I really don't want to date a girl addicted to the internet!

"I advise you to leave while things are still stable. I think the authorities are just trying to lure people to this godforsaken place to deplete their stockpiles." Crow gritted his teeth as he slided the slide of his black pistol to check the ammunition.

"There's still time to retreat," the giant whale nodded in agreement.

"Completely ignoring me? Then get out of my nanny's treatment area." The boy became annoyed.

"The stars will reward you for what you did today," the great whale nodded solemnly.

If the Corridor Research Department had arrived even a moment later, they might have been wiped out, and all the guild's top-tier equipment would have been lost—an unbearable loss.

“Then give me your shield.” Cheng Fei reached out his hand without hesitation.

"Let's talk about this when we get back." The whale's eyelids twitched.

"Tch, as if you'd actually give it to me." Crow curled his lip in disdain.

“Crow, just give me your death gun,” the boy said again.

"Why don't you just fly to the sky? I'd rather fall than send you here!" The middle-aged office worker quickly hid his black pistol in his cloak.

The iconic equipment possessed by both characters is unobtainable for various reasons, making them virtually unique across the entire server.

"Don't you have two? Why are you being so stingy?" The boy showed a serious disdain.

Shen Xi watched him from the side, her delicate brows furrowed slightly. In the end, she decided not to comment on the boy's ambiguous remarks and looked away while holding her staff.

"Let's decide what to do quickly," the giant whale said in a deep voice, looking around. The sense of security in the treatment area made him feel unreal, and he became even more anxious.

"It's very simple. Our Corridor Research Department will protect everyone's access to the Tower." The boy crossed his arms in front of his chest, speaking in a matter-of-fact tone.

"What do we do once we're inside?" The big whale frowned and paused for a moment. "The announcement says one player will be authorized every hour. Who gets access first?"

"Cheng Fei, you're not suggesting that your Corridor Research Department contributed the most so you get priority for authorization, are you?" Han Ya said without hesitation. "Regular bosses are one thing, but the Failed One only has one per floor. Once you defeat it, it's gone. I don't agree to that!"

“The order in which we challenge the BOSS will be determined by the guild’s contribution until someone succeeds. That’s fair.” The giant whale stroked its chin thoughtfully.

"You make it sound so simple!" Cold Crow exclaimed in surprise. "Are you going to say that your Starry Sky faction has made great contributions, so you should go first? Let's see how many people support you."

"Then what should we do? Go in and fight each other to the death like last time?" The big whale stared at him, its tone turning displeased.

"How the hell would I know that?" Han Ya spread his hands and rolled his eyes.

"Don't rush, listen to me." Cheng Fei spread his arms to separate the two, speaking righteously, "Now is not the time to consider such issues. In any case, let's enter the tower first, and then we can discuss the authorization later."

The giant whale stared at him for a moment, hesitated, and finally nodded, "Okay."

"That's settled then, let's go inside first." The crow's eyes flickered, and he nodded.

……

With the addition of Star and Exemplar, the healing field absorbed almost all the players it could along the way, making the team stronger than ever before, and advancing towards the Tower of Authority with a slow but unstoppable momentum.

As the towering Protoss structures drew ever closer, the flickering indicator lights on the sturdy walls became clearly visible, and the siege by the out-of-control machines grew increasingly frenzied.

Looking down at the entire area from high above, one can see that the enemy has covered every passable spot on the ground, surrounding the green healing field in the middle, like a whirlpool on a raging sea, giving the illusion that even the earth is shaking.

Players can only survive such turbulent waves by taking turns providing cover under the protection of healing areas.

Shen Xi's eyes flickered as she looked at the situation, and she kicked Cheng Fei, "Trash, are you sure they'll obediently hand over the permissions later?"

"Teacher Shen, I've always said I never wanted them to give up their authority, and I don't expect that kind of thing to happen." The boy shook his head and sighed.

"So what are you going to do? If a fight breaks out inside, we can't possibly win against so many people." A hint of worry flashed across the cool girl's face.

“Teacher Shen, your thinking is wrong. We should believe that good deeds will be rewarded, and we should just focus on uniting everyone to get in.” The boy said seriously.

"I can't understand what Cheng Feiyu is thinking. Do you really know what's going on inside?" Shen Xi glared at him.

"Fine, I guess you're doubting me again, but I do have a task for you, dear Teacher Shen." The young man lightly patted her head.

"What?" The girl glanced at his palm, her face showing habitual disgust.

"Take the corridor research department first," the boy said in a low voice after looking around.

"What do you mean?" The girl was stunned.

"Literally, Nana and I will stay here, and you all go back to the shield the way you came," the boy said seriously.

