Delta: Who are you saying has suffered a loss of strength?

Inside the 78 Club meeting room, seven people sat around a conference table.

Xiao Bai cleared his throat and glanced at everyone's faces.

"Welcome back to Club 78, Mr. Han!" She led the applause, clapping enthusiastically.

The others joined in the applause, especially Mule, who clapped the loudest.

Han Che has recovered. The scene at the elevator entrance just now almost gave him a heart attack.

Thinking they'd been exposed, they'd even reached their hands to the edge of the system space.

The welcoming ceremony turned out to be like a New Year's celebration. He nodded to everyone, and the corner of his mouth twitched as if he were smiling.

Xiao Bai lowered his hands, leaned forward, and placed both hands on the table.

"Since everyone's here today, let's have a meeting." Her tone changed slightly. "Everyone should know about the recent situation at Dam Zero."

Xiaobai continued, "Danger is everywhere! Said and his Asara soldiers are behaving increasingly strangely. The Normal difficulty map, which is the most frequently visited by players, is now experiencing operator disappearance issues."

"This will undoubtedly have a huge impact on the business of small clubs like ours," Xiao Bai's voice became more serious. "Therefore, we have two things we must do."

She held up one finger. "First, send a team into Dam Zero to gather intelligence on the current situation and ensure a viable route is devised."

She raised a second finger. "Second, simultaneously study another map of normal difficulty—Longbow Valley."

The meeting room fell silent for a moment. Mule's brows furrowed even more. Wang Kuo wrote a few words in his notebook, and Lao Zhou nodded slightly.

Xiao Bai leaned back in his chair, his tone softening. "The Longbow Valley map, although also on normal difficulty, isn't nearly as popular as Dam Zero. The main reason is that the map is simply too large, taking too long to explore, and players generally find the process too tiring. That's why it's never been very popular."

She paused for a moment, picked up the water glass on the table, and took a sip.

"But now the situation at Dam Zero is becoming increasingly complicated. Chang Gong Valley has become the focus of various small clubs and the top destination for casual hunters."

"Therefore, we need to explore the Longbow Valley and develop our club's advantageous routes. It's also a way of expanding our business. In case Dam Zero really can't be restored to its former state, we won't be without orders."

Han Che listened, his gaze sweeping across everyone's faces. It was clear that Xiao Bai had thought this through beforehand.

"These two routes have a higher risk factor because the Zero Dam has become more difficult recently. However, since our club hasn't developed the Longbow Valley area yet, its unknowns are also quite high." She paused, her gaze lingering on each person's face for a moment.

"However, it is undeniable that after Zero Dam became more difficult to attack, the drop rate of resources is indeed much higher than that of Longbow Valley."

She stood up, walked to the whiteboard, picked up a pen, and drew two circles on it, one that read "Dam Zero" and the other "Longbow Valley".

"Previously, our club only had five combat personnel." She drew a line between "Dam Zero" and "Longbow Valley." "Akai is a non-combatant and does not participate in operations."

The following sentence was clearly meant to explain to Han Che.

Xiao Bai turned around and looked at Han Che. "Now that Boss Han is back, we can finally assemble two teams. If possible, we can explore both maps simultaneously. Or, we can have the two teams take turns on the same map, so that the team members don't have to fight until they're exhausted all the time."

She put down her pen and placed her hands on the table. "Let me ask for everyone's opinion."

Mule was the first to raise his hand. "I'll go to Dam Zero."

Qiu Ying also raised her hand. "Dam Zero."

Old Zhou raised his hand briefly, then lowered it again. "Dam Zero."

Xiaobai is drawing the character "正" on the whiteboard.

All three chose Dam Zero. Han Che didn't say anything, leaned back in his chair, and looked at the two circles on the whiteboard.

Wang Kuo sat there with his hands on the table. His mouth moved slightly, then closed again.

He glanced at the mule, then at Qiu Ying, and then at Lao Zhou. Then he lowered his head and looked at the table.

"I..." he began, his voice a little soft, "I'll go to Longbow Valley."

The mule turned to look at him. "Are you sure?"

Wang Kuo nodded, his voice a little louder. "I'm not strong enough; going to Dam Zero would only be a hindrance. Longbow Valley has a lower danger level, so I'll go there to practice first."

The mule opened its mouth, then closed it again, and patted Wang Kuo on the shoulder.

Xiao Bai turned her gaze to Han Che. "Boss Han, what's your choice?"

Han Che shrugged. "Both maps don't matter, I'm fine with whichever one I go to." He paused for a moment, "but I prefer Dam Zero."

Xiaobai's eyes lit up for a moment, but quickly returned to normal, and she nodded.

"Given the current situation at Dam Zero, it would be best if all three team members were highly skilled." She turned to look at everyone present. "Longbow Valley should also have at least one member capable of leading a team in combat."

She paused for a moment, then continued, "In that case, let's take turns. Boss Han and I will take turns leading the team, with Mule and Wang Kuo following behind, as we enter Chang Gong Valley."

The mule was drinking water when it heard this, and half of the water sprayed out, causing it to cough and choke.

He put down his cup, his eyes wide open, his mouth agape and his jaw almost falling off.

"No! No!" His voice rose eight octaves. "What's going on! Didn't I say I wanted to go to Dam Zero? That's my hometown! I spend every day at the dam; I know the terrain better than the rats in the dam! Why are you sending me to Longbow Valley?!"

He stood up excitedly and pushed the chair back with a creak. His face turned bright red, and the veins on his neck bulged.

"I refuse to accept this!"

Xiaobai didn't stand up or raise her voice. She sat there and tapped the conference table with her fingers.

"Didn't I say? Dam Zero now needs three combat-type team members." Her voice wasn't loud, but every word was clear.

"You're not more familiar with the terrain than the rats at Dam Zero; you're a rat yourself. You can't fight, so entering Dam Zero now won't do you any good."

The mule's mouth was open, and his face turned even redder. He wanted to retort, but the words caught in his throat. His lips moved a few times, and finally he managed to squeeze out a sentence.

"No, I..."

Little White looked at him, waiting for him to speak. The mule looked at her, speechless again. Finally, he plopped back down in his chair, head down, and remained silent.

Xiao Bai looked at him for two seconds, then looked away and scanned the people present.

"In that case, it's settled then."