Ita Era

Chapter 69 The Primitive Era (4)

After the initial division of labor, Yu Yuan further refined the tasks. He assigned people to weave vines and others to locate groundwater near the camp, digging a spring pit, among other things. There was still much work to be done. So far, everything was going smoothly, and the people in the camp were willing to follow Yu Yuan's orders.

At 2 PM, a mission appeared in the sky above the camp: Prometheus. Prometheus is a Greek god who, according to legend, stole fire from the gods for humankind.

Camp Mission: The Prometheus instance will open in ten minutes. Each camp can send 3 members to participate. Infiltrate the heavily guarded palace, retrieve the fire seed, and bring it back to the camp.

Task Reward: Fire Seed. The fire seed is valid for 24 hours and will not go out during this time.

Three members? Yu Yuan scanned the people in the camp and called out, "Those who wish to volunteer for the camp mission, please raise your hands."

No one responded for a long time.

This task is rather pointless for an individual player. The rewards are clearly stated, meaning there will be no additional system rewards and it won't affect the completion rating. And judging from the task description, the palace they're going to is definitely not a pleasant place.

Just as the silence was falling, Ding Shi was the first to raise his hand; it was Wang Meng who lifted it. Ding Shi didn't struggle and looked at Wang Meng, waiting for an explanation.

Wang Meng examined Ding Shi's arm and said, "It's still very strong, brother, I'm relieved."

Yu Yuan was not far from Ding Shi. After glancing around, he pointed at Ding Shi and said, "You two."

Wang Meng asked in confusion, "Me?"

Ding Shi sneered: "Isn't your hand holding mine still raised? What? Scared? Haven't you, Wang Meng, always disdained such petty tricks?"

Wang Meng cursed inwardly, but said outwardly, "Heh, who's afraid of who? But let's get this straight: I hope everyone can cooperate sincerely to get fire for the camp. You don't want to live without fire again, do you?"

Ding Shi: "Okay, I agree."

Su Su ran out of the cave carrying a musket: "I, I, I want to sign up."

Apart from Xiao Liang, the other three members of the reconnaissance team will all participate in the Prometheus instance.

Wang Meng's proposal for sincere cooperation is certainly feasible, but there are nuances to it. For example, is rescuing your companions your primary task, or bringing back the fire?
For the sake of the camp, Ding Shi didn't mind ambushing Wang Meng during the escape, letting Wang Meng cover the retreat. Although this seemed like a betrayal, it precisely demonstrates Ding Shi's greatness. For the sake of the camp, he was willing to bear the infamy of being a traitor; such a noble and virtuous person is truly rare in this world.

Although Ding Shi agreed to Wang Meng's proposal, Wang Meng's proposal had two objectives: 1. To cooperate sincerely; 2. To obtain fire for the camp. Given the conflict between these two objectives, Ding Shi had a reason to cause trouble.

Wang Meng knew Ding Shi was trustworthy, but he was oblivious and didn't carefully analyze his proposal, unilaterally trusting Ding Shi's character. This was also Ding Shi's perfect opportunity to use someone else to kill Wang Meng.

……

Human instance, Day 1, 2:10 PM.

A heavenly ladder descended from the sky, and a palace floated in the air, with a two-hour countdown appearing on the sky.

Yu Yuan shouted, "Let's go!"

Su Su, Wang Meng, and Ding Shi climbed the steps together, ascending quickly. Before they had gone a fifth of the way, Su Su began to fall behind, and halfway up, Ding Shi lagged behind. Wang Meng, however, was like a perpetual motion machine, climbing a hundred steps in one go, then turning back and shouting energetically, "Hurry up, can you do it?"

Ding Shi cursed inwardly: How old is he? He still has such a strong competitive spirit.

Watching the three ascend the steps and teleport into the palace, Yu Yuan sighed deeply, hoping the trip would go smoothly. Just then, a voice rang out: "Ninjutsu, Fireball Technique."

A fireball struck a dead leaf, setting it ablaze, and the crowd cheered.

