to end. If we fail the task, we can naturally leave the Instance,” Roddy added.

Chen Xiaolian nodded but then looked at Electronic Youth. “So, regarding this captive, what I mean is to spare his life for now. We need a… source of information from the Light Camp.

For example, the system will reveal our coordinates to Light Camp members every 60 minutes and continue to lock onto them for 5 minutes. This is very troublesome! We need to keep this guy because only his personal system will receive the system’s prompts. That way, we can be prepared in time.

And maybe some intelligence targeting Light Camp members will emerge, and we need to obtain that information as well to respond promptly.”