"You and a vixen?" The girl frowned and stared at him. After a brief silence, she took a deep breath, as if giving up on getting to the bottom of it. "How can you go back alone now that we're surrounded?"

"Didn't you spot them? Those closest to the authority tower are the priority targets. We can still retreat now." The boy looked back in the direction they came from.

Not everyone was willing to venture into the Tower of Authority under such circumstances. After some hesitation, a small number of players chose to leave the healing area and break through to the rear, and thus did not suffer much damage.

“I want to stay too.” Shen Xi said without hesitation.

"No, little cutie, please listen to me." The boy ruffled her hair.

"Trash, you don't explain anything but order me around." The girl kicked him hard in annoyance. "If I fail, I'll hold you responsible."

"Yes, yes, anyway, let's go quickly, and remember to keep a low profile and not attract attention." The boy continued to pat her head.

Shen Xi glared at him fiercely, then after a brief moment of thought, gave up on speaking, turned and left with her staff in her arms.

She approached Lin Xuanqi, who was secretly watching from a distance, and raised her chin, saying, "Hey, Lin, send your men out."

"Departure? Where to?" the arrogant girl asked, puzzled.

"Break through." Shen Xi glanced at the boy looking at her and uttered two words.

So, without the players in the heat of battle noticing, the Corridor Research Department members, except for Cheng Fei and Nagasaki Asuna, quietly left the group during the battle.

Zhou Han stared at the seemingly endless enemy rushing towards her, her round eyes widening as she uttered a desperate cry, "It's over, it's over, there's no way we can escape like this!"

Shen Xi expressionlessly turned her staff to maximum power, and a crimson light swept forward, clearing a vacuum zone amidst the dense, out-of-control machinery. She coldly ordered, "Run!"

The rest of the men who received the order immediately broke through the gap.

Miriam deployed her individual shield and stood at the forefront, glancing back at the receding healing field, her eyes filled with tears, "Miss Nagasaki, you and your junior must survive! Waaaaah!"

While she was distracted, a runaway machine came charging towards her. Just as it was about to crash into her, it was hit by a large-caliber live bullet and veered past her.

Lin Xuanqi put down the smoking sniper rifle, drew her pistol, and fired as she ran past her.

Closely following behind was a team of men in black, diligently eliminating any targets that might threaten the arrogant young woman.

Then Ye Shuang ran over, followed by Ruan Jingyi and Zhou Han, with Shen Xi carrying the magic staff running at the very back.

"Wait for me! Everyone?!" Miriam was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly chased after them, no longer thinking about Nagasaki Asuna over there.

At this pace, the Corridor Research Department quickly moved away from the area near the Authority Tower, and the surrounding world suddenly became empty and silent.

The ground was littered with collapsed facilities and burning wreckage from the battle. A large number of out-of-control machines could be seen still approaching from a distance, but they showed no intention of specifically attacking them. They were all moving around the Authority Tower, and only those that occasionally passed in front of them would launch an attack, which would then be dealt with immediately.

Of course, breaking through was not without cost; most of Lin Xuanqi's men were killed in the process.

"Huh, they're really not going to shoot us anymore?" Zhou Han, who had been holding a gun with a tense expression, looked around blankly after regaining his senses.

Shen Xi glanced back in the direction of the Authority Tower, where she could still vaguely see the flashes of fierce fighting. She took a deep breath and ordered, "Hurry up, our mission is to get back there."

the other side.

Without Miriam's diligent help, Cheng Fei had to personally act as Nagasaki Asuna's logistics support, helping her collect batteries.

Although the process was quite easy, the players had completely accepted Nagasaki Asuna and were willing to grant her any request.

"Big Whale, does your healer have any powerful magic staffs?" The boy approached the members of the Starry Sky Guild.

The tall man who was directing the guild players in battle turned around, looking suspicious. "What do you want to do?"

"Lend it to my healer for a bit, anything that applies a buff is fine. Don't be stingy at a time like this, I'll return it to you later." The boy reached out as if it were a matter of course.

The giant whale frowned and hesitated.

Just like in real life, the equipment in the corridor can be given to anyone at will, and conversely, others can also take the equipment away without returning it, just like in real life.

However, given the current situation, even if the boy wanted to steal the equipment, he would have to consider whether he could leave alive.

Thinking of this, the big whale nodded for the time being, took a golden staff from the Starry Night Guild's healer, handed it to the boy, and said cautiously, "This Radiant Scepter can be yours."

"Good stuff." The boy's eyes lit up, and he took the staff without any hesitation.

Then, he went to the players of the Exemplary Guild.