Yu Yuan was stunned for a moment. What a coincidence! Can we cancel the mission?
……

Upon entering the palace, a large hall comes into view, with two rows of pillars, each alongside a full suit of armor and a greatsword. The hall is vast, its length estimated to exceed one kilometer. A row of candelabra in the center of the path holds numerous candles, providing ample light to the hall.

While the three were observing, a new trio teleported into the palace. The two groups exchanged glances, and Su Su waved, "Let's go."

Wang Meng stretched out an arm thicker than Su Su's thigh to block her way. Su Su wondered, did he want the people behind to scout ahead?

Ding Shi spoke up: "Come with me."

This is a graphic game where the shapes of the candlesticks represent safe zones in the tile layout. For example, candlestick A has six lit candles arranged in an E pattern, indicating that the corresponding E-shaped tile is safe.

Ding led the two past candlestick area A and to candlestick area B.

A large crowd had gathered at the gate, and some had begun to challenge it. One of them stepped onto the unsafe tiles. The next second, a wall of light rose up, trapping all the players within the A candlestick area. Then came the sound of metal clashing, as armored figures on either side raised their greatswords and charged towards all the players in the area with steady, swift steps.

The second graphic is five candles arranged in a straight line. After Ding crosses the third area, the middle candle suddenly goes out, indicating that the third tile is not a safe tile.

Wang Meng couldn't stop himself and stepped on it, immediately triggering the light wall and armor. Ding Shi said, "There are only four safe tiles. Don't step on the other tiles during the battle." The tiles are 1.5 meters by 1.5 meters, providing space for combat.

The battle in Area A was nearing its end. Initially, the six players had the upper hand, pushing back the two armored units. However, when one player stepped on a dangerous tile, the armor's energy and spirit were fully restored, and its combat power increased by 20%. The six players, unaware of the change, were ultimately killed by the two armored units, which had been upgraded more than ten times.

After the battle, the floor turned into quicksand, swallowing up six corpses. The two suits of armor returned to their positions, and the wall of light disappeared.

"Arhat Staff Technique." Su Su thrust out with her staff, the muzzle of the finely crafted iron musket striking a suit of armor. This strike converted her internal force into shockwaves, causing the metal armor to vibrate incessantly. More than a dozen rust marks appeared on the once pristine armor.

On the other side, Wang Meng dodged the greatsword's horizontal slash, his mountain-like body knocking over the armor, and punching it repeatedly, each punch producing a metallic clang.

Ding Shi, who was watching the commotion, asked, "Where's your Great Spirit Summoning Technique?"

Wang Meng glanced at Ding Shi, instantly imagining the armor as Ding Shi, and punched until each punch left behind rusty marks.

What does that mean? Is it a protest?
Wang Meng's forte is boxing, and he has already reached the level of a professional boxer. However, in his freestyle fighting against Ding Shi, Wang Meng has lost more often than he has won—and by "few," it's very rare; he's almost never won. The reason is that Ding Shi prefers mixed martial arts, and when the two spar, Ding Shi lies down and performs Jiu-Jitsu. Ding Shi can readily use powerful striking techniques such as Jeet Kune Do's one-inch punch, Muay Thai's knee and elbow strikes, Israeli kickboxing's focus on vital points, and Taekwondo's high kicks.

Therefore, even with superior physical attributes, Wang Meng was reluctant to face Ding Shi head-on. Of course, Ding Shi also didn't want to take a heavy punch; he had personally witnessed a guy get a dent in his skull from a single punch from Wang Meng.

The armor under Wang Meng's command soon stopped moving. Wang Meng went back to help Su Su and slapped the entire helmet, leaving five finger marks of rust.

Su Su was shocked: Is it really that brutal?
Wang Meng grabbed the helmet's head with his large left hand, slammed it against a pillar, and smashed the helmet flat with four punches.

Ding Shi broke out in a cold sweat. Luckily, this guy was less intelligent than him and chose ninjutsu. If he had chosen pure Force to enhance his strength, becoming One-Punch Man wouldn't be a dream. However, Wang Meng's choice of ninjutsu was understandable; his favorite pastime was watching Naruto.

(End of this chapter)