This game is so weird!

"Who are you......"

Marcus looked at the little guy in front of him with a puzzled expression. He had no memory of him before he went to prison, and he didn't have time to inquire about his old comrades after he was released.

But if they could recognize themselves, they must have met before.

"I'm Leah!"

Leah, holding the flowers, began to talk excitedly. After some conversation, Marcus confirmed that the little girl in front of him was the daughter of a wealthy merchant he had rescued before he went to prison.

"Lia, why are you here all alone? Where are your parents...?"

"After being rescued, we followed the others to the Jacintu Plateau. Dad said there were several factories at the Im Energy Plant, so we moved there... but... but..."

As Leah spoke, her voice lowered, and she choked up, unable to speak. Large tears streamed down her face and fell onto the restaurant carpet.

Just as Marcus was at a loss, Miley went up and hugged Leah, gently stroking her head to comfort her, saying, "It's okay, it's all over now. Mom and Dad are watching over us from heaven."

"Look, didn't Leah have a lot of fun at Uncle Octopus Face's house yesterday? She even rode a Raider!"

Fortunately, Leah is no longer the little girl she used to be. After experiencing so much and wandering around with Miley for half a year, her emotional recovery ability has improved, and she quickly calmed down.

She timidly held up the artificial flower in her hand, now exceptionally vibrant with a few drops of tears, and said, "This is for you, Uncle Marcus."

"Thank you for protecting us!"

Marcus's cold face froze once again. He silently accepted the flowers, his head bowed, lost in thought.

Anya patted Marcus on the shoulder without saying a word.

-----------------

On the other hand, deep within the Im Energy Plant mining area.

After a long-awaited reunion, the two-Meow team, having finished their hasty breakfast, followed the navigation markers left by the main group and arrived at the rendezvous point in their giant raven helicopter, together with the players they had arranged to meet beforehand.

This is the largest Im Energy extraction plant near the camp, and it is also the last mine that, according to the agreement between Leon and Colonel Hoffman, will be placed under the jurisdiction of Hope Town Base after the recapture.

After the successful launch of the photon missile yesterday, the main force of players split into three teams of about 200 people each. They pushed forward and easily eliminated the remaining orc soldiers in other mines and factories. They thought they could quickly complete the first step of the recapture mission - the recapture of the mines near the camp. However, they encountered strong resistance here.

The "orcs" remaining in this mine are completely different from those in other areas, who lack the will to fight and are not aggressive, even retreating and abandoning the mine. Instead, they will frantically and proactively attack any humans in their line of sight, completely disregarding their own casualties.

In addition, a few glowing conscripts can cause violent explosions upon death, which ambushes and kills many players who love chainsaws, seriously affecting the speed of player progression.

After a fierce battle that lasted until nightfall, the players decided to set up camp nearby and wait for any dead players to return before launching another attack.

After the players disappeared from sight, the orcs at the gathering plant also retreated, and the two sides spent the night peacefully.

"The smell of Im Energy is still so awful..."

Before the helicopter had even come to a complete stop, Black Duck jumped out of the plane, rubbed his nose, and said somewhat unhappily.

"Haha, what's so special about that?"

Wearing a diving helmet, Er Miao jumped down as well. "I heard that the player who was killed by the suicide soldier yesterday said that he could still smell that odor even after logging off."

"Eh—then I'd better find another way to die." Black Duck shook his head. What's the difference between being blown up by this thing and being hit by a ball of dung?

"It seems all the other players have gone in. Let's hurry up and go too."

Ye Yu looked around and saw no one except for a few cyborg guards. Judging from the intense text chat in the player channel, the main force had entered the mining plant ahead of schedule without waiting for everyone to arrive.

That makes sense. Without the mandatory requirement of a mission, who would stay here waiting for other players to come and steal their business?

If it weren't for the darkness in the cave at night, and the fact that being blown up by a conscripted soldier would have been too undignified, we would have occupied this place last night.

OK.

Er Miao made a gesture and followed behind the white cat and the old soldier towards the collection plant.

After the players left, the giant raven helicopter, with its propellers still running, quickly took off again to return to base and pick up the next wave of players.

Upon entering the base, the two squads readjusted their formation.

Fully armored and wielding large shields, Muyu and Xiaoxiaohei led the way, one carrying a mechanical bow and the other a previously unused explosive meteor hammer, acting as meat shields and demolition experts.

In the middle are a few people wearing standard armor and using only ordinary chainsaw guns: Er Miao, Hei Ya, Xiao Xiao Bai, and Zhan Di Lao Bin. They serve as fire support and can also charge in for melee combat when necessary. Of course, due to the presence of the suicide laborers, melee combat is unlikely.

White Cat, who had just purchased a sniper rifle, stayed behind with Night Rain, responsible for long-range fire support and controlling the battlefield situation.

Except for Battlefield Old Bin, who had bought armor but no money to buy a sniper rifle, and who wanted to carry the game with a sniper rifle, and wanted to use a cavalry assault rifle to cover the rear, everyone else had no objection to the arrangement. In the end, Battlefield Old Bin was hit on the head by Er Miao and obediently obeyed the arrangement and went to the front row.

Tsk, the person who provided the test code is someone you can't mess with, let alone someone who's your own sister.

Seeing that everyone had accepted the division of labor, the team moved deeper into the cave.

The remains and fragments along the way indicated the fierce battle that had taken place here, and occasionally one could even see the remains of one or two human bodies covered in unidentified yellow substances, who had died rather undignified deaths.

Led by Little Black and Wooden Fish, the group weaved through the dark cave and soon arrived at—

"Where am I?!"

Looking down at the massive Im Energy Lake below the passage, and the few conscripted soldiers and orc soldiers soaking in the water, their bodies radiating golden light, Er Miao couldn't help but shout.

It's one thing to keep getting more and more out of the way, and another to bend over and squeeze through all sorts of alleyways, but how did we end up in this kind of place out of nowhere?

Do orcs take baths?

Is this something I can watch without paying?

How can you guys stand the smell of Im Energy?

"Hehe, forget about all that nonsense." The wooden fish leading the way chuckled, pointing to the scene below the passage. "Just tell me if you've found the hidden location!"

On a peninsula in the center of the vast Im Energy Lake, a somewhat familiar-looking ancient gate is embedded in the mountain wall. A thick, yellow liquid slowly flows out from the cracks in the gate and flows into the underground lake.

"If you still say now that the game's lousy planner isn't Chinese, I definitely won't believe you, no matter how absurd it would be if the game's technical capabilities were Chinese-made..."

"But no matter what, a game world created by a Western designer would never have so many remnants of Eastern elements, right? Is this some lazy designer just reusing materials?"