"Crow, lend me one of your nanny's best staffs." The boy reached out again as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"Borrow? Are you kidding me? Who would borrow equipment from the corridor!" The middle-aged office worker looked incomprehensible.

“The situation is special. I’m just lending it to my nanny for a while, and I’ll return it to you later. I’ve already lent you the big whale, so don’t be so stingy.” The boy waved the golden staff in his hand.

"Tsk, alright then." The crow hesitated for a moment, then reluctantly nodded, raising its voice, "If you dare not pay me back, I'll have the entire server hunt you down!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he took a dark red staff from a guild member.

"Don't worry."

Cheng Fei borrowed staffs from several other familiar guilds, held them in his arms, and returned to Nagasaki Asuna. "Idiot, we'll take turns using these from now on."

"Huh? Take turns using them?" Nagasaki Asuna looked at the top-of-the-line equipment in his hand, which looked like it had been bought in bulk, and made a hesitant sound.

As the team advanced to within a short distance of the Tower of Authority, the siege by the out-of-control machines became utterly frenzied, and even the players, who relied on healing abilities to fight, couldn't help but feel their scalps tingle.

At that moment, the healing beam that had enveloped everyone vanished without warning.

Just as a bad feeling crept into their hearts, a new light burst forth from the center, and a golden shield enveloped everyone.

"what happened?"

"Not only can single-target healing be cast on multiple groups, but shields can also be applied to multiple groups?!"

Amidst these exclamations, a blue beam of light connected directly to everyone, making their movements light and agile.

Then, a red-hot ray spread out, this time targeting not the player, but the surrounding enemies, causing all the out-of-control machines to freeze for a moment.

Next, amidst the stunned expressions of all the players, the sweet girl in the center of the field took turns using various staffs, releasing colorful light that enveloped everyone. If the game interface existed, their status bars would probably be filled with constantly refreshed buffs, and everyone would enter a state of comprehensive enhancement.

979. Finally, I fell for it.

Continuous health regeneration, strength boost, stamina amplification, accuracy enhancement, repulsion field, anti-virtual energy shield, kinetic energy protection, multiple jumps, and other valuable buffs normally found in the game are added to each player in unlimited quantities.

At the same time, all approaching out-of-control machines are indiscriminately subjected to negative interferences such as freezing, burning, and overload.

The entire battlefield resembled a cheap, overused web-based game, with both sides shrouded in an overwhelming amount of effects.

The greatly enhanced player forces advanced toward the Tower of Authority at an even faster pace.

"Guild leader, so their healer doesn't actually have a group healing staff, but can turn any buff into an area-of-effect effect?" The players from the Starry Sky Guild realized something and their eyes widened.

"Hmm, it should be an ornament that no one has ever seen before." The giant whale stared at the center of the domain, its expression solemn.

But do such ridiculously overpowered accessories really exist in the game? A vague question lingered in his mind.

Meanwhile, the players of the Exemplary Guild were also whispering among themselves.

"President, if we could get our hands on her jewelry, wouldn't we be invincible...?"

"Don't move yet, let's wait until we're in a safe place and then see what happens..."

Meanwhile, in places far from the authority tower.

"We finally escaped! I almost died inside. What a close call!" Chen Hao wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"What do we do now? We can't even get close to the access tower." Du Xinhua breathed a sigh of relief.

The two had initially banded together with a group of unfamiliar players for mutual support, but the closer they got to the control tower, the greater the resistance they encountered. In the end, their team was completely overwhelmed by the enemy, and they only managed to escape thanks to their superior equipment.

Fortunately, it seemed that other players were drawing fire, and they were no longer pursued after leaving the battlefield, so they were barely safe.

"Damn it, now we have no choice but to activate the backup plan!" Chen Hao clenched his fist.

"So there was a backup plan?" Du Xinhua glanced sideways.

“That’s right, listen to me. In the end, whoever gets the authorization must return to the core within an hour to challenge the BOSS. So we can sneak over there in advance.” Chen Hao lowered his voice and looked around, as if afraid of being overheard, even though the two of them were hidden in the shadows where there was nothing.

"That seems reasonable. Infiltrate and then what?" Du Xinhua nodded tentatively.

"I haven't decided yet, but let's get moving, quick, quick, quick!" Chen Hao said without a hint of guilt, and took the lead in grabbing his weapon and starting to run.

Seeing this, Du Xinhua opened his mouth, but still followed.

After some time, the two successfully returned to the core area of ​​the underground world. The giant shield still stood tall on the ground, seemingly indifferent to everything that was happening in this world.

After all the players left, the area fell silent.